The Kings landed power forward Thomas Robinson with the No. 5 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, a surprise to a huge number of people. Most folks had Robinson going No. 2 to the Charlotte Bobcats, but that team took Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Robinson figures to challenge for a starting spot next to DeMarcus Cousins early on, putting Jason Thompson's role into question. Thompson becomes a restricted free agent on Sunday. The Kings have issued a qualifying offer, meaning that the team can match any offer sheet he signs.

Of course, the Kings could also sign him to a deal without other teams getting involved, as they did with Marcus Thornton in December. That seems to be the plan. From the Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones.

Petrie said Jason Thompson remains the top proiorty for the Kings in free agency.

— JasonJones (@mr_jasonjones) June 29, 2012

One would think that Robinson's presence drops J.T.'s price point a little from Sacramento's perspective, but it's not as if the team will be able to spend money it clearly does not have on other free agents. So the final dollar amount might be much ado about nothing.

In case you're wondering, the Kings do still have a hole at small forward. Filling that would seem to be a priority going into free agency.

A lot of interesting stuff happened last night. A lot of foolish stuff too.

The combination of the lockout keeping players in school and a strong freshman class made this year's draft easily the deepest since 2008, which featured Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon and had contributors deep into the first round (Serge Ibaka, George Hill, Darrell Arthur).

In my mind, there were maybe 4-5 guys (Kyrie Irving and a few international big men) with elite talent in last year's draft. This year, I thought there were probably 15-20.

And while the plentiful amount of talent available should have made the jobs of NBA GM's easier, it also magnified the costs of their (many, many) mistakes. There are quite a few which don't seem to take the draft very seriously, which is pretty crazy since it's such an affordable way to upgrade a team's overall talent level. Some years, you're leaving $5 dollar bills on the ground; other years, $100.

At the same time, there's no point in doling out grades to 30 GM's taking different tests. You can divide them into three categories: rebuilding teams trying to add core players, reloading ones trying to upgrade around an existing core and contending ones trying to tweak minor roles around a successful core.

Rebuilding Teams:

1) Detroit Pistons: In 2010, Greg Monroe fell into their laps. In 2012, Andre Drummond did. The Pistons got the most skilled big man in one draft and the most athletic big man in another. That's a pretty good formula for success.

No team with complete confidence in their player development and the strength of their system would pass on Drummond in favor of any player in this class beyond Anthony Davis. -- RealGM

Drummond is 6'11 280, moves like a guard and jumps like Blake Griffin. He's a 19-year old with unlimited potential; those kind of players don't come around very often. There's no reason to think he won't develop; this isn't a DeMarcus Cousins situation. It's just that teams are afraid he won't, even though they are as responsible as the player they draft for his ultimate development.

Monroe and Drummond has a chance to be a Twin Towers type team. If you have two athletic 6'10+ dudes who can play, you're going to be pretty nice. Kim English could a great fit here too: a spot-up shooter who can defend multiple positions.

2) New Orleans Hornets: David Stern did all the hard work here -- he got them Anthony Davis and Eric Gordon. Unfortunately, they already fumbled their first real decision at No. 10. If you've got a 2 and a 4/5 and needs at the other three positions, why take a pure 2 (Austin Rivers) who dominates the ball and doesn't play any defense?

3) Toronto Raptors: They are slowly building a fairly interesting team. Toronto has a skilled, athletic and versatile young player in their front-court (Jonas Valanciunas) and their back-court (Terrence Ross) to build around. My guess is that's going to be seen as the best one-two punch from the 2011 and 2012 drafts down the road.

4) Cleveland Cavaliers: With Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller and Tristan Thompson around Kyrie Irving, they've got 4/5 of a pretty good starting line-up. But is pretty good going to be enough in a superteam era? Five years from now, they're going to look back at the past two drafts and realize they left a lot of runs on the board.

5) Washington Wizards: They got a super-talented back-court of the future with John Wall and Bradley Beal, but for some reason, they've also invested most of their payroll into the aging front-line of Nene, Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza. There's not a lot of shooting in that line-up, so they'll probably play a lot of uptempo basketball, but a good team will be able to keep them in the half-court and clog the paint.

6) Charlotte Bobcats: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Jeff Taylor are two of the best perimeter defenders in the draft, but combine them with Bismack Biyombo and you have a core that's going to struggle to score a lot of points. Kemba Walker isn't exactly capable of carrying an NBA offense.

7) Sacramento Kings: Thomas Robinson is one of the most NBA-ready players in the draft, but that's not that big a deal on a franchise that's still pretty far from being NBA-ready. He's most comfortable playing near the rim, which isn't a great fit with a low-post scorer like DeMarcus Cousins. They also sold their No. 36 overall pick for straight cash, which is a pretty shameful thing for an organization to do when they have so many needs on their team.

8) Phoenix Suns: Kendall Marshall is pretty effective if he's going to be the fifth best starter on his team like he was at UNC, but he's not going to do much with a punch-less outfit like Phoenix.

Reloading Teams:

1) Houston Rockets: In terms of maximizing the talent on hand, Morey made three pretty good selections in Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones. I'm probably beating a dead horse here, but that's a pretty good trio of players to tear it down and rebuild around. Those three + one top 5 pick could be a deadly team, but the only way they're getting that top 5 pick is "earning" it by losing a lot of games.

2) Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard was the best PG in the draft and Meyers Leonard was the second best C. With those two, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nic Batum and Wesley Matthews, Portland has a well-rounded long-term starting five that should develop into a top-tier playoff team. They hit a double they could turn into a triple, but they may have needed a home run to get past Oklahoma City.

3) Golden State Warriors: Everything in Golden State now revolves around the health of Andrew Bogut. If he can dominate action at both ends of the floor, the rest of their core (Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, David Lee) complements him pretty well, but if he's hurt, they don't have enough athleticism to be a good defensive team or the dominant scorer to be a good offensive team.

4) Denver Nuggets: Evan Fournier could be an interesting player down the road, but they may have gotten the steal of the draft in Quincy Miller. I'm a big fan, even if no one else is; at the very least, he's a pretty good gamble at No. 38 overall.

5) Boston Celtics: Danny Ainge has one of the best track records in the draft of anyone in the NBA. I'm not huge on one-dimensional big men like Fab Melo (awful offensively) and Jared Sullinger (awful defensively), but if any team is going to figure out how to maximize their value, it's the Celtics.

6) Minnesota Timberwolves: Trading the No. 18 pick for Chase Budinger is a pretty good example of overpaying for a known commodity. You could have done a lot worse than Budinger at that spot, but you could have done a lot better.

7) Milwaukee Bucks: Not sure what the plan is in Milwaukee: John Henson, Ekpe Udoh and Larry Sanders have the same general strengths and weaknesses. A somewhat talented team that's fairly poorly constructed.

8) Philadelphia 76ers: Moe Harkless has the potential to be an interesting player, but they've already got plenty of athletic wings who can't shoot. A puzzling pick given the make-up of the rest of their roster.

Teams Making Tweaks:

1) Oklahoma City Thunder: The rich keep on getting richer. Did the second best team in the NBA need a versatile and athletic 6'11+ player who can defend three different positions and fit into a lot of different roles offensively? The Thunder continue playing chess while a lot of teams are struggling to master how to play checkers.

2) Memphis Grizzlies: No. 25 overall is a pretty good place to roll the dice on a guard like Tony Wroten. He can't shoot and he's reluctant to pass the ball, but he's a huge 6'5 205 PG with the ball-handling ability to take over a game off the bench.

3) Dallas Mavericks: Jared Cunnigham, an athletic slasher, and Bernard James, a shot-blocking small-ball center, are good fits next to Dirk Nowitzki. Dallas could have swung for the fences, but as long as they get Deron Williams, it won't matter. If they don't though, the talent level on this roster is slipping pretty fast.

4) Chicago Bulls: I'm not a big Marquise Teague fan, but I don't really have a strong opinion about it. The Bulls might be able to turn him into a pretty good player.

5) Orlando Magic: Andrew Nicholson, if he can develop a three-point shot, could be a more well-rounded version of Ryan Anderson. That's not going to mean much to Dwight Howard though.

6) Atlanta Hawks: John Jenkins is an excellent shooter but there's not much else he can do. You can find undrafted free agents who can do that. Not a great use of the No. 23 pick.

7) Indiana Pacers: Miles Plumlee is big and athletic but he has no real idea how to use any of it. Duke got brutalized in the paint most of the year, not sure why you would draft one of their centers to be a defensive specialist.

