The Kings suffered a bit of a decline last season. Sure, they won 46 games in the regular season and then beat the Warriors in a play-in game, but they fell just short of the playoffs to the Pelicans. This season, Kevin Huerter and his Kings teammates want to correct that, and the franchise has done so by acquiring DeMar DeRozan in free agency and retaining Malik Monk, one of the NBA's best sixth men for the past two years.
“First of all, if you add someone like DeMar and everything he can do, you're automatically better.”, Kevin Huerter believes. “If you add a player of his caliber, you're a better team. I would say there's a lot of confidence in our team. That's been the case since I've been here.”
Defense, the key to accessing the playoffs
However, getting out of the West is no easy task as the Kings found out last April. The margin for error is thin to reach the playoffs.
“The West is a really tough conference”Huerter says. “We felt like last year we lost a couple of easy games at home or games we could have won and we were still in it. Every year there are two or three at the top and then everybody else seems to be in the middle. We’ve stabilized the last couple of years. We have a lot of confidence, but it could go either way. We’ll be able to hold our own against anybody.” »
To return to the playoffs, the Kings will need Kevin Huerter to return to his best form, but also a defense that continues to improve.
“Defensively, we continue to show that we are improving, even in the second half of last season. That was also evident in the play-in against the Warriors. I think we can reach a higher level defensively. But it’s hard to make predictions because I also feel like the talent throughout the NBA is at an all-time high.” he considers. We can beat anybody, anytime. It's only 82 games. Let's see if we can stay healthy.”
| Kevin Huerter | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2018-19 | ATL | 75 | 27 | 41.9 | 38.5 | 73.2 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 9.7 |
| 2019-20 | ATL | 56 | 31 | 41.3 | 38.0 | 82.8 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 12.2 |
| 2020-21 | ATL | 69 | 31 | 43.2 | 36.3 | 78.1 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 11.9 |
| 2021-22 | ATL | 74 | 30 | 45.4 | 38.9 | 80.8 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 12.1 |
| 2022-23 | BAG | 75 | 29 | 48.5 | 40.2 | 72.5 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 15.2 |
| 2023-24 | BAG | 64 | 24 | 44.3 | 36.1 | 76.6 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 10.2 |
| Total | 413 | 29 | 44.4 | 38.2 | 76.6 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 11.9 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
