Sacramento Kings Rookie Report: Roles increasing

Marvin Bagley and Harry Giles seem to have found their roles with the Sacramento Kings, but are they ready to take on a bigger role?

As the Sacramento Kings continue their surprising season, the rotation seems to be undergoing a change. Marvin Bagley has returned from injury and is returning to his energetic play that defined the beginning of his rookie campaign. Now, he looks poised to take on a starting role. Meanwhile, Harry Giles seems to have found a niche after having an inconsistent role in the first few months of the NBA season. How was our rookies’ week? Let’s find out in this week’s Rookie Report.

As always, the Rookie Report considers a week to be Sunday to Saturday. This week, the Rookie Report is looking at the games against Portland (1/14), Charlotte (1/17) and Detroit (1/19).

On to the Rookie Report!

Marvin Bagley

Weekly Stats: 14.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.7 stls, 0.3 blks, 56.3% FG, 25.0% 3PT, 45.5% FT

Season to Date: 12.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.5 stls, 0.9 blks, 52.7% FG, 28.9% 3PT, 65.9% FT

Advanced: 17.3 PER, .576 TS%, 14.2% TRB, 5.5% AST, 3.4% BLK, 22.5% USG, Ortg 109, DRtg 111

Marvin Bagley has officially re-entered the rotation after being sidelined for a few weeks due to injury, and in a slightly increased role. Bagley averaged 24.4 minutes a game last week after averaging about 23 mpg up to that point. With Nemanja Bjelica’s decreasing production, expect Dave Joerger and his coaching staff to start ramping up Bagley’s role going forward as the core of this Kings squad starts settling in.

It’s also worth re-checking Bagley’s per-36 numbers as his role increases. Again, take the per-36 stat with a grain of salt, but it suggests that Bagley is capable of performing at a high level if given a starting opportunity. In the interest of keeping this report week-specific, let’s pretend Bagley didn’t already get his first career start a couple of nights ago. Don’t worry, we’ll get into it next week! Here you go, courtesy of Basketball Reference:

19.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.8 stls, 1.4 blks, 52.7% FG, 28.9% 3PT, 65.9% FT

With the lack of a consistent outside shot, you’d lose the ability to stretch the floor that Bjelica currently provides the Sacramento Kings. On the other hand, Bagley could go a long way into helping with Sacramento’s lack of reliable rebounding that has cost them games. Fun fact: the Kings are currently 21st in the league in rebounding. For them to take the next step, that will have to change. Handing Bagley the keys may just let them do that. Stay tuned.

Harry Giles

Weekly Stats: 7.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.0 stls, 0.7 blks, 56.3% FG, 0% 3PT, 37.5% FT

Season to Date: 5.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.7 stls, 0.4 blks, 48.4% FG, 0% 3PT, 54.2% FT

Advanced: 12.9 PER, .497 TS%, 13.5% TRB, 17.0% AST, 2.7% BLK, 23.3% USG, ORtg 96, DRtg 108

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Harry Giles is slowly starting to show why he was such a great value pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. If nothing else, Giles is starting to get his swagger back; his confidence and energy is helping revitalize the secondary unit, like against a veteran Blazers squad. There’s clearly something there, even if the stat sheet isn’t reflecting it yet.

The question then becomes: what is the future role for Giles? Is he a member of the eventual future core that could make the Kings contenders? Is he a valuable role player? Does he merely become this generation’s Gerald Wallace, an entertaining fan favorite that never quite reaches the level you’d like him to (at least in a Sacramento Kings uniform)? It’s impossible to tell yet, but it’s clearly a question the Kings coaching staff is interested in answering.

At the moment, he appears to be a spark plug off the bench. After a half season of inconsistent playing time (or DNP-CDs) and G-League assignments, Giles has gotten fairly routine minutes. In the month of January, he’s averaged 18.8 mpg, compared to 10.9 from the start of the season through New Year’s Eve. With that, his gameplay is starting to round out little by little.

Whether he ends up being merely a reliable burst of energy, or a key piece for a possible road to contention, it’s clear Giles belongs on this squad.  It’ll be fun to see what he becomes in the next few years.