The Sacramento Kings head coach dropped a unique comparison to one Wednesday evening breakout scorer.
Doug Christie is attempting to find the positive amid the 14-game losing skid.
He witnessed Devin Carter impress during the lopsided 121-93 Wednesday loss by the Sacramento Kings.
Carter dropped 19 points on the evening, now representing a career-best mark.
How was Carter able to perform at a high level? Christie attributed it to Carter possessing this advantage -- which he likened to an NFL wide receiver on the basketball court.
"Long arms,” Christie explained via Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “I would kind of attribute it to a wide receiver who catches it outside of his radius."
Christie continued to lean into the gridiron analogy.
"Some guys have a big catch radius, and many times when he goes up, I’m like, ‘Oh, you go that.’ It’s like ‘Go Go Gadget Arms.’ All of a sudden, he’s got two hands on the basketball," Christie said.
Carter does possess the type of frame NFL teams could work with. After all, he checks in at 6-foot-2, 193-pounds -- making him similar to Super Bowl winning WR Tory Horton of the Seattle Seahawks. Carter even played for a football-crazed conference while a t South Carolina, as the Gamecocks compete in the famed Southeastern Conference (SEC).
The past Gamecock and Providence Friars star showed his impact when called upon. Christie again became enamored with his speed and hands combination.
“He’s explosive, but one thing about rebounding, in my opinion, is that a rebound is a 50/50 ball, so 50/50 means who wants to go get it? Sometimes when he’s in there he goes and gets it," Christie said. "You’ve got to respect that."
Another words, Carter performs the dirty work like a possession target on the football field going for the air lob in he end zone. Except his "dirty work" involves cleaning up the glass on the hardwood.
"Not everyone is willing to do that because rebounding is a dirty business," Christie said.
The head coach, though, is still operating through the most torrid stretch since 1971-72 while as the Cincinnati Royals.
The 14-game slide is officially the longest losing streak as Sacramento. Christie is dealing with adversity in his transition from franchise great to head coach. But remains optimistic through the 12-44 record.
"One thing I know is that adversity does not define you, but it clarifies some things about you as an individual and us as a collective because when you face that you come together in brotherhood, you communicate, you compete at a high level and we will be better for it in the long run," Christie said.
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