Kings deadline additions gaining comfort, making an impact
After getting more games and practices together, the Sacramento Kings new additions have increased their production recently.
Watch: Kings HC Doug Christie On Sacramento's Improved Bench Unit, Keeping Positive Momentum Into Road Trip | 8 mins
Re-working a team mid-season is always tricky in the NBA. Even more so when that includes removing your leading scorer and integrating another star-caliber talent like the Sacramento Kings did just weeks ago.
Zach LaVine’s first game with the team was 20 days ago. Yet, between road trips and the All-Star break, Doug Christie’s group had few opportunities to practice and integrate him along with Jake LaRavia, Jonas Valanciunas, and, most recently, Markelle Fultz.
After a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday, their first game back from the break, Christie called for their new centerpiece to stop trying to fit in and just be himself.
“We need Zach [LaVine] to be aggressive and be the guy we’ve always known him to be,” he said after the disappointing loss.
That message seems to have been heard loud and clear.
In the following game, LaVine recorded a season-high 42 points on 16/19 shooting, including 8/9 from three, in their 130-88 pummeling of the visiting Charlotte Hornets. While that level of elite production can’t be expected nightly, it’s closer to his norm than his three instances of failing to surpass 20 points in his seven prior games with the Kings.
“It’s good [to have a night like that],” LaVine said after Monday’s win. “For me, everything is just timing, rhythm, and comfortability. So, people have been telling me to be myself for the longest. Obviously, I’m coming in, trying to figure where I’m at and what to do, but the more I get more familiar, I’m starting to get it.”
“I’ve always been someone that thinks experience is always the best teacher,” he continued. “As much practice time as you get, you need to actually have it in live action.”
To his point, eight games is extremely early into his Sacramento tenure, but the 29-year-old is starting to show why they brought him in.
“(LaVine and I) talked in the last couple of days in these practices about how he likes the ball,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “He likes it differently than other guys, and I’m glad he spoke up… he likes the ball passed to him so he can hold the ball and create. What I do with the other guys, he prefers it a different way. So, that’s good to know.”
Of course, he’s not the only new addition; LaRavia, Valanciunas, and Fultz are also working through the same process.
“I think it’s going to get even better,” Fultz said after Monday’s game. “This is my second game in a long time. With that comes continuing to get in better shape, continuing to just go out there and play and learn my teammates.”
The Kings’ offense used to falter when Sabonis headed to the bench, but Valanciunas provides a backup center they can confidently rely on while their star center rests. In his 100 minutes of playing in royal purple threads, Sacramento has posted a 116.4 offensive rating, higher than their season total of 115.5.
“It’s amazing,” Sabonis said. “I can go on the bench and relax, not be worried that I’ve got to come in early, and last night was an example of that. I only had to play 27 minutes. So, it was good.”
The nature of a blowout victory played a part in Sabonis’s tallying his second-lowest minute total of the season, but their growing trust in the second unit is apparent. “Being able to depend on a guy like Jonas on a night-to-night basis is huge,” Christie said.
LaRavia, acquired via trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, didn’t take a shot against the Hornets but still earned his first defensive player of the game honors thanks to his efforts on LaMelo Ball.
“Offensively, like I didn’t shoot a shot last night, so I’m still figuring what my role is for that,” the 6’8 wing said Tuesday. “Finding the open shot, open spot, stuff like that. But, for the most part, I don’t really care, and I’m not too worried about offensively. It’ll come when it comes. My biggest thing is just to go out there and play hard and impact winning in whatever way I can.”
When defensive pest Keon Ellis was ruled unable to return in the second half, LaRavia and Fultz were the next men up.
The three new bench additions simultaneously entered Monday night’s action late in the first quarter, providing size and physicality to a Kings team that has lacked that versatility for years.
“All three of their abilities to what we call make them feel us, I think, is super big because that’s a staple of who I am and what I want,” Christie said after Tuesday’s practice. “They need to feel us immediately when we come onto the court and we’re still a work in progress at it, but those guys definitely help (with the physicality).”
Taking off to Utah, where they’ll begin a four-game road trip with a matchup against the Jazz, they’ll look to continue growing together. Turnovers, spacing, and three-point volume were emphasized as areas that needed improvement as repetitions with this new group stacked up.
However, the Western Conference standings will not be forgiving of learning mistakes and growing pains, especially for this Sacramento team, which is currently the 10th seed.
Nobody knows that better than 15-year veteran DeMar DeRozan, who expressed the importance of this final stretch after Monday’s dominant victory.
“Every single game from here on out is super important. This is where everything matters. We’ve got to take it one game at a time, whether it’s on the road or at home,” he said. “We need everything we can get, starting with Utah.”
After his time with LaVine in Chicago, which didn’t go as desired, the duo feels they have unfinished business and a chance to continue climbing with Sacramento’s deeper, new-look roster.
More Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
Following a blockbuster trade that sent star guard De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs and two-time All-Star wing Zach LaVine to the Sacramento Kings, it was fair to expect some growing pains for the Beam Team’s new acquisition.
LaVine, a volume scorer who entered his Kings tenure having shot 44 percent from beyond the three-point line this season with the Chicago Bulls, struggled to find a rhythm to start his time in a Sacramento uniform.
In his first seven appearances with the Kings, LaVine shot just 26 percent from long distance–a mark that loomed large as Sacramento searched for consistency in that category.
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When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
The Sacramento Kings will embark on a four-game road trip that begins on Wednesday night against the lowly Utah Jazz.
Sacramento is looking for a clean four-game regular season series sweep of the Jazz after winning the first three games against Utah this season, including a 141-97 throttling at Golden 1 Center on December 8th.
Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Utah Jazz drama right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before action tips off at 6:00 PM PT from downtown Salt Lake City.
Upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 Sacramento Kings
- Wednesday, February 26th – @ Utah Jazz – 6:00 PM PT
- Saturday, March 1st – @ Houston Rockets – 5:00 PM PT
- Monday, March 3rd – @ Dallas Mavericks – 5:30 PM PT
- Wednesday, March 5th – @ Denver Nuggets – 6:00 PM PT
- Friday, March 7th – vs. San Antonio Spurs – 7:00 PM PT
Thank you for reading sactownsports.com. Follow us on Twitter and Google News, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Sacramento is looking for a clean four-game regular season series sweep of the Jazz after winning the first three games against Utah this season, including a 141-97 throttling at Golden 1 Center on December 8th.
Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Utah Jazz drama right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before action tips off at 6:00 PM PT from downtown Salt Lake City.
Upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 Sacramento Kings
- Wednesday, February 26th – @ Utah Jazz – 6:00 PM PT
- Saturday, March 1st – @ Houston Rockets – 5:00 PM PT
- Monday, March 3rd – @ Dallas Mavericks – 5:30 PM PT
- Wednesday, March 5th – @ Denver Nuggets – 6:00 PM PT
- Friday, March 7th – vs. San Antonio Spurs – 7:00 PM PT
Thank you for reading sactownsports.com. Follow us on Twitter and Google News, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
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