Can the Kings Just be Average…on Offense?

April 11, 2024

Sometimes, you get what you ask for. For years, we’ve been saying just be average. Just be an average defensive team, and the Kings could climb up the ranks. Coming off of a season in which the Kings set an NBA record for the best offensive rating the league has ever seen, the big question was can they improve on the other end of the ball. As this season comes to a close, we are finally seeing those improvements, but at a dire cost of completely losing all semblance of the offensive powerhouse we saw last season.

In the last 11 games, the Kings have only scored over 110 Points a single time, and it was to the league’s worst defense in the Utah Jazz. Last season, they only failed to reach 110 Points 18 times. This season that number has jumped up to 27, again with 10 of them coming in the last 11 games.

Over the 11 game stretch, their offensive numbers have been bad across the board:

We all knew it would be hard to score when Huerter and Monk went down, but I didn’t think it would be this challenging. Over the 11 game stretch, De’Aaron Fox is leading the way with 26 Points per game, but he’s shooting 41.4% from the field, compared to 47.1% in his first 60 games of the season.

He’s not the only one who’s seen a dip in shooting efficiency in the same timeframe. A look at the players FG%’s before and after March 20th.

  • De’Aaron Fox: 47.1% | 41.4%
  • Domantas Sabonis: 60.9% | 48.4%
  • Keegan Murray: 45.6% | 45.7%
  • Harrison Barnes: 48.9% | 36.5%
  • Trey Lyles: 45.0% | 42.9%
  • Davion Mitchell: 44.8% | 48.7%
  • Keon Ellis: 44.7% | 46.7%
  • Sasha Vezenkov: 44.8% | 42.1%

There are a few improvements, Keegan, Davion, and Keon are all shooting slightly better, but the number that stands out the most is the drop in efficiency for Domantas Sabonis. Opponents are making life miserable for Sabonis by packing the paint. They know the Kings don’t have high volume scorers around Fox and Sabonis, and are clogging up the paint over and over again against them both.

The good news in all of this is that as the offense has taken a nose dive, the defense has skyrocketed.

They have suddenly become one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, far surpassing our cries of “Just be average.” But now the question turns on it’s head. As we close out the season, can the Kings keep up the defensive prowess they’ve shown, and just be average on offense? Their postseason hopes rely on it, so here’s hoping they can.