The Kings may be young, but they’re getting valuable experience in their playoff push
Heading into this season, Vlade Divac referred to his Kings as a “super team, just young.”
The team’s general manager has shown confidence in his club and looks to be on the path to being rewarded.
The Kings have won 30 games – a number most prognosticators didn’t expect – and there are still 25 contests left in the regular season. Even more impressive is the Kings are in position to end a 12-year playoff drought, currently the longest in the NBA.
As play resumes Thursday following the All-Star break, the Kings (30-27) sit one game out of playoff position with a youthful roster leading the charge.
Despite being so close, coach Dave Joerger said he won’t place any unrealistic expectations on his squad. He does want the players to know how they perform on the court matters.
“I’m not trying to pressure our young guys,” Joerger said. “I don’t know if anybody thought we were going to be in this position at this point in the year, but things have happened in the Western Conference and we’ve got an opportunity, so now the little stuff matters even more. The silly quick shot, the silly turnover, not getting back in front of my guy fast enough ... it really matters. Everything is amplified this time of year, and I can’t think of a better experience for our group than they have to go through that.”
The guys who will go through it in the last eight weeks of the season are a youthful bunch. Sacramento had the fifth-youngest roster in the NBA as of Wednesday, according to Basketball Reference. The average age of 24.7 is a tad older than just one team that should make the postseason: the Denver Nuggets at 24.6.
The youngest team to make the playoffs last season was the Boston Celtics. Their average age: 24.7.
The three youngest teams this season – the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns – are looking at lottery selections in June’s draft.
One of the newest Kings is impressed with what he’s seen.
“This is a young group, but it’s a maturing group,” forward Harrison Barnes said. “To see them show that poise and to see De’Aaron (Fox), Buddy (Hield) and Bogdan (Bogdanovic) play older than their age, it’s good to see that.”
Fox and Hield, the starting backcourt, have seen considerable jumps in their statistics from last season. Fox, the 21-year-old second-year point guard who was called “the franchise guy” by Joerger before the season, has seen his averages increase across the board, including points (17.2, up from 11.6), assists (7.2 from 4.4), steals (1.7, from 1.0) and field-goal percentage (46.1, from 41.2). Hield, a 26-year-old, third-year shooting guard, is averaging career highs in points (a team-leading 20.5), rebounds (5.1) and 3-point percentage (44.9).
As players continue to develop, the Kings have gotten considerably younger. Their average age of 26.4 in 2017-18 was the 14th-oldest in the NBA, boosted by having the league’s elder statesman in Vince Carter, who is now 42, and Zach Randolph, who at 37 is currently the sixth-oldest active player.
Carter went to the Atlanta Hawks on a free-agent deal before the season started, then the Kings’ average age dropped after they traded Randolph to the Dallas Mavericks for Barnes.
The oldest player on the Kings now is veteran forward Corey Brewer, who signed his second 10-day contract with the team Monday. Brewer, who turns 33 next month, has not yet played for Sacramento, which is 2-1 in the three games he’s been on the roster.
The youngest King is rookie big man Marvin Bagley III, who turns 20 March 14. He’s the 10th-youngest player to appear in a game this season. Only four younger players have taken the court more: New York’s Kevin Knox, Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr., Dallas’ Luka Doncic and Chicago’s Wendell Carter. Of this group, Jackson has played in the most games at 58.
Alec Burks is another new King who is excited about the young roster. Burks, 27, came to Sacramento from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team deal in which the Kings sent Iman Shumpert to the Houston Rockets.
“I know this is a young core that plays hard,” Burks said Feb. 8 after his first game with the team, adding the Kings have the “potential to be very good in the future and that’s what I learned tonight.”
The rest of the league seems to be learning, too. A few All-Stars have been complimentary of what the Kings are doing.
“They have a good young team to root for and if they keep this core together, keep adding good veterans like they did, they’ll be an exciting team to watch for a while,” said Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade following a 102-96 loss Feb. 8 at Golden 1 Center.
“The Kings have created an exciting environment,” Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard said during NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, N.C. “They’ve got a lot of young talent. ... It’s been fun to watch.”
With more than two-thirds of their regular-season games played, now’s the time to see if the player development can turn into at least four more games in late April.
“We have good guys and they’re locked in on the goal of being as good as we can be as fast as we can be, and see if we can’t get into the playoffs,” Joerger said. “I think it’s a fun, competitive situation.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2019 at 5:48 PM.