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Rankings Power!

by Tom Ziller on Dec 3, 2007 9:59 AM PST in Links

A month after the nadir of the Sacramento Kings, the team's outside perception is (rightfully) gaining.

John Hollinger's formula places the Kings at #18, just behind Indiana and Memphis and ahead of Philadelphia and Atlanta. Meanwhile, Marc Stein's list sticks Sacramento at #19, smack between up-and-down Milwaukee and down-and-down Chicago.

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Re: Rankings Power!

...and with the 8th pick of the 2008 draft, The Sacramento Kings select...

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Dec 3, 2007 11:19 AM PST reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Yay! Mediocrity!

by Ball in Cup on Dec 3, 2007 12:24 PM PST reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

I personally see this team as being on the rise. True, we have more losses than wins but the losses have taught the team somethings and they have effectively applied those lessons thus far. I really do (assuming the team continues to play at this level) believe that we can contend for a playoff spot this year and hopefully with a smart move or two to get a good 4 we can soon be contenders. Pau Gasol anyone?

balls to the walls

by kangsfan on Dec 3, 2007 3:27 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Kangsfan,
I think optimism makes sense only if this young team can learn to win on the road. You are certainly correct that have improved on the home court and will almost most certainly have a pretty decent home record. The road will tell the story of whether this team is playoff bound or lottery bound.

Frankly, I think there might be a few folks in this community who are praying for road losses and a lucky lottery draw ;)

by Kusian on Dec 3, 2007 11:05 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

This team needs Derrick Rose alot more than a hollow 41 victories.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Dec 4, 2007 2:23 AM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

There's a whole lot of stuff that ties into that though pookey. You may be correct, the team might need him more than a so-so regular season and first round blowout in the playoffs...but what does the franchise need?

My guess is they need a somewhat competitive team playing an exciting brand of basketball to get the butts back in the seats. Don't forget, the arena issue will be raring its ugly head again in a few months and public support may be crucial.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of playing the lottery. Been there, done that. It's amazing how many teams are there over and over again.

by otis29 on Dec 4, 2007 6:28 AM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Oh so very true with little time to actually write a half assed rebuttal. I'll say this. There's a difference between being cheap and trying to get a valuable young player.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Dec 4, 2007 2:24 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Kusian, you make a very good point. All the advancement of our team has occured in Arco. However I think we can win one out of three (not good but not horrible) on the road. Wait till we get an Eastern road trip like the Warriors fattened up on before they robbed us (or we robbed ourselves whatever). If we can take two of three at home that leaves us with a .500 record. Not anything to write home to Mom about but it would be a suprise I think few of us expected at the beginning of the season. We have a long way to go but my point is I think we've hit bottom and are on our way back up.

balls to the walls

by kangsfan on Dec 4, 2007 7:04 AM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

look how high Orlando is. doesn't that just make you wanna kill Billy Donovan for not taking the Orlando job? so far, SVG has turned this team into major overachievers

by vfettke on Dec 3, 2007 1:57 PM PST reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

I still can't believe SVG chose Dwight Howard over Brad Miller.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Dec 3, 2007 2:04 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Yea...what could he have been thinking? ;-)

A lonely Kings fan in a sea of gold and purple...

by Jaycee on Dec 3, 2007 4:32 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Which is why Billy Donovan must be killed

by vfettke on Dec 3, 2007 9:34 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

While I'm happy that the Kings are sucking less, I can't help but consider that I'd rather face two or three seasons of epic sucking followed by the acquisition of draft talent and shedding of onerous contracts than a decade long rebuilding process.

A lonely Kings fan in a sea of gold and purple...

by Jaycee on Dec 3, 2007 4:34 PM PST reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

I'm not sure there's any such animal as a "decade long rebuilding process". You might as well just call yourselves the Atlanta Hawks.

But I see your point, and my question is whether we really aren't seeing the rebuilding right now? One or two more draft picks, maybe one good free agent signing, a trade or two (looking at you, Mike Bibby). We aren't looking at 5 years here, but maybe a year or two to be competitive in the West.

This backcourt is damn good right now, deep and young (that sounded pornographic). It looks to me like we've got the right coach in place as well. So we have something tangible to build around now. That should speed up the process somewhat.

by otis29 on Dec 3, 2007 4:49 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

The pieces are there. Martin, Udrih, and Shawes are definite building blocks. I'm still not sold on Garcia or Douby. Ditto for Theus. I don't think he's doing a bad job, but I also haven't been wowed. Perhaps he'll really shine once some of our vets move onto other opportunities and he has a young core to work with.

