Jason Thompson's Inconsistency Is Hurting Sacramento Kings

It’s no shame for a team to lose to the Denver Nuggets in Colorado right now. The Nuggets have won 15 straight overall, 17 in a row at home, and had to work hard for a 101-95 NBA win Saturday over the Sacramento Kings.

But the Kings, who scored less than 100 points for only the third time in their last 20 games, continue to play solid basketball. One troubling spot, however, has been the play of Jason Thompson the past five games. Thompson struggled against the Nuggets with 3-of-11 shooting for six points. He could have made the difference for the Kings with a better shooting performance.

Thompson has been going in spurts. He scored a combined 16 points in his last four games. In his six games previous to that, he scored a combined 95 points including three games with 18 points and one with 17. His shooting has been up and down so far. He has been turning the ball over too much and he’s been averaging almost 11 points and seven rebounds a game.

In past seasons, Thompson has shot the ball well from the floor and he’s continuing do do that this season. He’s at 51 percent from the floor this year and is having one of his better free-throw shooting clips at 69.4 percent. His shooting percentage from the floor a year ago was 53.5 percent.

The Kings simply need Thompson to be more aggressive to the hoop on a consistent basis and average in double figures scoring every game. If he can add to the excellent play from some of the other players, the Kings will be dangerous for the rest of the season.