Kevin Huerter facing difficult questions and direct challenge from Kings coach Mike Brown

Kevin Huerter is handling himself like a pro while facing difficult questions from the media and a direct challenge from coach Mike Brown as the Kings prepare for Wednesday’s season opener against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

A surprising storyline emerged during the preseason when Brown announced he would start Chris Duarte at shooting guard in an Oct. 15 game against the Golden State Warriors. Brown called the move an “experiment,” but his experiment was cut short when Duarte went down with a bone bruise in his left knee late in the first half.

Sources told The Sacramento Bee over the weekend Duarte is trending toward a return in the coming days. The injury prevented Duarte from getting valuable reps in practice and Sacramento’s last two preseason games, but he could continue to challenge Huerter for the shooting guard spot when he gets up to speed. Rookie guard Colby Jones has also caught his coach’s eye after playing well at both ends of the floor during the preseason.

Physicality has been a buzzword since training camp began with Brown demanding more from his team defensively after the Kings finished 24th in the NBA in defensive rating last season. They led the league in scoring and recorded the highest offensive rating in NBA history while securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, but they were eliminated from the playoffs with a seven-game series loss to the Warriors in the opening round.

“We want to get better,” Huerter said. “We want to get better. We talk about last season, how great it was, still a first-round exit, so we’ve got to find ways to get better. We were the No. 1 offense in the league last year and can still get better on that end of the court, but we can’t be a bottom 20 defensive team and I think everybody in the locker room knows that, so we’ve got to buy in.”

Brown was asked after practice last week how receptive Huerter has been while being pushed to be more physical defensively.

“He’s been great,” Brown said. “… We had a great conversation and he just went out there and busted his behind, and today it was great. I thought his physicality was starting to head the direction that we need to go, and I’ll be interested to see if it continues to go upwards because that’s what it’s doing right now.”

Huerter started 291 of 349 games over the first five years of his NBA career. He started all 75 games he played for the Kings last season, averaging a career-high 15.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting career bests of 48.5% from the field and 40.2% from 3-point range. His numbers paled in comparison during the preseason with Huerter averaging 6.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 32.4% from the field and 22.7% from beyond the arc.

Huerter, a career 38.5% 3-point shooter, offered no excuses when asked if the mental focus or physical exertion on the defensive end was affecting his ability to make shots.

“I just think it’s early,” Huerter said. “For me, I’m not worried about the offensive side of the court right now. I think, like you guys have heard throughout this preseason, for us as a team and individually, it’s (about) being better on the other side of the court. We know what we’re capable of — really with anybody on the court — offensively. We’ve just got to continue to buy in and play the right way and do the things we’re supposed to on the other side.”