15 years. That’s how long it’s been since the Sacramento Kings last made the playoffs. When I first started writing about the Kings for Sactown Royalty, the Kings had only been rebuilding for a few years. Nobody expected it to take this long. Entire careers have come and gone in that time. The Seattle Supersonics existed the last time the Kings made the playoffs. George W. Bush was still President. The iPhone hadn’t even been released yet. You get the picture, it’s been a long damn time.
The Kings are on the ignominious precipice of setting an NBA record for futility, as just one more season of missing out on post-season basketball will set the NBA record for futility.
So you can see why as a fanbase, our patience has worn thin over the years. Yes, there are things to be excited for and I can’t wait to see the team back in action, but it’s hard to look at Sacramento’s roster and truly have hope that things can turn around. It’s a large part of why many were frustrated that Luke Walton was retained after two years of sub-.500 performances. It’s a large part of why many are frustrated that Sacramento’s biggest offseason moves were adding Alex Len and Tristan Thompson. It doesn’t seem like the team is doing enough to snap the streak.
The Western Conference is notoriously tough. In the last 15 years, only one Western Conference team has managed to make the playoffs with a sub-.500 record: the 2019-20 Portland Trail Blazers, who went 35-39. The addition of a play-in tournament makes it a little easier for a sub-.500 team to sneak in, but Sacramento’s sights should be a little higher than that.
Last year’s Western Conference Playoff teams are all poised to be as good or better than they were the year before. It’s hard to see the Kings unseating the likes of Utah, Phoenix, Denver, or either L.A. team. The Mavericks, Blazers and Memphis could perhaps fall down a peg or two after mediocre offseasons, but those teams are already standing a head above Sacramento. The Warriors narrowly missed out last season and that was without Klay Thompson, who should be back this season. The Pelicans, Timberwolves and Spurs will all also be fighting for one of those last few playoff spots with the Kings, and the only teams in the West that don’t seem to have a shot are the Thunder and the Rockets. It’s a tough road.
Crazier things have happened of course. Young teams have made enough internal improvement before to take big leaps, although it’s rarer than simply adding a major piece. This year’s Kings team does seem to be perhaps the most deep and talented as they’ve had during this drought.
Perhaps all it will take is improving the defense. The Kings haven’t come close to having an even average defense during this entire drought. Last season the Kings were the 11th best offensive team, but were historically bad defensively (2nd worst all-time). The Kings are clearly hoping that what few additions they made since late last year and this offseason (Terence Davis, Mo Harkless, Davion Mitchell, Tristan Thompson and Alex Len) will be enough to help on that end of the floor. That’s a big ask, and it will take a buy in from every other player as well. Defense has clearly been the focus of Sacramento’s training camp and it was the highlight of their Summer League championship, but actions speak louder than words, and we’ll see soon enough if the Kings can keep up when the games actually start counting.
Right now, everyone is all smiles and saying the right things.
FWIW I’ve been around the team for 16 seasons and never seen the team this happy during a media day/training camp
— Jason Wise (@Jason_Wise) September 29, 2021
But for this season to be any sort of success, we need to be feeling the same way come April. 15 years is long enough.
No. Even though I’m hopeful deep down inside, but my head knows to not get my hopes up for this franchise.
End the playoff drought?
The only way I see this happen is if they come out hot right at the start, in the process gaining confidence and momentum.
And then they just have to stave off a nine game losing sterak or two to avoid regressing to the mean.
Maybe there’re some silver linings in our playbook.
That would be sterling.
That’s awfully optimistic, not to tarnish your reputation…
Walton is still working on a system….
I agree that defense is the key. I am hopeful. Perhaps unrealistically, I am hoping that even Bagley and Buddy buy in. It seems as though Fox and Hali understand that they have to improve. Bagley has put on weight and is listening and learning from Doug Christie, he says. Perhaps Longabardi will get them playing better schemes, negating Luke’s apparent cluelessness. I can’t wait to see Davion apply full-court pressure while Hali anticipates and picks off passes. Perhaps we can get better rim protection. So it maybe irrational, but I’m hopeful.
Yeah all the experts say the Kings can’t go from worst to a top 15 defense but that’s probably what they need to do to make the playoffs. Maybe with Davion setting the example the rest of the team will buy in. That would be awesome to see.
I hope, we hope, everyone hopes that happens. But I just don’t see a career sieve like Hield suddenly becoming competent on defense because a rookie backup PG plays hard in training camp.
Yeah Buddy is the weak link there, just like Sexton, Young, Bogi etc. etc.
