Kings notes: New-look starting five; reduced role for McLemore?

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SACRAMENTO -- The Kings returned to Sacramento after a week away from the capital city. When the practice facility screen was lifted, the team was still finishing their scrimmage. The team continues to push the pace as they prepare for the opener next week.

In a deviation from the norm, center Kosta Koufos was working with the first team that included Rajon Rondo, Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins. Rookie Willie Cauley-Stein worked on the frontline with Eric Moreland and the dynamic bench pairing of Marco Belinelli and Darren Collison.

Following the scrimmage, the team shot free throws, followed by wind sprints up and down the court. It should be noted that Cauley-Stein finished first in most of the sprints for the team in white. The rookie has clearly moved past his early training camp conditioning issues.

The Veteran Second Unit:
Karl used plenty of looks during the Kings 5-1 preseason, but it appears that he has settled on a core group of veteran players to run his second unit.

Shooting guard Belinelli continues to turn heads with his strong play and Collison has been nothing short of spectacular in the Kings six warm up games. Karl has a plan in place for both of these dynamic scorers.

“The one guy I probably will not start is Belinelli,” Karl said. “I want him off the bench. DC (Darren Collison) is a guy that I probably will not start either. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve consideration, if I had to win a game tomorrow, Belinelli may start.”

[RELATED: Preseason numbers don't tell whole story for Rondo, Collison]

Koufos is another player that Karl would like to use off the bench, at least early in the season. The 26-year-old big man will anchor the post behind Collison and Belinelli.

“Whether it’s starting or coming off the bench, I’m just going to play as hard as possible,” Koufos said. “I’ve shown the league that I can start. The second unit is a great unit with O (Omri Casspi), Belinelli and DC and so forth. It’s just one of those things that any given night, anybody can step up - first unit or second unit. That’s what makes our team so unique.”

Collison, Belinelli, Koufos and Casspi appear to the team’s bench mob, although Karl has said that the lineup, specifically at the two and the four, might fluctuate from one night to the next depending on matchups.

A reduction in minutes?
Ben McLemore is still on pace to begin the season as the team’s starting shooting guard, but the competition for minutes at the position will be fierce. The 22-year-old high-flyer started all 82 games a season ago, averaging 12.1 points in 32.6 minutes a night.

“He played 2,600 minutes last year,” Karl said of McLemore. “I don’t think Ben’s going to play 2,600 minutes on this team. But in the same sense, he can be a very big part of our basketball team.”

The third-year guard will share time with Belinelli, Collison and possibly James Anderson as Karl searches for the right mix.

McLemore is in the rotation, but players like Quincy Acy, Seth Curry, Caron Butler, Duje Dukan, Eric Moreland and David Stockton aren’t guaranteed to see the court anytime soon.

“My decision is based on nine or 10 guys that are probably going to get in the game and then some insurance policies to injury,” Karl said.

The plan is to give his initial rotation around 20 games to mesh and then make changes accordingly. Keep in mind that the Kings roster currently stands at 16 players and at least one of the players on the current roster will get a pink slip this week.

Prepping for the Clippers:
After an extended layoff, the Kings will hit the ground running on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. George Karl began installing bits and pieces of the game plan for the opener, while continuing to implement his offensive strategies for the season.

“We did a little bit this morning before practice started,” Koufos said. “But overall, we’re just tied up with things we need to work on and as it gets closer to gametime, we’ll start focusing more on the Clippers.”

The focus of today’s conversations was about guarding J.J. Reddick on the perimeter and slowing Chris Paul in transition. Reddick averaged a little over 20 points per game last season against Sacramento, including a 27 point outburst the last time the two teams met.

“You’re never going to get everything done, so you’ve got to prioritize,” Karl said. “The few practices that we have left, we have to have some type of betterment and development and also just to get ready to go.”

Karl said the team would focus more on the Clippers on Saturday and Monday as they continue their long break.

What’s next for the Kings?
The team will continue to build towards Wednesday’s season opener against the Clippers at Sleep Train Arena. The plan as of today is to practice Thursday, Friday and Saturday before resting on Sunday. The team will return to the practice floor on Monday and Tuesday as they prep for the long regular season.

 

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