Assessing Tyrone Corbin's 1st 9 Games as Sacramento Kings Head Coach
Prior to the Sacramento Kings' New Year's Eve matinee against the Boston Celtics, interim head coach Tyrone Corbin expressed, via ESPN.com, that the franchise would be officially removing the "interim" next to his job title. The announcement came just 16 days after ownership decided to remove then-head coach Mike Malone, who reportedly failed to meet the organization's preseason expectations.
The Kings were 11-13 at the time of Malone's firing and, as a result, were jockeying for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference alongside the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns. But despite his efforts to bring the Kings back to relevancy for the first time in 10 to 12 years, Sacramento decided that Corbin—who was serving as one of Malone's assistants—was the better man for the job.
The numbers seem to say otherwise, though, as the Kings have dropped six of the nine games they've played under Corbin's watch. Even the wins they have been able to secure have been less than impressive, coming against three of the NBA's bottom-feeders in the Los Angeles Lakers (10-22), New York Knicks (5-29) and Minnesota Timberwolves (5-26).
Granted, the Kings have been a more effective team offensively under Corbin, pumping in 105.1 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com. That number ranks Sacramento 13th in the league in terms of offensive efficiency over that particular nine-game stretch, whereas the Kings were scoring just 103.6/100 under Malone, ranking them tied for 15th with the Miami Heat.
| Wining% | ORtg | DRtg | Pace | |
| Under Corbin | .333 | 105.1 | 111.7 | 99.02 |
| Under Malone | .458 | 103.6 | 104.2 | 95.70 |
The Kings' increase in point production can be heavily attributed to the uptempo offense that Corbin is trying to install and, according to Grantland's Zach Lowe, that's exactly what owner Vivek Ranadive wants.
Multiple reports have stated that Ranadive is looking for his team to run a four-on-five scheme, where one defender hangs back under the opponents' rim waiting to receive a full-court bomb that could result in easy, uncontested layups.
Corbin has been much more receptive of ownership's desire to pick up the pace than Malone was, and the numbers show it. Sacramento has gotten over three more possessions per game with Corbin's system in place, edging out his predecessor's offense 99.02 to 95.70.
Quick, efficient offense is all well and good but it won't get you anywhere in today's NBA without an above-average defensive effort. That's exactly the problem with the Corbin-led Kings. Sacramento is hemorrhaging points to the tune of 111.7 points allowed per 100 possessions post-Malone, "good enough" to place them third-to-last in the league rankings. Defense never seemed to be a problem under the old regime, as the Kings were allowing just 104.2/100, putting them in the middle third of the Association.
Another, and probably the most critical, thing working against Corbin, which he admittedly cannot control, is the fact that he isn't Malone. As odd as that sounds, it matters. It matters because the team's best player, DeMarcus Cousins, connected with Malone in a way that he never did with previous Kings head coaches.
Yahoo Sports' Eric Freeman explains:
"There is no evidence to suggest that Cousins is intent on revolt in response to the move (firing Malone). Nevertheless, he does appear somewhat upset at the situation as a whole, perhaps due to the circumstances and/or the loss of Malone. The latter would be perfectly understandable — Cousins has improved rapidly since Malone took over in the summer of 2013 and appeared to have relished the stability following the various messes of his first three seasons in Sacramento.
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CBSSports.com's Matt Moore echoed those sentiments in saying that "Cousins just wants a coach, that's how Malone treated him, and now he's gone."
Corbin's case isn't helped by the way management approached this whole situation either. According to USA Today's Sam Amick, Cousins found out that Malone was fired on Twitter.
DMC also wasn't let in on the Kings' plan to ride out the season with Corbin at the helm, telling Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, "I didn't know. I didn't know officially until (Monday) night, either. That's when a lot of us found out."
If the face of the franchise is unable to trust management and his new head coach, then Sacramento is doomed from the get-go. Winning games at a 33 percent clip isn't going to work well in Corbin's favor either, yet that's exactly where the Kings stand since he took over.
At this juncture, Corbin has failed. But if he truly is expected to remain the guy for the rest of the 2014-15 season then there will be other chances for him to right this ship. It's not time to give up on him just yet, but it's certainly understandable if you find yourself wondering why they ever got rid of Malone in the first place.
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