By RICH MYHRE
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – All during the 1990s, the Sacramento Kings were one of the most inept entries in the NBA’s Western Conference.
Throughout that decade, the lowly Kings had just one winning record. Only twice did they win at least 30 games. It was an utterly dreadful stretch, and Sacramento’s shame was eased only by the hapless Los Angeles Clippers and, later, the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies, who were always worse.
Seattle SuperSonics coach Nate McMillan was a player back then, and Sacramento games were always a treat.
“I loved it,” McMillan admitted Tuesday. Although playing at Sacramento’s rowdy Arco Arena was sometimes a tough assignment, “here in Seattle, you could almost write in a win,” he said.
Of course, the NBA circle of life is always spinning. Some awesome teams from the ’90s have become the league’s dregs, such as Chicago, Atlanta, and Boston. At the same time, a few of that era’s lowlifes – Philadelphia and Dallas, to name two – have risen to prominence.
On the ledger of success stories, though, none is more remarkable than the ascension of the Kings.
Heading into tonight’s game at KeyArena, Sacramento sits atop the Pacific Division with a nifty 17-6 record. The Kings have an NBA-best 11-1 home record, a three-game winning streak, and have won 15 of their past 19 games.
Even in defeat, they are impressive. Two losses were in overtime, including their only home setback of the season to the Los Angeles Lakers. Three of the other four defeats were by eight points or less. The largest loss was 11 points, at Charlotte on the team’s recent East Coast road trip.
The Kings are winning believers around the league, and one of them will be at the opposing bench tonight.
“They’re playing great basketball,” McMillan said. “They’ve had solid teams (in past seasons), but they have a team now that’s capable of winning a championship. And I would pick them right now to win it.”
Media eyebrows went up at that remark, but McMillan was not speaking in jest.
“There’s no question,” he went on, “if they take care of the ball and really concentrate on defense. There’s no team in the league deeper than they are. I don’t see a team really being able to match what they have, so I would pick them right now to win it.”
The Kings are led by forward Chris Webber, who may be playing as well as anyone in the league to date. Going into Tuesday’s game against Washington, Webber was averaging 26.7 points (No. 4 in the NBA), 11.5 rebounds (third) and 2.35 blocked shots (seventh, tie) per game, and was shooting 49.7 percent from the field (10th). He also averages 3.6 assists and 1.25 steals a game, modest numbers but still good enough to rank in the league’s top 50.
McMillan smiled when asked about Webber’s season. The Sacramento forward is in the last year of his contract, which means he will be an offseason free agent. Superstar free-agent contracts being what they are – seven years at around $100 million, give or take some – this sort of thing happens, McMillan said.
“His focus is there,” said Seattle’s coach, citing Webber’s impending free agency. “And as long as he is focused on winning and having a good season, everybody else is going to just ride him because he’s such a key guy in that system. He’s having just a great year for them.”
Webber has an exceptional supporting cast, of course. Center Vlade Divac and guard Doug Christie are solid veterans, flashy point guard Jason Williams is rounding out his game in his third NBA season, guard/forward Peja Stojakovic (injured and questionable to play tonight) is one of the league’s finest perimeter shooters, and role players like center Scot Pollard, guards Jon Barry (brother of Seattle’s Brent Barry) and Bobby Jackson, and forwards Lawrence Funderburke and Hedo Turkoglu are lending meaningful contributions.
Sacramento has long had a reputation of being offensive minded, but the Kings are winning this year with a renewed emphasis on defense. The team’s 41.7 opponents’ field goal percentage, heading into Tuesday’s game with Washington, ranked fourth in the NBA. And Sacramento’s points differential (team scoring average minus defensive average) was plus-9.2, best in the league.
“I see them concentrating a lot better on the defensive end,” New Jersey coach Byron Scott told the Sacramento Bee. “Obviously, it’s helped them to get to where they are right now. Jason is a little bit more under control. He’s not taking the crazy shots as much as he was last year.
“Also, the difference is (Webber),” Scott said. “He is just being Webb. He’s having an unbelievable season again … and if you have a guy that good he can make everybody else around him better.”
McMillan agrees.
“They’re a team with a lot of weapons,” he said. “They’re a very confident team. And they can score. They’re most definitely the most unselfish team in the league.
“They are,” McMillan said in summary, “kind of a cocky team that knows they’re good.”
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