BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGIE!!!!

With the Kings up 14 going into the 4th quarter, it looked like it would be heartbreak once more as Phoenix roared back to eventually take a two point lead.  The Kings would tie it and get a crucial stop that left just 2 seconds on the clock. DeMarcus Cousins stepped up to cap off a 28 points, 12 rebound effort with his first career game-winner.

After so many heartbreaking losses this year, it was nice to see the ball bounce our way for once.

The Kings nearly collapsed in the fourth, but snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on a Boogie buzzer-beater

The players needed that. The city needed it more. In a dreadful season full of twists and turns derailed by off-court craziness, the Sacramento Kings finally got a dramatic feel-good win that eases the thick malaise surrounding the franchise for at least a night. After watching their double-digit lead whittle down, the Kings turned to the All-Star center to save them, and save them he did. The Kings beat the Phoenix Suns on DeMarcus Cousins' last second jumper, and while the future is an unknown black box, it feels good that the franchise can enjoy this 85-83 victory.

Cousins was magnificent the entire game. Scoring 28 points on 25 shots, adding 12 rebounds and 3 assists, he repeatedly ate the undersized Phoenix alive in the paint by being the recipient of several excellent high-low passes from other Kings bigs. The Kings were without both Rudy Gay and Darren Collison, but got a boost from Ramon Sessions and Ben McLemore. Sessions ran the offense well; he was repeatedly able to break down the Phoenix defense to get to the rim, the free throw line, or set up teammates. Sessions scored 10 points and dished 6 assists. McLemore cooled off late, but shot the ball well from three, tallying 13 points, including 3/8 from three point range. The ball moved really well, and while there was still some unacceptable sloppiness, you will take 20 assists to 15 turnovers from the shorthanded.

The story of the night was Phoenix's poor shooting. The Suns were led by Isaiah Thomas' 26 points on 17 shots, including several vengeful glares to the Kings bench and crowd, but besides that the rest of the team was really quiet. Without the services of Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix shot 36.3% from the field and a ghastly 17.9% from three. The Morris twins have killed the Kings this year, but were atrocious tonight, highlighted by Markieff's 3/20 shooting night. McLemore did a good job checking Goran Dragic on the night, who contributed a quiet 13 points on 13 shots. The Kings defense was active and engaged for the most part, but were helped by an unusually bad shooting night from the Morris twins.

This was badly needed for Cousins, who has referred to this season as his most frustrating by far. Boogie hasn't been playing well, becoming frustrated and flustered by being arguably misused ever since he returned. Cousins has watched another season descend into irrelevance, and for a guy who hates losing as much as he does, it has to weigh on him. So getting the game-winning buzzer beater in a game he played efficiently to possibly send the franchise into a new era.

But most of all, this was a feel-good win for Tyrone Corbin, even it is his last. Corbin, despite having his interim label removed, was obviously a lame duck for this season, and has handled the situation with about as much class as possible. Stuck in an impossible situation, Corbin did as best as he could, and though he had his faults, nobody can question his character. While Kings fans are ready to move onto bigger and better things, it was Corbin who allowed the franchise to get their house in order, so much kudos and thanks to him.

For the opponent's perspective, visit Bright Side of the Sun

The Kings are closing in on a deal with George Karl and DeMarcus Cousins remains in the middle of the drama.

The last couple of days have been a whirlwind for the Sacramento Kings and in particular, DeMarcus Cousins.

Recent reports indicate that Kings General Manager Pete D'Alessandro has been pushing hard to finalize a deal to make George Karl the next head coach, but it is also being reported that Cousins' agents are involved and that they could potentially be the last hang-up with the move.

Here is more on the status of that situation from USA Today's Sam Amick.

Cousins' agents, Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana, have been adamantly opposed to Karl's hiring. But general manager Pete D'Alessandro had appeared willing to make the move without their consent. If that has remained the case, and if Kings owner Vivek Ranadive approves as well, then the Kings will be on their way to fixing what's broken with their fractured team.

