[Izulde]

Why the Sacramento Kings are the League's Most Enjoyable Team

There's little doubt that the Kings have been the most fun, enjoyable team to watch this season. GM Jestor has performed a miracle in his comprehensive remodeling of Sacramento and as a result, they're poised to go into the playoffs with the top seed.

It all began with the gutsy trade of Jonte Jones and a package to Denver, a move that brought in Mateen Yeaton, Tzvetan Kishishev and two 1st rounders, among other pieces. Although the deal was criticized then, it's looking a lot better after Jones demonstrated this season that he's no longer anywhere near the offensive force he once was.

From that swap, the dominoes kept falling. The firing of long-time Kings coach Reggie Theus and his staff leading to the hiring of Andre Miller and former Nugget Emeka Okafor, among others. Miller has shown that although it's his first year as a head coach, he's a perfect fit for the Kings.

The draft day homerun when Jestor traded up to the 18th pick and grabbed William Tackett, who has been an astounding revalation as the starting PG as a rookie. Tackett's inexplicable passover for the Rookies/Sophomores game has energized Sacramento and given them motivation to show the league its stupidity by winning and winning big.

Yeaton himself, now ancient at 37, but still finding ways to contribute and score, especially after being promoted back to the starting SG spot after the trade of Walter Coleman to Chicago for Antonio Sarchet.

Ah yes, the in-season trades. Coleman for Sarchet was blasted throughout the media, but while Coleman is serving as the starting PG for an underachieving Bulls team (once again shoving Andre Moore to the bench), Sarchet has been one of the key offensive options for Sacramento, powering the Kings with consistent, accurate shooting and rebounding.

And then there was the trade to bring in Brandon Edmond after Greg Oden went down with an injury. Edmond stayed the course at C, helping the Kings to a .500 record without Oden. After Oden returned, Edmond went to the bench and became one of the most valuable reserves in the league.

Free agency brought in Ronald King, who showed his excellent play off the bench in Denver last season was no fluke, putting up the kind of scoring that'll garner him 6th Man of the Year votes. But the big free agent prize was David Anyan, the team's lone All-Star who has thrived away from Toronto, where he was forced to share the spotlight with Justin Richler.

And perhaps that's the biggest reason why this Kings team is so much fun to watch. Anyan and Oden, two former Raptors during the great Toronto/Denver rivalry of the teens joining forces with Yeaton, the marquee player of those Nuggets squads. This is a group of old men, old rivals who have had nothing but the highest respect for each other, coming together to deliver a city a championship. That this might be Yeaton and Oden's mutual swan song makes it all the sweeter, especially for a Sacramento that has known only heartbreak of the so-close-but-not-quite kind with its Kings teams.

Maybe this will finally be the year.

***End Article***

Hugely important game against the Timberwolves to open the final set of eight and we snap our 3 game skid and go a long way to clinching the #1 seed by throwing Minnesota down 109-88. David Anyan scores 31, Antonio Sarchet adds 20 points, William Tackett picks up 18 points and 10 assists and Brandon Edmond gathers 10 bench rebounds.

Pretty ugly 121-110 loss to the Supersonics despite good balance on offense ignited by David Anyan's 25 points and William Tackett's 14 points and 14 assists. Brandon Edmond scores 16 off the bench, but when Vladimir Tupolev drops 41 points on us, there's really not much chance of winning.

The Traiblazers are always a tough draw, but we rally in the 4th quarter for a 103-99 win as William Tackett has his single best game yet, with a blistering 33 points and 12 assists. Add in David Anyan's 26 points and Greg Oden's 11 points and 13 rebounds and you have just enough for us to get the victory.

William Tackett does it again in our 114-104 victory over the Lakers, putting up 33 points and 10 assists. David Anyan scores 26, while Antonio Sarchet doubles for 22 points and 10 rebounds.

We split the road back-to-back against the Lakers and the Suns. It's a close game, but we still edge the Purple and Gold 108-103 on David Anyan and Antonio Sarchet's 28 points a piece, Greg Oden's 13 points and 18 rebounds and William Tackett's team record, maybe even league record 27 assists. The next night's a 115-106 loss to Phoenix, as we never could overcome a poor first quarter. David Anyan (22 points), Greg Oden (20 points, 17 rebounds), William Tackett (11 points, 16 assists) and Ronald King (15 bench points) make up our noteworthy performances.

