A Royal Pain
Fansided

Sacramento Kings: 3 biggest takeaways from preseason play

By Jonathan Roberts

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 4: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings shoots the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during a pre-season game on October 4, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, 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 License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 4: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings shoots the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during a pre-season game on October 4, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, 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 License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY – JULY 2: Frank Mason III #10 of the Sacramento Kings reacts during the 2018 Summer League at the Golden 1 Center on July 2, 2018 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 License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – JULY 2: Frank Mason III #10 of the Sacramento Kings reacts during the 2018 Summer League at the Golden 1 Center on July 2, 2018 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 License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

What got into FM3? During the preseason, he not only played like a completely different player, but he played like somebody who genuinely deserves a spot on an NBA roster.

Over the course of six games Mason maintained fantastic efficiency, shooting 50 percent from the field, 61.5 percent from three and 95.5 percent from the free throw line.

Before going any further, let’s add his shooting statistics from last season. Over 52 games, FM3 shot 37.9 percent from the field, 36 percent from three and 81.7 percent from the free throw line.

Now obviously Mason isn’t going to shoot north of 60 percent from three over a full season and he likely won’t shoot north of 50 percent from the floor either but if he can shoot 40 percent from three and 45 percent from the floor, we could be looking at a potential draft-steal for the Kings.

Of course shooting percentages aren’t everything. On top of those, Mason scored 11.2 points per game, 2.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 turnovers per game in just 22.5 minutes a night.

Compared to the 2017-18 regular season, Mason doubled his assists and steals while adding nearly four points to his points per game average.

Will he sustain that in the regular season? It all depends on his role. Prior to preseason, Mason was likely on the outside looking into the rotation but after a stint with Team-USA over the summer and a fantastic showing early he’s all but guaranteed himself significant minutes.

Will he get the 22 he got in preseason? He certainly could, especially with Bogdan Bogdanovic still out. Last season he averaged 18.9 minutes so it wouldn’t be too big of a jump.

As it stands now, Mason is deserving of a bigger role in the regular season but it all depends on how ahead Coach Dave Joerger sees it.

We’ll revisit this at the end of October after the Kings play a few regular season games.

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