NA:

Utah, the Lakers, Clippers, San Antonio, New York, Miami and New Jersey pretty much sat this draft out.

The Indiana Pacers skipped the best-player-available theory in the NBA draft on Thursday night and selected a player to fill a need, a back up player to defend the rim and rebound. The Jeff Foster comps were too strong for the Pacers to pass up when they were literally trying to replace Foster.

After waking up this morning, nothing will change with the way the process worked out and there are more important days ahead this offseason. So if you want the positive spin, no one better than Frank Vogel to offer it, as he did last night following the pick.

"The first scouting meeting that I stepped in to, I jokingly said, 'Is there any Jeff Fosters in this draft? And about four of our scouts simultaneously said, 'Miles Plumlee!' And, we've had our eye on him ever since."

"He's clearly the best dirty-work player in the draft." Vogel continued. "A blue-collar guy. He falls right in to this team's identity."

The Pacers did a nice job of securing a guard who can fill it up, in Orlando Johnson. They took advantage of the financial shell game the Maloof brothers' seem to be playing in Sacramento by paying to add Johnson.

With Leandro Barbosa likely out of the picture there is an opening for a guard in the playing rotation as we see what happens with Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones before the start of the season. But first the Pacers move on to the free agency period next week with Roy Hibbert and George Hill in line for pay raises.

Check out all of the links after the jump, including a story of Johnson's brutal path to the NBA.

• Pacers.com speaks with Larry Bird about their 26th pick Miles Plumlee | video | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE INDIANA PACERS
• Pacers Draft 2012 Coverage | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE INDIANA PACERS
• Miles Plumlee Introductory Press Conference | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE INDIANA PACERS
• Pacers make surprise move: pick Duke's Plumlee | Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
• Bob Kravitz If Miles Plumlee as Larry Bird's final pick really is 2nd coming of Jeff Foster . . . | Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
• Twitter / Hoya2aPacer: I don't know why people are so mad about Miles. I saw his workout he killed. He's gonna b good for the pacers.
• Pacers stand behind decision to draft center Miles Plumlee - fox59.com
• Pacers acquire Kings second round pick Orlando Johnson - fox59.com
• Robbie Hummel gets his name called in the NBA Draft - fox59.com
• Robbie Hummel: Purdue standout snared with 58th pick by Minnesota Timberwolves | Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
• Orlando Johnson ends up with Pacers after wild NBA Draft | KSBY.com | San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles
• Marquis Teague: Chicago Bulls make ex-Pike star NBA Draft's 29th pick | Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
• Pacers take Duke F Plumlee in draft - AP
• Five Surprises From The 2012 NBA Draft
• Wildcats tandem makes history - TrueHoop Blog - ESPN
• Why did Perry Jones III fall in the NBA Draft? | Ball Don't Lie - Yahoo! Sports
• Mavericks trade Tyler Zeller to Cavaliers
• Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist go 1-2 in NBA Draft - Ian Thomsen - SI.com
• Three guys who didn’t get drafted but should have been | ProBasketballTalk

The Big 12 again showed why it could be considered the deepest conference in the country, as nine former Big 12 hoopsters were taken in last night's 2012 NBA Draft. The conference finished second to the SEC in terms of number of players drafted, and tied the SEC with the widest representation of schools called with five.

But despite the overall love the NBA showed the conference, I think individually the players were slighted. I get that the NBA and college are two different beasts, however I see only one Big 12 alum who was picked higher than I would have expected, Baylor's Quincy Acy at 37 to the Raptors.

Otherwise, I think conference MVP Thomas Robinson was slighted, though he did go fifth overall to the Sacramento Kings. I also think, talent wise, Royce White got the raw end of the deal, hearing his name called just outside the lottery, at 16 by the Houston Rockets.

Also, had you told me at the beginning of last season that Perry Jones III and Quincy Miller would have fallen so far, I would have said you were out of your mind. Now I understand that the knock on both was body frame and aggression, and I watched enough Baylor hoops to see why they were drafted when they were, however the NBA has a history of overvaluing projected talent, not necessarily what's shown on the court, and figured those two would go higher than 28 and 38 respectively.

Same with Khris Middleton. Despite being absent for most of last year, I thought the style of offense Texas A&M ran last year wasn't conducive to Middleton's style and a fast-paced NBA team would gobble him up and take him earlier than mid-second round.

But again, I follow college much more religiously than the pros, so this is all based on a different game. After the jump is a listing of all Big 12ers taken in last night's NBA Draft.

With the selection of Thomas Robinson on Thursday the Kings now have 12 players under contract headed into Free Agency this Sunday.

Currently, this is how the roster looks:

PG: Isaiah Thomas, Jimmer Fredette

SG: Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton, Francisco Garcia

SF: John Salmons, Travis Outlaw, Tyler Honeycutt

PF: Thomas Robinson, Chuck Hayes

C: DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside

Free Agents: Jason Thompson, Donté Greene, Terrence Williams

Yesterday after the draft Geoff Petrie again reiterated that re-signing Jason Thompson was the Kings top Free Agency Priority. That would put the Kings at 13 players under contract. Donté Greene is almost assuredly not coming back, and it is unknown what will happen with Terrence Williams.

Without Thompson and adding Robinson, the Kings have about $46.9 million in salary on the books. John Salmons is the highest paid player at $8.08 million. The NBA Salary Cap is expected to be the same as last year, at around $58 million. The Kings have plenty of flexibility to take on contracts, if of course they're willing to increase spending.

The Amnesty clause could be used to free up additional cap space, with two potential Amnesty candidates being Francisco Garcia and John Salmons. However, it's very unlikely that the Kings would opt to use the Amnesty provision, because while it erases the cap hold, it does not mean the team stops paying the player.

Free Agency officially begins at 12:01 AM on Sunday.

Anyone who knows anything about Thomas Robinson knows how ready he is to be an NBA player. He's carried himself like a professional for some time now and he'll finally get his opportunity to be one with the Sacramento Kings, who selected him with No. 5 overall pick in Thursday night's NBA Draft.

Our NBA voices at SB Nation have spoken, so read below the jump for thoughts from Andrew Sharp and Tom Ziller on the pick.

This, from Sharp:

So, it's hard to get upset about taking Thomas Robinson. He's as NBA-ready as anyone in the draft, he's tough, and next to DeMarcus Cousins he gives the Kings a frontline that they can count on for the next decade or so. But Harrison Barnes would have more sense--you can find lots of blue collar power forwards, but it's harder to find a third option as talented as Barnes. He's not good enough to be a superstar on his own, but wedged between Tyreke and DMC, Barnes would have been perfect. Still, Robinson's a solid building block for Sacramento, and even if the Maloofs got cheap and sold a second round pick that could have been Kim English or Quincy Miller (either of whom might have been a solution at the 2/3) ... remember last year? When Sacramento engineered that completely indefensible trade to draft Jimmer in the lottery? Things could be a lot worse than drafting a forward you can pencil into the starting lineup for the next 10 years.

NBA editor and Kings' fan Tom Ziller:

Seeing Robinson drop into their laps because of the Dion Waiters Experience was something like magic for the Kings. It wasn't quite DeMarcus Cousins in 2010 magic, but it could end up that way if ThRob hits all of his potential. It was a smart, solid pick by Geoff Petrie, who could have opted to stretch his legs out and fill the small forward hole with Harrison Barnes. Instead, he took the more inspiring, tough player, one who will make a nasty little tandem with DeMarcus Cousins.

Then the Kings did what the Kings do: they sold a valuable high second-round pick for cash. As I wrote last night, you only sell good second-round picks if you're at roster capacity (the Kings aren't) or bumping up against the luxury tax (not remotely close). Second-round picks don't require guaranteed contracts and don't carry cap holds. It's ridiculous for a bad, cheap team to sell the No. 36 pick when plenty of promising prospects were available. The Kings should know better, having picked up Isaiah Thomas (an All-Rookie team honoree) at No. 60 last year. For a team that needs everything to go right to compete, you can't start cutting off your own limbs for firewood.

Read more about the Kansas Jayhawks at Rock Chalk Talk. Head over to Sactown Royalty to keep up with the Kings.

Golden State Warriors
Picks: Harrison Barnes (7), Festus Ezeli (30), Draymond Green (35), Ognen Kuzmic (52)
Grade:F

Draymond Green is a nice value at 35, but this is an otherwise terrible draft for the Warriors. Harrison Barnes spent the last two seasons demonstrating he is not ready to play at the NBA level, Festus Ezeli is a big man project and a massive reach, and Ognen Kuzmic doesn't project well even for a Euro. Any hope Warriors fans had that the new GM would bring about change has been pretty much dashed.

