SACRAMENTO -- The bench is a lonely place. You're surrounded by a group of teammates, but it's isolating. It's a tough place for a young player to be and on Wednesday evening, that is exactly where Marvin Bagley III stayed for much of the game.
The Kings used the second overall selection on Bagley in the 2018 NBA Draft. He played a total of 12 minutes and seven seconds in his pro debut, finishing with six points on 3-of-6 shooting and five rebounds.
It was clear that the 19-year-old expected to play more against Utah. When asked whether he might learn from watching and taking the game in from the sidelines, Bagley didn't exactly agree.
"I obviously want to play, I've been playing this game a long time, but I'm just going to leave it at that," Bagley said.
Bagley is used to being a focal point. It's good that he wants the challenge of playing major minutes early in his career, but that isn't how every game will go.
"I'm just trying to stay patient, just continue to work hard and get better," Bagley said of his minutes. "Just continue to learn and grow."
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It's not the debut he expected, but it's one of 82 games in what should be an extremely long career for the former Duke star.
"It's going to be tough," coach Dave Joerger said of Bagley's minutes in opener. "I thought he did fine - the game's moving really, really fast for him, especially defensively."
Bagley looked solid on the offensive end and he attacked the glass in his limited minutes. On the defensive side of the ball, Utah turned to Jae Crowder to test the rookie. The strategy worked for the Jazz.
While Bagley had no problems scoring over the veteran in the post, Crowder hung around the perimeter on the other end. With Bagley sagging off him, Crowder knocked down an open three. A few possessions later, Bagley sagged again and was called for a foul on a long range attempt from Crowder.
The foul call was questionable, but Bagley has a lot to learn about guarding smaller players on the perimeter. No one is expecting him to learn the finer nuances of defending overnight. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
Joerger will try to put him in positions to succeed and keep his confidence up. The coaching staff will continue to work behind the scenes to build his knowledge base.
"It just takes time and experience," Joerger said. "There's a lot of minutes left to be played."
The Kings were competitive against a high quality opponent. They played well for much of the night, before falling to Utah by a final of 123-117. Bagley even played three minutes in the fourth while Sacramento continued to test the Jazz.
"I can only control what I can control," the rookie said. "Whenever my number is called, I've got to go hard, I've got to go 100 percent and do whatever I can to try to help us win."
Bagley wasn't the only young player stuck on the bench. Harry Giles III played just under 10 minutes for Joerger, finishing the night with two points, a rebound and assist while picking up four fouls. Skal Labissiere pulled a "Did Not Play, Coach's Decision."
On the positive side, Willie Cauley-Stein and Nemanja Bjelica combined for 41 points, 15 rebounds and six assists starting on the frontline. They both played well and helped keep the Kings within striking distance.
Both Bagley and Giles will get another opportunity to earn minutes Friday against All-Star Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans.
