NBA Power Rankings: Celtics living up to hype; 76ers are better without Harden?

Boston Celtics Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum (Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports)
Boston Celtics Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum (Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports)
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Sacramento Kings Davion Mitchell
Sacramento Kings Davion Mitchell (Chris Nicoll-USA TODAY Sports)

11. Sacramento Kings

Coming off a season in which the Sacramento Kings were one of the biggest surprises in the league, it was always going to be somewhat of an uphill battle. Through the first handful of games of the future, the Kings have gotten inconsistent results due to their inconsistent play. While the Kings have still been good enough on the offensive end, it’s another aspect of their play that has been at the forefront of their “issues.”

As was the case last season and something that perhaps was their downfall in the postseason, the Kings continue to struggle on the defensive end of the floor. They’re league average on that end of the floor at the moment and without being as special as they were last season offensively, it’s easy to see why they haven’t gotten the consistent results that they managed to get last year.

The good news is that the Kings are one of the most talented young teams in the Western Conference. They’ll likely get hot sooner or later. The question is, when they do hit their eventual peak, how close will it be to how good the team was last year?