The Kings have an increased emphasis on offensive rebounds in 24-25

While the Sacramento Kings are expected to run similar schemes to last year, there's been an emphasis on improving their offensive rebounding.

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Oct 7, 2024, 5:51 PM

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While the Sacramento Kings are expected to run similar offensive and defensive schemes to those they showed last season, adjustments are always made from year to year.

One of the clear points of emphasis talked about throughout training camp has been crashing the offensive glass.

They finished 2023-24, averaging 10.8 offensive rebounds per game, 18th in the NBA. As Domantas Sabonis pointed out at Monday’s practice, they started crashing more aggressively towards the end of last season, as evident in their 11.9 offensive rebounds (5th) post-All-Star break.

“We added a different crash zone last year towards the end of the season, and our transition defense was still number one,” he said. “So, coaches want us to do it from the jump.”

A crash zone is a predetermined area of the court where, if an offensive player fills that spot as a shot goes up, they are expected to pursue the rebound or ‘crash.’ For a lot of last season, the corners were one of their crash zones.

“If you’re in that area,” Mike Brown said, “You’ve got to go and we’ll figure out the transition afterward because we actually think it helps us in transition defense.”

When executed correctly, chasing an offensive rebound can limit the opposing team’s opportunity on the break because the team must focus on securing the defensive glass before leaking out.

Brown and offensive coordinator Jay Triano are asking for a relentless, game-long pursuit in that aspect, hypothesizing it could significantly improve their offensive efficiency and opportunities for “dagger threes” or three-point attempts coming after offensive rebounds. It’s one of the most efficient points-per-possession shots in basketball.

Even if a player cannot fully secure the board, simply getting a hand on it could lead to a favorable outcome for the Kings.

“Who knows what could happen when we get our hands on it,” Brown said. “We could come up with it, you can hit it, and it could go off somebody’s leg, and now it’s our ball out of bounds. There are a lot of good things.”

“You can take somebody’s heart, or you can impose your will on somebody just by being consistent, doing it every single time and crashing is one of them, just like running the floor,” he continued. “So, do it every single time, or get used to doing it every single time… and pretty soon you’re going to be imposing your will on people, and they will quit just because you’re imposing your will to do the small things.”

To highlight the importance, the Kings coaching staff made offensive rebounds count for two points in some Monday afternoon drills.

Last year, Sacramento scored 1.16 points per possession on offensive rebounds, which was good for eight in the association.

With the athleticism and hustle of their rostered players, it will be intriguing to see how much they can improve their second-chance opportunities while maintaining high-level transition defense.

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

The Kings will undergo a week of practice and full-contact workouts before opening the preseason portion of their 2024-25 schedule at home against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, October 9th.

Be sure to catch all of the action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM with Kings vs. Warriors set to tip off at 7:00 PM PDT.