Basketball Intelligence for 12/13/23

Ejections, Warrior benchings, the changing Kings offense, and more!

TEAM STORIES

UTA: Danny Ainge is playing capture the Flagg
James Hansen, SLC Dunk

SAC: The Kings’ offense is good. That’s bad.
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry
BI subscribers get 35% off Basketball Poetry! Click here to access.

Last year, 33.9% of the Kings’ shots occurred at the rim, an average amount. That number impressed me, given the Kings’ relative lack of dynamic off-the-dribble creators and the fact that Golden State’s similar offensive system is consistently last in the league in rack attacks.

This year, though, that number is down to 27.9%, good for third-worst in the league. This isn’t a matter of Fox missing a handful of games — the starting lineup of Fox, Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, and Sabonis has a nearly identical share of shots at the rim.

In fact, every single rotation player is shooting less often at the rim this season. Harrison Barnes has transferred 12% of his shots wholesale from the rim to the three-point line, the most dramatic swing. But all of these guys are looking for triples first, triples second, and passes to a teammate behind the arc third.

SAC: Blowout loss to Los Angeles Clippers exposes more matchup problems for Sacramento Kings
Jason Anderson, The Sacramento Bee

POR: Trail Blazers eager to see what they can do at full strength
Aaron Fentress, Oregon Live

PHX: Devin Booker is playing at an elite level as Suns get closer to ‘big three’ debut
Doug Haller, The Athletic

ORL: Anthony Black making big mark for Orlando Magic on defense
Philip Rossman-Reich, Orlando Magic Daily