LAS VEGAS, NV. -- The Sacramento Kings braved the sweltering Las Vegas heat Sunday evening when they faced off against the Memphis Grizzlies. For the second straight game, they looked every bit the part of a young team trying to figure things out. Memphis used a mixed group of young players and D-League vets to come away with the 81-75 victory and drop Sacramento to 0-2 for the tournament.
-- The Kings featured Skal Labissiere early and he responded with a solid performance. A lot is riding on the development of the second-year big. He was quiet in game one, but posted 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting and chipped in eight rebounds in Sunday's loss to Memphis. Labissiere needs to stay aggressive and demand the ball from his teammates.
-- De'Aaron Fox has some work to do on his free throw stroke. The rookie point guard turned on the jets on numerous occasions and while he didn't finish on many of them, he drew plenty of fouls. Fox hit just 6-for-12 from the stripe on his way to 17 points, four assists and three steals. He shot 73.9 percent from the line at Kentucky last season, so there is a better free throw shooter hiding in there somewhere.
-- There is no room for Jack Cooley on the big club, but the former Notre Dame banger is fun to watch. He scored an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Kings' opener and then backed it up with an 11-point, five-rebound performance against Memphis. Certain players have a knack for the ball and Cooley is one of those guys.
-- Justin Jackson struggled. After a big opener, the rookie wing came back to earth Sunday. The 22-year-old out of North Carolina missed all eight of his 3-point attempts, finishing with just four points on 2-for-13 shooting. With Malachi Richardson sitting with a sore hamstring, Jackson is going to get a shot to play big minutes.
-- Frank Mason is adjusting to the speed and size of NBA players. The second-round guard played 19 minutes off the bench for coach Jason March, managing to post up six points on 2-of-10 from the field. Mason broke down the defense and got open looks for his perimeter shooters, but Jackson and Buddy Hield combined to hit just 1-for-13 from long range.
