When the Sacramento Kings picked up Nique Clifford, there were a lot of voices calling him the steal of the draft. The reality hasn't quite measured up to that until last night, when Clifford scored a career-best 15 points. It's the kind of performance that showed fans who Nique really is.
After an eye-catching run in preseason play, Clifford came into the regular season with big expectations from fans. Outside of a couple of good outings, he's been quiet for the most part. The problem is that he's on a guard on a team loaded with guards, fighting for minutes.
Against the Heat, Nique played off the bench and spent 18 minutes on the court. He finished the game with 15 points, six rebounds, and one steal. Even more impressive, he shot seven of eight from the field, giving him a field goal average of 87.5%. It was, by far, his best performance.
This is the Nique Clifford fans have wanted to see since game one. Naturally, a rookie needs time to acclimate and find their rhythm in the NBA. As such, it's nice to see the first glimpse of the kind of player Clifford could be for the Sacramento Kings as they plan for their future.
Nique Clifford versus the Kings' rebuild
As the Kings approach a rebuild of their roster, the two main no-trade options so far have been Keegan Murray and Nique Clifford. That being said, the Kings' rookie center Maxime Raynaud has definitely played his way onto that list by helping cover for Domantas Sabonis.
Clifford's contributions to last night's victory over the Heat proved why he should be on that list and what he means to the Kings' future. Sacramento needs a reliable, young shooting guard who can hit big shots and score consistently. Nique proved he has those skills against Miami.
His movement without the ball was good, creating opportunities for offense. His quick feet and hands were also helpful on defense, something the Kings also need pretty badly. The next step is consistency, and that will come with both time and repetition over the next couple of years.
As the Kings move forward with both the rebuild and Clifford's development, minutes are the name of the game. Unless he's injured, Clifford's usage should never dip below 15 minutes per game. That's the bare minimum he needs to grow into the player that Sacramento needs him to be.