The Sacramento Kings have strengthened their offense this summer, but some NBA experts still have defensive concerns about Mike Brown’s squad heading into the new season.

After getting the star wing DeMar DeRozan In early July, Kings fans were hopeful that the team would finally make the move it needed to make after remaining stagnant last season. Landing an experienced scorer would certainly add value to the team’s offense, but Bleach ReportEric Pincus He thinks the Kings need to focus on the other side of the ball.

Pincus thinks the Kings’ “number one goal” for the 2024-25 season should be “figuring out how to play defense at the playoff level.”

The Kings need to figure out how to create a plan to stop three players who naturally cannot form a solid defensive combination.

– Eric Pincus, B/R

DeRozan returned to his home state of California to play alongside him. De’Aaron Fox And Domantas Sabonis. Forming a lethal trio on offense, the Kings’ concerns must lie on the defensive side, where they have very few specialists.

That doesn’t mean Fox, Sabonis and DeRozan are bad defenders, but they are paid to score. Kings rely on guarding their side of the field Keegan Murray And Keon Ellis to pick up some of the slack.

Unfortunately, Murray and Ellis are not rim protectors. The Kings have failed to sign a true rim protector over the past few years, and early statistics suggest that problem will continue this season. As a team, Sacramento recorded just two blocks against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Kings ranked 28th in blocks per game last season and could repeat a similar result this year.

Trading for a true rim protector could be an early step in the right direction to achieve the “playoff-caliber defense” Pincus thinks the Kings should aim for. Otherwise, expect tall centers to dominate the paint against the Kings in the near future.

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