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http://espn.go.com/blog/nba/post/_/id/1873/kings-by-the-numbers-kings-season-hindered-by-injuries

The Sacramento Kings dealt with injuries to key players this season. Forward Rudy Gay missed 14games (4-10 without him), center DeMarcus Cousins missed 23 games (6-17 without him), and guard Darren Collison missed 37games (13-24 without him).

The Kings went 14-18 this season when Gay, Cousins and Collison were in the starting lineup.

With health the kings projected out to a 35 win team, which is where I had them. I can see a winning percentage jump 10% from that, which is 44 wins. 44-38 will probably have us outside of the playoffs, but that's my prediction.

I'd prefer to get a look at WCS first in summer league. So I'll go with "predictable" expectations for him and say 38-44.

If he is fully ready to go I could see us at 41-41 as his massive defensive potential is capable of doing wonders. If he is not ready to go we will be around 35-47 range.

So book me at 38-44 for now.

50+ wins.

We improved a ton. For ex, in steals per 100 poss, we replaced
Reggie Evans: 1.4
Derrick Williams: 1.2
Ramon Sessions: 1.0
Nik Stauskas: 0.9
Jason Thompson: 0.8
Carl Landry: 0.6
SUM: 5.9

with

Willie Cauley-Stein: 2.9
Rajon Rondo: 2.3
James Anderson: 1.6
Kosta Koufos: 1.1
Marco Belinelli: 1.1
SUM: 9

In blocks per 100 poss, we replaced
Jason Thompson: 1.4
Carl Landry: 0.7
Reggie Evans: 0.3
Derrick Williams: 0.1
SUM: 2.5

with

Cauley-Stein: 4.2
Kosta Koufos: 2.4
SUM: 6.6

In assists per 100 poss, we replaced
Sessions: 7.5
Stauskas: 3.0
Jason Thompson 2.1
Reggie Evans 2.1
Derrick Williams 1.7
Carl Landry: 1.1
SUM: 17.5
A/T ratio: 1.16

with

Rondo: 13.4
Belinelli: 3.5
James Anderson: 3.1
Cauley-Stein: 2.4
Koufos: 1.4
SUM: 23.8
A/T ratio: 1.62

I'm gonna go with 48-34. I think Rondo thrives under Karl and we make a run at the end of the season to get into the playoffs.

I always hate to guess, but I will say this, this will either really work, or it really won't.

Somewhere between 25-55 wins.

SacKingZZZ wrote:I always hate to guess, but I will say this, this will either really work, or it really won't.

Somewhere between 25-55 wins.

Lame. Why would u even post if you're gonna nothing basically.

My guess is we have improved by 15-18 wins so at the least 45-37.

I'm going to say that the guys play hard all season long and get 47 wins, which is just good enough for the 8th seed and one last playoff hurrah at Arco (Sleep Train). The old building deserves it.

If the stars aligned -- Karl & Cousins are a-ok with each other, Rondo returns to form, Koufos & Belinelli are proven to be positive fits and no BS in general, this team are contending for the last 2 or 3 seeds in the West, imo. If that's the case, I have them in the high-40s and low-50s. This would be the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is if the Rondo experiment failed, Karl & Cousins imploded and the Koufos & Belinelli were meh. In general, the Kings are a laughingstock again -- low 20s in the win column. Realistically? They are in between these two scenarios. So, I pegged them in the .500 to mid-40s record -- good enough for 8th? Probably.

teerfour+40LG wrote:50+ wins.

We improved a ton. For ex, in steals per 100 poss, we replaced
Reggie Evans: 1.4
Derrick Williams: 1.2
Ramon Sessions: 1.0
Nik Stauskas: 0.9
Jason Thompson: 0.8
Carl Landry: 0.6
SUM: 5.9

with

Willie Cauley-Stein: 2.9
Rajon Rondo: 2.3
James Anderson: 1.6
Kosta Koufos: 1.1
Marco Belinelli: 1.1
SUM: 9

In blocks per 100 poss, we replaced
Jason Thompson: 1.4
Carl Landry: 0.7
Reggie Evans: 0.3
Derrick Williams: 0.1
SUM: 2.5

with

Cauley-Stein: 4.2
Kosta Koufos: 2.4
SUM: 6.6

In assists per 100 poss, we replaced
Sessions: 7.5
Stauskas: 3.0
Jason Thompson 2.1
Reggie Evans 2.1
Derrick Williams 1.7
Carl Landry: 1.1
SUM: 17.5
A/T ratio: 1.16

with

Rondo: 13.4
Belinelli: 3.5
James Anderson: 3.1
Cauley-Stein: 2.4
Koufos: 1.4
SUM: 23.8
A/T ratio: 1.62

Good post

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I hope to see is finish in the mid 40's.... Wouldn't surprise me if the finish somewhere in the mid-upper 30's.

