The Sacramento Kings have made a slight roster tweak before facing the Denver Nuggets.
The Sacramento Kings made a tweak to their starting lineup before facing the Denver Nuggets Thursday.
Nique Clifford is being inserted into the starting five, with Mark Haynes of the Sacramento Observer breaking the news ahead of the Western Conference showdown.
How is Clifford earning the nod? Zach LaVine is one reason -- as the veteran is currently dealing with a thumb injury. LaVine also is hearing constant chatter across the league as a potential trade idea.
Clifford has earned some key minutes through Doug Christie. He received 18 minutes in the rout of the Miami Heat on Saturday -- responding with a 15-point outing in the 127-111 victory. Clifford then played in 14 minutes, scoring seven points. But he played 23 minutes back on Dec. 3 -- settling for two points only against the Houston Rockets.
Still, Clifford has impressed on occasion -- notably down in the G-League. He was dropping 16 points a night for the Stockton Kings, the affiliate of Sacramento. Clifford additionally grabbed seven rebounds a night.
Clifford originally arrived to the league via the 2024 NBA Draft, but with a different franchise. The eventual world champion Oklahoma City Thunder took him in as the 24th overall pick in that class.
But the Kings claimed his draft rights in exchange for a protected 2027 first round selection. The former Colorado State guard never got the chance to shoot hoops with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams or the Thunder. OKC has since become the league's best franchise with their astonishing 24-1 start.
Clifford, meanwhile, is only averaging just seven points a night for the Kings. He's hauled in 5.5 rebounds while dishing out 2.5 assists a night. And he's played an average of 28.3 minutes for Christie's team and in a room featuring LaVine, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan, Maxime Raynaud and others.
He'll be asked to spark the offense in LaVine's absence plus add a rebounding element. Sacramento features one of the league's worst rebounding teams across the league -- helping explain the current offensive woes during its slow start.
The Kings are tied with having the second-worst record among Western Conference teams. Only the New Orleans Pelicans have a worst mark at 3-22 overall. Sacramento is also aiming to improve its home record to four wins -- as it sits at 3-7 overall inside the Golden 1 Center.
Clifford arrived to the league as an All-Mountain West Conference selection with the Rams.