Sacramento Kings: 3 goals for Skal Labissiere

SACRAMENTO, CA - JANUARY 2: Skal Labissiere #7 of the Sacramento Kings gets introduced into the starting lineup against the Charlotte Hornets on January 2, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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SACRAMENTO, CA – FEBRUARY 24: Julius Randle /

Up the rebounding numbers

Skal Labissiere is a 6-11 power forward and averaged under 5 rebounds in 20 minutes per game. That, quite simply, won’t do. The advanced numbers don’t paint a nicer picture either.

Last season Skal ranked 95th in the NBA in defensive rebound percentage, 45th in offensive rebounding percentage and 72nd in overall rebound percentage. Now, a lot of that can be attributed to Skal not being strong enough to battle for boards, but there’s clearly room for improvement there.

Labissiere looks noticeably bigger this offseason, so we’ll see if a lack of strength was truly the case or not. Regardless, he should be looking to average at least 5 rebounds per game but even that seems too low for him.

A better target would be around 7-8 rebounds per game, something that would give him plenty of leverage in contract talks.

A 3-4 rebound per game jump might seem high, but if the weight gain he’s showing off is legit it might not be as tall of a task as it seems. Not only that, but he is heading into his 3rd year in the league. With that, his basketball IQ should increase and he should be able to better position himself to grab rebounds.

Couple a stronger frame with an increased intelligence when it comes to rebounding positions and he could be primed for big year on the glass.

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