The Sacramento Kings beat the Heat in Miami Saturday 127-111 and Zach LaVine scored 42 points. The larger story of the game, however, was rookie Maxime Raynaud starting and playing well, and fellow rookie Nique Clifford playing well off the bench.
Raynaud finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 assist in 25 minutes. He was a +12 on the night.
Raynaud is always active and engaged on the floor. He sets screens and rolls with a purpose. He is always ready for the dump off pass and positions himself well under the basket to score. He scan score off soft hooks, floaters, pump fakes, patience and footwork.
It was on display in Miami.
Not to mention his ability to rebound and block shots.
We saw Summer League Clifford also off the bench. He finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds in 18 minutes. He took the ball coast to coast, scored off turnaround fadeaways, hit threes, cuts to the basket, off rebound putbacks, through contact and floaters.
This aggressiveness from Clifford would be nice to see each game and less deferring.
These types of games from both rookies would be nice to see ongoing.
