A Delly-cate balance

Sunday's win by Sydney over NSW rivals Illawarra was the first time fans had seen how the Kings would operate without NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova.

The results spoke for themselves.

In a full-time ball handling role, MVP contender Kendric Davis starred, to the tune of 17 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds.

Two time NBL champion Jaylin Galloway, after being re inserted into the starting five for the unwell Dellavedova, produced 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 dime, 1 steal and 1 block, while also playing excellent defence alongside fellow wing, Bul Kuol.

With that in mind, NBL champion Damon Lowery has called for a new role for the four time Olympian.

"It's not [necessarily] about starting and coming off the bench, it's about minutes played [with Dellavedova]," Lowery said on Monday's episode of NBL Overtime.

"As long as Delly is getting anywhere between 20 and 25 minutes, he will have an impact.

"[But] I personally, I would start Kendric at the one, Jaylin Galloway at the two, Bul Kuol, Xavier Cooks, Tim Soares. That's my starting five.

"[To be clear] they are a better team with Delly in it, but I would like to see him share more minutes with Shaun Bruce, who gives the Kings the exact same impact.

"Delly is a tremendous leader and we all know [his body of] work but he's not young Delly anymore."

Lowery's sentiments were echoed by NBL Overtime colleague and 1990 NBL MVP Derek Rucker, who proposed a tactic used by the Oklahoma City Thunder on their journey to a NBA championship.

"Sunday was the first game we got to see Kendric exclusively run the point," Rucker said.

"Basically, the functioning of that offence was due to how he was going to handle himself at the point guard position and he did a fantastic job.

"Now do we get him [Dellavedova] back into the lineup? I've got a blueprint.

"You saw what Alex Caruso did last season with OKC, where they nursed him through the regular season to ensure that he was ready for the post-season.

"I think that is a good approach for the Sydney Kings, because Delly is going to be hugely valuable at some point.

"He is a game-winner in the Championship Series. He's proven that over the past two seasons.

"It's not a matter of right now, it's about forecasting down the line."

Sydney will look to make it five straight wins when they travel to MyState Bank Arena on Sunday to play the JackJumpers, from 2.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN and Channel 10.