Jordan White

Words with J White • 27th March 2024

Detroit Lions free agency: D.J. Reader

Despite how good they were last season — claiming the NFC North title and reaching the NFC title game — the Detroit Lions defense was a MAJOR issue for them. Although they were the second best run defense in the league, allowing just 91.1 rush yards per game, they were the second worst pass defense in the league allowing a whopping 257 yards per game.

This raises one big question for me. Was their run defense actually that good, or were teams just airing it out all game because they knew the Li

Words with J White • 23rd February 2024

Will Malik Monk win 6ixth Man of the Year?

There is a unique phenomenon that often happens in basketball where one of the team’s best players comes off the bench. This move is a strategic play that often leaves the opposition at a complete disadvantage.

For the Sacramento Kings, this strategy is implemented by having Malik Monk come off the bench at Guard. If you’ve watched any of their games in the last two years, you’re aware of two things: he’s is the most electric player on the team, and Malik means King in Arabic.

At Golden 1 Cent

Words with J White • 15th January 2024

Two key players that can propel the Lions into the NFC Championship game

Last night, the Detroit Lions emerged victorious in the first playoff game in the history of Ford Field. It was a night occupied by narratives: Matthew Stafford back in Motown, Jared Goff’s revenge and the death of the “Same Old Lions”. In the end, it was the Lions narrowly escaping the Los Angeles Rams, winning 24-23 to advance to the NFC Divisional Playoffs. Which brings another opportunity for this Lions team to make history.

For the first time in franchise history, there will be more than o

Words with J White • 14th November 2023

Detroit Lions midseason check-in: 3 Keys to success

We are now past the halfway point of the ‘23-’24 NFL season and the Detroit Lions are on a roll. Currently sitting No. 2 in the NFC and atop the NFC North, the 7-2 Lions have won six of their last seven games, including a walk off field goal by Riley Patterson in a 41-38 thriller this past week against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers.

Aside from an embarrassing Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens where we saw the Lions’ defense get completely dismantled and their normally potent off

Words with J White • 9th November 2023

Kings win 121-118 against the Blazers. Was this a get right game or are they still searching?

After three consecutive loses on the road that included a heartbreaking defeat to the Golden State Warriors and back to back embarrassing loses to the Houston Rockets, the beam was finally dusted off tonight. Still without De’Aaron Fox (ankle), the Sacramento Kings managed to come out victorious after a narrow 121-118 overtime win against a hobbled Portland Trailblazers squad.

Going into this matchup, things were looking bleak in the capital city. There are a great number of words that could be

Words with J White • 26th October 2023

The Beam is BACK! Three quick thoughts on the Sacramento Kings' 130-114 win over the Utah Jazz

The Sacramento Kings played their first game of the new season tonight against the Utah Jazz and to the surprise of few, Sacramento looked great. They were able to light the refurbished beam with a 130-114 win on the road after handling a Jazz team they finished 3-1 against the previous season.

The usual suspects played well tonight for the Kings. De’Aaron Fox looked very comfortable and finished with 18 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl and 1 blk. However, he only went 1-7 from 3PT after missing a few

Words with J White • 23rd September 2023

Jahmyr Gibbs is due for a breakout performance

One of the bigger story lines this NFL season is the slow burn of the Detroit Lions rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs. After being drafted 12th overall to a team that boasted one of the league’s most explosive offenses the previous year, fantasy football owners couldn’t wait to get their hands on the player many people dubbed the next Alvin Kamara.

But through two games, Gibbs is ranked as the 125th overall player in fantasy football despite having an average draft position (ADP) as the 33rd pla

Words with J White • 4th September 2023

Why the Detroit Lions will replicate the success of last year's Sacramento Kings

We are now just a few days away from the opening kick-off of the ‘23-’24 NFL season, and on paper, this Detroit Lions team is poised to have their best season in over 30 years.

