Why The Sacramento Kings Are Better Than…The Portland Trail Blazers

As a part of a series (and a way to pass the time before the NFL starts), I’m going to compare Sacramento’s playoff chances to some others in the West. For reference, this series will assume that the following teams (in no particular order) will make the playoffs:

• Warriors (Basically the same team that just won the ‘ship)
• Spurs (Improved, though older)
• Clippers (Much improved on paper, though number of neck tattoos has decreased)
• Grizzlies (Lost Koufos, added Brandan Wright and a few neck tattoos)
• Rockets (Lost some interesting role players in exchange for a few DUIs)
• Thunder (Basically the same team…just added a healthy[?] Durant. Also, I can’t help but laugh when I see Dion Waiters on that depth chart.)

Also, I’m going to show rosters broken down by “position” even though I realize that positions are only marginally real. I’ll analyze with that in mind, but visually it’s just easier to go by position.

The Blazers are one of the most unrecognizable teams from last year to this one. They saw their core explode and scrambled a bit to put a quality squad around Mr. Dame Lillard. But in the first year of their retooling, will they be better than Sacramento, a team that’s been rebuilding for nearly a decade?

Point Guards

This is extremely difficult right off the bat because, even though I believe Damian Lillard is on the verge of superstardom, the combo of Tim Frazier and Phil Pressy is not necessarily what I would call impressive depth. However uncertain Rondo’s future might be, the Kings have two starting-level or near starting-level point guards on the roster. With this in mind, I’ll somewhat reluctantly give Portland the edge at PG because Lillard is just that good, and because of Rondo’s questionable past and future.

Looking down the roster, I see four good guards on the Kings and two for Portland (yes, Kings fans, I believe Gerald Henderson is a good guard). C.J. McCollum could easily kick that up to three with another good year.

Shooting Guards

Another very interesting comparison is shooting guard. The Kings have McLemore coming into a seemingly make it or break it year, combined with the addition of Marco Belinelli. Portland added the athletic Gerald Henderson and still have McCollum, who I really like, and Allen Crabbe, who I really don’t.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Henderson, but I think this season is going to tell us a lot about him. He played his entire career with Charlotte, and I’m tempted to say that some of his scoring numbers could be an example of empty stats. Playing on a bad team where someone is going to end up scoring a decent amount in a loss, I mean, a few years ago the guy averaged 15.5 points per game! I just wonder, when the offensive focus is primarily on Lillard, whether Henderson will thrive or fade into the background? It’s a shame that Henderson doesn’t really have a three point shoot because as defenses collapse on Dame (he took almost 45% of his shots within 15 feet of the basket), he should get some open, catch-and-shoot looks. For reference, Ben McLemore shoots almost 5 threes per game, Henderson shot 1.7 per game last year.

All in all, I’m a fan of Henderson and McCollum. I think they more or less even up with McLemore and Belinelli, though if I had to choose, I’d take the Kings option every time.

Small Forwards

I’m not really impressed with anything I’ve seen from Al-Farouq Aminu. I would love to understand the appeal, but I don’t. The guy didn’t average a full assist, block, or steal last year (0.8, 0.9, and 0.8, respectively) which would be totally excusable if he averaged double-digit points or rebounds (5.6 and 4.3, respectively). Last year he took as many three pointers per game as Gerald Henderson, though he only converted 27.4% of them. Now all that being said, he’s a better defender than Rudy, though still a downgrade from Wes Matthews (sorry Portland fans, too soon, I know). But still, I think many would agree that Rudy is the favorite between the two, at least for the upcoming season.

There was talk in the offseason, when the three-way trade involving Boogie and Orlando was being discussed, that Moe Harkless would be a good get, but it’s a little hard to tell after only 15 mpg last year. He’s got a good defensive rating, but his offensive game needs work. Not only is he a pitiful free thrower, 53.7% last year, he had a 39.9% field goal percentage, and averaged over 1 three pointer a game at 17.9%. Even though I’m really not a Casspi fan, I’m going to stick with him over Harkless until I see something that makes me believe otherwise. On a one year comparison, I’ll take decent proof over good potential.