Let Buddy play very limited minutes if he won’t defend. Would Walton be tough enough to do that? I suppose it’s doubtful.
Buddy’s problem on D is not a lack of effort. His ability to move laterally is poor. Maybe he could be a little lighter. Maybe that would help. He could maybe study defensive angles more ( though steering guys to our front line defenders has not usually been a good plan either). He could work on fast twitch muscles if he hasn’t already,but, Buddy will always be limited. His biggest problem is he loses focus when he’s on the weak side (though that got better in the more halter skelter defense Wright and Davis provided the last 20 games).
Hustle though? Not an issue.
This is interesting and quite helpful if it’s right.
Buddy is a very good situational player. Bring him off the bench. He can still play plenty of minutes but not be a liability in situations that require basic defensive abilities.
I agree with this completely.
If what ElRonToro say is right, then it might be helpful to pair Buddy with two rim protectors and screen-setters, He comes in as part of a bench mob, lights it up off screens, and has rim protection to help compensate for his defensive inabilities. This is an alternative, based on what ElRonToro says, to sitting him for his defensive liabilities.
What are the chances the Kings make the playoffs?
Obligatory!
Poor Monte getting messed with by Matina.
A:
Not seeing playoffs. A pretty lengthy list of things would need to break our way, which is unlikely.
Looks like another mid 30s W season, so ground hog day keeps rolling along!
This would’ve been ten times better if Rik posted it.
Because everything is ten times better when Rik posts it?
Never understood the “and” bit in that quote. Stupid Limey.
Because the GIF cuts out the first part of the quote, where he says there are only two kinds of people he doesn’t like.
Oh, that was a bad joke on my part because now I have to explain it.
If you take away “and” it’s:
“people who are intolerant of other people’s cultures; the Dutch.”
And I followed it up with “stupid Limey” to reinforce the joke.
Actually, it really was a brilliant joke that you didn’t get; dumb ‘Muricans!
It was a trap, eh?!
Welp, time for me to go.
“There’re only two things I hate in this world: people who are intolerant of other people’s cultures (comma) and the Dutch.”
–He shows that he himself is intolerant of other people’s cultures by saying he hates the dutch. He is saying he himself hates the dutch.
He hates:
.
.
Therefore, logically not only does he hate the Dutch…but he hates himself.
.
.
.
Maybe it’s like saying:
“There are only two things I hate in this world: people who are intolerant of Los Angeles basketball teams, and the L*kers.”
Please create an infographic.
That’s lovely, and it moves.
Mess with Gonzo, you get….a crooked nose.
This seems like a group that will be capable of causing real headaches for opponents over stretches, but could also find itself in some losing streaks. I can’t see it getting to nine, but streaks of five or six don’t seem out of the question.
My gut says top eight is very unlikely, but I’m also kind of excited to see what the group looks like with the addition of defenders like Thompson & Len, along with Moe, TD, and Mitchell. A lot is going to depend on Walton’s lineups, which is an excellent way to keep my expectations under control.
I really hope we see in the upcoming exhibitions some of that defensive tenacity we saw with the summer league group. I’m hoping that the buy-in is real, and that it’s not just a phase.
I kind of want to see this lineup just to see if it could score any points
Probably not. Of course it likely wouldn’t really stop the other team either.
What you just said has been said for the last 15 years. Just swap a few different names.
Anything is possible
It’s possible for a 35 win team to win 42 games and sneak in, but extremely unlikely without personnel changes, especially with this coach.
This. I think they’re probably 35-ish win team on true talent. That puts 41-42 within reasonable errors bars. If things break right it isn’t unheard of (though not common) for that to be enough to slide into the 8 seed.
At first glance, i thought your comment was optimistic, but it’s not. On talent, I think they’re higher than 35 wins where the Vegas oddsmakers (and coincidentally your assessment) has them. They gave away about 10 games last year just by not coming out to play and thinking they could spot 20 points to the other team. The depth has improved significantly. Additions of Mitchell and Harkless give the coaches options to slow down opponent’s best player. Overall a tougher, grittier team. It would not be rarely heard of for a team like this to get the 8 seed.
I don’t necessarily agree with the path you took to get there, but it looks like we’re pretty much saying the same thing.
Me:
You:
Actually no. You’re sticking with the Vegas odds and I’m betting the over. I’m making a prediction that they’ll make the play-ins (7-10 seed) whereas you’re calculating a statistical margin of error based on Vegas odds for an 82-game season. You’re also putting an absolute upper limit, “if everything breaks right”, to the 8 seed. If I were to add that extremely cautious qualifier, I’d go higher, at least to a 6 seed.
