The NBA regular season has reached its end, teams have little left on their schedules, and because of the play-offs, many teams are currently vying for playoff spots in the hope of securing playoff spots. However, the top teams do not have this trouble, after all, the top 6 teams in the division can directly lock up the playoff spot, and the Kings are currently ranked 3rd in the West and can finally return to the playoff stage!
The Kings have been rotten over the years, but management's draft vision is not good, resulting in the Kings never being able to rebuild successfully. Some of the younger fans didn't even see the Kings team in the playoffs. After all, the Kings have missed the playoffs for 16 consecutive years, and when fans talk about championship teams, the Kings have never been a suitable option, and now the Kings are ranked 3rd in the West, which naturally surprises many people, it turns out that this team has such great potential to be able to transform from a fishbelly team to a playoff team.
Missing the playoffs for 16 consecutive years proves that the Kings' roster is problematic, so why did the Kings resurrect this season? One of the main reasons why the Kings are ranked third in the West is that the Kings chose a good coach. In May last year, the Kings poached Mike Brown from the Warriors and signed a four-year head coach contract, and the Kings' decision gave the team a chance to be reborn and directly into the ranks of the playoff teams.
Before coaching the Kings, Mike Brown was an assistant coach for the Warriors, and he was good at building defensive teams, so the Kings' defensive strategy has changed, and he is no longer bullied by opponents as before. Coupled with the fact that the Warriors are an offensive team, Brown also learned a lot of useful offensive tactics during his time as an assistant coach of the Warriors, and when he became a Kings coach, he directly turned the Kings into a team that pursues offensive efficiency, while also bringing out the full potential of the Kings' players to help the Kings get back on track!
Take the Kings' scoring efficiency this season as an example, the Kings have averaged 121.1 points per game this season, ranking first in the league, and their scoring efficiency is higher than that of championship-contendering teams such as the Warriors and Celtics. In terms of assist statistics, the Kings are also at the top level of the league, with the Kings averaging 27.2 assists per game this season, ranking fourth in the league, second only to the Warriors, Nuggets and Suns. It can be seen that the Kings' cooperation is extremely high, and the Kings players are not greedy for merit, but are willing to create scoring opportunities for their teammates, which also greatly improves the offensive efficiency of the Kings, and they can also pass two moves with opponents when encountering strong teams.
Under Mike Brown's coaching, the Kings' offensive points have been developed, and the Kings have six players averaging double-doubles per game this season, Fox, Sabonis, Huerter, Barnes, Monk and Murray, supporting the Kings' offensive system, and driving players such as Lyles, Davis and Mitchell to fully play the team's offensive advantage. Fox has continued to be consistent, averaging 25.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.2 steals this season, shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from three-point range. In addition to steals, Fox set a career high for the rest of his stats, playing the best season of his career!
However, the Kings still have shortcomings, such as the Kings' average of rebounds, steals and blocks per game is not good, this season the Kings are averaging 42.2 rebounds per game (22nd in the league), 6.9 steals per game (22nd in the league), 3.3 blocks per game (2nd from the bottom in the league), these statistics expose that the Kings' defense needs to be strengthened. But the Kings don't have to worry too much, after all, Mike Brown is a defensive coach, and in the playoffs, Mike Brown will definitely develop more defensive strategies to make up for the Kings' shortcomings and strive to lead the Kings to go further in the playoffs!