Kings Star's Odd Struggles in Key Play Type

With six losses in their last seven games, the Sacramento Kings are limping toward the end of the season. As the current tenth seed in the Western Conference, the Kings can still get into the playoffs, but it feels like a deep playoff run is out of the question.

Sacramento has had glimpses of a great offense that everyone envisioned after they traded De'Aaron Fox for Zach LaVine, but things have yet to click like everyone thought they would with time. Last night's loss to the Indiana Pacers was yet another example of a late-game collapse that sunk the Kings.

After the trade was completed, the main talking point was how the players needed time to gel and get chemistry on the court. But with 25 games under their belt since LaVine made his Kings debut, the offense still looks out of sorts for the majority of games.

When LaVine landed in Sacramento, he was widely regarded as one of the best scorers in the league. He's averaging 21 points on 50.8% from the field, 41.4% from three, and 87.7% from the free throw line in a Kings uniform. It's a slight drop-off from his season in Chicago, but right on par with what he was doing with the Bulls.

Zach LaVine. Big time shot. pic.twitter.com/MjohGYQe7F
— Skyler (KFR) (@SacFilmRoom) February 13, 2025

But there's a key play type that LaVine has struggled with since the mid-season trade: the pick-and-roll.

The pick-and-roll is arguably the most important play type in the NBA, with teams running the play repeatedly throughout games. Since Domantas Sabonis joined the team, the Kings haven't run the pick-and-roll as frequently as other teams, instead running a dribble handoff heavy scheme, but it's a key aspect of their offense and one that seems to be growing more lately.

While LaVine's overall production is similar to his time in Chicago, his pick-and-roll numbers have plummeted, as shown by his team splits below:

In 42 games with the Bulls: 80th Percentile, 0.99 Pts/Poss, 45.2 FG%, 55.3 eFG%

In 25 games with the Kings: 21st Percentile, 0.71 Pts/Poss, 35.8 FG%, 43.2 eFG%

The word plummet might even be putting it lightly. Since joining the Kings, LaVine has been terrible in pick-and-roll situations. What's so odd about the situation is that LaVine has routinely been above average in the play type.

2023-24: 72.6th Percentile

2022-23: 65.8th Percentile

2021-22: 78.3rd Percentile

2020-21: 82.0 Percentile

2019-20: 62.1st Percentile

While he never led the league, he was more than capable of scoring out of the motion, but for whatever reason, things haven't clicked in Sacramento.

Another odd wrinkle is that Domantas Sabonis is one of the best screen setters in the league, as he's once again leading the league with 6.0 screen assists and 13.3 screen assist points created. There is literally no one better in the league at setting up his teammates with screens than Sabonis.

While the reasoning is unclear, it's hard to argue with the numbers, eye test, and win/loss results; something isn't working. It's possible that Sabonis and LaVine just need more time to develop their chemistry, and it's likely that Sabonis missing time due to injury doesn't help.

But with seven games left and a play-in battle (possibly) ahead, the Kings will need to figure it out quickly if they want to finish the season on a successful note.

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