Mike Miller and Caron Butler will likely get a similar amount of playing time this year. I’d also like to take this time to say, can you believe Cleveland shipped off LeBron’s favorite coach, Mike Miller, this offseason? I was legitimately blown away by that, but maybe that’s their way of trying to force him to listen to Blatt. Anyway, that’s neither here nor there.

Pat Connaughton’s catch and shoot ability should earn him some playing time, since apparently no one on this team (besides McCollum and Lillard) can shoot the three ball. I’m not sure, at 6'5" if he can guard NBA small forwards, in fact, I’m pretty sure he cannot, but if the Blazers want to go small, they can utilize his bounce and young legs.

This is somewhat close, but bias aside, Gay is better than Aminu and that’s the biggest factor.

Power Forwards

I won’t pretend to be a Noah Vonleh expert, and I think it would be tough to judge him after one season of only 10 minutes per game, but the fact that Charlotte was ready to let him (and more importantly, his future) go for Nic Batum is a little worrisome to me. Don’t get me wrong, Batum is a really nice player, and I think that Portland got younger while unloading a pretty large contract, but all I’m saying is that I don’t think Vonleh is going to flip a switch and make a big impact this year; doesn’t mean he won’t have an awesome career, I mean, the kid turns 20 this week.

Living in Los Angeles, I saw a good amount of Ed Davis last season, and to be honest, I really liked what I saw. He averaged 8.3/7.6 last year in 23 minutes. He can defend, the effort is always there, and he always plays within himself. I think he’s a great, dependable complement to Vonleh’s youth.

That said, we’re talking about Boogie Cousins here, so clearly Sacramento gets the advantage, but Portland’s power forward situation is interesting, if nothing else. When the Blazers play a slower, half-court team, I’d put Plumlee and Leonard in together, collect every possible rebound, and do a twin towers thing. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Centers

The Blazers lost their dependable center, Robin Lopez, to the big city this offseason, but got Mason Plumlee to fill his spot…not a bad replacement! Totally different style of player, but still a talented dude. The best thing about Plumlee is his field goal percentage: 60.6% in his two-year career. He would have been second place behind DeAndre Jordan in field goal percentage last year if he had taken enough attempts to qualify (I think he was 11 attempts short). Plumlee started 45 games last year and, barring injury, you have to think he’ll be the starter for the majority of games this season. Should be really interesting to see how he adapts to being the man, especially without a strong power forward on the block with him.

I am a really big Meyers Leonard fan. I know he’s probably not destined to be a starter in this league, but he’s got height, if you foul him he’ll make you pay (93.8% from the strike last year), and he takes quality shots. At 7'2" he really should have more rebounds, but all in all, I think he’s a really solid backup.

Someone explain to me how Chris Kaman is still an 8.6/6.5 guy as recently as last year! Old man game is just so strong. The sad part is, if he had a full head of hair, I probably wouldn’t be so surprised. I assume, Leonard will start to take the clear #2 center spot, reducing Kaman’s minutes, but who knows, he may just keep being crafty and efficient (51.5% fg% last year) and continue to get chunks of minutes now and then.

I think the center position is just BARELY a Portland advantage because I truly believe Willie Cauley-Stein is going to be a very positive factor this year. I don’t know if Plumlee is ready to be the man or if Leonard is going to continue to develop, but just imagine when Portland and Sacramento play each other: Vonleh guarding Boogie and Plumlee on WCS. Sounds like a Kings advantage to me.

All things considered, the Blazers put together a good roster after being completely blown up. Their roster is full of guys who have shown potential and will now be asked to fulfill that potential through increased roles. If Aminu, Vonleh, and Plumlee all take advantage of this opportunity, Portland will surprise people. That’s a lot of ifs, but you know who else is full of the unknown? Sacto.

Stay tuned for the few remaining comparisons. The Pelicans, Wolves, and Lakers are coming soon! Thanks for reading!