After having a relatively good start in December, the Sacramento Kings have wavered at the tail end of this month. They have lost three out of their last four games by an average point differential of 18 in those losses. This past week’s match against the Portland Trail Blazers was arguably their worst loss of the season so far. To lose by 17 points to a bottom-tier team in the conference without two of their starters was most definitely a gut punch to Sacramento.
While health has been an issue for the Kings since the start of the season, their problems as a team go way beyond that. Sacramento has some very noticeable weaknesses, and they have to work on getting better in those areas. While they still show much potential to be a viable contender in the West, they can only go so far if they don’t polish up some of their major flaws. Here are some of the Sacramento Kings’ biggest areas of improvement at this point in the season.
The Sacramento Kings’ Biggest Areas of Improvement
Defensive Struggles
The Kings have struggled mightily at times regarding their defensive impact on the floor. They also had similar issues last season, ranking 24th in the league in defensive rating at 116 opposition points per game. Improving on defense was a clear focus heading into this season for the Kings, or at least it was supposed to be.
Over their last five games, Sacramento has allowed 124.0 points per game, which ranked 26th in the league over that period. Their worst defensive performance this season may have been against the Blazers this past Tuesday. Portland came into the game only averaging 107.6 points per game, ranking 29th in the league. With Shaedon Sharpe and Deandre Ayton being out that game, the Blazers also missed a collective 30-point average between those two players. Yet, they scored a season-high 130 points on 50% shooting from the field. Even for an aspiring middle-of-the-pack defense, this was a poor defensive performance from Sacramento.
To make matters worse, over 37% of their opponents’ attempted field goals came within six feet of the basket, the sixth most in the NBA. Without a good interior defensive presence, the Kings allow their opponents to convert 66.4% of those shots near the rim. This season, the Kings, on average, allow their opponents to score 53.3 points in the paint per game, ranking them 23rd in the league in that category.
If Sacramento hopes to become legitimate title contenders, they desperately have to improve on the defensive side. The Kings can score with the best of them, but if they constantly play poor defense, they won’t have a good chance against the top title contenders in the league.
Relying Heavily on Threes
The Kings are now relying more than ever on their three-point shot falling. When they shoot well, all is good, and their offense looks amazing. However, when those threes are not falling, their offense stagnates, and their defense is not good enough to keep them in those games.
The Kings are shooting 41.4 threes a game this season, ranking them third in the league. In their 17 wins this season, the Kings average an astonishing 39.9% from three and average 125.6 points per game. However, in their 12 losses, their three-point percentage drops significantly to 31.1%, only averaging 105.8 points in those games.
Two players that stand out for the Kings in regards to their three-point irregularities are Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray. Last season, Huerter averaged a career-high in three-point percentage at 40.2%. This year, he is averaging a career-low 35.2% from three. In wins, Huerter manages to shoot 42.9% from three, but in losses, that plummets to 23%. As for Murray, he is having an impressive sophomore campaign overall. His scoring is up to 15.8 points a game while shooting a decent 36.6% from three on seven attempts per game. However, in Sacramento’s losses this season, he only shoots 26.5% from three.
With Sacramento also being towards the bottom in the league in fast break points and points in the paint, ranking 27th and 19th in those categories, respectively, they should not rely as heavily on threes. This overdependence on their three-point shot falling could be a recipe for disaster down the line. If the Kings hope to improve as contenders, they must add more dimensions to their offense and prepare for nights when it’s a dry spell from deep.
Depth Issues
The Kings have their two-star players, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, who are again having All-NBA caliber seasons. They are steady contributors and have even upped their performance from their stellar seasons last year. Sacramento also has good contributions, usually from their young rising star in Murray and their sixth man of the year candidate, Malik Monk. However, outside of that, the Kings’ supporting cast has left a lot to be desired at times.
In their loss against Portland, Sacramento’s bench scored only 17 points, while the short-handed Blazers reserves put up 65. Over their last five games, the Kings’ second unit has averaged just 26.0 points per game. This won’t cut it for a team that relies as heavily on their offense as Sacramento does.
When two of your starters are having relatively rough seasons, as is the case with Huerter and Harrison Barnes, depth becomes a crucial component for the team. With players like Davion Mitchell, Chris Duarte, and Kessler Edwards getting minimal playing time, the Kings’ depth becomes a real issue. Their limited depth makes it very difficult for them to make any sort of lineup changes or make up for any bad performances from their starters on any given night.
The Kings still have until the trade deadline to make any moves they deem necessary that could bolster their depth. However, until then, this will be a concern for Sacramento. As with any championship-contending team, depth is important, especially when injuries or starting players’ shortcomings come into play. For the Kings, this will be a key area of improvement to monitor if they are to get better going into the second half portion of the season.
