The season is approaching (but not quickly enough), so that means it’s NBA preview time. Starting with the league’s worst team and working our way to the top, we’ll preview one team per day. 

Pure talent.

Sacramento Kings

Last year’s record: 25-57
Head Coach: Paul Westphal
Projected Starters: Tyreke Evans, Francisco Garcia, Omri Casspi, Carl Landry/Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins

Outlook:

I had a spirited debate with one of my friends the other day, and oddly enough it was actually about the Sacramento Kings. He said their future was bleak; the Western Conference is too loaded with talented young teams (he listed the Thunder, Blazers and Grizzlies). I said their future was bright; Tyreke Evans screams “superstar in the making” and DeMarcus Cousins could (could, with a few question marks attached) become the NBA’s biggest low-post threat. If you fast forward a few years, let those two mature and surround them with skilled role players, the Kings should be a contender. But for now? They’re still going to lose a whole lot of games. (Note: Back to my conversation, the Grizzlies??? If Rudy Gay’s your best player, you’re not going to win anything meanwhile.)

X-Factor:

Tyreke Evans’s improvement. Question: What if Evans makes the leap sooner than we all expect and becomes a 25 and 7 guy next year? Answer: Then the Kings might win 30 games. They will go as far as Evans takes them, but his supporting cast needs work. And lots of it.

By the way, about Evans? Some players have an All-Star ceiling. Evans’s is even higher.

Biggest Question Mark:

DeMarcus Cousins. Really, was there any other choice? When Fran Fraschilla says a player ”is either going to get a general manager fired or get him executive of the year,” naming him his team’s biggest question mark is pretty much automatic. I think it’s an unwritten rule that you can’t read or write about Cousins without mentioning attitude problems. 

At Kentucky, he once sat out a mandatory conditioning test. He registered 16.4% body fat at the NBA Draft combine. (For comparison’s sake, only six other players at the combine had a body fat percentage in double figures.) After Cousins worked out for one team, its GM told Sports Illustrated that Cousins “looked like he didn’t even want to be on the court when he went through drills.” Teammate Daniel Orton said Cousins is “unpredictable,” and that watching him get out of hand is “kind of like watching a kid throw a temper tantrum.”

And still, Cousins could be Rookie of the Year. The power of natural talent.

Most important newcomer:

Antoine Wright. He gives them a smooth hand off the bench, someone who can score buckets  at will and hound the opponent’s best player.

Just kidding, guys. It’s Cousins. You sick of hearing about him yet? Good, because I’m sick of writing about him. Instead, I’ll leave you with this:

Key loss:

Umm, Spencer Hawes? Needless to say, the Kings won’t shed any tears over the players they lost.

Most compelling storyline:

With mounds of cap space and two young studs, the Kings finally have a future worth discussing. But how long will it take that future to become the present?

Player to watch:

Omri Casspi. Watching him last year, I fell head over heels. For those of you who haven’t seen Caspi play basketball (which means anyone who isn’t addicted enough to buy League Pass), he’s all hustle, heart and attitude, a player teams can win with. He’s also part of one of the corniest announcing calls ever. Casspi hit a bank shot and the Kings announcer shouted in joy, “Casspi off the glass-pi!” He’s a poet and he doesn’t even make sense.

Descriptive movie quote:

“Ooh that boy’s a fine piece of work all right. He’s a fine piece of ass though, too. “ – Juanita, Billy Madison

To DeMarcus Cousins. He still needs a lot of work, but Cousins is — for lack of a better description – one fine piece of ass.

Projected Record – 24-58. The future will come, but not yet.

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Kevin Martin looks excited for the opportunity to play for the Celtics... but it would be tough to work out a deal.

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “This season, motivation … and focus … and discipline … and defense … and (you get the picture) … have all been difficult to come by consistently. There have been injuries galore. There’s been talk about different players having different agendas. There have been more head-scratching defeats this year than the previous two years combined. Despite all those issues, the Celtics still believe in their heart of hearts, that they can win it all. ‘Without a doubt,’ said big man Rasheed Wallace. ‘If you’re not hungry to win a championship, what are you playing for?’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “The irony is that the Celtics are a defensive team, the best in the league, in fact. Boston has held opponents to an NBA-best 93.7 points per game this season. But recently a disturbing pattern of allowing the opposition one big offensive quarter has emerged, most notably when the Magic outscored Boston 36-11 in the third quarter of Orlando’s 96-89 victory Sunday at the TD Garden. In each of their previous four games, the Celtics gave up a 28-point quarter or worse, including a 30-point second quarter against the Nets, a 28-point fourth quarter against the Heat, a 31-point second quarter against the Wizards and a 30-point first quarter against the Lakers.”

Jim Fenton, MetroWest Daily News – “They were serenaded with some boos by the crowd at the TD Garden on Sunday afternoon, a rare occurrence in recent seasons. At least the struggling Boston Celtics won’t have to worry about that happening again for a couple of weeks. Beginning tonight, the Celtics play five straight games away from Causeway Street, taking their disappointing act on the road with one game before the NBA All-Star break and four more to follow. With 33 games remaining in the regular season, the Celtics are in desperate need of a jump start, and the latest challenge will be taking place with road games against some quality teams.”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.