With about 10% of the season in the books, the Kings are squarely in the Western Conference playoff race, but with a lot of season left. Here are five quick thoughts on the Kings season so far:

DeMar DeRozan was better than advertised

Eight games into his Sacramento Kings career and DeMar DeRozan has already won over the city of Sacramento. Most of us thought he would be good, but this good? DeRozan currently leads the Kings in scoring at 25.6 per game and shooting a career-high 52.9% from the field, along with 4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals. He also gets to the line seven times per game and makes 87.5% of those shots. What amazes me about DeRozan’s ability to get to the line is that he makes so many shooting mistakes on his jumpers, and many of those opportunities turn into ones, like his great four-point play against Miami. His reputation as a clutch scorer was well deserved as he is once again among the league leaders in 4th quarter scoring (currently 4th) scoring 57.1% in the 4th. Most of these shots are well-fought mid-range jumpers, yet they seem to go in effortlessly. He was also better defensively than I thought, using great timing to swipe for steals and deflections. The DeRozan experiment is already paying off, and he and the team are still getting used to each other.

Keegan Murray makes another appearance

Much of the conversation surrounding the Kings usually revolves around our Big 3, Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan, but Keegan Murray has also been invaluable. Murray is tasked every night with guarding the other team’s best player at virtually every position except the big centers. He’s also still finding a way to contribute offensively with 15.4 points per game, showing an improved midrange and driving game. But he has also taken a huge step forward on the glass, where he has become Sacramento’s second-best rebounder at 8.3 per game. A big part of that improvement is on the offensive glass, where he’s pulling down 2.9 per game. As Deuce Mason noted after yesterday’s game, in which Murray pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds (including 7 offensive), Murray already has 4 double-doubles in 8 games this season, compared to 12 combined in his entire career to date. Murray looks a lot stronger this season and he’s using that strength effectively on both ends of the floor. Murray also leads the team in Net Rating at +13.3. His impact cannot be understated, and I think the Kings would actually suffer more without him playing than if they were without Fox or DeRozan for a while, simply because of what he brings on both ends of the floor and the lack of anyone even remotely similar to him on the roster.

The Kings can’t hit threes… and that might not matter

During Mike Brown’s first two seasons as head coach, the Kings were one of the most productive three-point shooting teams in the NBA, making 37.3 attempts in his first season and even more last year to 39.3. This season, that number has dropped to 34.3 (21st in the league), while the percentage has dropped to just 32.5% (26th in the league). Still, the Kings have the fifth-best offense in the NBA. How is that possible in today’s NBA? If you make 58.5% of your twos and 84.1% of your free throws, that will go a long way to making up for poor outside shooting. Sacramento’s efficiency below the three-point line was incredible to start the season, 2nd best in the league. The free throw improvement has also been huge, as the Kings have jumped from last year in FT% to first place this year, while also seeing an increase in attempts (that’s the DeRozan for you). effect). The fact that the offense is so good despite not yet being able to do it from three is a great sign, especially when I think we’ll eventually see the Kings regain their touch from the outside at some point. Speaking of Sacramento’s best three-point shooter so far this season is… Domantas Sabonis, who is shooting 50% on two attempts per game. Let it fly Domas!

Sacramento’s depth is lacking

While Sacramento’s starters have been phenomenal, they are also playing a ton of minutes as Mike Brown hasn’t found a good reason to rely on his bench depth so far this season. DeRozan, Murray, Fox and Sabonis all rank in the top 15 in minutes played per game this season. Even the Knicks and Tom Thibodeau (who is infamous for playing heavy minutes for his stars) only have two players in the top 15. Malik Monk is once again leading the bench and he has been good but not great this season as he remains none his shot from three (just 30.8% for the season) and he made just 2.9 assists per game, compared to the 5.1 he had last season. Keon Ellis has done well, especially defensively, but is only averaging 6.4 points per game. Other than those two, there hasn’t been much production off the bench at all. Trey Lyles is still shaking off the rust after missing most of training camp, scoring just 3.5 points per game while shooting an abysmal 27.3% from the field. Alex Len has some nice moments defensively, but cannot offer the same offensive play or scoring as Domantas Sabonis. Doug McDermott has seen some early minutes as Brown looked to spark someone to spark the team, but his minutes have been terrible defensively. Newcomer Jordan McLaughlin has struggled to fit in and has fired just six shots this season, one of which has been made. The Kings are missing players who would have seemingly been rotation players in Orlando Robinson and Devin Carter, but it’s hard to imagine that won’t be an issue for much of the season barring some roster changes.

The real tests are yet to come

It’s been a good start for the Kings, but they’ve also played a relatively soft schedule so far despite all the travel they’ve already had to make. The only team the Kings have beaten that had a record over .500 at the time is the Miami Heat, and they did it by the skin of their teeth. You could argue that both of their first two games against the Timberwolves and Lakers should have been wins, but they couldn’t find a way to close them out and gave up big runs that turned out to be the difference. However, the Kings have taken care of business in the games they should win, which is a good sign, especially after some of those opportunities fell by the wayside last year. I’ll feel a lot better about this team if they still look good in the next week, because their next five games include two games against the Phoenix Suns, a divisional matchup with the Clippers, a rematch at home against the Timberwolves, and a trip against Victor Wembanyama and Spurs. If the Kings can come out of that five-game stretch 3-2 or better, it will be a promising sign.