Well Rested Kings Hit The Road
Nov 15, 2018, 12:00 AM | Updated: Jan 4, 2019, 11:36 am
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
By Franklin Cartoscelli – Sports 1140 KHTK
After finishing off the early portion of their schedule which included three back to backs, the Sacramento Kings can finally rest.
That is, until the next back to back.
Which, of course, is this weekend.
After knocking off the San Antonio Spurs on Monday for the first time since November of 2014, the Kings got the luxury of three full days of rest before hitting the road for a weekend back to back starting Friday night in Memphis before heading to Houston on Saturday.
Leader of Horde
Sacramento is 8-6, Bogdan Bogdanovic is back, and the Kings are feeling good. After missing the season’s first ten games, Bogdanovic has returned to help lead Sacramento’s bench unit in scoring. Bogdanovic led the way for the Kings on Monday with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting over 25 minutes.
With Buddy Hield continuing to score at a high level in the starting lineup, it will be interesting to see how coach Dave Joerger will handle the lineup now that Bogdanovic has returned.
Last season, Bogdanovic started 53 games at shooting guard while Hield started 12.
Either way, the Kings have their production at the shooting guard spot that they’ve waited years for.
Welcome Back!
Following Saturday’s loss to the Lakers, highly touted rookie Harry Giles was assigned to G-League affiliate Stockton.
Some fans took the news negatively, saying Giles hadn’t had a fair NBA shake before being sent down. Some reacted positively, with the mindset that some time in Stockton could pay dividends for the young big man.
The positive fans were absolutely right.
On Sunday in Stockton, Giles scored 30 points on 13-of-20 shooting over 23 minutes of action. After not playing for more than 9 minutes over the past nine games, Giles flourished in an opportunity with minutes.
Almost immediately, he was recalled by Sacramento for Monday’s games against the Spurs.
With backup center Kosta Koufos out with a sore calf, Giles was handed the backup duties behind starting center Willie Cauley-Stein.
Giles answered the call with career highs of 12 points and 6 rebounds over 15 minutes of play. While it was only one game in Stockton, it seemed to awaken confidence in Giles, who looked like a different player Monday night.
Per 36 minutes, Giles holds averages of 15.4 points and 10.5 rebounds.
Mini Road Trip
After closing out a 2-2 homestand, Sacramento hits the road for a quick two games before coming back home. The Kings first travel to Memphis on Friday to face a Grizzlies team that they defeated 97-92 on October 24th.
On Saturday, Sacramento faces the struggling Houston Rockets, who are looking to get back on track after limping out of the gates to a 6-7 start.
Coverage for both of those games can be found right here on Sports 1140 KHTK.
