Royal Honors: Sacramento Kings Monthly Awards (January Edition)
By Rafe Wong
For the majority of the month of January, the Sacramento Kings have been a pleasant delight for fans to watch. Throughout this month, the purple and white finished with a 8-7 record.
When looking back at this month, the Kings started out very well. The team in the first half of the games recorded a 5-3 record, but then struggled in the second half of the month with a 3-4 record. At full length of this period, the Kings recorded a 5 game winning streak, but also a 4 game losing streak as well.
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Overall, the Kings had a pretty solid month of January. With the team recording a .500+ record for the month, hope still remains in Kings fans’ minds that their beloved team still has a legitimate shot at making the playoffs.
The Kings also displayed a bevy of amazing plays, games, and individual performances throughout the month as well.
With that being said, listed below are what I think were the best play, game, performance and last but not least player for the Sacramento Kings in January of 2016.
Best Play: The game-winning shot by Rudy Gay against the Utah Jazz has to be the play of the month for the Kings. Not only did that play seal the win for Sacramento, but it was also the start to Kings winning five consecutive games, which is currently the longest win streak that the purple and white have had this season.
Notable Others: Rondo’s dunk against the Los Angeles Lakers and Cousins game-tying layup against the Dallas Mavericks
Best Game: There were a lot of games that the Kings played this month that carried a lot of thrill and excitement, but the game that stood out the most was their victory against the Indiana Pacers 108-97.
Not only was this game chosen because the Kings won, but also because Sacramento played a well-balanced game. The team displayed both solid offense and defense on the court that night, and most importantly did not let Indiana make any type of run to take the lead away.
Notable Others: Sacramento Kings vs. L.A. Clippers, Sacramento Kings vs. Atlanta Hawks, and Sacramento Kings vs. Charlotte Hornets.
Best Performance: It’s pretty hard to debate against 56 points, which was what DeMarcus Cousins finished scoring against the Charlotte Hornets. With the Hornets absence of the services of Cody Zeller, Cousins was able to have himself a field day.
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Not only did he score 56 points for the night, but the scoring efficiency was excellent shooting 21-30 from the court, 1-3 from beyond the arc, and 13-16 from the charity stripe. He also finished the game with 12 rebounds and 4 assists.
Even though the Kings were unable to come out of the game with the victory, there is no doubt that Cousins performance that night will be on the list of the top individual performances ever showcased by a player in the franchise’s history.
Notable Others: DeMarcus Cousins vs. Indiana Pacers (48PTS/13REBS) and Rajon Rondo vs. OKC Thunder (13PTS/19ASTS/9REBS)
Player of the Month: Not doubt about it that the MVP of the month of January belongs to DeMarcus Cousins. The big man through the first month of 2016 averaged 31.5 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game.
Cousins was the primary reason that the Kings were able to record a 8-7 record for the month, which helped the Kings get closer to their goal of making a playoff berth.
Notable Others: Rudy Gay (19.5 PTS/6.5 REBS/1.7 ASTS) and Rajon Rondo (11.7 PTS/6.6 REBS/13.1 ASTS)