Garth Brooks could have summed up the feelings of a lot of Kings fans with his song, "The Dance." As he said, "I could have missed the pain, but I would have had to miss the dance."
This wasn't a successful season, if you judge success by wins and losses. It wasn't a successful season, if you judge success by sellouts of Arco Arena.
But are those the only yardsticks for measuring the success or failure of a season?
I don't think so.
The 2007-2008 season for the Sacramento Kings was a success if you want to talk about things like heart and hustle. We saw that from our team this year. It was a success if you want to talk about things like improvement and entertainment.
It wasn't always easy to watch the Kings this year but it was truly an improvement over last year. I coined the term "heart and hustle" early in the year as being an objective for this current crop of Kings. I think they stepped up and met the objective and then some.
Kings fans could have been spared the pain if they didn't watch but they would have missed the good things:
- Watching Kevin Martin continue to improve and refine his game.
- Watching the return of Brad Miller to a point where many thought he was playing the best basketball of his career.
- Watching fans return to Arco to enjoy the game AND cheer on the team.
- Watching Spencer Hawes as he took the first steps towards what could end up being a very long and successful career.
- Watching Beno Udrih flourish beyond all expectations.
- Watching John Salmons as a starter show his true potential.
No, it wasn't a successful season but it was a step back in the right direction.
And that's good enough for now.
