The ascent of Maxime Raynaud from wide-eyed rookie to dominant starting center has been spectacular to watch. While his game has advanced quickly, there is an issue with fouls and turnovers that cannot be ignored. Tightening up his game is the next step in his growth.
Domantas Sabonis been playing with the Kings for a few seasons now, and became their resident double-double machine with points and rebounds. Even with his usage and production dipping this season, his double-double legend status has remained strong. It's impressive to watch.
Since the Sabonis injury, Maxime Raynaud has stepped up as the starting center and is killing it. With last night's win against the Rockets in the bag, Raynaud has now scored double digits in eight of his last ten games. Plus, he's averaging 8.5 rebounds per game during that same time period.
Even more impressive is that he now has four double-doubles in his rookie season, three of them coming in a row over the last three games. The Kings might have a new double-double machine on their hands. Unfortunately, they also have a new foul machine on their hands.
Maxime Raynaud has some work to do
Over the same ten outings, Raynaud is averaging 3.3 fouls per game and has fouled out twice. That includes last night in the win over the Rockets, which saw Maxime ejected from the game early in overtime after receiving his sixth foul. That's not the time you want to lose your starting center.
Turnovers are also an issue, albeit a smaller one. He's only averaging 1.8 turnovers per game, though it is worth noting that one game featured five turnovers alongside his three fouls. In case you were wondering, that was one of his double-double games, which featured 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Keep in mind that Raynaud is a rookie and is still learning how to play in the NBA. He's also a center, which is a position that tends to attract fouls and turnovers. Still, it's important that Raynaud learns how to play the game in a much cleaner fashion. A few fouls are to be expected. Fouling out is not.
Assuming the Kings are unable to trade him, Sabonis won't return to the Kings' lineup for weeks. That means Raynaud will continue as the starting center for the foreseeable future. The upside is that it will give him plenty of opportunities to work out the kinks in his game and learn to minimize his fouls.