While that's generally said to remind people to set their clocks forward at this time of year, it could also be applied as a metaphor for teams like the Kings as they enter the final six weeks of the current season.
We, the fans, have suffered through horrific games and abysmal performances this year. One of the few bright spots has been the glimmer of hope that by losing so much we will, at least, have a good draft pick with which to move forward.
Now is the time that tries our souls, however. Now is the time to be strong and hold tight to our resolve. The suckfest must continue for six more weeks.
I do not now nor have I ever condoned tanking. But I do strongly advocate, after years of resistance, playing the kids lots of minutes to give them experience and an opportunity to grow. And yes, that's probably semantics speaking. I don't want us to win a lot of meaningless games against horrible opponents at this juncture for the simple reason it makes no sense.
We are a team that is rebuilding and hoping for a top lottery pick in the draft. But we are not alone. There are other teams out there strongly motivated to do the same. We cannot let them beat us in this, the one thing we've shown a real aptitude for...
We cannot spring forward in the ratings at this point or we'll surely fall back into the morass of being not good enough for the playoffs but definitely not bad enough to grab the cream of the crop from the kids hoping to make the NBA a part of their future.
We can root for our team because that's our job. Our players can do their best when they're on the court because that's their job. We have to hope the powers that be will do their job and make sure the most minutes go to those who truly need them for the future. And they should rest our injured players like Cisco as much as possible and give the guys like Calvin Booth at least a little time on the court so they can hopefully get calls from new teams once their contracts expire. That would be the right thing to do. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)
If that's tanking, then I guess we should - at least for the next six weeks - change our name to the Sacramento Shermans and be done with it.
Roll on, Shermans!!!
