The Sacramento Kings saw a once-promising season come to a crashing end on Friday night. While New Orleans was the better team and deserved to earn the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, Sacramento is left wondering what went wrong after falling from third to third place just a year ago. More importantly, how can the Kings improve?<\/p>\n
Sacramento went 46-36, which was just two fewer victories than a season ago. The Kings’ 94 victories over the last two seasons are the franchise’s most during a two-year stretch since the mid-2000s.<\/p>\n
De’Aaron Fox<\/strong> <\/a>keeps improving and is a top-5 point guard, while Domantas Sabonis<\/strong><\/a> is one of the best passing and rebounding big men in the centers. Malik Monk,<\/b><\/a> who produced a career season, is a finalist for sixth man of the year, and Keegan Murray<\/b><\/a> upped his production a touch in year two but was less efficient than a year ago.<\/p>\n Injuries to Kevin Huerter<\/strong><\/a> and Monk down the stretch are one of the biggest reasons for the Kings’ season going off track. The Kings went 7-8 over the final 15 games without Huerter, including 4-5 without Monk.<\/p>\n Offense was a problem following the all-star break and continued to be without Huerter and Monk. Over the final 15 contests, the Kings averaged 109.9 points, nearly seven points fewer than their season average, on 44.7% from the field, three points below their season average.<\/p>\n While Sacramento shot about the same from beyond the arc a season ago, the Kings finished 16th in 3-point percentage compared to ninth a season ago. The biggest difference, offensively, between this past season and a year ago was that the Kings didn’t get the free throw line as often and were the worst shooting squad in the league from the charity stripe.<\/p>\n Sacramento made 15.5 of 20.9 free throws for a 74.5% conversion rate. All those numbers ranked in the bottom third of the league, but the biggest issue was that their opponents outscored the Kings by three points at the free throw line per game.<\/p>\n However, the Kings’ biggest issue was on the defensive end, the same as a year ago.<\/p>\n Sacramento was a little more efficient on that end than previously, although the Kings still ranked 21st in opponents’ field goal percentage and 29th in opponents’ 3-point field goal percentage.<\/p>\n Monk,<\/a> a Sixth Man of the Year finalist, is slated to hit the open market this summer and will be the Kings top offseason priority. While he could re-sign with Sacramento before July 1,\u00a0 Jason Anderson said that the 26-year-old shooting guard made it clear he will indeed test free agency.<\/p>\n \u201cI can go somewhere else with a lot more money and be in a worse situation, so you never know. I\u2019ve got a great agent who\u2019s going to do his job. I think my job is done.\u201d \u2013 Malik Monk<\/p>\n — Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) April 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nWhat Went Wrong?<\/h3>\n
Malik Monk To Hit Free Agency<\/h3>\n
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