Jimmer Fredette of the Sacramento Kings has not gotten off the bench in the teams last two games. Yes, Jimmer's stat line shows the infamous Did Not Play-Coach's Decision. Rookies are known for being inconsistent but nobody thought Jimmer would struggle as badly as he has so far. He's been wildly inconsistent and has struggled to find any kind of a rhythm this season.
In the four of the five games before Fredette not playing, he logged over 30 minutes per game. Fredette was also starting to play his best basketball of the season. He had scored in double figures in four of the five previous games and was starting to shoot better from the field. This is the most perplexing thing about his sudden benching.
Jimmer is averaging just 8.6 points per game to go along with 1.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He's making 1.5 three point baskets per game and shooting just 36% from the field. Sacramento fans as well as basketball fans everywhere expected much more from Jimmer through the first 23 games of the season. Nobody expected him to watch entire NBA games from the bench.
There is no doubt that Jimmer was hampered by a change made early in the season by the Sacramento Kings. He spent his first shortened NBA training camp learning from coach Paul Westphal. Then just seven games into the season, Westphal was fired. Change took place immediately for Fredette and his Sacramento teammates. This can be very difficult for a rookie player trying to learn his way in the NBA.
Fans have to have mixed feelings on the recent benching of Fredette. Jimmer is a fan favorite much like Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos. He has a cult like following and gets cheers when he enters the game in NBA arenas everywhere. I want to see Jimmer play and succeed. I also want to see the team win games. In the last two games that Fredette has sat on the bench, the team has won both. This is likely more a factor of starting guard Marcus Thornton returning from injury than Fredette sitting on the bench. Thornton is the teams biggest offensive weapon and they are playing much better since his return to the lineup.
Looking back at the draft already, there are several players who Sacramento could have selected that would have greatly helped the team. Selected after Sacramento's original draft position of seven were point guards Brandon Knight and Kemba Walker. Other players like San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard and New Jersey shooting guard Marshon Brooks were chosen later and have excelled in their rookie seasons already.
At this point in the season, it's hard to question coach Keith Smart. I think he's done a great job since taking over as head coach and the team is starting to play better. He's gotten a lot out of his big men Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins. He's also inspired better play out of Tyreke Evans lately. The team is passing the ball better and is starting to win basketball games. The only thing many fans want to talk about though is the lack of minutes lately for Fredette. I'm willing to wait a year or two before I call Jimmer a bust. At this point in the season, I enjoy seeing the team play hard and win basketball games. Jimmer has plenty of time to develop and I still feel that he will be a very good player one day.
Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and a lifelong fan of the Sacramento Kings. He started going to Kings games at age six and has attended hundreds of games since. Follow him on twitter @kyler11.
There are no comments yet