[Game] 36/82: Kings vs. Bucks 04 JAN 2026, 6pm PT/9pm ET

[ESP47]

Not bad for a regressed 5th option

That was a fantastic sequence with the block and dunk at the other end.

Still wound up with 12pts on 13 shots, so yeah, still a regressed 5th option.

Hopefully the ankle injury isn't as bad as it looked.

 

[ESP47]

I don’t know how you guys do it I turned on the game in the 4th saw Russ, Lavine, DDR, and eubanks out there and went straight back to football. All I saw was westbrick bricking threes on 2 of 4 possessions nasty work

Doug never even put in the bench even though they were down 20 with a couple minutes left in the game. In fact he went extra vet heavy at the end. The games are pretty much just background noise at this point. I'm trying to find interesting things about this season but it's becoming nearly impossible at this point.

 

[iowamcnabb]

That was a fantastic sequence with the block and dunk at the other end.

Still wound up with 12pts on 13 shots, so yeah, still a regressed 5th option.

Hopefully the ankle injury isn't as bad as it looks

One thing has regressed, three point shooting. He is a better player in every other aspect of the game from his rookie year.

I don’t know what it’s going to take to get him going from deep, he’s historically struggled early in seasons and then shoots well from December on but that hasn’t happened this year.

 

[Jdbraver137]

One thing has regressed, three point shooting. He is a better player in every other aspect of the game from his rookie year.

I don’t know what it’s going to take to get him going from deep, he’s historically struggled early in seasons and then shoots well from December on but that hasn’t happened this year.

Same thing happened with Sabonis. One year he could shoot, then he can’t. Someone messed up his shot mechanics. I suspect it’s the same person doing it with Keegan. Vivek probably hired his cousin with a great new philosophy on shooting lmfao.

 

[ESP47]

One thing has regressed, three point shooting. He is a better player in every other aspect of the game from his rookie year.

I don’t know what it’s going to take to get him going from deep, he’s historically struggled early in seasons and then shoots well from December on but that hasn’t happened this year.

He's sporting the lowest FG, 3pt and 2pt percentages of his career this year. He has more tools in his bag compared to his rookie season but so far it's made him a worse player compared to when he played it safe and took shots he knew had a higher chance of going in.

Yeah his 3 point shooting is concerning. I'm really not sure if it's a mental or physical thing. Maybe someone that knows more about shooting can chime in on whether his mechanics have been changed?

 

[iowamcnabb]

Yeah his 3 point shooting is concerning. I'm really not sure if it's a mental or physical thing. Maybe someone that knows more about shooting can chime in on whether his mechanics have been changed?

Shooting is incredibly hard to do consistently. It probably hasn’t helped that he is on his 4th injury of the year. I dunno, hopefully he can find a rhythm again soon

 

[iowamcnabb]

Same thing happened with Sabonis. One year he could shoot, then he can’t. Someone messed up his shot mechanics. I suspect it’s the same person doing it with Keegan. Vivek probably hired his cousin with a great new philosophy on shooting lmfao.

Keegan has consistently been a poor shooter early in the season, every year in his career. He then finds his groove so I tend to think it’s mental and possibly he isn’t consistent with his mechanics. I also don’t think that the offense has helped him find a rhythm like the DHOs did

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

He's sporting the lowest FG, 3pt and 2pt percentages of his career this year. He has more tools in his bag compared to his rookie season but so far it's made him a worse player compared to when he played it safe and took shots he knew had a higher chance of going in.

Yeah his 3 point shooting is concerning. I'm really not sure if it's a mental or physical thing. Maybe someone that knows more about shooting can chime in on whether his mechanics have been changed?

I haven't noticed anything with his mechanics. He does take a lot more longer distance and contested 3's than he did his 1st season.

The deeper 3's have become popular and accepted as normal, but I have doubts that it's analytically the best shot selection for a lot of players

 

[fansinceday1]

Some of us don't like football.

It’s too bad cause the game was incredible! The drama was absolutely intense. It’s easy to see why the NFL is king

 

[Srzly]

One thing has regressed, three point shooting. He is a better player in every other aspect of the game from his rookie year.

I don’t know what it’s going to take to get him going from deep, he’s historically struggled early in seasons and then shoots well from December on but that hasn’t happened this year.

Getting healthy would help.

 

[Padrino]

He's sporting the lowest FG, 3pt and 2pt percentages of his career this year. He has more tools in his bag compared to his rookie season but so far it's made him a worse player compared to when he played it safe and took shots he knew had a higher chance of going in.

Yeah his 3 point shooting is concerning. I'm really not sure if it's a mental or physical thing. Maybe someone that knows more about shooting can chime in on whether his mechanics have been changed?

Considering the franchise has been on a general downward trajectory for the past few seasons (and has absolutely plunged off a cliff this season), I'm going to say that Keegan's stalled development is more likely a function of Kangz-related disarray than any fundamental flaw within him as a player. That said, you're right to note he has more tools in his bag than his rookie season, and while it has yet to make him a better player overall, the Kings are going to need the work he's put in to sprout after they turn the page on the DeRozan/Westbrook show.

