A Season Fit for the Kings

Although success is a relative term following the worst season in franchise history, winning more games than the previous year by the All-Star break was undeniably a step in the right direction for the Sacramento Kings.
 
But the final win total doesn't even begin to tell the story of how much the team improved, especially defensively (4.9 fewer points allowed), after the disastrous 2008-09 campaign. The Kings shot better from the field while settling for considerably fewer three-pointers, and averaged 3.5 more rebounds and an additional assist per game (free throw practice, however, will be a priority in the offseason).
 

While my lofty 37-45 projection actually looked feasible in late December, when Sacramento sported a respectable 13-14 record that had Paul Westphal atop the Coach of the Year rankings, 25 wins is still higher than nearly every ESPN analyst predicted in October. In fact, the Kings more than lived up to all of my other predictions and put some of my biggest doubts to rest.
 
I didn't foresee Tyreke Evans becoming the Rookie of the Year front-runner, since at the time, Blake Griffin was having a terrific preseason (13.7 points, 8.1 rebounds in 28 minutes per game) on the supposedly improved Clippers, but I correctly predicted that 'Reke would break the Kings' six-year All-Star drought and win the MVP Award in the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge. He finished the game with his typical, ho-hum stat line — 26 points (11-15 FG), six rebounds, five assists, and five steals — to seal the first win for the Rookies in eight years. While there was no question that Evans would make a big impact, his historic 20-5-5 season was certainly more than anyone in the Kings organization could have rightfully expected.
 
Omri Casspi's impressive rookie campaign, which included an invitation to the Rookie Game (an honor he called the highlight of his NBA career) and the H.O.R.S.E. competition, caught many people by surprise. I predicted Casspi would be the Kings' starting small forward by mid-season, at the latest, after being impressed with his toughness and terrific shooting during the preseason. His first regular season start came on December 16 in the Kings' 22nd game, after he was already playing over 25 minutes off the bench.
 
Casspi started 30 of the next 38 games, averaging 12.2 points and 5.7 rebounds, before fatigue finally caught up to him over the final month and a half of the year. While he's already committed to playing for Israel in the European Championships, Casspi noted that he'll get some much needed rest and work on his conditioning after a pressure-packed first season.
 
Of course, I had a few missteps along the way. In the same article, I praised Spencer Hawes' rebounding, which ended up sharply declining on both a per game and rate basis during the third-year center's up-and-down season. For the record, I wasn't alone, as then-Sacramento Bee beat writer Sam Amick predicted a breakout campaign for the 21-year-old big man. While Hawes could have a bounce-back year, he's unlikely to go into next season with high expectations and will be challenged for a starting spot.
 
It turns out that I was also wrong about Beno Udrih — but in a good way. Over the summer, Eze of A Royal Pain and I complied a tongue-in-cheek list of "facts" about the disappointingly overpaid point guard, and I was still having doubts about Udrih as late as last month. But that was before he went on to average a staggering 18.2 points, 11.8 assists, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game while Evans was sidelined with a concussion, even notching his first triple-double in a near-upset over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
 
Udrih has made me — as well as Westphal, who didn't even play him in the first game of the season — a believer and shown that perhaps Reggie Theus and Kenny Natt actually were to blame for his forgettable 2008-09 season. Barring a miraculous bounce of the ping-pong balls, Udrih will go into 2010-11 as the unquestioned starter in the backcourt alongside Evans.
 
All in all, Westphal used 30 different different starting lineups and countless rotations over the course of the season. Among the players who finished the year with the Kings, 16 five-man units had with a plus/minus of at least plus-five (minimum five minutes played together).
 

It's not surprising that Evans, Udrih, defensive stopper Ime Udoka, and offensive rebounding monster Jon Brockman were prominent in the top units, while Sacramento fared better with Jason Thompson as the team's starting center — 14.8 points (51% FG, 82% FT), 10.2 rebounds, and perhaps most importantly, only 2.7 personal fouls per game over the final nine contests — as opposed to Hawes.
 
Perhaps the biggest bright spot of the year was the exceptional play of second-year swingman Donté Greene, who averaged 9.9 points on 51% FG and 10-of-21 from downtown in just 19 minutes over the final seven games. With Andres Nocioni less likely to return next season after requesting a trade (and shooting an uninspiring 38% FG over the final two months), Greene should enter next season with some much-needed confidence after making tremendous progress and showcasing his incredible potential.
 
Looking back, I might have predicted a 37-win campaign a year too early, since another 10 or 12-game improvement is certainly within reach next season with the continued development of the Kings' cornerstone players, a full season of scoring machine Carl Landry playing alongside Evans, and the addition a top-six draft pick.
 
A lot can (and hopefully will) happen before next October, but I'm already excited about the start of the next Kings regime.

Article Author: Alex Kramers

Alex Kramers is the Sacramento Kings fan correspondent on Kings.com; a writer on the basketball humor blog, lowposts.com; and the editor of doktakra.com. He enjoys reminiscing about old school Sacramento Kings teams, fantasizing about Candace Parker, and dreaming of world peace.
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