Detroit is coming off a season where things truly began to look up for them. They tripled their win total from the year before, won eight of their last 10 games and had a top five offense in the NFL. But as all rational Lions fans should do, I won’t believe it until I see it. A similar mindset to fans of my favorite NBA

Sactown Royalty • 30th March 2023

Light the beam: The Kings’ playoff drought is officially over

As former Sacramento Kings guard Vince Carter once said... It’s over. The inevitable has finally happened, and the longest active playoff drought in American sports – one that spanned four presidencies and eight Fast and Furious films — has officially ended.

Sacramento has officially clinched a playoff berth with their 120-80 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

After having the ability to clinch every day since Sunday, the win Sacramento needed ultimately came on the road against a tanking Bl

Sactown Royalty • 19th March 2023

Kings make it seven straight road wins with 132-118 defeat over Wizards

The Sacramento Kings continued their dominant stretch of basketball since the All-Star break with a win on Saturday against the Washington Wizards, beating them 132-118. They are now 11-2 since the break and are only 3.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the top seed in the Western Conference.

Both of the Kings’ stars have also been playing some of their best basketball since the stretch. Fox is averaging 27.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists, while Sabonis has averaged 20.9 points, 13.5

Sactown Royalty • 11th March 2023

The beam goes national in Kings 122-117 defeat of Knicks

Last night was the second time this season the country was able to witness the greatness that is the Sacramento Kings on TNT. After getting flexed onto the national scene the other week, the Kings took on maybe the hottest team in the league in the New York Knicks — won nine of their last 10 games — and were able to come away with a huge 122-117 win.

The Kings started off hot tonight and jumped out to a 20-point lead in the first half thanks to a hot second quarter from Malik Monk who would fin

Sactown Royalty • 2nd March 2023

Three takeaways from Kings 123-117 win against Thunder

In a night where both the Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder were without their superstar guards — De’Aaron Fox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — the two teams were still able to make it an exciting, competitive matchup. Despite a run by the Thunder at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth, the Kings held it down and won 123-117, extending their current win streak to four games.

Here are three takeaways from yesterday’s game.

The whole team stepped up in Fox’s absence

Befor

Sactown Royalty • 25th February 2023

5 takeaways from the Kings beating the Clippers in the second-highest scoring NBA game ever

The Sacramento Kings just won quite literally the greatest regular season game in NBA history, beating the Los Angeles Clippers, 176-175, in double overtime. Yes...you read that correctly. In the second-highest scoring game in NBA history, both teams combined for a whopping 351 points.

This was the type of game that can change everything for a team. Second night of a back-to-back, on the road and against a very good Los Angeles Clippers team that is coming off a full week of rest. Most teams in

Sactown Royalty • 16th February 2023

Three takeaways from Kings 120-109 loss to Suns in final game before break

In their final game before All-Star weekend — in which De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter will all be representing the Beam team — the Sacramento Kings put their weaknesses on display, losing to the new look Phoenix Suns 120-109 on the road.

The Suns were without their new superstar Kevin Durant, and also without two key, talented role players in Mikal bridges and Cam Johnson whom they traded away. Their roster was much different than what they’re used to and it was

Sactown Royalty • 10th February 2023

Three takeaways from Kings narrow 130-128 win against Rockets

In a week overflowing with NBA drama, the most dramatic thing to happen was not Kevin Durant joining the Phoenix Suns, it was the officials making good calls to help the Sacramento Kings win 130-128 against the Houston Rockets. This was a game the Kings had no business losing, and it still almost happened.

Here are three takeaways from last night’s win (written before and Kings’ trades):

Murray broke the Kings’ franchise record for threes made in a season by a rookie with 130 and counting. Tha

Sactown Royalty • 2nd February 2023

Three takeaways from Kings 119-109 triumph over Spurs

The trade deadline isn’t even here yet, and the Sacramento Kings are already within one game of last seasons win total. The winning continued last night and the beam was lit yet again after the Kings walked into San Antonio and handled their business. Despite winning 119-109, and Malik Monk almost landing the dunk of the year, the game was a lot closer than it should have been.

