It was a dark and stormy night...at least as far as the Kings were concerned. If those were, in fact, the Kings and not some Heat fans with Kings uniforms and masks to celebrate Halloween.
The thing is there are going to be more dark and stormy nights. There will also be, on occasion, the bright and shining light of day when everything clicks and the Kings put a good game together for a win.
Rebuilding is not for the faint of heart. Fans who just want to cheer a winning team are going to be very frustrated this season.
As someone who has followed this team from the first game in 1985, I know what it's like to see a team struggle and lose. There's a difference between a losing team and a rebuilding team. A losing team has no pride, no potential and no reason for fans to turn up and cheer. A rebuilding team, however, does have pride. It also has potential. And they can often feed off the energy and enthusiasm of their fans and do good things, especially at home.
The 2008-2009 Sacramento Kings are truly a rebuilding team. Yes, there will be times when it's painful to watch but it depends on what you're looking for. They could most likely do much worse on the road than they do at home.
The game against the Heat is a case in point. Our best player couldn't hit water from a boat, our newly signed point guard looked like he had missed most of training camp (which, in fact, he had) and our beloved Bobby Jackson didn't look in synch either. So why aren't I pulling out my hair and screaming?
Simple... Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson. Two players who are already giving us glimpses of what the future frontcourt for our Sacramento Kings will look like down the road. And, of course, a true belief that Kevin Martin is going to do much better than what we've seen so far. That's a trio worth having faith in...and I do.
Nobody ever said being a Kings fan - or sports fan of any non-elite team - is easy. It's not. But it's not impossible.
The Kings are going to get better. They're going to learn from their mistakes and they're going to put some games into the win column.
Kevin Martin will get his touch back; Beno Udrih will settle into his role. Cisco will get better and his spark from the bench will be a big help. And fans will at least have fun.
Am I just too much of an optimist? Maybe - but only time will tell. I love my Kings and the occasional slip isn't going to change that.
Tomorrow is another day. I fully believe the Kings are going to come out in Orlando and do their best to remove the vision of Halloween from our (and their) memories.
There's plenty of time for criticism and chest pounding. Let's give them a bit of a chance to put something together and keep in mind that they do not like losing any more than we like watching them lose...
