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Even before the season started, many experts projected more wins for the Hawks, Cavaliers, Suns and even the Knicks, than the young Kings side. Counted out from the word go, Sacramento surpassed all expectations throughout the year and consolidated higher benchmarks than what most predicted.
Once in a comfortable spot to make a legit playoffs push after the All-Star break, the Kings fell short of what could have been a major milestone to cap off a resilient regular season. Buddy Hield and his Kings finished with a 39-43 (0.476) win-loss record, just one spot out of the playoff picture.
Sacramento was one of the slowest (if not the slowest) teams in the league just a couple of years ago, but Dave Joerger changed that. Nevertheless, the organisation decided to fire Coach Joerger after the season, whose fast-paced style of basketball got the team to where they are now.
The young core led by Buddy Hield, De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley conjured an impressive team performance on a nightly basis. However, there were some players who failed to show up when this team was making a wild dash for the finish line.
Let's talk about the three individual performances which, unlike their team, could not match up to their expectations.
#1 Iman Shumpert
With 71 playoff games and a championship on his resume, Sacramento needed Shumpert's veteran presence to make a difference down the stretch. In the 42 games he played for this team (40 of which he started), Iman shot an ordinary 38% from the field and a mere 36% from beyond the arc (for someone considered to be an outside shooting threat).
In an average of over 26 minutes of playtime per game, the 28-year-old averaged 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Popular opinion suggested that he would take advantage of the relatively larger role in Sacramento - than what he got with the LeBron-led Cavs - but the 6-foot-5 shooting guard failed to do so on a consistent basis.
Before the midseason trade deadline, Shumpert was traded to the Rockets as part of a three-team trade involving the Kings, Rockets and Cavaliers.
#2 Willie Cauley-Stein
Cauley-Stein has been an intriguing piece of the puzzle for the whole Kings organization. He has often shown signs of a fairly high ceiling, but has disappointed equally. Last year he scored almost 13 points and pulled down 7 boards in what was his best career year in the NBA so far.
Despite starting all 81 games for Sactown this year and averaging over 27 minutes per game on the court, his numbers saw a noticeable decline. Many consider him a "10-point-10-rebound average" caliber player but his inconsistencies usually take over.
Being an elite defensive center in his college days, Caulie-Stein averaged just 0.6 blocks per game throughout the entire 2018-19 regular season, along with commiting a career-high 2.8 personal fouls per game. He possesses great footwork and athleticism that allows him to dictate terms in the paint but his defense has been his Achilles heel for quite some time now.
#3 Justin Jackson
Justin Jackson won an NCAA title with his North Carolina Tar Heels squad back in 2017 before being drafted. Portland traded him to the Kings on draft day and he recently played his third season for the franchise, one that was cut short via a trade.
Putting together unimpressive averages like 6.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in his latest year with the Kings, Jackson nearly managed to resemble his so-so rookie season numbers.
In the 52 games he played with the Kings - before getting traded to the Mavericks in February - the 23-year-old shot 42% from the floor and 34% from distance playing over 21 minutes per game on an average.
He has shown signs of resurgence in his short stint with the Mavs already but none of that was ever visible during his time in a Kings uniform this past season.
