Why Dylan Cardwell starts at center for the Kings

The Kings' expected starting five against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday 13 November 2026 is Darius Acuff Jr., Zach LaVine, De'Andre Hunter, Domantas Sabonis and Dylan Cardwell, according to the Sacramento Kings depth chart. Cardwell is the surprise name, a center who has played just four games for Sacramento this season.

The five comes from recent starts, minus anyone ruled out. Precious Achiuwa, who plays 26.2 minutes a game, is on the injury report, and the bench order has to work around him. Keegan Murray sits on the bench in this setup, even though he is one of the most-used players on the roster.

Below, the five, the injury list and the rotation behind them. All averages are season figures at the time of writing, and the Kings have won just one of their last 10 games.

The Kings are expected to start Acuff Jr. and LaVine in the backcourt, Hunter and Sabonis up front, and Cardwell at center against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday 13 November 2026. The Kings v Trail Blazers preview has more on the game.

Confirmed lineups come about 30 minutes before tip-off. This five allows for everyone on the injury report, so if a listed player's status changes, the starters can change with it.

It is built from recent starts, which is why a four-game center is in it. The Kings list a G, G, F, F, C shape, with Sabonis doing the heavy lifting on the glass.

Three players are on the Kings' injury report, and who is out for the Kings shapes the whole lineup. Maxime Raynaud is out and expected back on 15 November. Ben Simmons is out, with an expected return of 1 October. Achiuwa is out, expected back on 13 November, the day of the Portland game. Those are the dates on the page, and nothing more should be read into them.

Achiuwa is the one that moves the rotation. He averages 26.2 minutes, 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in 11 games, which makes him the fifth most-used Kings player and the third-best rebounder on the roster, behind Sabonis and Cardwell. Without him, those minutes and boards have to come from somewhere.

Raynaud is also a center on the roster, and he has no games played so far this season, so there are no averages to weigh. For the full list across the roster, the Kings injuries page keeps it current, and the league-wide NBA injuries page covers everyone else.

Cardwell has played four games, and four games is a small sample, so nothing here is a trend. What it does show is a role: 19.0 minutes, 4.5 points and 7.0 rebounds a game, with 1.8 assists and 1.3 blocks. That is a big man who rebounds and protects the rim rather than one who scores.

The table below sets him beside the other four expected starters, so you can see how different his workload looks.

Cardwell's 7.0 rebounds in 19.0 minutes is the second-best rebounding average on the Kings' roster, behind only Sabonis at 13.3. He also blocks 1.3 shots a game, level with Murray and ahead of everyone else on the page except Achiuwa's 1.1, which is lower. He shoots 46.7% from the field.

In a lineup with Sabonis, that gives the Kings a second big who cleans up and defends the rim. The role he fills in the five is clear from the figures even though the sample is tiny.

He does not shoot threes. Cardwell is at 0.0% from deep across his four games, and he scores just 4.5 points a game. Next to Sabonis, who averages 13.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists on 66.3% shooting in 10 games, the gap in output is wide.

That is the trade the Kings are making with this five: scoring comes from the guards and Sabonis, and Cardwell's job is the dirty work. Four games is not enough to say how that will hold up, only that it is what the minutes look like so far.

The scoring in this five is lopsided. Darius Acuff Jr. leads the Kings in minutes at 37.3 a game and in points at 26.2, and his 7.3 assists are also the best on the roster. He shoots 41.8% from the field and 33.0% from three in 11 games.

Zach LaVine is next at 22.3 points in 32.7 minutes, on 50.3% from the field and 38.3% from three. The two guards are the only Kings above 14 points a game. Hunter, the next starter in the table, scores 13.3 points in 31.5 minutes, so the drop from LaVine to the rest of the five is 9 points (22.3 minus 13.3).

Sabonis is level with Hunter as a scorer, but he brings his value elsewhere: 13.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists, second on the team in assists behind Acuff Jr. For the points chart across the roster, see the Kings points leaders page, and the full bench order and minutes for how the rest of the rotation lines up.

The first four off the bench are Keegan Murray, Leaky Black, Jonathan Mogbo and Emanuel Sharp, in that order. The page ranks every available player by minutes, so the bench order reads straight down the list from sixth man to the end of the rotation.

Two sets of minutes appear in this article, and they should not be mixed. The rotation list gives the current figures for the game: Murray 33.2, Black 18.8, Mogbo 13.8 and Sharp 13.7. The table below gives season averages: Murray 25.3 over 4 games, Black 19.1 over 7, Sharp 18.2 over 11 and Mogbo 14.3 over 5.

Keegan Murray is the story. He plays 25.3 minutes a game over four games, sixth on the roster in minutes, and scores 8.8 points a game, sixth in scoring too. His shooting is the cost: 33.3% from the field and 15.4% from three.

Black and Sharp are the efficient shooters off the bench, both at 40.0% or better from three (40.0% and 40.6%), and Sharp has played all 11 games. Mogbo is at 14.3 minutes and 3.0 points over five games.

Malik Monk averages 15.5 minutes, 7.8 points and 3.4 assists in 10 games. The assists are third on the team, behind only Acuff Jr. and Sabonis, in far fewer minutes than either. He is not in the first four off the bench on the page's list.

Daeqwon Plowden sits deeper in the rotation: 11.0 minutes and 2.6 points a game across eight games. These two are the depth behind the first four, and the roster page lists everyone else if you want the full picture.

Lineups move late. Confirmed starters come about 30 minutes before tip-off, and the injury report can change the five. Achiuwa's expected return date is 13 November, the day of the game, so his status is the one to watch.

For every team's expected starters, the NBA starting lineups hub has them in one place, and you can check the Kings depth chart before tip-off for the latest five, the bench order and who is out.

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