Efficiency's New Name Is Sacramento
The Sacramento Kings have turned themselves into the most efficient offense in the NBA.
(Thanks To Andscape and the Sacramento Kings)
Hello everyone, and I'm incredibly sorry that I haven't had a chance to make a post in the past week or so. However, one of the biggest stories in the NBA that have not gotten the daily press has been the Sacramento Kings. Yes, those first place in the Pacific Division (Ahead of the Suns, Warriors, Clippers, and Lakers) Sacramento Kings.
Head Coach Mike Brown has created not only a team that is a must-watch on NBA League Pass on a nightly basis. But they are a dark horse team that could play playoff games in late May. The biggest reason has been the efficiency of the offense.
This season the Kings lead the NBA in scoring at 120.5 points per game, but what is most impressive is that they are 26th in the league in shots attempted. Only the Denver Nuggets have a higher Field Goal Percentage than the Kings this season. Among the players that play at least 15 or more minutes a game, only Keegan Murray is the only player that shoots under 46% from the floor. On the bright side, Murray hits over 40% from the three-point line.
If you look at the chart above, the only spots where the Kings are not in the league's upper half in accuracy are from the corners on the three-point shot, and they are beside the left-side corner three. But when you compare it to the rest of the league averages from the same spots, they are only less than two percent off the league average from the corner three-point shot.
Since their last playoff appearance in the 2005-2006 season, the Kings have had only two seasons in which the offense has been in the 70 percentile or better (per Synergy Sports). This season, the Kings are not only the top team in Points Per Possession. Only one regular player (Davion Mitchell) averages under one point per possession and one point per shot.
Sacramento is the top team in six different team categories on offense. Overall, the Kings are the most efficient team in the Half Court, on the side Out of Bounds, the shots taken with four seconds or less on the shot clock, against the press, and against Man to Man defense.
Do you want to know why Mike Brown is the NBA Coach Of The Year? Play designs like this.
This type of offense could lead to success, which could win them their first playoff series since Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic were leading the way. Kings fans deserve to have a winning team and the NBA fans deserve to have an offense this fun exciting and most importantly efficient to watch.