NBA 2006-2007 Preview: Long Live the Kings

Sacramento Kings
Coach: Eric Musselman, 1st Season
General Manager: Geoff Petrie
’05-’06 Record: 44-38, 4th Pacific Division
Postseason: eliminated in Western Conference Quarterfinals; Lost to SA (4-2)


Projected Starting Lineup (’05-’06 Stats)

PG – Mike Bibby (21.1 ppg., 2.9 rpg., 5.4 apg.)
SG – Kevin Martin (10.8 ppg., 3.6 rpg., 1.3 apg.)
SF – Ron Artest (40 Games w/SAC: 16.9 ppg., 5.2 rpg., 4.2 apg.)
PF – Kenny Thomas (9.1 ppg., 6.5 rpg., 2.0 apg.)
C – Brad Miller (15.0 ppg., 7.8 rpg., 4.7 apg.)


Key Additions: SF John Salmons (UFA – PHI); C Loren Woods (UFA – TOR)

Key Subtractions: PF Jamal Sampson (UFA – DEN); SG Bonzi Wells (UFA – HOU)


2006 NBA Draft
Round 1 – SG Quincy Douby (19th overall), Rutgers University
Round 2 – N/A


Positional Breakdowns

Guards
A few years ago, I believed that Allen Houston had the best shot in the NBA. With him out of the league, Mike Bibby can be placed up there in terms of “best shooters” in the NBA. There aren’t many more pure point guards in the NBA, and it’s even rarer to have a point guard who is a pure point guard and still be as good of a shooter that Mike Bibby is. The fact of the matter is that Bibby is one of their top scoring options because of that ice-cold ability to hit shots, but he’s constantly looking for ways to run this team on offense without taking too much away from his own offense. Coach Eric Musselman, and maybe even to some degree Ron Artest, have impressed on Bibby the importance of improved defense. That was evident in the preseason where Bibby looked incredibly solid on both ends of the court and looked encouraging for the prospects of making some stops and putting pressure on the other teams in the Conference. This season, Bibby will be given a little more freedom to make plays, something that Adelman wouldn’t do because of his strictness concerning the plays that were being called. Bibby has to worry about depth, because Jason Hart was at times beaten so badly that Adelman had no choice than to shorten the rest they were trying to give him.