Opinion: Disappointing Season So Far For Marco Belinelli
By Rafe Wong
When Marco Belinelli decided to sign with the Sacramento Kings this offseason fans were ecstatic. Throughout his tenure in the NBA, Belinelli has developed a reputation around the league as a sharpshooter, and many fans thought that the Kings have finally found their solution to the perimeter shooting woes they were suffering in the recent past.
Although the Kings perimeter shooting has greatly improved this season, as they are ranked 6th in the league in 3P% (shooting 36.2%), Belinelli has not been the reason why. If anything, he is hurting the team’s overall three-point statistics.
Right now Belinelli is shooting 38.7% overall from the court, and making just 31.9% of his three-point attempts. Those are subpar numbers. Another discouraging fact from Belinelli this season is that the numbers are getting worse as the season progresses.
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In the month of October (only 3 games), Belinelli shot 35.7% from beyond the arc. Next month in November he shot 35.4%. And saving the worst for last, Belinelli in December is currently shooting 24.4% from the three-point line.
It’s not that shots have come hard for Belinelli this season. He is getting plenty of attempts to showcase his range and a lot of them are high-percentage looks as well.
Shooting is the biggest reason why Belinelli is on the floor, but when he doesn’t have his shot going he is pretty much ineffective. If it weren’t for his reputation, he probably wouldn’t be getting much playing time at all, but because of his past, George Karl remains to have faith in him.
Overall, it has been a disappointing season for the newly acquired King. When Belinelli has shown to be reliable in his jump shot, the Kings add another element to their dynamic offense. However, when he shows that his shot is off he becomes a liability on both ends of the floor.
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I’m starting believe the ridiculous notion that players labeled “sharpshooters” who play for the Kings are cursed. Jimmer Fredette, Ben McLemore, and Nik Stauskas were all known as “marksmen” before coming to the Kings, and then have shown to be either incompetent or unreliable in making jump shots during their tenures.
Now it has moved on to veteran Belinelli, who won a freaking contest in making three pointers, now facing those same struggles shooting the ball.
Hopefully he can get his rhythm back and be the player that the Kings front office expected him to be once he signed. If not, it will be a long season for the new Kings two guard.