With nearly half the Sacramento Kings\u2019 roster sidelined due to COVID-19, Tyrese Haliburton has flourished in the role of primary shot-creator.\u00a0<\/p>\n
De\u2019Aaron Fox, the Kings\u2019 main offensive engine is among those sidelined, meaning Haliburton has been forced into the driver seat for Sacramento.\u00a0In the three games Fox has missed, Haliburton has attempted 16, 19, and 18 shots, the most shots attempted of any player roster in that time frame.<\/p>\n
Haliburton is passive by nature and clearly feels a sense of pride in creating shots for his teammates, but his own shot is a weapon in itself.\u00a0When he shares the court with Fox, Haliburton plays more of a tertiary role, filling in the cracks and providing a secondary ball-handling option. In recent games though, Haliburton has shown why even when the Kings get players back healthy, his offensive game needs to be more of a priority for the team.<\/p>\n
Haliburton is the most efficient shot creator on the Kings roster, and he needs to recognize that and start being consistently more aggressive with his shot, even when De\u2019Aaron Fox returns to the lineup. Even if Haliburton eats into some of Fox\u2019s attempts, this is a worthwhile trade-off for the Kings.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Certain sections of Kings fans have seen Haliburton\u2019s success as a sign that the team should trade Fox, but I think that misses the point a little bit. There are enough possessions and shots to go around for a team to have two great initiators. With the pairing just in its second year together, they just need more time to gel together before deciding to break up the pair, unless there is some undeniable roster upgrade available. <\/p>\n
Fox\u2019s usage rate is 28% and Haliburton\u2019s is just 17.1%. There is a real case that Haliburton and Fox should be closer in this metric. <\/p>\n
Haliburton has been killing it from just about every spot on the court. He\u2019s continued to excel as a three-point shooter, now at 41.4% on the season, on a more diverse set of attempts than he attempted as a rookie. Also, he\u2019s gotten much more comfortable operating in the mid-range, an area of the court he didn\u2019t use quite as much as a rookie. <\/p>\n
There aren\u2019t that many guards in the NBA that operate better out of the pick and roll than Haliburton. His timing and feel make him the ideal partner for any athletic big man like Richaun Holmes or as we\u2019ve seen recently, Damian Jones.<\/p>\n
In the Kings\u2019 108-89 loss to the Toronto Raptors last week, Haliburton attempted only two shots, and back on Nov. 28 in a 128-101 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Haliburton attempted just four shots. For a player as efficient as Haliburton, this is unacceptable and just can\u2019t happen going forward. In my mind, Haliburton should be attempting around 15 shots a game even when the Kings\u2019 roster is back to full health.<\/p>\n
The Kings roster is still notably absent of a wing creator that can operate out of the pick and roll, but considering his length at 6 foot 5, Haliburton can be that guy in a pinch. <\/p>\n
Haliburton has also flashed the ability to take and make those superstar guard three-pointers that we see guys like Trae Young, Stephen Curry, and Damian Lillard attempt. Haliburton\u2019s unorthodox release prevents him from being extremely high volume like these guys, but still has comfort using stepbacks and dribble moves to give him enough space to consistently make this shot.<\/p>\n
In just the last few games, he\u2019s looked extremely comfortable with these shots, and it should be a bigger part of his offensive menu going forward. <\/p>\n
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— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) December 21, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n