Kings Swayed Away From Preseason Focus in 2 Early Losses

The Sacramento Kings seemed to emphasize offensive rebounding in the preseason, but the regular season has told a different story.

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) reacts after scoring against the Los Angeles Lakers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

For the Sacramento Kings, training camp and preseason were filled with talk about offensive rebounds. The Kings planned on putting emphasis on the offensive glass with new crash zones and found success with 14.8 offensive rebounds per game, second most in the league during the exhibition games.

Now that the season is underway, checking in on the offensive glass shows that that trend has not carried over to the regular season.

The Kings have grabbed just nine total offensive rebounds in the first two games, good for 4.5 per game. That lands them at last in the league early in the season.

So far it’s Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray leading the way with four and three each, respectively. DeMar DeRozan and Trey Lyles have each grabbed one, but no other King has an offensive board.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves are two teams with size, so this may end up being a small sample size anomaly as the season progresses. Two games are no reason to panic for any stat, but for something the Kings’ coaching staff discussed so heavily, it’s an odd way start to the season.

As a result of the lack of offensive rebounds, the Kings are averaging just 10.0 second-chance points per game, 28th in the league, another big dip from their 17.2 during the preseason.

The good news for the Kings is that they are going up against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night, who are giving up 13.7 offensive rebounds and 22.3 second-chance points per game, good for seventh and second most in the league, respectively. If the Kings are looking to turn back to their preseason form, this would be the time.

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