Karl has made his desires clear when it comes to contract wishes, and Ranadive must now decide if this is the cure for all that ails them. The Kings have yet to inform Karl or his camp that his desires will be met.

Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee reported Sunday that Cousins' agent said they are not blocking the deal.

All of this puts Boogie squarely in the middle of the drama. We discussed the other day how much pressure has been on the shoulders of Cousins lately, but that didn't stop him from hitting the game-winning basket to defeat the Phoenix Suns at Sleep Train Arena Sunday night on his way to 28 points and 12 rebounds. After he won Sunday's game, he spoke to the media for a total of 51 seconds, and the majority of that came in the form of this interesting statement (video via Kimani David of Cowbell Kingdom).

I have been around Cousins in the locker room for several years now, and he's usually either jovial or in a reserved mood. This was certainly different. It led to some Kings players asking the media afterward what they had asked Cousins. But nothing was asked. An observation was made about how he looked like he was still really pumped up following the game-winning shot, and it prompted that response.

His teammate Omri Casspi talked about the pressure the big man is under at the moment.

"He wants to win and he feels like he don't have time to lose and he's trying to carry everyone around on his big shoulders," Casspi told Sactown Royalty.

Meanwhile, it appears the Kings' current head coach, Tyrone Corbin, still has his job.

Sources: Ty Corbin met w/ front office tonight, left arena as Kings coach. George Karl candidacy at ownership level, still being discussed.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 9, 2015

But it may not be long before that changes.

Sources: Kings and George Karl's rep will re-engage Monday. Front office has recommended hiring, deal terms are close. it's on owners now.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 9, 2015

Tyrone Corbin is still the coach for now but it's sounding more like the next two games will be his last as coach.

— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) February 9, 2015

To his credit, Corbin had the undermanned Kings squad (no Darren Collison or Rudy Gay) playing a spirited brand of basketball for the majority of the game on Sunday. But performances like this have been few and far between, and that is largely why the Kings front office and ownership is considering making the move to Karl. Corbin has been in a tough spot after coming in for Michael Malone and trying to implement a new system. After the win over the Suns, he said he tried to help his players block out all of the rumors that are circulating.

"It's been a combination of different things that's been going on over the last few weeks and guys been a little bit on edge, but you know, you don't play your best game, and you lose games and things aren't going well and you're hearing all kind of talk about what's going to happen. And I told these guys inside, 'look, the only thing you can control is the way you play on the floor,'" Corbin said. "Rumors and speculation will be around as long as you are in this league and I've been around a long time. You have to try and find a way to fight through those things and play, and, you know, I thought the way they did it tonight was great for them going forward. Who knows what will happen, but for them to get a victory like this tonight and stay together through these kind of conditions is good for them."

This should be an interesting week in Kings Land.

Amid some drama in the Kings franchise, Boogie turns the tables on the media.

DeMarcus Cousins hit a buzzer-beating game-winner to lift the Kings to a rare win on Sunday. You think that'd put him in a jovial mood for the post-game media scrum, right?

Wrong.

Uh ...

I don't even know if he's mad? The context here is that the Kings are apparently close to hiring George Karl to take over as coach, but reports had suggested Cousins' agents were opposed to the move. That has reflected poorly on Cousins, despite no one indicating that Cousins himself opposes Karl. (His agent is Dan Fegan, known meddler.) Still, even in that context, Cousins' rant makes little sense.

Is he mad? Aggravated at all the rumors? Unsure? Who knows?! The marathon continues.

Via Sactown Royalty.

The Kings are getting closer and closer to naming George Karl their new head coach, per multiple reports.  Karl would likely take over the team at some point during the All-Star break, but after the following two road games in Chicago and Milwaukee.  That would give Karl a few days to get acquainted with the team and get some practices in before what will likely be his first game on Feb. 20th at home against Boston.  Karl is also planning on attending legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith's funeral this week and would be unavailable to take over the team until after the break anyway.