Okay. Those seem like minor, mostly semantic differences that, personally, I don’t find significant enough to quibble over.
…I saw that Monte McNair follows The Kings Herald and its writers on twitter now.
So just in case he stops by here as well:
HI MONTE! WELCOME TO BASKETBALL HELL!
Printed text, how quaint?
No. They would need a collapse of a few other teams in the West do to either injury or total dysfunction. This is damn near the same team as last year. Fox, Buddy, Barnes, Hali, Bagley, and Holmes are going to get the lion’s share of the minutes. that is the same core as last year’s 35 win team. To this:
Those are all frickin bench players. Bench players averaging at most 20 minutes a night (Mitchell and TT are my guesses to round out a 8 man rotation) are not going to change the defensive identity of a team.
As long as Walton and the same core here it’s a goddamn Talking Heads gif. of a season.
Screw it, let David Byrne coach. Can’t be any worse.
(Byrne-ing down the house)
While the Kings are chasing a balanced roster the 10 teams ahead of them are actually chasing a championship.
It’s a no for me, dawg. I appreciate the defensive focus and hope that Mitchell gels early and has a great year, but this is essentially the same team with the same coach as last year. This roster just isn’t built (and the team just isn’t run) the way legitimate playoff teams are. We’ll have some good runs and flashes of chemistry, as per usual, but it will never be sustainable due to the depth and level of talent on the team. This is a 10-12 seed team in the west, as per usual, and please don’t try to tell me that making the 10th seed would equate to anything other than another failed year.
The Kings over-under at Tahoe opened at 34.5, and I am confident the Kings will hit the over, However, as I made my wager, the line had moved up to 35.5. I placed the bet but I might be worrying about that one game all season and that they’ll end up at 35 wins. (Sorry, that wasn’t a hopeful post. But the bet is.)
I’ll take the over on 35.5. Call me crazy, either Bagley is going to stay mostly healthy and contribute or he’s going to be traded for someone who will.
My guess, Bagley stays relatively healthy and has a really good year. Then he asks to get PAID in the offseason…. That’s KANGZ.
I’d bet the over
Kings are going to the playoffs!
I`m not taking this organization seriously until we get rid of Walton. As has been mentioned before, the only coach the last 10 years that didnt go to the playoffs with Lebron James.
Enough said.
He was not smart enough to let coach Lebron coach.
Pictured below: G1C throughout the 2022 playoffs:
Missing Davion, you know he’s gonna be in there
I am pretty optimistic. I think the Kings can win 39 games to get to the 9th seed.
Top 8 teams in the Western Conference is pretty set: Jazz, Nuggets, Suns, Mavs, Warriors, Blazers and the 2 LA teams.
The Wolves are going to be a bad defensive team again, likely bottom 5 again. On the other hand, they are going to try to bring their bad offense to average, which may happen with a healthy Russell and an improved Edwards. They still need to figure out the long term big next to KAT. It just does not look like they have enough fire power to compete for a play-in spot.
The Spurs are going to be a bad offensive team, likely bottom 5. They lost DeRozan, Gay and Mills who carried a big offensive load. Well those 3 were also bad defenders, which means their defense will get better. Maybe top 10 defense. But still don’t think they are good enough to compete for a play-in spot.
The Wolves and the Spurs will be at the bottom 4 of the Western Conference.
That leave the Kings, Grizzlies and Pels competing for the last 2 play-in spots.
The Grizzlies got slightly worse by trading away Valanciunas for Adams. Nevertheless, they have always been a solid defensive team. This team is just counting on internal improvement of their young players. The biggest question for them is “how do they build a good offense around Ja Morant”? They did not find an answer last year. They hope that they will find that out this year.
Not sure if the Pels will get worse or better. They swapped coach and 3 major players (from Ball, Bledsoe, and Adams to Graham, Satoransky and Valanciunas). That means a complete change of system. They should be able to compete because they have good players and good depth. Though this team is less than the sum of its parts.
You are banished. Optimism is neither accepted or welcome here. HOW DARE YOU!!!
LOL if I am banished, you are banished as well.
But yeah I can’t help it. Every past season I came in optimistic. Then it fizzled out after a few weeks (or longer depending on which season it was).
Right? I’ll take that banishment to the hitherlands if that’s what it takes. It’s easy to be pessimistic, but I’m choosing not to be. Also, I’d wager I believe in De’Aaron Fox’s growth curve more than at least 80% of TKH.
