Sacramento Kings Fans: Temper Your Expectations, There’s a Long Way to Go

Quick. Someone take a snapshot of the Sacramento Kings in the Western Conference standings and save it.

There’s a buzz in Sacramento since the Kings improved to 4-1 after the 131-109 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. It’s wonderful to think that the Kings are back and are well on their way to returning to glory, similar to the days of Chris Webber. The Kings are second in the Pacific Division to the undefeated Golden State Warriors (stop for a second and think when was the last time the Kings and Warriors were both atop of the Pacific Division standings).

The Kings are playing great basketball. It’s difficult to deny that, and the stats back it up. Aside from the abysmal showing against the previously mentioned first-place Warriors in the season opener, the Kings are averaging 110 points per game, shooting 47 percent from the field and are out-rebounding opponents 185-147.

The Kings are inspired, playing with passion and energy that is incredibly fun to watch.

Dec 15, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) celebrates with forward Rudy Gay (8) after a play against the Houston Rockets during the first quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Versatile forward Rudy Gay is flashing glimpses of the superstar he was predicted to be with the Memphis Grizzlies. Gay is averaging 24.4 points per game with 6.2 rebounds per game and shooting an amazing – but unsustainable – 58.3 percent from 3-point land.

Budding superstar DeMarcus Cousins is serving as a great complement to Gay’s superstar play, averaging 24 points to go along with 10.6 rebounds while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor.

Darren Collison has been the steady, veteran presence on a team full of youthful exuberance. Collison is third on the team in scoring, averaging 15 points, but his biggest contributions come in other areas. He is averaging 6.8 assists and two steals per game.

All of those things are nice, but a harsh reality has to start sink in unfortunately.

Two wins came against the struggling Nuggets. The wins over the Los Angeles Clippers and the Portland Trail Blazers are nice, but it’s wins in October. Wins in October don’t always equate playoff runs or even playoff berths. All of the work can be undone with a short losing streak in February.

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Add in the reality that the Kings play in the Western Conference, and things can get awfully bleak in a hurry. Unless the young, exciting Kings mature quickly and maintain the level of play they’ve started with, the Kings are likely destined to miss the postseason.

That’s the glorious part of the NBA season. There is still a long way to go.

But let’s focus on the positives for now. The 4-1 start has brought excitement, but more importantly, it brings something that Kings fans have been lacking for seemingly quite some time.

Hope.

Fans have experienced rollercoasters with the Kings on and off the court.

The Kings haven’t made the playoffs since the 2005-06 season and haven’t been relevant in the title conversation since Miley Cyrus was 11 years old and twerking all over the place was far from her future.

There was always talk of the Kings being moved out of Sacramento with Anaheim, Calif. and Seattle being two potential locations. So having some positive thoughts is refreshing.

Fans deserve to enjoy this start and run of strong, inspired play. They’ve waited long for the opportunity to be excited about something.

Fair warning, however, it may not last.

But hopefully it does.

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