Michael Malone's 2nd-Year Adjustments Paying off Big for Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings are off to a fast start to the 2014-15 season, and a lot of their success can be traced back to head coach Michael Malone. 

Despite having a core group of players that is largely the same, the coach, now in his second year on the job, has helped guide the Kings to a 4-1 record to open the year. That's something Sacramento hasn't accomplished since its glory days of 2001-02. 

With Malone, as it is with most successful coaches, a lot of it can be attributed to things that don't necessarily meet the eye. It's about the ability to build relationships with the players, the confidence that comes with having a year under his belt and the cohesiveness of playing in his system for a second go-around. 

While those things may not be apparent from an outside view, the results they've translated into are. 

Changing the Culture

It'd be easy to look at Sacramento's hot start and attribute it to an upgrade in talent or an improvement in scheme. The Kings have benefited from both aspects, but it all starts with Malone's ability to command and demand respect within the locker room. 

When the coach got to Sacramento, the team was a coaching carousel. Since the end of Rick Adelman's tenure up until the beginning of Malone's, the Kings had gone through five different coaches in a seven-year period. 

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Some of them were hired to turn things around, like Eric Musselman, Reggie Theus and Paul Westphal. Others, such as Kenny Natt and Keith Smart, inherited the job as interim coaches when their predecessors were let go. Yet the common denominator between them all was an inability to right the ship. 

	Seasons	Record
Eric Musselman	2006-07	33-49
Reggie Theus	2007-08, relieved 24 games into 2008-09	44-62
Kenny Natt	Coached the last 58 games of 2008-09	11-47
Paul Westphal	2009-10, '10-11, relieved 7 games into '11-12	51-120
Keith Smart	Coached the last 59 games of 2011-12 and all of '12-13	48-93

That constant losing, along with the instability in the final years of the Maloof family's ownership, led to a toxic culture in the locker room. Reversing that was part of Malone's job description last season, and the best way to do that is to build relationships with your players.

"I think the relationship [Malone's] fostered with his key guys—which is vital to success in any NBA locker room, specifically with [Rudy] Gay and [DeMarcus] Cousins—has been tremendous," said Bill Herenda, who is the Kings Insider for Comcast SportsNet California. "Before the X’s and O’s, the culture change that’s in the early stages in Sacramento is based upon relationships, and I think he’s done a solid job of that early in the season."

It's something that isn't lost on the players, either. Take Darren Collison, for example. The point guard is in his sixth year in the NBA but his first year with the Kings. He's played for four different teams prior to his stop in Sacramento and had seven different coaches, including Malone. However, having Malone as his coach has resonated with the 27-year-old.

"He’s a little bit inexperienced as far as head coaching-wise, of course," said Collison. "But one thing I like about Malone is he’s a players’ coach. He makes you want to play hard for him. He seems to be in good spirits most of the time. When things don’t really go well, we tend to pick each other up, and he allows our voice to be heard."

As Collison mentioned, Malone is a players' coach. Don't mistake that with being a pushover—anybody who thinks that just needs to think back to the coach's postgame press conference following a game against the New Orleans Pelicans last year.

But he respects the players, and they respect him. That's the first part of the equation. Without effort from the players, it doesn't matter how much talent is on the roster, it won't translate to wins. Of course, along with having the personality to relate to guys, a coach also needs the ability to put them in a position for success.

Providing Continuity Within the System

When the Kings were cycling through so many coaches, not only were they losing, but they were also having to learn a new system year after year. Now in his second year at the helm, the players have adjusted to Malone's system, and he's adjusting to their strengths.

Evidence in the former comes in the form of results. Look at where the Kings finished last year and where they're at during the first portion of this season—specifically on defense.

	Defensive Rating (rank)	Points allowed (rank)	Opponent field-goal percentage (rank)
2013-14	106.3 (23rd)	103.4 (24th)	46.1 (20th)
2014-15	98.4 (ninth)	99.0 (17th)	40.0 (fourth)

"I think really we’re just buying in on the defensive end," said Ray McCallum when describing the reversal of the team's results. "Coach Malone’s a defensive-minded coach, and that’s the area he stresses every day. We’re going out there defending at a high level."

