Reasons Why The Sacramento Kings Will Prove The Oddsmakers Wrong

Check out my reasons for how the Sacramento Kings can prove the oddsmakers wrong by winning more than 25 games this upcoming season.

The Sacramento Kings are entering the second year of their rebuild. With the oddsmakers in the gambling world predicting the purple and white will only win 25.5 games this upcoming year, it will be a tough season if the oddsmakers are right. Last year, the oddsmakers predicted 27.4 wins for the Kings, so they must know a little bit since they were correct on the dot.

But this time, I believe they are wrong and I will explain why.

A change of luck

Every year there is a team that surprises all of the NBA with how well they overachieve.  Somehow all the stars line up and fortune comes towards that team’s way. Who cannot say that lucky team this season will be the Kings?

Dave Joerger and his coaching staff will start year two with most of their key people and players in place. The players are a year wiser, plus a year more familiar with Joerger’s playbook. Coach Joerger has a reputation for developing players, which I believe will help the youngsters immensely this season.

Breaking bad habits

The Kings have had a carousel of head coaches since the Ranadive era and beyond. Plus, add the history of having a ton of new players year after year will surely cause some instability within the franchise.

A team can’t build chemistry when they have that many new players and coaches. Most of the Kings players now have had a few years of playing together or have already played together previously before they came to the Kings. When one knows how their teammates like to play and where they will be on the court, the team overall will have fewer turnovers.

Some of the Kings players have planned activities together during the offseason. Some even volunteered to go to see the other in his home country. This is how a team builds chemistry and why the Kings will beat the odds of winning 25 games.

Players who could be pleasant surprises

Ben McLemore could finally put it all together and give the Kings another scoring threat from deep while playing solid defense on the other end. Kings fans know that the five-year pro has a great work ethic. So maybe it pays off this summer.

Another player would be Iman Shumpert, as he did not play for the Kings last year due to suffering injuries. So the Kings really do not know what he can do for the team. With almost a year off, Iman should be in great shape and eager to show the Kings and rest of the NBA what type of game he has now.

Or it could be that Harry Giles exceeds all the hype around his game and his fiery attitude helps the Kings put it all together. When a team has great talent coming off the bench, it just wears other teams out physically and mentally.

New players stepping up their game

Yogi Ferrell and Nemanja Bjelica are free agents that have spurned other teams in order to join the Kings. It’s a good sign that they are buying into the plan that the Kings have for them. The Kings are finally winners in the free agent sweepstakes.

The new players will want to prove they made the right choice. Yogi is the type of player the Kings look for as he fills the need of a playmaking point guard and an insurance policy. The Kings are now solid at point guard.

Bjelica is another player who is looking to make his mark with the team. Bjelica has improved every year since he has played in the NBA. He might be looking to pair up with his former teammate and friend Bogdan, with the hope that chemistry will earn him more playing time.

Beating the odds of winning 25 games

The Kings have had their share of bad decisions and bad luck. But as of late, luck seems to be going their way.

In the last two years, the Kings have beaten the odds and moved up in the draft lottery. So let’s hope it continues this year during the regular season. If the Kings can get two of the players I mentioned to exceed expectations, they can easily beat the insulting 25-games win prediction.

Kings fans waited for years hoping to see the athletic McLemore put it all together and play up to his potential. Yogi has gotten better every year and is hungry to make a name for himself as he removes any doubt that he is the team’s second guard.

Bjelica accepts the small forward role and excels at his position with his new team, leaving Justin Jackson to watch and learn coming off the bench. And Shumpert comes into this year fresh and invigorated from not having another hard NBA season on his body. Shumpert could step in the veteran leader spot since he has a championship ring.  Maybe even better than being a starter, Shumpert inspires the bench guys to play at a higher level. When one’s bench plays great, the odds of winning increase exponentially.

Final thoughts

The coaching staff and Dave Joerger have players who have been working hard this offseason, so this might be the year the team finally gets out of their losing ways. Out of the list of players I mentioned above, if two are able to step up and be pleasant surprises this season, the Kings will easily win 25 games.

If by magic all these guys just naturally fit in with the team and play well, dare I say they could win around the mid-thirties!