Sacramento Kings · 4 notes
Darius Acuff Jr., asked if he was limping after the final play: "No, I just got hit a little bit. I'm good though." The Kings rookie wished he'd played more, and with Ben Simmons handling the ball he's happy to play off it: "I don't mind doing that at all."
Doug Christie wants the Kings to stop settling for early mid-range shots, and players at Sacramento's media availability agreed: "We waste them sometimes for sure... we agree with him for sure." Asked if Ben Simmons' injury looked bad at once: "we keep that in-house."
Darius Acuff Jr. is the lone inexperienced player in the Sacramento Kings' first lineup. Zach LaVine called him a gifted, high-IQ point guard whose preseason mixed uncertain moments with dominant ones: "Darius has been good... And then things where he's dominating."
Darius Acuff Jr., 19, already has Zach LaVine expecting defenses to key on him: "there's going to be games where they're going to be loading up on me or him." LaVine on the Kings rookie's scoring: "You don't average 25 in college for no reason. Kid can score."
Darius Acuff Jr. won't always have to handle the ball, Kings coach Doug Christie said. More ball handlers let him attack once the ball swings to the other side: "Now you can get him on second sides with a live dribble, and that changes the game."