By the way, the Kings offense is the thing that's fallen this season if you go by the numbers. Well, actually it's also that simply put the game is even more offensive based (yet again!) and teams have stepped up around the Kings talent wise. I was just looking at the NBA ratings this year and the Kings offense this year is good for 13th best in the league. The defense is around where the Kings wanted to be should their hold as best on offense carry on which is 17th. Top 20 was a good mark for a team like this. LAST YEAR. The crazy thing is the Kings record as best ever on offense is in danger of not only not holding but this one season could push them down to 8th all time in one fell swoop should the current rankings stay as they are. They probably won't but yes, the game of basketball is BROKEN. Last year the Nuggets won a ring as the lowest rated defensive team for a champion ever at 15th in defensive rating.
Now, the question is whether or not the Kings going for more defensive personnel is on it's own the clear answer. Now, I'm not talking 2 way stars or not adding defensively capable players, clearly the Kings need that. Nobody can argue that. I'm talking rotational players like Finney-Smith, O'Neal, Thybulle, etc at a higher value. In looking at the teams with currently better records than Sacramento that have higher defensive ratings but lower offensive ratings the only two teams that make the cut at a quick glance are the TWolves and Cavs. The Kings big spot isn't remotely like those two teams. In terms of build the Kings do seem to be far more like the Nuggets. The Jokic/Domas debate is what it is, Jokic is an MVP level player, so on the surface is an Aaron Gordon on steroids to make up the gap the missing piece? Or is a build into a bit of a different direction the way? This is why I think making up the talent gap around Domas, Keegan, and Fox at one spot is crucial. Then adding a role playing defender at the other makes perfect sense.
