- Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown took forward Terence Davis onto the floor to show him a proper defensive rotation.
- Moments later, Davis made the proper rotation and drew a foul while Brown celebrated on the sidelines.
Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown got to see his coaching take hold in real time.
During a break in the action in the Kings' Monday night loss to the Phoenix Suns, Brown pulled 25-year-old reserve forward Terence Davis aside to give him instructions on defense.
Brown walked Davis out on to the floor, beneath the basket and was giving him instructions about where to rotate. Some players might bristle at receiving such demonstrative coaching, but Davis, who averages just 13 minutes per game off the bench, followed Brown and listened.
Brown appeared to be telling Davis where to rotate on a specific Suns pick-and-roll, telling Davis to stay planted in the paint to stop the roller.
Moments later, when play resumed, the Suns ran the same play, and Davis successfully followed Brown's coaching. Davis stayed in the paint and drew a foul on Suns' center Deandre Ayton.
Brenden Nunes of Kings Herald and The Sacramento Bee compiled the moments into one video. As Davis draws the charge on Ayton, Brown can be seen ecstatically jumping up and down on the sidelines.
—Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) November 29, 2022
Though the Kings lost the game by five, afterward, Brown pointed out Davis' adjustment, noting that the initial mistake is the type the Kings can't afford.
"What we have to do is continue to try to clean up our mistakes," Brown said. "I can point out one: TD as a low man and didn't pull over in the first half, and I think Ayton gets a dunk or a layup. And then literally, five, six plays later, he pulls over like he's supposed to and gets a charge. So those little things, doing it every time and not taking a possession for granted with your assignment is something that we have to continue to work on and fix."
Indeed, Brown has been tasked with restoring credibility to one of the most moribund franchises in all of sports. The Kings have not made the playoffs since 2006, never winning more than 39 games in a season since. The Kings have a young, talented roster that Brown is trying to get up to speed.
Brown added: "We've still got room to grow, but going through these growing pains at times can hurt."