Kings May Try 4-on-5 Defense, Like Owner’s Kid’s Youth Team

DeMarcus Cousins

The Sacramento Kings shocked the basketball world when they fired head coach Mike Malone on Monday despite currently trailing the Phoenix Suns by just half a game for the final playoff spot in the West.

More shocking is what the Kings may be planning.

Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Kings may break out a 4-on-5 defensive scheme that owner Vivek Ranadive apparently employed while coaching his kid’s youth basketball team.

Per Yahoo Sports:

The owner played the part of a fantasy league owner, treating the Kings like a science experiment. He shared tactical experiences with Malone about coaching his child’s youth team, and pressed him to consider playing four-on-five defense, leaking out a defender for cherry-picking baskets. Some semblance of that strategy is expected to be employed with Corbin now, a source told Yahoo Sports.

Deadspin explains how this might work:

It’s unlikely that Corbin will actually leave one guy standing under the basket while the other four play a makeshift zone defense—what will likely happen is that one wing player will be designated to sprint back on offense as soon as a shot goes up.

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Igor Derysh
Igor Derysh is Editor-at-Large at XN Sports and has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sun-Sentinel, and FantasyPros. He has previously covered sports for COED Magazine, Fantasy Alarm, and Manwall.com.