Still, it isn't all bad. At 4-2, we've guaranteed a .500 record for the last round of games and we clinch a winning record by beating the Jazz 113-108 in OT in Utah. David Anyan scores 22, Antonio Sarchet and Greg Oden double-double for 14 points, 11 rebounds and 12 points, 16 rebounds respectively, William Tackett garners a double-double of his own for 19 points and 12 assists and Ronald King and Brandon Edmond score 15 and 10 points a piece off the bench.

One game left in the regular season and it's against the Suns. It's also a meaningless game because we've already clinched the #1 seed. As a result, I'm not too terribly concerned when they stomp us 127-106, nevermind David Anyan's 24 points, Greg Oden's 17 points and 10 rebounds, William Tackett's wrong-way triple double of 13 points, 18 assists and 12 turnovers, or 19 and 14 bench points from Ronald King and Brandon Edmond.

West Conference Seeds
1. Sacramento Kings (56-26)
2. Phoenix Suns (54-28)
3. Minnesota Timberwolves (52-30)
4. Dallas Mavericks (45-37)
5. Utah Jazz (47-35)
6. Memphis Grizzlies (44-38)
7. New Orleans Hornets (42-40)
8. Portland Trailblazers (40-42)

East Conference Seeds
1. Boston Celtics (59-23)
2. Toronto Raptors (59-23)
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (57-25)
4. Atlanta Hawks (47-35)
5. New York Knicks (49-33)
6. Chicago Bulls (47-35)
7. New Jersey Nets (46-36)
8. Milwaukee Bucks (42-40)

What a year it's been, both for us and for the Hornets, who become the last team to finally reach the playoffs. Celebration is high in New Orleans, even if they draw a nasty matchup in the defending champion Suns, who looked awesome down the stretch. Just getting there is a huge accomplishment for such a downtrodden franchise.

NBA Leaders

Scoring
1. Justin Richler (TOR) - 32.8
2. Filip Mikulic (HOU) - 27.8
3. Galen Drayton (DET) - 26.2
4. Marcelino Augusto (DAL) - 24.8
6. David Anyan (SAC) - 23.0

Assists
1. Bernard Kelly (MEM) - 13.7
2. William Tackett (SAC) - 12.7
3. Ameirin Qipani (SA) - 12.2

Rebounds
1. Dontay Williamson (LAC) - 13.8
2. Oswaldo Apolonario (ATL) - 13.2
3. Scott Palmer (UTA) - 13.0
4. Jonte Jones (DEN) - 12.0
5. Greg Oden (SAC) - 11.9

Blocks
1. Patrick Riley (NO) - 3.5
T2. Sonny Boxler (POR) - 3.2
T2. Dontay Willamson (LAC) - 3.2

Steals
T1. Curtis Wilkerson (ATL) - 2.2
T1. Mark Johnson (MIL) - 2.2
T3. Vinston Henry (NO) - 2.0
T3. David Cormier (NO) - 2.0

Rookies

Points
1. Nochimas Eliashov (GS) - 16.8
2. William Tackett (SAC) - 14.2
3. Sigiswald Eckert (ORL) - 12.3

Damian Thomas got sent down to the D-Leagues. ...Yeah, go figure. A 20 point per game rookie and they put him in the frigging D-Leagues.

Assists
1. William Tackett (SAC) - 12.7
2. Dondrell Wilder (DEN) - 9.6
3. Russell Sims (SEA) - 4.3

Rebounds
1. Kenneth Towns (MIN) - 6.8
2. Chris Moss (DET) - 6.5
3. Russell Sims (SEA) -6.4

Blocks
T1. Ryan Crews (MEM) - 1.1
T1. Chris Moss (DET) - 1.1
3. Russell Sims (SEA) - 1.0

Steals
1. Nochimas Eliashov (GS) - 1.3
2. Russell Sims (SEA) - 1.2
3. William Tackett (SAC) - 1.1