Can Terence Davis pick up where he left off before his injury?

Sep 28, 2022 - 3:00 PM

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One of the more interesting and often overlooked players on the Sacramento Kings is Terence Davis. The fourth-year guard from Ole Miss signed a two-year, fully guaranteed deal to stay in Sacramento last August. Hopefully, this season makes move worth it.

Last season was Davis’ first full year with the Kings. Though his stats weren’t terrific, if you look at them on a month-by-month basis they look much better. For the first two months of the campaign, Davis wasn’t seeing much playing time and thus didn’t even have the opportunity to put up big numbers. Through October and November, he averaged 5.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and less than 1 assist in just under 14 minutes per game.

However, in December and January, Davis began to see an increase in minutes. His averages increased to 14.3 points, 4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 21.1 minutes per game. His 3PT% also increased greatly rising from 18.4% to 40.2%.

Here are his stats from his best games last season:

• Jan. 22 — 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
• Jan. 19 — 35 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 7-13 3PT
• Jan. 16 — 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals
• Dec. 4 — 28 points, 4 rebounds, 6-11 3PT
• Dec. 1 — 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 5-9 3PT

Davis was working his way towards becoming one of the team’s key role players. Unfortunately, Davis was officially declared out for the remainder of the season on Feb. 1 after suffering a wrist injury that required surgery, putting an end to what could have been a career year for the young guard.

Now, over half a year removed from the surgery, Davis has been working hard to pick up right where he left off.

What is the best case scenario for their season?

Since he last played, many changes have been made to the Kings’ roster. They have both lost and gained some key pieces, including a new coaching staff. Thankfully for Davis, he has had plenty of time to heal and bond with his new teammates before the upcoming season.

Davis will be competing with Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk and Kent Bazemore for minutes. His best-case scenario would be for him to pick up exactly where he left off last season and earn a role as a rotational player and scoring option off the bench.

What is the worst-case outcome?

Worst case scenario, Davis is unable to outperform his new teammates and slides to the end of the bench, only seeing the court as a last resort option. Huerter and Monk are both exciting players that played big roles on their previous teams, while Bazemore is a savvy veteran with a lot of experience. Davis is none of those things. Hopefully his work ethic and heart keep him out of this situation.

What do you think is the most-likely role for them?

Given the aforementioned situations, Davis’ most likely role will be the third shooting guard behind Huerter and Monk. He won’t see a crazy amount of minutes and will need to work on his defense if he wants to fit in with Mike Brown’s scheme. However, his most valuable skill is as a scoring option. When he does see the floor he shouldn’t be afraid to let it fly like he did last season. There’s a reason the Kings kept him around, and if he gets an opportunity, he just might be able to reward them.