Domantas Sabonis didn’t exactly hide how he felt after the Sacramento Kings opened the season with a loss to the L.A. Clippers.
After the Kings leaned heavily on Darius Acuff Jr. in his NBA debut, Sabonis made it clear he wants the offense flowing through him more often. The three-time All-Star center finished with 14 points on 5-5 shooting, 18 rebounds and 8 assists, and he used that performance to make his point about how Sacramento should attack.
“Move the ball. Get me the ball more so I can swing it and get guys open,” Sabonis said about what the Kings need to do to help their offense.
“We took a lot of one-pass shots, pick-and-roll shots without passing the ball; those numbers are really high. I feel like we're best when we kind of mix it up-point guard shoots, point guard hits the corner, point guard hits me, then I can make the read.
That's where I'm best at.
He was answering a question about how the Kings can generate more three-point looks, and his message was simple: let him be the hub. With Darius Acuff Jr., Zach LaVine and Keegan Murray stretching the floor, Sabonis believes Sacramento can create better offense when the ball moves through him.
That said, the timing of the message raised eyebrows. Acuff Jr., the seventh-overall pick, was the team’s main offensive focal point in the opener, taking 24 shots and posting the highest usage rate on the roster. The rookie didn’t have the kind of shooting night he wanted, going 5-24 from the field and 0-7 from deep, but he still found openings and generated good looks.
There’s also the bigger picture: the Kings have only played two preseason games together, and this was Acuff Jr.’s first NBA game. That kind of adjustment doesn’t happen overnight, and Sacramento is still figuring out the right balance between letting the rookie create and letting Sabonis operate as the offensive engine.
Sabonis’ frustration may have come through a little too sharply, but the underlying point is hard to ignore. When he gets touches and can read the defense, the Kings look more dangerous. After missing most of last season and playing just 19 games, he appears to be back at full strength, and Sacramento will need to use that to its advantage.
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