Nov

26

Are The Kings This Season’s NBA “Feel-Good Team”?

Posted by Gregory Dix under NBA Analysis 

Kings Coach Basketball

Are the Sacramento Kings the feel good story of 2009? During this Thanksgiving I am thankful for the Kings turnaround! If you follow my writing I’m a Philly guy. Since “The Answer”  has left Philly the Sixers have meant nothing to me. In fact Allen Iverson’s premature retirement saddens me. The NBA made an error in blackballing the future Hall of Fame Inductee. But the Kings have given me hope.

I may be from Philly but I’m a West Coast basketball fan. The up tempo style of west coast ball fit my lifestyle. Last year I was all about Portland and their amazing transformation. This year I am all about Sacramento. I’m going on record as I believe the Kings are a playoff possibility for this year.

The Maloof brothers have finally turned a corner. I vow to you Sacramento that you are my adopted basketball home for this season. You have a Philly transport in Jason Thompson and amazing young talent in Tyreke Evans, Spencer Hawes, Jon Brockman, and Donte Greene. Add to that the experience factor in Andres Nocioni and Kenny Thomas and you have a team that inspires a true NBA fan like myself.

I love your new coach Paul Westphal. He reminds me of the glory days of the 1990 Suns. I’m a relative young buck because 1990 was when my true love of the NBA was formed. Westphal is a throw back that will get in the face of a young player and teach them at the moment of their errors. Too many pro coaches are afraid of confronting their young multimillion dollar talent. This bodes well for a young team and helps instill confidence and desire. A good coach for young players with incredible upside is the perfect storm.

I’m haven’t even mentioned Kevin Martin yet! It’s just a matter of time till he gets back into their lineup! If the Kings can hold down the fort until he returns the playoffs are an attainable goal. Martin with Evans creates a dynamic back court presence. No longer will the lowly Knicks be able to only double team Evans. In a sense the injury to Martin enables Evans to develop at a faster clip. Evans has solid passing and a good sense of how to handle the distribution of the rock. He has the explosive game changing ability of a Roy.

The difference here is that Roy is more of a workhorse and Evans still has consistency issues. Donte Green might be one heck of a steal. I’ll leave you with his stat line against the Knicks – 24 pts, 6 blocks, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 6 three pointers. I recognize this is against the Knicks but if Green can keep this type of hustle going he very well may have a prominent place on this roster!

I look forward to a season of hope for Sacramento. I take pride in the ability to post regularly about this team’s growth. This new found development of players will generate enough interest to help the franchise and Mayor Kevin Johnson. This gives them the leverage they needs to build a new arena. Something the Maloof brothers have been lobbying for.

 I want to see the Kings elevate themselves back to the greatness they experienced during the Mike Bibby / Chris Weber era. This would be a perfect send off for the Arco Arena and a perfect entrance to their new home for the next 25 years! Hopefully this time around they accomplish the ultimate goal and take out the Lakers in route to a championship!


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