Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Sacramento Kings’ Current Roster
January 18, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas (22), guard Marcus Thornton (23), point guard Tyreke Evans (13), shooting guard Francisco Garcia (32), and power forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) walk onto the court after a timeout during the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Power Balance Pavilion. The Kings defeated the Pacers 92-88. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
To loyal Sacramento Kings fans, it feels like eternity since the franchise entered the rebuilding stage. The Kings have not had a winning season or playoff appearance since the 2005-06 season. That is a long run of mediocrity for a once proud franchise. With the new ownership and new coach in place, the Kings are set in a new direction. Whether the new direction leads to success should be answered this year.
The talent on the current roster will have to prove that they have the foundation for long term success.
With that said, let’s examine the strength and weaknesses of this team:
Weakness
1. Front Court– The Kings’ front court boasts a bunch of role players in Carl Landry, Patrick Patterson, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who can contribute 10 points and five boards any given night. The problem is there isn’t any dominant force that can take the pressure off of DeMarcus Cousins.
With the lack of complementary players in the front court, the back court will have to come up big in order to win. The potential starters on opening day should be Greivis Vasquez and Ben McLemore. The average age of those two players is an extraordinary 23.
Given the young backcourt, the Kings would like to get more from the bigs. The lack of star power on the team behind Cousins, will be a glaring weakness on the team all season.
2. Defense- The Kings franchise has never been associated with good defense. The teams from the 90’s and the early 2000’s were always potent offensively but weak on defense. New head coach Mike Malone is known to be a defensive guru but the pieces on this Kings team will guarantee a mediocre defense.
The roster is loaded with young and inexperienced players including a lack of defensive talent. The addition of veteran forward Landry should help a little but not enough to overcome the inexperience of the younger players.
Strength
1. Point Guard- The roster is stacked with talent at the point. Players like Vasquez, Isaiah Thomas, Jimmer Fredette, and rookie Ray McCallum can play the position. Vasquez should end up as the starter ahead of Thomas. Vasquez is a better ball handler and a superior distributor. Thomas, on the other hand, provides more value as a scorer and should see a lot of minutes coming off the bench.
Jimmer Fredette provides fans with a lot of intrigue and potential, but he hasn’t been given enough chance to prove himself. Luckily for him, Malone is sure to test the third year guard out of BYU. The Kings either have a diamond in the rough or a trade bait with fredette.
The deep talent at the spot should provide the fans with something to look forward to. The fans shouldn’t expect too much from this season, but getting a better feel for the team should provide more direction.
2. Coaching- Head coach Mike Malone was plucked from the Golden State Warriors after owner Vivek Ranadive saw up close the talent the young coach possesed. Malone has a 12 year history in the league at various positions with 4 different teams. The trend with this guy has been continued improvement. Improvement in a competitive league such as the NBA suggests the ability to learn, adapt, and adjust to the ever changing landscape. Kings fans will find out that they are in the right hands for the first time since Rick Adelman left town.
Sacramento is a team in transition, and this season will reveal the character and the direction of the franchise. The new downtown arena will look better with a winning team christening it. The future holds all the answers but the present holds the sweat and tears that lay the foundation for winning.