Are the Kings set at point guard with Darren Collison?
By Evan Massey
Will Darren Collison get the job done for the Sacramento Kings?
The Sacramento Kings allowed starting point guard Isaiah Thomas to leave in free agency, and brought in Darren Collison to replace him. Darren Collison has had a very inconsistent career so far, and will now be asked to step up as a starter for a team that desperately needs their point guard to play a big role. It’s going to be very intriguing to see what type of production the Kings get out of Darren Collison with the extended minutes that they are going to give him.
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Darren Collison played as Chris Paul’s backup last season, and also stepped in as a starter when Paul went down with injury. There were times at the end of last season where Darren Collison started alongside of Paul in the back-court, but there weren’t too many of those situation. Sacramento is going to be giving Darren Collison a lot of minutes, and he has to produce big numbers in order to give the Kings a chance at the playoffs.
Last season with the Clippers, Darren Collison ended up playing in 80 regular season games and starting in 35 of those appearances. He averaged 11.4 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, and also limited his turnovers to 1.7 per game. Darren Collison has always taken pride in the defensive end of the court, and the Kings will love the pressure that he puts on opposing point guards.
So the question becomes, are the Kings going to be set at point guard with Darren Collison as their starter?
If he is able to play the type of basketball that he did when starting for Paul last season, then the answer will be a definite yes. There have been times throughout his career that he has completely underwhelmed when high expectations are predicted for him, especially during his tenure with the Indiana Pacers. That being said, he has been a much more consistent player over the past couple of years than he was early on in his career.
Sacramento will likely be just fine with Darren Collison as their starting point guard and he could end up putting up career numbers. The Kings have a very talented roster with DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay leading the way, and that will take some pressure off of Darren Collison. It is very clear that the Kings believe they can compete for a playoff spot in a tough Western Conference and Darren Collison will be one of the main players that decide their chances.
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