Having the players adjust to the coach's system is only part of the battle. The other part is the coach adjusting to the players and their strengths.

One example in particular is McCallum. The second-year player came into the year third on the depth chart at point guard. After only playing one minute and 31 seconds in the team's opening-night blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors and not appearing in Sac's next two games, it looked as if McCallum may not get many opportunities.

However, his number was called in a tight game against the Denver Nuggets, on Nov. 3, when Malone turned to McCallum in the second half to provide perimeter defense. It was a strength of McCallum's that the coach identified, and he put the point guard in a position to succeed.

"We’re getting ready to play a team in Phoenix that has tremendous guard play, and I say it all the time: Ray McCallum is one of our best perimeter defenders," said Malone. "I feel very comfortable and confident when he has the ball in his hands, so all-day Ray, he stays ready. All the guys on the team really respect how hard he works, he never gets down and he takes advantage of all his opportunities."

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Another adjustment the coach has made to foster success is the way he's jostled his rotation. Specifically, his preference to have either DeMarcus Cousins or Rudy Gay on the court at all times. 

"I think we’ve struggled when we have both of them out," said Malone. "Having one guy that you can go to and play through at all times is important for our team. So take Cuz out, leave Rudy in, then when I put Rudy back out, leave DeMarcus in just so we have one of our main scoring threats on the floor at all times."

It makes sense, too. When Cousins is on the court, the Kings have a net rating of plus-20.9 and a minus-18.7 net rating when he's off the court, per NBA.com. The same can be said of Gay, who has positive results when he's on the court (plus-15.4 net rating), while the team struggles when he's on the bench (minus-17.1). 

Exuding Confidence in His Second Year

Having a year already under his belt, Malone is much more confident and seems to be at ease. Which isn't to say he withered under the bright lights last season—only that he had no experience as an NBA head coach. 

Of course, Malone had been an NBA assistant coach for years, but making the switch to the head honcho isn't easy.

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"I think by his own admission, experience is the best teacher," said Herenda. "He’s come back in Year Two knowing the nuances of moving over one seat, which is huge moving over from an assistant coach to a head coach."

As Herenda would go on to point out, Malone was willing to embrace that transition. Instead of being hardened by the experience and becoming set in his ways, the coach challenged himself and his players to get better in the offseason.

Says McCallum: "After the last game last season, he said, 'My challenge to you is to come back a better player. You have my commitment—I’m going to come back a better coach.'"

The coach has done just that. Perhaps most importantly, that's also come across to his players. 

McCallum is in a unique position because both he and Malone had their firsts last year—McCallum's first year as an NBA player and Malone's first season as a head coach. The point guard can notice a difference this time around.

"Obviously, I think definitely he’s more comfortable with having a lot of guys returning back out here and just getting a year under his belt." said McCallum. "It’s easy to just go out there and play. Listen to what they’re saying and just compete. I think it’s been good for both the players and coaching staff."

Going Forward

McCallum's right—having the coach back for a second go-around has been a good thing for both Malone and the players. In fact, it's all been good, and it's all resulted in a 4-1 start to the season. 

But the beauty of Malone is that it doesn't stop there. While Kings fans may be satisfied with the team's start, the coach isn't.

"He expects more out of us," said Gay. "That’s what any coach should. Last year, obviously he didn’t know what to expect out of the team. He was a new coach. But this year he has a year under his belt, and he expects a lot of us. He works us."

As the coach likes to remind his players and the media, the Kings haven't accomplished anything yet.

"Well, I told them this morning, 'We haven’t done a damn thing at 4-1,' so I’ll keep telling them that. The season is young. To be 4-1 after five games is great, but we have a very demanding and difficult road trip coming up, starting with Phoenix. It’s a business trip, and no one is wanting to celebrate that Sacramento is 4-1 right now. We still have a lot of work to do. We can get better in a lot of areas."

Yes, the Kings may not have accomplished anything yet, but having that attitude after a 4-1 start means that may change soon. Sacramento is on the right track, and a lot of that can be traced back to Michael Malone. 

Unless noted otherwise, all stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com

All quotes obtained firsthand.

What do you think of the job Malone's doing. Let me know on Twitter @SimRisso