Sacramento Kings Rely Heavily On "Big 3" For Wins

At the beginning of the season, the Sacramento Kings expressed their desires in finally breaking the franchise’s notorious streak of being absent of the playoffs for what has been now 9 consecutive seasons.

So far this season the Kings have not been good. With a record of 25-36, the purple and white are currently in the 10th seed of the Western Conference being 5 games back from the 8th seed to the Houston Rockets.

The Kings still have 21 games left in the season, and although it looks like that their season will end without clinching a playoff berth, technically the team is still alive.

If the Kings are going to make an epic run and finally earn that playoff seed that the Sacramento community has been craving for, it looks like the Kings “Big 3” will have to put the team on their backs.

For Sacramento, their “Big 3” consists of DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, and Rudy Gay. Throughout this season, the trio has shown that they are the biggest contributors to their team, which means they also determine the team’s fate in games.

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When looking at the split statistics for each player on the roster, most of them have similar numbers whether the Kings win or lose. But when looking at the numbers of the “Big 3” there are significant differences.

DeMarcus Cousins: DeMarcus Cousins this season is having a monster year by averaging 27.1 points and 11.4 rebounds this season. A walking double-double.

Although the stats look pretty for Cousins, they are even prettier to look at in the games in which the Kings have won.

When the Kings have won this season, Cousins is averaging 30 points and 12.7 rebounds a game. He is also shooting 49.6% from the field and 44.3% from the perimeter.

When DeMarcus is on his game the Kings are a lot more competitive, but there are times when he will struggle which will cause his numbers and team to fall.

In losses, Cousins is averaging 24.8 points and 10.4 rebounds a game. He is also is shooting 41.2% from the floor and 30.4% from the perimeter. (per ESPN Stats)

Rajon Rondo: Rajon Rondo has rejuvenated his career this season with the Kings and has proven to be a main factor the success that they have achieved this season.

Dec 28, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Rajon Rondo (9) is helped up by forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) and forward Rudy Gay (8) after being called for a foul against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

When the Kings are able to get the victory in games, Rondo is averaging 14.3 points, 12.3 assists, and 6.8 rebounds a game. He is also shooting 49.5% from the field overall and 41.4% from the three-point line.

In losses, Rondo’s number are lower by recording 10.1 points, 11.8 assists, and 5.9 rebounds a game. He is shooting 41.4% from the court and 30.4% from the perimeter. (per ESPN Stats)

Rudy Gay: Rudy Gay has proven throughout his career that he is a scoring machine and has shown that when he is able to put the ball in the bucket that the Kings can be a good team.

In wins, Gay is averaging 20.3 points and 6.4 rebounds a game off shooting 53.8% from the floor and 34.2% from the perimeter.

In losses, Gay is averaging just 15.8 points a game off of shooting 42.9% shooting and 37.5% from the perimeter. (per ESPN Stats)

Final Thoughts: Don’t get me wrong. Although the stats lower for the Kings “Big 3” in losses this season, they are still doing their parts in helping their team in trying to win.

The main point of this comparison of their numbers between wins and losses is that the Kings rely too much on the team’s main trio in order to win games.

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Although Cousins, Rondo, and Gay all have star-caliber talent, they are going to be games where the trio will be off their A-game, and when that time comes, the Kings will need the support of other teammates in order to win games at a more frequent rate.

Players like Darren Collison have answered the bell to that. Throughout parts of the season players like Omri Casspi, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Kosta Koufos have too. But for the most part, the supporting cast for the Kings has been mediocre at best.

For the Kings to be able to find success going forward, they need their roster from the top-down to play more productively and consistently when they get their numbers called onto the court.

When the Kings have won games this season it is usually due to the “Big 3” bringing their A-game, but that also means that when the Kings trio does not play at a very high level that a loss is close to inevitable.

When you look at teams like the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and Oklahoma City Thunder they do have star players on their roster, but their squad also consist of players that do their specific roles at an exceptional level.

So what the Kings are doing now, relying too much on their three best players, is a recipe that will not be successful for this team going forward. Other players on the team need to play at a higher level and become more consistent for this team to eventaually make the playoffs.

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Sacramento Kings Rely Too Much On “Big 3” For Wins

By Rafe Wong | Mar 7, 2016

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