Rounding Out Sacramento’s Big Three
By Zack Zolmer
Jan 28, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Sacramento Kings point guard Darren Collison (7) goes to the basket against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Kings 119-102. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Darren Collison?
It’s probably premature to slap newcomer Rondo on the top of the depth chart considering the incumbent’s performance last year. In his first season in Sacramento, starter Darren Collison was an above-average complement to a starting cast of scorers, who needed a game-managing point guard capable of deferring mostly, but scoring when necessary.
That’s exactly what Collison provided. He was consistent, not flashy, on both ends of the floor, leading an active defense and grind-it-out offense during early stretches of last season.
Then Michael Malone was fired, and everyone suffered. Then Collison injured a core muscle, and missed the rest of the season. He played his last game on February 5 in a 23-point loss to Dallas, five games before George Karl would begin coaching the Sacramento Kings.
Undoubtedly, when healthy, Collison was Sacramento’s third-best player.
Here’s last season’s shot chart:
Darren Collison’s 2014-15 NBA Shot Chart, via Vorped.
Or, more simply:
Darren Collison’s Simplified 2014-15 NBA Shot Chart, via Vorped.
For the most part, Collison coupled a diverse shot variety with impressive consistency. He beat defenders to the rim in transition, converted pull-up jumpers out of pick-and-roll sets, and could spot-up from behind the arc when the exploits of Cousins and Gay demanded most of the opposition’s attention. He did it as the 41st-ranked point guard in usage percentage at 20.8 percent, which speaks to his efficiency.
But can your team’s third-best player be a backup point guard? VP Vlade didn’t hand Rajon Rondo $10 million to come off the bench, and Rajon Rondo sure as hell didn’t commit to Sacramento to be anything but a starter. Sure, Rondo and Collison figure to play alongside one another in some small lineups (George Karl has a history of doing so with his PGs), but it’s very unlikely Collison starts at one of the two guard spots given his relatively small stature and proven effectiveness at leading a bench unit.
Ultimately, it comes down to this: A decorated All-Star career aside, Rondo is coming off one of his worst seasons, during a treacherous time in his career arc for someone with an extensive injury history (transitioning into his 30s), now playing with largely-unfamiliar players for an unfamiliar organization.
Meanwhile, Collison is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, having previously played with Ben McLemore and Omri Casspi and Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins. Until Rondo separates himself, you have to give Collison the respect he rightly deserves.
So… yes, I guess. Sacramento’s third-best player can be its backup point guard, and, right now, he is.
More from A Royal Pain
- 3 Ways Chris Duarte improves the Kings chances in 2023-24
- 5 Players the Sacramento Kings never should have signed
- Bleacher Report crazily lists Kings’ All-Star as “most overrated NBA player”
- Kings and Heat fans clash on Twitter to debate All-Star players
- Sacramento Kings’ Chris Duarte playing in 2023 FIBA World Cup