The Sacramento Kings defeated the Houston Rockets last night, racking up their fourth consecutive win and bringing their record this season so far to 5 and 4. Considering that the team finished last season with a record of just 17 wins and 65 losses, this season’s start already qualifies as a dramatic turnaround. There’s lots of basketball still to be played, but the fans are energized and lots of credit is going to new coach Paul Westphal, who we know around here as a stand-up guy and dedicated Bob Dylan fan.

Fox Sports reports thusly: “Kings putting last year behind with surprising start.”

Forget about Phoenix, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Miami. The one team that’s enjoying the most surprising success thus far this young season is the Sacramento Kings. After having won only 17 games last season, their home-standing win over the scrappy Rockets Friday night was Sacramento’s fourth in a row, raising their current record to 5-4.

And they’re doing this without the 37.3 points per game that had been totaled last season by a pair of currently injured players: Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia.

Who are these upstart Kings?

Ailene Voisin in the hometown Sacramento Bee has more:

Paul Westphal has gone and done it. In a matter of weeks, he has put some kick back in the Kings. Or as someone said to me after Friday’s victory over the Houston Rockets, “All that diving on the floor. What’s that about?”

One season. Two seasons. Three seasons. Part of four seasons. You start to forget how the game is supposed to be fun, how spontaneous fans are supposed to sound, how an arena is supposed to feel. And yet sooner than expected, Arco Arena has experienced a dramatic mood swing.

Inside, there is a pulse. Outside, it’s safe to wear purple in public again.

“I think the fans of Sacramento are dying for a team they can love,” Westphal said recently. “We want to give them hustle, give them players that dive on the floor, take charges, show how much they care.”

[...]

Westphal has thrown a fresh coat of paint on the walls, cleaned up the locker room and rid the coaching staff of the chronic sniping. The Kings and their visitors can walk around the facility these days without choking on the negativity.

“There is a certain swagger he brings,” said Jason Thompson. “He’s been a winning coach. He was a successful player. We set goals for certain games, about rebounding, getting stops and running. The message is, ‘If you don’t set goals and want to be successful, you shouldn’t be here.’ ” One question for the coach: Where ya been all these years?

It’s a great story, even if you’re not a huge basketball fan. Good luck to Paul and the Kings in continuing to follow those Paths of Victory.

…

Addendum: I didn’t even notice until just now myself, but that page at the Sacramento Bee also has a little blurb where Paul is asked to list his favorite Bob Dylan songs. He offers this interesting selection:

“Sugar Baby” (2001)

“Brownsville Girl” (1986)

“Neighborhood Bully” (‘83)

“Slow Train” (‘79)

“Summer Days” (‘01)

He adds that, “There’s 25 (more songs) I could put ahead of those if I thought longer. But those five are the quick list. Let the Dylan-ologists have at it.”

– No big arguments from this end, but, as Paul kind-of indicates, the thing about these lists is that you could make them all day and keep changing them. If asked to come up with a list of faves I’d also think quickly of Brownsville Girl and — the world being what it is — Neighborhood Bully. Who knows where I’d go from there?

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