The regular season hasn't been as kind to Sacramento Kings' rookie Nique Clifford as the preseason was. But in a win over the Golden State Warriors that saw him take the role of starting shooting guard, Clifford had the best game of his first season and a real look at who he could be as a player.
Throughout the preseason, Clifford was playing like an absolute legend and a potential dark horse in the race for Rookie of the Year. He was scoring in double digits every game as well as picking up respectable numbers of rebounds, assists, and steals. His potential was obvious.
Unfortunately, Clifford found out really quickly that regular season is a lot more competitive. He finished the season opener with two points, eight rebounds, two assists, one block, two steals, and a hamstring injury that benched him for the next few games.
Those were acutally solid numbers, all things considered. When Clifford returned in the win against the Bucks, he had a rough go. The same was true in the next game against the Nuggets, a tough loss for the Kings. It wasn't until the faceoff with the Warriors that real Nique Clifford showed up.
Clifford gets his groove back
Being that three starters were out with injuries, Clifford stepped in as the starting shooting guard. And he delivered. In 33 minutes, he racked up 12 points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Plus, Nique played a relatively clean game, committing only two fouls and one turnover.
This is right in the vicinity of the kind of production he was putting out in the preseason, which is solid for a rookie. On top of that, he saw a massive decrease from the preseason in both fouls and turnovers as he was respectively averaging four and 2.5 per game, which is clutch
Even more important, he started against the Warriors. Even without Curry, Butler, and Green, they remain a formidable team. Clifford didn't flinch and just kept playing. He was a big part in the victory, showing that he should be getting real minutes every outing the Kings have.
Once everyone is healthy and playing, Clifford is unlikely to remain a starter. But he could be a big part of the secondary, riding shotgun with Malik Monk, Precious Achiuwa, and Drew Eubanks. There is potential there to develop something sustainable, a second line that can keep the engine running.