Playing Contender or Pretender with the Sacramento Kings

It’s been eight years since the Sacramento Kings last qualified for the postseason.

That year, 2005-06, they finished with a 44-38 record under then-head coach Rick Adelman, earning the eighth seed in the Western Conference and a date with the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

The berth was short-lived, though, with San Antonio taking the series 4-2 and ultimately putting an end to the days when Sacramento was a playoff mainstay in the West.

Since then, the Kings have tallied a combined 215-425 record, have seen six different head coaches attempt to get the franchise back on track and have failed to produce even a single All-Star. But things may finally be turning around in California’s capital.

Head coach Mike Malone has his team playing pretty good basketball to begin the year, which resulted in a 5-1 start and an overall record of 9-8.

A lot of credit can be given to the rapid improvement of DeMarcus Cousins who, through 15 games, is averaging career-highs in points (23.5), rebounds (12.6) and blocks (1.5) per game. But you would be hard-pressed to dismiss the play of some of the other key cogs in Sacramento’s rotation. Rudy Gay, for example, has also played effective basketball and is currently sporting a career-best 20.6 Player Efficiency Rating. And Darren Collison, the guy Grantland’s Zach Lowe deemed “demonstrably worse” than Isaiah Thomas back in October, is playing arguably the best basketball of his career.

So, now that the Kings have talent ranging from great to solid sprinkled throughout their roster, the question becomes this: Do the Kings have enough to contend for one of the eight playoff spots out West?

It’s honestly hard to say for sure at this point but there have been enough games played to begin formulating an answer. While their 9-8 record might suggest they aren’t anywhere close to playing games in late April, there are simply increasingly significant factors that suggest they are.

It’s important to remember the Kings have played the league’s toughest schedule so far this season as their collection of opponents have a combined winning percentage of .594 and, of their nine wins, four have come against some of the league’s elite, including victories over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Los Angeles Clippers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Chicago Bulls.

Two more of those wins have come against squads that are also on the cusp of contention out West in the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans.

Despite their grueling schedule, though, Malone and his guys can proudly lay claim to the eighth-best offense in the NBA (101.2 points per game). Although they do struggle a little bit on the other end (100.6 PPG, 22nd), signs of improvement are there, as Sacramento is currently sixth best in the Association in three-point defense, allowing teams to connect on just 32.2 percent of their triple tries. They are also top 10 in opponent field-goal percentage (44.3 percent).

Defending the three effectively is huge in today’s NBA as more and more teams continue to make launching from deep a larger priority in their respective offenses. This is especially true in the West, where seven of last year’s eight playoff teams finished the regular season ranked in the top half of the league in three-point percentage, including top-10 conversion rates posted by San Antonio, Dallas and Golden State.

If Sacramento can maintain its stinginess around the perimeter on defense, things should begin to take care of themselves on that end, especially if Cousins can improve upon the 58.9 percent of shots he’s allowing opponents to make from within six feet of the basket, according to NBA.com’s SportVu data.

Of course, increasing their offensive production in terms of points certainly wouldn’t hurt Malone’s Kings, but it’s on the defensive end the most successful teams thrive.

The Kings' schedule is set to soften up a bit in December. Whether they win or lose the games playoff teams are supposed to win will tell us a lot about where this team’s postseason prospects rest.

The Kings look good this year and as long as they can stay healthy and keep their heads on straight, good things should happen. Consider them a contender for one of the final postseason berths out West—for now.

All stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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