Houston Rockets
Picks: Jeremy Lamb (12), Royce White (16), Terrence Jones (18)
Grade:C+

I like Royce White, but I'm not particularly sold on the other two picks here. With Lamb, you are hoping he can be Kevin Martin, efficient and prolific enough from two point range to overcome his other shortcomings. Terrence Jones seems like a Rockets defensive specialist rotation guy. It looks to me, though, they the Rockets were picking with an eye toward a trade. This draft was sort of the equivalent of painting the house neutral colors before you sell it.

Indiana Pacers
Picks: Miles Plumlee (26), Orlando Johnson (36),
Grade: B

I had these two players pretty much reversed on my draft board, so it's a bit of a wash. These are good picks for a team looking to become a contender. Plumlee gives you rebounds pretty much no matter what, and Johnson gives you shooting pretty much no matter what.

Los Angeles Clippers
Picks: Furkan Aldemir (53)
Grade: A-

I had Aldemir as a first rounder. Not sure there is much difference between him and Fournier in terms of talent. Aldemir put up big rebounding numbers and his 62 TS% is enticing. You could do much worse with the 53 pick.

Los Angeles Lakers
Picks: Robert Sacre (60)
Grade:D

Didn't do much in college, and he's 23 years old. Sure he's tall, but so are a lot of busts. Lakers could have used Machado.

Memphis Grizzlies
Picks: Tony Wroten Jr. (25)
Grade: F

People have Wroten Jr. as a sleeper, but I don't see it. He really can't shoot at all, which means nobody is going to respect his shot. He also had more turnovers than assists. What do the Grizzlies need this guy for?

Miami Heat
Picks: Justin Hamilton (45)
Grade:D

A workout wonder who did nothing in the NCAA to suggest he's really ready for the next level. Hard to fault the Heat for wanting to add size just in case, but Hamilton just isn't a very good player.

Milwaukee Bucks
Picks: John Henson (14), Doron Lamb (42),
Grade: A+

The runaway winners of the draft, Milwaukee got two top 10 talents with complimentary skills, and added Sam Dalembert('s contract) as the cherry on top. They have a chance to be the deepest team in the NBA this year.

Minnesota Timberwolves
Picks: Robbie Hummel (58)
Grade: F

They needed another white guy with a non-exotic name for the out-state billboards, and Miles Plumlee was off the board. That said, I think they've found their new Mark Madsen.

Brooklyn Nets
Picks: TyShawn Taylor (41), Tornike Shengalia (54), Ilkan Karaman (57)
Grade: D

Um, so yeah I'm not sure the the sort of haul that's going to entice Deron Williams to stick around.

New Orleans Hornets
Picks: Anthony Davis (1), Austin Rivers (10), Darius Miller (46)
Grade: C-

The Rivers pick is terrible. They found the one guy who will actually make Anthony Davis worse. The defense of Austin Rivers seems to consist of "well, he's arrogant, and so you have to admire that". What a weird attribute to admire, much less hire for millions of dollars per. Miller isn't a terrible pick here, but I don't think he's a good enough shooter to overcome his demonstrated lack of athletic prowess.

New York Knicks
Picks: Papa (48)
Grade:B+

I think this guy in D'Antoni's system. Unfortunately, D'Antoni is no longer coaching the Knicks. Still, they picked up a nice shooter, which isn't bad for the 48 spot.

Oklahoma City Thunder
Picks: Perry Jones (28)
Grade:F

I'm beginning to think the Thunder maybe lucked into this whole success thing. They are trying to trade Harden for pennies on the dollar, drafted Reggie Jackson last year, and now this. It wasn't just the knee problem that was scaring off teams. It was also the lack of ability to play basketball.

Orlando Magic
Picks: Andrew Nicholson (19), Kyle O'Quinn (49)
Grade: A-

I thought this was a bit high for Nicholson, though not disastrously so. The real steal is O'Quinn, one last season's most dominant rebounders at the NCAA level. He doesn't have the smoothy upspanz, so he fell in the draft, but he is good at basketball, which is an enormous benefit in a league devoted entirely to the performance of the sport.

Philadelphia 76ers
Picks: Maurice Harkless (15), Arnett Moultrie (27)
Grade: A

Can't blame a guy for not wanting to be called Mo. The 76ers continue their trend of getting great talent through the draft. They proved me wrong on Lavoy Allen, and I'm a believer. Harkless and Moultrie are the quintessential "lottery talent, but nobody got excited about them so they slipped". Nice move targeting Miami for the pick once Moultrie dropped.

Phoenix Suns
Picks: Kendall Marshall (13)
Grade: A

Once again, the Suns have managed to get a great player who is a perfect fit. There really isn't any guarantee when it comes to point guards, since they are harder to project than bigs and wings, but Marshall has some jaw-dropping A/TO numbers. He won't replace Nash's shooting (who could?) but he has the potential to be a star.

Portland Trail Blazers
Picks: Damian Lillard (6), Meyers Leonard (11), Will Barton (40)
Grade:B-

Sacramento Kings
Picks: Thomas Robinson (5)
Grade: A

Only one pick, but they managed to add major value. The second time in three years the Kings got a potential star at the 5 they had no business getting. Unlike Cousins, Robinson doesn't have the baggage. The Kings just had a couple of dumb GMs in front of them.

San Antonio Spurs
Picks: Marcus Denmon (59)
Grade: A

Like Kim English, Denmon was a hyper-efficient scoring freak. If you're the Spurs, who needs first round picks? Just wait until the other GMs barf away their picks on Lengthy McUpsides and assorted tall dudes, then strike. Denmon is a perfect fit for the Spurs' system, a guy who can spell Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili.

Toronto Raptors

Picks: Terrence Ross (8), Quincy Acy (37), Tomislav Zubcic (54)

Grade: D+

Tough to see what Toronto did to make itself better here. Ross is fine, but not at all worth the 8 pick. I thought Acy was worth a pick, but there were much better players available. I can't bring myself to have an opinion about Zubcic.

Utah Jazz
Picks: Kevin Murphy (47)
Grade: A-

Washington Wizards
Picks: Bradley Beal (3), Tomas Satoransky (32)
Grade: F

Let's cut the Ray Allen nonsense out, okay? Bradley Beal was not in the top 40 in 3p% among the top 100 draft prospects. That's out of only 58 who had enough attempts. Given that is his bread and butter skill, it is pretty much tragicomic the dude went third in the draft. Satoransky? My goodness what a mess.

The Kings will hold their traditional rookie rally to introduce Thomas Robinson to Sacramento and vice versa. The event will be at 3 p.m. at Arden Fair Mall. (The specific location is the plaza near Nordstorm's.) Keith Smart will attend with Robinson. If it's anything like years past, there will be t-shirts and whatnot. There's a press conference a few hours prior to the rally.

After Saturday, the next opportunity to see Robinson will be down at Las Vegas Summer League beginning July 13. Hassan Whiteside is also expected to play.

And in case you missed it on Thursday night, Robinson will wear jersey number 0 with the Kings. The only other Sacramento King to wear 0 was Olden Polynice. (Greg Ostertag wore '00' for a season.)

If you attend the rookie rally and take photos, please load them up on our Facebook page so that we can share them with other fans who couldn't attend.

While getting Thomas Robinson at 5 has widely been heralded as a great pick for the Kings, it does not solve the Kings ongoing problem at the Small Forward position. However, there may be an option 90 minutes down I-80.

Lost in the draft discussion of the past few days was this little tidbit by Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News:

NBA source on Warriors and Dorell Wright: "They're really trying to move him." Before, during or after the draft? "Whenever they can."

— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) June 27, 2012

That was before the draft, and with the selections of Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green, Richard Jefferson's big contract on the books, and tendering the Qualifying Offer to Brandon Rush, it does seem like Wright has fallen a bit down the totem pole. Wright also only has one year left on his deal, valued at about $4.1 million.

Wright has started every game he's played for the Warriors the past two years, but saw a decrease in minutes last year under new Coach Mark Jackson. The year prior, Wright enjoyed the best season of his career, averaging 16.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.0 AST, and 1.5 STL in 38.4 MPG. He also led the entire NBA in three pointers made and attempted, converting them at a 37.6% rate. That of course, was done under current Kings head coach Keith Smart.

