After winning six of their last eight games, the Sacramento Kings look as if they have figured out some of the problems that have plagued them throughout the season.
Ever since Luke Walton made the decision to move Buddy to the bench and made Bogi the starting shooting guard, the Kings have really taken off. Even each respective player has benefitted from their new role.
Bogi is putting up about the same numbers he did when coming off the bench, but has been shooting the ball better from the floor.
Buddy seems to be thriving more out of this change of roles as he looks lights out when on the floor. Since moving to the sixth man role, Buddy is scoring 23.1 points a game while shooting 52.8% from the floor and 51.8% from three point land.
If Buddy’s emergence from what seemed like a down year for the Bahamian doesn’t get you excited, then maybe the fact that the Kings have actually been winning as a half court team will.
The Kings made themselves known last year as a quick team that could outrun their opponents up and down the floor. But with a change at the helm this season, Walton decided to make an interesting move and slow down the speedy youngsters.
At first, slowing down their pace of play looked detrimental to the Kings’ success and Fox struggled with the new style of play.
However, in the six wins in their last eight games, the pace hasn’t been over 100 once and Fox looks to be playing some of his best basketball of the season, scoring over 22 points on close to 50% shooting during that span.
Sacramento’s defense has improved since slowing down their game style and their backcourt guards look spectacular. It’s promising to see Luke’s game plan finally working.
But the Kings do have some challenges up ahead starting tonight against the Bucks on the road.
The Kings play six out of their next seven games against teams currently holding a playoff spot. This is when the Kings will really have to show their worth and that their current hot streak is no fluke.
At 5.5 games out of the eighth seed themselves, they play the Memphis Grizzlies twice in that span, the current owners of the eighth spot.
If the Kings want any chance of making a late playoff push, then winning some of these games is crucial and beating the Grizzlies both times will be necessary.
The Kings have a tough schedule ahead of them, but with the way the team has been playing, it’s an opportunity to show the league what Sacramento is made of and continue moving forward.
