Sacramento Kings: Best Rotations- Three-Point Production
By Tyler Watts
The Sacramento Kings enter the new season with many new faces. This article discusses the Kings best rotation when they need a three-pointer. This is the first installment in our best rotations series.
The Sacramento Kings will use a plethora of rotations over their 82 games of regular season competition. Today, we are going to set up a scenario and discuss the best lineup for the Kings to vanquish that scenario.
Scenario
Kings are down by three points after the opponent just sank a free throw. Kings Coach Dave Joerger calls a timeout. There are five seconds left on the clock and the Kings need to hit a three-pointer to send the game to overtime. The Kings have their entire current roster healthy and chomping at the bit to enter the game. Who should Coach Joerger call on?
Below is my opinion of the Kings best lineup for three-point production.
Point Guard- Darren Collison
This was a tough selection as Ty Lawson and Jordan Farmar are both quality three-point shooters. I ended up choosing Darren Collison for three reasons. First, Collison shoots 37.4% from distance for his career, tied with Farmar for the best of the group. Second, Collison made 40.1% of his 217 attempted three-pointers last season. Finally, Collison is a career 46.5% corner three-point shooter. Clearly, Collison can stroke the three-pointers at a very high clip and is a great addition to the court any time the Kings are hunting a triple.
Shooting Guard- Arron Afflalo
The no-brainer pick was Arron Afflalo. Mister Afflalo is a career 38.5% shooter from downtown. That is the best the Kings have to offer and one of the best in the NBA. He also sinks 42.4% for his career on corner threes. This is the man I would be trying to free up and get the ball in his hands to take the shot.
Small Forward- Omri Casspi
Omri Casspi is a great three point shooter in his own right. Casspi is a career 36.8% shooter from three-point territory. I would probably spot Casspi up in the corner for this particular scenario considering he is 42.2% corner three point maker. Below is a highlight video of last season’s duel between Casspi and Steph Curry. One of my favorite games of the season. Enjoy.
Power Forward- Anthony Tolliver
The second new Kings acquisition in this rotation is Anthony Tolliver. Tolliver is known as a stretch four, so he fits perfectly into our three point production lineup. A career 35.7% shooter from downtown and 39.3% on corner threes make him a great addition to this rotation.
Center- DeMarcus Cousins
DeMarcus Cousins still makes this rotation for me and here is why. Cousins made his threes last year at a 33.3% clip. All stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference. Granted, that is below league average, but this man is a beast with the ball in his hands, can set screens, and create offense.
Maybe you need to get the inbounds pass in because the referee’s count is getting dangerously close to a turnover, who better to throw the ball into then a 6’11 man who weighs 270 pounds? The beauty of that is he can make a triple or pass off to the open man to sink the shot.
Given the scenario, I could not leave Cousins off the floor despite there being higher percentage three point shooters on the bench.
Summary
This article gives you a glimpse of the potential lineup the Kings could use when they are in desperate need of a three-pointer. The Kings are well-equipped with high percentage three-point shooters this season. I chose Darren Collison, Arron Afflalo, Omri Casspi, Anthony Tolliver, and DeMarcus Cousins as the best three-point rotation for the Kings this season.
Next: Predicting the Sacramento Kings Depth Chart
If the scenario I laid out in the beginning actually happens it would be interesting to see what play Coach Joerger drew up. I would personally try to free up Collison and Casspi in the corners or Afflalo above the break. Those are the Kings highest percentage shots and hope they ball finds the bottom of the net.