Jimmer watch: Fredette's shooting went cold, but former BYU star back in rotation

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Former BYU great Jimmer Fredette saw increased minutes to end last week after seeing his playing time severely slashed by head coach Keith Smart. He didn't do much with those increased minutes, however, and shot just 29.4 percent from the field in Week 13 of the NBA season.

The Sacramento Kings continued to struggle, losing all four games in the past week. As a result, they've now fallen to 16-29 on the year.

Fredette didn't leave the bench in Sacramento's 114-105 loss to New Orleans to begin the week and logged just four minutes in a 106-96 loss to Phoenix. In consecutive losses to Oklahoma City (105-95) and Denver (121-93), Fredette logged 16 and 18 minutes, respectively. He shot just 2-8 from the field in both games, but did connect on 2-of-3 3-point attempts against the Thunder.

Fredette's inconsistent role has been a hot topic in Sacramento throughout the season. The Kings are overstocked at the point guard position with Aaron Brooks, Tyreke Evans, Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton all fighting for playing time along with Fredette.

Some argue that Fredette has had good production in the minutes he's played and should be afforded a more consistent role.

"Statistically speaking, Fredette should be playing," argues blogger Jame Ham of Cowbell Kingdom. "Of the six guards on the Kings’ roster, only Tyreke Evans boasts a higher player efficiency rating than Jimmer Fredette (18.32 to 16.41). True shooting? Only Brooks has Jimmer beat at 57 percent to 56.4 percent. And on a team that struggles with spacing from the perimeter, not only does Jimmer lead the Kings in 3-point shooting at 43.8 percent, he is among the top 10 best long-range marksmen in the entire league."

Ham says Fredette needs to be more vocal and demand playing time on what he believes to be a team full of "selfish players."

For the season Fredette is averaging 14.2 minutes played, 7.7 points and 1.3 assists per game. He's shooting just 41.5 percent from the field, but 42.1 percent from behind the arc and 91.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Email: bgurney@desnews.com

Twitter: @BrandonCGurney