Harry Giles Needs To Channel His Inner-Marvin Bagley In The Wake Of the Marvin Bagley Injury
Sacramento Kings fans can let out a sigh of relief. Marvin Bagley III will likely only miss 1-2 weeks. It’s not the best case scenario for a team fighting to make the playoffs in the West. As a result, Harry Giles will need to step up in his absence. If he doesn’t, the Kings might be out of the postseason picture.
We’ve seen a lot of promise from Giles this season. The 6’10 forward has flashed some amazing potential. It’s time for him to step up. Sacramento needs him to be just as good as Marvin Bagley III. While this might seem like a big undertaking, Giles is very capable of the task at hand.
Per 36 numbers are usually a good indication of how a player will do with a heavy workload. If Giles were to play 36 minutes per night, he’d ideally average 17.7 points, 2.8 offensive rebounds, 7.2 defensive rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.5 steals. On paper, Giles stacks up pretty well to Bagley, whose per 36 come out to 20.1 points, 3.8 offensive boards, 6.8 defensive boards, 0.8 steals, and 1.5 assists.
Aside from a slight edge in points and offensive rebounds, Giles has Bagley’s number. And what he lacks in the points and o-boards, Giles makes up for with his steals and assist numbers. These are surprising seeing as how effective Bagley has been on the court. However, there are a few issues with Giles that need to be addressed.
Harry Giles is prone to foul trouble. He’s not as disciplined on the court as Bagley is. There’s also the issue of defense. Giles is far from the world’s best defender. He’ll get lost on the floor his fair share of times during the game. That’s not something the Kings can afford to have happened, especially with Willie Cauley-Stein giving a poor effort on most nights.
You’ll see Dave Joerger go through his fair share of lineups with Bagley out. He’ll probably throw Nemanja Bjelica out on the floor a bit more often, along with Kosta Koufos. Giles won’t play all of the minutes Bagley had been. That has a lot more to do with the defense and foul trouble than it does his game.
The Sacramento Kings are going to miss Marvin Bagley III. If Harry Giles can step in and fill some of the void left by his injury, the Kings might be able to slide by. Giles spared the Kings comeback against the Milwaukee Bucks as soon as Bagley left the game. We know he’s capable of taking over.
It’s going to be a tough road to the 8 seed, but Sacramento, and Harry Giles, will be up for the task.
Image Source: JVILLEGAS@SACBEE.COM
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
