It has been a very long time since the Sacramento Kings made it to the NBA playoffs. The 2005-2006 season was the last time it happened. They were the eighth seed that season before losing to the San Antonio Spurs in six games that season. It has been a very long road for Sacramento’s franchise ever since then.
They are on track to get back there for the first time since that mark this season. NBA picks today have this basketball franchise making the playoffs for the first time since then. Why is Sacramento on track to do this?
Down Western Conference Year
The Western Conference is on a down season. The Phoenix Suns have been banged up, the Golden State Warriors are fatigued from their championship run, and the Los Angeles Lakers are old and fringed. Currently, the Sacramento Kings are the third seed in the Western Conference. Sacramento’s record so far this season is 27-19. They are on pace to win over 45 games this season and they could be the third seed.
The Denver Nuggets and the Memphis Grizzlies are ahead of them in the Western Conference Standings and it is also by a good margin. They were also due sooner rather than later to get back into this playoff position. Sacramento has suffered for so long as a fanbase and they needed something to break their way eventually. This was one of those instances for this franchise.
A Proven Head Coach
Mike Brown is the head coach for the Sacramento Kings. He has been in this league for a very long time. Brown was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers when he took them to the 2007 NBA Finals before getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Lebron James was very young at the time and he has also had many successful seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers despite not winning an NBA Championship.
Brown was also an assistant head coach under Steve Kerr with the Golden State Warriors for many seasons and also won NBA Championships with him also. Having a proven head coach in the NBA matters. There has been dysfunction over the years with different coaches and they finally found the right man. Walton was one of the recent coaches and he didn’t seem to mesh.
A Top Tier Offense
Sacramento has one of the best offenses in the entire NBA and they will play a ton of tempo and speed. That is why they are successful this season. That is how today’s NBA operates. The Kings will have a chance to win every game because of it. It will be interesting to see how long this style of play will last heading into the playoffs potentially.
Defense doesn’t seem to matter that much in the NBA anymore. Sacramento is average to below average on the defensive end of the floor this season also. We will see if it flames out at some point, but this Sacramento Kings basketball team is a feel-good story that hasn’t been talked about enough this season in the NBA.
The Roster Itself
Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox are two of the key players on this roster. Sabonis appears to be a double-double machine every time he touches the basketball court also. Fox is one of the most electrifying point guards in the NBA. It is a shame he hasn’t been to one NBA All-Star Game yet. Rookie Keegan Murray out of the University of Iowa has finally proven himself in this league.
This is important because Sacramento has been hit or miss with rookies. They did have Tyrese Haliburton before they traded him to the Indiana Pacers for Domantas Sabonis and it has actually worked out for both sides in the long run. Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, and Terence Davis have been some of the players that have helped them out big time this season.
One of the main themes for the Sacramento Kings this season has been “Light the Beam.” The question is how will the depth of this roster be, come playoff time? If the season ended today, they would face the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Sacramento Kings being in the playoffs this season is a win in itself, but they want to prove they belong for the next decade.
