How Far From Playoff Contention Are The Sacramento Kings?
The Sacramento Kings and new owner Vivek Ranadive have been trying to make trades and sign draft choices and free agents that can help the team win now, even though a lot of the key players in the rotation still need quite a bit of seasoning and development in order to reach their full potential.
Franchise cornerstone DeMarcus Cousins may be playing the best basketball in his young career to this point, but he still hasn’t completely grown up just yet, as I have written about before. All of his athletic talents and low-post skills point to him being an All-Star caliber player right now, potentially even a superstar down the road, but none of that is going to happen unless he changes his attitude for the better.
Cousins still manages to find himself in trouble because he cannot fully control his temper, whether it’s arguing with a coach or referee or taking his frustration out on a fellow teammate or opposing player. Cousins’ abilities don’t matter when he’s forced to sit on the bench, or worse, sit out for a game or series of games due to a suspension.
Health may not be an issue to this point, but Cousins has still had his fair share of time sitting with the bench warmers, and he’s going to have to change that if this team is going to take the next step and make the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference.
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Cousins isn’t the only one that may need an attitude adjustment, however. Forward Rudy Gay may still have a basketball conscience inside of him that says, “I can make any shot I want because I’m the best scorer on this team.” Now this logic is flawed for a number of reasons, but the main one is that he has never truly been an efficient scorer in his career, and he certainly doesn’t get looks as good as someone like Cousins can.
The problems with developing talent don’t stop there for Sacramento either, as the Kings really don’t have a solid veteran presence in their guard rotation. Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum are both young players who are still trying to learn and fully adapt to the game, and guys like Nik Stauskas have an even longer way to go before they get to see respectable minutes on the court.
With all of this being said, this is still a very talented basketball team capable of putting up points in a hurry. Just because there is no veteran presence in the backcourt doesn’t mean there isn’t some leadership on the team at all. Players like Carl Landry and Jason Thompson have been in the league long enough and should know by now how to be consummate professionals day in and day out. Bringing in more guys like these two needs to be a priority of Sacramento’s if the team wishes to be considered true playoff contenders in the West.
Even though their defense is currently among the five worst teams in the NBA, the Kings can score in a hurry, as they average the 11th-most points per game in the league at 102. Sacramento has been able to succeed in that department because of their style of play. Having a big man that can draw so much attention like Cousins benefits any team because it makes life easier for guys to get open on the perimeter for easy shots.
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As Cousins draws the double team, this gives perimeter shooters a chance to move around the court until they find themselves to be wide open for a good look at the basket from beyond the arc. As long as this team can continue to set quality picks all over the floor in order to get shooters open, and Cousins can continue to work in the post and be effective as he has been, there is no reason why this offense should slow down anytime soon.
Defense is an important ingredient to make a championship run, there’s no doubt about it. The Kings aren’t going to find themselves improving significantly enough in that category anytime soon, but the Western Conference is loaded with teams that are going to light up the scoreboard, so it helps that Sacramento can go out there and score the basketball as well as almost anyone else in the NBA.
As I said before, this team needs to work on finding an experienced leader on the perimeter in order to help develop a lot of these younger guard talents. If Cousins and Gay can buy into the offensive systems currently in place and become completely focused on getting the best out of the team and not themselves, then this could become a scary unit to have to face at any point in the season, even the playoffs.
This team can play quality offense that can keep up with virtually any team in the league, so points aren’t exactly coming at a premium. This team really isn’t that far away from getting into the playoffs and making a little noise. Considering the amount of contending teams they have had to play, the Kings’ 15-20 record really isn’t as bad as some may make it out to be. The Western Conference is no joke, and the fact that the Kings have been able to hold their own despite losing Cousins for significant stretches already means something.
This team is ready to embrace each other and the challenges that lie ahead and compete for a spot in the postseason, there’s no doubt about it.
*Statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.