2011-12 Sacramento Kings Predictions
Written by Jack Jones
The Sacramento Kings finished in a tie with the New Jersey Nets for the fifth-worst record in the NBA last season. At 24-58 and with a last-place finish in the Pacific Division, the Kings have nowhere to go but up. This is one of the youngest teams in the NBA, and it’s only a matter of time before they get things turned around.
A big plus for this franchise is that their owners have decided to keep the team in Sacramento for at least one more year. It was believed that the Kings would be moving to Anaheim, but that has not happened just yet. The city of Sacramento is trying to raise enough money to build a new arena, which would keep the team in the city.
First things first, and that’s trying to build a contender in Sacramento. While the future appears to be pretty bright for this team, the present is another story. The Kings have made a bunch of moves this offseason, but they haven’t necessarily improved their team all that much.
I do like their rookie class consisting of Jimmer Fredette, Tyler Honeycutt and Isaiah Thomas. I also like the additions of Chuck Hayes (Rockets) in free agency, and J.J. Hickson (Cavaliers) along with John Salmons (Bucks) via trade.
They did give up Beno Udrih (13.7 PPG, 4.9 APG) and Omri Casspi (8.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG in those trades, so they certainly had to give up some talent. The Kings also lost Samuel Dallembert (8.1 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.5 BPG) and Marquis Daniels in free agency. I like what they have coming in better than what they are losing, but this isn’t a huge upgrade by any means.
Sacramento managed to re-sign G Marcus Thornton, who averaged 12.8 points last season and went off at times offensively. After the Hornets traded him to Sacramento, Thornton averaged 21.3 points over his final 27 games while finishing ninth among shooting guards in points per minute.
PG Tyreke Evans lead the Kings in scoring (17.8), assists (5.6) and steals (1.5) last year. Still, he took a major step back from his rookie season. Evans missed 25 games last year while dealing with plantar fasciitis. He simply lost a lot of his explosiveness around the rim, and settled for way too many outside shots. Evans tried nearly three 3’s a game and made only 29.1 percent.
With Evans and Thornton doing the majority of the scoring outside, PF DeMarcus Cousins looks to build off of his strong rookie campaign inside. He averaged 14.1 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds last season. The one knock on Cousins is shot selection, as he connected on just 43.0 percent of his field goal attempts as a rookie.
This is going to be one of the deeper teams in the league with the additions of Salmons, Hayes, Hickson and Fredette. They also have SG Francisco Garcia, SF Donte Greene and C Jason Thompson coming off the bench. The veteran Garcia could start over Thornton, too.
Western Conference Prediction: 5th Pacific Division – There’s a lot of promise in this young team. I hope they find a way to stay in Sacramento for years to come as it’s one of the most underrated basketball cities in the country. Sacramento could challenge Phoenix and Golden State for the No. 3 spot in the Pacific, but I still think this team is at least another year away from becoming a playoff contender. The Kings’ youth and inexperience as a whole will hold them back once again.
Expert handicapper Jack Jones shows you how he sees the 2011-12 season playing out with his NBA predictions article.
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