It's no secret that the Kings could use a knockdown shooter. Last year the Kings were 29th in the NBA in 3P% at 31.6%, ahead of only the Charlotte Bobcats. Only Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette shot better than average from beyond the arc. With a team that features players like DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans and now Thomas Robinson, better outside shooters are needed. Wright would definitely fill that need at least (he's not a great, or even good, defender). The question of course, is how to get him.

After a month-long hiatus, Matt returns to take his place beside Adam (figuratively, since one is in Minnesota and the other in Texas). They start talking about their excitement surrounding the Olympics. They move next to other amateur pursuits, namely BYU football. Is Josh Quezada's decision to transfer going to harm the 2012 Cougars? What RB will step up in his absence? Switching gears, is the 2013 football schedule awesome or completely insane? Or both? Moving on to professional interests, the brothers discuss Jimmer's NBA future and what type of team might be a good fit for the former Cougar. You can listen here (below the jump), download us on iTunes, and you call follow our smooth Cougar vibes on Twitter @byu_riseshout.

Greg Van Dusen deserves a great amount of respect from Sacramento Kings fans. He deserves a prominent bust in the eventual Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame. But he's again trotting this idea that renovation of ARCO Arena is viable and something that the public should contribute to.

It's not and it's not.

Kevin Johnson spent no shortage of political will and time putting together what all parties agreed was a fair deal to build a new gym downtown. He secured a commitment from City Council -- a City Council that for a decade couldn't make any progress whatsoever -- to use downtown parking revenue to fund more than half of the construction. He secured a top flight partner in AEG and a commitment of $7 million from the NBA. He and his team moved mountains. And the Maloofs slapped him in the face.

Public funding for an arena only works where it moves the economic needle. Unfortunately, putting a shine and some new luxury suites on ARCO isn't moving an economic needle in Natomas, let alone the city core. The mayor (who, in case the Natomas backers haven't noticed, will be around for a bit longer) has made it clear that he will not pursue public funding for an ARCO renovation. And why would he? Why would he bail out a group of men who lit his signature infrastructure project on fire in the worst way possible?

As a Sacramento Kings fans, I want the Kings to stay in Sacramento ... no matter what. But I, for one, refuse to carry water for the Maloofs by asking KJ, the city or anyone else to try to sell the public on slapping some shine on the Maloofs' gym. I never presume to know what the NBA or David Stern think at any given time, but I can't imagine they are sympathetic to the Maloofs' new willingness to embrace a cheaper idea.

If the Maloofs want a nicer facility on 1 Arena Drive, I suggest they visit their local hardware store and get a bucket of paint or two. It is painfully clear that public funding for an ARCO renovation is a non-starter. Where this is headed? That's easy. It ends up as the Maloofs wailing about the city being unwilling to partner on a more cost-effective project because the city and AEG want more power, more of the pot of money. And that case is made when the Maloofs next try to skip town.

I'm not going to help them get there.

It’s roughly the halfway point of the off season for lottery-entrenched teams, as the Kings played their last regular season game on April 26 and will play their next regular season game sometime around November 1 (the official schedule is due to be announced tomorrow). It appears that the Kings may be finished with their off season transactions, so this seems like a fitting time to make a completely premature and butt-pulled assessment of the upcoming season.

The Kings finished last season at 22-44, which would prorate to a 27-55 record over an 82 game season. This would match up almost exactly with the Kings average record over their prolonged absence from the playoffs, as their .334 “winning” percentage over that period would also equate to a 27-55 record.

The Kings did manage an “improved” .339 winning percentage under Keith Smart, going 20-39 under Smart’s direction. Over an 82 game season, that would translate to a 28-54 record. The difference under Smart was a more fluid offense, and a more exposed defense. Isaiah Thomas and DeMarcus Cousins flourished under Smart, Jason Thompson was steady, Tyreke Evans languished, Jimmer Fredette was underwhelming, and none of the veterans played to what was conservatively expected of them.

I had not thought about that last bit before, but it bears repeating: Chuck Hayes, John Salmons, Travis Outlaw, and Francisco Garcia – the veteran “leaders” of this team – all underperformed, and badly. These guys made up 48% of the player payroll. For a young team looking for leadership (and especially one on a tight budget), that’s a death blow.

So a little housecleaning was definitely in order, and a little housecleaning is exactly what we got. Gone are Donté Greene (10^th in minutes played), Terrence Williams (13^th), and Hassan Whiteside (14^th). J.J. Hickson (11^th) was released during the season.

The top nine minutes "earners" remain, along with Outlaw (12^th) and Honeycutt (15^th). Added to the list are Thomas Robinson, Aaron Brooks, and James Johnson. Given that there are currently only four bigs on the roster, one might assume that Darnell Jackson will make the roster as well.

The result is that the front line basically loses Hickson and Whiteside and adds Robinson. Given Hickson’s performance and Robinson’s potential, this is definitely a good thing. But it probably won’t translate into many more wins for this year. Robinson is likely to enter camp as the 4^th big, behind Cousins, Thompson, and Hayes. If Robinson is faced with competing with Chuck Hayes circa 2010-11, he may be entrenched in that 4^th slot for much of the season. If Robinson is faced with Chuck Hayes 2011-12, it will take him far less time to move up the depth chart. I envision Robinson playing far more minutes later in the season and fewer minutes earlier. He will have a better chance of making the all rookie team (though not first team) than the rookie all star team.

Jason Thompson is likely to be Jason Thompson. He’s going to give you solidly unspectacular minutes, and he will log somewhere around 9 points and 7 boards over his 24-26 minutes per night. He will contribute a very good 3^rd big performance, but he will unfortunately do this while occupying a starting job. This is not Thompson’s fault, as he is merely miscast as a starter for a bad team instead of an uber-capable bench big for a good team.

Chuck Hayes is the wild card. Now, you will never be able to justify/castigate Hayes’ performance by a simple look at the stat sheet. Like Scot Pollard or Shane Battier, most of the good stuff that Hayes can do (setting picks, playing defensive pick and roll, playing solid man defense, creating good offensive spacing, etc.) do not show up in a box score. Conversely, if Hayes is not doing these good things, he’s virtually useless. Hayes got off to a solid start last year before injuring his shoulder (SSSI approved, as he hurt his shoulder in the 8^th game of the season). But he never got back on track after the injury, and his conditioning was certainly a huge question mark over the last three months of the season. Simply, if the Chuck Hayes that ended the season is the one that begins this season, the Kings front line depth will be ironically thin.

The key to the front line is, of course, DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins exceeded all expectations (at least my expectations) for his second season, and he seems to be on the verge of a breakout season. For this to happen, however, his front line partners are going to have to play to at least their respective potential, or poor Cuz is going to have multiple bigs hanging all over him. Also, the perimeter shooters are going to have to improve, and the ball movement will need to get better. Cousins himself needs to become a much more efficient shooter. There were 22 bigs that scored more than 15 points per game last year. Cousins ranked 21^st in adjusted field goal percentage (44.9%) while scoring 18.1ppg, ahead of only Antawn Jamison. For comparison, Dwight Howard (20.6 ppg) came in at 57.3%, Andrew Bynum (18.7ppg) at 55.8%, Greg Monroe (15.4ppg) at 52.1%, Al Jefferson (19.2ppg) at 49.3%, and Amare Stoudemire (17.5ppg) at 48.7%. Cousins was 8^th among bigs in field goal attempts at 15.6 per game. If he is going to continue to chuck shots up at that pace (even given that many of those shots were the result of rebounding and putting back his own misses), he has got to become more accurate.

Outlaw will also see a little time up front as a stretch 4, and I’m hoping that Jackson is included on the final roster as the emergency big. Given Cousins’ and even Thompson’s penchant for fouls, I see a 5^th big as being vital to the roster.

On to the wing, where Greene and Williams have been replaced with James Johnson. I like James Johnson. I like him as much as Jared Dudley or Chase Budinger. I like him more than Terrence Williams or Greene. I am not convinced that he will provide the paradigm shift that we were looking for at the small forward position. Yes, the Kings will be better at small forward. But that’s a lot like saying that Charlotte will be a better basketball team this year – there’s really no place to go but up.

The hope is that Johnson focuses primarily on making his contribution on the defensive side of the ball. In a starting lineup of Thomas, Evans, Cousins and Thompson, Johnson would be the 4^th or 5^th option offensively, with most of his opportunities hopefully occurring at or near the rim. He’s definitely not a guy that’s going to stretch the defense with his perimeter shooting.

