Do we have a real shot at a title this year???

[SacTownKid]

So far we have lost to the Mavs, Twolves, and Spurs and I think we would obviously see one of those teams in the playoffs. Can we actually beat those teams? (Assuming we are 100% health wise)


I personally think that the Kings can win it all, but it seems like nobody else (media) thinks they can. Its kind of a bummer to hear all the negative junk being talked about the Kings, and it even makes it harder when we lose a game like tonight against a team we have to beat.

 

[xrzn]

I can name 20 teams that have a real shot at the championship this year, and the Sacramento Kings being one of them.

 

[Bricklayer]

I'm not really worried at all about those Texas Triangle losses --we quite clearly did not look like ourselves at all at that point. Doesn't mean that we would necessarily have beaten them today, but we would ahve at least had a a shot.

In any case its a little early to be trying to measure power teams. I think we have definite issues to be resolved before we could go into a series with those teams and feel confident, but we're one of the other teams in their league talent and experience-wise.

 

[VF21]

So far we have lost to the Mavs, Twolves, and Spurs and I think we would obviously see one of those teams in the playoffs. Can we actually beat those teams? (Assuming we are 100% health wise)


I personally think that the Kings can win it all, but it seems like nobody else (media) thinks they can. Its kind of a bummer to hear all the negative junk being talked about the Kings, and it even makes it harder when we lose a game like tonight against a team we have to beat.

It's only November. It is WAY too early to tell what the league picture is going to look like in April. If you let yourself be brought down by the predictions of a bunch of media hacks, you're going to miss out on a lot of fun.

Regular season wins and losses mean very little in the playoffs because the whole tempo and style of play changes. Can we beat the Mavs, TWolves and Spurs? Yes. Can we beat them in a best of 7 series? My crystal ball doesn't work that well because there are simply too many unknowns at this point.

We've only played 13 games. We have 69 more games to play before the playoffs. A lot can happen...

Sit back and enjoy the ride.

 

[Geoff]

It's only November. It is WAY too early to tell what the league picture is going to look like in April. If you let yourself be brought down by the predictions of a bunch of media hacks, you're going to miss out on a lot of fun.

Regular season wins and losses mean very little in the playoffs because the whole tempo and style of play changes. Can we beat the Mavs, TWolves and Spurs? Yes. Can we beat them in a best of 7 series? My crystal ball doesn't work that well because there are simply too many unknowns at this point.

We've only played 13 games. We have 69 more games to play before the playoffs. A lot can happen...

Sit back and enjoy the ride.

While all this is true, I have to admit that as long (short) as I've been a Kings fan, I've never considered the Kings as victors in a 7-match series with the Spurs. We could have beaten the T-wolves last year and Dallas when we're healthy (and of course we haven't beaten LA in a playoff series yet), but for me all bets are off if we ever meet the Spurs in a playoff series. If we win that series, then the championship is ours.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Another loss another sky is falling thread...

 

[gangdogu]

Another loss another sky is falling thread...

Yeah cuz' we face the exact same problems we've been facing for so long : lack of D and lack of hustle. As long as we keep this coach we won't have a shot a title. You know why? So far we've traded, waived, cut off some players from the roster and nothing has come along.
Game 7, 2002, Kings free throws break down.
Game 7, 2004, Kings free throws break down.
There's only a 2-year difference between these two facts. Players have changed but it's still the same.

But the problem is that some fans on this board are acting just like the team : lack of hustle. I remember that one time right after game 2 against Minny, hearing so many people saying 'it's not that bad, we'll win the next one'. And the Kings actually lost Game 3.

You wanna win a championship? Get rid of RA and get Phil Jackson. The guy knows a lot about titles. And don't you come to me saying that the Kings would lose their dignity by acquiring Phil Jackson. They already lost it. Nobody sees them as contenders not even close to a playoff team. They've been called the Queens, a team with no fighting spirit.

But keep booing players Kings fans, it's really what they need.

I'm a true Kings fan. I ask for Adelman's resignation before it's too late.

If Kings fans don't make a move in Sacramento by asking for his resignation, Kings will be on of biggest waste in NBA history in terms of talent.

 

[KA_2]

The Kings will compete for a title, but I see no way they get past the Spurs. Twolves sure, they aren't any better than last year (but don't sleep on Griffin) when the Kings nearly beat them. But the Spurs just look too good this year. Assuming Duncan isn't hobbling by playoff time, you've got to love the Spurs this year. Just too tough, deep, athletic, experienced, and consistently great defensively. If Ostertag was in the prime of his career he might have been able to really add in an important toughness element to the Kings, but he looks worse than Vlade so far this season. Maybe he'll figure it out and get into shape.

 

[ReinadelosReys]

Yeah cuz' we face the exact same problems we've been facing for so long : lack of D and lack of hustle. As long as we keep this coach we won't have a shot a title. You know why? So far we've traded, waived, cut off some players from the roster and nothing has come along.
Game 7, 2002, Kings free throws break down.
Game 7, 2004, Kings free throws break down.
There's only a 2-year difference between these two facts. Players have changed but it's still the same.

