Darius Acuff Jr. has brutal NBA debut vs. Clippers

Although he committed five turnovers, Acuff’s overall production on Monday was a nice way for fantasy managers to start their weeks. Against the Mavericks, the rookie point guard was at his best in the second half, scoring 19 points, grabbing four rebounds, and dishing out three assists while shooting 7-of-11 from the field. Given Acuff’s inexperience, there will be bumps in the road. However, the Kings should be pleased with his progress so far.

After six games, it’s clear the Kings won’t impose any offensive limitations on Acuff. While efficiency can be an issue at times, that was not the case on Saturday. Acuff established new highs in points and three-pointers while shooting a respectable 48 percent from the field. He was especially good in the first half, scoring 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting and committing one turnover. The Kings play four games next week, starting with the Mavericks on Monday.

The trend of Acuff’s field goal percentage improving every game continued in this one, which resulted in the best game of his young career. Acuff became just the fourth teenager in NBA history to have at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game, and while it didn’t lead to a win, it was an impressive performance. He cooled off in the second half after entering the break with 21 points, but it still led to a fantastic outing for the rookie in just his fifth game. It may not be this gaudy or efficient every night, but Acuff should continue to have plenty of usage all season.

While the field-goal percentage remains relatively low, Acuff shot 40 percent from the field in Tuesday’s defeat. His percentage has increased in each of Sacramento’s first four games, and the rookie point guard has recorded 19 assists and 11 turnovers. Acuff still has plenty of work to do on efficiency, but he is making strides, which is good news for the Kings and fantasy managers.

After totaling seven assists in his first two games, Acuff matched that number on Sunday. The field-goal percentage wasn’t the best, but the points and assists were encouraging. Tuesday’s matchup with the Spurs will be challenging, given how good their young guards are offensively. It will be fun to see how Acuff takes on that test in the first of three games the Kings will play in Week 2.

The first thing you will see with Acuff is the points and get very excited. Then as you look at the rest of the stats, its pretty empty. He did get to the line 12 times and hit 11 which really should help your FT% category. While he did score a lot, especially in the second half when he got rolling, he will need to be better on the peripheral stats if he’s going to be a good category league player. He will have many more performances like this one later in the season.

Acuff was -26 in 19 minutes, but all of the Kings’ starters were at least -21 as they lost to the Spurs by 29. He’s had an inconsistent preseason, which continued with 13 points on 12 attempts Friday. Acuff is going to get a ton of usage right away and has more than enough upside to justify his ADP, which is just outside the top-100.

After struggling in Thursday’s exhibition against the Lakers, Acuff was considerably better on Saturday. The lottery pick shot over 50 percent from the field and recorded a game-high eight assists. Even though it was just a preseason game, Acuff’s performance was encouraging, whether you’re a Kings fan or a fantasy manager considering drafting him in the later rounds of 12-team drafts.

Outside of a solid finish to the first half, Acuff struggled mightily on Thursday. The rookie point guard missed his first nine field-goal attempts, and he finished with more turnovers (three) than assists (one). Reading too much into two preseason appearances would be foolish, but those who roster Acuff will need to exercise patience.

As expected, Acuff started at point guard in the Kings’ preseason opener. The lottery pick out of Arkansas led the team in shot attempts, which was unsurprising since he logged 27 minutes and no other starter played more than 15. Acuff shot reasonably well from the field overall, but he went 1-of-4 from beyond the arc and finished with more turnovers (five) than assists (four). Efficiency can be an issue for rookie point guards, but it seems clear Acuff will be given every opportunity to work through those struggles.