A Royal Pain
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Sacramento Kings Rookie Report: Bagley Continues to Shine

By Ryan Ritter

PORTLAND, OR - OCTOBER 12: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Sacramento Kings before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on October 12, 2018 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. 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 Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - OCTOBER 12: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Sacramento Kings before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on October 12, 2018 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. 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 Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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In the second full week of games for the Sacramento Kings, Marvin Bagley continues to impress, while Harry Giles is non-existent. The Rookie Report looks into why.

The Sacramento Kings had an incredible week recently, going 3-0 against the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, and Atlanta Hawks. One of the most thrilling storylines regarding the Kings right now is the continued production of Marvin Bagley III who is coming off of the bench.

However, it has been equally as disappointing watching Harry Giles get off to such a slow start after over a year of hype. This week, the Rookie Report takes a look at just how good Bagley has been in his first couple of weeks, as well as why Giles has sputtered so far.

As always, the Rookie Report considers a week as Sunday-Saturday.  As a result, this report is only looking at the games against the Heat, Magic, and Hawks.

On to the Rookie Report!

Marvin Bagley

Weekly Stats: 11.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.7 stls, 1.0 blks, 54.2% FG, 75.0% 3PT, 75.0% FT, 21.3 mpg

Overall Stats: 13.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.8 stls, 1.1 blks, 55.4% FG, 55.6% 3PT, 60.6% FT, 23.3 mpg

Advanced Stats: 19.0 PER, 60.0% TS, 15.1% TRB, 6.4% AST, 4.0% BLK, 23.1% USG, ORtg 109, DRtg 108

Bagley had another excellent week, putting together an impressive line in limited minutes. The highlight of the week for him was likely his Euro-step move early in the second quarter against the Hawks (skip to 0:16 on that video to see it in all its glory).

Bagley continues to make the most of his reserve role this year. To get an idea of how well he’s been doing off the bench, let’s explore his per-36 numbers.  Per-36’s aren’t always super accurate as they don’t take into account things like fatigue or regression to the mean. But just for fun, let’s see what Bagley’s stats look like when prorated over a starter’s minutes:

20.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.2 stls, 1.7 blks, 55.4% FG, 60.6% FT

I mean, Bagley obviously has flaws in his game, and there are perhaps other players in his draft class that are likely to have more illustrious careers. But Bagley might have managed to find a good situation for himself at the top of the draft. A fast-paced offense coupled with a smaller role is allowing him to develop at a smooth pace. When he takes his spot as a permanent starter, whether it is this year or next, him playing alongside De’Aaron Fox could be a real problem for the league going forward. Stay tuned.

Harry Giles III

Weekly Stats: 4.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 1.0 stls, 0.0 blks, 66.7% FG, 0% 3PT, 0% FT, 5.5 mpg

Season to Date: 3.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.7 stls, 0.4 blks, 35.3% FG, 0.0% 3PT, 28.6% FT, 10.7 mpg

Advanced Stats: 0.4 PER, .351% TS, 13.6% TRB, 8.3% AST, 25.7% USG, 67 ORtg, 107 DRtg

For the second week in a row, Harry Giles was essentially out of the rotation.  Of the three games played last week, Giles only played in one. Part of the problem is that Nemanja Bjelica, Marvin Bagley, and Wille Cauley-Stein both continue to play well.  The other is that Dave Joerger has elected to bring Kosta Koufos back into the rotation to play alongside Bagley.  This isn’t altogether a bad decision, and it resembles Fox’s development plan from last year of playing alongside veterans. More concerning is that in the limited minutes Giles has received, he seems like a far cry from the exciting and energetic dude we saw in summer league and preseason.

So, what came first? Is Giles taking a step back due to a reduced role, or has he fallen out of favor due to poor production?  It’s hard to say with relatively limited information, but it’s probably not a bad idea to keep an eye on Giles’ role going forward. Coach Joerger has shown no problem in the past by dropping someone from the rotation entirely if he deems them not up to snuff (Skal Labissiere, anyone?).

Injury history and small minutes aside, Giles’ skillset is sound and was on full display not even a month ago.  Hopefully, Giles can get adjusted to the real NBA game soon.  With Fox taking a leap sooner than expected, and Bagley flourishing, it would be a shame to see a potential third building block have his story end so quickly.

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