Predictions

[mccaffertyd]

This board has been dead for awhile so I thought i'd revitalize it by asking everyone what there predicitions and expectations are for this season ranging from anything from the win-loss record to personal goals for individual players. I'll get the ball rolling,

Win/Loss: I'm hoping for ATLEAST 35 wins and thats me being an optimist I just have been reading all these articles on Reke and how much work he's put in and the optimistic side of me wants to believe we can do big things this year but the realistic side of me settled on the number 35.

Cousins: Expecting him to be an all star, nothing more nothing less he has to take that big step to get the Kings to where they need to be. I think that 20/10 is very realistic this year for him,

Reke: Expect his jumper to come around, it sounds like he's put the most work in on his game this offseason which is great to hear because if he can regain that ROY swagger to pair alongside Big Cuz I think we become one of the scarier teams in the west. I think with Thornton moving to the bench we will see a drop in scoring from him and inflated numbers for Reke which is great because this team goes as far as Reke and Boogie can take us.

Jimmer: Expect him to start sinking shots or become trade bait for real, I've never been a Jimmer fan and personally think he's trash but being a kings fan ofcourse I want him to regain his shooting streak so we have more weapons.

T-Rob: Expect him to struggle at first but eventually find his groove probably after all star break you can expect him to take JT's starting job.

Isiah Thomas: Isiah's always going to play hard and you always know what your going to get with him very productive player.

Aaron Brooks: Expect him to provide that outside shooting we so desperately need but in terms of him ever taking IT's starting job, don't bet on it. I just think that Isiah would never let that happen which means Aaron will have a great effect on IT by stepping up his game and taking it to new levels.

Marcus Thornton: This is the one wildcard where I just cannot put my finger on whats going to happen with him. Either he embraces his role as a scorer off the bench and becomes the next great Jamal Crawford or he whines and the team implodes.

[kevin44]

This board is dead, but you can blame the Maloofs for that. Everyone sees the writing on the wall. I have to believe this is the Kings last season in Sac. Back to your subject. 30 wins sounds about right. We added a bunch of players this off season, but none are going to make a huge impact. No point guard & inconsistent play will continue to haunt this team. Cousins will be the best player on this team, but can he grow up & be a true leader? Evans is playing for his next contract, most likely with another team, so he will try his best to show improvement. Jimmer is a lost cause in my opinion & I hope they can trade him asap. Too much dead weight on this team Hayes, Salmons, & Garcia.

[SacKingZZZ]

I'm not super excited about this team going in but at least this team has some real talent on it. On the other hand the only thing worse than not having talent is watching it get wasted.

Any disappointments I have has nothing to do with the Maloofs, but rather the team that Petrie has put together. Just have to hope against everything the paper tells you, it will work. If it does I proclaim Keith Smart the greatest coach of all time.

The best thing for me is that James Johnson is on the Kings, I just hope they use him right and don't expect him to cure any inability to spread the floor. I also hope they use him at PF for stretches.

[darkadun]

I'm probably have fan goggles on here, but I think this team can be pretty dang good and fight for a playoff team.
Here is why:

1) I like the vibe I've been getting this off season. The players all seem dedicated to being better and improving this team. I loved how they got together and formed their own practices and workouts. It sounds like they've bonded which has to help chemistry.

2) Tyreke. We've all expected great things from him since his rookie season but have been dissapointed. I think that disapointment may end this season. I'm not 100% sold, but I'm pretty solidly sold that he's going to break out this year and be a vastly improved Reke.

3) DMC. Going to be a freaking beast this year. His work ethic has been great, should be in better shape, and learned alot from the Olymic workouts. Major plus.

4) The additions. I think James Johnson, T-Rob and Brooks all will improve this team. I don't think it will be immediate, especially as TRob gets used to the NBA, but after some time I think they will all be solid additions, not negatives to this team.

5) Chuck Hayes bounceback year. I know he had a bad year last year and gets alot of flack, but I cant help but like the guy and think he'll return to form this year. He is a perfect glue guy for this team. Not going to put up crazy numbers, but he should provide some good veteran leadership and he has even said this is a goal for him, which I like.


All these things make me think the Kings finally can break out of the doldrums and be solid .500 team at the least. We'll see, but I'm excited for the season to start. I can come to reality then

[SacKingZZZ]

There's talent in abundance so anything can happen, but you can't erase lack of ability in certain areas nor can you erase deficiencies with players who while very good at what they do, don't provide needs in those areas. With a talent like Cousins this team should be looking towards contention and making moves to that end, not being a .500 team. Building as complete a team as possible, not saying, "We don't have that one true go to guy" and filling the roster with iso scoring as a result. Sure there are steps, but the trick is improving yourself in areas of need to get past that barrier.

