First year Kings coach Michael Malone is ready to make some changes to his starting lineup after Sacramento’s lackluster 1-5 start.
Kings’ Michael Malone will change lineup after 1-5 start
The first-year head coach has seen enough from the Kings
Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
He called out his team's selfishness after Saturday night's second-straight loss to the Trail Blazers,
“We have a lot of guys that just care about themselves on this team,” Malone said. “And if their game is not going, they quit playing. And changes will be made before we play Wednesday.”
Greivis Vasquez, Marcus Thornton, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins have started the first six games but only Cousins is averaging double digits. Sacramento has the worst defensive rating and is ranked No. 19 in offense, according to Basketball-Reference.
Malone will have his options for the starting lineup when the Kings take their home floor Wednesday against the visiting Nets.
Third-year point guard Isaiah Thomas is averaging 18 points and 4.5 assists per game in 27.5 minutes off the bench and rookie shooting guard Ben McLemore is fourth on the team in scoring with 8.8 per game.
Per 36 minutes, McLemore is averaging over 16 points per game, again via Basketball-Reference.
For Malone, having options is a much better situation than the alternative.
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