But the problem is that some fans on this board are acting just like the team : lack of hustle. I remember that one time right after game 2 against Minny, hearing so many people saying 'it's not that bad, we'll win the next one'. And the Kings actually lost Game 3.

You wanna win a championship? Get rid of RA and get Phil Jackson. The guy knows a lot about titles. And don't you come to me saying that the Kings would lose their dignity by acquiring Phil Jackson. They already lost it. Nobody sees them as contenders not even close to a playoff team. They've been called the Queens, a team with no fighting spirit.

But keep booing players Kings fans, it's really what they need.

I'm a true Kings fan. I ask for Adelman's resignation before it's too late.

If Kings fans don't make a move in Sacramento by asking for his resignation, Kings will be on of biggest waste in NBA history in terms of talent.

In the playoffs the Kings defense and overall intensity has always picked up. Case in point last season, IMO the Kings defense increased tremendously. It was not their defense or their hustle that failed them in the series vs. the Wolves, it was their inability to have players step up. And you can lend that assessment to every playoff exit. With the exception of that second meeting with LAL, the Kings have always been right there fighting evenly with their opponent whomever it was, but the other team always had more people to step up when they needed to. That is something you can't coach, that is something that just happens.

 

[Bricklayer]

Yeah cuz' we face the exact same problems we've been facing for so long : lack of D and lack of hustle. As long as we keep this coach we won't have a shot a title. You know why? So far we've traded, waived, cut off some players from the roster and nothing has come along.
Game 7, 2002, Kings free throws break down.
Game 7, 2004, Kings free throws break down.
There's only a 2-year difference between these two facts. Players have changed but it's still the same.

But the problem is that some fans on this board are acting just like the team : lack of hustle. I remember that one time right after game 2 against Minny, hearing so many people saying 'it's not that bad, we'll win the next one'. And the Kings actually lost Game 3.

You wanna win a championship? Get rid of RA and get Phil Jackson. The guy knows a lot about titles. And don't you come to me saying that the Kings would lose their dignity by acquiring Phil Jackson. They already lost it. Nobody sees them as contenders not even close to a playoff team. They've been called the Queens, a team with no fighting spirit.

But keep booing players Kings fans, it's really what they need.

I'm a true Kings fan. I ask for Adelman's resignation before it's too late.

If Kings fans don't make a move in Sacramento by asking for his resignation, Kings will be on of biggest waste in NBA history in terms of talent.

I think that's always been the subtext of dissatisfaction with Adelman (and actually blaming him for missed FTs??? -- can't remember the last tiime players got a pass for that one). In any case people SEVERELY overestimate the "talent" on these teams, at least compared to past championship teams. We have, at this point, NO Hall of Fame players. Zero. Zippo. Nobody better than everybody else game in and game out. Webb is the closest call, and basically he's unlikely to make it unless he is able to elevate his game and team to a title. And that has always been the touchstone for the championship team -- this past season Detroit may have become the first team without at least one sure-fire Hall of Famer to win a title since the 1970's at least. Moses, Dr. J, Magic, Kareem, Bird, Isiah, MJ, Pippen, Hakeem, Shaq, Kobe, Duncan...those are LEGENDARY names, and we've never had a guy of that caliber. Overall talent is nice and pretty, but to win the big one, teams have always needed the superstar to lead them, to rise to the occasion.

Virtually ever major King has had the best years of his career in Sacramento. None of these guys had won anything at all before arriving in town -- most of them had bounced around from one losing team to another until Adelman molded them into winners. So please don't try to convince me that he's somehow holding back the awesome unstoppable talent of a bunch of guys who were lucky to sniff the playoffs before arriving in town, let alone a championship.

 

[piksi]

With this group of players and this coach - NO

 

[iheartBrad]

every time we lose is there going to be a thread like this?? Cuz i don't know about every one else but it tends to get a little depressing for me...yea

 

[TheSerbianQueen]

With what I have seen so far this season (and I do agree with the ones who say it is still too early to judge), I would say that Kings do have a chance. That is however NOT based on the way Kings have played so far (they haven't been bad, but also haven't been up to their potential), but it is based on the fact that this is an open race this year. Looking at the teams that were clear contenders last year - they are not necessarily main contenders this year..... Detroit repeating it?? Not so sure about that one.... I am sure it will be (once again) team from the west, but there are few western teams that could potentially take it. Hard to tell (yet) who is the clear favorite.

 

[webberfan]

gonna have to agree with piksi here ... given what i've seen from this bunch thus far, and of course it's still early, there just isn't enough of the intangibles from this team to warrant a championship. with the exception of a few players, this team lacks athleticism, can't box out for rebounds and is afraid to dive for loose balls.

there is nothing the players can really do about being unathletic, but the little things like hustle and rebounding are IMO primarily based on desire. and their desire, thus far, has not matched their opponents'.

can they flip this on like a switch come playoff time? i'm sure some of the guys on the team think so, but that is a dangerous game to play.

i still hope the team can win a title, but the expectation, unlike in years past, is no longer there. and maybe, that is a good thing.

 

[VF21]

every time we lose is there going to be a thread like this??

Yep.

