Your assessment would have more merit if the Kings didn't spend $40 million on free agents last summer.
This was a team that has (had) designs on being respectable, being competitive, being formidable, and they have pretty much failed on all counts to date.
The Kings have a historically bad point differential only masked by having an amazing point differential in crunch time.
Let's take emotion out of the analysis.
The Kings level of competitiveness as reflected in worst offensive efficiency (100.1 scored per 100 possessions) and worst defensive efficiency (110.1 allowed per 100 possessions) is historically bad.
No team has ever finished last in O and D.
The Kings level of competitiveness this season is consistent with a team that would have a record after 40 games of around 6-35 NOT 13-28.
And you say it is the fans who have insanely unrealistic expectations?!? I think expecting the team to be better than historically bad is not insanely unrealistic.
If the Kings had a value adding coach I think we would see a far more competitive and entertaining brand of basketball:
- Brad Stevens
- Rick Carlisle
- Eric Spoelstra
- Quin Snyder
These guys above are good to great coaches. Our coach is a smug lightweight with a mounting track record of dubious decisions.
The only reason the Kings are NOT 6-35 like I said is the clutch play in the crunch time. So kudos to them for that but it does tend to mask the collective ineptitude.
When there was the thread about competing for the playoffs, I was dismissive though created fantastical scenario under which the team would compete for the 8th seed.
In summary of that fantasy, the Kings needed Boggy, Buddy and Z-Bud to become high usage leaders with 15-20 PPG and more to compensate for the defensive shortcoming with Z-Bud playing prominent role.
Well, Z-Bud was not going to continue to play like he was (60% TS 20+ PPG), Buddy is not a featured player due to coach suppression and bias. Only Boggy has held up his end of the hypothetical bargain.
So then you may ask who or what prevents realization of this dream scenario? It was rooted in fanciful premise the coach was fatefully married to Z-Bo yet would identify his best perimeter scoring weapon (Buddy) and feature him and have faith in his takeover ability. He would cut Temple's minutes and give those minutes to Buddy to get his shot attempts up. He would live with the cold streaks with the faith and confidence the hot streaks would come.
This coach cuts his players off at the knees before allowing them to be great. This coach has had plenty of opportunity and time to implement his best lineups and combinations and play sets to make a difference quantitatively and qualitatively. But he has added NO value to the modest assets at his disposal. None.
Last night he inserted Z-Bo into the game with the guys making a run closing score 66-60. Skal missed a 15 footer but then hustled to follow his own miss with a tip attempt. It was a great effort. He was reward for this effort by having a seat on the bench a deference to the star pupil. The deficit swelled to double digits by halftime.
This is the kind of bullpoopoo that the majority of fans like myself take exception to. He's not coaching the game. He's coaching his bias. If he was a more clear thinker with an intuitive feel for flow and time and situation, without the smugness that masks his insecurity, the whole team would be better off. This may NOT be reflected in our total wins, but it would be reflected in our point differential and number of lopsided losses. None of this unreasonable expectation. It is common sense.
It is debatable the degree of culpability among players and coach for another lost season, and shaping up to date as the LEAST competitive season in team history. But it is NOT debatable the fans have the right to expect more than a virtual poopoo Show, aka the Joerger Experience, that long suffering fans have bear witness to.