The Sacramento Kings dropped their first game back from all-star break to the Golden State Warriors, 132-108, on Friday.
Third-year forward Keegan Murray put together an average performance of 13 points, five rebounds, one steal, and one block on 50 percent shooting. He was a part of a post game meeting held between interim head coach Doug Christie and the starters to figure out resolutions to some recent devastating losses.
Murray is averaging 12 points, seven rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 blocks, and 0.8 steals a game on 43.6 percent shooting from the field, 32.7 percent from three, and 82.1 percent from the free throw line. His averages on points, field goal percentage, and three point percentage are career-lows, while his averages on rebounds and blocks are career-highs.
The Kings are sitting at the 10th seed in the Western conference standings, which is the last play-in spot — 1.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns and 1.5 games behind the Golden State Warriors.
Kris Murray
Second-year forward Kris Murray was featured in the Portland Trail Blazers’ first two games after the all-star break last week.
He recorded just one rebound in four minutes in the 110-102 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. In Saturday’s 141-88 win over the Charlotte Hornets, Kris furnished two points, one rebound, one assist, one block, and one steal in 16 minutes of action.
Kris has played in 47 of Portland’s 57 games this season and is averaging four points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists on 45.2 percent shooting from the field, 27.5 percent from three, and 42.1 percent from the free throw line.
The Trail Blazers have been stapled to the 13th spot in the Western Conference standings for a while with a 24-33 record and are 4.5 games behind the Kings for the last play-in spot.
Luka Garza
With Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert dealing with an injury, center Luka Garza has seen an uptake in playing time the last couple games.
The third-year big saw a total of 20 minutes in both of the team’s losses post-all-star break — a 121-115 falling to the Houston Rockets on Friday and a 130-123 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
Garza finished with six points, four rebounds, and one assist in 11 minutes against the Rockets and followed that up with seven points, four rebounds, and one assist in nine minutes against the Thunder.
Despite the lack of consistent playing time, Garza is on track to play the most games in a season (25 games) since joining the Timberwolves in 2022. In those games, he’s averaging 3.6 points and 1.8 rebounds on 47.3 percent shooting, 25 percent from deep, and 72.2 percent from the line.
The middle of the West standings is compact, and the Timberwolves are right in the middle of it. They own a 31-27 record and are tied with the Dallas Mavericks for the seventh seed — just one game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the last playoff spot and two games ahead of the Kings.