Sacramento Kings head coach Michael Malone has questioned the effort some of his players put in during the 97-86 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night.

Malone rotated his players in the second half following a lacklustre display in the early stages of the game and admitted that the Kings struggled to compete at the Sleep Train Arena.

"That's a talented team (Grizzlies) that went to the Western Conference finals last season," the Kings coach told reporters. "They shoot 56% and get 48 points in the paint.

"We can't give forth the effort we were tonight if we want to compete against a team like that."

The Kings have lost seven of the nine games they have played this season.