A Royal Pain
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Opinion: Time To Unleash Seth Curry

By Rafe Wong

Feb 26, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) and guard Seth Curry (30) look on from the court against the Los Angeles Clippers during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Clippers won 117-107. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 26, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) and guard Seth Curry (30) look on from the court against the Los Angeles Clippers during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Clippers won 117-107. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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It has been rough for the Sacramento Kings this season, but there have been some bright spots detected throughout the ugly mess.

DeMarcus Cousins improved perimeter shooting, the rejuvenation of Rajon Rondo, Willie Cauley-Stein’s progression, and more. This “more” contains the play of Seth Curry.

Yes, let us talk about Seth for a minute.

Last offseason the Kings signed Curry as a bottom depth chart player that could be an efficient shooter when the opportunity came. Having said that it’s fair to say that Curry has exceeded the low expectations that were given to him originally.

Throughout the little time he has been given, Curry has proven that he belongs in the league and that he can make positive contributions on both ends of the court, plus has sometimes outplayed his teammates that play the same position as himself.

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With that being said, the point being made here is that it is time to unleash Curry and give him consistent AND significant minutes going forward with the season.

For this Kings team to be successful, what is needed most out of their two guards is someone that can make shots from the perimeter and play defense. Seth has shown to be the most consistent in these areas compared to the other shooting guards.

Curry has only made 28 appearances out of the 57 games the Kings have played this season, and out of those 28 games has only averaged a mere 10 minutes. In those 10 minutes, he has averaged 4 points a game while shooting 46.1% from the field overall and 44.4% from three. When comparing the numbers to other Kings shooting guards, Curry’s results stand on top.

Ben McLemore, who mostly gets to start at shooting guard, is averaging 7.5 points off 20 minutes of play per game and is shooting 44.2% from the field and 36.4% from three. Marco Belinelli is averaging 10.5 points off of 25 minutes a game while shooting 38% from the court and 29.7% from three. And lastly, James Anderson is averaging 2.2 points off playing 10.9 minutes a game is shooting 31.3% from the field and 26.3% from three.

Offensively, Curry’s shooting numbers are better than his competition, yet all three have appeared in more games and have played more minutes than the former Blue Devil.

Defensively, Curry has also shown to be more of an asset than his position teammates. In an interview last month, George Karl stated that Curry in his mind was the best perimeter defender on the roster (per FoxSports). This statement has shown to be valid based on what has been seen on the court.

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Even though Curry isn’t considered at all a “lockdown” defender, he is pesky. When he plays defense he is always active, and by demonstrating sheer effort has been better than any other two guards on the team in sticking with his opponents. For a team thats perimeter defense is at the bottom of the league you would assume your best perimeter defender would play more.

Overall, Curry has been given little opportunity to showcase his worth, but during those small doses, he has earned the chance to show that he could potentially be a significant rotation player for his team.

It would be unwarranted to say right now that Seth Curry is the best option at the shooting guard position, but Seth, the team, and fans all deserve to see what he can be when given more playing time.

With 25 games left in the regular season, the Kings need to find a spark. They are currently behind the 8th seed in the West by 4 games and will need help in the shooting guard position to make any ground. It’s time to put Curry in the pot that is the Sacramento Kings and see if anything flares up.

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