Vibes good, but go around to any training camp and take a whiff, smells familiar. The work they've put in is promisting though, especially for a young team.

James Johnson and Chuck Hayes now makes two players that can and want to play defense. Put Hayes on Al Jefferson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol, etc. every time they play their teams and see what happens. Let the bounceback begin. You're right, he's not a numbers player nor will he ever be. He does certain things very well and at an elite level, use him for those. Once again it's about using players for what they can do, not trying to change the stripes on that zebra.

[deNIEd]

It's not a prediction, but one of my greatest wishes/dreams right now is for DeMarcus and Isaiah to be traded to the Spurs or any other real franchise.

It saddens me to know that Demarcus will be stuck on a average/below average team that is run by a joke of a franchise. Well...at least he can walk after about 6 years...hopefully he won't be too demoralized for the sport of basketball by then.

[chad42]

DMC - While I don't view this as a make or break year from Cousins I think we'll learn a lot about his maturity and work ethic coming off a strong soph. season.

REKE - Have not been a fan of his, work ethic, attitude, and style of play concern me, I see a player that'll be looking for a max deal in the near future and I for one hope we aren't the ones to give it to him.

Robinson - Wasn't impressed by the glimpses I saw of him in the summer league, hoping for a turn around during the season.

I.T - Energy, attitude, impact, strong 7th man option. Don't envision him being long term answer at point.

Thornton - Questionable attitude, don't believe he is dedicated enough, could stand to shed 15lbs. package with REKE.

28-54

[ADoaN17]

I think this team will be more competitive than last year. It seemed like they put more work during the summer and took the offseason more seriously. Hopefully reke finally has that jumper down. Him, DMV, and IT are the only players I see improving.
Thornton doesn't have much room to improve beside shooting consistently.
Hopefully TRob/JT can both get around 10/10.
Salmons/Outlaw/Garcia/Hayes should be back to their old selves after a year and a full training camp.

[King Baller]

It's not a prediction, but one of my greatest wishes/dreams right now is for DeMarcus and Isaiah to be traded to the Spurs or any other real franchise.

It saddens me to know that Demarcus will be stuck on a average/below average team that is run by a joke of a franchise. Well...at least he can walk after about 6 years...hopefully he won't be too demoralized for the sport of basketball by then.

Why don't you take your act to the Spurs section?

KB

[Sandlot]

This board is dead, but you can blame the Maloofs for that. Everyone sees the writing on the wall. I have to believe this is the Kings last season in Sac. Back to your subject. 30 wins sounds about right. We added a bunch of players this off season, but none are going to make a huge impact. No point guard & inconsistent play will continue to haunt this team. Cousins will be the best player on this team, but can he grow up & be a true leader? Evans is playing for his next contract, most likely with another team, so he will try his best to show improvement. Jimmer is a lost cause in my opinion & I hope they can trade him asap. Too much dead weight on this team Hayes, Salmons, & Garcia.

Future prediction: the Maloofs get voted down for a chance to move. I still don't believe the NBA will let them. They have the support of the fans and the city and they decided to stay in a dump so it's their own fault.

This season: I'm an optimist. The Kings will make the playoffs this year. I think the young talent will continue to improve. Cousins will get better and JT and Robinson will upgrade the 4 spot. I'm still hoping Reke can make the transition to 3 but we might need help there. I believe in IT. I think he's going to have a huge year. That's all I got.

[SacKingsPejaFan]

Wins: Low 30's.

Cousins: 22 points and 13 rebounds, all-star

Thornton: 22ppg, shows people that he's the real second best player on this team, not Tyreke, and that people should stop sleeping on him, especially in Sacramento

Tyreke: Awful. We trade him by the deadline

Brooks: Starts over IT, shoots lights out

Robinson: Starts of JT, leads rookies in rebounding

[deNIEd]

This season: I'm an optimist. The Kings will make the playoffs this year.

In order to make the playoffs it doesn't matter at all how good a team is...it only matters how good everyone else is relative to you. If the King's are going to make the playoffs who is getting edged out?

Lakers, Thunder, Spurs are leagues ahead of everyone else in the west...so obviously not these three.

