Making “Sacramento Proud”

CB Kings fans are fired up about the team’s hot start.

For the first time since the epic 2001-2002 Season, our Sacramento Kings have started off the season 4-1.

The Kings are entering their 30th season here in Sacramento, and are looking to improve on their record of previous seasons and get back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign.

The Kings have started their season 4-1 with big wins over the Portland Trailblazers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Denver Nuggets. As my father Tim Stenvick put it, “this is the first time in a while I’ve seen the Kings with a winning record.”

The Talon will now take a in-depth look at this years season of Kings Basketball.

Front Office:

Vivek Ranadive enters his second year as majority owner of the team. General Manager Pete D’Alessandro also enters his second year with the Kings organization with a reputation for wheelin’ and dealin’.

Coaching Staff:

Head coach Michael Malone is entering his second season in charge of on the court action here in Sacramento. His assistants include Chris Jent, Micah Nori, Tyrone Corbin, and former Kings legend “Scoreless” Corliss Willamson. The second year head coach looks to improve on his record of last year and lead a more versatile and coachable team.

Players:

The Kings are led by superstar center Demarcus Cousins. Cousins is coming off an exceptional 2012-2013 season, and looking to get the All-Star nod this year.

“Demarcus is one of the best centers in the league and he keeps the game entertaining with his occasional running of the fast break”, Kings fan Joe McNamara (’16) explains.

On top of superstar center Demarcus Cousins, the Kings are led by starters Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay, and defensive specialist Jason Thompson.

Alongside the starters, the team gets a lot of help from players coming off the bench such as Omri Cassipi and Carl Landry, who are both on their second stint with the organization. First round draft pick Nik Stauskus has been a bit of a disappointment this year; however, perhaps to this Kings fan, he will always be a let-down compared to the legendary Jimmer Fredette.

Cousins New Mentality:

It is a well known fact around the league that Demarcus Cousins has had attitude problems in the past. Cousins has finished in the top five in technicals all fuor of his seasons in the NBA.

This season, however, Cousins has set a goal for himself to have five or fewer technical fouls all year.

“People think his attitude is a problem, but his stats speak for themselves,” Jimmy McCauley (’15) explains with confidence. “Playing on team USA helped him so he can be a better leader now”

Well Sacramento, it seems as though Kings basketball is back. And as Kings play-by-play announcer Grant Napear would say, “Turn on the sprinkler system, the Sacramento Kings are on fire!”