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benchmobbin02 wrote:

SacKingZZZ wrote:I always hate to guess, but I will say this, this will either really work, or it really won't.

Somewhere between 25-55 wins.

Lame. Why would u even post if you're gonna nothing basically.

My guess is we have improved by 15-18 wins so at the least 45-37.

Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing.

It's called humor bro, chill out and move on.

City of Trees wrote:I hope to see is finish in the mid 40's.... Wouldn't surprise me if the finish somewhere in the mid-upper 30's.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

This team is probably the biggest question mark in the NBA this season. It will be funny seeing some of the prognosticators guessing the win total this year.

If they think the team makes sense on paper and George Karl is worthy of his coaching record anything other than being a really good team will most likely spell rebuild. This isn't a team with a lot of long term upside right now, what you see is what you get. That's kind of a good thing though too, because they are built to win now. Maybe a tweak here or there to get them over the top but if they aren't in the playoff hunt I would except the walls to start coming down. They can't afford too slow a start. The coach is on the brink before even getting started, you signed one of the most maligned talents in the game in his last chance to prove he can work on a team most likely, and there has been pressure surrounding the star player since his drafting but it's now about over the edge. This HAS to work. Should be exciting either way.

SacKingZZZ wrote:

benchmobbin02 wrote:

SacKingZZZ wrote:I always hate to guess, but I will say this, this will either really work, or it really won't.

Somewhere between 25-55 wins.

Lame. Why would u even post if you're gonna guess anything basically.

My guess is we have improved by 15-18 wins so at the least 45-37.

Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing.

It's called humor bro, chill out and move on.

Just wanted to see if you would actually make a guess...guess not.

I'm going with 52 wins this season.

I am just enamored with the addition of Rondo. We have been yearning for an All-star PG for years in Sacramento. I truly think Rondo and Karl will thrive. My biggest concern is the consistency from Rudy and our bench play. I figure Cousins and Rondo will bring it every night. Rondo being the triple double threat each night and Cousins being our 25 and 12 guy.

Can Rudy consistently avg 18 ppg as the second option? And can our bench contribute every night? Can Collison be healthy enough to be that Bobby Jackson? Will McLemore progress as the 3 and D guy?

48 wins. I'm an optimist.

Apparently WCS added 20 lbs of muscle and 5 inches to his vert since his last college game

http://www.nba.com/kings/blog/cauley-stein-puts-offseason-work


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Think our absolute ceiling would be 50 games if EVERYTHING broke right (i.e.everyone buys into Karl's system and we play a fun style where everyone is happy, Cousins becomes the consensus best center in the league and first team All NBA, Gay continues with his nice Robin performances, Rondo takes over control of the team and regains his old passion, Collison accepts his role as 6th man and brings spark and energy off the bench, McLemore takes another jump as he did from year 1 to 2, WCS provides some good defense, and Bellineli/Koufos/Casspi provide good minutes off the bench. The key will be establishing a minutes rotation and roles early on so that this can all happen.

Our floor is probably around 35 wins whereby none of the above happens.

My prediction: 42-40 good for 10th in the West. Solid season to build on. Need to reverse jinx here people!

SacKingZZZ wrote:

City of Trees wrote:I hope to see is finish in the mid 40's.... Wouldn't surprise me if the finish somewhere in the mid-upper 30's.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

This team is probably the biggest question mark in the NBA this season. It will be funny seeing some of the prognosticators guessing the win total this year.

If they think the team makes sense on paper and George Karl is worthy of his coaching record anything other than being a really good team will most likely spell rebuild. This isn't a team with a lot of long term upside right now, what you see is what you get. That's kind of a good thing though too, because they are built to win now. Maybe a tweak here or there to get them over the top but if they aren't in the playoff hunt I would except the walls to start coming down. They can't afford too slow a start. The coach is on the brink before even getting started, you signed one of the most maligned talents in the game in his last chance to prove he can work on a team most likely, and there has been pressure surrounding the star player since his drafting but it's now about over the edge. This HAS to work. Should be exciting either way.

