NBA
Sacramento reach first 40-win season in 17 years, as Mike Brown becomes only second Kings coach to achieve it
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All posts by Antonio KozlowUpdated12 Mar 2023
Even though the Sacramento camp breathed optimism at the beginning of the campaign with new coach Mike Brown steering the boat, thinking maybe they could squeeze into the playoffs, no one could’ve expected them to pull off the season they are currently having.
Right after the All-Star break, no one was doubting the Kings anymore, as they sneaked from behind all the way to become title-contenders this tournament. After last night’s win against the Phoenix Suns (the second team with best odds to win the NBA title this year), the Kings have now achieved 40 wins in a single season for the first time since 2006.
The Sacramento Kings beat the Suns tonight and are 8-1 over their last 9 Games.
40-26 on the season. 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/7oXx3z1pRa
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) March 12, 2023
The Californian team is now the 2nd best in the Western Conference and hold the sixth-strongest record in the NBA’s general standings. Additionally, good news for coach Brown is he is now only the second trainer in all franchise history to reach that many victories in regular season. The only other to accomplish this feat was Rick Adelman.
This means Sacramento are on route to qualify to their first playoffs in 17 years, finally ending the longest active drought any NBA squad has endured without postseason action. Most of our recommended sport betting sites now believe the Kings have the 12th best odds (+6600) to win the league.
“I hope I don’t offend anybody, but we don’t just want to win 40,” Brown said in press conference after beating Phoenix. “Forty doesn’t … I don’t know – I don’t feel anything. I just want to win the next game.”
The Kings coach’s expressions explain exactly what the philosophy behind the team is, as they haven’t lost two games in a row for more than a month now and November was the month they last suffered more than two consecutive defeats.
Last month, point guard De’Aaron Fox put it perfectly. “I don’t give a f— who’s over there. It doesn’t matter,” he started. “You see the league, the talent in this league. There are a lot of talented teams. Obviously, he added talent to this team, but we come in, we worry about us.”
Sacramento’s strength resides on their teamwork strategy
The difference between their team and the Suns, is that the squad from Arizona depends on their stars to win, unlike Sacramento who shares the protagonism on court. Let’s take a look at the stats for example, Phoenix’s Devin Booker dropped 28 points this Saturday, as the Kings did not have a single player score more than 20 points last night.
The California side had four players hit over 15 points, including Harrison Barnes (19), Malik Monk (18), De’Aaron Fox (18), and Domantas Sabonis who scored 17 points, won 8 rebounds and handed out 4 assists.
Take a look at this Saturday’s clash as the Sacramento squad won by a 9-point margin:
Rivals are starting to fear the Kings, as they now possess the best record in the league (8-1) since the All-Star weekend. Also, they boast a 126.8 offensive rating in the last 9 matches, as their 118.7 record throughout the whole season is close to become their best attacking mark in franchise history.
Tomorrow, Monday the 13th, we will witness a true clash of the titans, as the Sacramento squad recieve the Milwaukee Bucks, the other best record in the NBA and the No.1 seed in the general league standings.
