“I think everybody’s in good spirits. Obviously, whenever you’re winning, those things raise a bit. But Doug’s that type of guy. He lights up a room.” De’Aaron Fox recently had this to say in praise of Doug Christie. Despite having been promoted to Sacramento Kings interim coach back in December, the 54-year-old has made a worthwhile impression in a short while. After Mike Brown was let go of amidst the Kings’ 13-18 win record, Christie took charge to let the team to now secure a 23-20 record! His leadership guided the franchise through the recent win against the Golden State Warriors too, something that Stephen Curry may have indirectly praised.

During the post-game presser, Curry touched base on what he feels went wrong in the Warriors’ 123-117 loss. The Three-Point leader believed that his team performed well ‘most of the game’. However, things took a turn against them during the 3 quarter. This led him to learn the lesson that teams will continue employing ‘traps’ and ‘double teams’ from time to time, meaning that they will have to be careful. At the same time, Curry praised the Kings, since “Gotta credit them. They had athleticism all over the floor. You could tell that they had a good halftime talk, and knew how they’re going to get back in the game and work”.

Athleticism was certainly a visible component during the recent Warriors-Kings game. The physical blocking by the Kings squad kept the Warriors at bay. As a result, De’Aaron Fox and Co were able to force the Warriors to record 19 turnovers! Meanwhile, the Kings only had 8 turnovers. On top of that, several of the Kings’ stars made efficient use of their minutes. DeMar DeRozan made 32 points in 39 minutes, followed by Domantas Sabonis’ 26 points in 38 minutes. Meanwhile, De’Aaron Fox saved eight of his 14 points for a reportedly game-ending flurry. From 14-footer shots to Sabonis making a game-high 18 rebounds, the Kings squad was on their toes. Their performance worsened the Warriors’ already worse situation, reducing their win record to below .500.

Athleticism is something that Steve Kerr has emphasized on for quite a while. Initially, back in training camp, the head coach had felt the presence of a strong roster. He said, “With [Brandin Podziemski], [De’Anthony] Melton and our other guys handling the ball behind Steph [Curry], we feel like it makes a lot of sense to play fast and we have the right personnel to do it”. Judging the Warriors’ pace now, that training camp feels like it took place ages ago. These days, Kerr is not shying from criticizing his team’s lack of “competitive spirit”. Even Stephen Curry indicated that there is no sense of urgency. At this rate, Kerr may very well have to seek some advice from Doug Christie.

The Kings Interim coach’s appointment has been a bone for the Kings, turning them from a low-seeding team to potential playoff hopefuls. Stephen Curry hasn’t been the only one to see that.

Draymond Green reveals being “not surprised” at Doug Christie improving Kings’ situation: “Probably made some small fixes”

During the recent episode of ‘The Draymond Green Show’, the Warriors’ power forward touched base on the Sacramento Kings. Draymond Green certainly believed that the Kings squad was not without any talent. After all, he stated, “That is the same team that took us to Game 7 a couple of years ago but added DeMar DeRozan.”

For him, the problem was Mike Brown, as the poor connection between him and the players, and the intensity of the practice sessions, may have made things worse. A change was made, and improvement started coming in instantly.

“I think that Doug (Christie) has probably made some small fixes with practice, more Malik Monk minutes. The whole Sixth Man thing is cool, but all of a sudden, we down; we need to get our best guns on the floor,” said Green. “So I think he’s just done some things, minor tweaks that were right there in their face, but most especially, you’ve got guys playing hard for you”.

Do you believe that Doug Christie has changed the Sacramento Kings for the better? Let us know in the comments.