"He's gonna fight this, he's gonna come back, and then we're all here to support him." Precious Achiuwa said it was tough to see Ben Simmons go down after his long road back to the Sacramento Kings. Achiuwa gave no timeline for a return.
Precious Achiuwa, ready for the Sacramento Kings' season after "sitting out for a long time," says scoring isn't his job: "I don't really care offensively. It's just my job here is to make these guys better." Top priority: get Zach LaVine going early, and Darius Acuff Jr. too.
Doug Christie wants the Kings to stop settling for early mid-range shots, and players at Sacramento's media availability agreed: "We waste them sometimes for sure... we agree with him for sure." Asked if Ben Simmons' injury looked bad at once: "we keep that in-house."
From Sacramento's media availability, on Ben Simmons' injury: "It changes a lot... He can do everything 1 through 5." The Kings lose his fast breaks off rebounds and a defender who can guard anyone. Players called him their leader and said they will play for him.
Darius Acuff Jr. is the lone inexperienced player in the Sacramento Kings' first lineup. Zach LaVine called him a gifted, high-IQ point guard whose preseason mixed uncertain moments with dominant ones: "Darius has been good... And then things where he's dominating."
Zach LaVine on the Sacramento Kings' starters barely playing together in preseason: "it sucks." Doug Christie: "it took the last game to finally see a unit out there that you can see hitting the court." Asked if that group starts the season, he said: "we'll have to see."
Maxime Raynaud isn't available for the Sacramento Kings, and Domantas Sabonis tied that to how the frontcourt is being covered. Asked about Precious Achiuwa playing center and the team leaning on Ben Simmons, he said: "we don't have Max, you know."
Domantas Sabonis says there was no setback: the Kings kept his preseason light on purpose, playing the first and last games without extra load after eight months away. "Everything's good. It's just... playing it smart." He says he feels good after about 30 minutes in the finale.
"It's just sad to see, 'cause you put in all that work to get back." Clippers coach Tyronn Lue on Ben Simmons, who he said had done the work and looked healthy. Asked about inactive Bradley Beal and Johnni Broome, he gave no statuses: "I think the guys are looking good."
Isaiah Jackson is ready to start, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said, though "we know we gotta protect him a little bit against bigger centers that post a lot." Jackson has worked on his 3-point shot and is shooting it well, Lue added, just not early in the shot clock.
Keaton Wagler will play on and off the ball for the Clippers. Tyronn Lue said he will handle it as a point guard and also see time at shooting guard: "I think with a shot, he can play some 2, and we know he's a point guard."
Brook Lopez and Baba Miller on the floor together is a size pairing meant to win the rebounding battle. From the Clippers' media availability: "Brook and Baba, if you may have noticed together, just having size to be able to help rebound the basketball is going to help us."
Kobe Sanders went through the Clippers' full practice on Oct. 17. Asked whether Sanders would be ready, Tyronn Lue gave no formal status but liked what he saw: "he looked pretty good. He's comfortable."
Baba Miller will play power forward and center for the Clippers, Tyronn Lue said, including beside Brook Lopez or Isaiah Jackson: "playing him and Isaiah together a little bit to get more size on the floor is going to be key for us."
Brandon Ingram is out of surgery. Tyronn Lue saw him when he woke: "He was in good spirits. And the doctor said it was a great surgery." No timeline; Lue says the Clippers can be special once he's back. With five rotation players out, young and two-way players get chances.
Isaiah Jackson will start at center for the Clippers on opening night, per a reporter citing Tyronn Lue. Derrick Jones Jr. backed it: "He can switch 1 through 5, he can run the floor. Honestly, I think he's one of the best big men in the league, so he's up there with me."
Rebounding was the first thing Clippers coaches raised with Rui Hachimura when he arrived, and Tyronn Lue wants 7 or 8 a game from him. After the preseason win over Denver, Hachimura admitted he doesn't always crash the rim when he could: "sometimes I just get lazy."
Keaton Wagler has been fearless from three, and Rui Hachimura wants the Clippers rookie to "keep being aggressive and to be who he is." Those threes, Hachimura said after the preseason win over Denver, open space for Darius Garland to get to the paint.
Alongside Darius Garland, Keaton Wagler says he's "more of a second action guy": catch and shoot, set screens, cut. He looks for his own shot when Garland sits. It's new to the Clippers rookie: "at Illinois I didn't really have to do it as much. It was kind of all for me."