The Sacramento Kings-DeMar DeRozan Partnership Is Already Flourishing Offensively

A common misconception made by many fans is that teams with numerous on-ball orientated players can’t work together because there’s “just one ball.”

After acquiring DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs, the Sacramento Kings became the object of this line of criticism. Naysayers believe the acquisition will fail because there is no great way for DeRozan to coalesce with All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

While I do believe this trio has limitations that currently keep the Kings from being an inner circle title contender, my reasons have nothing to do with the offensive end of the floor. And despite ultimately losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their season opener on Thursday, the Kings demonstrated myriad mechanisms they can employ to fit DeRozan into their offensive machine.

A Willingness To Play Off-Ball

Ask anyone around the league, and they will tell you that DeRozan is the consummate professional. He has no issue taking a backseat and playing off other high-level players. The issue is that his limitations as a shooter (career 29.6 percent three-point shooter) make it difficult for him to flank teammates in a conventional manner. We saw this early on in the opener when Fox tossed a to DeRozan in the corner for an awkward-looking triple try. 

The best way the Kings can use DeRozan off-ball is by allowing him to attack off the catch. DeRozan may not be able to drain threes, but he is an adept driver. According to the Thinking Basketball Database, DeRozan has placed in the 87th percentile or higher in true shooting on drives in each of the last six years. 

The formula is simple: have one of Sacramento’s other ball-handlers create an advantage that tilts the floor, swing it to DeRozan, and let the chef cook in his brand new kitchen. 

Dancing With Sabonis

The reason people don’t like the “your turn, my turn” style of basketball is that it hurts your offense’s spacing. None of DeRozan, Sabonis or Fox are considered great shooters — although, Fox has improved a great degree in that area. So, if one of them is operating in isolation, the defense can theoretically sag off the other two and send more help toward the paint. Consistently trying to score in a crowded interior is certainly valiant, but it typically doesn’t produce efficient offense.

One way to remedy this is to involve two of those three players in the action simultaneously. Against the Timberwolves, the Kings did this a ton with DeRozan and Sabonis in the form of pick-and-rolls and dribble handoffs, which works perfectly because Fox, the best shooter of the bunch, is the one left to play the spacer role.

An active thinker may read this and counter by saying that the defense can still sag off Sabonis to protect the paint (i.e., drop coverage) since he isn’t really much of a threat as a popper. Yet Sabonis is such an effective screener that he enables DeRozan to momentarily shed his defender, leaving the midrange master open for his favorite shot type. 

Sometimes, You Just Need A Bucket

The analysis is a bit over-simplistic here, but, sometimes, you really do just need a bucket. DeRozan can get you that.

There are times when you scurry down the court and promptly flow into your early offense, only to have that stifled by the defense. Then, you immediately flow into your second action and are denied by your opponent again. At that point, the shot clock is dwindling, and you aren’t really concerned with spacing or ball movement. You just need a bucket to save the possession.

That’s the beauty of having as much on-ball creation as the Kings. When Plan A and B go awry, they can just flip the ball to DeRozan and let one of the game’s great isolationists put two points on the board.

Stagger Minutes

There may just be one ball on the basketball court, but there are still 48 minutes in the game. While DeRozan, Fox, and Sabonis — and, to some degree, Malik Monk — all have overlapping skillsets, they don’t need to be on the floor together at all times.

he can just run the offense himself without having to worry about fitting next to other primary options. 

Can’t Argue With The Results

The Kings may have lost Thursday night, but they were absolutely money when their new Big Three shared the court. In their 25 minutes together, the Kings had a net rating of plus-25.6 and posted a bonkers 129.4 offensive rating.

The obvious caveat here is this was only one game and it is never wise to over-index on such a small result. But from studying the tape, the process also looked sound, which portends well moving forward.

If that trend continues, one ball is all this Kings Big Three needs.