I’m not international though. I live an hours walk from the G Spot.
That’s my way of saying I’m an optimist Domestic Terrorist Kings fan, Terzo.
When 39 wins and a 9-seed qualify as optimism…..
Yeah, I’m with you on that point. I’d like to be optimistic for a title….but it is what it is BHE.
For what’s worth, it looks like I may be sitting on the optimistic end of the THK continuum at the moment with my “sure, it could happen if things break just right” take.
I could easily see a 500 team atm. I could see that in Minny, too. I have more trouble seeing it in SA and NO (I don’t like the vibe there). There could be a lot of different things going on this season for different teams that could give the Kings a shot. I think there was a legitimate shot for the Kings to have made it this past May….but it didn’t work out that way.
It is what it is. De’Aaron Fox has to get better for this team to be a legit playoff team, regardless of a Ben Simmons trade IMO. That’s really the bottom line.
it is possible- possible- that the Mavs fall ( Luka can get hurt) and I am just not impressed, that the LAC cannot ride PG for an entire season, that the duds lose Wiggins to brain death, klank adjusts poorly and lil stephie burns out ( right should labrum tear) and there is space in top 8.
and it is possible that temperatures will drop due to a re-balance in variation, that the Taliban will embrace women’s rights and that ABBA will have a number 1 hit single.
oh, yes, that the Kings find lightening, fluke adjusts his lineups rapidly and the Kings sneak into 6th.
Sure, why not?
Kings make the Playin at 10th with 38 wins ! No playoffs again ! Vivek counts it anyway
No
No.
no.
The team does have “versatility” which is a euphemism for un-balanced roster. At the same time, teams with multiple “about the same” interchangeable players can do well. Going way back- the 1974 GSW
But this requires that a coach is quick, sharp, sees impending mis-matches and adjusts quickly and often. A coach who anticipates and moves quickly.
Unfortunately, not coach flukes strengths. So no post season.
No. As someone else said, the front office’s biggest move to improve the team was for Fox and Haliburton to get 5 months older. LOL
But not developing under the coach they’ll ultimately be making their “run” with. In other words, wasting valuable time.
Playoffs with me???? You talking to me???
I don’t think they will make the real playoffs. But I think they can make the 10th and playin. Which will be sold as the end of the streak. To which I’ll call bullshit.
if they don’t make it at all is it wrong of me to be optimistic that the shirt will be even more epic than the Rangz shirt?
ps start the development process early because I will but that banner shirt…
Right. We need to start pounding that drum right now. Play-in game does not count as making the playoffs. “In =/= off.” Otherwise, the org will absolutely do that.
The past is irrelevant to how this season plays out. Unless as an involved party or collective group you internalize and focus on the past and base your identity on it, then the past is inclined to repeat. This is how reality works, mind precedes manifestation. You have to disidentify or misremember or recharacterize an unwanted history to prevent recurrence and perpetuation. You have a tool like Jason Anderson trying to force a narrative that players with no to loose relation to losing seasons are bearing this burden, as if they go to bed haunted by 15 years of failure, when their connection to this streak is minimal to nonexistent. You don’t become an NBA player even a mediocre one if you wallow in yesterday or last year.
Ah, what have we here, TT receiving kudos already for his veteran mentorship and alpha presence….McGenius strikes again!
Doomers in retreat, as another arrow is removed from their quiver; even if TT does not become a rotational player if he has the calming and focusing and galvanizing effect on the team like Shump, who after he was traded at the deadline, the team went into a tailspin, then a trade made at $0 net cost for a 4th string PG who had no viable path to the court will be a win.
The fastest player in the league reports he is “quicker and more explosive” in the context of yolking up noticeably, making James Ham and Sean Cunningham weak in the knees, and this gets no play on this site? There’s your headline Kings Herald Editors. Hello, anyone home? The lights are on but no one is answering!
De’Aaron Fox is a BEAST, a true Superstar. He will now be able to slide down and check the likes of Booker, Donovan and Dillon Brooks with no problem, and opening up opportunity for Davion to start next to him. Fox will give up no strength to the likes of Westbrook and Klay, while being able to blow by them at will!
Fox goal, along with sturdier defense, is to improve scoring effeciency. This is a good goal. Get those shooting splits up, incrementally, using the improved turbo jets and broader shoulders to draw more contact and get to the line, make the freebies, force the defense to retreat moreso to get cleaner looks from the perimeter and get more wide open looks for teammates. Fox was super fun to watch especially when he went on that 30 PPG streak for a while, we may see this level of play all season long!
