Sacramento Kings: Life Without Carl Landry
will miss 3-4 months with a torn hip flexor. Photo Credit: NBA.com
Before he was able to log any playing time for the Sacramento Kings, Carl Landry was diagnosed with a torn left hip flexor. He is projected to miss three or four months following surgery.
On the court, it is difficult to measure just how Landry’s absence will be felt, especially since we did not see any Landry in the preseason before he had surgery. I have talked about exactly what Landry would have brought to the table alongside Cousins and Thompson previously, though, and it is clear that if Landry will be missed, it will be on the offensive end . Landry was quite clearly the Kings most polished offensive threat down low before going down with injury. He is nearly lights out from the mid-range area, is perfectly capable of creating his own shot from the post — though Landry’s absence may force Mike Malone away from those Landry mid-post isolation plays that slowed Golden State’s offense last year — and while he was not an elite finisher around the rim, his above average abilities from that area is an efficiency DeMarcus Cousins can only dream of. Only Patrick Patterson can match Landry’s efficiency and offensive prowess, and even he does not possess the back to basket polish of a veteran like Landry — but again, it is probably good Malone does not have that crutch. Overall if there is an area where Landry will be missed, it will be on the offensive end where his scoring prowess could have obviously been used.
That being said it is not difficult seeing the Kings manage on that end without Landry. Specifically, as touched on a moment ago, Patterson can provide a similar type of scoring ability to Sacramento’s offense. Patterson was every bit the mid-range shooter that Landry was — perhaps slightly better — and was actually more effective around the paint and at the rim. As a matter of fact, Patterson was actually one of the most efficient offensive players in basketball last season, shooting above average from every spot in front of the three point line last year except for the right baseline. Patterson can also add another element of attack to the Kings’ power forward position that Landry cannot. One of Patterson’s most valued assets as a member of the Houston Rockets was his ability to knock down the corner three. Patterson was not trailblazing from those corners, but was good enough last year — shooting over 40 percent from the corners — to pose as a respectable threat out from the power forward position. Jason Thompson was always projected to snatch up a large portion of the minutes playing next to DeMarcus Cousins, and Landry’s injury does not change that. But Landry and Patterson would have battled for those remaining front court minutes, and Patterson getting them all for the time being does not necessarily have to hurt the Kings on offense.
On defense figuring the effect of Landry’s injury is easier, mostly because Landry does not provide much of not on that end. Jason Thompson-DeMarcus Cousins combos were always going to fare better — even if only slightly better — than Landry-Cousins lineups. The fact that we will see more of the Thompson-Cousins combo does not hurt the defense, thought it is worth noting that — based on what we have seen in the preseason so far — the Landry-Thompson four-five look may have been more effective than Thompson-Cousins. Also, there is not reason to assume Landry would provide more defensively than Patterson, so Patterson playing alongside Thompson or Cousins will probably not be more pedestrian than the lineups with Landry in Patterson’s stead. Put simply, Sacarmento’s defense is not sinking or floating at the hands of Landry’s hip surgery.
The place where the injury may have the biggest effect is in the trade market. It was no secret that Sacramento’s roster breakdown contained a log jam at the power forward position. In a way, Landry’s injury conveniently cleared out the jam (well, except for the stout, round log that refuses to shoot outside the paint), but the front office was most likely planning on doing this anyway via a trade. Sacramento was one of the more obvious potential trade partners this season, and have a plethora of assets at the forward position they would have been willing to part with to garner more fitting pieces or future assets. But with Landry’s injury one of the trade chips is damaged and the other other two — Thompson and Patterson — are somewhat necessary rotation pieces. Landry would have been the perfect piece to move when the trade deadline rolled around — a veteran big that could be the final piece to put a contender over the top — but it is hard to see him with that type of value at the deadline when he is just coming off of injury. Thompson and Patterson, obviously, still hold onto their trade value, but Sacramento — to this point, at least — have indicated that they plan to compete this season. If this team, truly wants to make a playoff push this season — or at least look more respectable — downgrading Thompson or Patterson to Chuck Hayes is not the way to go.
Look, there is a good chance this team starts slow and joins the rest of the squads that are Riggin’ for Wiggins this season. If that happens Patterson and Thompson become more expendable, and the effect of Landry’s injury on the court becomes less relevant. For now though, the loss of Landry will at least have an effect on this year’s Kings team going forward.
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