Sacramento Kings Rookie Report: Recovering From Injury
By Ryan Ritter
This week, the Rookie Report notices that the two Sacramento Kings rookies are still recovering from injuries. How is Marvin Bagley’s back injury affecting his game? Also, is Harry Giles’ injury history costing him minutes?
Apologies to all for the DNP from the Rookie Report last week. Life, as it so often does around the holidays, got in the way this time. However, since this is the season of giving, I would like to make it up to you. Thus, this Rookie Report will cover the last two weeks in order to give you an even bigger snapshot of how the two rookie bigs for Sacramento have been performing. Hopefully, I will be back on track again.
As always, the Rookie Report considers a week to be Sunday through Saturday. For this prorated edition, the Rookie Report will be looking at the games against the Jazz (11/25), the Clippers (11/29), the Pacers (12/1), the Suns (12/4), the Cavaliers (12/7) and the Pacers again (12/8).
Onto the Rookie Report!
Marvin Bagley III
Weekly Stats: 14.3 ppg, 4.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.0 blocks, 60% FG, 0% 3PT, 80.0% FT, 23.1 mpg
Overall: 12.7 ppg, 6.3 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.5 blocks, 1.2 steals, 52.5% FG, 33.3% 3PT, 64.8% FT, 23.5 mpg
Advanced: 17.5 PER, .560 TS%, 14.6% TRB, 5.3% AST, 4.3% BLK, 22.9% USG, ORtg 109, DRtg 111
Marvin Bagley had been rolling as of late, averaging a double-double for the week of November 19th. However, an ill-timed back injury against the Clippers seems to have stunted his growth a bit as he currently plays himself back into game shape. Of note, his rebounding has taken a dive recently, possibly due to discomfort stemming from the back injury. He went from 12 boards a game to just under five in the past two weeks.
Although there is no reason to think he will continue to regress, the injury will be a good test for Bagley. To my knowledge, he has not had to deal with an injury before. Although it ended up being relatively minor (missing only two games), he will have to learn to continue being productive when his athleticism is compromised. This will be a good thing to keep an eye on as Bagley rounds back into game shape. Stay tuned.
Harry Giles
Weekly Stats: 6.8 ppg, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.5 blocks, 47.8% FG, 0% 3PT, 55.6% FT, 9.5 minutes
Overall: 5.2 ppg, 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.2 blocks, 46.8% FG, 0% 3PT, 47.6% FT, 2.3 PF, 9.8 mpg
Advanced: 14.2 PER, .475 TS%, 15.6% TRB, 18.1% AST, 1.8% BLK 27.3% USG, ORtg 94, DRtg 107
It is technically still early. However, as we are a quarter of the way into the season, I think it is safe to say that this is the Harry Giles we are getting this season. This is not meant to doom him, just that it is clear that the game will need to continue to slow down for him before he can become a positive contributor for the Kings. The particular concern is his true shooting percentage of 47.5%, which is abysmal for a big man. His fouling rate is also keeping him from being as efficient as he could be as he is averaging nearly 2 1/2 fouls a game. Not a big issue until you notice he averages just under ten minutes a game.
It is not all bad. His 18.1% assist rate is interesting and could indicate that Giles has a future as a passing big man. It is also apparent that his confidence and swagger on the court has not wavered. Off the court, his attitude has remained positive, at least on social media. He has been an ideal teammate in every way.
The truth is that, much like Marvin Bagley, Harry Giles is recovering from injuries that have compromised his game. It is been mentioned in this space before, but Giles’ injury history is no joke.
If there is any hope of him being a regular rotation player, the slow approach is likely going to be the right move (even if the front office may disagree). There is especially no reason to rush when the team is performing above all expectations. Although I would not classify his rookie season as a failure, I think I would call it disappointing. Hopefully, it will lead to better times in the future.