I've read at least three or four mass-media columns and fan blog posts around the web this morning pointing to Saturday's big win over Denver with Scotty Brooks at the helm in order to pile on Eric Musselman.
Some points:
- Did anyone watch Wednesday, when the Kings played one hell-of-a spirited game against Minnesota and held them off in a tight finish? On Wednesday, under Eric Musselman, the team executed well, withheld a fiery comeback lead by former MVP Kevin Garnett, and played superb fourth-quarter defense.
- Has anyone outside of Sacramento paid attention to the last month? Sacramento, despite the horrid record, has played well in most of the games since Christmas. I can count the truly awful performances on one hand - Detroit, Toronto, and New Orleans (and the Kings played moderately well in Toronto for three quarters). The team played with Dallas in Dallas for third-and-a-half quarters, took the Rockets to overtime, spotted the Lakers 20 and lost thanks to a missed free throw, and performed well in for three quarters in nearly all the other losses. This isn't the Celtics - so a spirited win over a talented team with a replacement coach doesn't mean Muss is hurting the team.
- It's one game. If the Maloofs said, "Hey, that was a nice win. Let's cut Muss loose and go with Brooks," do you think whatever missing spirit was there Saturday night would carry over for three months and drive the Kings into the playoffs? Really?