Darius Acuff Jr. Is A Problem, But Which Kind?

During the first quarter of Thursday’s game between the equally winless Pelicans and Kings, Sacramento rookie Darius Acuff Jr. ran the length of the floor in transition and punched home a sweeping dunk past a late trail from Jeremiah Fears and a halfhearted contest from Trey Murphy III. It was an amazing play, which is why Acuff took a second to flex and mean-mug for the dozens of fans in New Orleans. It was also a live play, and as Acuff preened, the Pelicans ran back and Murphy got an easy dunk, after Acuff’s absence forced Domantas Sabonis to abandon the paint.

This sequence serves as a useful Rorschach test for the Acuff observer: Do you see Acuff’s smooth athleticism, and his ability to produce not only tough but beautiful buckets? Or do you see an undersized guard whose lack of interest in the floor game is matched only by his inability to affect it? Both are totally valid reads of the most (and only) fascinating player on the worst team in basketball, although I think partisans of both positions would agree that Acuff’s first five NBA games have been remarkable.

Nobody in the league has attempted or missed more shots. No rookie has ever attempted as many shots in their first few games. Acuff sits snugly wedged between Steph Curry and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the usage leaderboard, with the sixth-highest rate in the NBA. It’s both fantastic theater and an irresistible new front in the Real Hooper Wars; the Kings, in the meantime, are so bad that the question of any of it mattering will be entirely theoretical for a while. This leaves us all free to enjoy Acuff’s game and use it as a plank from which to mount arguments about how basketball should work.