The Sacramento Kings lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, dropping them to a record of one and 11 in 2026-2027. What was interesting in this specific loss was how many members of the team got on the court, and most players had a reasonable amount of minutes. It was good to see.
So far this season, head coach Doug Christie has been riding his starters pretty hard. That strategy would make sense if it were winning games, or even getting them close to it. Based on the Kings' record so far this season, that's definitely not the case. This has been kind of a problem.
Possibly the best example, or worst depending on your point of view, is Darius Acuff Jr. The rookie has been playing incredibly well, but was averaging more than 36 minutes per game. On multiple occasions, Christie ran Acuff for upwards of 40 minutes in a game. That's a lot for any rookie.
But in last night's loss to the Blazers, that changed. Ten out of the 11 players on the active roster for the game got on the court, and eight of them played ten minutes or more. On top of that, Acuff only played 35+ minutes, which is below his seasonal average. It was basically a vacation for him.
Spreading the work around is a step in the right direction
There is a very real reason why this is a good thing, and it has to do with the Kings' bench. So far in 2026-2027, Sacramento has been notorious for having an unproductive bench crew. The reason for that is more about how Christie is spreading the workload around than the players themselves.
Basketball is a game of rhythm, and it's hard to get into one when your minutes and usage are inconsistent. This has been a huge problem for anyone playing off the bench in Sacramento, as their court time is all over the place. That's been evident in their performance all season long.
The simple act of giving the bench more minutes and trying to establish some consistency is an important step forward for Sacramento. But the key word in this scenario is "consistency," as the Kings have to keep giving these players time to gel every game, not just once in a while.
Hopefully, this is the beginning of some fundamental changes to how the Kings do business. They need a steady, engaged bench to win and move the rebuild forward. If they keep giving their bench crew real minutes, Sacramento might even be able to string a few wins together this season.
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