A Royal Pain
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Sacramento Kings: Three things to watch for as the season comes to a close

By Jonathan Roberts

SACRAMENTO, CA - JANUARY 14: Harry Giles #20 and Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Sacramento Kings talk during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 14, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 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 Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - JANUARY 14: Harry Giles #20 and Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Sacramento Kings talk during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 14, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 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 Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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SACRAMENTO, CA – FEBRUARY 2: Marvin Bagley III #35 and Harry Giles #20 of the Sacramento Kings look on during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on February 2, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 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 Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA – FEBRUARY 2: Marvin Bagley III #35 and Harry Giles #20 of the Sacramento Kings look on during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on February 2, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 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 Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Much of the future for the Sacramento Kings hinges on Marvin Bagley III and Harry Giles, despite this, the duo has hardly shared the floor this season, averaging just 10.7 minutes per contest over 38 games.

Those low totals are partly due Giles not seeing much action on the floor early in the season, in addition to Bagley missing multiple games due to two separate knee injuries, but it doesn’t help that the duo has not performed very well in those minutes.

Bagley and Giles have posted an effective field goal percentage of just 49.9, fourth-lowest among the 41 two-man lineups that have played at least 30 games for the Sacramento Kings. They’ve also posted a dismal minus-8.1 net rating in 408 minutes, also fourth-lowest among the team’s two-man lineups.

It’s important to note, however, that both Giles and Bagley are rookies, and having a two rookies in the floor at one time is bound to produce mistakes and poor performances as both players adjust to the NBA’s pace and level of play.

Since Bagley returned from his latest knee injury, he and Giles have averaged 16 minutes per game together over the past two games — a positive sign for the future certainly, but the duo has posted an even worse minus-15.6 met rating, albeit on an extremely small sample-size.

More. Rookie Report: Bagley goes down, but Giles trends up. light

Regardless, Bagley and Giles need to be given as much time together as possible to build chemistry together, especially if the front office wants to have Bagley and Giles take over as the Kings’ power forward and center of the future. It’ll be important to keep an eye on the pairing’s on-court time as the season comes to a close, something that will take on even more importance as the Sacramento Kings fall further and further back from the playoff picture.

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