3 Studs and 2 duds from the Kings’ first In-Season Tournament game
By Elaine Blum
Dud: Davion Mitchell
Davion Mitchell had one good game after being moved out of the starting lineup, sparking the hope that he would continue to play that way. Last night, he had another forgettable performance, however.
Finishing the game with 3 points on 1-6 shooting, 1 rebound, and 1 assist in barely over 16 minutes, he struggled to find a way to impact the game. Even if shots aren’t falling, there are other ways to be a positive presence, like grabbing rebounds or making plans for others.
Mitchell needs to do more if he doesn’t want to lose his minutes to someone else. His defense could be incredibly valuable to the Kings but Keon Ellis, for example, was much more active on both ends of the floor.
When De’Aaron Fox comes back one of the two will lose a lot of his minutes, and Mike Brown has said before that nobody’s position on this team is sacred.
Maybe it was just a bad shooting night, and he can replicate the way he played against Portland the next time around. If he is capable of being that player again, he better do it soon or risk being demoted again.