Sacramento Kings Trounce Phoenix Suns In Preseason Home Opener

In preseason game three, we got a better look at the potential rotation of the Sacramento Kings during the first game back in the Golden 1 Center.

The preseason home opener for the Sacramento Kings gave us more insight into potential regular-season rotations, Bogdan Bogdanovic ups-and-downs, and an absurd amount of whistles. The Phoenix Suns are not the best of opponents to gauge talent against, but nevertheless, it is a team that they will see four times a year.

It was great for the Kings to get back in to the Golden 1 Center and entertain upwards of 15,000 of the best fans in the NBA. The win is a cherry on top, but never the focus during the preseason. Let’s dive into my main takeaways from October 10th.

There was no Cory Joseph (groin injury) or Harry Giles (knee) for Sacramento and no Tyler Johnson (head) for Phoenix.

Rotations

Up until about the 4-minute mark in the fourth quarter, the Sacramento Kings rolled out a 10-man rotation. The expected starting five of Fox-Hield-Barnes-Bagley-Dedmon played together and moved the ball well. At the 5:15 mark of the first quarter, Richaun Holmes and Bogdan Bogdanovic checked in for Dewayne Dedmon and Marvin Bagley, instantly turning in to a small-ball lineup with Barnes at the four and Bogdanovic playing small forward. This lineup only lasted roughly two minutes until Nemanja Bjelicia and Trevor Ariza replaced Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield, leaving De’Aaron Fox as the lone starter in the game.

Fox playing with the second unit allowed Bogdanovic to carry less of a load in regards to creation, something I will touch on more later. Fox probably would have been subbed out earlier had his primary backup in Joseph been available, but he checked out after a long 11 minutes of playing time in the first quarter.

Sacramento never looked back after leading 29-12 at the end of the first, and the starters were a combined 7 of 17 while the bench (primarily Ariza and Bogdanovic) went 5 of 10.

During the second period, the full bench unit of Ferrell-Bogdanovic-Ariza-Bjelicia-Holmes ran for a good five minutes until it was clear that more creation was needed. Buddy Hield and Bagley replaced Yogi Ferrell and Holmes with 8:07 left on the clock, and every starter was back on the floor by the 6:50 mark. The starters forced five Suns’ turnovers in the final 6 minutes plus of the first half.

Fox only rested for six minutes in the first half, which is something that likely changes during the regular season when Cory Joseph is available.

The first substitution of the second-half again involved Bogdan Bogdanovic, this time on his own, when he relieved Hield about three and a half minutes in. No small ball this time. Holmes and Ariza checked in at the 4:58 mark and for Dedmon and Bagley, then Nemanja for Barnes at 2:48. Again, this left Fox as the lone starter with the bench unit until less than a minute remaining in the third.

As the third quarter ended, the score was 76-70 in favor of Sacramento and it looked like they were still focused on getting the starters some run. Hield and Bagley were again the first two starters to be inserted back into the lineup, replacing Bogdanovic and Holmes.

Aside from garbage time (4:02 in the fourth and onward), there were no minutes that consisted of Fox, Hield, or Bogdanovic all on the floor. Those are the main creators on this team, so that is exactly how it should be. But Fox and Hield were staggered more often than we saw at times last season, and that could bode well for this already strong bench unit.

Main takeaways:

• Bogdanovic is the first man off the bench, as expected
• Fox was the last starter to remain in the game on two separate occasions, though we will see if that changes when Joseph is active
• Hield was the first starter back into the lineup
• There was always one of Fox, Hield, or Bogdanovic on the floor

Bogdanovic struggled as the solitary playmaker

Bogdanovic had a decent showing overall, starting by coming in and scoring 6 points and adding a nice assist in his first two minutes of play. He finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, in a bench-leading 23 minutes. His six turnovers were far from ideal, however, and there was a clear difference in his play when sharing the floor with another creator (primarily Fox) versus being on his own running the bench.

During the nine minutes when Bogdanovic did not have one of Fox or Hield on the floor with him, he scored 0 points with 5 turnovers and 1 assist.

In Bogdanovic’s other 14 minutes, sharing the floor with another creator, he had 12 points on 3/5 shooting, 2 assists, and 1 turnover. Ferrell is not exactly a playmaker for others, so maybe Bogdanovic suffered more from Joseph being gone than Fox did.

Or maybe it’s just a preseason game and I am overreacting.

This will be something to keep an eye on. How does Bogdanovic fare with one of Fox or Hield next to him compared to on his lonesome?

“Points of Emphasis”

I already am sick of this term. The listed points of emphasis this season for officials include illegal contact initiated by offensive players, freedom of movement on both ends, and traveling. They have already been on display, and there is no better example than Thursday night in the Golden 1 Center.

There were 59 personal fouls calls, 10 of them offensive and 7 of those against the Kings. Along with seven total travels, three of them against Sacramento. I want the game to be played correctly as much as the next guy, but I can’t help but roll my eyes at the number of whistles I’ve seen and heard this preseason.

I wish I could take my anger out on the rim like Bagley does so often.

It is not only preseason for the players and coaches, but the referees as well. They’ve got to warm up their whistles and practice making calls, I suppose. But just as we saw last year, players will adjust to the new way the game is called and clean up their game accordingly.

Other Notes

• I came into the game slightly concerned about the offensive rebounding potential of the Suns, Ayton particularly, but that was not an issue. Ayton ended with 3 rebounds on the night and Sacramento beat Phoenix on the glass by a comfortable 16 boards margin, 59-43.
• Marvin Bagley still has not shown much improvement from last year aside from more of a willingness to pass and a slight dribble with his right hand. Although he did have a solid double-double tonight, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes.
• De’Aaron Fox is still fun to watch.
• After shooting 19 threes in the first half, the team ended with 31 attempts at a 35.5% rate.
• Of Trevor Ariza’s 7 attempts, 6 of them were from beyond the arc. The other one was a layup.
• Richaun Holmes will quickly become a fan favorite and likely has the backup center spot as his to lose.

The next and final preseason game for the Kings is on Monday, October 14th in Utah. Sacramento will see this same Phoenix team opening night in their arena on October 23rd.