Kings sinking after firing Mike Malone
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The Sacramento Kings were one of the feel-good stories of the NBA at the outset of the year. With DeMarcus Cousins leading the way, the Kings got off to a 9-5 start, and some were thinking they could potentially be a dark horse contender to make the postseason in the loaded Western Conference.
But then Cousins went down with a nasty case of viral meningitis, and things began to fall apart. Sacramento went 2-8 after the 9-5 start, and then on Dec. 15, the plug was pulled on head coach Mike Malone.
The move sent shock waves throughout the league, because the consensus was that Malone had done a good job. Sure, the Kings were mired in a slump and had some problems late in games, but that’ll happen when you’re missing your star player. Malone had his team playing respectable defense and competing better than they had in years.
The problem was Malone and Kings management didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye. General manager Pete D’Alessandro cited philosophical differences as the main reason why Malone was fired, as new owner Vivek Ranadive and the rest of management wanted to implement a fast-paced offensive system. Malone was a defense-first coach who ran a more deliberate offense.
Tyrone Corbin took over as interim head coach, and things have gone from bad to worse. Sacramento is playing faster, but the defense has taken a nose-dive. After a recent game in which the Kings gave up 129 points in an overtime victory over the New York Knicks, Cousins openly talked about how the team needed to get back to the way they played early in the season. Mainly, the team had to start defending again.
However, that hasn’t happened in the two games since. On Monday, Sacramento gave up 107 points in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets. And in a New Year’s Eve matinee, the Boston Celtics dropped 106 points in a 22-point beating. Frustration boiled over in the loss for Cousins, who was ejected for slamming rookie Marcus Smart to the ground.
Since Corbin took the reins, the Kings are 2-6 and have given up 112.2 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. That’s a mark that would be worst in the league, and there aren’t signs of it getting much better.
Considering how poorly Sacramento is playing at the moment, they’re a good team to bet against. The Kings haven’t covered a spread since Dec. 9 against the Los Angeles Lakers, according to VegasInsider.com. That’s a span of 10 games, and Sacramento hasn’t covered a spread once with Corbin as head coach, although there has been one push.
It’ll be up to Corbin to try and turn this mess around, because he’s on board for the rest of the season. There’s still quite a bit of talent on the roster, and they’ve showed they can play quality defense. But for now, it’s getting ugly in Sacramento.
