How The Sacramento Kings Should Deal With Willie Cauley-Stein’s Injury
By Drew Schulte
Sacramento Kings rookie center Willie Cauley-Stein will be out for a while with an injury, but there’s enough talent to make up for his absence.
In the first 20 games of the Sacramento Kings‘ season, just about everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong. Add another misfortune to the list, as Kings rookie Willie Cauley-Stein will be out for 4-6 weeks with a dislocated finger, according to a report by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo:
Kings say center Willie Cauley-Stein sustained an open dislocation of his right index finger versus Boston tonight and is four to six weeks.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) December 4, 2015
Cauley-Stein, whom the Kings took with the seventh pick of the 2015 NBA draft, has averaged 18.9 minutes per game, so his loss will make an impact on the team.
However, that impact should be mitigated by the number of talented bigs the Kings currently have on the roster. Ultimately, the rookie’s injury allows head coach George Karl to play rotations that are better suited for his pace-and-space offensive philosophy in two important ways.
The Kings Will Have More Space on Offense
With Cauley-Stein out, Karl will have no choice but to play DeMarcus Cousins heavy minutes at center, with Kosta Koufos soaking up all of the backup minutes. As the only two true bigs on the active roster with Cauley-Stein out, Karl will be forced to play small-ball power forwards next to them that can stretch the floor, giving the offense more room to operate.
That’s where Rudy Gay and Omri Casspi come in. Both are tweener forwards capable of playing the 3 or the 4, but by playing them at power forward it makes their shooting ability that much more potent.
Casspi has shot 36 percent and Gay has shot 34 percent for his career from three-point range, which are passable numbers for a perimeter player but fantastic for a power forward. Playing those two as bigs rather than wings has a ripple effect on the rest of Karl’s rotations.
That means he can shift Marco Belinelli and Ben McLemore from shooting guard down to small forward, and give more minutes to Seth Curry and Darren Collison at the 2. Essentially, by only having one of Cousins or Koufos on the court at a time, Karl can spread the floor with four shooters, or at least three shooters and Rajon Rondo.
The Kings Will Play Much Faster
The other benefit of only playing one true big at a time is that it allows the team to run in transition more effectively. The Kings are already playing at a faster pace this year, 102.2 possessions per 48 minutes this season compared to 97.9 last season.
That number will go up with Cauley-Stein out of the lineup, as the team plays slower with him on the court than with any other player on the team. So far this season the Kings play at a pace of 104.3 possessions per 48 minutes in such situations, which would lead the NBA.
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While playing fast doesn’t necessarily lead to playing well offensively, that is how George Karl prefers his teams to play. In his last coaching stop before taking over the Kings job, Karl won Coach of the Year, taking a 57-win Denver Nuggets team to the playoffs.
That team played at the second fastest pace in the NBA (97.8) and was the fifth most efficient team offensively, scoring 107.6 points per 100 possessions. Whether that success translates to a Kings team that is currently scoring 101.6 points per 100 possessions (good for 12th in the league) remains to be seen, but Cauley-Stein’s injury will allow Karl to play personnel that suits his style.
While Cauley-Stein missing 4-6 weeks of his rookie season isn’t ideal for his development, it shouldn’t affect his team’s record. The Kings hope that Cauley-Stein will become a vital piece of their team in the future, but the truth is he isn’t that important this season.
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In the time it takes him to recover, maybe the Kings can find the offensive identity that launches them into the playoffs this season, and into contention for years to come.