Why Kings like Malik Monk-JaVale McGee pick-and-roll threat going into game against Lakers

It didn’t take long for Kings guard Malik Monk and 7-foot center JaVale McGee to get in sync in Sunday’s preseason opener against the Toronto Raptors.

Both players came off the bench in the first quarter. McGee had only been on the floor for 42 seconds when he threw down a soaring alley-oop dunk on a lob from Monk. On the next possession, Monk dished to McGee again for a layup that resulted in a three-point play.

“It was fun throwing it up there to him,” Monk said. “We’re going to keep building that chemistry.”

Both baskets came out of the pick-and-roll, a play that could be a staple for Sacramento’s second unit as the Kings set out to reach the playoffs for the second year in a row. Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox was asked about Monk and McGee as a pick-and-roll duo after practice Tuesday as the Kings prepared to face the Los Angeles Lakers in their second preseason game Wednesday at Honda Center in Anaheim.

“Malik is one of the best pick-and-roll guys in the league and JaVale is an extreme vertical threat,” Fox said. “So that does nothing but help, obviously Malik, and it helps us as a whole. When JaVale is rolling, guys have to tag him or else it’s going to be a lob fest the entire game, so that makes our offense even that much more dynamic.”

Monk, 25, is entering the final year of his contract after signing a two-year, $19.4 million deal with Sacramento in July 2022. He was a top Sixth Man of the Year candidate last season in his first year with the Kings, averaging 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting 44.8% from the field and 35.9% from 3-point range.

McGee, 35, is a 15-year veteran who has won three NBA championships. He won back-to-back titles with the Golden State Warriors when Kings coach Mike Brown was an assistant there in 2017 and 2018, and another with the Lakers in 2020. McGee averaged just 4.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 42 games with the Dallas Mavericks last season, but a year earlier he averaged 9.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 74 games with the Phoenix Suns.

McGee said the presence of Brown and the structure of Sacramento’s offense were big factors in his decision to sign a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Kings.

“What excites me the most is coming off the bench and being able to have the ball in my hands,” McGee said. “The way this system works, they go through the big a lot. And every system I’ve been in where I’ve had the ball in my hands, I’ve been successful, not even on the scoring aspect, but on the facilitating aspect and being able to playmake. I’m just honored to be in that position because you go to different teams, they have different roles for their bigs, and sometimes people can’t deal with those roles or they’re not excelling in the role of not doing anything.

“It’s just (that) people wake up for different things. People wake up and have ambition for different things. When I was going over watching film of how they play and I realized, dang, the big gets the ball damn near every time. Even if the play’s not for them, the big gets the ball, and as a big man, and I’m sure all the big men out there can tell you, when you touch the ball, even if you’re not scoring, it just motivates you to keep going and keep playing harder for your team. When you’re on the court and you don’t touch the ball four or five times down the floor, it’s just depleting, so that’s not happening here. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Brown said Monk and McGee could be a very effective combination.

“It could be good because Malik is such a threat getting downhill in the pick-and-roll situation and he likes to throw the lob, and he didn’t really play with a guy last year who can just go get it,” Brown said. “So now as a big (defender), you’re put in a predicament. If you pay too much attention to Malik, which a lot of teams did last year, then you’re going to put your backside in peril because, even when you have a small guy or whoever it is sink back on JaVale, they’re usually not big enough to go up and challenge the lob dunk or anything like that.

“So that combination can be really good because Malik’s a willing passer, our spacing is usually pretty good, and JaVale gets in and out of that pick-and-roll quicker than anyone in the league, or almost as quick as anyone in the league. If there’s a couple guys better, I don’t know, and then that length makes him dangerous with the shooting we have, so it could be pretty good.”