Sacramento Kings Still Losing Amid Philosophy Shift
It’s been 10 games since the Sacramento Kings unceremoniously fired head coach Mike Malone and installed Tyrone Corbin into the interim head coaching role. The move hasn’t yielded any changes in the win-loss column and has simply exacerbated the issue, as the Kings have lost seven of the last 10 games.
There are a variety of factors that explain why the Kings parted ways with Malone, but it comes down to differences in ideology. Malone is a defensive-minded coach, while the front office features an offense-first mentality. The latter won out in the end, with Malone being shown the door in favor of the former Utah Jazz head coach.
The Kings have essentially gotten what they wanted in Corbin, in terms of philosophy. The team is more efficient on the offensive side of the ball, shooting 47.2 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three-point territory. The Kings are also playing at a faster pace, averaging four more possessions per game.
None of it has helped the Kings get out of the tailspin, however.
The problem is the Kings have expectedly regressed on the defensive side of the ball. Since switching head coaches and philosophy, the Kings have been a defensive sieve. Under Malone, opponents were shooting 43.9 percent from the floor and 31.5 from three-point land. In the last 10 games under Corbin, teams are shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from three.
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To make matters worse: the Kings don’t seem to be improving under Corbin. They’re floating and have turned the hope of making the postseason into hoping to secure a high lottery pick to acquire more young talent, which is the last thing the Kings need at the moment especially in a frontcourt heavy Draft.
The change in philosophy hasn’t affected DeMarcus Cousins too much, which seems to be the only silver lining through all this. Cousins averaged 23.5 points and 12.6 rebounds under Malone, and not much has changed in his stats since Corbin became the head man (23.6 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game).
But the biggest concern isn’t necessarily Cousins’ on-court production but rather his mental makeup. Malone had seemingly found a way to motivate Cousins and keep Cousins’ head in the right place. Cousins was growing up, and it was making a difference on the court.
Now Corbin is left dealing with the mercurial talent, and it’s difficult to know what will happen. Will Malone’s effect on Cousins maintain, or will Cousins regress back to the old version prone to do silly things on the court that greatly affect his team?
There is still plenty of time for the Kings to develop and buy into this shift in philosophy, but if 10 games have shown us anything, fans shouldn’t be holding their breath. The season should be considered lost, and a lottery ping-pong ball will have the Kings name on it.
It seems unlikely that the Kings will retain Corbin as the head coach next season, unless he does something crazy like win the NBA title. That next coach will likely fall in line with the front office and will have another set of expectations on top of the usual pressures of winning basketball games. The new coach will have the challenge of establishing an identity for the Kings, which would be the third one in two seasons.
The Kings are a mess. There’s no easy way to put it.