I’m guessing that Johnson logs about a half a game per night, with the other half going mostly to a small ball lineup that will feature any combination of Evans/Thomas/Thornton/Brooks/Fredette/Salmons. Garcia is to this rotation what Darnell Jackson would be to the front line rotation, and that is nothing more than disaster relief. Outlaw or Honeycutt could also log nominal minutes here.

Moving on to the backcourt, it would seem that this would be a good place to remind everyone that the following (like the preceding) is 100% butt-pulled. Your guess as to what is going to happen with the backcourt is as good (if not better) than mine, but I have front page access and you don’t, so n’yah.

I’m calling a starting backcourt of Evans and Thomas. The last time that Isaiah Thomas played in the NBA, he turned in a month where he averaged 14.7ppg and 5.4apg (with a nifty 3.1/1 assist/turnover ratio). Thomas also shot 44% from beyond the arc in that month, helping him achieve an adjusted field goal percentage of better than 54%. Aaron Brooks has not seen numbers anywhere near this since the 2009-10 season. Brooks is a solid addition, and he’ll make Thomas work (as though Thomas needs any help in that area). But Isaiah Thomas will be your starting point guard on opening night.

Tyreke Evans will get the nod at shooting guard. Yes, this provides a bit of a challenge offensively if his perimeter shot has not improved. But Evans brings so much versatility to the lineup as a guy that can indeed (and in spite of what his detractors would say) make his teammates better. In fact, from the two guard position, there will be a small handful of players that can be as beneficial to his teammates as Evans. Being the hybrid that he is, he can indeed still facilitate the half court offense. Honestly, the difference between him and Thomas when it comes to running half court sets is not all that great, as it is in transition where Thomas really excels over Evans. The fact that Evans can trigger the offense will enable Thomas to spot up from 3. The fact that both Evans and Thomas can trigger the offense will make the offensive sets all that much more difficult to defend. Evans and Thomas provide the best combination of passing of any PG/SG duo that the Kings can put on the floor, and they are the best defensive duo as well. And this is a contract year for Evans. The Kings need to see what has is at this point, and Evans needs to show the Kings.

This makes Marcus Thornton your super 6^th man. He comes in when Evans needs a blow or when the team goes small. While Thornton is not a one-trick pony (8^th among 2 guards in steals, 11^th in rebounds), he is above all other things a scorer. He is exactly what you need off the bench, and my bet is that he will be on the floor at the end of most games, especially if the game is being determined on the offensive side of the floor.

Aaron Brooks will get minutes behind Isaiah Thomas. In Thomas’ biggest month he averaged about 32 minutes per game. That number may not climb much with Brooks on the roster, as his presence will allow both players to go pedal to the metal whenever they are on the floor. Brooks is supposedly a little bit more of a playmaker due to his year in China. We’ll see. But he is certainly an improvement over last year’s "point guard" performances of Fredette, Salmons and Williams.

Yes, I know that Salmons was better once he was moved from starting small forward to backup guard. I once again reference you to my Charlotte Bobcats comparison. John Salmons is on a downward arc. His best years as a basketball player are squarely behind him, and he does not strike me as that veteran player that inspires his teammates. I don’t think that Salmons is a trouble maker, either. He just…is. He probably is your best defensive wing player on the bench, so there is a role for him and an opportunity to make a contribution.

Fredette really needs to have the mindset that his job when he comes into the game is to light it up. And it is the job of the coaching staff to drive this home to Fredette. I really feel that Fredette is the biggest current victim of the franchises’ inability to institute a system over the past several years. Given that Thomas, Brooks, Evans and perhaps even Salmons can better initiate the offense at this point in time, Fredette should be given the marching orders to find a spot on the floor and fire away when he comes into the game. That’s it. That’s his job for this year. Do what you do best, gain some confidence, and then work on expanding your game.

If this all occurs (and wouldn’t that be something!), your starting lineup would be Cousins, Thompson, Johnson, Evans and Thomas. Thornton, Hayes and Brooks would round out your top 8. Robinson would probably log enough minutes to make the rotation look like a 9 man rotation. Salmons and Fredette battle for the 10 spot, with the other landing at #12. Outlaw has the #11 spot. Garcia and Jackson (if he makes the squad) log the least minutes.

A quick word about minutes. While it’s true that there are 96 backcourt minutes a night or 96 frontcourt minutes a night or 48 wing minutes a night, it is also true that injuries are a way of life in the NBA. I have not done exhaustive studies, but I will throw a dart and say that the average NBA roster loses about 15% of its available work force to injury. So when you calculate who is going to get how many minutes, remember to add a little sumpin’-sumpin’ for the injury bug.

33-49. 33 up, 49 down. 33 dance threads, 49 rants threads. This would represent a 22.5% improvement over last year and the sum of the run of non-playoff years. 33-49.

Yes, I know that last year’s team had no camp. The same can be said for all of the other teams. And while that would have less of an impact on the best teams, it would have had a similar impact on the middling and poor teams. And one would have thought that the aggressive schedule might have benefited a young and deep wide team like the Kings, or that at least they would have been no more adversely affected than any other team. And yes, this will be the first camp that Smart runs as Kings head coach, and it will be the first full camp where the last three years of draft picks (Cousins, Thomas, Robinson, Fredette and Honeycutt) are all together. Of the nine core rotation players that I listed, only Cousins, Thompson and Evans have had a full training camp together. That’s pretty amazing when you think about it. So it could certainly be argued that I am underselling this squad.

33-49.

OK, your turn. How do you see it right now? Do you foresee any other roster changes before the start of the season (I don’t)? And if so, what? It’s easy to do, really. Just spread those cheeks and pull!

The NBA is releasing the 2012-13 schedule a bit early this year, with the docket being prepped for a 4 p.m. Pacific release on Thursday. The league will have an unveiling special on NBA TV, where they will no doubt focus on the marquee matchups.

For the Kings, the question is whether the team will get back on national TV for a game or two (possible, perhaps even likely), whether they'll open the season at home or on the road and what those road trips will look like. Back-to-back-to-backs are gone (thank Heavens), and there are likely to be more 2-3 day breaks from action.

I have some schedule predictions:

* It will feature 82 games.

* Forty-one of those games will be at home.

* Forty-one of those games will be on the road.

* There will be four games against the L.A. Lakers.

* There will be a home game against the Miami Heat!

Check back just after 4 for a link to the schedule.

The 2012-13 schedule was released today and it's back to starting on the road for the Kings after a one year reprieve. Sacramento opens the season on Halloween in Chicago, followed by two more road games at Minnesota and Indiana. The Home Opener is November 5th against the Golden State Warriors, and is the start of a three game homestand that also includes the Pistons and Spurs.

The full schedule can be found here.

Other schedule highlights:

• Longest Homestand: Two Homestands of 5 games Each (1/7 - 1/16 and 3/30 - 4/10)
• Longest Road Trip: 6 game Road Trip (1/26 - 2/4)
• Brutal stretch from Jan. 26th to March 1st in which the Kings play 13 of 16 on the road.
• October: 1 road game
• November: 4 road games, 10 home games
• December: 8 road games, 7 home games
• January: 10 road games, 7 home games
• February: 9 road games, 3 home games
• March: 6 road games, 9 home games
• April: 3 road games, 5 home games
• 17 Back-To-Backs and 3 stretches of four games in five nights.
• No nationally televised games currently scheduled, but 4 games on NBA TV.
• Play Minnesota, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and Houston just 3 times. All other West Teams 4 times.
• Lakers come into town Nov. 21st and Mar. 30th.
• Heat visit January 12th.
• Season ends April 17th with Clippers coming to town.

I haven't gotten the official email yet, but here are a few highlights after the jump:

• First game is October 31, 7PM @ New Orleans Hornets. The next night the Spurs play the Oklahoma City Thunder at home at 8:30 PM.
• 17 B2B games
• Spurs first play the Lakers on November 13th in Los Angeles at 9:30 PM.
• Spurs make an East coast tour starting November 21st @ Boston Celtics (6:30 PM).
  • 2 days later (November 23) @ Indiana Pacers (George Hill sighting) 7PM.
  • 2 days later (November 25) the Spurs will be @ Toronto Raptors 12:00 PM.
  • Next day (November 26) the Spurs will be @ Washington Wizards 6PM.
  • 2 days later (November 28) the Spurs will be @ Orlando Magic 6PM.
  • Next day (November 29) the Spurs will be @ Miami Heat 7PM.
• The Spurs first play the Ponies (Dallas Mavericks) on December 23 6PM.
• The Spurs first play the Brooklyn Nets on December 31st. They will be in Brooklyn on February 10.
• Rodeo Road Trip:
  • Starts February 6 in Minnesota
  • Feb 8 - @ Detroit Pistons
  • Feb 10 - @ Brooklyn Nets
  • Feb 11 - @ Chicago Bulls
  • Feb 13 - @ Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Feb 19 - @ Sacramento Kings
  • Feb 21 @ Los Angeles Clippers
  • Feb 22 - @ Golden State Warriors
  • Feb 24 - @ Phoenix Suns
• The final game of the season will be vs the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 17 at 7PM.

