Sacramento Kings: What The Starting Lineup Should Look Like
By Rafe Wong
Small Forward: Nemanja Bjelica
This may be a head-scratcher for some people. Yes, Nemanja Bjelica’s main position is forward, but he has experience playing small forward as well. And with the Kings being very thin at small forward, Bjelica is the best option right now, in my opinion.
Offensively, it makes sense to have Bjelica at the three. Having him on the court creates more spacing on the floor which opens up more opportunities for Sacramento to get easy scores. Bjelica is also versatile as he has the ability to create plays whether it is distributing the ball or scoring on his own.
Last season, Bjelica made over 46% of his shots from the floor, over 41% of his three-pointers, and 80% of his free-throw attempts. Defensively, Bjelica could be a liability. But on the other hand, what other players does Sacramento have that have proven they can be reliable as defenders?
Bjelica is the best option at small forward if the Kings want to be competitive. He proved last season to be an asset at small forward for Minnesota when Jimmy Butler was out, and I believe he can produce the same impact for Sacramento if given the opportunity.