Kings Mailbag: Critics question Dewayne Dedmon, Cory Joseph as losses mount, but ...
A new wave of panic has set in among Kings’ fans as the team returns to Golden 1 Center to face the Denver Nuggets on Saturday following a 1-3 East Coast road trip.
Desperate times call for desperate questions and discerning readers might detect a hint of despair in this week’s Kings mailbag. People want to know when De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III will be back, why Cory Joseph and Dewayne Dedmon haven’t played better, and whether the Kings will ever end their 13-year playoff drought.
Coyote95667 @coyote95667 asks: Will Marvin play Saturday?
We don’t know yet. The team’s medical staff examined Bagley last week and determined he was progressing but not ready to return. The Kings said Bagley would be reevaluated when the team returned from its road trip, so we should get an update soon.
Bagley has missed 16 games since breaking his right thumb in a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns. He has been able to run and shoot with his left hand throughout his recovery, and has been seen ramping up individual workouts in recent weeks, so it shouldn’t take long for him to get back on the floor once he is cleared to return.
Ergatis @emre8086 asks: Any updates about Fox?
Not yet, but we might hear something in the next week or so. Fox suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain Nov. 11. The Kings said he would be reevaluated in three to four weeks. The three-week mark is Monday.
Dr. Mark Drakos, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports-related injuries, told The Sacramento Bee a Grade 3 sprain typically takes four to six weeks of recovery, but some can take much longer to heal. A few players have missed two to three months with the same injury over the past two seasons.
Even if Fox is cleared to return after four weeks in a best-case scenario, he will need at least a few days of practice and conditioning before he is ready to play.
Glassman0 @Glassman100 asks: Is Cory Joseph actually a good defender? Or even a good PG for this team? I’m not buy’n the hype. He over dribbles, he’s too slow to drive past anyone to the basket. Also isn’t a threat to shoot. Statistically he’s unplayable. Is his D better than James/Yogi/anyone else?
This is a complicated question with a complicated answer. The concise response is this: The data suggests Joseph has lost a step defensively, but he still possesses the knowledge, skills and mindset to lock someone down on any given possession, as he did against Kemba Walker in the final seconds of Sacramento’s 100-99 victory over the Boston Celtics on Nov. 17.
According to Basketballreference.com, Joseph’s defensive win shares have declined to 0.3 this season after ranging from 1.3 to 2.9 over the past six seasons. His defensive rating, which ranged from 103 to 110 over his first eight seasons, is a career-worst 112. For what it’s worth, every player on the Kings who has logged more than 11 minutes has a defensive rating between 107 and 115. It’s also true that Joseph isn’t lighting it up offensively, shooting just 36.5 percent from the field and 20 percent from 3-point range.
Whether he has lost a step or not, Joseph still possesses a defensive mentality that is rubbing off on teammates who call him the “head of our snake” at the defensive end.
Glassman0 @Glassman100 asks: Also beyond CoJo somehow still starting or playing big (minutes), how about Dedmon? What’s the back story on how awful and unplayable he is right now? He’s literally moving in slow motion out there. He is 90+% of the time getting beat on positioning for rebounds (just out hustled).
Dedmon’s play has been one of the biggest mysteries this season. He averaged 10.4 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 37.2 percent from 3-point range over the past two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. He is averaging 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 23.8 percent from long range for the Kings, who signed him to a three-year, $40 million deal in July, prompting coach Luke Walton to bench him in favor of Richaun Holmes.
Some of us kept waiting for Dedmon to break out, thinking maybe he needed time to acclimate to new teammates, new coaches and a new system. He might have finally done that in Wednesday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, finishing with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting with six rebounds. The Kings will need to see a lot more of that if they’re going to get their money’s worth.
Cane @reedrodz asks: When can we make it to the playoffs again?
Call me crazy, but making the playoffs this season is still a possibility. Despite losing their first five games, and despite losing Fox and Bagley along the way, the Kings are still in the race.
Lots of people assumed it would take about 48 wins to make the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference, but those projections might have been way off. The Golden State Warriors have fallen apart in the absence of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers have been disappointing.
The Phoenix Suns are eighth in the West with an 8-9 record, one game ahead of the Kings. If you multiply that out over 82 games, the Suns would make the playoffs with 39 wins. The Kings would have to go 34-31 over the last 65 games to finish with 41 wins.
Kings upcoming schedule
Nov. 30 vs. Denver Nuggets, 2 p.m.
Dec. 2 vs. Chicago Bulls, 7 p.m.
Dec. 4 at Portland Trail Blazers, 7 p.m.
Dec. 6 at San Antonio Spurs, 5:30 p.m.
Dec. 8 at Dallas Mavericks, 4 p.m.
This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 2:50 AM.
