NBA Halloween: Playing trick-or-treat with each team’s early season trend

Sacramento Kings

Dave Joerger to Luke Walton was a major downgrade: Treat

I mean, even if we decided to “stick to sports” and completely threw out the sexual assault allegations (which we absolutely shouldn’t and won’t), Luke Walton already looks like the wrong choice to replace head coach Dave Joerger, who, for the hundredth time, should never have been replaced at all.

Last year, the Sacramento Kings were the pleasant surprise of the season, winning 39 games and threatening to end their league-worst playoff drought until falling apart down the stretch. With a healthy Marvin Bagley, De’Aaron Fox entering a potential career year and veterans added to the young core, 2019-20 was supposed to be their breakthrough.

Instead, the Kings destroyed that momentum when they fired their first good coach in ages and brought in the guy whose only success as a head coach came with a Warriors juggernaut that was basically self-sufficient already. Probably related: The Kings are the only 0-5 team in the league, with an NBA-worst point differential of -17.0. At this rate, Walton won’t make it to Christmas, and he probably shouldn’t.