Christie refuses to give Kings a ‘grace period’ after loss to Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
It takes time to process the sudden firing of a head coach, and DeMar DeRozan can attest to that.
Less than 36 hours before the Kings match firing of Mike BrownSacramento fell to a LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers team 132-122 on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, extending the team’s losing streak to six games.
And, at the same time, remind the six-time NBA All-Star that perhaps the Kings locker room has not had enough time to confront the man who was supposedly general manager. Monte McNair’s Decision.
“I mean, everything’s a little different because you’re used to Coach Brown coming in and talking,” DeRozan told reporters. “Not seeing makes a difference.
“I think yesterday everyone was shocked to find out and, in a way, without having time to assimilate it. It hasn’t fully sunk in yet, probably tomorrow when we go in and watch movies and stuff. It’s hard to say now.”
Brown, who coached practice and addressed the media on Friday, was projected to coach DeRozan and Co. on Saturday. That quickly changed when McNair fired the unanimous winner of the 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year award after a 13-18 start.
With little time available, McNair turned to assistant coach and former Kings guard Doug Christie to take over as interim coach for the remainder of the 2024-25 NBA season.
Under Christie’s direction, the Kings allowed a whopping 40 points in the first quarter against the Lakers and fell by as much as 20 points early in the fourth quarter.
But behind a ferocious late-game effort from star guard De’Aaron Fox and Co., Sacramento managed to trim the deficit to just six points before losing its footing again in the final minutes.
Despite the uphill battle in Sacramento, Christie knows the Kings have enough talent to win again, and he hopes that happens soon.
“The first thing is we have enough,” Christie said after the loss. “And this is a message that I told them.
“There’s enough in this locker room, but how to overcome that are the things I’ve talked about since I’ve been here. The consistency, the concentration, the willingness to play for my teammate at such a high level that it hurts so much that I need to get out of the game.
“That’s more than anything. There’s enough in that locker room to win games, and it’s up to us, it’s up to me, to be able to find it. They are the best in the world. “I’m trying to put them in positions to shine, and that’s a big difference from being an assistant coach.”
Known for his ruthlessness and physicality during his playing days, Christie expects a similar tough style of play from his team.
And while the Kings locker room hasn’t yet grasped the fact that Brown is no longer around, Christie isn’t trying to ease his way in.
You want results. Soon.
“But I’m here to meet the challenge and I thank you for giving me everything you have,” Christie added. “But that pain that is needed, we are going to need it again. And again. And again.
“Every time. There’s no wiggle room with that. And that’s probably the grace period you’re talking about, but I don’t accept grace periods. I hope to win every time we go out on the court because there’s enough in that locker room for that happen.”