What We Learned About the Sacramento Kings During the 2014-15 NBA Season
The Sacramento Kings' 2014-15 season is in the books. But before we turn our attention to the offseason and 2015-16, let's take a look back at the campaign that was.
We saw that in terms of talent, Sacramento isn't as far away from contending as one may think. But we also witnessed a franchise still struggling to move past the dysfunction that's held it back for so long.
We saw a front office that's clearly committed to winning, but we also saw one that can prevent that from happening by not getting out of its own way.
For the Kings, it will be important to internalize these lessons. After all, those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it. And another losing season is something Sacramento doesn't want to repeat.
The Front Office Is Committed to Winning
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The Kings' 29-53 record is closer to a team that's rebuilding than one that's contending, but Sacramento fancies itself as more of the latter.
Owner Vivek Ranadive's declaration back in the preseason that he expected the team's win-loss record to significantly improve is one example. The Kings' decision to fire head coach Michael Malone, while perplexing, was also a manifestation of their desire to compete.
Then, after interim head coach Tyrone Corbin failed to get the team on the right track, the front office made yet another switch by bringing in George Karl to man the bench.
At that point, with an 18-34 record, the ship had sailed for making the playoffs. But the front office wanted to see results. It wanted to end the season with some stability to increase the Kings' chances at success in 2015-16.
However, while the franchise's goals were admirable, sometimes the way it went about attaining them was confusing...
The Executives Weren't in Touch with the Players
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The Kings' decision to fire Malone was an example of the disconnect between the locker room and the front office.
While Sacramento's 11-13 record at the time of the coach's ouster wasn't great, it was a sign of progress to the players. This is a team that posted a .341 winning percentage the season before, and it had jumped to .458 in the year's first 24 games.
That 11-13 record looks even better when you consider Sacramento's 9-5 start with DeMarcus Cousins in the lineup. As soon as the big man came down with viral meningitis and had to sit, the Kings lost eight of their next 10, and the front office used it as an opportunity to fire the coach.
What the front office didn't consider, though—or at least underestimated—was the effect the decision would have on the players.
Namely, the decision got to Cousins, who respected Malone. The big man even told The Washington Post's Michael Lee that he blamed his getting sick on what happened with the coach:
"We got off to a hot start. Unfortunately, I got sick, so it ruined the look of the team. I take some blame for that. I know for a fact, if I wouldn’t have gotten sick, things wouldn’t have happened the way it happened. It was no way it could."
At least by hiring Karl midseason, the franchise added some much-needed stability. But the Kings didn't need to be in that position to begin with. A little more patience with Malone and a better pulse on the locker room would have prevented it from happening, which is a lesson the front office needs to remember.
There Is a Core to Build Around
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The Kings have the hardest part done, which is finding a core of players to build around.
Their original starting lineup of Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay, Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins shared the floor for 427 minutes this season. In that time, it was plus-16.4 in points per 100 possessions. Among units that played more than 400 total minutes, Sacramento was the fourth-best.
Of course, you have to take this with a grain of salt since Collison got hurt prior to Karl's arrival and never played for the new coach. But it's hard to believe the results would change much for the worse, especially with Karl and the team having a whole training camp together.
The key will be finding players who can complement the core group. Obviously, the play dropped off considerably when the starting lineup wasn't in the game, as Sacramento's bench ranked 26th in efficiency recap, according to HoopsStats.com. That needs to change if the Kings want to make a sizable improvement.
Karl Improved the Offense
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Karl is known for having high-powered offenses, and he showed a glimpse of that with the Kings.
Prior to his arrival, Sacramento averaged 101.6 points per 100 possessions, which ranked 18th in the league. Once the coach took over, that number increased to 103.9, which was the 13th-best.
What's even more remarkable is Karl was able to do this without getting much practice time with the team. By the time he came aboard, the All-Star break was in the rearview mirror, and the only real time to practice was on off days.
With a full offseason of working on his concepts, the offense will be even better. Things look even more promising when you consider it should be a roster that's more tailored to his style.
The Defense Still Needs Work
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While Karl did improve the offense, Sacramento's defense still needs a lot of work. The team went from allowing 106.0 points per 100 possessions before the coach's arrival to 107.2 over the final 31 outings.
A couple factors played into this. The Kings turned the ball over too frequently in Karl's offense, which led to the most fast-break points allowed per game (18.4). Additonally, their rotations became sloppy, and that allowed the opposition to shoot 37.6 percent from three-point range, which is 29th in the NBA.
That's not going to cut it if the Kings want to make the playoffs in 2015-16.
This offseason, the team should bring in some capable defenders to come off the bench. Plus, having a training camp under Karl will help. The coach isn't known as a defensive genius, but he doesn't neglect it either.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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