Restart needs a restart.
After more than four months away, the Kings looked rusty on both ends of the court in their 104-98 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night in Orlando.
Playing without the starters De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes, the Kings were slow to turn on defense, overturned the ball too much, and struggled to find the rhythm.
Miami opened the game in flames from the perimeter, and the Heat increased intensity on the defensive end when the game got tough.
Here are three points to take when the Kings abandon their opening scrimmage before the NBA restart.
Buddy and Bogi fight
With Fox on the shelf and Barnes still in Sacramento, the Kings need a big production from their two guards. They did not arrive in Orlando that Wednesday.
Bogdan Bogdanovic started, but it wasn’t a factor. He finished the game with three points on 1-for-5 shooting and picked up four unusual personal fouls in 24 minutes of play.
Hield was unable to shoot early, but recovered to score 19 points for Sacramento. On the downside, he spun the ball three times, each of which was completely unforced.
It was the first exhibition, but the Kings need these two to find their balance quickly.
Forwards pad
With a slim front line, Kent Bazemore and Nemanja Bjelica will have to play serious minutes for the Kings. Against the heat, both were effective.
Starting with Barnes in all three, Bazemore was active on the defensive end. He was in foul trouble but still managed to finish with 11 points, four rebounds and a couple of steals.
With a new look of hairy hair, Bjelica was an efficient 3 of 4 from the field and 7 of 8 from the line in 18 minutes of action. She didn’t fill out the statistics sheet, but she helped stabilize the team early and finished with 13 points.
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Opportunity knocks on your door
Unselected players don’t always have a chance to show what they can do in the NBA. DaQuan Jeffries, one of the Kings’ two-way players burned down in Game One, put on a nice little show.
The 22-year-old Tulsa player is known for his strong perimeter defense, but he showed another side of his game against the Heat. Jeffries scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a couple of marks behind the arc.
More like DUNK-quan Jeffries 💪 pic.twitter.com/VFoEIwLeBO
– Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) July 23, 2020
Walton has said he wants a short rotation in Orlando. If the Kings don’t get a few bodies back, Jeffries could get some looks in the eight-game sprint to the finish line.
