2 Obvious, 1 subtle moves Mike Brown must make to turn the Kings into a legit playoff team

Obvious move: Play Malik Monk more

Malik Monk has been one of the Kings’ best players all season long. He is the team’s third-leading scorer with 15.4 points per game and ranks third in assists per game with 5.2. 

Both are career highs for him. Monk has really blossomed in his role with the Kings. That role is to be the Sixth Man, to come off the bench, bring energy, and keep the scoring up. 

He has been their most reliable reserve, and it’s been huge for Sacramento to have someone on the bench who could start on several other NBA teams. Now, it is crunch time, however. Every single minute of every single game matters if the Kings want to make the playoffs. 

They need to play their best players as much as possible and that includes Monk. As of now, three Kings average over 30 minutes a game—Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox, and Keegan Murray. Next in line is Harrison Barnes with an average of 29.6 minutes per game. Monk averages less than 26 minutes and in some games hovers around the twenty-minute mark. 

It is time to change that. Monk is an offensive weapon, especially next to Fox, who will draw the strongest defender, and he can take some weight off his college teammate. That doesn’t mean that Brown has to start Monk—he obviously doesn’t like that idea—but he needs to play more when he has his offense going and be on the court to close games. It is time to maximize what Monk can do for this team.