Why has Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic been struggling with his shot? Let’s ask him

The second half of the season has been a bit of a struggle for Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has been mired in a prolonged shooting slump for more than two months.

Bogdanovic made what might be remembered as the play of the year when he buried a long, fade-away 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 27 at Golden 1 Center. A few nights later, he made just 7 of 19 field-goal attempts in an overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers – the kind of game that might symbolize Sacramento’s failed playoff push if the Kings miss the postseason for the 13th consecutive season – and he hasn’t been the same ever since.

Bogdanovic was hoping to put his shooting woes behind him as the Kings continued a four-game home stand against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night at Golden 1 Center. In an interview with The Bee, Bogdanovic acknowledged that physical fatigue and mounting playoff pressure might have contributed to his struggles over the past several weeks.

“There is always a reason,” said Bogdanovic, a 26-year-old Serbian. “I’m trying to be ready every game, trying to help the team win. Sometimes I put extra pressure on me.”

Bogdanovic was an NBA All-Rookie second-team selection last season. He averaged 11.8 points per game on 44.6-percent shooting from the field and 39.2-percent shooting from 3-point range.

This season, Bogdanovic averaged 16.4 points over his first 24 games after missing the first 10 games while recovering from a surgical procedure on his left knee. His average dipped to 13.4 points over the next 34 games, but there was a precipitous drop in his shooting percentages.

Bogdanovic shot 41.6 percent from the field in January and 39.8 percent in February. He made just 46 of 146 3-pointers over that stretch, shooting 31.5 percent from beyond the arc.

“I’m not happy with how I’m performing, especially last month or so, but that’s part of the game,” Bogdanovic said. “Sometimes you have to go through that.”

Kings coach Dave Joerger said his confidence is Bogdanovic has not wavered.

“He just hasn’t been able to catch a rhythm,” Joerger said. “You try to show a guy confidence. If it means drawing up a play for him or telling him not to pass up shots, I think players always feel good if their coach is yelling at them to shoot more, so I’m always in his ear.”

The Kings were 19-17 when Bogdanovic’s slump began. They are 15-18 since then and had lost nine of 12 before beating the Chicago Bulls 129-102 on Sunday, leaving them six games out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

Bogdanovic said the team’s up-tempo style might have taken a toll on some of the team’s young players, including guards De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield, who endured their own shooting struggles.

“Maybe a little bit of that, maybe a little pressure,” Bogdanovic said. “You can say it’s fatigue or something else, but what I see is more like experience and that little bit of pressure. Small mistakes, small details, against good teams, they always punish you, but we never had moments where we were not motivated. We always want to win.”

This story was originally published March 19, 2019 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Why has Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic been struggling with his shot? Let’s ask him."