The Magnificent Seven

Kings will try to ride short rotation to elusive NBA title

By John Hollinger, SI.com

Kings at a Glance Head coach: Rick Adelman 2002-03: 59-23 2002-03 Stats Key Additions C Brad Miller (Pacers) SG Anthony Peller (T'wolves) PF Darius Songaila (Celtics) PF Tony Massenburg (Jazz) Key Losses SF Jim Jackson (Rockets) SF Hedo Turkoglu (Spurs) C Keon Clark (Jazz) C Scot Pollard (Pacers) PG Damon Jones (Bucks) Projected Lineup Starters Reserves PG  M. Bibby B. Jackson SG  D. Christie A. Peeler SF  P. Stojakovic G. Wallace PF  C. Webber T. Massenburg C  B. Miller V. Divac

Over the past two seasons, the Kings have had the best record in basketball, with 120 wins and just 44 losses. They're only missing one thing: a championship.

They shot themselves in the foot at the free-throw line against the Lakers in 2002, and then were undone by Chris Webber's knee injury last season.

The Kings will try again this season, but they had to shuffle the deck during the offseason for two reasons. First, the ownership had to cut back costs in order to deal with the ramifications of the luxury tax. Second, general manager Geoff Petrie brilliantly took advantage of an opportunity to add an All-Star center.

The ball got rolling when Sacramento acquired Brad Miller from Indiana in a sign-and-trade deal that stole him from under Utah's nose. That move cost the Kings several players, however. They gave up Scot Pollard and Hedo Turkoglu in the trade, and then Miller's salary forced them to donate Keon Clark to Utah and pass on re-signing Jim Jackson.

As a result, Sacramento's previously daunting depth will be much less impressive this year. Damon Jones also left as a free agent, and forward Lawrence Funderburke will miss nearly the entire season with a torn Achilles' tendon. Filling the gap will be newly signed spare parts Anthony Peeler, Tony Massenburg and Darius Songaila.

Defense. That's right, defense. Once you get past all the between-the-legs passes and run-and-gun style, it's the defense that has been the foundation of the Kings' success.

Sacramento's greyhound pace results in high-scoring games, masking how effective it is at guarding people. The Kings gave up 95.2 points a game last season, slightly above the league average of 95.1. But that was because their helter-skelter games featured so many more shots and possessions than normal. Look closer and their defense was fantastic. The Kings held opponents to 42 percent shooting last season, which was far and away the best mark in the league. And for all the running they did, the Kings rarely were beaten in transition.

Even with the personnel changes, those attributes should hold. The ringleader of the defense, Doug Christie, is still around and shows no signs of slippage. His quick feet and faster hands make him a solid defender on the ball and a terror reaching in to strip other players that don't see him coming. He's joined on the wings by the vastly underrated Peja Stojakovic, who has the size and tenacity to defend power forwards, but is quick enough to stay with most forwards on the perimeter. Up front, the duo of Miller and Vlade Divac gives the Kings a healthy dose of size and rebounding. While Miller is not in Divac's class as a defender, both are the kind of big 7-footer teams need to deal with Shaq in the playoffs. Additionally, with the possible exception of Mike Bibby, there isn't a below-average defender in the bunch.

Injuries. The reason Sacramento hasn't won a title with this group can be traced directly to badly timed injuries. Against the Lakers in 2002, Stojakovic's injured foot probably was the difference. Against Dallas last season, Webber's knee injury certainly was.

It doesn't figure to get better. Webber is still rehabbing his knee, and probably won't be back until December, while one potential replacement, Funderburke, may miss the whole season. On the bright side, if anyone in the league can deal with this problem, it's Rick Adelman. No coach employs a short rotation as consistently as Adelman, using just seven players on many nights. That might be a good thing this year, because the Kings' once enviable depth has been reduced to the seven stud players (Bibby, Christie, Stojakovic, Webber, Divac, Miller and Bobby Jackson) that they'll be riding all year.

The problem for Sacramento is that it needs need all seven healthy to realistically challenge for the championship. Without a dominator along the lines of Shaq or Tim Duncan, the Kings win by accumulating small advantages at every position rather than by having a single player take over. That math doesn't work against the Lakers and Spurs of the world unless everybody's playing. Additionally, Webber's health is a continuing concern. He's missed 55 games over the past three years, and it's not beyond the realm of possibility that he'll get hurt in the postseason again this year.

Is the window closing? There are several reasons to think this group's opportunity to win an NBA championship is melting away. It starts with their best player, Webber, who seems to struggle more with his health every year and has never been a strong playoff performer. But it's more than that.

First, the Kings are no longer deeper than the Grand Canyon. At best, if Gerald Wallace can take a step forward, they have eight quality players. Second, because of their salary cap situation and the fact that they pick 25th in the draft every year, it's increasingly difficult for them to come up with quality players to replace the ones they're losing.

But third and most important, age is becoming an issue. Divac is 35, Christie is 33, and Jackson is 30. All three depend on quickness more than brute strength or long-range bombing, so as Father Time gradually steals their athleticism, their productivity is unlikely to remain at such exalted levels.

NBA royalty. This team has its warts, and likely will get off to another slow start while Webber's knee is healing. But the top seven players are the envy of the league. Four of their five starters plausibly could make the All-Star team, and the other one is a perennial All-Defense selection. If the Lakers don't blow the doors off the league, there's a great chance the Kings finally could slip through that window. But it won't stay propped open forever.

John Hollinger covers basketball for SI.com and is the author of Pro Basketball Prospectus. Click here to send him a question or comment.