Zach Lavine is a great scorer and the Sacramento Kings could have used that talent of his when they were tryin to make a comeback in loss to the Miami Heat. Doug Christie had other things in mind though.
The Kings coach decided to field him for just five minutes in the loss which may be blamed for their poor start. The Heat, playing the second game of a back-to-back and lost to Warriors before, outscored them by 13 points in the first two quarters.
It’s catch up game for them after that. People thought Lavine missing most of the comeback attempt is interesting.
Them playing Lavine 5 minutes in the 2nd half is nasty work..
— 𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙆𝙖𝙮𝘿𝙚𝙚 (@WhyNotKayDee) January 21, 2026
I didn’t bet on Zach Lavine, but how has he only played 5 minutes in the second half?? pic.twitter.com/RwuhXeksjB
— Fitzmagic13 (@fitzmagic13) January 21, 2026
Benching Zach lavine the entire second half like that is all you need to know about the corruption in the sport smh.
— Gokuu ✨ (@xZayTac) January 21, 2026
Sabonis and LaVine both sitting, that’s a healthy $90m just doing nothing for you on the bench
— Professor OAK 🇵🇸 (@o_a_khan) January 21, 2026
Zach Lavine 15pts 6-8 FG (2-3pt FG) why the fuck he only played 20mins smh im tired of Vegas Makin that call🖕🏿
— 🤝🏾 CA$H Hand2Hand PROFIT 🤝🏾 (@CashProfit_) January 21, 2026
It’s defense vs Zach Lavine’s offense
The intriguing part about Lavine’s benching was that he was efficient in the first half. He was 6 out 8 in the first half and was 3 out of from the three point line. He finished with 18 points.
Christie is aware of that but he explained it is because they needed defense more than his offense.
“Obviously he shot the ball well. We’re trying to find a rhythm and find a group that is stopping people at the same time,” he told reporters when asked about the two-time All-Star’s limited minutes.
“Zach will come tomorrow and probably have 40. We didn’t have a great problem scoring tonight. We need to stop somebody.”
The coach may be on to something here as they outscored the Heat in the second half. However, they still came up short as the opponent still managed to get the upper hand and seal the 130-117 victory.
For the latest Basketball Content
Make sure you are always updated on your favorite basketball players and teams. Follow us @HardwoodHeroics for the latest and trending news about NBA, college basketball, and more. Stay updated by reading more of our NBA articles by clicking here and college basketball by clicking here!