You know how much time I spend on the schedule, so you know there's a way longer post on this subject coming later on tonight. I've gotten a chance to write it down on paper, in a spread sheet, and look over it once or twice beyond that. I think I understand our schedule. And the initial understand is that . . . at the end of the day, this is a super fair schedule. Way better than we've had in previous seasons. And in the final month of the season we control our own destiny. The Utah Jazz play 8 games in the last month, with 5 of them being at home. And none of them are the 3rd game in four nights, or even a back to back set. We are blessed this year in April. Hopefully that bodes well.

Before we get to our final game of the regular season, a roadie on ESPN at the Memphis Grizzlies -- we have to start with game 1, at home, hosting the Dallas Mavericks.

All of that, and the 80 games in between after the jump

Month by Month:

• October starts with a real training camp (WOO!) and hopefully a full Pre-Season too. Right now we just know of two games (home and home with the Los Angeles Clippers on the 17th and 20th).
• The real games start on Oct 30th, and the Jazz first game of the season is Dallas, on the 31st. This game is also out home opener.
• There's only one game this month, and it's at home. Hopefully the preseason games will be fleshed out later, and if they are, I will update as necessary.
• November gets kinda crazy. There are 16 games, and only 5 of them are at home. Two of the first three are on the road, 4 of the first 7 are on the road, and 8 of the first 15 are on the road. It's a crazy month that has the Jazz starting off in New Orleans, and then flying all over the nation in a clockwise manner twice. The Jazz are never going to be able to go out on a friday night or a saturday night this entire month as each Friday is the first game of a back to back, with a team the next night in some far-away-place.
  
• There are three TV games this month (@ Denver on the 9th, @ Toronto on the 12th, and @ Sacramento on the 24th). I'll go into all of this in another section
• The Jazz have a lot of 3rd game in 4 nights and back to backs this month. Yes, we don't have any 4 games in 5 nights this entire season -- but we make up for it in these 3rd game in 4 nights deals.In November alone there are 4 back to back sets, and 6 individual games that are the 3rd game in four nights. That's in November alone.
• There is a Toronto - Boston - Philly - Washington road trip (6 days) then a home game, and then 3 days off to do laundry before the next game.
• There is a home and home series with the Kings this month, the second game being the TV game
• December is the opposite, everything is so spaced out with only 15 games in 31 nights. There is a 3 game home stand, and later on a 4 game Eastern conf road trip.
• The Jazz have a good chance to right the record from the crazy November start here, not unlike how the Jazz did well in January last season with all the home games
• January 2013 has the Jazz only playing in 14 games. These last two months look easy on paper
• There are a number of games the Jazz should pick up this month as well - quite a few east teams
• There is a four day stretch of no games between the Miami game on the 14th, and the Cleveland game on the 19th - both home games. I really hope the Jazz practice hard during this time. After the Cleveland game there's another 3 nights off until a home game against Washington. In total, that's 3 games in 10 nights. What are they softening us up for?
• February looks a little more challenging, 12 games though, and 8 at home. Additionally we have the All-Star weekend and events to look forward to. Do Alec Burks and Enes Kanter make the Soph team? Does Jeremy Evans go back to the Dunk Contest to defend his title? Do we have an All-Star playing on sunday? February can be a month of side shows.
• Dear God, even March isn't THAT intimidating. It's still bad. It always is. There's a 4 game east trip. We face a lot of playoff teams on the road (east and west) thsi month. And the Month ends with 5 games in 7 nights. Still, far from the worst March we've ever seen
• April is amazing. It's 8 games, with 5 at home. There are no back to backs, and no major problems. Usually we finished with a murderer's row. This year? This year we finish the season on our own terms - facing teams we need to beat who are at our level: Portland, Denver, New Orleans, Golden State, Minnesota twice, and Memphis make up 7 of the 8 teams. Really Jazz fans, we got this. Right?

National TV Games:

• Nov 9 - @ Denver (ESPN)
  
• Nov 12 - @ Toronto (NBA TV)
  
• Nov 24 - @ Sacramento (NBA TV)
• Dec 12 - vs. San Antonio (ESPN)
• Dec 15 - vs. Memphis (NBA TV)
• Jan 26 - vs. Indiana (NBA TV)
• Feb 9 - @ Sacramento (NBA TV)
• Feb 25 - vs. Boston (NBA TV)
• Mar 9 - @ New York (NBA TV)
• Mar 13 - @ Oklahoma City (ESPN)
• Mar 16 - vs. Memphis (NBA TV)
• Mar 18 - vs. New York (ESPN)
• Apr 3 - vs. Denver (NBA TV)
• Apr 17 - @ Memphis (ESPN)

Home Stands / Road Trips:

• Home Stand: vs LAC, vs ORL, vs TOR
  
• Home Stand: vs. MIA, vs CLE, vs. WAS
• Home Stand: vs. IND, vs HOU, vs NOR
• Home Stand: vs. SAC, vs MIL, vs CHI
• Home Stand: vs BOS, vs ATL, vs CHA
• Home Stand: vs BRK, vs POR, vs DEN, vs NOR
• Road Trip: @ TOR, @ BOS, @ PHI, @ WAS
• Road Trip: @ NOR, @ OKC, @ HOU
• Road Trip: @ BRK, @ IND, @ MIA, @ ORL
• Road Trip: @ CHA, @ ATL, @ DET
• Road Trip: @ MIL, @ CLE, @ CHI, @ NYK
• Road Trip: @ HOU, @ SAS, @ DAL

The Jazz have a net -2 in terms of home and road trip games. We did not get one of our customary 5 or 6 game home stands. But we have a lot of 3 game home stands. Will it be better? We'll see.

.

Games to Circle:

• Mo and Randy will like to see the Jazz play well and win on Dec 3rd, 28th, and 30th. The Jazz play the Clippers three times in a month, twice at home.
• Marvin cares about that Jan 11th game back in Atlanta, while Devin Harris (who?) will try that revenge game on Feb 27th in Utah
• Big Al's fight against the T-Wolves just got serious this year with them getting Andrei Kirilenko. The teams face off four times, and I don't know what it says about our team, the NBA, or the world that these four games against the Timberwolves are now important. I guess the Mayans were right all along. The World is ending. The first game is Jan 2nd, so if the world ends it'll never happen.
• We still get to see him try to be the Celtics, on national TV again, on Feb 25th
• Our last game vs. the East of the regular season is a home game, hosting the Brooklyn Nets. That's an important game still, you know, the whole Favors / D-Will thing. The Jazz play in Portland the night before, and fly in for the second game in a back to back set, the 3rd game in four nights, and the 5th game in seven. Fun.
  
• Apparently people don't like Jimmer, or the people who do not like him are the most vocal about it. But we see him four times, and each time we see him in bundles of two games.

Back to backs and all that Jazz:

• There are 17 back to back sets
• There are 21 games that will be the 3rd game in four nights
• There are 0 games that are the 4th game in five nights
• There is 1 game that is the 5th game in seven nights

These are remarkably low numbers. I hope this doesn't mean the '13-14 schedule is a widowmaker.

Over all thoughts:

• I like this schedule, it's rough at first, but if the Jazz can tread water until that 3 games in 10 nights break (which is before the All-Star break) then we can fix things if there are things that need fixing
• The Jazz get to play some West teams only 3 times each season, as opposed to the regular 4. This season it's the Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks, and Warriors. It's really a toss up, last season we only played the Thunder three times. Lakers and Spurs are going to be good. Warriors are better than their record was last year, and the Mavs seem to always give us trouble. I'm not complaining.
• March is not going to be any fun, but April is totally manageable
  
• The Jazz' destiny will be the Jazz' to control.
• Let's start the season now!

Of course, longer post to come tonight, or tomorrow with all the good charts and stuff. The visual schedule is done now already. I just need to add the finishing touches before I create them and upload them in different sizes. I want each Jazz fan with a smart phone to download it so they have a copy of the schedule with them at all time!