No final decision on Karl has been made as of yet according to Yahoo's Marc Spears.

Here are the latest tweets on the situation from reporters and media members close to the situation:

As George Karl's world turns: Kings owner Vivek Ranadive gives full backing to GM Pete D'Alessandro on possible hire- http://t.co/eXHPK5e2L2

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 9, 2015

Vivek Ranadive and Pete D'Alessandro pressing George Karl about his health and stamina. Former coach, 63, is two-time cancer survivor

— Ailene Voisin (@ailene_voisin) February 9, 2015

Folks close to DeMarcus Cousins believe George Karl will be hired, if not today then shortly thereafter.

— Ailene Voisin (@ailene_voisin) February 9, 2015

Kings interim coach Tyrone Corbin has been told he is coaching the next two games going into NBA All-Star Break, a source told Yahoo Sports.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) February 9, 2015

Kings continue negotiations with George Karl, but GM @Pdoro has not made a final decision on the hire, a source close to the franchise said.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) February 9, 2015

The George Karl hiring is all but inevitable. Timing of announcement along with the 2 remaining games before break factor.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) February 9, 2015

Barring a last minute setback, George Karl will be the next Kings head coach. Most likely to take effect during all-star break.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) February 9, 2015

It seems most logical that Karl's first game as Kings coach would be at home vs the Celtics Feb. 20th.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) February 9, 2015

With all the moving pieces, I would imagine a leak happens tonight, official announcement with presser over break. My guess at the timeline.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) February 9, 2015

Kings will be able to take advantage of 1-1/2 weeks of downtime for ASG, acquaint Karl with players, run a few practices.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) February 9, 2015

We will continue to provide updates as they come along.

The struggling Kings are finalizing a contract to hire George Karl, according to multiple reports. He will replace interim coach Ty Corbin after the NBA All-Star Game.

The Sacramento Kings are closing in on hiring George Karl to become their new head coach beginning after the All-Star break, according to multiple reports. The news was first tweeted by Sacramento radio personality Carmichael Dave and later confirmed by Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.

"Barring an unforeseen snag," Karl will sign a four-year deal worth between $4-5 million annually and take over after the All-Star break,Wojnarowski wrote. Interim coach Ty Corbin will stay aboard until then.

Karl was rumored to be in the running for the job ever since it became available, as his fast-paced style matches the identity the front office and ownership want the Kings to adopt. The Kings originally intended to ride the season out with Corbin at the helm, but terrible results and increasing apathy from the players helped expedite the transition. Sacramento is 7-19 since firing Michael Malone.

As seemingly is the case with everything the Kings do, the move to hire Karl did not come without a few bumps in the road. Reports surfaced that Kings star DeMarcus Cousins, along with his agents Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana, were not in favor of the move. Those reports were later denied by Cousins' agents, who reportedly said, "Make the move. We don't run the team."

Still, negotiations awkwardly dragged on as Corbin and the Kings continued to play. Cousins himself gave a strange interview after a buzzer-beating win over the Suns. The factions appear to be resolved and general manager Pete D'Alessandro is likely getting the man he once worked with in Denver. Still, several players reportedly are not on board with the decision.

Hearing multiple players on Kings do not want George Karl as their coach.

— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) February 9, 2015

Apparently some folks are turned off at what they see as Karl's social media campaigning for the job.

— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) February 9, 2015

Karl, 63, is one of the league's most successful coaches, with a Coach of the Year award to his name (2012-13 season) and 1,131 career wins. He has taken every team he has coached to the playoffs at least once. His Seattle SuperSonics made the Finals, and in his time in Denver, the Nuggets made the playoffs nine times in a row. In fact, in 25 seasons as a head coach, he's only missed the postseason three times.

Despite never winning a championship. Karl's pedigree is unquestionably great and the Kings, who have trouble projecting success and professionalism, will definitely benefit from his hiring in terms of team image.