Here are three takeaways:

The stars came to play the night before All-Star reserve selections

De’Aaron Fox and Doman

Sactown Royalty • 31st January 2023

Five takeaways from Kings 118-111 overtime victory in Minnesota

Despite an egregious missed call that led to an overtime-leading basket by the Minnesota Timberwolves and Domantas Sabonis fouling out in crunch time, the Sacramento Kings were once again able to light the beam after two straight losses, winning 118-111 in an overtime thriller.

Here are five takeaways from the Kings’ much needed win:

The Timberwolves can not stop De’Aaron Fox

In the last two games, which were both against this squad, Fox has totaled 61 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 block

Sactown Royalty • 25th January 2023

Kings extend Monte McNair and Wes Wilcox

Like we alluded to in an article back in December, Sacramento Kings General Manager Monte McNair and Assistant General Manager Wes Wilcox have both received a long overdue extension to stay in Sacramento.

The fans and many people in the King’s media have been calling on owner Vivek Ranadivé to make this deal happen for months on social media. They continue to make great move after great move in order to turn this franchise around. During McNair and Wilcox’s tenure with the Kings, the franchise

Sactown Royalty • 22nd January 2023

Three best five-man lineups for Kings with a look towards the playoffs

The Sacramento Kings are competing at a high level and look as though they will be playing some postseason basketball in 2023. Though they are exceeding all expectations so far, there are still some questions regarding their sub-par defense.

One question I have, is how would their defense look in a playoff series?

The Kings have been a bottom-10 defense in the league all year and are currently seventh-worst going into the game against the Philadelphia 76ers with a defensive rating of 115.1. Th

Sactown Royalty • 19th January 2023

Five takeaways from Kings 116-111 win over Lakers

No Domas...no problem, as the “LIGHT THE BEAM” chants rained down in enemy territory. The Sacramento Kings were able to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers on the road 116-111 to move into the third seed in the Western Conference on the heels of a five game win streak. The last time the Kings were performing this well over halfway into the season, I was in kindergarden (‘03-’04...ooof).

There were many questions about how the Kings would perform without the help of Domantas Sabonis — and more importa

Sactown Royalty • 17th January 2023

Domantas Sabonis named Western Conference Player of the Week

Despite not being in the top 10 of the most recent All-Star vote returns, Sacramento Kings big man Domantas Sabonis has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week. The Kings are currently on a four-game win streak due largely to Sabonis being on his own streak, a franchise record 20 consecutive games with a double-double.

This season, Sabonis is quietly having one of the greatest seasons in recent memory for a center. He is dominating the league with his scoring, rebounding and abilit

Sactown Royalty • 14th January 2023

6 takeaways from Sacramento’s 139-114 route of Houston

For the first time since I was seven years old... I can proudly say the Sacramento Kings are five games over .500 after defeating the Houston Rockets 139-114 at Golden 1 Center.

But despite the final score, this game was actually quite interesting.

It started off close with both teams battling and retaking the lead seemingly every other possession. But after a monster third quarter by the Kings that gave them a 20-point lead, things started to heat up.

Remember in Wednesday’s game when Rocket

Sactown Royalty • 13th January 2023

Report: Richaun Holmes available for trade

With the Feb. 9 trade deadline quickly approaching, there will soon be a lot of movement in the NBA. But before it all goes down there will be influx of rumors congesting the countries most dramatic sports league. In an article by Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Sacramento Kings’ center Richaun Holmes was once again mentioned in potential trade discussions.

Finding a consistent and reliable backup center has been a big issue for the Kings all season. There has been an unsteady rotation of Holmes,

Sactown Royalty • 10th January 2023

Seven takeaways from Kings blowout win over Magic

Despite hurricane NorCal raging on outside, the Sacramento Kings were able to once again light the beam with a very impressive win against the Orlando Magic, blowing them out 136-111 at home.

The Kings played some fantastic basketball tonight and gave the fans a show on Star Wars tonight, especially Harrison Barnes who went from the Black Falcon to the Millennium Falcon.

Here are seven takeaways from the win:

The Kings came out the gate firing on all cylinders tonight. In the first quarter, t