Kings Shooters Excited for More Catch and Shoot 3’s

The Sacramento Kings should be deadly from beyond the arc this season.

Mar 10, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) talks with forward Keegan Murray (13) during the third quarter against the Houston Rockets at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings media day was buzzing with excitement on Monday that bled into the first day of training camp on Tuesday. Between the return of Malik Monk and the addition of DeMar DeRozan, the excitement is palpable through soundbites and video clips of practice.

And it’s not just fans that are excited. The players themselves are looking forward to the intricacies of adding DeRozan and his skillset into the fold.

Domantas Sabonis on how excited he is to be surrounded by shooters like Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter as spot-up threats now that DeMar DeRozan is in the fold:

“I think they’re more excited than me. They’re going to get plenty of catch-and-shoot opportunities.” pic.twitter.com/UZnZCpzeaN

— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) September 30, 2024

Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter, and De’Aaron Fox are all anticipating an increased amount of catch-and-shoot looks from beyond the arc with DeRozan joining the team. 

The Kings were already putting up a very high volume of catch-and-shoot threes last season, averaging 28.1 per game, second most in the league. What hurt them slightly was shooting 37.3 percent on the attempts, the 18th highest.

The increased individual attempts should especially help Fox and Keegan get their three-point percentages up. Fox shot 39.1 percent on 3.1 catch-and-shoot attempts per game compared to 35.6 percent on 4.6 pull-up attempts.

Keegan shot 37.5 percent on his 5.6 catch-and-shoot looks and just 26 percent on his 1.0 pull-up three per game.

Huerter actually fared better on his pull-up looks, making them at a 41.6 percent clip compared to 34.9 off the catch. Those numbers are likely skewed from the dribble handoff action. Huerter would often get handoffs at the top of the key and while he ‘caught’ the ball from Sabonis, on the move over the screen. While not an official stat, getting Huerter more ‘stationary’ threes might be the better way to look at it.

The benefits will trickle down to the rest of the roster as well. Keon Ellis, Malik Monk, Trey Lyles, and Jordan McLaughlin all shot better on their catch-and-shoot looks and should have ample opportunities between DeRozan, Fox, and Sabonis setting them up.

When DeMar DeRozan was initially acquired, the main talking point was that the Kings lacked spacing. It’s possible that the exact opposite could be the benefit instead as the Kings shooters are set to feast on the great looks created for them.

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