And, for whatever it's worth, the posters who are the most down on the coach, etc. are generally ones who live out of the area and don't ever see the games. Go figure...

 

[SacTownKid]

every time we lose is there going to be a thread like this?? Cuz i don't know about every one else but it tends to get a little depressing for me...yea

I actually thought the response was going to be more positive. Of well. I think its a valid question b/c if you are not competing for a championship what point is there to even play. I don't know about every game but when the Kings play the teams they have to beat we can judge a little better on how they may do. I personally think they didn't hustle but would also like to not see them put themselves in any danger of injury.

 

[kgrichwine]

Like I predicted befrore the game, the KIngs ahd a letdown game after a hard fought win in the Staples Center. It happens. There are still alot of games left in this season and you will see more letdown games. Don't Panic!

 

[LPKingsFan]

I would rather see the team struggle now and get hot right before the playoffs than the opposite.

 

[AriesMar27]

the funny thing is that, with so many new teams making a run for the playoffs this year, the mavs, spurs and twolves could be beaten in the first round. especially if any one of those teams meets utah or seatle in the first round, or the suns in the second. that goes for the kings a well, hell if they dont win the division, they wont make it out of the second round.... having to go up against the suns , after battling it out with dallas in the first.

 

[Bricklayer]

the funny thing is that, with so many new teams making a run for the playoffs this year, the mavs, spurs and twolves could be beaten in the first round. especially if any one of those teams meets utah or seatle in the first round, or the suns in the second. that goes for the kings a well, hell if they dont win the division, they wont make it out of the second round.... having to go up against the suns , after battling it out with dallas in the first.

Suns may well be a paper tiger. Ignoring their lack of big men, which is normally deadly at playoff time, these are the 11 teams they have beaten so far: Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, New Orleans, Lakers, Clippers, Chicago, Milwaulkee, New Orleans.

I mean, come on now. What's that -- two good teams out of 11? The entire soft part of their schedule has come in the first month. It will be interesting to see how they do once they start having to play winning teams.

 

[crypticone]

What I don't understand is that during the 7 game winning streak the Kings beat two good divisional teams on the road and we all know how historically they struggle on the road. Thats impressive to me. In those two games, I saw a lot of hustle from our boys. Even in the few close games we had on the home floor, we made the hustle plays we needed to win. Now all of a sudden, they lose a game for lack of hustle and every one is questioning their heart and determination. Don't get me wrong, it is a valid point to make, but maybe save it for when the season is at least a couple of months in. We still have a respectible record and just completed a 7 game winning streak. Also, I am tired of people bringing back up the "RA should be fired" BS. This team was nothing before him. Remember, before him, we were so bad that players didn't even want to come play for this team. Get off the coach and let the season unfold how it may.

 

[BigWaxer]

Injuries play too much of a role for anyone to predict anything right now.

We lose any of our starters and we are in trouble.

Spurs could lose Duncan, Mavs Dirk… and so on.

13 games in no way anyone can make a real prediction. I do like how the Kings have bounced back. One thing that a championship team needs is heart and so far they have shown that.

The only thing I don’t like is we still have the same problems as we have had for the last 5 years which is rebounding. The other area was D but I actually think the D is a lot better this year compared to past years at this point in the season.

 

[Evenstar]

at this point in time it is WAY WAY WAY too early to tell. althought i do say that the rebounding has GOT to improve. the kings do tend to turn it up come playoff time on the defensive end. now if we could get peja to show up for a whole 7 game series.....

the kings haven't really been dealt the full hand come playoff time with the injuries that always seem to happen. maybe one of these years it would happen to someone else..... or that the kings could at least be HEALTHY!!!!!!

i'll make my full judgement at the AS break. teams like the sonics, the suns, they are probably going to flame out. yes i know the soncis have beaten the spurs and the woofs, but come on, does anyone think that outside shooting is going to last all season??? and brick listed the teams the suns have beaten, like i ribbed on them before the kings played them, the suns have beaten all kinds of title contenders.

i think whoever wants to win the west is going to have to go through the spurs, but hey it could happen for the kings. duncan is duncan, but bibby is better then parker, peja has the ability to lite it up ( if bowen would ever get out of his pants LOL!) webber is playing very well this year, well it's premature talk, but hey it could happen. it could be the year of the kings, who knows. i certainly hope so

 

[SaCTowNFeveR]

Yeah I'm not really worried about the losses to the mavs, spurs (basically teams we lost to in Texas) Remember, we had a trip to China and played our first games on the road (Texas Triangle). I wasn't expeting the Kings to play VERY good... It was frustrating when they lost those games, but wait until later in the year... We'll beat them sooner or later.

I do believe the Kings have a decent shot to at least make the Finals, just have they have been trying to do the past years. Just need to improve athleticism and rebounding. We'll see what happens later when the playoffs start!

 

[hoops4kings]

Ok my 2 cents, The team obviously needs to stay healthy and rebound better down the stretch. Oh, and loose balls would be nice. One more thing... make your free throws when it counts and this team will be a contender.

 

[KingKong]

If CWebb remains healthy, and we improve our defense and rebounding we have a good a chance as any of the contenders. This year having a healthy Cwebb will be the difference imo.