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.
