Darius Acuff Jr. Knows Exactly How to Improve After First Three Games

So far, I would say it’s been a solid preseason for Sacramento Kings’ first-round pick Darius Acuff Jr. The former Arkansas guard and SEC Player of the Year is leading all rookies in points per game, and his 55% true shooting percentage is likely better than what many expected given his play style. 

The other side of the ball is where things haven’t gone as well, which isn’t a surprise. The positives are that his defensive activity has been better, and it’s clear he knows exactly what he needs to work on.

“Defense, off-ball as far as like, being the low man," Acuff Jr. said.

Why Off-Ball Defense is Important for Acuff Jr.

Acuff Jr. isn’t the smallest guy in the league by any means, and is a lot stronger than many other 19-year-old guards, but he still doesn’t have the profile to ever be a great point-of-attack defender. 

On-ball, he’ll likely be put into actions that get bigger players on him, and that’s true of all smaller guards in the NBA. Stars like Steph Curry, Jalen Brunson, and Tyrese Maxey have all had to deal with it during their careers. That’s why it’s supremely important for smaller guards to be engaged and active off-ball defenders.

A huge part of off-ball defense is just being engaged and not ball watching, something that Acuff Jr. struggled with at Arkansas, and there have been some other examples of poor effort from Summer League and Preseason. 

As I mentioned, Acuff Jr. isn’t the biggest guy in the world, but he does have a plus wingspan at 6’7”, which is actually longer than one of the best off-ball defenders in the NBA, Alex Caruso, and the same as Jrue Holiday. The point is, he’s not so small that he can’t make a difference when he isn’t defending the ball.

So, why is it so important that Acuff Jr. makes an impact as an off-ball defender? Well, there are very few players in the NBA who are good enough offensively to make up for being negatives defensively. We’re talking about those three guards I mentioned, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and a few others. 

As good as Acuff Jr. is already, he still has a long way to go to reach those heights offensively, and there’s a chance he doesn’t. To avoid falling into the trap that players like Trae Young, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine have, Acuff Jr. will need to provide something defensively. 

Playing Free Safety

In the NBA, off-ball defenders who are adept at jumping passing lanes and getting steals are often likened to NFL free safeties, and that’s one way that Acuff Jr. can make an impact defensively. 

At Arkansas, Acuff Jr. did not get a ton of steals and averaged just 0.8 per game. In fact, he only had seven games all season where he recorded multiple steals, and eighteen games where he recorded none. John Calipari was clear that he did not expect much effort from Acuff Jr. defensively, but for both his sake and the Kings’, improving his defensive playmaking is going to be vital.

Though he’s been taking on tougher matchups in preseason, such as defending Steph Curry and Luka Doncic, Acuff Jr. isn’t likely to take those on during the regular season. More often than not, I would expect him to defend wings and guards who aren’t primary offensive threats, which opens the door to being that free safety type of player and also preying on bigs who aren’t great with the ball. Doncic is actually a great example of the latter, and he showed it a few times against Maxime Raynaud in the first preseason matchup.

Low Man Gets Paid?

It may not be as catchy as “Board Man Gets Paid,” but doing your job as the low man, especially as a small guard, is the type of thing that makes coaches really happy. The low man is the weak-side defender who is standing near the baseline and the hoop. 

NBA teams are incredibly skilled at getting small guards into this spot and using the lack of size and rim protection to get easy looks at the rim. Acuff Jr. clearly knows this is going to be a point of emphasis for him, but he’s shown some promise in early action when he’s in that position.

“Definitely learning that spot (low man) a little, but definitely getting better," he said.

No one expects Darius to be a rim protector, but saving a few easy buckets or even committing fouls when you know the player attacking the rim isn’t a good free-throw shooter are things he’s fully capable of doing. 

Combine doing his job as the low man, making smart rotations off-ball, and using his speed to make plays in passing lanes, and Acuff Jr. has a chance to be a neutral defender. If he can get to that point while hitting his offensive potential, the Kings have exactly the type of player they’ve needed to change their (mis)fortunes.

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