One of the most frustrating basketball plays is the turnover. The 2014-15 Sacramento Kings relentlessly tested viewers’ patience in a sloppy season for their own standards, losing the most possessions (16.3 per game) since 1998-99.
If the Kings are concerned for fans’ blood pressures, a significant reduction in turnovers should be prescribed. Unfortunately the remedy won’t be simple to implement. An offense tailored for risk-taking coupled with turnover-prone, ball-dominant key players makes a repeat 2014-15 performance seem dangerously plausible.
Head coach George Karl tells his teams to push the break and blow the tops off defenses whenever possible. It made for exciting plays and easier scoring opportunities for the Kings in the last 30 games, but long passes were also intercepted which left the Sacramento defense high and dry. The hope is that mental slip-ups in transition will become less and less common with experience, which a full training camp under Karl should address.
In the halfcourt, smart choices with the ball are equally necessary. Over-dribbling and telegraphed entry passes plagued the Kings last season, with blame to go around. The dribble drive offense should minimize such situations, which puts more responsibility on the players to not overstep their roles.
For the Kings to clean up their act, DeMarcus Cousins must lead by example. Ranking third in the league in usage percentage and thwarting double teams can serve as an excuse to lose 4.3 turnovers a contest, but the All-Star center should challenge himself to make faster reads and expose the ball less. A career-high rate in assists last season is an encouraging sign.
Sidekicks Rudy Gay and Darren Collison will have to maintain their upward trends in ball control. Gay reduced his turnovers per 36 minutes to 2.7 from 3.2 a year ago, all while taking on a larger playmaking capacity. Collison was handed a starting job at the point and a career-high minutes count in 2014-15, yet managed to keep his turnovers at a 2.6 per 36 clip.
The X-factor may be none other than Rajon Rondo. The 29-year-old ball handler joins the Kings having averaged 3.1 turnovers per 36 minutes for his career, including a rate of 3.7 per 36 for the past four seasons. Rondo’s strengths as a driver, passer and orchestrator make him a strong fit to initiate Sacramento’s offense, but his bouts with recklessness can’t be afforded.
Whether or not the Kings limit their spills, they may lessen the impact by generating steals as Karl’s clubs have consistently done in the past. By gambling on the perimeter, a stance Michael Malone shunned, the rangy Rondo, Collison and Ben McLemore are aptly capable of disrupting offenses and generating more Kings possessions.
But solving the problem at its source would be revolutionary for the Kings, who allowed 18.6 points off turnovers per game last season. At some point, there’s no feet left to shoot.
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