Mike Brown Postgame Press Conferences Are Quickly Becoming Must Watch Television
Of all the teams in the NBA, the Kings might confuse me the most. Every year it feels like they are on the cusp of really getting over the hump and finding a way to be a consistent top 6 team in the West, and yet then the games start and they just sort of….exist. The talent looks OK on paper, they have a solid coach and over the last few seasons they've looked like a team that is starting to get past the whole KANNNGZZZZ era.
After winning 48 games in 2022-23 and 46 games last year, this season the Kings feel like they're in a weird spot. The overall numbers aren't awful
Offense: 6th
Defense: 13th
Net rating: 10th
TS% 11th
But at 12-13, the Kings find themselves behind the Spurs for the 12th spot in the West. For a team that usually thrives in the clutch and in close games, the Kings are just 1-4 in games decided by 3 points or less, and just 7-10 against teams .500 or better. That's really been their achilles heel these last few years. Good against the bad teams, but against the good ones, things aren't great (25-31 last year). The most shocking part of their entire first quarter of the season is probably the fact that they're only 6-7 at home, and for a team with their level of talent this is a team that should probably be somewhere in the 7-10 range as opposed to sitting in the Lottery.
The good news is there's a whole bunch of basketball still to be played, and after winning their last few in a row there are signs of a mini-turnaround. If you were to ask what the Kings have to do in order to maintain their current winning ways, all you have to do is ask Mike Brown
See, this is the type of shit that prevents me from ever quitting on the Kings. Between the Beam and Mike Brown, I'm in. I don't know why, but I was captivated by that presser. Brown just….kept going? You think he wants his team to replicate things possession after possession? I'm not totally sure. Watching him repeat that line for around 31 seconds is one of the most bizarre postgame pressers I can remember, and this is a guy who tends to give some great moments behind the mic
Aside from being pretty funny, Mike Brown is also correct which is what makes it even better. What makes the elite teams elite is that they are monotonous. They're a machine. They're level of play does not waver to the extremes, but instead is a consistent level of dominance. Possession after possession as Mike Brown so eloquently put it. I'd argue that's been the Kings' biggest problem since they broke their playoff drought a few years ago. Way too inconsistent. They aren't alone in that, it's a common theme for a lot of teams that are looking to make a jump but can't quite get over the hump. Those that do, tend to see things work out more often than not.
Think of the best teams in the NBA right now. Teams like the Celtics, Thunder, and Cavs have figured this out. They are machines. Every single night, you know what you're getting from them on both ends. Part of their success is the fact that they just beat you into submission with their consistency. That approach is also why we're seeing teams like the Magic, Grizzlies, and Rockets make a leap this season. For those teams, you're getting that consistent execution, especially defensively (which is the key to any team looking to make a jump up the standings).
With the Kings, when they rolling, they can be one of the toughest offenses in the league to stop. When they show signs of life defensively, they can hang with almost anyone. Their issue is they haven't solved their inconsistency problem yet, which is why Mike Brown is putting so much emphasis on it. He sees what we all see. The numbers tell you this team is underachieving, and when you watch them play it's not a talent issue, it's a mentality issue.
Once they solve that, my guess is their season will look a lot better.