Kings Mailbag: Is Lack of Size a Problem?

Do the Sacramento Kings still need to address a glaring problem in their lineup?

Apr 16, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) reacts after the Kings made a basket against the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter during a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the second edition of the Sacramento Kings mailbag with Will Z, where I attempt to find stats and information to answer questions submitted by fans from X (formerly Twitter), Threads, and Instagram.

Make sure to catch up on the previous mailbag article:

• Kings Mailbag: Keegan Murray's Year 3 Expectations

Today’s question comes from Matt (@mattbohmbach) on Threads:

How will the Kings combat longer teams that they struggled with? They preached getting longer this offseason and somehow got smaller so far.

If there is one thing we learned last season, it was that the Kings needed to add size and length, predominately at the wing position. So far this offseason, they have done little to nothing to address that glaring need.

Bringing in DeMar DeRozan is great, but the fact remains that the six-time All-Star is 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan. If he starts at the small forward spot, which was his main position last season according to Basketball Reference, the Kings will once again have certain matchups where they struggle to match up with their opponent.

The good news is that this won’t be every night. A lot of teams are leaning toward smaller lineups. But then there are teams like the New Orleans Pelicans, which I think permanently scarred fans all across Sacramento last season.

"I only saw two guys with a pulse out there tonight."@KyleDraperTV criticizes the Kings effort against the Pelicans pic.twitter.com/2nK9nPMW0Y

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) April 20, 2024

It’s nights like these that the Kings will have to be on their A-game to combat the roster deficiency.

Returning to the question, how does Sacramento deal with teams with more length? It all starts and ends on the offensive side of the ball.

The lineups are still very much up in the air, but if the Kings are trotting out lineups with DeRozan, Kevin Huerter, or Colby Jones as the small forwards, then there will be times that the Kings just need to outscore their opponents.

The good news for the Kings is that teams with length did two things to limit the Kings on offense last season. They clogged up the paint and defended the three-point shot well.

What can the Kings do to offset that defensive strategy? The easy solution is to make threes at a higher clip. The other is to take advantage of the open spots on the floor, i.e. the mid-range shot.

Conveniently, the Kings brought in the mid-range king in DeMar DeRozan, who led the league with 6.9 attempts in the area last season.

Having DeRozan forces teams to defend all three levels, especially when you add De’Aaron Fox and his mid-range capabilities. The Kings may not have the length to match up against every opponent, but they should have enough offensive talent to combat the disadvantage.

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