The Sacramento Kings have yet to discover a decent lineup this 2016-2017 NBA season that can compete at the highest level and pile up some wins to push for a playoff berth. After losing to the Los Angeles Clippers last Friday, Kings head coach Dave Joerger said that he had seen enough and it is time to make some tweaks in their lineup. Joerger tried small-ball and it quite worked out pretty well for the Kings with back-to-back wins against the Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder.
According to SB Nation, Coach Joerger used a new starting lineup moving Kosta Koufos to the bench, DeMarcus Cousins at center, Matt Barnes, and Rudy Gay at forward then Darren Collison and Ty Lawson at back court. Despite having positive results, the trial of having a small lineup shows negative net rating but it doesn't matter as long as they are winning and it helps define the identity of the team. Coach Joerger sees a lot of advantages on the defensive end for using a small lineup.
Against OKC, Joerger still used a small lineup but moved Arron Afflalo to the starting lineup replacing Ty Lawson and marked the third time the Kings used a different starting five this season. Kings' coach stated in a recent interview that having a small lineup gives his players the flexibility defensively. The team has an advantage for being more agile in terms of quickly switching to each of the player defensive assignments, The Sacramento Bee reports.
Searching for the right mix and chemistry for the Sacramento Kings might be able to help silence their critics. As early as the season started, many believed that Kings' all-star center DeMarcus Cousins will be shipped to another team and the team will have a major overhaul. Even one of the Western Conference general managers commented that the Kings would trade Cousins as early as December long before the February NBA trade deadline, according to Bleacher Report.
The Kings are always involved in trade discussions and speculations, specifically their key players Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins. With their new found lineup working out just fine, Kings' fans are thrilled and looking forward to a successful campaign this 2016-2017 NBA season.