Keegan is very unlikely to evolve into a first option type, but if you pair him with the likes of Peterson or Dybantsa, and if he's part of a much less stagnant and much more dynamic offense, as well as a much younger and feistier defense, it's easy to see where that growth potential will pay off. I'm glad he hasn't played it safe, in other words, because what does it do for the Kings right now, in a hopeless season, for Keegan to just take the shots he's "supposed" to take? Right now doesn't matter, except in the sense that the losses could ultimately translate into a significant talent upgrade. Next season, the roster will be pretty well reset, and that's when Keegan is going to need to start putting 2 and 2 together, so to speak.

 

[dude12]

He's sporting the lowest FG, 3pt and 2pt percentages of his career this year. He has more tools in his bag compared to his rookie season but so far it's made him a worse player compared to when he played it safe and took shots he knew had a higher chance of going in.

Yeah his 3 point shooting is concerning. I'm really not sure if it's a mental or physical thing. Maybe someone that knows more about shooting can chime in on whether his mechanics have been changed?

This is what happens when you have at least 4 other heavy useage/iso guys your sharing the field with. Perry and Christie have not put him into a good position to grow….quite the opposite.

 

[ESP47]

I think it's a mixture of everything, but we can't rule out lack of talent as well. There's a lot of players that put up good numbers on bad teams and there's some players that benefit greatly when they're surrounded by better players. No. 1 and 2 options can put up numbers on bad teams and Keegan unfortunately isn't there and probably never will be.

I agree that his 3pt shot selection isn't as good as it was his rookie year but I don't think it's the entire cause of the huge percentage plummet either.

Really just can't wait until these veterans get shipped out so we can see what we have here. I'm sure the efficiency will get even worse for some of the guys but at least they will play team basketball. It's sad that the summer league guys with a few practices under their belts looked more like a team than this roster full of veterans.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I think it's a mixture of everything, but we can't rule out lack of talent as well. There's a lot of players that put up good numbers on bad teams and there's some players that benefit greatly when they're surrounded by better players. No. 1 and 2 options can put up numbers on bad teams and Keegan unfortunately isn't there and probably never will be.

I agree that his 3pt shot selection isn't as good as it was his rookie year but I don't think it's the entire cause of the huge percentage plummet either.

He shoots more off the dribble now, as well, which is generally more difficult. He was mostly catch and shoot during his 1st season

 

[The_Jamal]

I think it's a mixture of everything, but we can't rule out lack of talent as well. There's a lot of players that put up good numbers on bad teams and there's some players that benefit greatly when they're surrounded by better players. No. 1 and 2 options can put up numbers on bad teams and Keegan unfortunately isn't there and probably never will be.

I agree that his 3pt shot selection isn't as good as it was his rookie year but I don't think it's the entire cause of the huge percentage plummet either.

Really just can't wait until these veterans get shipped out so we can see what we have here. I'm sure the efficiency will get even worse for some of the guys but at least they will play team basketball. It's sad that the summer league guys with a few practices under their belts looked more like a team than this roster full of veterans.

I just really don't know how to judge Keegan's offensive future. He's clearly a high-level starting caliber wing, that's locked in at this point. If you went through every team, there's maybe a handful he wouldn't start for and be a 28+ MPG guy from the jump. But essentially every year of his career, he's been an offensive after-thought. There's never been an effort to make him a feature player on offense and KEEP him involved. We've seen it several times this year where he's got it going for a huge 1Q and then Russ/DDR/LaVine/Dennis do there thing and he gets 5 shots the rest of the game. And the teammates he's now surrounded with are just pure ball-hogs that dribble the air out of the ball. So even if/when he does get the ball, it's never in any sort of creative way to get him an easier shot. There's basically no off-ball motion or sets anymore to get him a clean C&S opportunity that he was so good in his rookie year.

The shooting probably has something to do with the thumb injury that took him out for 6 weeks. I imagine he probably couldn't get shots up and likely lost a lot of his rhythm, so it's taking time to get it back. To close the last 3 months of last year, over 270 3PA in the final 44 games, he was at 38.1%, so he looked every bit ready to get out of his shooting slump.

And we can pretty copy and paste this handling of our young guys down the line. Carter hasn't even gotten a chance, Keon gets jerked around with his role and rotation every other game, Nique is delegated to standing in the corner on offense. Max is only surviving because pretty much the only time Russ does pass is in the PnR to set him up.

As you said, Feb 5th cannot get here quick enough. Give me a close of the year with all the minutes for Carter/Keon/Nique/Keegan/Max/Cardwell and go let them figure it out on the fly. Will actually be nice to see somebody try on defense and share the ball on offense again.

 

[AmaranthineBB]

I can't dispute the important part, but "Most important Jan 4 baby" wasn't the question?

Right as usual, but I did vote for my favorite. important and impressive is just why he’s my favorite