Clippers, Nuggets, Grizzlies are pretty much locks for at least making the playoffs.

Dallas & Utah? Both teams were the equivalent of 19 games ahead of Sacramento from last season to this. Dallas I think improved compared to last year and Utah certainly has improved by experience alone.

And what about the Wolves and Warriors? These two teams improved a lot and were much better than the King's last year.


So who are the King's edging out to make the playoffs?

[deNIEd]

Why don't you take your act to the Spurs section?

KB

Because I wasn't really ever a Spur's fan? (Although the King's are dead to me...attributed to the Maloofs).


You can be as naive as you want to be, but the fact is the King's are run by one of the worst (easily bottom 3-5) owners in all of American major professional sports. You can have all the faith you want in the players, the Maloofs alone will find a way to ruin the potential of the youth on this team.


You can have all your delusions about the Maloofs selling to Burke or someone and staying in Sacramento, but all facts point to the issue that the Maloofs cannot sell their last valuable asset (or they essentially have nothing left) and have repeatedly said they will not sell. Add the fact that they have turned down offers of others looking to buy the franchise. There is also the clear message of Stern, regarding the fact that the NBA will not and cannot force a franchise to sell. The Maloofs are not doing anything that would violate any law/trust issues/nba regulations/etc...other than the fact that they are scumbags and pathetically inept at everything they do.


As long as the Maloofs are the owners of the King's, this franchise will go no where and be the laughing stock of the league. Players who are drafted to the franchise will essentially have their potential wasted and careers hindered/ruined. Almost every basketball related decision suggests that this is the truth. This organization is a joke, because the Maloofs are a joke.


If you replaced the Maloofs with say Cuban and you had this current roster? You'd have a title serious title contender within 3-4 years. But instead, there will be another 3 more trips to the lottery.

[SacKingsPejaFan]

Tyreke Evans has spent the offseason working on improving his jumper.

"I just try to go straight up and down," Evans said. "Every time I'd go and lean back, I'd just think to myself to go straight up."

Evans' ability to shoot the ball wasn't being respected by opponents on defense.

"People just started looking at film and started trying to keep me from going to the basket," he said. "This year, I'm going to have to go to the pull-up (jump shot). I'm still going to go in there, no matter what, but I want to go to the pull-up too."

"Here, you're playing against Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade, and they're backing off, inviting you to shoot," Keith Smart said. "That's telling you that you haven't worked on your shooting. He isn't disrespecting you; that's just telling you that you have work, son."
Smart was impressed by how Evans was taking a step toward improving his game.

"He's trying to grow," Smart said. "He could easily be one of those guys, icing, talking to guys. But he knows where he's at. But that's the thing, seeing him now, four years in, it's starting to sink in. 'When coaches were trying to get me to come back and shoot, that's why. Oh now, I know.' Now the motor's churning."

"He's way more focused," said DeMarcus Cousins. "He's in good shape, and he's ready to turn things around. He wants to get this thing turned around as well."

Via Jason Jones/Sacramento Bee


Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... z28dDCwhBW

Hopefully this ends the resistance on this board to the idea that the league figured Tyreke out and that's why he was weak last year. People last year here were in straight denial, saying he didn't get as many opportunities, blah blah blah. No. He did. He just had to pass more because defenders took away the only thing he can do on offense. Also, 20% from three but he still took 2 a game. Horrible. I'll add to my predictions that Chuck Hayes will lose a spot in the rotation as he continues to be the worst player in the entire league.

[SacKingZZZ]

Yeah, Hayes totally gave you an atomic wedgie at some point in your formative years.

Well, talk on the front page is that TRob is playing some 3 alongside Hayes and Cousins. Hayes is the only other player besides Cuz that can handle the C spot, so we'll see how that works if Smart goes that route.

Hate to say it, but I think we're in for some good 'ol fashioned PLATOONING of epic proportions. Not a fan, not a fan.

[SacKingZZZ]

This however I AM a fan of:

(Tyreke) On how he feels physically this year:

"I feel great. I'm just going out there every day trying to push guys, work hard. We've got that triangle offense in, we're trying to run it and get it down pat. Once we get that down I think we can be a good team because I like the movement in the offense."

http://blogs.sacbee.com/sports/kings/archives/2012/10/thomas-robinson.html


C'mon Smart you can do it!!! Might be a rough start but they need to stick it out, could have that Shaq/Kobe pairing we all hoped for with Cuz/Reke.