When your team is already struggling, there's no sense in making things harder for yourself. That's exactly what the Sacramento Kings did against the Minnesota Timberwolves when they benched Russell Westbrook and started Precious Achiuwa. It was an unforced error by the coaching staff.
Thanks to an unbalanced roster and a brutal schedule, the Kings are currently sitting at 13th in a highly competitive Western Conference. They've only won three games this season with seven losses, the last two of which were complete and utter blowouts.
It's going to be hard for the Kings to fix their roster and rebalance it in the next couple of seasons. They are facing severe salary cap issues that are unlikely to be remedied until at least a couple of expensive contracts can be dealt with. That doesn't mean they have to keep making silly mistakes.
The Kings botch their own starting lineup
Going into the loss against the Wolves, Sacramento had both Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis back from injury. Naturally, that meant they were back on the starting lineup with DeMar DeRozan and Dennis Schroder. But Keegan Murray remained on the bench, meaning a starting spot was open.
Being that Russell Westbrook is arguably the hottest player on the team, logic would seem to indicate that he continue to start. Instead, Precious Achiuwa started the game. It was an odd choice as he has only been with the Kings for a couple of games and traditionally plays better off the bench.
Achiuwa was brought in to bolster the Kings' defensive presence, which is a sensible move. At the same time, he is relatively new to the roster and still figuring out how he fits in. Starting him instead of someone like Westbrook makes little to no sense.
Westbrook should always be starting
It's safe to say that Russell Westbrook should always be in the King's starting lineup from now on. His energy, intensity, and passion for the game are what drives Sacramento. You can see the difference between the Kings when he's on the court and when he's not.
No disrespect meant to Achiuwa, but he doesn't bring any of that. No one else on the Kings' roster really does. Once Precious has acclimated to the Kings, as much as anyone can given their insane structure, he'll be integral to the team's defense. There is no question of that.
Given how tough a time the Kings are having this season, there's no sense in going into a game with one hand tied behind their back. Westbrook has quickly become a leader for this haphazard roster, and starting with him on the bench just makes things more difficult than they need to be.