Last year, the Sacramento Kings had a strong offense but ended up missing the playoffs.
Revamping the Offense
The Kings are determined to boost their scoring power again. They recently welcomed Doug McDermott, known for his three-point shooting skills. He joined the team on Tuesday, and by Wednesday night, he was already showing his skills in a preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers. In just 25 minutes, McDermott attempted 11 three-pointers and successfully made four of them.
welcome to sacramento, Doug McDermott 👑
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings)
McDermott’s Role
With a career average of 41% from beyond the arc, McDermott is exactly what the Kings need. The team loves taking three-point shots but struggled with spacing last season due to players like Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan in their starting lineup. Despite being third in attempts, they ranked only 16th in accuracy.
Doug McDermott drills his first three as a King 🤩
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings)
Addressing Offensive Challenges
The decline in performance was partly due to fewer free-throw attempts; however, signing DeRozan should help with that. McDermott will be key off the bench for his shooting prowess. Alongside Jordan McLaughlin, who impressed with a 47.2% three-point rate last season with Minnesota Timberwolves, they aim to enhance bench production.
Fans think this could be an exciting change for Sacramento!
Tactical Moves
To make room for these changes, Sacramento traded Jalen McDaniels to San Antonio Spurs for a second-round pick because he wasn’t much of an outside shooter. While McDermott isn’t known for defense—though he held up well during his time at Indiana Pacers—the shift from Harrison Barnes and Davion Mitchell to DeRozan and McDermott means sacrificing some defensive strength.
But Coach Mike Brown has shown before that he can get solid defense out of less-than-stellar defenders back when he coached Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Path Forward
Sacramento is doubling down on what they do best: scoring points! Last year’s balance between average offense and defense left them out of playoff contention; this time around if they want success—they must become an elite offensive force!
