After a rough 13-19 start to the season, the Sacramento Kings have gone 10-3 in their last 13 games. They have been playing like one of the best teams in basketball for a month now.
The key change that has taken place in this time is the change of guard at head coach. Shortly after Christmas, the Kings moved on from head coach Mike Brown and replaced him with Doug Christie. Since then, Christie has breathed new life into the team.
However, it isn't all sunshine and roses in Sacramento, and as the last two games have shown, the Kings still need to make a move this trade deadline cycle.
The Sacramento Kings defense needs work
After winning ten of their last 11 games, the Kings have dropped two straight games to the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks. In those games, the Kings are giving up an average of 137.5 points per game.
To make matters worse, the Kings are 28th in defensive rating during this stretch. This puts their season-long defensive rating down to 16th.
As a general rule, to make a deep run in the playoffs, you need to have one of three kinds of teams. You need to either have an elite offense, an elite defense, or be balanced on both sides of the ball.
Clearly, the Kings do not have an elite defense. And while their offense has a lot of firepower, it is closer to great rather than elite (7th in offensive rating). So, they need to be more of a balanced team if they plan on making some noise in the Western Conference. To be a "balanced" team, you need to be top 10 on both sides of the ball.
Even with the growth they've made under Christie, the Kings are still just 14th in defensive rating since he took over (14 games). The Kings can sharpen up around the margins all they want, but the truth of the matter is this team needs to add more size and secondary rim protection if they are to push their defense from middle of the pack to top 10 in the league.
If the Kings did this, their chances of being a serious threat in the West increase exponentially. On top of that, it would be the first time in 20 years that the Kings had a defense that was top 10 in defensive rating.