Anyway, I've still got faith in Geoff so we'll see where things go.

A lonely Kings fan in a sea of gold and purple...

by Jaycee on Dec 3, 2007 10:32 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Rick Adelman wouldn't wow you either. This group is somewhat broken with serious flaws that only change of personnel can fix.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Dec 4, 2007 2:24 AM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Honestly, as a fan, I see your point. But, also as a fan, I can never wish suckitude on "my" team. If they truly suck they will end up on the bright side of the draft, if they're just a middling team, I'll also accept that.

I'd much rather see them play hard and lose, than play listless ball...even if that means they drop in the draft. Just my opinion.

God bless you, Corliss. You always played as though you knew how expensive my tickets were. -section214

by KK on Dec 3, 2007 11:33 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

If our team does relatively well this year (i.e. ends up somewhere in the late lottery) while relying on a lot of young, inexperienced players to get it done every night, what that tells me is that our youngsters are more talented than we thought. In other words, maybe we won't have to suck for 3 years; maybe the upswing has already begun. So I'm gonna be contrarian and say I hope the Kings win as many games as they can this year, and if that means 35 games and the 12th pick, that will be cause for hope, not despair.

by Michael Beasley on Dec 3, 2007 4:44 PM PST reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

I'm with you and Herm Edwards - We play to win the game! My only hope is that if/when we hit that point that we are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs that we give big minutes to our "future" instaed of the oldsters.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Dec 3, 2007 5:03 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Agreed. The encouraging thing is, that really only means benching about 2 guys, brad and mikki. If Spencer keeps it up, I'm not so sure half of that doesn't happen in the near future. (And if Justin ever resurfaces (or D-Lee ever escapes from NY) the picture is complete)

by Michael Beasley on Dec 3, 2007 5:14 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

I agree with this. Remember the benefit of a draft isn't simply amassment of talent, it's finding syncopating parts, wherever you're picking. It's been said before but it deserves to be said again, short of Howard these is no player from that 2004 NBA Draft more integral than Martin, not Gordon, not Deng, certainly not Robert Swift. And Martin was considered a reach at 26 (2 spots before Udrih at 28.) Point being, with the obvious exceptions of guys like Durant, Wade and potentially Beasley, it's not where you draft but how you draft.

by rbiegler on Dec 3, 2007 5:07 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

And I vividly remember someone on ESPN saying they thought our second-round pick in 2004 (Ricky Minard--I had to look it up) had much more upside than Martin.

by Michael Beasley on Dec 3, 2007 5:30 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

You forgot Priest Lauderdale. He changed my life.

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Dec 4, 2007 4:09 AM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

I don't know about you guys but I'd rather be competitive than tank. Remember Boston last year? Call it mediocrity if you want but this team is definitely better than last year

by kingme on Dec 3, 2007 5:56 PM PST reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

There was this guy who wrote a stunningly good piece regarding much of this thread about a month ago. I love this guy's stuff...
http://www.sactownroyalty.com/story/2007/10/29/174744/72

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Dec 3, 2007 6:04 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Lol. Thanks for the link. My goodness. Samaki Walker was a #9 pick? :o No wonder you guys are so skeptical about Hawes. I have a feeling he's going to be better than Lorenzen and Samaki though. He played a really nice game against Hou

by kingme on Dec 3, 2007 10:43 PM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

There have been some good players over the years picked 10th overall. Caron Butler or Paul Pierce anyone?

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Dec 4, 2007 4:02 AM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

My favorite part of this article is the section about Minnesota at the bottom. "Send in your Minnesota Grizzlies comments now." Um, what?

by coachtheus on Dec 3, 2007 10:23 PM PST reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

There's been some well-chronicled resistance to the new coach and Artest has missed eight games already, but give Theus this: Sacramento's last three wins were recorded against Detroit, San Antonio and Houston.

Umm, whose resisting Theus and have I just totally ignored this?

I am the stone that the builder refused I am the visual, the inspiration That made Lady Sing the Blues..I'm the spark that makes your idea bright...

by pookeyguru on Dec 4, 2007 4:03 AM PST reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

It would seem the media likes to make something out of nothing. Can you believe it?!?

balls to the walls

by kangsfan on Dec 4, 2007 6:57 AM PST up reply actions

Re: Rankings Power!

Yeah. I think there was some minor WTF?! going on the first few weeks, but everyone seems to be on the same page now. It's a wonder what winning does.

by Tom Ziller on Dec 4, 2007 7:24 AM PST up reply actions

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