Rebuilding Kings revived by work on glass

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- We now know the recovery began under cover of darkness of the February trade deadline and was followed by the disguise of the June draft, misdirection moments that have led to their November head fake.

The Kings are 5-4, have won four in a row, and are over .500 for the first time in nearly three years, since Dec. 2, 2006. But that is not the story.

The Kings were fourth in the league in rebounding percentage heading into Sunday -- that's the barometer. That, not the record, is the sign of a changing culture, the real reason for hope in a city that has fallen out of love with its former civic institution, the indicator they will at least play with a pulse this season even if the victories begin to slow.

They're not going to keep this win pace, after all. If the Kings finish .500, with a rookie point guard who over-dribbles plus two other rookies in the rotation plus early injuries to Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia plus getting into much tougher opponents, Paul Westphal won't win Coach of the Year. He'll get the award named after him. (The schedule so far has been two games against the Thunder and one against the Hornets, Spurs, Grizzlies, Hawks, Jazz, Warriors and Rockets, and five of the last six have been at home. Commendable, especially winning at Utah and then running rested Golden State out of Arco Arena on the second night of a back-to-back, just not the stuff of playoff marches.)

In the real meaningful development, they're trying. If it's the least that can be expected, it's also an improved attitude off last season, and that means a lot in an organization that had gone from a case study of positive chemistry to a personality no high school team would want to emulate. However slow it happens, because there is still a long road ahead, this new physical presence is the brightest collective sign of turnaround in years.

In 2008-09, the Kings finished 29th in rebound percentage.

In 2009-10, without any new center or power forward averaging more than 14 minutes a game, they're in the top five.

And if someone had predicted that at the start of the season....

"I would have thought we had traded for Dwight Howard or something like that," center Spencer Hawes said.

"I would have said, 'Do we have eight 7-footers on the team?' " power forward Jason Thompson said.

Very early, but very meaningful, these charted improvements in energy and physical play. Thompson has gone from 7.4 boards per game in 28.1 minutes last season as a rookie to 10.1 in 34.4 minutes, staying on an early course to meet his personal goal of averaging double-digit rebounds. Kenny Thomas is a factor again at power forward after two seasons of obscurity, playing 13.4 minutes and behind the scenes providing a veteran's presence to a team sorely lacking leadership.

The imprint of newcomers, though, has driven the style change. When the Kings dealt Brad Miller and John Salmons to the Bulls last February, it was mostly about getting away from big contracts. But Andres Nocioni, the only player sent from Chicago to Sacramento who stuck, brought an aggressive presence. And when the draft came in June, as most of the attention went to No. 4 selection Tyreke Evans and his potential to become a dynamic player on both ends, management was making a series of picks with the specific intent of adding a hard edge.

"It was a goal," Westphal said. "It was definitely a goal. And it will continue to be a goal."

Evans is the 6-foot-6, 220-pounder who will out-muscle most every point guard without losing many sprints. Though his shooting remains the same concern as before the draft and his lack of experience as a distributor is apparent, he will get into the lane against almost anybody and absorb contact to live at the line some nights.

Omri Casspi, the No. 23 pick, impressed the Kings with his competitiveness and toughness, even at a lanky 6-foot-9 and 225 pounds at forward. He's already averaging 21.3 minutes a game. Jon Brockman, the No. 38 pick, is the in-the-trenches guy, a grunt down to the close-cropped hair. He's a second-round pick who knows his chances of lasting in this league are directly tied to the number of opponents who leave the court bruised, and maybe even some of his own guys if they cross him in practice. Those are the days teammates hate him, for all the reasons the coaching staff and front office want Brockman to be hated.

"If you told him to head-butt the wall," Westphal said, "he would do it."

Next thing the Kings know, the impossibility of being a top-five team in rebounding has come to life with three rookies doing so much so soon to help change the culture.

"That always comes from the players, and I think that we made a concerted effort to add players who bring that M.O.," Westphal said. "If you get guys like Evans, Brockman and Casspi, who are known for playing real hard, and they come here and play real hard, it's not hard to get them to play hard. That's in their DNA. We're trying to have a team full of guys like that."