The restart needs a restart.
After more than four months away, the Kings looked rusty on both ends of the court in their 104-98 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night in Orlando.
Playing without starters De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes, the Kings were slow to rotate on defense, turned the ball over way too much and struggled to find a rhythm.
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Miami opened the game on fire from the perimeter, and the Heat cranked up the intensity on the defensive end when the game got tight.
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Here are three takeaways as the Kings drop their opening scrimmage ahead of the NBA restart.
Buddy and Bogi struggle
NBA
With Fox on the shelf and Barnes still back in Sacramento, the Kings need major production out of their two shooting guards. They didn’t get that Wednesday in Orlando.
Bogdan Bogdanovic started, but he was a non-factor. He finished the game with three points on 1-for-5 shooting and picked up an uncharacteristic four personal fouls in 24 minutes of play.
Hield couldn’t hit a shot early, but he recovered to score a team-high 19 points for Sacramento. On the downside, he turned the ball over three times, each of which was completely unforced.
It was the first exhibition, but the Kings need these two to find their footing quickly.
The forwards fill in
With a thin frontline, Kent Bazemore and Nemanja Bjelica are going to have to play serious minutes for the Kings. Against the Heat, they were both effective.
Starting for Barnes at the three, Bazemore was active on the defensive end. He was in foul trouble but still managed to finish with 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Sporting a new shaggy-haired look, Bjelica was an efficient 3-of-4 from the field and 7-for-8 from the line in 18 minutes of action. He didn’t stuff the stat sheet, but he helped stabilize the team early and finished with 13 points.
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Opportunity knocks
Undrafted players don’t always get an opportunity to show what they can do in the NBA. DaQuan Jeffries, one of the Kings’ two two-way players got some burn in the opener, put on a nice little show.
The 22-year-old out of Tulsa is known for his strong perimeter defending, but he showed another side of his game against the Heat. Jeffries scored 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including a pair of makes from behind the arc.
Walton has said he wants a short rotation in Orlando. If the Kings don’t get a few bodies back, Jeffries might get a few looks in the eight-game sprint to the finish line.