Kings coach Doug Christie expects rookie Maxime Raynaud’s minutes to increase originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – One of the Kings’ biggest weaknesses was on full display Sunday night at Golden 1 Center.
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With Domantas Sabonis sitting out a seventh consecutive game due to a partially torn meniscus in his left knee, the Memphis Grizzlies rolled into town and rolled straight through the heart of Sacramento’s interior defense on the way to a 115-107 win that was a lot less close than the score indicated thanks to a late surge by the home town team.
By then, however, it was apparent to everyone in the stands and watching on television: The Kings without Sabonis are simply a team ripe for the picking.
Grizzlies’ big man Zach Edey found that out the easy way, dropping a career-high 32 points to go with 17 rebounds (the Kings had only 34 as a team), anchoring a Memphis offense that scored 62 points in the paint.
Because the Kings don’t yet have a clear timetable on when Sabonis might be back, this is an issue they’ll undoubtedly be facing for some time.
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Andrew Eubanks has started in place of Sabonis and has been decent but far from dominant, so coach Doug Christie might have to reach a little deeper down his bench for help.
Specifically, rookie Maxime Raynaud.
The 7-foot-1 center fouled out against the Grizzlies but put together a decent stat line before doing so. He scored nine points on 3-of-7 shooting and had six rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot in nearly 23 minutes.
It was far from Raynaud’s best game of the season but was indicative of what he’s capable of.
The rookie wasn’t made available to talk to the media Sunday, so Christie was asked for his view.
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“Max has done a great job,” Christie said. “He comes in, he’s highly attentive to the game plan, trying to execute the game plan at a high level, understanding. He communicates really well.”
Getting an up-close first-hand look at Edey, who had a monster game, is part of the learning process for Raynaud. Christie believes his young rookie will be the better for it.
“He’s a young player so when it comes to leverage and physicality and some different things that he is learning right before our very eyes … that can be tough,” Christie said. “Especially with a big guy like Zach Edey and Jared Jackson Jr. These guys are huge, but he’s beginning to hold his own, and you can see that the game is slowing down for him. As it slows down and he continues to improve, his minutes are going to go up.”
