Kings mailbag: Can Kings coach Luke Walton play Marvin Bagley III with Richaun Holmes?
Kings forward Marvin Bagley III returned last week after missing 22 games with a broken thumb. Point guard De’Aaron Fox came back Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets after missing 17 games with a severely sprained ankle.
Now coach Luke Walton has to reconfigure his rotation to suit two of the team’s best young players, but the Kings are eighth in the Western Conference and can’t afford to squander much more ground in the Western Conference playoff race.
The Kings have issues and you have questions, so let’s get to this week’s mailbag before I miss my flight to Indianapolis for Friday’s game against the Pacers.
@DThrill55 asks: Is this still Cory Joseph’s team?
Everybody knows this is Fox’s team, but Joseph filled in admirably while Fox was out, helping the Kings go 9-8 in those 17 games.
Walton elected to bring Fox off the bench against the Hornets on Tuesday in his first game back from an ankle injury, leaving Joseph in the starting lineup. Walton told KHTK on Wednesday he plans to limit Fox’s minutes Friday and Saturday against the Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies, but he did not say whether he intends to start Fox or Joseph.
Whether it’s this week or next, Fox will return to the starting lineup and Joseph will go back to the bench. Joseph isn’t nearly as dynamic as a scorer and playmaker, but he is a respected veteran and a skilled defender who can teach Fox and other teammates the tricks of the trade.
@pmilardo asks: Will Cory Joseph find the bench more often now that Fox is back? I’d prefer to see Bogi or Yogi as the backup point guard.
Joseph won’t get as many minutes, but he will continue to serve as the primary backup at point guard. Yogi Ferrell didn’t play against Charlotte and will likely see a bigger reduction in minutes, but he will see occasional spot duty as a spark plug off the bench when Walton needs an emergency scorer. Bogdanovic gives the team a secondary ball handler, but he will continue to log most of his minutes at shooting guard and small forward.
@TheFakeDIKEMBE asks: What’s the blueprint look like for incorporating Bagley while not losing the ball movement they worked so hard to establish?
The key to this is Bagley himself, but he will get all the help he needs from coaches and teammates.
Coaches spend a lot of time on their iPads in one-on-one film sessions with players. Walton has acknowledged Bagley needs to become a more willing passer, so some of that time with Bagley is undoubtedly spent showing him when to go to work on his defender and when to keep the ball moving.
Bagley didn’t record a single assist in the season opener against the Phoenix Suns or either of his first two games back from injury, but he had two against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday and another against the Hornets. As Bagley continues to grow, he will understand that good ball movement results in better shots for everyone, including himself.
@kingtorres88 asks: Will Holmes’ minutes decrease now that Bagley is back?
Yes, that is already happening. In four games since Bagley returned, Holmes has logged 25 minutes per game. He averaged 31.2 minutes in the previous 19 games after moving into the starting lineup. Holmes is still starting at center, but Walton might be grooming Bagley for that role, which could cut further into Holmes’ playing time.
Holmes averaged 8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in the first four games after Bagley came back after averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds in the previous six games.
@JohnnyDolt asks: Will Luke try playing Bagley and Holmes together?
Walton has contemplated that possibility and said we will see it eventually, but it hasn’t happened yet.
“There will be times we get Marvin and Richaun together,” Walton said. “I mean, think about that. We’ve talked about wanting to be a good rebounding team. We think about what that can be for us (especially) if we’re playing another big team. So, when that will happen, I’m not sure, but we’re looking at that as well.”
@_Eolas asks: Why don’t they play Holmes and Bagley together?
Both players like to operate inside and neither has proven to be a reliable 3-point shooter, so floor spacing could be a problem if Bagley and Holmes share the floor.
Holmes hasn’t attempted a 3-pointer since he was with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2017-18, but he shot 35.1 percent from long distance in 2016-17. Bagley shot just 31.3 percent from beyond the arc last season, but he showed marked improvement after the All-Star break, shooting 44.4 percent in March and 37.5 percent in April, so maybe there is hope for this duo.
@Jgoatoppolo asks: Can we have (Nemanja Bjelica), Bagley and Holmes as the starting 3-4-5?
I wouldn’t expect to see that anytime soon, but it sounds like it could happen eventually. Walton recently said he sees Bagley becoming a versatile threat who can play multiple positions, so, yes, the Kings still think Bagley can play small forward someday.
“As he continues to grow in this league, he’s going to play all sorts of positions on the floor,” Walton said. “We’ll get to the point where we’ll even run pick-and-rolls where he’s handling the ball at some point.”
