Sacramento Kings: Bogdan Bogdanovic needs to step up his game

In the midst of an increasingly difficult playoff race, Bogdan Bogdanovic has disappeared at the worst time for the Sacramento Kings.

Bogdan Bogdanovic’s numbers have dipped recently when compared to his early season statistics for the Sacramento Kings, but let’s not forget that he was injured when the season started.

After having surgery on Sept. 24 for a knee injury he suffered while playing for the Serbian National team, Bogdan Bogdanovic missed all the preseason and the first six weeks of the regular season. Bogi’s first game back was on Nov. 7, when the Kings played the Toronto Raptors; he contributed 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assists in 18 minutes.

Bogi started off the season playing great basketball

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Bogdanovic is usually able to contribute with his ball handling and play-making skills — a role he usually occupies off the bench as the sixth man for the Sacramento Kings.

Because of that, you could say Bogi is not playing bad for the Kings, it’s just that he has to adjust to a role that takes him from playmaker to a 3 and D wing.

If the Kings are going to have any shot at making the post season Bogi’s shooting will be key. In December, Bogdanovic shot 45 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from three while averaging 15.9 points a game, 3.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Bogdanovic’s impact at the beginning of the year helped keep them in the playoff hunt at the start of the year — making Sacramento a great story for the NBA with their surprising start.

Bogdan’s statistics dip in February along with the win totals

Why is Bogdan playing at the small forward position when we acquired Harrison Barnes to fill that role? I’m guessing to get the Kings offense running for lay ups or quick shots before the defense sets up.

It has worked for short spans when the opposing team relies on a half court offense. Against the Celtics at the start of the second half Bogi started as a forward with the Kings’ small-ball line up, but against a long, athletic Celtics team, the Kings quickly fell behind.

Out running your opponent only works when they are not able to run with you, but is this why Bogdan’s stat’s have come down? Is Bogdan comfortable as a starting small forward? Let’s look at Bogi’s February numbers.

Field goal percentage dropped to 39 percent compared to the 45 percent he shot in December. His 3 point percentage fell to 26 percent too, down nine percent from December. His scoring is are down as well, as he averaged 13.7 points in February and just 11.2 points through five games in March.

Shooting guard is Bogdan’s natural position where he is proficient at getting high percentage shots. The Sacramento Kings need to move him back at the two spot and see if Bogi’s numbers and play improve across the board — a move that will likely happen when Marvin Bagley III returns.

The Sacramento Kings need Bogi to shoot more threes

As Sacramento heads into the last stretch of the season Bogi has to be consistent with his scoring.

As of late his points from game to game has been inconsistent, and a sample size of Bogi’s last five games shows a low of seven points to a high of 28. As I have stated Bogdan needs to be a 3 and “D” player and lately his three hasn’t been falling and his defense has slipped.

This, along with Bogdanovic playing a key role by scoring with the long ball, is the Kings formula to keep the defense honest, a formula that worked best last season when Bogi was aggressive.

Why put all the pressure on Bogdan Bogdanovic?

Let’s look at the guys playing at the top of their game: Buddy Hield, De’Aaron Fox and Harry Giles are all putting up good numbers, so too was Marvin Bagley before he went down with a knee injury. So who has room to step up and improve?

There are a few players who fit this description, but Bogi is at the top of the list. Sure Yogi Ferrell could play better, the newly acquired Corey Brewer only plays limited minutes for defense, Willie Cauley-Stein could have better stats across the board and Alec Burks can fill in when needed, but the biggest missing piece is Bogdanovic’s play. Bogdan is the ‘the vet’ with experience from his Euro league days and out of the core players on the Sacramento Kings, Bogdanovic is the only one who needs to deliver more.

Final thoughts on Bogdan role in last stretch of the season

When looking at the chances of the Kings making the playoffs, it’s never been more important for Sacramento to win every game possible. The purple and white will need help from the Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz to secure a post season spot, but they also need to win the games they’re supposed to.

That means the Kings must get through the rest of this week with one or two wins, but after that there will be a long stretch of games where the Sacramento Kings will be favored. Make no mistake about it though, the hometown team must win these games.

With or without Bagley on the floor, Bogi must start playing better. If he can, it will let the Kings build up a bigger lead and be able to put a team away after they get ahead. Sacramento did this well first half of the season — when Bogdan was part of the offense. When Bogdan is able to run the offense and lead the second-unit, the Sacramento Kings play better basketball and that’s something they need to get back to before it’s too late.