Power Rankings, Week of 12/12

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NBA.com #17

Last Week:20↑
Record: 12-13
OffRtg: 116.3 (6) DefRtg: 112.7 (13) NetRtg: +3.6 (10) Pace: 99.0 (17)
The Kings have won two straight games for the first time in more than a month, clobbering the Spurs and Jazz over the weekend.
Three takeaways

• After coming off the bench in his first 169 games with the Kings, Malik Monk has started the last five. The offense has been efficient on both ends of the floor in the 97 minutes that the new lineup (though it’s long been the Kings’ closing lineup) has been on the floor together over the five games, with the Kings’ lineup and their opponents combining to score 122 points per 100 possessions.
• That lineup somehow got outscored by four points over the two weekend wins, so bench minutes were critical. After a rough game off the bench on Thursday, Kevin Huerter totaled 42 points on 16-for-21 shooting in the two games. The Kings have the league’s fourth-ranked bench over the two weeks that Huerter has been a reserve.
• The two weekend wins were the Kings’ two most efficient offensive performances of the season and came with their two largest margins of victory.

The Kings’ first newly scheduled game is an opportunity to exorcise some demons. They were 0-6 against the Pelicans last season and their first meeting in ’24-25 is a visit to New Orleans on Thursday. That’s the second game in a stretch where they’re playing six of eight against teams that rank no higher than 24th defensively.

ESPN.com #19

• 2024-25 record: 12-13
• Previous ranking: 20
  
• Next games: @ NO (Dec. 12), vs. DEN (Dec. 16)

Biggest issue: Opponent 3-point shooting
Remarkably, only the Thunder -- the league's best defensive team -- are allowing fewer 2-pointers per game than the Kings. That's partially by design. Without a strong rim protector, Sacramento tends to help aggressively on drives, resulting in the league's highest 3-point attempt rate on defense -- 46% of all shots they face. Opponents are making those 3s at a 38% clip, second highest in the NBA, and while that typically doesn't carry over, the Kings might be an exception. They've ranked in the league's bottom five in opponent 3-point percentage each of the past four seasons. -- Pelton

NBC Sports #16
Sacramento Kings (12-13, LW 19). Mike Brown wanted to shake things up and went with something kind of radical — starting Malik Monk. How has that worked? Monk’s offense has taken a step forward scoring 19.4 points a game and it’s not just the added six minutes a night, he’s shooting 42.9% from 3 as a starter (8.4 attempts a game) up from 35.7% off the bench (5.4 attempts). His assist ratio has also increased, and Monk is averaging 6.4 assists per game as a starter. The Kings have won two of those three games, including two in a row now for the first time since early November.

CBS Sports #19
The Kings offense is alive! They dropped 281 combined points in consecutive wins over the Spurs and Jazz, leading Mike Brown to preach consistency by repeating the phrase "possession after possession" 26 straight times during his postgame press conference on Sunday (no, really ... look it up). Malik Monk has become the fourth member of the Big Three, averaging 22 points on 50/47/89 splits over his last seven games.

Mean Ranking: 17.75
Meh. A chance to keep moving in the right direction awaits.