Sacramento Kings: 5 predictions for the 2018-19 season
By Adi Brescic
3. Kings finish top 20 in 3-point attempts
As I mentioned earlier about Dave Joerger’s new offensive gameplan to pick up the pace and add more 3-point shooting, finishing at least top 20 in threes attempted should be an achievable goal for this ball club.
As a team, the Kings finished 28th in 3-pointers attempted and 26th in 3-pointers made. They took exactly 24 threes per game. Despite their low ranking, they did convert for the third best 3-point percentage in the league at .375 percent.
Buddy Hield (.431 percent on 5.1 attempts) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (.392 percent on 4.2 attempts) were the teams’ best deep shooters for the 2017-18 season. As their minutes increase, so should their shot attempts. These two marksmen will be the driving force behind the Kings’ upgraded offense.
Sacramento also added a few other weapons to provide just a little extra firepower to their shooting; Yogi Ferrell shot .373 percent last season with the Mavericks on 4.4 attempts per game.
Former Timberwolves forward Nemanja Bjelica was another addition in the offseason. He’s a big man who can stretch the floor and shot .415 percent on 2.7 attempts in limited minutes last season.
Iman Shumpert is another piece off the bench that isn’t afraid to step out and let a couple threes fly; Shumpert was a .360 percent shooter his last healthy season in Cleveland (2016-17) and he knows a thing or two about playing in a system that values the three ball.
And I’d imagine De’Aaron Fox has worked on his shot this summer. He along with other key players like Frank Mason, Justin Jackson and Skal Labissiere will provide a little punch to the overall number.