Sacramento’s Starters Owned
Going into the opener, it was unknown what the starting five would be for the Kings. But once Scott Moak announced it during the pregame festivities, it was clear. The Kings decided to go with De’Aaron Fox, Yogi Ferrell, Buddy Hield, Nemanja Bjelica, and Willie Cauley-Stein, and this was a great decision by head coach Dave Joerger.
Like I mentioned in the previous slide, the Kings played their best basketball at the beginning of the first and second halves of the game. In the first quarter, the Kings’ starters put a beating on the Jazz which had the purple and white up by 16 during a point in the period. To start the third quarter, where the Kings trailed by 13 points, the starters prevailed again as they rallied back into the game and even took the lead for a brief time as well.
No doubt that the group of Fox, Ferrell, Hield, Bjelica, and Cauley-Stein was the best lineup the Kings displayed last night. Everyone had a positive number in their +/- and the group combined for 93 points, 26 rebounds, and 15 assists. With the exception of Ferrell, who shot 43% (3-7) from the floor, every starter made at least 50% of their shot attempts.
There may be some hope, after all, Kings fans. If Joerger opts to play this lineup going forward and they continue to dominate like yesterday, the league better watch out.