Yesterday, the Sacramento Kings fell to the Memphis Grizzlies, and a big takeaway from their defeat is that Malik Monk, one of the team's five best players, can't be in the starting lineup.
To be clear, Monk has been great since getting moved into the opening unit. Through three games, Monk is averaging 19.7 PPG and 7.7 APG on 67.8% true shooting. If he kept that up for an entire season, Monk would be considered one of the best offensive players in the league (he's already recognized as one of the best combo guards).
Sacramento Kings need scoring off the bench
A big reason why Monk has been on the bench for all of his first two seasons with Sacramento is that they need him to buoy the offense of the second unit.
With him, De'Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis in the starting lineup, they don't really have anyone else to do it. Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles have been struggling mightily (and Lyles is now injured). Isaac Jones has been good, but he's more of an energy guy. Keon Ellis is someone you want flanking primary ball handlers, not being the main guy— ditto with Jae Crowder. Jordan McLaughlin can stir the drink, but he's nowhere near Monk's level, and he's a defensive liability.
The result is that the Kings have very little scoring off the bench. Even with Monk as their sixth man for 13 of the Kings' 23 games, they are 27th in the NBA in bench scoring (25.3 PPG). And without him, it got even worse. Against the Grizzlies, the Kings' bench got outscored 60 to 15 in a game they lost by five points.
Kings lost the bench battle 60-15. Insane.
— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) December 6, 2024
We know that Sacramento has a very good starting five. But the bench depth is killing this team.
27th in bench points per game (25.7) entering tonight.
Now, it isn't exactly fair to compare the Kings to the Grizzlies, who are second in bench scoring (48.3 PPG). They are practically the gold standard in this department.
But unless the Kings can pick up another spark plug creator/scorer, Monk will likely have to return to the bench. He can still close games, but the Kings should start Ellis. Ellis has his warts that (probably) frustrate head coach Mike Brown. But the Kings are still a +24.9 per 100 possessions when he shares the floor with Fox, DeRozan, Sabonis, and Keegan Murray (88th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass). That's even higher than their point differential when Monk is sharing the court with them (+14.2 per 100).