When the Sacramento Kings have to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder, aka the defending champions, they need every piece of firepower they have. But the returning Zach LaVine wasn’t on his game, and proved how badly the Kings really need him as an offensive threat.
Even when a team is firing on all cylinders, taking on and defeating a crew the caliber of the Thunder is no easy feat. OKC won the title last year and is expected by many to repeat this year for a reason. Sam Presti has assembled a roster of young superstars who are focused on winning. Period.
Walking into an arena to face them down a few key players is a rough place to be in. That’s what happened to the Kings, who took OKC on without Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, and Zach LaVine. And Sacramento got absolutely stomped out, ultimately losing by 31 points.
Zach LaVine is a difference maker
Naturally, the Kings were at a disadvantage without Sabonis, their double-double machine and king of rebounds. He’s not always the best defender, but his scoring is important. Also, no one in the league cleans the glass quite like he does.
LaVine is also integral to the current roster. He has been on an absolute scoring tear for most of the regular season, collecting 30+ points in five of his appearances. His worst game before the injury saw him only getting 15, though he was already hurting and shouldn’t have been playing at that point.
His first game back from the injury was the OKC beatdown the Kings received, which saw him pick up a season low nine points. Even worse, LaVine only attempted five field goals the entire game. That is well below what he usually goes for.
The Kings need his firepower
Zach’s muted performance against OKC is understandable since he was just coming back from injury. In his next game against the Timberwolves, he scored 26 and took 17 shots. That’s a lot closer to the Zach LaVine fans know and love. He’s a shooter’s shooter.
What the OKC game highlighted was how badly they need LaVine. His current average is 25.1 points per game this season. That could have closed the gap a bit. Plus, his shooting gets the ball in play for the Kings when he misses, setting them up for offensive rebounds and second chances.
The Kings may not have beaten the Wolves in the end, but it was at least a somewhat more competitive game. While the coaches made other questionable decisions that cost them, having Zach shooting more in form was big for them and will continue to be key as the season progresses.