Still no guess on their record? Thought that was what this post was titlted? Your good at putting pressure on the team but not at giving support. Come on SacKingZZZ...give us a real guess. Starting to think you may reside under a bridge, just a figure of speech haha.

benchmobbin02 wrote:

SacKingZZZ wrote:

City of Trees wrote:I hope to see is finish in the mid 40's.... Wouldn't surprise me if the finish somewhere in the mid-upper 30's.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

This team is probably the biggest question mark in the NBA this season. It will be funny seeing some of the prognosticators guessing the win total this year.

If they think the team makes sense on paper and George Karl is worthy of his coaching record anything other than being a really good team will most likely spell rebuild. This isn't a team with a lot of long term upside right now, what you see is what you get. That's kind of a good thing though too, because they are built to win now. Maybe a tweak here or there to get them over the top but if they aren't in the playoff hunt I would except the walls to start coming down. They can't afford too slow a start. The coach is on the brink before even getting started, you signed one of the most maligned talents in the game in his last chance to prove he can work on a team most likely, and there has been pressure surrounding the star player since his drafting but it's now about over the edge. This HAS to work. Should be exciting either way.

Still no guess on their record? Thought that was what this post was titlted? Your good at putting pressure on the team but not at giving support. Come on SacKingZZZ...give us a real guess. Starting to think you may reside under a bridge, just a figure of speech haha.

Your either a troll or obsessed with SacKingZZZ because you respond negatively to every one of his posts lol....

I'll guess 45-48 wins 8 seed first round exit.

jeffjtk1234 wrote:

benchmobbin02 wrote:

SacKingZZZ wrote:

This team is probably the biggest question mark in the NBA this season. It will be funny seeing some of the prognosticators guessing the win total this year.

If they think the team makes sense on paper and George Karl is worthy of his coaching record anything other than being a really good team will most likely spell rebuild. This isn't a team with a lot of long term upside right now, what you see is what you get. That's kind of a good thing though too, because they are built to win now. Maybe a tweak here or there to get them over the top but if they aren't in the playoff hunt I would except the walls to start coming down. They can't afford too slow a start. The coach is on the brink before even getting started, you signed one of the most maligned talents in the game in his last chance to prove he can work on a team most likely, and there has been pressure surrounding the star player since his drafting but it's now about over the edge. This HAS to work. Should be exciting either way.

Still no guess on their record? Thought that was what this post was titlted? Your good at putting pressure on the team but not at giving support. Come on SacKingZZZ...give us a real guess. Starting to think you may reside under a bridge, just a figure of speech haha.

Your either a troll or obsessed with SacKingZZZ because you respond negatively to every one of his posts lol....

I'll guess 45-48 wins 8 seed first round exit.

Not a troll, and not obsessed. Just responding to him. If anything, I have a hard time letting a contrarian have the last word. Well, that's an understatement I guess.

teerfour+40LG wrote:50+ wins.

We improved a ton. For ex, in steals per 100 poss, we replaced
Reggie Evans: 1.4
Derrick Williams: 1.2
Ramon Sessions: 1.0
Nik Stauskas: 0.9
Jason Thompson: 0.8
Carl Landry: 0.6
SUM: 5.9

with

Willie Cauley-Stein: 2.9
Rajon Rondo: 2.3
James Anderson: 1.6
Kosta Koufos: 1.1
Marco Belinelli: 1.1
SUM: 9

In blocks per 100 poss, we replaced
Jason Thompson: 1.4
Carl Landry: 0.7
Reggie Evans: 0.3
Derrick Williams: 0.1
SUM: 2.5

with

Cauley-Stein: 4.2
Kosta Koufos: 2.4
SUM: 6.6

In assists per 100 poss, we replaced
Sessions: 7.5
Stauskas: 3.0
Jason Thompson 2.1
Reggie Evans 2.1
Derrick Williams 1.7
Carl Landry: 1.1
SUM: 17.5
A/T ratio: 1.16

with

Rondo: 13.4
Belinelli: 3.5
James Anderson: 3.1
Cauley-Stein: 2.4
Koufos: 1.4
SUM: 23.8
A/T ratio: 1.62

You're the man for this. Great stuff.

Coming into this I was thinking 35-40 wins. After reading this post I'm thinking 40+ wins really shouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities -- given Rondo keeps a calm, cool, and motivated head. I don't care if he's motivated by the dollar signs on the horizon. If he gets close to what he was, the upcoming free agents won't worry about any possible dysfunction. The new arena couldn't come at a better time either.