Doug Christie reveals Maxim Raynaud’s road map

Drawn in 42nd position in June, Maquime Raynaud is one of the few rays of sunshine in the Kings season. After the seventh consecutive loss last night against Golden State, Sacramento is second to last Western Conference with 8 wins and 30 losses.

The French headquarterswho played in 30 games and started 16, averaging 10.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. During his sixteen starts, he surpassed the ten-point mark eleven times and the ten-rebound mark six times. Reynaud, who is due to be in Los Angeles for the Rising Stars Challenge, looks much more mature than his young age would suggest.

“Since he’s been in the rotation, he continues to impress us with his composure and the way he reads the game.”Doug Christie told us before the game against the Warriors. “Max isn’t a vertical threat on pick-and-rolls, but when he gets the ball 3 or 4 feet from the basket, he has the ability to finish the drive with a mid-range shot or finish at the rim. He can also read the game and make the right decisions, finding the pass to make when he’s on the play.”

Above all, Christie wants the Frenchman to focus on the basics. “I want him to continue to be physical, I want him to continue to focus on rebounds”he tells us. “And then, we can’t forget that he’s young. So we have to let him play, let him make mistakes. We’re also getting to know him. We didn’t know before we drafted him that he had such a consistent little floater.”

Very large margin for improvement

The Kings coach alternately admires his player, but also benevolence and recognition of the context in which he finds himself. Being a rookie center in the NBA takes a lot of learning, and with Sacramento at the bottom of the Western Conference and Domantas Sabonis unavailable, they can afford to give him playing time while he focuses on the other fundamentals of his career.

“For him, his growth will come from situations that will be new. Experience in the store. At this point in the season, most rookies have their backs against the wall, so we make sure he continues to take care of his body, practice, etc. Even if it’s not something sexy, it’s something defining, and it’s hard for rookies to understand that before they’re faced with a physicality they’re not used to.”Christy explained to us. “We’d also like him to be more comfortable in hand-to-hand combat, but again, as a rookie, it’s all about experience. We’re evaluating him, taking notes and working with him to help him develop. The list of things he needs to improve on is long, but we have to take into account the type of player, his personality, and marry the two.”

How to build on these foundations?

During the last sixteen matches, Maxime Reynaud plays an average of 30 minutes of the game. If he gains experience, opposing teams also get to know him. The pivot is now in the scouting reports of other teams, and Doug Christie sees the Frenchman’s second half of the season as a test for a step forward.

“The next step is to ask himself how he can build on this foundation. How to use his strengths? How to help him develop his offensive arsenal so that he can frustrate defenses when they make their first move.” he explains. “We work hard with him on his support, his pace, his physicality, understanding the angles when he’s setting screens and knowing who he’s setting the screen on. Do we want to make the defender go over or under? Details like that.”

One thing’s for sure, Raynaud continues to improve and here’s what his coach remembers: “When you look at the footage from the beginning of the season and the ones from the last matches, you can see that he has already improved a lot!”

Comments collected in San Francisco.