Kings Jumbo Lineup Comes Up Big, Shutout Mavericks in Key Stat

The Sacramento Kings were on the brink on Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks, trailing 89-98 with 9:07 left in the fourth quarter. It wasn't the biggest of margins, but on a night where the Kings were struggling with taking care of the ball, it felt like the game was slipping away.

And then Doug Christie put Jonas Valanciunas in the game alongside Domantas Sabonis.

The minute the Valanciunas trade was announced, the question was if he and Sabonis would share the floor. Monday night we got our first look at the jumbo lineup, which worked particularly well against the small lineups the Mavs were forced to play due to injuries to Anthony Davis and Daniel Gafford.

The two bigs shared the floor for 6 minutes and 37 seconds, during which Sacramento outscored Dallas 21-14.

For about a 6.5-minute stretch in the fourth quarter, Doug Christie went to Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas as a double-big look. Kings outscored the Mavs 21-14 during that stretch. It's not something they'll lean on, but the pairing is viable because of plays like this. pic.twitter.com/2j6cWMpM20
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 11, 2025

A seven point difference doesn't seem like much, but it's how the Kings played that really stood out.

What really stands out from the just over six and a half minutes is that the Mavericks didn't have a single rebound. No defensive rebounds, no offensive, none. The Kings, meanwhile grabbed seven boards, four offensive and three defensive.

The combo of Valanciunas and Sabonis was lethal inside. There was even a possession where DeRozan missed a jump shot, Valanciunas had two missed putback attempts, and Sabonis finished it off with a successful putback of his own.

The Kings were already one of the best rebounding teams in the league before the trade, with Sabonis leading the league with 14.3 boards per game, but adding Valanciunas to the mix takes them to the next level.

Playing the two together could be the Kings' secret weapon going forward. The formula for success when they both play is simple. Let DeRozan or Zach LaVine go to work and put up shots while the two bigs clean up the boards and get easy putback buckets.

It's not the prettiest basketball, but it has the potential to be incredibly successful. Monday night was a small sample size, but it's clear that it's worth more of a look going forward.

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