The fit is not as seamless in terms of personnel, though. Karl's teams thrive when playing at a high pace, and Cousins, the Kings' best player and one of the league's most productive big men, prefers to set up in the post. It's unclear how the mercurial fifth-year center will adapt to Karl's preferred style and personality, which was reportedly one of the reasons why the Kings' front office was ambivalent about Karl until recently. Apparently those concerns were placated and the veteran coach got the job.

Karl will now have time this season to assess the players without a mandate to win now, as Sacramento is out of the playoff picture. Next season, however, the pressure will be on, as the Kings' brass considers the team good enough to make the postseason.

It's looking like we have a new coach.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Sacramento Kings and George Karl are progressing on a four-year deal that's worth about $4-5 million annually to become the new head coach.  Karl will take over for Tyrone Corbin when the All-Star break begins Thursday.  According to the report, Corbin was notified on Friday that the team would be looking for a new coach.

For many Kings fans, this news comes as a great relief.  After firing Mike Malone in December, Karl was immediately presumed to be the frontrunner given his time in Denver with Pete D'Alessandro as well as his penchant to run the style of basketball that this front office and ownership want to see.  However the Kings seemed intent on biding their time and giving Tyrone Corbin a real chance, which according to Wojnarowski's report was one of the reasons Cousins' camp was rumored to be discontent with Karl.  Like others, they had thought the team would wait to conduct a full coaching search until the offseason.  Unfortunately, the team has fallen off dramatically under Corbin, going just 7-19, which necessitated some sort of change.  From Woj's report:

The agents for DeMarcus Cousins - Dan Fegan and Jarinn Akana - have no issues with Karl taking over as head coach and only wanted clarification on the franchise's repeated changing of direction in its coaching search plans this season, sources said. The Kings had initially planned to let Corbin coach the rest of the season, and then conduct a full search of candidates in April.

Fegan and Akana were surprised over the timing of another coaching change, especially after they had been assured at the time of Malone's departure the franchise would wait until the offseason to conduct a full search of candidates, sources said.

Karl is one of the winningest coaches in NBA history with a career record of 1,131-756. In 25 seasons of coaching, he's had a winning record in all but three seasons, all of which came in his first four years of coaching.  Karl has had coaching stops in Cleveland, Golden State, Seattle, Milwaukee and Denver.  His last year in Denver he finished 57-25 and won the NBA's Coach of the Year award before being fired that summer.  Denver has not been the same since the firing, finishing 36-46 last year and are just 19-32 this year.

Coincidentally enough, Karl is one of the few coaches who has experience taking over a team in the middle of a season.  His time in Denver started with him taking over a 17-25 team which he helped carry to a 32-8 record over the second half of the season.

With the hiring of Karl, the healing process can finally begin for this team and fanbase.  Corbin might have had the public backing of the front office, but it seemed clear to everyone with any idea how the NBA works that he was not a long-term solution.  The players now know who their coach is going forward, and that should lead to a more buy-in from everyone involved, although that might not come as easily as one would think;  Jason Jones tweeted the following before getting on a plane to Chicago:

Hearing multiple players on Kings do not want George Karl as their coach.

— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) February 9, 2015

Apparently some folks are turned off at what they see as Karl's social media campaigning for the job.

— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) February 9, 2015

It should be noted that the only player on the entire Kings roster that has played for Karl is Reggie Evans back in 2006 for Denver.  Considering Karl's ability to bring teams together, I'm not too worried about this reported player apprehension.

There will only be 30 games left this season when Karl takes over.  He will have precious little time to hold practices given the schedule but given that there's nothing left to play for this season, these games are very important for the future growth of this team.  These games are where Karl can begin to establish himself and hopefully build a foundation that the team can really build off of going into next season.  There are already some nice pieces in place; DeMarcus Cousins alone is quite possibly the best big man that Karl has ever gotten to work with.

This team will now be in Karl's hands.  I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with it.

