The True Reason Behind the Kings' Turnaround from Second-to-Last to a 7-Game Winning Streak - The Results Are Shocking
January 13, 2025, Beijing Time: The NBA regular season continues, with the Kings securing an impressive 7-game winning streak after a close victory over the Bulls, 124-119, on the road.
The familiar Kings are back! The team that seemed to be falling apart at the beginning of the season, even considering putting Fox on the trading block, has now experienced a phoenix-like rebirth under new management. Since the coaching change, they have achieved a record of 7 wins and 1 loss.
It must be said that after firing head coach Brown and replacing him with assistant coach Christie, Christie has not disappointed the trust of the management, achieving good results. Since Christie took over, except for the first game lost to the Lakers, he has successively defeated the Mavericks, 76ers, Grizzlies, Warriors, Heat, Celtics, and today's Bulls, which is quite remarkable.
A seven-game winning streak has propelled them directly to ninth place in the West, just half a game behind the eighth-placed Timberwolves and half a game ahead of the tenth-placed Warriors.
Facing the powerful Celtics, they were able to limit their opponents to less than 100 points and win by a large margin of 114:97. This is simply unbelievable. To defeat the reigning champions so badly, other teams don't stand a chance against the Kings! Now, the Kings have reignited their hopes for the playoffs.
To be honest, new coach Christie really has some skills. He has adjusted the team's tactics, especially increasing DeRozan's three-point attempts. In the past four games, DeRozan has averaged five three-point attempts per game, something that was unimaginable before!
Christie does have some skills, but this is not the real reason for the coaching change. Spring is increasingly suspicious that the entire Kings team deliberately tanked to push out Brown! Famous journalist Chris revealed that the biggest difference between the two coaches is not in tactics but in training. Mike Brown, who trains hard, flies long distances and then practices, leaving the players exhausted. What about Christie? He reduced the training volume and cut down on competitive training, allowing the players to enjoy leisure, so they can maintain their best state on the court. In short, Brown scared the players with his training methods.
After experiencing a winning streak, the Western Conference playoff race has another strong competitor. With such performance and state, it should be no problem for the Kings to make the playoffs. It seems that as a coach, you can lack tactics and grind away, but you absolutely cannot have a strained relationship with the players.
Remember, many people initially defended Coach Brown, but now it seems that the coach indeed bears great responsibility for the team's success or failure! Because Brown is the best example.
Fans, do you think Brown is a scapegoat? Will the Kings make it to the playoffs?