The Sacramento Kings go into the second half of the All-Star break with a record of 22-38. The Kings have a remaining 22 games left in the season. Currently, the team is 13th in the Western Conference and four games back of the 10th spot.
The main goal for Alvin Gentry’s squad should be developing De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis’s partnership. On offense, Sabonis should be near the top of the paint. Obviously, Fox will most likely have the ball to start possessions. The rest of the team should be on the three-point line or under the basket to provide spacing.
What are the Sacramento Kings’ expectations down the stretch?
The Kings should run sets that involve a pick and roll from Sabonis or getting the ball to Sabonis at the top of the paint from this set. While there are other options to run from this set, these should be the primary options from this set.
If Sabonis gets the ball at the top of the paint, Fox should cut to the basket. If Fox chooses to run a pick and roll with Sabonis, Fox should look for open shooters because opposing teams will most likely send help to the paint.
Another thing this team should look at is whether they should try to keep players such as Donte DiVincenzo and Jeremy Lamb. The Kings should look to see if DiVincezono is able to bring good defense to this squad. With a player like Sabonis who is not good defensively, the Kings cannot have any other holes on defense. The Kings should look at Lamb because he has been a solid 3&D player his whole career.
As the Kings do not have a lot of cap space next season. The team should look at retaining their own free agents (as you can go over the cap to resign your team’s players via bird rights). With a core guard rotation of Fox, Davion Mitchell, and Justin Holiday, the team should decide between keeping DiVincenzo or Lamb next season. The Kings only need one more guard for their team next season.
While the Kings are somewhat in a position to have a chance to get into a play-in game, the team should look to tank somewhat. While the Kings should try to lose games, the team should not try to lose games on purpose.
Adding talent to this team via a high draft pick is important but developing the partnership between Sabonis and Fox is equally as important.