Time sure does fly by.
It was 11 games ago when George Karl took over the head coaching duties of the Sacramento Kings during the extended NBA All-Star Break in mid-February.
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While the Kings haven’t exactly lit the world on fire since then, Karl has already had his personal imprints all over Sactown’s attack stylistically.
Most notably, their pace of play, which measures the number of possessions team plays per game, has skyrocketed from 94.0 to 97.0, since their second coaching change of the season, per Basketball-Reference.
In fact, over last 11 games, the Kings rank third in the league in pace, trailing only the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder, per NBA.com.
Likewise, their offensive rating, or points per 100 possessions, has ballooned from 105.1, before the break, to 107.2, under the command of Karl. Sure enough, over the aforementioned stretch, the Kings are tenth in the league in offensive efficiency.
It is also worth noting that their assist rate as a team has congruently increased by over four percentage points over the stretch.
Playing at a breakneck pace, sharing the ball, running the break, and getting to the line: the trademarks of a George Karl-led team.
While the Kings slowly breed his distinguished philosophies, Sacramento’s inherent roster makeup prevents the team from truly embracing such an uptempo, balls-to-the-wall scheme. Not surprisingly, the Kings have gone just 4-7 under Karl.
During his final season with the Denver Nuggets, specifically the 2012-13 NBA campaign, Karl’s team was, predictably, fifth in offensive efficiency, second in pace, and fifth in free throw rate.
What made the Nuggets such an absolute fast breaking juggernaut and a 55-win team, though, was their ability to defend and cause turnovers. More specifically, Denver was 11th in defensive efficiency, eighth in opponent turnover percentage, and 11th at taking care of the rock. In addition, they were the top offensive rebounding team in the association that year.
The Kings have the ability to somewhat duplicate the Nuggets’ success on the offensive glass, thanks in large to the best center in the game, DeMarcus Cousins. In fact, Sacramento ranks fourth in the league in offensive rebound percentage over the past 11 contests.
However, it is intrinsically difficult for Sacramento to effectively play in such a chaotic, helter-skelter environment because (a) the team cannot get any stops whatsoever, (b) they lack the thoroughbreds on the perimeter to play at said precipitous speeds, and (c) their best players innately yearn to play in a controlled-paced environment.
Chiefly, under the leadership of Karl, the Kings are dead last in the association in defensive rating and 23rd in opponent turnover rate.
Watching Sacramento try to defend the Atlanta Hawks this past Monday was almost comical. The team’s lack of communication and weakside help was simply appalling.
They let Kyle Korver wiggle loose, numerous times, for wide open looks from behind the 3-point line, and in conjunction, Al Horford feasted off uncontested dives and licentious looks from the 10-16 feet areas of the floor.
FanSided
For the game, the Kings gave up an astonishing 145.0 points per 100 possessions to Atlanta, on an opponent eFG% (effective field goal percentage) of 71.6 percent.
Moreover, when push comes to shove, players tend to fall back on their key skill sets. Accordingly, the Kings currently rank ninth in percentage of possessions used in isolation, and similarly, fourth in post-ups, according to NBA.com’s SportVU Data.
In fact, 17.1 and 14.8 percent of Rudy Gay‘s and DeMarcus Cousins’ offensive touches, respectively, derive from isolation situations. Additionally, approximately 31.9 percent of Boogie’s possessions are used on the low and mid blocks.
With that being said, it will be interesting to see how the Kings ameliorate their mid-season identity crisis. Will they build a roster during the offseason that fits Karl’s system? Owner Vivek Ranadive has outwardly spoken about his desire to house an uptempo, flow-based team.
Or will Karl adapt to Cousins’ and Gay’s strengths, and play in a more deliberate, inhibited pace?
*Note: Stats current going into March 13’s slate of games.
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