Fox was at 56.5% TS% last season, career high. Imagine if he can get to 58-60% TS%, a viable target. Then you are talking about the probable leader of a Top 10 offense, maybe Top 5. What might this do if paired with a jump in team defense? Who are the Doomers to say this year is going to repeat, Kangz gonna Kangz, betting against Fox, who every season has made a jump in his scoring prowess? He keeps improving and this year he is not? At age 24, entering his prime, more confident than ever, inspired and complemented by Off Night, out to prove the max contract was deserved?
There are two way players (O and D), one way players (O or D), and there are no way players (no O and no D), sadly. Hence, I give to you, as a belated contribution to the nickname pot, No Way Marvin, as in “no way, he should have been picked #2”! No Way said he was NOT trying to get bigger this offseason, content at 240 pounds. Uh, he could not have added a little sculpted size to help hold his position in the paint, arguably his biggest weakness?
No Way claims his focus was on getting stronger, not bigger. He also claims something along the lines of “he busted his ass” making subjective claims to account for the fact that he looks close physically to the way he looked as a rookie. One man’s hellacious training session is another mans walk through the park. Marvin’s idea of beast mode workouts is not unlike Cousins when he was a King, who could never shed the excess fat that probably led to his devastating injuries.
In defense of No Way, 22.5 years is not too late, but he’s also out of time. The sands of the hourglass are down to their last few grains. Yet players develop at their own rate, on their own timetable, often needing blow to ego and adversity to compel a new level of focus and drive. But if he never had in him to begin with, including an unquestionable work ethic, his best wont do. His favor is up, his act is thin, his platitudes hollow. You can point to your savior above, gaining strength and comfort in Him, but what you really need is a right hand and a divine post move.
If No Way does not crack skulls, so to speak, starting Monday vs Suns, then he can kindly sit down and shush up and watch TT and sulk and pull another disappearing act to AZ. It is not hard to tell which players made the most of their downtime and who was more interested in the ladies on Miami Beach and nightclub scene. In fact, it was last year at this time, after Game One of the preseason, I asserted confidently and easily HB looked more spry and agile than he ended last season. He subsequently went on to have his most effecient campaign of his career. No Way needs this level of impressiveness and contrast out of the gate or katy bar the door.
I agree that the Kangz narrative is detrimental. It used to be a fun way to commiserate at the end of a losing season, but the joke has been played out.
The joke is not played OUT until the team plays IN the playOFFs..
At least we’re not spending WAY too much time over-analyzing things!
“…mind precedes manifestation.” Hmmm…
This is complete and utter bullshit. You are suggesting one should rewrite or ignore history in order to prevent it from happening again. That’s some serious Orwellian nonsense. Reminds of the idiot sticks to get up at school board meetings complaining that teaching of slavery or the Trail of Tears is CRT and hurts the idea American exceptionalism and the poor little white boys and girls feelings.
He couldn’t have meant… in his view… he had to have miswritten that.
If you pretend something doesn’t exist, it can’t hurt you. Amirite?
If a toddler learning to walk ignores its falls, it will never get on its feet.
I’m answering a question with a question. Are they going into the play-in on a 9 game losing streak? Because that does seem relevant.
because I don’t remember a time last season when they weren’t streaking in one direction or the other. Conclusion: FIRE WALTON!
Does flopping in backwards into the 10th seed play-in spot and losing the first game count? If so, sure why not…..
The team is mostly a returning group of players who contributed to either one or both of the previous two 31-win seasons. Barring Mitchell being a top 2 rookie, Haliburton making a jump to the “he’ll definitely be an all-star next season” level, and a trade that brings in an upper echelon player, I don’t see any reason to think they’ll improve by more than 2 or 3 wins…if that. In other words, the streak should continue.
An accurate, concise summary of what I anticipated as well. If the team makes Bagley earn his minutes, there could be some improvement because of this as well. But I don’t expect it to happen.
The Ghost of Michael Malone could get this team into the playoffs. With Luke Alton I think there’s about a 5% chance of making it past a play-in game
“Late Night” Lamonte Wade Jr. and Davion “off night” Mitchell. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say we either make it or get close. I know Luke sucks but continuity can be a good thing for these guys
It has to be legit if they end it, no play-in BS. Top 8 seed. It’s gonna be tough, as always.
Big difference this year: Doug Christie is on the coaching staff. Expect serious defensive effort. Like the kind DC used to give the Kings when they were winners.
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