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Is Darren Collison The Sacramento Kings’ Answer At Point Guard?

By Nathan Grubel

Jan 17, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) on the ground with less than a minute remaining on the clock during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Sleep Train Arena. The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Sacramento Kings 117-108. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) on the ground with less than a minute remaining on the clock during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Sleep Train Arena. The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Sacramento Kings 117-108. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Sacramento Kings certainly have had a revolving door when it comes to point guards ever since DeMarcus Cousins was drafted by the team. In fact, even for some years before then, the position has been a complete disaster.

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Whether it’s been the player not performing up to par or just not getting along with the rest of the people in the locker room, including Cousins and the head coach, there just hasn’t been someone that has come in and made everyone happy on both ends of floor.

That is until Darren Collison gave the opportunity a shot.

Collison has had a remarkable year for the Kings, really helping the team not be completely pitiful despite the injuries that have been sustained by virtually every key player on the roster. Collison has gotten the job done on both ends of the floor, really giving this team hope that they may have found their starting point guard of the future.

Offensively, when Collison is on point, there may not be many other lead guards in the NBA that can stop him. Collison has all of the size and explosiveness that one would want out of their point guard, and he loves to attack and take advantage of his athletic gifts, another thing that other Sacramento point guards haven’t exactly done to an extent.

Even though Collison isn’t the tallest floor general in the league today, he is very strong for his size and knows how to contort his body to avoid having his shot rejected at the rim. Make no mistake about it Collison is a dangerous scorer, and his game starts with using his great speed and quickness to cut inside and get easy scores around the basket.

There really aren’t a lot of other guards in the league that shoot the ball as well as Collison does from the floor. Shooting 47.3 percent from the field is a big deal for a perimeter player who doesn’t have the luxury of utilizing a lot of size in order to get almost all of his attempts at the rim.

Collison still takes a lot of jump shots and floaters and knows exactly when to use either, and it shows by how efficient he truly is as a basketball player.

Collison isn’t just a scorer, however. His 5.6 assists per game show that he knows how to be a playmaker when he needs to be, as he excels at changing speeds and either going faster or slower depending on what the situation calls for. If his teammates are running with him and keeping up, then he has no problem speeding things up and hitting them for passes in transition.

If his teammates need some time to take a breath and get set on offense, Collison can slow the game down and work out of the halfcourt. Collison’s game has certainly matured in that aspect, which is impressive given that he is still only age 27.

Defensively, Collison may not be a lockdown defender at his position, but he does know how to play with quick hands and make handling the ball difficult for his opponents.

Collison has always had a knack for stealing the ball, which isn’t always the mark of a great defender, but it does show that there’s at least effort being put forth, which sometimes is all a coach can ask for of a player on defense.

Even though Collison has been missing some time lately for the Kings, and yes it’s shown with a dip in production on the court, he should still find himself as the starter for the rest of the season and going into next year. Is he the definite long-term answer for Sacramento at the position?

I can’t say for sure, but he certainly has all of the physical tools and skills that match up with what Cousins wants to do as a big man.

Having such a quality big man down low means that you need someone to get him the ball in the right places at the right times. Collison can do that as well as carry the team on that end of the floor by himself for stretches, meaning that at least for the next few years he can be looked at as a serious option for this team at the position.

*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

Next: How DeMarcus Cousins Can Improve

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