Prediction: A Better Defensive Ben McLemore

On a summer day in 2013, the Sacramento Kings invested their first-round draft pick on Ben McLemore out of the University of Kansas, and Kings fans were ecstatic.

During his tenure in college, McLemore was a star player. His crazy athleticism and ability to hit perimeter shots at the collegiate level gave the perspective that the Kings found their two-guard for the future.

Since that optimistic day three years ago it hasn’t been ideal for McLemore and the Kings. Throughout his career so far, McLemore has displayed a wild level of inconsistency which has created doubt in the organization whether McLemore should be a player to pursue going forward. My belief is that he should be.

A bold prediction that I have pertaining the Kings this upcoming season is that McLemore will become a defensive asset.

There isn’t much to support this accusation. In the three years that McLemore has played in the NBA, he has recorded defensive ratings of 107.6, 104.5, and 105.4. But despite what history has said about the former Jayhawk, I think this is the season where McLemore showcases his true defensive potential.

Athleticism

First off, McLemore is a superior athlete. His athleticism was one of the main reasons why scouts believed McLemore could be a potential All-Star in the first place. Being a supreme athlete is a popular attribute to have in becoming a lockdown defender, and McLemore definitely has that type of athleticism.

Culture Change

Secondly, although McLemore hasn’t shown much success on the defensive end, there was a time in his NBA career where he did display productive defense: In the beginning of his 2014-2015 campaign.

During that season for the Kings, the team was coached by Mike Malone, who made defense an important focus for the team’s success. Malone’s emphasis on defense rubbed on McLemore in his second year in the NBA, and as a result, he became a solid defender.

But when Malone was fired in the middle of the season, the Kings and McLemore put less importance on defending the ball, which created a halfhearted McLemore when playing defense.

What makes me confident about this season is that the Kings have Dave Joerger as their head coach, another mentor that focuses on defense. I believe that Joerger can get through to McLemore and have the 23-year old go back to making defense a priority in his game.

Summary

Overall, my reasons for why I think McLemore will improve as a defender this season is because of  his gifted ability to become a lockdown defender and that he is guided by the coaching staff to making defense a significant focus in his game.

Hopefully, my accusation pertaining to the Kings’ shooting guard is correct. The Kings mightily struggled last season on the defensive end, allowing over 109 points per contest to their opponents. The main reason for their defensive struggles was due to the perimeter defense, a group that consisted of McLemore.

If McLemore is able to make an improvement as a defender, which he has the tools to do, he can by himself dramatically upgrade the defense for the Kings this time around.