Sacramento’s Bench Did Not Own
There was a lot of optimism that the Kings’ reserves could give their team a spark if needed. But at least from last night’s performance, it does not look good. When the starters for Sacramento were giving it to the Jazz, the bench could not do the same. In fact, the bench for the Kings actually did the opposite and coughed up the lead multiple times during the game.
I know that the injury of Bogdan Bogdanovic has the Kings thin at the moment, but there were players that the Kings hoped can provide good minutes off the bench who underperformed. Two players that were outstanding for the Kings in preseason were Harry Giles and Frank Mason III. Giles, who made his NBA debut yesterday, finished with just two points, one rebound, and one assist. Mason did not do any better as he scored three points and dished out zero assists.
If Sacramento’s second-unit players cannot make strides going forward, it will be a big problem. This team really needs to rely on other lineups to excel other than their starting five. But like I said, guys like Giles and Mason showed lots of promise during the preseason. They should get better as the season goes on.