Dec 21, 2014; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore (23) after scoring a basket against Sacramento Kings forward Carl Landry (24) during the first quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Shooting Guard Rotation:
Starter: Ben McLemore – 32 MPG
Darren Collison – 6 MPG
Marco Belinelli – 6 MPG
Seth Curry – 4 MPG
Collison and Curry continue to split backup minutes at the shooting guard spot. I see them being at either depending on which starting guard is in–if it’s Rondo they’ll be at shooting guard, if it’s McLemore they’ll be at the point. Marco Belinelli steals some minutes here as well, considering there’re two solid small forwards who will eat a lot of minutes there.
Ben McLemore is the obvious choice to start here, and I don’t see Collison or Belinelli giving him any trouble for the job. Little Mac has gotten steadily better as his career has gone on and hopefully this season will be yet another example of that.
The starting job at shooting guard is his to lose, and I don’t think he will. His durability helps a lot–he’s yet to miss an NBA game in his two years in the Association. Being that reliable makes it a ton harder to lose your spot, as does the raw talent McLemore possesses. Don’t expect to see anybody sneak up on him just yet.
One thing that makes this exercise both fun and challenging is that a lot of players on this Sacramento Kings depth chart don’t have solidified positions. I would be surprised if we didn’t see a lot of different and funky lineups from George Karl during games–basketball is becoming position-less and this Kings roster is proof.
Next: Small Forwards