The initial news that the Sacramento Kings would open their season with three games on the road served as a bit of reminder that, yes, this is the Sacramento Kings. But hey! The Oklahoma City Thunder start the season on the road too, so ...

November (and the final day of October) is actually filled with home games for the Kings, with 10 in Sacramento and five elsewhere. But that split is less helpful when you look at the opponents.

The Kings have five games on the road in October and November. Of those, four of the opponents (Bulls, Pacers, Lakers, Jazz) had winning records last season, and as such as very probable losses for the Kings. The other is the Timberwolves, who were average before injuries ravaged the team. I'd mark that one a probable loss too, unless Ricky Rubio remains out. We'll call it a loss for now.

The Kings have 10 at home in November. The opponents: the Warriors, Pistons, Spurs, Blazers, Hawks, Nets, Lakers, Jazz, Timberwolves and Pacers. The Warriors are beatable because they are the Warriors. They look improved, but I'm going to need them to prove it before I fear them. The Pistons are improving, but still a winnable game for the Kings. The Spurs are dope. The Blazers are currently mediocre. The Hawks traded Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams for Anthony Morrow and Devin Harris. That's a possible win. The Nets ... well, let's call that a loss despite last season's mediocrity. The Lakers are great, the Jazz are good (losses) but the Wolves aren't good enough for me to concede a home loss to them. The Pacers are quite good.

In those 10 home games, I count five wins and five losses. I count all five road games as losses. That's a 5-10 record exiting November, and a probable last place position in the Pacific. It's right on track with the team's recent performance (.333) and, frankly, sad.

It's also terrifying for the season at large considering that February and March feature basically no home games. I don't mean to be bleak, but November does not look terribly promising in terms of wins and losses.

But we shall have basketball, and for now, that is enough.

On Thursday night the NBA released the 2012-13 regular season schedule. This Saturday morning, RaptorsHQ takes a look at how Toronto might fare in it, based on a month-by-month view...

Last year when the NBA released its compressed schedule for the 2011-12 season, we gave it a once over.

We gave it a once over and tried to guesstimate the team's win total, simply based on said schedule, and how various match-ups looked on paper.

It was about as unscientific an exercise as one could imagine but we nearly nailed the club's win total despite a lack of beakers and test tubes.

Our final guess was 21 wins based on strength of schedule and various other factors, and minus two surprise wins late in the season over Boston and Philly, we might have been bang on.

So while we'll of course take more scientific approaches as we draw closer to the start of the 2012-13 season, we thought we'd repeat last year's exercise, and again present a month-by-month look at how Toronto may fare this coming season, based on the schedule.

Hello boys and girls and esteemed media members. We crunched all the data, looked at all the schedules, and even took two whole days off (I had this done before the weekend, but decided to get some "me-time" instead). We have another 82 games to fight for. And while I did an initial review of the schedule over here, we go into much more depth in this one. (And yes, we have super high res schedules for smart phone, tablet, and other type of tech savvy Jazz fan to download and have with them at all times!)

So, yeah. Let's get going!

Schedule Basics:

I think the first thing we have to say is that this is one of the best schedules I can ever remember the Utah Jazz having. Even compared to schedule of the team that went to the Western Conference Finals (the Oklahoma City Thunder), our schedule isn't that bad.

It is, obviously, 82 games long. (See you later, Route 66, don't come back!) The Jazz will play those games in about 171 days, so that's an average of 0.48 games per day (GPD). We'll use this metric to look at how good or crappy different parts of the schedule is. Over all there are only two really bad months: November, and March. And that's pretty much par for the course when it comes to Jazz schedule. The really interesting / unique thing is that the Jazz do not really get "hosed" at any part of the schedule. Yes, things get tough -- but for instance, this is the first year the Jazz have ZERO games that are in a dreaded "4 games in 5 nights" block. The Jazz do have 25 games that are the "3rd game in 4 nights" though, but surprisingly only 17 back to backs.

The reason why November is so harsh isn't just the fact that the Jazz will play a lot of games (highest GPD rank of the season), but it's the type of games. There are 7 games that will be the 3rd game in 4 nights, and 4 that will be back to backs. IN NOVEMBER ALONE WE HAVE 7 3rd game in 4 nights sets. That's medieval. There are also 11 road games in November. I do not anticipate the Jazz to look great coming out of the gate.

The middle three months of December, January, and February ease up, and this is where our team will make their climb. March is going to sting, especially if we drop some games we should have rather won -- but in the end, specifically April, we have control over what we're doing. There are 8 total games, 5 at home, and 5 all against our own division. If we want to get a non-last place in the playoffs seed we have a shot at it. There are no B2Bs in April, which is a breath of fresh air. In the last few seasons we'd end on some horrible stretch. Not so this year.

The Schedule makers gave the Jazz a good schedule this year. So thank you. I'll show you what I mean . . . take a look at the leniency we got compared to the rest of our division.

We have the second best schedule in our division. We have zero 4 games in 5 night sets. We don't have the most 3 in 4. We're right in the middle in terms of b2b games, and we have the least b2b games on the road. We get the second most 'rested' days. We also have the second most long rest periods. (Not that we play well after that sort of thing, but still!)

If you were going to complain about something it would be that the Jazz aren't playing on Thursday at all this season. That means no TNT games, but it also means we lose something we were actually good at. The Jazz won 60.0 % of their games on Thursday last season.

Instead, we get more games on Wed, a day we only win 35.7% of our games on. Things are much more organized though. The Jazz always know they're either at home doing laundry, or on a plane on Thursday night. I'm more interested in who we play, rather than when we play. And, well, there are four teams we only play 3 times against every season, and this season they are the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and Dallas Mavericks. I guess that's the benefit we get from being in the North West division. That said, the division is going to be rough this year.

We have our last game against the Lakers ALL THE WAY BACK IN JANUARY. Similarly, we have our last games against the Clippers and Kings in February. If the injury bugs hit those teams right we could get an easier time than normal - and also not have to deal with late season focus and cohesion. Or the opposite, we could be injured, or we could miss out on playing a team that's tanking.

April is always the money month for playoff seeding. And we have eight games against possible playoff teams that month. We need to make them count.

Over all it is a good schedule. There are no crazy quirks, and we'll go into more of that later -- but right now, let's go into it month by month. After all, that's what you came here for, right?

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October:

Hi-Res download here

Basic Info:

• 1 Game (1 home, 0 road).
  
• 1 game vs. Western Conference.

Overview: There is only one game this month, our season opener and home opener against the Dallas Mavericks. Eff those guys. Go Jazz go! N.B. NBA Pre-season schedule is not out, those are the only two games I know of. I will add more as I get that info.

Big Games:

• Oct 31st: DAL @ UTA - This is it, let's start the season off with a win!

Amar's July Prediction: 1-0 (Season: 1-0)

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November:

Hi-Res download here

Basic Info:

• 16 Games (5 home, 11 road)
• 12 games vs. Western Conference
  
• 4 Back to backs
  
• 7 3 games in 4 nights sets
  

Overview: This month is going to sting, but luckily, it's not like we had a lot of turn over from last season. Oh wait, we do? We may have 2 or 3 new starters (Mo Williams, Marvin Williams, and Derrick Favors)? Well, at least a lot of other teams are going to be new too. There's a four game East swing in the middle of the month that has the Jazz playing a bunch of teams we SHOULD be able to handle; Raptors with Kyle Lowry; Celtics without Ray Allen, 76ers without Lou Williams; and Wizards, in general. The home games we have are super important because there are so few of them. The Jazz are on the road or traveling almost every day. There is a home and home with the Sacramento Kings that we should win. You know, we should have swept them last season but that did not happen. Ugh, this month is going to be hard.

Big Games:

• Nov 7th: LAL @ UTA - We hate the Lakers. This is obviously a big game.
• Nov 9th: UTA @ DEN - We also hate the Nuggets. Rivals.
• Nov 10th: PHX @ UTA - Wow, only our third 3 games in 4 nights in the month. Fun.
• Nov 12th: UTA @ TOR - most likely the first game I get to see them play in this season

Amar's July Prediction: 8-8 (Season: 9-8)

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December:

Hi-Res download here

Basic Info:

• 15 Games (7 home, 8 road)
• 9 games vs. Western Conference
  
• 4 Back to backs
  
• 3 3 games in 4 nights sets

Overview: This month features a lot more friendly home games, much more spread out games, and playing an average number of GPD (0.48). This month is going to be a lot better. The Jazz have a good home stretch where they face the Clippers, Magic, and Raptors. After dipping in and out of SLC the Jazz have a four game East swing that takes them to play the Nets, Pacers, Heat, and Magic. The Jazz finish this month playing the Clippers two more times. Yes, we play the Clippers three times this month. That's pretty big for Mo Williams and Randy Foye, I'm sure.

