Two Kings Wins, Five Observations
Dec 30, 2021, 1:12 PM | Updated: 1:27 pm
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Sacramento is ending the year 2021 on a high-note
If we have learned one thing about the 2020-21 Sacramento Kings, it’s that this team is streaky.
The Kings have followed up a three-game skid with back-to-back wins on Tuesday and Wednesday to pull themselves to within 0.5 games of the 10th spot in the Western Conference standings and just two games back of the seventh spot.
Sure, Sacramento defeated an Oklahoma City Thunder team that is projected to finish near the bottom of the West and a Dallas Mavericks team that was missing seven players due to COVID-19 Health & Safety protocols, but the Kings need wins right now.
It doesn’t matter who the opponent is, who’s out or who’s in.
The effort had been lacking from this Kings team over the recent three-game slide, but the past two games have shown some positives, signs of growth and reasons to cheer.
Metu’s Moment & The Beautiful Setup
When De’Aaron Fox made his move towards the basket in the closing seconds of Wednesday night’s game, it seemed apparent that the guard was going right to the rack for the game-tying attempt.
Instead, Mavericks center Dwight Powell collapsed in on Fox from the weak-side to help defend the attempt, putting several defenders around the speedy guard.
Fox fired a cross-court dime into the corner where he found a wide-open Chimezie Metu, who then buried the game-winner and sent Golden 1 Center into a frenzy.
First, let’s start with the pass.
Fox has not been his 2020-21 self this season, at least not entirely. He had a rough start to the season, but as of November 22nd the 24-year-old has stepped up his game to a standard that was expected from the budding star (21.5 points, 4.2 assists, 49-percent shooting from the field over his past 15 games).
On Wednesday night, Fox was efficient from the field, scoring 16 points on seven-of-12 shooting. On the final drive of the night, it seemed as if he was going for a 13th field goal attempt, one that would either send the game to overtime or come up short, resulting in a loss.
Instead, Fox made the smart basketball play by finding Metu in the corner for a wide-open look. Not only is the pass impressive, it’s the fact that Fox had faith in Metu, a forward that is shooting 26.1-percent from three-point range this season.
It was a great moment for Metu, but Fox deserves some flowers for making a great play by reading the defense and slinging it into the corner for the win.
Tyrese Haliburton Is Becoming A Premier Playmaker
In his second NBA season, Tyrese Haliburton is proving that he is on the way to becoming on the league’s premier distributors.
As of December 30th, Haliburton is 9th in the NBA in assists (226) and 14th in assists per game (6.6) while also holding top-10 spots on the defensive end as well (fifth in steals and ninth in steals per game).
Over his last seven games, the 21-year-old is playing like an All-Star, averaging 21.1 points, 10.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game on a video-game-esque 50-percent shooting from the field, 47-percent from the three-point line and 91-percent from the free-throw stripe.
Seven games, six double-doubles. 72 assists over those seven games. Absurd.
Haliburton is creating offense whenever the ball is in his hands, whether it be finding Richaun Holmes for an alley-oop, threading the needle for an impressive transition dime to Marvin Bagley III or showing off his new ability to knock down step-back triples.
One thing that his mesmerizing about Haliburton’s game is his ability to asses a situation and make a decision of whether he’s going to pass or shoot the basketball while hanging in the air.
In Parks & Recreation basketball, they teach you not to jump to pass. “Don’t get caught in no-man’s land,” is what they would tell us, instructing young players not to get stuck in the air with nowhere to go.
Haliburton has turned the jump-pass into an art-form and it’s something that makes his game so unique.
The ability he has to both create a beautiful assist or change his mind and instead get a shot attempt up via floater or jumper is one that sets him apart from other guards in the league. It just isn’t something you see often.
Sacramento seems to have found its best distributor since Rajon Rondo’s lone 2015-16 season when he led the NBA in assists per game.
While Kings fans aren’t expected Haliburton to lead the league with 11-plus dimes per contest, it’s clear that the young guard has taken a massive leap during this stretch and is using his playmaking to put opposing teams on notice.
The Lineup We Have All Been Waiting For
It was a strange revelation that the lineup of De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes had never started a regular season game together prior to Tuesday night.
Five players that have been such a large part of this team’s rotation since the beginning of the 2020-21 season and not once had they all been in the same starting lineup until the past two games.
Fox, Haliburton, Barnes and Holmes have all had their respective spots in the starting lineup etched into stone this season.
The fourth spot has been a revolving door, with Moe Harkless, Chimezie Metu, Terrence Davis and Bagley all getting spot starts at different times this season.
For now, it looks like head coach Alvin Gentry is going to ride with this lineup as Sacramento holds a 2-0 record since shaking things up. Bagley, the most-recent addition to the lineup, appears to have tapped into a side of his game that hasn’t been seen over his four NBA seasons.
Which leads us to…
Marvin Bagley III’s Hustle
I’ve probably watched 131 of Marvin Bagley III’s 134 career games.
All of those games, the talent that Bagley possesses is evident. He’s an extremely talented basketball player, one that is still very young at the age of 22 years old. A player that can rebound with the best of them and has potential to be one of the better scorers around the rim in the NBA.
One thing that was not evident over most of those 134 games was unquestionable effort.
The past two games–you could even go as far back as December 4th, really–have shown a side of Marvin Bagley III that fans have been envisioning since draft day in 2018.
Bagley is hustling up and down the floor on every play, showcasing his improved defense, making smart decisions on the offensive end and most importantly, having fun while doing so.
The former Duke Blue Devil is playing team basketball and isn’t trying to do too much when the ball is in his hands, something that not only has helped improve his individual game, but the team as a whole.
Bagley scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds over 28 minutes on Wednesday, but his impact was valuable in so many ways, whether it be on defending Mavs forward Kristaps Porzingis, disrupting rebound scrums in the paint or getting down the floor in transition.
Over his past eight games, Bagley is averaging 10.1 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 45-percent from the field over just 22.6 minutes per contest.
The former number-two pick is finding himself more and more as each game passes, something that Gentry and the rest of the team should embrace as the season pushes on.
Earlier this season, Bagley said that it was important to him that he gets back to just enjoying the game of basketball and having fun out there on the floor. It’s clear that the fourth-year forward is enjoying himself, something that is paying dividends in his effort over this recent stretch.
Damian Jones Has Earned His Spot In The Rotation
Speaking of embracing a player that is pushing his way into the rotation, Damian Jones is likely to be Sacramento’s backup center for the foreseeable future.
“He’s earned his minutes. He’ll be the first (center) off of the bench,” Alvin Gentry said prior to Wednesday night’s game against Dallas.
One night after collecting a career-high 14 rebounds on Tuesday night against Oklahoma City, Jones had another efficient showing on Wednesday, scoring six points to go along with six rebounds off of the bench.
Jones’ presence is notable when he’s on the floor, a mobile 6’11 center with plenty of athleticism to put opposing defenses on notice.
Not only has Jones been a solid rim-protector and imposing scoring threat on the lob or around the rim, he has the ability to stretch the floor. The 26-year-old is shooting 43-percent on jump-shots and has converted three of his eight three-point attempts this season (37-percent).
While the Kings assuredly don’t envision Jones becoming a constant three-point option, the fact that the big man can space the floor if needed is just the cherry on top.
Jones has posted averages of 9.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 57-percent from the field and 33-percent from three-point range over his past six appearances.
Per 36 minutes this season, the center is averaging 14.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
Alex Len is out of COVID-19 Health & Safety protocols, but Jones has earned his shot at running the table as Sacramento’s backup center.
