Kings Mailbag: How long can team keep winning without De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley?
The Kings will begin a four-game East Coast trip when they play the Brooklyn Nets on Friday at Barclays Center, marking the start of a stretch in which they will play 12 of 16 on the road.
Sacramento (6-7) has won six of eight after going 0-5 to start the season. Brooklyn (6-8) has won two of three despite the absence of Kyrie Irving, whose status for Friday’s game is unknown due to a shoulder impingement. The Kings will be happy to see former teammate Iman Shumpert, who recently signed with the Nets.
How are the Kings winning without De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III? Can they continue to do that? How much longer will they have to? Kings fans have questions. Let’s see if we can answer some of them in this week’s Kings mailbag.
Dave L. @somdave2005 asks: When is Bagley coming back?
The team’s medical staff examined Bagley’s broken right thumb Wednesday. The Kings said Bagley is making progress in his recovery but is not ready to return and will not play during this road trip. The team said Bagley will be reevaluated when the Kings return to Sacramento next week. If he is cleared at that time, he could play when the Kings debut their red City Edition uniforms against the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 30 at Golden 1 Center.
C.R. @whtmghthvbnlst asks: (Bogdan) Bogdanovic is for real and underrated. Can’t wait for Fox and Bagley to return. What will the starting five look like at that point?
Bogdanovic has been sensational and a big part of the team’s recent success as Sacramento’s sixth man. He is shooting 52.5 percent from 3-point range over the last eight games. He has averaged 21.5 points and 8.0 assists in four games since Fox went down with a severely sprained ankle, helping the Kings go 3-1 during that stretch.
Fox and Bagley will both return to the starting lineup eventually, but the question is when. There’s no telling when Fox will return, but he will likely be out at least four more weeks, and possibly longer if his ankle doesn’t heal well.
The Bagley decision is more imminent — and maybe more uncomfortable. He’s going to start again at some point, but it isn’t clear who he will start with or if he will start right away.
The Kings brought in Dewayne Dedmon to start alongside Bagley as a floor-spacing big man, but Dedmon has been benched in favor of Richaun Holmes, and Nemanja Bjelica has played well in place of Bagley.
When Bagley returns, coach Luke Walton said he will consider how well his other bigs are playing, which combinations are working and which combinations will best serve the team going forward with Bagley back in the mix. That might mean starting Bagley with Holmes, but neither provides much floor spacing. The Kings could start Bagley with Bjelica, but they might have problems guarding opposing centers. Or maybe Dedmon’s play will continue to improve and he will move back into the starting lineup, which would keep Holmes and Bjelica together with the second unit.
As Walton said the other day: “There’s no answers to any of that right now.” This will be a big decision. If the Kings continue to play well, Walton might choose to bring Bagley off the bench for a few games while he makes up his mind.
J Maxwell Bash @jmaxwellbash asks: With Buddy (Hield), Bogi, Holmes and Bjelica all playing solid, occasionally great basketball, do you think they can hang in the playoff race while Bagley and Fox heal? Especially with Walton’s half-court offense finally making big strides?
Yes, if they can avoid any other significant injuries, they can probably stay in the race. The Kings might take some losses in the short term with upcoming games against the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets, but a hot streak in mid-December could give them a chance to be very close to .500 going into January.
That wouldn’t have been the case a year ago when the team was so reliant on Fox’s unique abilities to push the pace. Walton’s emphasis on half-court execution and defense, coupled with the moves general manager Vlade Divac made to improve the team’s depth, are already paying off.
Gone Dark @dark_gone asks: It seems like the team is growing into a team that will better be able to compete on a nightly basis, longer term, on the road, even the playoffs — specifically by focusing more on defense, rebounding and half-court offense. Do you anticipate any decline in these areas if/when Fox and Bagley return to the starting lineup?
Walton took Dedmon out of the starting lineup when he wasn’t getting the job done and then benched Fox and Hield in the fourth quarter of a win over the Atlanta Hawks. If there’s a decline in those areas, Fox and Bagley won’t be on the floor.
Sacramento Kings upcoming schedule
Nov. 22 at Brooklyn Nets
Nov. 24 at Washington Wizards
Nov. 25 at Boston Celtics
Nov. 27 at Philadelphia 76ers
Nov. 30 vs. Denver Nuggets
This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 1:54 PM.
