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Determined to prove that their Light The Beam 2022-23 season was no fluke, the Sacramento Kings began the season on fire with a decimation of the Utah Jazz in their season-opener. Since then, however, the Kings have looked rather unconvincing. They've lost twice to the Golden State Warriors and merely escaped with an overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers, and to make matters worse, they also lost De'Aaron Fox to an ankle injury, and his return timeline remains unclear at the moment.
Without Fox, the Kings have struggled mightily; left to fend on their own devices, the Kings have crapped the bed on consecutive occasions against the Houston Rockets. In fact, in a surprising turn of events, it wasn't their defense that was particularly awful during those two crushing defeats against the Rockets. It was their offense, of all facets of the game, that sputtered, looking like a bunch of players with no semblance of continuity at all.
At the end of the day, the responsibility for these offensive struggles falls on the shoulders of one particular player who should have stepped up in De'Aaron Fox's absence, with another player not too far behind in the attribution of blame.
Domantas Sabonis should be better for the Kings, and so should Keegan Murray
The Kings put up the league's best offense last season when new head coach Mike Brown installed a motion-based system that maximized the skillset of the team's two best players in De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Fox broke out as one of the league's most dangerous perimeter scorers in this system, as he had more space to work thanks to Sabonis' incredible feel in the dribble handoff game as well as Sabonis' elite screen-setting.
But there were some who argued that Sabonis was the more impactful player, as his presence allowed the likes of Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, and to a lesser extent, Keegan Murray and Harrison Barnes flourish as well in the shot-creation department. Huerter, in particular, was a force to be reckoned with last season, finishing with 205 made threes on the season on 40.2 percent shooting — elite numbers.
However, it is becoming increasingly more clear that this is neither Fox's nor Sabonis' team; it's both of theirs. There are a few partnerships in the league that one can say is a perfect marriage, and the duo of Fox and Sabonis is one of them. Fox's downhill pressure unlocks space for Sabonis to work on the interior, while Sabonis, as said above, opens up that downhill pressure for Fox.
Without Fox to work alongside with, Sabonis has struggled, and the Kings' offense has fallen off a cliff because of it. They currently rank 20th in the league in offensive rating on the season, and ever since missing Fox, they have posted the league's worst offense — major problems for a team whose ability to put the ball through the basket is its biggest strength.
Sabonis himself has to make more of a concerted effort to be a scorer whenever Fox isn't around. His eight-point total in their most recent loss to the Houston Rockets is simply unacceptable for someone who should have been the best player on the court during that game. (He was a third-team All-NBA selection after all.)
The Kings' next game will be a good test for Domantas Sabonis, as they'll be coming up against a Portland Trail Blazers team that doesn't have much else on the interior other than Deandre Ayton following the unfortunate injury news to Robert Williams III.
Meanwhile, Keegan Murray, after a blazing hot start to the 2023-24 season, has come crashing back down to earth, disappointedly so. Having all the opportunity to make a sophomore leap amid the injury to Fox, the Kings' starting power forward has been dismal, failing to make the most of his increased offensive role.
Without Fox for the past three games, Murray shot 12-38 from the field, “good” for a putrid 31.6 percent from the floor. His calling card of three-point marksmanship has abandoned him, as he shot 3-21 from deep over the past three games, numbers that won't get anyone far in the NBA.
Murray, when his shot isn't falling, isn't quite well-rounded enough to still be impactful for the Kings. Despite flashing improved ball-handling in the offseason, he still isn't doing much off the dribble, and his turnover rate has gone up as well even if his assist percentage has improved.
There is room for positive regression for both Sabonis and Murray, but in a loaded Western Conference and the lingering uncertainty of Fox's injury, the Kings do not have the luxury of waiting too long.