Power Rankings from SB Nation, ESPN, CBS, Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, and NBA.com !

Past Rankings! Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12, Week 13, Week 14

What a crazy week for the Utah Jazz, huh? Four games in five nights, a pair of back to back sets, and both times it was a road game, followed by a home game. The Jazz lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 103-102. Flying back home they then lost to the Memphis Grizzlies the next night 100-90. After a night off the Jazz then lost to the Phoenix Suns 100-93 -- but broke the streak by beating the Sacramento Kings 102-90. The Jazz won the game where they were playing without Alec Burks, Rodney Hood, *and* Joe Ingles -- and were the most fatigued. I guess there's no place like home.

I'm crazy about this club and encouraged by what we see. A 2-2 week would have been amazing when you look at how each of the clubs we lost to are Western Conference playoff clubs. Perhaps is the team just made more free throws against the Blazers it would have happened. But you know, Butterfly Effect. No one knows what would have happened if we won that game. (Again, talk amongst yourselves about quantum mechanics in the comments section)

But that is what I think, what did the rest of the national NBA writers think?

Yikes. This is pretty rough as everyone but Spears dropped the Jazz for losing to three West Playoff teams. All together the team dropped 15 spots, and on average -2.5 spots for each power rankings. I love the Jazz, but I don't think playing Portland, Memphis, and Phoenix hard, losing in the fourth of all those games, is supposed to be rewarded like this. This is what happens when people start expecting things from you, I guess.

I think it's possible that a bunch of teams out performed the team, yes; but I think the ranks should be based on how well or poorly the team does based on where they are -- and as the #25th best team in the NBA I think we did okay.

But what did you think?

SAC: 15 - 24 - 22 - 29 -- 90

UTA: 25 - 24 - 26 - 27 -- 102

After the Portland Trail Blazers near win, and competitive games against the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns, the Utah Jazz hosted the Sacramento Kings, the Jazz' fourth game in five nights. Fatigue, and injuries to three shooting guards Alec Burks, Rodney Hood, and Joe Ingles would make this game a little more difficult for the good guys. The Sacramento Kings played without starting point guard Darren Collison, but All-Star bigman DeMarcus Cousins and high volume slashing wing Rudy Gay were sure to pose problems for Utah in former coach Tyrone Corbin's return. Of course, because destiny is a real thing in the universe, Violet Palmer was reffing this game as well, and where Ty and Violet are, sparks will fly. Situationals and sentimentality aside, as predicted, there was just too much Gordon Hayward for any King to handle. The Jazz ran away with it early, and the Kings looked like they checked out.

Utah effectively ended the game in the first quarter with a 17-6 run. Sacramento's offense is deplorable bereft of strong point guard play. There are passes, but it just seems like players take turns going one on one. In Elijah Millsap 's first career start the plan should have been to attack him, instead we got to see Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousin take increasingly difficult shots because of some sort of disproportionate ego issue that remains unresolved. Gordon Hayward was on target early and knew that he was the most talented player on the floor. He proved it from the get go. Tyrone Corbin was forced to take two time outs in the first quarter, one when the score was 11-4, and another when the score was 19-8. When have we seen that? You could tell this game was important to him.

DeMarcus Cousins is a problem. He is obviously good, and big, and when directed appropriately can get things done. But it's just too easy to get him out of a stable orbit and make the game more difficult for him. He has a chip on his shoulder whenever playing against Derrick Favors, who was picked two spots ahead of him in the 2010 NBA Draft. Favors is a good defender who can challenge his shots, and now is good enough to hit jumpers and patient enough to score inside. What really bothers Cousins is Kanter, who went to the same NCAA stop-over of Kentucky, who is much stronger who is an actual back to the basket big who can physically match up with him. Kanter forcing Cousins to post up at 17 feet instead of 5 feet from the rim makes Cousins go bonkers. Kanter scoring on Cousins on on one, by going TO the rim, or scoring with a little hook shot after setting it up with fakes, makes Cousins go absolutely coo-coo for crazy-puffs. Sadly for Cousins after one of those guys goes to the bench he is defended by Rudy Gobert -- who is faster than him, can score in tradition, and challenge every type of shot without even jumping.

