After defeating the Phoenix Suns in their regular season finale, the Sacramento Kings have finished the 2024-25 NBA regular season 2024-25, and for the second straight season, they are headed to the Play-In Tournament.
Now, the goal at hand is to win two play-in games (one on the road) and clinch the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Their first game is on Wednesday, April 16, against the Dallas Mavericks.
After trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis (among other things), the Mavericks went from being a more perimeter-orientated team to one that wins on the inside, making this matchup the perfect time for the Kings to try out this new strategy.
Double big lineups are back
One trend that I personally have been monitoring for most of the season is the number of teams playing double big lineups. It was once almost required for a five-man unit to contain at least two centers, but ever since the Pace and Space revolution, teams have been shying away from it.
That is, until this season. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and a handful of other teams have experienced a great deal of success when playing two bigs at the same time. But don't just take our word for it. You can take a look at the data, too:
reject modernity. embrace tradition. play 2 bigs.
— Owen Phillips (@owenlhjphillips) April 10, 2025
on the f5 this week pic.twitter.com/qs6huxWwnH
This brings us to the premise of this post. The Kings are getting ready to play a team in the Mavericks that has three of their top six-ish players at the center spot (Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively II). So, to enable his team to play their best players as often as possible, head coach Jason Kidd tries using a double big look as often as he can.
To counter this, it is time that the Kings turn to a tactic they have seldomly tried this season (only 13 minutes, according to PBP Stats). The Kings should use lineups that feature both Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas.
The reasons for doing so are numerous. First, look at how much success other teams have had with them! Second, the Kings will need to put as much size as they can on the floor if they hope to deal with all the titans on the Mavericks. Third, Valanciunas is arguably the most well-decorated play-in player in NBA history, and using this trick is a good way to find him some more minutes. And lastly, with Malik Monk out for this week, the Kings will be short at guard anyway (similar to how the Mavericks are without Kyrie Irving).
On the surface, using two centers may seem like a team desperately holding on to the past. However, recent evidence shows that it could be exactly what the Kings need to advance to the next stage.