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Sacramento Kings

Kings vs. Suns Preview – By the Numbers

By espn1320 Mar 24, 2023

After some much needed rest, the Kings are back in action against the short-handed Suns tonight. Both teams are coming off back-to-back losses and are looking to get back in the win column. Let’s see what the Kings can do to spoil the Suns visit to Sacramento.

The Suns went all in at the trade deadline to get Kevin Durant and paid the price of their depth. Now that KD is hurt, and even more so with Ayton out, they are feeling the ill-effects of the lack of players. They’ve lost 5 of their last 6 games, with the one win being a 3 Point victory over Orlando. The Kings meanwhile are looking to avoid their first 3-game losing streak since November 28th.

Chris Paul may not score like he once did, but he has absolutely destroyed the Kings in his first 2 games against the Kings, dishing out 16 and 19 Assists in the previous matchups. I’ve used this stat before and I’ll use it again, because it blows my mind every single time. In the 51 games he’s played in this season, Chris Paul has attempted 23 Field Goals in the Restricted Area. In the 2 games against the Kings, he has taken 0 shots at the rim. If I’m the Kings, I’m giving him an open lane to the hoop and forcing him to shoot.

Looking elsewhere on the Suns, Devin Booker has been on an yet another scorcher of late. In his last 10 games, he’s averaging 34.0 Points, 4.4 Rebounds, 4.7 Assists, and 1.1 Steals on 58.2/44.6/84.1% shooting splits. We’ve seen it before and we’ll see it again. When he gets going he can carry the team, but in the last 6 games, his large scoring output hasn’t resulted in victories. He had 33 Points in the loss on Wednesday to the Lakers and 46 in a loss to the Thunder. Interestingly enough, he only had 19 in the win against Orlando.

I mentioned above how the Suns depth took a real hit with the trade and Durant going down, and it shows in the numbers. In the 7 games they’ve played since Durant got hurt, their bench has a +/- of -2.5. For reference, that would rank between the Denver Nuggets 29th ranked -2.8 and the 28th ranked Rockets -2.1 in the season rankings. The Kings have one of the best benches in the league, and winning the minutes Booker and Paul are sitting will be crucial.

For the Kings, they’ll be hoping to get Kevin Huerter back in the lineup. He’s someone who has really been missed and a reason their offense has looked a little off the last few games. Everyone knows about his profound 3-point shooting (40.8%) on the season, but where I think the Kings have missed him most is in the 2-point game. Huerter is shooting 73.9% in the Restricted Area, 56.8% in the Non-RA Paint Area, and 42.1% from the Mid-Range. In the 66 games that Huerter has played in, the Kings have averaged 52.6 Points in the Paint, and in the 6 games he hasn’t, they averaged 45.3.

It’s not just his ability to hit shots inside, but his effect on the whole offense. Domantas Sabonis shoots 54.8% off of passes from Huerter, his 2nd highest mark from any teammate (Malik Monk is 1st at 60.6%). They have a great chemistry on the dribble handoff game beyond the arc, but Huerter’s ability to drop it off to Sabonis is something that has really been missed the last few games.

Kessler Edwards has quietly strung together some nice offensive games in a row as well. In the last 7 games, he’s averaged a modest 7 Points, but he’s doing so on 53.1/40.9/75% shooting splits. If he can keep those percentages up, especially the 3P%, he could turn into an absolute steal for Monte McNair. He has a knack for finding the ball on the offensive glass and makes strong cuts that Sabonis takes advantage of. Here’s to hoping for many more backdoor cut passes leading to high-flying dunks.

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