KINGS’ WALTON SAYS DEFENSE WILL IMPROVE

Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton is trying to make up for lost time this week as his team prepares to play its preseason home opener against the Phoenix Suns today at Golden 1 Center.

Sacramento’s trip to India was a groundbreaking moment for the NBA and a valuable bonding experience for the Kings, but the extensive travel has given the team little practice time since training camp began 12 days ago. Walton isn’t worried about implementing his offense, but he knows the Kings have a long way to go defensively after allowing 130 points in back-to-back losses to the Indiana Pacers.

Walton offered a candid response to a question about his team’s defense against the Pacers when the Kings finally returned to practice Tuesday.

“Well, it didn’t look very good, did it?” Walton said. “That’s why we’re addressing it. It’s something that we, as a group, need to get much better at. No need to panic. We had 2 1/2 days of prep work before we flew out there (to India) and Indiana’s a very good team. It’s just about continuing to put in work and getting reps at our coverages and then the want-to by the guys, and the guys want to become a good defensive team. It’ll happen. It just takes time.”

The Kings brought in reinforcements after finishing among the worst defensive teams in the league last season. They allowed 115.3 points a game and 51.2 points in the paint per game, ranking 26th in the NBA in both categories. Opponents attacked the paint at will, knowing the Kings offered little in the way of rim protection.