Kings' Alarming Stat previews the 2024-25 Nightmare season

The Sacramento Kings fell short in a close game in their season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, where Keegan Murray had a chance for a buzzer-beater three-pointer to win the game, and were down 1-0 to open their 2024-25 season .

They looked solid in most aspects of the game but, similar to last year, struggled to defend the three-point line throughout the contest.

They were outscored from beyond the arc with 11 goals of their own compared to 20 for Minnesota, with many of the Wolves' looks being far too easy.

To illustrate, the Indiana Pacers led the league with 23.1 fully open three-point attempts per game last year.

Minnesota's roster is full of shooters, so it was a tough matchup from the start. Between Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, their role players off the bench can all fly along with the starters.

The Kings lost themselves in simple pick-and-roll moves while the Timberwolves found the open man with skip passes and impressive ball movement. While Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle hit hard-fought shots, the Wolves' other players benefited from the looks created for them.

It's a small sample size game and nothing to panic about, but it's an alarming start following last season. Time will tell if this was an anomaly in a game or the start of another seasonal trend.

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