5 interesting things about the Kings season so far

This has been a fascinating season for the Sacramento Kings. Unlike last season’s surprise team, there are now expectations that come along with taking the Golden State Warriors to Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs.

Given the Kings were mostly healthy for the majority of last season, the absence of De’Aaron Fox in this early stretch of games forced the team into some adversity. Not only that, but the players are dealing with the push from the coaching staff to take the defense to the next level. Those two things, combined with new rotation pieces has created some interesting story lines over the last several weeks.

Let’s break down some of those things.

Davion Mitchell’s Role

Greg wrote about the question, “What is Mitchell’s future with the Kings now?” It is a good question. Mike Brown essentially replaced Mitchell in the rotation following a spirited performance by Keon Ellis in garbage time in the second loss to the Houston Rockets. Mitchell recently received three straight DNPs. Brown justifies the decision to move Ellis into that backup point guard spot based on that effort in that game against the Rockets. There might be a little more to it than that though. Brown made an interesting comment about this lineup switch following the win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was asked about the decision to completely replace Mitchell with Ellis in the rotation, and he again mentioned the Rockets game, but then commented on what Mitchell should do next time he gets into a game.

“Whether it’s for 30 seconds or, like I said, five minutes or 15 minutes or 10 minutes, he’s got to go play the right way and impact the game by not doing too much, but being who he is and playing toward his superpower to help us win,” Brown said.

That superpower, of course, is defense. That is what Mitchell is known for, so no surprise there, but the “not doing too much” comment is certainly interesting. Many have mentioned how Mitchell may not be the best fit for the free-flowing style of offense the Kings play. And when you look at the advanced stats, particularly when it comes to touches and his on/off numbers, you see where the issues are on offense, and surprisingly, on defense too.

Mitchell needs to control the ball to have an impact. There are a lot of players like this in the NBA, so it isn’t unusual, but on a team that relies on movement, cutting, everyone touching the ball and quick decisions, Mitchell tends to pound the ball a…