The Sacramento Kings embark on a two-week road trip on Monday. For the friendly staff at Sleep Train Arena, this equates to a small vacation, but for the players, it’s anything but.
The Kings first fly to New York, and then jet back to Texas. Then they head to Florida, and work their way up the East Coast. When the team isn’t racking up frequent flyer miles, they’ll be participating in full practices on their off-days, as well as shoot arounds before games. Throw in meetings and film sessions, and there’s little time left for leisure.
Thanks to a Knicks game on January 26 that was postponed due to bad weather, the Kings will play eight contests in 11 nights. The last time Sacramento had the pleasure of an eight-game trip was back in early 2000, when Rick Adelman’s club went 3-7. The only other instance of an eight-game trek in Sacramento franchise history came in 1987, when coach Jerry Reynolds’ crew also went 3-7.
The 2015 Kings are far from road warriors. Their 7-18 record away from home is fourth-worst in the league, and they haven’t had a two-game winning steak since late November. Road woes are yet another problem for head coach George Karl to solve, but nothing he isn’t familiar with.
“I think the road sometimes can be an ally of a young team and can be a growing experience for a young team,” George Karl told the media on Friday. “It’s harder to win on the road, I believe that. I don’t think it’s the same game on the road. I think (that) a home court has different energy than a road court. There’s more momentum changes usually for you in a road game for you to coach, but I think it’s also a mental challenge as much as a physical challenge to overcome those situations.”
Focus on the road has been an issue, and being away from your family and comfy bed, it’s easy to see why. The Kings surrender more than four points a game on the road as opposed to home, and they commit more fouls and turnovers too. Playing a high level of basketball in a different arena every other night can be a grind, but one every NBA team has to endure.
As for those precious few moments of down time, the Kings make the most of it. Road trips are a chance to see distant relatives and iconic American venues, individually or as a team.
“For the most part, we (the team) always take the time to go out and eat, and explore diffrerent cities,” Jason Thompson explained to Cowbell Kingdom. “Being seven years in the league, when you go to different cities, you kind of have more friends in those cities than you did in your first couple years, so I like to explore that city, do a little shopping or something monumental. When you go to Memphis, you go to see where Martin Luther King passed away. When you go to Detroit, you go to Motown and stuff like that. It just depends on the city.”
It’s safe to say there’s nothing quite like facing the Liberty Bell and the 76ers in one afternoon.
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