2010-11 Sacramento Kings: Troubled Times in Sac-Town

I've seen the Sacramento Kings suffer a hell of a lot of mortifying losses in my lifetime, but I can't recall a single one of them being as disgusting as their 100-82 loss on national television Thanksgiving night to the Los Angeles Clippers. 

At the conclusion of the latest Kings gut punch, Charles Barkley said "That was the worst double header in TNT history." Welcome to our world, Chuck. That's been the norm around here for the last four years.

This is a wake up call to a moribund franchise that promised their dragged through the mud fan base that this year would be different. Presently, the Kings have more issues than the United States real estate market. For one, this group doesn't resemble anything close to a team.

From the time the Kings arrived in Sacramento in 1985 all the way until 1998, the Kings were one of the least talented clubs in the league. Their identity was forged as a group of hard working overachievers, who played together, and thrived off of Sacramento's raucous home atmosphere. Wins were scarce, but Sacramento remained imminently loyal to their beloved Kings.

Fast forward to today, and the Kings are experiencing an identity crisis. Teamwork and unselfishness have gone by the wayside. The Kings are not an uptempo team (they should be), they're not a strong defensive team (24th in opponent's field goal percentage), they're not a penetrate and kick team (30th in 3 point percentage). This club has nothing you can rely on game to game, unless you count forcing abysmal shots, matador defense on the perimeter, unidentified roles and a lack of patience and discipline on the offensive end. In other words no easy fix.

This time last year, a friend of mine and I had a serious debate about who we'd rather have if we were starting an NBA team. Derrick Rose or Tyreke Evans. Each won the honors of NBA Rookie of the Year, each was coached collegiately by John Calipari. Well it's not a debate anymore. I'd rather have Derrick Rose's jockstrap than Tyreke Evans. 

Tyreke is still every bit the overpowering combo guard who took the league by storm a year ago. He hasn't changed at all. But that's the problem. He hasn't improved at all. Opponents have figured out how to stop his one dimensional attack. Take away his right hand, pack the paint to stop his penetration and mission accomplished. Despite reports all off-season of a noticeable improvement, Tyreke's midrange and 3 point jumper is as trustworthy as Ben Roethlisberger at an Atlanta night club.

I used to envision Tyreke Evans as this generation's Penny Hardaway. An oversized point guard who excelled at getting to the basket and setting up others. These days, he's looking more like this generation's Larry Hughes, a shooting guard who can't shoot, over dribbles and takes bad shots and can't set up others.

When Evans was drafted by the Kings, the talk was whether he was a PG or SG. It remained a point of contention throughout the year, but allow me to answer the question definitively once and for all. Tyreke Evans is not a point guard. He certainly doesn't make others better, he's reluctant to feed the post, he dominates the ball and he can't make the most basic pass to complete a pick and roll. Evans isn't a shooting guard either. He is shooting 42% from the field, 20% from three, and I think I can safely say he leads the league in untimely, off balanced fadeaways. Evans is a one trick pony at this point in his young career, and until he either gets a reliable jump shot or learns the intricacies of the point guard position, the Kings and their respective offense is not going to be feared whatsoever.

The hope and optimism surrounding the Kings this summer was centered around Tyreke's development and the drafting of DeMarcus Cousins. It's been discovered that Tyreke hasn't developed at all, and DeMarcus has meandered his way through a largely disappointing first month of the season. Cousins can't stay on the court due to foul troubles (many of the insanely dumb variety), is good for 3-4 ill advised shots per game, and is shooting a pathetic 38% from the floor. 

The real frustration with DeMarcus is that his talent just leaps off the screen. When he's got his mind right, he's got his intimidating physique down on the block punishing the opposition's front-court with his surprisingly quick post moves and nimble feet. Then other times, he'll live 17-20 feet away from the basket hoisting shots for multiple quarters in a row.

Occasionally, Cousins has a penchant for taking charges (he's the only guy on the team who ever tries to take them) and being very active in help side rotations. He could play the role of enforcer in the paint, making guards think twice when they attempt to score in the paint. But instead, he is often times very late in defensive rotations, and quite frankly, lazy in his defensive effort at contesting shots at the rim.

To blame the struggles of this team on Tyreke or DeMarcus alone would be outrageous, however. Tyreke turned 21 two months ago. DeMarcus is one of the youngest players in the NBA, having just turned 20 about 11 weeks ago. Whether or not these two continue to work hard, and learn to compliment each other as the years go on will ultimately determine whether or not the Sacramento Kings become a winning franchise within the next few years.

I feel the biggest issue is the musical chairs approach that coach Paul Westphal has taken with the team's rotation and starting lineup. Through just 14 games, the Kings have already trotted out 10 different starting lineups. So much for continuity. How is this team supposed to build chemistry and continuity without the necessary on court repetitions?

Last year, Jason Thompson was a key player towards the rebuilding on this franchise. This year, he's likely to not even get off the bench. Last year, Omri Casspi started 31 times. This year, he too has seen sparse playing time. Last year, Donte Greene started 50 times. This year, he didn't play a single minute for a five game stretch. And last night, the Kings prized summer acquisition Samuel Dalembert played 9 minutes. Nine! Incidentally, he's the only guy who defends the paint and was the only player who had a + in the famed +/- statistic against the Clips. And he only gets 9 minutes of run.

What Paul Westphal has done to Omri Casspi and Donte Greene the past year and a half is equivalent to a guy who's been dating two chicks at the same time for months but refuses to give either the title. He'll take Omri to Homecoming, then he'll go to the movies with Donte, then he'll hit the club with Omri, but he refuses to introduce one of them to his parents. Commit coach! It's hard enough to be consistent and contribute in this league! These young kids don't need their minutes to go up and down wildly like a roller coaster.

Watch the Celtics, Lakers, Magic, Spurs, Hornets, or Jazz. Each of these teams have one or two of the best players in the world on their rosters, but they win because they play as a team. Everyone knows their roles, whether it's the starting small forward or the 11th man on the bench. They help each other on defense. They pass up a decent shot for themselves in exchange for a great shot for a teammate. They're selfless. And with few exceptions (Dalembert, Head, Landry, Udrih), this is a very selfish team.

A couple questions for coach Paul Westphal (since he'll undoubtedly read this):

1) Do you know Donte Greene is shooting 40% from the field and 16% from 3? And part B, do you know Omri Casspi is shooting 44% from the field and 39% from 3?

2) During practice, do you work with Tyreke on how to run a high screen pick and roll?

3) Speaking of Samuel Dalembert, you do realize he is by far the most important defensive player on the roster, right? This man should be getting a consistent 30-35 minutes per.

4) Did you know the Kings are the worst 3 point shooting team in the league? Have you considered running Tyreke alongside 3 shooters (pick out of Head, Casspi, Garcia, Udrih & Greene) to adequately space the floor for our franchise player?

5) Why can't you pick a starting five and stick with it?