The Early Returns On The George Karl Era
It is dangerous to make full assessments out of small sample sizes, but in this case that is all we have. The Sacramento Kings have now played 6 games under new Head Coach George Karl. 3 wins and 3 losses isn't earth shattering but there certainly have been many bright spots which lead me to believe that the future could be very good.
The Kings have beaten 2 teams that they should have. A home win over the Celtics and Tuesday's road win over the Knicks are games that this Kings team should win. They also got a surprise win over the very good Memphis Grizzlies. In 2 of their losses they were very competitive against the Spurs and Blazers. Those were 2 healthy playoff teams while the Kings were without DeMarcus Cousins. We can't forget the road loss in Los Angeles to the Clippers which is the only game of the 6 that was completely out of hand in a negative way.
So what have we learned? George Karl gets it. So far he has made something out of a bench that was on life support. Now every night the bench provides a spark that hasn't been seen for much of the season. The addition of Andre Miller has given the second unit an identity and the results are improved play consistently from the bench bunch. Andre Miller registered his first double-double of the season while coming off the bench. Omri Casspi has been a bundle of energy that even one game saw him grab a season high 17 rebounds. Derrick Williams athletic ability has been on full display with countless lobs and finishes at the rim. All of this while former sub Ray McCallum has been thrust into the starting lineup. Ray has started all 6 games under Karl and has averaged an impressive 14.7 points per game.
In this stretch of 6 games the Kings have built their largest lead of the season (44 last night against the Knicks). The had their largest road win of the season. They have had their largest come back win of the season. They netted their most fast break points in a game this season. They have spaced the floor better, shared the ball better and just looked better.
It certainly isn't a finished product and by no means is it anywhere close to perfect but that is what is exciting to me. It is better and still has a lot of room for growth. The final 30 games will be used as a "training camp" or audition and so far so good. It will be imperative for the front office and coaching staff to see what this produces and fill in the gaps of what is needed to make the next big jump. 6 games doesn't tell the whole story but I am intrigued and certainly looking forward to the final 24 games and the future to come.
