The Sacramento Kings season opener didn't quite go according to plan, in more ways than one. They fell 121-96 to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Darius Acuff Jr. is getting grief from nearly everywhere for his 5-of-24 debut performance. But once again, it was poor defense that stands out for the Kings, especially when it came to trying to stop Darius Garland early for the Clippers.

Following practice today, Doug Christie was asked about what went wrong and what his biggest takeaway was in the first game of the year, and he wasn't shy about how things didn't go as planned from the get-go.

"Attention to detail and the game plan discipline. We gotta be disciplined about the things that we work on, the things we talk about. And then we've got to go execute them on the floor. But it's game one. We don't panic, we get right back to it. We're going to face really good teams, and we have to worry about the things that we need to do, and we take that on to the floor and do it at a high level. We know that we can, we just have to be disciplined in our approach."

Doubled Down

Darius Garland had 16 points in the first quarter alone and was a huge part of why this game was never truly competitive after just a few minutes of action. And from Christie's follow-up response when asked about how the Kings can slow down Damian Lillard and Ja Morant on Friday, Christie doubled down on the game plan coming into the game.

"Again, it's game plan and discipline. There's a lot of things that we wanted to do against Garland that we did not execute at a high level. And the same thing is going to be for [Lillard], and [Deni] Avdija, and Ja [Morant]. All those guards that can put the ball in the basket. You've got to be disciplined with your approach, and then you have to be able to adjust at the same time. You can't show them one steady diet of anything; they're just too good. And we will be better at it."

Defense is going to be a talking point for the Kings all season, and while offense is right there with defense in terms of areas needing improvement, getting stops is always at the top of Christie's mind. And it's also important to remember that this is the make-or-break year for Christie. It feels like if he can't move the team forward in the right direction, he's either not going to finish out the year, or definitely won't be back with a third-year team option on his contract.

As Christie said, they'll have another huge test ahead of them this Friday with the dynamic guard duo of Lillard and Morant, with the Trail Blazers coming off a 124-83 demolition against the Phoenix Suns. That seems harder than slowing down Garland, but we'll have to see if the Kings are able to follow the game plan in their second chance of the season.