It seems as if the Sacramento Kings have hit a wall in the month of January, winning only 1 of 11 games so far this month and losing their last 7 games.  They have gone 1-12 since December 23rd and things just keep getting worse.  They have been playing terrible defense and have been giving up 106 points-per-game since December 23rd.  It looks like most of the Kings’ players have given up on the season and they are only half-way through the 2009-’10 season.  Pretty much every Kings’ player needs to step up their play and bring a strong effort every night.  One of the few players you can’t put much blame on for the Kings’ failures is rookie Tyreke Evans.  Evans has been the Kings’ best player all season long and has been having some very strong games despite the Kings recent losing ways.  He is averaging 20.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 46% from the field.  He is the favorite to win this year’s Rookie of the Year Award, but he is getting very little help on offense and their team defense has been terrible so the Kings will continue to struggle.

23-year old back-up point guard Sergio Rodriguez has not played in 4 of the Kings’ last five games as he has had his playing time cut due to the return of Kevin Martin. Rodriguez has played in 32 games (0 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 5.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Rumors are swirling that the Kings are looking to trade Martin. If that happens then “Spanish Chocolate” will get back to playing his normal minutes.

The Kings need more than they are getting out of center Spencer Hawes. Hawes has played in 35 games (28 starts) this season for the Kings and he is averaging 27.0 minutes, 10.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. The Kings expect more out of Hawes who appears to be taking a small step back after truly breaking out last year.

The Kings are giving Donte’ Greene more playing time this season but he’s playing too soft. Greene has played in 30 games (19 starts) for the Kings this season and he is averaging 20.4 minutes, 9.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. If Greene doesn’t start get tougher around the basket I see the Kings starting to cut his minutes down some soon.

The Kings have lost reserve forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim for the remainder of the season after he underwent surgery on his right knee. This was a lost season for the veteran forward as he played in only 6 games this season and he averaged 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. At least the Kings have veterans like Mikki Moore and Kenny Thomas to pick up the minutes that Abdur-Rahim would have gotten.

Quincy Douby and Spencer Hawes are having a rough time in December. Douby was the 1st round pick for the Kings last season and he still isn’t showing much. He has played in 5 games this month for the Kings and he is averaging 10.0 minutes, 3.6 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. This year’s #1 pick, center Spencer Hawes has also had a tough month. Hawes has played in 5 games this month for the Kings and he is averaging 9.8 minutes, 2.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Both of these guys are shooting awful from the floor this month as Douby (31.3%) and Hawes (22.2%) are bending the rim with their jumpshots and that will need to change if they want to get off of the bench and play more.

When the Spurs released point guard Beno Udrih because they had too many players under contract….the Kings jumped in and signed him. He has been outstanding for the Kings who were worried that point guard would be a huge black hole on the team until Mike Bibby returns from injury. In his first 10 games of the season Udrih has averaged 35.3 minutes, 14.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. The Kings hope the career backup can keep up the good work.

Rookie Justin Williams hasn’t gotten much playing time so far this season because of all the veterans ahead of him on the depth chart but they’ve been falling like flies.  It’s possible that Justin Williams will be thrusted into the starting lineup and get big minutes in the last couple of games in the season.  He has only played in 22 games this season (1 start) and he’s averaged 4.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  He also has shot 61.5% from the floor so far this season which is outstanding.  Look for him to make the most of the minutes he gets on the court in the coming games.

The Kings have decided to cut down Mike Bibby’s minutes the last couple of games to see what they have in backup Ronnie Price.  Price has played in 7 games ss far in April and he’s averaged 5.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  His shooting has been off as he’s only hit 37.5% from the floor this month.  The Kings want to see if Price can be trusted in the future with more playing time.

With the rise of Corliss Williamson and the play of Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Kenny Thomas has been losing his playing time.  In his last 6 games, Thomas is only averaging 1.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Thomas needs to play better than this if he wants to get his job back.