If you’ve spent any time on X (formerly known as Twitter) and follow basketball, you’ve probably seen posts about Darius Acuff Jr.’s efficiency and impact metrics for the Sacramento Kings. I won’t sugarcoat it; things haven’t exactly been pretty for Acuff Jr. and the Kings thus far. The rookie point guard is taking 20+ shots a game and shooting under 35% from the field while struggling on defense. 

While Acuff Jr. can and will improve, the Kings can also be doing a lot more for him by putting the right groups around their burgeoning star. 

What Isn’t Working

Using NBA.com’s data, the Kings' two most-played five-man lineups have -27.4 and -32.8 net ratings, respectively, which isn’t great, in case you were curious. Their most-used lineup is Acuff Jr., Zach LaVine, De’Andre Hunter, Precious Achiuwa, and Domantas Sabonis, and the second most-used lineup swaps Keegan Murray in for Achiuwa. 

The Kings don’t have a lineup that has played over 5 minutes together with a positive net rating so far this season, and that’s a problem. 

Acuff Jr. is absolutely at fault for the poor shooting and lack of defensive engagement, but he’s a rookie, and it isn’t fair to expect him to be perfect right away. For him to be successful, he needs specific types of players around him (as is the case with most smaller guards in the NBA). 

Unfortunately, there are quite a few players on the Kings that are just bad matches, plain and simple. While Hunter and Achiuwa also don’t have good net ratings as two-man lineups with Acuff Jr., there’s one player who I believe is specifically a poor fit for the rookie.

Acuff Jr. and LaVine have a -17.4 net rating in 124 minutes together this season, and the Kings have a 121.7 defensive rating as a team with both of them on the court. 

We knew the defense was going to be a challenge with that pairing, but they also have a poor 106.5 offensive rating, which is really the bigger issue. 124 minutes isn’t a large sample size, and net rating for pairings is a limited stat because there are always five players on the court, which makes it important to dive a little deeper.

According to Databallr’s WOWY combos, LaVine, Sabonis, and Acuff Jr. have a -24.7 net rating when together, very similar to the Kings’ most-used five-man combo. When you take LaVine out of the picture, Acuff Jr. and Sabonis have a +26.3 net rating in 19 minutes together. That is another incredibly small sample, but I do think there’s something to take from this data.

What Is Working

There’s one common denominator in the Kings’ best lineups this year, and he’s also a rookie. Sacramento’s second-round pick Emanuel Sharp has acquainted himself with the fans quickly with his tenacious defense and all-out effort whenever he steps on the court. Sharp’s defensive impact is obvious, but he’s also been a reliable floor spacer. 

The Houston Cougar is shooting 45% on 2.8 triples per game early in the season, but his three-point attempt rate is really the important part. Even though 2.8 threes per game isn’t a ton, 61% of Sharp’s shots are coming from behind the line. His willingness to get them up whenever he has a sliver of space is huge for the Kings’ spacing, and by proxy, Acuff Jr.’s. 

Giving Darius an outlet he can rely on and more space to work with on the court is huge, and even though LaVine is a great shooter, he doesn’t space the floor in the same way Sharp does.

It isn’t super reasonable to expect Sharp to start with LaVine still on the roster, but it’s clear that he’s the type of player that Acuff Jr. needs next to him. A tough on-ball defender who can space the floor reliably and doesn’t need the ball to be effective. 

I don’t think Sharp is necessarily who will take the Kings’ shooting guard spot in the long term, but he may be a perfect stopgap option once LaVine moves on.

Is There a Way to Make a LaVine-Acuff Jr. Pairing Work?

Most small, high-usage guards have been at their best with two-way, floor-spacing wings/guards next to them in the lineup. Steph Curry had the best possible version of that with Klay Thompson, but why were Steph and Klay so successful? Well, they're obviously the two best shooters of all time, but the longer answer is that Klay was incredible as a spot-up shooter, and his gravity, as well as his movement, created so much more space for Steph to operate.

With Sabonis also a mainstay in the starting lineup, the Kings need players who are willing to be three-and-D specialists. Only 11% of LaVine’s shots are catch-and-shoot threes, while 52% of his shots are pull-ups, not the ideal profile next to a high-usage point guard. I don’t think LaVine will ever be the defender Sharp is, but becoming a more willing off-ball player would go a long way to making the pairing work.