Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger: Defensive History and Expectations
By Tyler Watts
Opponent’s 3 Point Production
The Kings could not guard the 3 point line last season. Sacramento gave up the most 3 pointers made and 3 pointers attempted last season. Opponents sank 10.2 3’s per game against the Kings on 28.0 attempts. If you look at 3 point percentage, the Kings were the 7th worst team in the NBA allowing opponents to shoot 36.6%. Those numbers are just plain ugly, but let us see how Coach Joerger’s teams fared to see if he brings hope for this season.
Unfortunately, Coach Joerger’s Grizzlies did not fare well last season either. Only the Kings and the Houston Rockets gave up more 3 point attempts than Memphis and only Sacramento allowed more 3 point makes. If you view opponent 3 point percentage, the Grizzlies ranked just below the Kings as the 9th worst team in the NBA. It was an injury-ravaged team, so let us view his first 2 seasons as coach to see if this is a trend or more of an outlier season.
The Grizzlies were better, but not spectacular guarding 3’s in those seasons either. In 3 pointers attempted against they ranked 19th and 12th in the NBA. If you view 3 pointers made against, they ranked 18th and 13th. For the 3 point percentage against, they ranked 19th and 13th. He proved that he can get his teams to settle in around league average against 3’s for the season and even that would be a big improvement for the Kings.