NBA Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings Could Actually Be a Legit Playoff Contender

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By @DSchultz89

Mike Malone NBA Kings

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The Sacramento Kings are off to an extremely impressive start that’s been highlighted by the emergence of DeMarcus Cousins into the league’s best center, as well as the phenomenal leadership demonstrated by Rudy Gay coming into his first full season with the team.

Granted, it is a small sample size, but the Kings have started the year 4-1, with wins on the road against the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, as well as respectable home victories against the Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers.

A lot of credit for this start has to go to head coach Michael Malone, who was outstanding in his stints before as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors. Malone’s calling card is his vast knowledge of defense, something he has tried to instill in the Kings since he was hired by the organization in the summer of 2013. After a difficult first season, his defensive system seems to finally be taking form with this group of players.

I believe the biggest reason why the Kings are off to this kind of start is that they kept their roster mostly intact. Instead of going for a big blockbuster trade this offseason to improve their team after another disappointing season, it was clear that they liked the young talent they had and they wanted to develop chemistry with their current roster.

Basketball analytics gurus have slammed Gay in the past, but he has been lights-out to start this season. His experience with Team USA this past summer during the 2014 FIBA World Cup definitely helped his confidence, as through the first five games of the season Gay is taking great shots and averaging 24.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 2.4 APG while shooting 52 percent from the field and an insane 58 percent clip from three-point range. For a long time many critics have said Gay did not possess a jump shot and often settled for long two-pointers that were usually contested. But so far this season, he has adjusted his game, and if he keeps it up he will easily be an All-Star this year.

Gay will need to continue to play at this level if the Kings want to be a playoff team, just like Cousins will need to continue to be an unstoppable force in the post who can also control his temper. In addition to this, it will be fascinating to watch the young core of the Kings continue to get better. Players like rookie Nik Stauskas, Ben McLemore and Derrick Williams will need to step up their games and become huge rotational players moving forward for the team. And finally, after losing Isaiah Thomas during the offseason in free agency to the Phoenix Suns, the pressure is on Darren Collison to demonstrate once again why he deserves to be a starting point guard in this league. With backup support from Ramon Sessions, the Kings appear to be in respectable shape at the point guard position for now.

In order for the Kings to become a legitimate playoff team in the West, it comes down to confidence and trusting in their coach. This is a young team with a coach who is still learning on the fly, but it is important for them not to get caught up in this hot start and instead focus on the long road ahead. The West is a ridiculously competitive conference where a lot of good teams miss the playoffs.

There is no one questioning if the Kings have the talent to sneak into the race and become a respectable playoff team this season. Malone has shown to be a solid coach so far who has definitely done an admirable job putting a system in place and getting his players to play within it.

With all of this said, I think the Kings will still miss the playoffs, coming in at around the No. 9 seed, which is not a slight to them at all given how difficult the conference is. They are definitely a team on the rise, and with the correct coach developing the right talent over the next few seasons, they are certainly a franchise to watch moving forward.

Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.

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