Looking at HB's post-game comments and Kevin's performance, I am starting to think that our dropoff this season has a lot to do with Brown (who I love) imposing a more traditional operating template on the Kings, with "role players" and "all stars" instead of five pistons working together in unison within the engine. I don't think HB wants to be a full-time role player...he's happy to sacrifice his offensive game to set screens, do cuts, and make passes, but thrives in a system where all others are willing do the same on a given night.
In the last two games, Brown seems to be involving the bench more frequently and in more meaningful ways... look at the results from guys like Davion and McGee. Maybe Brown is reassessing his second season approach, learning as we all do with time and experience.
To your point, I am very much so inclined to (and 100% stand by my decision to) consider last season to be somewhat of an anomaly. I think Brown, towards the beginning of last season, just revved up the engine a bit more than maybe he should've at the end of the day when he realized the squad was in the process of doing something special. I don't think he had much of a choice, and I don't fault him for coaching last season the way he ended up coaching.
This season, however, has been more of an "I now understand what your potential is based on the success of last season. Let me now come in and establish some sort of a more traditional, and routine, gameplan. We have the personnel in place to take a step forward. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, and approach this methodically as to not risk crashing and burning in the next year or two" approach from Brown.
I am perfectly fine with that approach.
Sure, we may not be a better team than last season, I can agree with you there. But we certainly are not a worse team. If anything, we are at the same level as last season's Kings squad.
Knowing Brown's track record before he came to Sacramento, I have faith in his ability to take this team to that next level. He may not do it this season, but I don't think we're as far off from getting there as some are making it out to be.