Last Week:9↑
2023-24 record: 46-36
OffRtg: 116.2 (13) DefRtg: 114.4 (14) NetRtg: +1.8 (16) Pace: 99.5 (14)
Key addition(s): DeMar DeRozan
Key departure(s): Harrison Barnes, Davion Mitchell
Three numbers to know:
The Kings’ top seven players in terms of total minutes played all scored less efficiently (had a lower true shooting percentage) last season than they did in 2022-23.
They were one of two teams – the Pacers were the other – that ranked in the top five in both ball movement (365 passes per 24 minutes of possession, second) and player movement (12.1 miles traveled per 24 minutes of possession, third), according to Second Spectrum tracking.
Domantas Sabonis led the league with 4.1 assists on 3-pointers per game, the second most for any player in the last six seasons.
Key question: Does DeRozan fit here?
The 15-year vet, who turns 35 on Wednesday, can still get buckets and get to the line, and the Kings were worse in clutch games last season (20-19 with the league’s 18th-ranked clutch offense) than they were otherwise (26-17). But perhaps the question is whether a player who ranks fourth in total isolations over the last three years, per Second Spectrum tracking, fits in with a team that moves the ball like the Kings.
Maybe they stagger minutes so DeRozan is the first starter to sub out and then comes back to run the second unit. If they can have the best of both worlds while not taking a step backward defensively-more minutes for Keon Ellis would help in that regard-the Kings should stay in the mix for a top eight spot in the West.
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