This article will showcase my opinions on how Dave Joerger should coach the Sacramento Kings during their 2018-2019 campaign.
The Kings Should Have A Better Plan This Year
Last year the plan was simple: develop the new guys and get them in as many game-time situations as possible. We are not talking about one or two guys, but the whole bunch of them. To be specific, those with less than four years of NBA experience under their belt. Add a nice sprinkling of veterans in the mix and that is your Sacramento Kings.
The front office promised it would take time to rebuild the team. It is a process. Last year the Kings led the NBA in two categories. The first was minutes played by their bench at 22 minutes a game, and the second was bench points at 44 points per game.
Numbers tell a story in the NBA.
Numbers do not have opinions. They are just facts that tell a story if you do not know what to look at. The numbers tell us a lot of guys on Sacramento played last year. The Kings did not have an eight-man rotation like a lot of teams. To keep veterans happy and to show the young players how to perform like a pro, they needed to play.
That said, the young guys have to play to get game experience. Practice is not the same as playing in the actual game. Last year the Kings did both pretty well. If Joerger threw the veterans in at the end of more games, the Kings might have added a couple more wins. But it would have made no difference overall in the big picture. Now with Garrett Temple gone, the young guys have to step up.
The Kings do not have veterans at every position. So it is time for players, no matter who they are, to step up.
It is time for the Kings to win every game.
The Kings are still rebuilding, but it is time to keep the best players in the fourth quarter of games. If Zach Randolph is the leading scorer in the game, from now on he plays over the young guys who might benefit from the end-of-game experience. This year, players must earn the right to play as wins will matter this year. The Kings are predicted to be one of the worst teams this season as they are projected to win 25.5 games. Only the Atlanta Hawks are predicted worse at 23.5 games.
This cannot happen. And if it does, Joerger will be looking for a new job. Vlade might join him as well. The numbers do tell a story. So the Kings need to win more this season. Wins will tell us if the team is getting better or not. It really is that simple. More wins equal a better squad!
Coach Joerger needs to adjust to the players’ strengths.
Last year, the young core improved the most after coach Joerger knew he needed to simplify the playbook. With the speed of the game and the talent level higher than it is in college, the young guys were having trouble running plays on both ends of the floor.
Keep it simple. When the players execute the simple plays well, then it is time to start adding more complexity to the team’s playbook. The Kings’ best coach in the Sacramento era was Rick Adelman. The main reason for that was because Adelman took the best part of a player’s game and incorporated it into his game plan. Here is Adelman’s record in Sacramento: a win percentage of 63.3% and 395 wins. Joerger can take a look and see what he might do to adjust as well.
Has coach Joerger been good at the development of players?
One of the reasons they hired Dave Joerger so quickly was that Joerger had a decent record of getting players to overachieve. Especially in the lower leagues, Joerger had a reputation of working harder and getting more out of every player than the other coaches. With the Kings, I would say some players have done well and others have not.
Skal Labissiere is an example of one who has not progressed. When Skal stepped into the starting lineup after DeMarcus Cousins got traded, he improved for the rest of the season. But after that, his play had been erratic, and at times, just plain bad. Willie Cauley-Stein is one who has done well. Remember, Cauley-Stein was picked with the idea that he could be a defensive stopper at the center position.
Is Willie a solid starter at center? It is uncertain at the moment. Has he exceeded everyone’s expectation on the offensive end? Yes. Willie needs to be a double-double machine. This is the year to see what the whole coaching staff has done, and can do, for one of the youngest teams in the NBA.
Season goals for the Kings.
The rebuilding process is starting in year two. Last year the Kings won 27 games, so they need to win at least 28 this year. Anything less is a failure. The idea of rebuilding is to get better every year. The team must start the season playing Joerger’s style of basketball and executing it well.
Last year the Kings started the season with no energy from their youngsters. To make matters worse, the Kings looked lost on where to be and what to do on the court. It was the last thing I expected from Joerger’s team. After the DeMarcus Cousins trade, Joerger got his team playing an energetic style of basketball for the rest of the year. It gave fans hope that the Kings would be ok with time. But after the slow start and no energy, Kings fans had to be disappointed and nervous.
Final thought on Joerger plans and goals for Kings
This will be the last year I say the term “young guys/players”. It should be the last year people say “a couple more years before we are good” when talking about the Kings. Henceforth and forevermore we should be saying “we are on our way to being a great team”.
This is the first time in years the Kings have had any stability in their front office and coaching staff. So I hope they deliver on their promises of changing the culture and building a winner.