The Sacramento Kings fell short, no pun intended, once again against the Memphis Grizzlies in a tense showdown on Sunday that highlighted some of the issues with the current roster. Memphis center Zach Edey feasted against a Kings lineup that is sorely lacking in size thanks in large part to the injury to Domantas Sabonis.
The veteran center is out with a partial meniscus tear in his left knee and is not expected back in the lineup until later this month at the earliest. That leaves the Kings with less than stellar options at the center position including two journeymen in Drew Eubanks and Precious Achiuwa and rookie Maxime Raynaud. Eubanks and Achiuwa are high motor players but not especially skilled and Raynaud is still too green to be an impact player.
This trio allowed the 7-3 Edey to feast in the paint and on the boards as he finished the night with 32 points and 17 rebounds on 16-20 shooting. He faced very little resistance in the painted area and was able to use his massive size to bully the Kings frontcourt for the entire night.
The performance by Edey allowed Memphis to outrebound Sacramento 52 to 34 and all of these extra possessions proved the difference in the eight-point victory. Aside from the rebounds, the teams were evenly matched in nearly every category and the Kings had no answer for the size of Edey and the Grizzlies front court.
If the Kings are expected to trade away some of their veteran pieces they would do well to look for some size in return or at least target front court players with any picks they receive. Rookies Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell could also prove to be the answer in that department but they likely wont be ready for that responsibility for a while.
Sabonis should be making his return in a few weeks but some believe that the veteran has played his last game for the Kings. If that is the case then there will be a massive void in the Sacramento front court for the rest of the season that they will need to fill if they hope to be competitive this year.
