Against the Kings last night, Larry Nance Jr. was one of the sparks coming off the Pelicans bench. With his 13 points, he was, without knowing it, more productive than… the entire opposing bench. “ Davion (Mitchell) brought 10 points coming off the bench, but we needed a little more from several players […] because 105 points is not huge “, may miss Mike Brown.
Aside from his second point guard, only two other points were scored by Sasha Vezenkov among his replacements. A contribution comparable to the previous round against the Warriors. But last night, some starters – Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis – shot much less well (4/19 on shots).
It's difficult in this context not to think of the two big absentees on the Kings side, Kevin Huerter and especially Malik Monk, who, with more than 15 points on average, completed his best career performance. “ People who saw us play know he should be sixth man of the year “, blurts De’Aaron Fox.
His energy would have done a lot of good for the Californian attack this night, entangled in a fairly closed encounter. We will recall that Malik Monk, in the playoffs last year against the Warriors, showed that he was not afraid of the moment: 19 points on average over the series.
Going for a juicy contract?
Performances so notable that he should be in demand during the offseason. The 26-year-old player is indeed reaching the end of his contract, with which he received just under $10 million this season.
The Kings, who will already have to spend nearly 80 million dollars for the pair De'Aaron Fox – Domantas Sabonis, should not be able to offer him more than 17 million per year. Enough to convince Malik Monk to stay?
“ It's business in the end. With what he gave us in two years, he showed his value, what he could do for a team. I'll be happy for him whether he's with us or not “, thus projects De'Aaron Fox who will try to convince his friend to return to California.
“ Of course (which he will try). But money talks. We can't play this game forever. We have a very short window to play basketball. Not everyone will be Bron (James) or CP (Chris Paul), and will not play 19 or 20 years old. You need to be able to get paid when you can. That's what Vince Carter told me. He played for 21 or 22 years. I wish he would come back, but I don't know what the future holds », he concludes.
| Malik Monk | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2017-18 | CHA | 63 | 14 | 36.0 | 34.2 | 84.2 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 6.7 |
| 2018-19 | CHA | 73 | 17 | 38.7 | 33.0 | 88.2 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 9.0 |
| 2019-20 | CHA | 55 | 21 | 43.4 | 28.4 | 82.0 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 10.3 |
| 2020-21 | CHA | 42 | 21 | 43.4 | 40.1 | 81.9 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 11.7 |
| 2021-22 | LAL | 76 | 28 | 47.3 | 39.1 | 79.5 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 13.8 |
| 2022-23 | BAG | 77 | 22 | 44.8 | 35.9 | 88.9 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 13.5 |
| 2023-24 | BAG | 72 | 26 | 44.3 | 35.0 | 82.9 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 15.4 |
| Total | 458 | 22 | 43.3 | 35.5 | 84.4 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 11.6 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
