Kings G Kevin Huerter May Be Shooting Himself Out of the Starting Five

The Sacramento Kings guard has had a rough start to the 2023-24 NBA season.

Through the Sacramento Kings’ 1-1 start to the 2023-24 NBA season, there have been a few early ups and downs the team has faced based on some early action. Things started on the right foot with an opening win over the Utah Jazz but quickly came back down to earth with Friday’s loss against the Golden State Warriors.

One of the glaring shortcomings in both games has come from G Kevin Huerter. While he was a vital piece in the Kings’ triumphant offense just a season ago, Huerter is off to a slower start in his second year with the franchise.

Through the first two games of the season, Huerter has averaged 3.5 points a game, shooting a combined 3-of-14 from the field and an unappealing 10% clip from beyond the arc. While it’s extremely early into the season, these are some alarming numbers from the best shooter on the roster.

It’s happening, folks 👉👈

Kevin Huerter 🤝 “Kevin Huerter” pic.twitter.com/7QuCsBnLTB

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) October 28, 2023

With Huerter’s role predicated on his impact as a high-level floor spacer, his ability to consistently make shots from range is crucial to this team’s success. He’s coming off a season where he shot his career-best from three at a 40.2% rate, and it was a key part of the Kings having the best-rated offense in the league.

This shooting slump for the Kings' guard inevitably leads to questions surrounding his stability in the starting five. If it persists, it may be hard for HC Mike Brown to give the starting nod to a more one-dimensional player like Huerter instead of favoring a wing with more two-way success like G Chris Duarte.

The Kings routinely lacked proficiency on the defensive end last season, ranking in the bottom ten of the league in terms of defensive rating. Going into year two under coach Brown, finding improvement on that side of the floor will be pivotal in finding growth, and could see improvement come from a minor rotational tweak like this one.

However, it may take a few more games to give this offense time to gel and shake some rust off, potentially limiting any sudden changes to the first five. Any shooter in this league can have slumps, and sometimes it just takes a little extra time and confidence to get things right.

Huerter and the Kings will have a chance to get back on track with a win on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers at 7 PM PST.

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