Sacramento Kings Prevail Against Milwaukee Bucks, Takeaways From The Game
By Rafe Wong
The Sacramento Kings won their first summer league game tonight as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks by a score of 69-65. Listed down below are some key points to take away from the game.
Advancement
With tonight’s win for the Kings, they will now advance to the second round of the summer league tournament. Their next opponent will be against the Dallas Mavericks (no date or time determined yet). This matchup has the chance to be a great one. If De’Aaron Fox is healthy to play next game, he will be going up against Dallas’ prospect Dennis Smith Jr, a point guard battle worth watching.
Sophomore Redemption
After three games, big men Skal Labissiere and Georgios Papagiannis played up to their expectations. For the game, Papagiannis recorded 17 points and 13 rebounds and Labissiere scored 19 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.
With the absence of Fox, Buddy Hield, and Malachi Richardson, the Kings needed Georgios and Skal to play effectively tonight. If it weren’t for the duo’s production, the Kings would most likely be playing their next game in the consolation bracket.
Down Goes Mason
With Fox out due to a minor ankle injury tonight, Frank Mason III had the chance to showcase his worth to the Kings. Unfortunately, in the first four minutes of the game, Mason suffered an ankle injury which sidelined him for the rest of the contest.
It’s unknown whether Mason will play next game for the Kings, but in my opinion, it seems unlikely. If Mason is out for the next game, the point guard position becomes very thin for the Kings. And if Fox is also on the injury list too, it doesn’t look pretty for Sacramento when they face off against Dallas.
Shooting Struggles
A big weakness for the Kings this summer league is their inability to make jump shots. That trend continued tonight as well. For the game, the Kings overall only made 23.5% of their three-point shots while making just 59.1% of their shots from the free-throw line.
To be fair, the Kings were without some of their key shooters in Hield and Richardson, but the team as a collective whole still needs to find a way to make their shots. If not, there is little to no chance that the team will come up on top as the summer league champs.