Sacramento Kings: Youngsters Commit To Faster Pace In Preseason Opener

PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 1: The Sacramento Kings are seen against the Phoenix Suns during a pre-season game on October 1, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 1: The Sacramento Kings are seen against the Phoenix Suns during a pre-season game on October 1, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Sacramento Kings played against the Phoenix Suns tonight, and they showed the world that they are committed to running a faster and more efficient offense.

Tonight, the Sacramento Kings began their preseason as they faced off against the Phoenix Suns. As a result, the purple and white were able to earn the victory by a score of 106-102.

There were a ton of reasons to be excited for this matchup if you were a Kings fan. But maybe the most intriguing part of this game was how Sacramento was going to perform on offense. The main topic of training camp was how committed the Kings were to running a faster offense this season.

With one game in the books, here is what I saw from the guys wearing purple.

Analysis

Based on my eye test, the Kings were definitely motivated to push the pace on offense. With the youngsters getting the majority of the minutes, a lot of running and urgency was shown from the team.

As a result of a faster pace, the Kings’ offense was entertaining during spurts of the match. Guys like De’Aaron Fox and Yogi Ferrell especially thrived as they combined for 38 points, eight assists, and six rebounds while shooting 14-24 from the court.

Not only were the facilitators great for Sacramento, but the bigs were solid as well. Some of these players were Willie Cauley-Stein who recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds, Skal Labissiere who scored nine points, and Harry Giles who recorded 14 points and six rebounds.

Conclusion

The main takeaway from this game has to be the direction Sacramento took with their offense. Although the pace of their offense was not the fastest, the Kings did run when the opportunities came which is all I can hope for from this team.

Hopefully, the Kings continue this motivation to speed the offense up going forward. Not only will it make their offense more efficient this season, but it will entertain their beloved fans.

Schedule