Big Games:

• Dec 1st: UTA @ HOU - Another rival game, a B2B game, that's also the 3rd game in 4. And we played OKC the night before. This game will be a good test
• Dec 3rd, 28th, 30th: LAC @ UTA, UTA @ LAC, LAC @ UTA - Three of our four games against this team i nthe same month. Crazy.
• Dec 12th: SAS @ UTA - can the Jazz build on the momentum from the last quarter of their last game in the playoffs? This will be Game 2 against the Spurs this year. And we hate the Spurs but respect them.
• Dec 18th: UTA @ BRK - Deron Williams (and new team mates) welcomes his old team to his new home. Will he finally have a good game against us? Will Mo get abused?

Amar's July Prediction: 7-8 (Season: 16-16)

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January:

Hi-Res download here

Basic Info:

• 14 Games (8 home, 6 road)
• 7 games vs. Western Conference
  
• 3 Back to backs
  
• 6 3 games in 4 nights sets

Overview: January is our first month of the season where we play more home games than road games. It's also the first month of the season where the Jazz will play a lower than average GPD (only 0.45, while average is 0.48). I think this is the month where the Jazz star their ascent. There is a three game east swing (Bobcats, Hawks, Pistons), and besides that, it's mostly smooth sailing. PHX/DEN, ATL/DET, and LAL/IND back to backs will exist, but I don't really FEAR any of them save for the Lakers. The Lakers game will be the last game against them this season, unless we face off in the playoffs. There is that crazy 4 nights off stretch in this month as well.

Big Games:

• Jan 2nd: MIN @ UTA - Andrei Kirilenko returns to the crowd he used to delight for years. We better not boo him
• Jan 5th: UTA @ DEN - the third of four games against our rivals. Another crazy B2B and 3 in 4 set
• Jan 11th: UTA @ ATL - This will be Marvin Williams' first game back in Atlanta after the trade. This could be his "Revenge Game" against the Hawks. Oh, Also the same thing kinda goes for Devin Harris as well. This will be an interesting, hopefully 5 OT game.
• Jan 12th: UTA @ DET - If I don't go to the games in Indy, Cle, and Chi, this will be my last Jazz game of the year
• Jan 14th: MIA @ UTA - the Champs come into Utah. The Jazz beat Miami once a season, will we be able to withstand the Heat again?
• Jan 25th: UTA @ LAL - our last game against them, let's win it on their court again!

Amar's July Prediction: 9-5 (Season: 25-21)

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February:

Hi-Res download here

Basic Info:

• 12 Games (8 home, 4 road)
• 8 games vs. Western Conference
  
• 3 Back to backs
  
• 3 3 games in 4 nights sets

Overview: This is the cream-puff month. It's only a 0.43 GPD, and there are only three back to backs. There are no road trips (just one-off games on the road), and lots of nights off. There's also the All-Star break. I don't know if the Jazz will have the record to deserve an All-Star this year, regardless of individual play. That said, that may work out in our favor as it gives us a chip on our shoulder to come out and 'win' the second half of the season like we did last season (we went from #12 in the West to #8). Hopefully we'll see both Alec Burks and Enes Kanter at the Rookie/Soph game (whatever it is called when Shaq and Chuck pick the teams). Jeremy Evans, hopefully, will have gotten enough PT to defend his title in the dunk contest as well.

Big Games:

• Feb 1st/2nd: POR @ UTA, UTA @ POR - The month starts off with a back to back / home and home set against the Trail Blazers. We need to win both of those games
• Feb 4th/9th: SAC @ UTA, UTA @ SAC - These are our last two games against the Kings and need to win these games too. Winning these four games against Western Conference teams we are better than are absolutely essential.
• Feb 13th: UTA @ MIN - This is the last game before the All-Star Break, and important to go into the break on a high note
• Feb 23th: UTA @ LAC - This is, somehow, the last of four games against the Clippers this year. Yes, we finish the season series against the Clippers and Kings in February. Two months to go still in the regular season. Odd.
• Feb 25th: BOS @ UTA - This is a TV game, and one of the last chances Al Jefferson has to actually ever beat the Celtics (he's never beaten the team he was drafted by in his career). We were really close two seasons ago . . .

Amar's July Prediction: 7-5 (Season: 32-26)

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March:

Hi-Res download here

Basic Info:

• 16 Games (7 home, 9 road)
• 8 games vs. Western Conference
  
• 3 Back to backs
  
• 5 3 games in 4 nights sets

Overview: This is the last killer month of the season - 0.52 GPD. 5 more 3 in 4 sets. Two road trips: Bucks, Cavaliers, Bulls, Knicks; and then the Texas Triangle of Rockets, Spurs, and Mavericks. The Jazz spend more of this month playing guys in the Central and Eastern time zone, but still had to fly all the way out to Portland. Madness. The Jazz will have two games against the ever-new-look Knicks. Both on TV. The Jazz will also have TV games against the Thunder and Grizzlies. If the Jazz are playing better and winning games we could get some media attention moving into the next month of the season. Of course, it's not going to be easy. None of the teams we'll be playing, except for the Bobcats on the first of this month, are supposed to be push overs. It will be a dogfight this month. If the Jazz can stay afloat we'll be the better for it. The proverbial iceberg to our floatation dreams is our 5 games in 7 nights stretch. We have zero 4 games in 5 nights -- but we still can't escape this monster: at Dallas, back at home vs. Philly, at home vs. Phoenix, then fly out to play at Portland, then fly back to Utah to play Brooklyn. Two of those five games are back to back games, and necessarily so, three of those five games are the 3rd game in five nights. March is a beast. It always is.

Big Games:

• Mar 13th, UTA @ OKC - A measuring stick game against the best in the west
• Mar 20th, UTA @ HOU - Our last game against the Rockets this regular season
• Mar 22nd, UTA @ SAS - Our last game against the Spurs this regular season
• Mar 24th, UTA @ DAL - the end of our Texas triangle, and our last game against the Mavericks.
• Mar 29th, UTA @ POR - this is a must win
• Mar 30th, BRK @ UTA - our last game against Deron Williams this season, the 2nd night of a back to back, 3rd game in four nights, and 5th game in seven nights. This is also the last game of the month of March. Defeating D-Will means defeating the March Monster personified.

Amar's July Prediction: 8-8 (Season: 40-34)

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April:

Hi-Res download here

Basic Info:

• 8 Games (5 home, 3 road)
• 8 games vs. Western Conference
  
• 0 Back to backs
  
• 1 3 games in 4 nights sets

Overview: This month is the money month. Aside from that one Blazers game that's the 6th game in 9 games (Whaaat?), the rest of the month should be easy and straight forward. There are our peers, and at full strength we should give them all trouble. The games we need to win are at home, and the games we have a better than normal chance to steal are on the road. We only play one contender this month. Our destiny is in our own hands.

Big Games:

• Every game, really . . .
  
• yes, every game. From the game vs. the GSW, to the home at home vs. the Wolves, to our last game against the Grizz. Every game is a big game at this stage of the season.

Amar's July Prediction: 5-3 (Season: 45-37)

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Wow.

So I guess I think the Jazz are winning 45 games this season? I guess that's a homer pov. There are more factors that will change that in reality. Injuries, personalities, trades, and also the rest of the off-season and the potential moves that are yet to be made. The Jazz went 36 for 66 last season, that was a win percentage of 54.5%. I'm looking at this schedule and under-selling the Jazz (better than over-selling them and getting burned). I have them at 45-37, which is a win percentage of 54.9%. We're a better team and I recognize that, I just do not want to get my hopes up.

There are a billion people in contract years, and we're all seriously banking on steady and predictable improvement from our C4 guys (Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Enes Kanter, and Alec Burks). In the real world you do not usually 'bank' on the steady and predictable reliability of 21 year olds.

All things said I'm okay with 45 +/- 3 wins for this squad. I don't see them hitting 50 just yet (prove me wrong Jazz, I like to be wrong about things like that), and I don't see them going under .500 either.

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If you were too lazy to notice before . .

Download each month in high resolution: October, November, December, January, February, March, and April. And put it on your smart phone / tablet!

Another full day of basketball. Team USA plays at 2:45 p.m. Pacific on NBC Sports Network (also known as "used to be Vs." and "that channel with The Ultimate Fighter and a bunch of BRO sports).