Doug Christie Unhappy With Handling Of Darius Acuff Jr. In Kings' Loss To Lakers

Doug Christie unhappy with handling of Darius Acuff Jr. in Kings' loss to Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO — Kings coach Doug Christie wasn’t happy with the way he handled prized rookie Darius Acuff Jr. during Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Golden 1 Center. 

Acuff played a season-high 42 minutes in the 116-103 defeat that dropped Sacramento to an NBA-worst 1-7. 

“Too many,” Christie said. “I don’t want him to play 42 minutes.”

Acuff played nearly the entire fourth quarter, sitting only from the 7:47 mark until Christie re-inserted him with 6:50 left. 

Acuff in the frame missed all five of his shots. He managed to dish out 5 of his 12 assists but failed to score in the period, finishing with 22 points on 8-of-24 shooting (33 percent) after coming in making an inefficient 40.6 percent of his field goals.

“He and I had a conversation in the game, and that’s what I love about him. He talks to me,” Christie said. “He’s like, ‘yo coach’ and we have a conversation. But even with that being said, I have to make sure to protect him from himself in those ways.

“He would play the whole game. That’s just how the kid’s built. But yeah, 42 is too many and it can’t happen.”

The 19-year-old still led the Kings in scoring while early NBA MVP candidate Luka Dončić continued his torrid start to the season by scoring 40 points in his third straight game. 

Dončić is leading the NBA in scoring while Acuff is ninth-best at 26.1 points per game, which leads all rookies and is half a point better than defending Finals MVP Jalen Brunson (25.6).

Dončić was asked after the game about what Acuff is going through as 19-year-old rookie with the green light to shoot. 

“At the beginning, I didn’t have that much freedom,” Dončić said. “And I had to learn my way up. Obviously, we all know he can score a lot. There’s a lot to the game. Obviously everybody sees that he can score – he can really score. But he’s a rookie, it’s a work in progress and I think he’s doing just fine.”

Acuff is saddled with running point for a team without another true point guard on the current roster. The Kings had hoped No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons would share ball handling duties, but he went down with a torn Achilles just before the start of the regular season.

Otherwise, scoring guard Malik Monk is Sacramento’s best ball handler off the bench. Monk, who had 13 points in 24 minutes Wednesday, has had an inconsistent start to the season and is averaging a career-low 8.0 points per game.

It has led to Acuff ranking second in the NBA in minutes, averaging 37:02 per game after Wednesday.

“It’s difficult,” Christie said of not having a true backup point guard. “But it’s a reality that we have.”

The Kings will continue their seven-game home stand on Friday when they host the defending Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and former Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox. 

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