I Was So Wrong About the Kings that it Hurts

It was so obvious to see, too.

The Kings are 0-3 to start the 2019-20 season, and have looked just as bad as their record indicates.

As is customary when previewing the NBA season, I made some of my NBA predictions to appear edgy.

Such was the case with the Sacramento Kings, who I threw into the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference standings, which would signify an end to their 14-year playoff drought.

But my optimism in the Kings was not just rooted in my pursuit of being a Take Artist. I believed it. De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield comprise the most up-tempo backcourt in the league. Marvin Bagley III could grow into a star. Ice-cold scorer Bogdan Bogdanovic comes off the bench. Newly-acquired Dewayne Dedmon is a solid, veteran floor-spacer. Harrison Barnes ... got a ring once? And they reached the No. 9 spot in the West last year, it's got to be only up from here, right?

They are not even close to perfect on paper, but I thought I accounted for it with the right amount of upside. That assumption was, so obviously, dead wrong.

The Kings have looked nothing short of abysmal in their 0-3 start to the 2019-20 season. It's surprising how bad they've lost, but not that they lost in the first place. Shame on me for thinking they could've been anything else in the loaded West.

Following a 113-81 beatdown by the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, even coach Luke Walton said the all-too-real part out loud.

“I don’t know what that was tonight. That’s not who we are. It was an embarrassing performance we put out there, coaches included. … The Kings fans and organization deserve a better effort than that.”

Failing to reach 100 points in two games in this NBA, with that lineup, is a travesty. They scored 112 in a 10-point loss to the Portland Trailblazers, but even then they caught up in garbage time. Sacramento looks lethargic, and their defense pays for it. When the ball keeps going through the hoop, they can't run the high-flying offense that makes them dangerous. Bagley being sidelined 4-6 weeks due to injury is literally adding an injury to an insulting display of basketball.

I have been burned countless times by my affinity for mediocre teams with interesting colorways. But this team in particular just leaves me disappointed.

How does Buddy Hield, whose prolific scoring beget a contract extension exceeding $90m, only take 7 shots in a game?

How does veteran center Dewayne Dedmon record 7 turnovers in one game?

Why is De'Aaron Fox scoring 28 one time and 8 the next?

It's truly perplexing — enough so to already get me off the bandwagon (even though it was pretty roomy to begin with). Yes, it's only 3 games and I very well could regret my reversal in a few weeks. I don't think I will, though. The Kings look like they have a lot of work to do to answer a lot of questions.

Their young players are promising, but they look lost. So far, they have provided no blueprint to suggest they will get back on track.