Sacramento Kings Weekly: So Close, Yet So Far Away

After winning a home-and-home against the Phoenix Suns two weeks ago the Sacramento Kings have lost five straight games, three of the losses have  been by two points or less and another loss in overtime. Needless to say the Kings have been so close, yet still are tied with Utah Jazz for the fewest wins in the Western Conference. The Kings are currently 4-12 this year, however; only five of the losses have been by 10 points or more. They have been in most of their games all year, even with the rotation craziness, and an early-season trade.

Nov 19, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings shooting guard Marcus Thornton (23) on the bench during warm ups before the game against the Phoenix Suns at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The rotation has been wild all year, starting with the starters. Mike Malone has tried five different starting lineups. DeMarcus Cousins and Greivis Vasquez have been the constants with the starters, but after those two there have been eight others that have joined them. Now the best of those lineups was Cousins, Vasquez, Ben McLemore, John Salmons, and Jason Thompson, but this lineup only started two games. So you can see how the starting lineup has been a work in progress, similarly the bench has been even more wild. For example, Marcus Thornton started the first six games of the year, then for three games he came off the bench scoring double digits in two of the three games. Even with Thornton playing decent coming off the bench, Coach Malone gave Thornton four games of DNP (Did Not Play) Coaches Decision. Now Thornton is back in the rotation and has been coming off the bench for the past three games. So Marcus Thornton has gone from starting to not playing at all to helping the team again by coming off the bench, he is a perfect example of the craziness that is the Kings rotation.

The biggest news from last week was the trade the Kings made for Derrick Williams in exchange for Luc Mbah a Moute. Williams was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2011 draft, and truly did not have a chance to showcase his talents in Minnesota, only averaging 24 minutes a game last year and 14 minutes this year. The Kings should be able to give Williams the time on the floor to find out if he can be the player many scouts believed he could be, in the first three games Williams is getting just less than 27 minutes a game. I am excited to see if Williams can find a spot for himself in the NBA, he is extremely athletic and has good touch on the offensive end.

Let’s take a quick look at the week that was and what Sacramento has to look forward to in the upcoming schedule.