Pacific Notes: Kings Tempo, Kerr, PG-13, Walton

Kings backcourt mates De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield are looking to accelerate the team’s offensive tempo as the calendar shifts to 2020, according to the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson. After losing their eighth straight game on Tuesday, Hield noted that the change needs to happen soon.

“It’s a new year,” Hield said. “We’re (34) games in so we have about (48) left. It’s go time. We can’t wait anymore.” The Kings are 12-22 overall, and have a 1-7 record when held under 100 points.

Anderson notes that, under coach Dave Joerger in the 2018/19 season, the Kings’ pace ranked third in the NBA, notching 103.9 possessions per 48 minutes. Thus far under Luke Walton in 2019/20, the Kings rank last with just 97.5 possessions per 48 minutes.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

  • Warriors coach Steve Kerr told Logan Murdoch of NBC Sports Bay Area on Tuesday that he is frustrated by the frequency of foul calls in today’s NBA. “I think we’ve gone overboard in rewarding offensive players,” Kerr said. “And what I mean by that is we’ve rewarded offensive players for fooling the officials and attempting to fool the officials.” 
  • The Los Angeles Times’ Andrew Greif reports that Clippers forward Paul George believes he has pinpointed the cause of his recent shooting slump, after analyzing hours of game film. “A lot of the plays I had last year before the [shoulder] injury started, was through contact and finishing through defenders,” George said George. “This year I’ve been shying away from the contact. So it’s just getting it through my head that I’m fine with the physicality.”
  • Since being called up from the Clippers’ Ontario G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers, on December 1, point guard Derrick Walton Jr. has been trying to maximize his opportunity on one of the NBA’s best teams, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register reports. The 24-year-old Walton scored a career-high 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field in a 105-87 Clippers win over Sacramento Tuesday.
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