A Royal Pain
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Dave Joerger’s coaching rebirth has Sacramento Kings on the right track

By Jonathan Roberts

SACRAMENTO, CA - DECEMBER 1: Head coach Dave Joerger of the Sacramento Kings coaches his team against the Indiana Pacers on December 1, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - DECEMBER 1: Head coach Dave Joerger of the Sacramento Kings coaches his team against the Indiana Pacers on December 1, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Behind the helm of an upstart Sacramento Kings team fighting for the playoffs, Head Coach Dave Joerger has put himself into the Coach of the Year conversation.

Coming over in 2016, Sacramento Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger was brought over to help this team make the playoffs with a core of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. That never came close to happening after Gay tore his achilles and Cousins was traded and as a result, coming into this year, Joerger’s name was floated as one on the hot seat. But, flash forward a few months and he’s piloting one of the most surprising teams in the NBA this season, angling for a playoff spot—and by default, some hardware for himself.

After a rocky first two seasons, Dave Joeger headed into the season with the Kings projected for the worst record in the league—despite having no incentive to tank. So what’s changed?

Primarily, the Sacramento Kings have had some incredible internal development, watching as both De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield have blossomed into more than just ‘Rising Stars’ and have cemented themselves as one of the best back courts in the league. On top of that, Bogdan Bogdanovic has continued to play well as a reserve and spot starter, becoming one of the leagues best sixth-men and, perhaps more importantly; the Kings have leaned into the new pace and space style of NBA basketball.

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Over the last two seasons, Dave Joerger had tried to stick to what worked in Memphis—slow down the pace and play good defense. The problem was, not only was the NBA getting faster and putting more emphasis on shooting (something Joerger’s Grizzlies never did much of), but the Sacramento Kings didn’t have anybody to build around defensively. Essentially, the fit between the Kings’ evolving roster full of youth and a Grit-n-Grind Dave Joerger was akin to smashing a square peg into a round hole. That’s entirely changed this season.

Watching De’Aaron Fox play during his rookie season, it was clear this team needed to embrace a faster style of play, especially after playing at the NBA’s slowest pace last season. The question was whether or not the team could make that switch and do it well, despite having a roster whose best player a year ago was a 36-year-old Zach Randolph. But, 57 games into the season, not only have they done it well—it’s a night and day difference.

The Sacramento Kings over the last two seasons never played at a pace faster than 94.9 or attempted more than 24 threes per game. This season, they’re playing at a pace that’s nearly 10 possessions per game faster (103.3, 4th in the NBA), but they’re also attempting a franchise-record 30.2 threes per game, making 11.4 per game and posting their highest team three-point percentage (37.8) since the 2003-04 season. Want to hear something even crazier? Last season the Sacramento Kings made 738 threes as a team on 1,967 attempts. Through 57 games this season, Sacramento has already made 651 threes on 1,722 attempts and that’s with just one player taking at least three threes per game—last season they had four.

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The Sacramento Kings are an entirely different team than they were a year ago—and Dave Joerger an entirely different coach. Joerger has molded his coaching style to help better fit the needs of the team, showing his ability to adjust to an ever-changing NBA. That change in play and coaching styles has giving Sacramento new life, once the laughing-stock of the NBA the Kings are getting nationwide recognition for their efforts and Dave Joerger’s excellent coaching hasn’t gone unnoticed either.

"“I think Dave Joerger should be in the running for Coach of the Year,” said ESPN and ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy earlier this month, “I think he’s done a tremendous job.”"

Still, Joerger faces an uphill battle to actually win the prestigious award. In the last five seasons, the CoY winner’s team won at least 55 games and since 1990, only Sam Mitchell (Toronto, 47-35 in 2006-07) and Doc Rivers (Orlando, 41-41 in 1990-00) have won Coach of the Year without winning at least 50 games. One thing on Joerger’s side, however, each of the last five winners had increased their team’s win total from the previous season—something the Kings might have a massive edge in as they’re currently projected to increase their win total over last season 12 games, according to FiveThirtyEight’s prediction model.

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The award though, isn’t what’s important—I think we’re all aware of that. The Sacramento Kings are chasing their first playoff berth since 2006 and with the first realistic chance since they fired Michael Malone mid-season in 2016. Still, Joerger’s name should, at the very least, be discussed as a potential Coach of the Year—something we’re likely to see as the season winds down and the awards are discussed more heavily.

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