A Royal Pain
Fansided

Sacramento Kings: Marvin Bagley starting is reliant on the play of Dewayne Dedmon

By Brenden Nunes

(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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SAN JOSE, CA – OCTOBER 6: Willie Cauley-Stein #00 of the Sacramento Kings handles the ball against Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors on October 6, 2016 at SAP Center in San Jose, 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – OCTOBER 6: Willie Cauley-Stein #00 of the Sacramento Kings handles the ball against Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors on October 6, 2016 at SAP Center in San Jose, 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 Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Examples Around The League

Golden State Warriors‘ pair of Draymond Green and ex-King Willie Cauley-Stein is an example. Draymond, a career 32% shooter from deep, shoots 20% from the range with Willie off the floor and 33% with him on. The Warriors as a whole shoot 13% more mid-range attempts with that duo on — no coach wants that.

Cleveland Cavaliers‘ Larry Nance Jr. and Tristan Thompson. Nance, who shot 33% on low volume from three last year, has knocked down 50% of his attempts from deep with Thompson alongside him and just 20% without. The Cavaliers team overall shoots 12% fewer three-point attempts — Sacramento demands their threes.

New York Knicks‘ Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson. Randle, who had his first season above 30% from three last year, has not shot well from range this year no matter who is out there (something that could occur with Bagley during stretches). The Knicks roster averages just 32% from three with the pair active and 10% less of their attempts come from three — again, a hit the Kings would suffer taking.

Kings Need Spacing For Success

Luke Walton understandably wants to shoot a high volume of threes, as aforementioned, and they will need four threats from range on the floor at all times to continue their offensive gameplan as they would like. Holmes and Bjelica need to remain together, just as Bagley and Dedmon do. It is beneficiary for their chemistry to remain somewhat constant as duos as well.

Kings’ fan got a firsthand taste last season with Cauley-Stein as the starting big man, who supplied zero spacing, which led to Bjelica starting a polarizing 70 games over Bagley. Dedmon has been horrific to start (leaving me to question if he played an unannounced role in Space Jam 2 and the Monstars have currently drained his talents) but is bound to come back around as he becomes accustomed to Luke Walton’s style of play along with his new teammates.

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