For the Jazz the game plan was the play through Hayward, which worked; and try to goad Cousins into trying to beat the Jazz by himself. And that also worked.

It's crazy but in the second quarter when Cousins was out, and Reggie Evans was in, it appeared like the Kings could do more damage in the paint. Evans works hard on the glass and knows his limitations. It's going to be interesting to see what his role will be with George Karl taking over after the All-Star break. But against the Jazz bench he looked quite good, as the polar opposite of Rudy Gobert. The second quarter showed the Kings checking out though. They did not make many efforts to get into this game, and the Jazz coasted to an 11-3 run in the middle of it with little opposition. Snyder had to go to Steve Novak and Ian Clark for minutes in this quarter, yet Sacramento's game plan remained to pound it inside or work for pick and pops instead of attacking our lack of guard depth.

Gordon Hayward continued to torch Sacramento in the 2nd half. Utah went on a 15-2 run, extended the lead to 23 points, and never looked back. The Kings did not get back into this game in any way, shape, or form. And the average margin over the 48 minutes of this game (or 2,880 seconds) was +12.13 points in favor of the Jazz. The most impressive thing was watching the "Where are you watching from" segment that showed people watching ROOT Sports from India. (Sorry Boler and Harp, the game is picked up by Indian sports channels because it was the Kings, and Vivek owns them, and he's a billionaire from India -- and not because these guys are specifically now Jazz fans. They should be though.)

Trevor Booker didn't get into the game until the middle of the fourth, and didn't look back as he detonated for huge blocked shots, and a number of jumpers that banked in. Trey Burke even found him, and passed to him, in transition for a nice Oop finish. But as the game wore on and the Kings had no chance of victory it got a little ugly. Harder fouls were had. DeMarcus played part of the fourth without his headband, and then played with it on for a bit, and then fouled out. He is an odd bird, not unlike Ron Artest (Metta World Peace). I wonder does Sacramento boast a great mental health hospital system? (Or do these guys going there indicate that there is a need of one?)

This game was over in the 2nd quarter, and it was nice to see our team win at home, which is sadly a rare thing.

After having poor performances in Phoenix, Kanter and Burke bounced back. Enes finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Trey had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and no turn overs off the bench. You may remember these two really stunk it up in Phoenix (combined for 11 points total, on poor shooting). What a difference a day makes, huh?

Derrick Favors had yet another 20 point game, and added 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. Gordon Hayward led the team again with 30 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a great end to end play to beat the buzzer when the Kings were sleeping.

Elijah Millsap had 7 and 7, with 3 assists, and a lot of gritty defense in his first NBA start. Dante Exum is showing signs of getting out of his funk, and made some great passes, and got his hands on a lot of balls / deflections on defense. Rudy Gobert only played 17 minutes because his lack of overt strength was a detriment to him, but combined with Booker, they managed 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks. Not bad.

This was Gordon's game to show the NBA that he was / is better than the All-Star replacement they made for DeMarcus Cousins. DMC is getting stats on a bad team, a team worse than the Jazz. Hayward is putting up numbers and leading his team to victories. Meh. That's how I see it though.

The Kings have just two more games before the All-Star break and they're likely also the last two games with Tyrone Corbin as head coach.  Sacramento is coming off a fun buzzer-beating win against Phoenix but they haven't won back to back games since November.  Fortunately they've had some luck against Chicago in recent years. Today's action tips off at 5:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California and on KHTK 1140.

3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. Derrick Rose will be available tonight which is not something the Kings have not seen for a while.  The last time that Rose actually played against the Kings was over 3 years ago on December 29th, 2011.  In every game since then he's been out with an injury.  Rose isn't the same player since that game because of all his injuries but he's still able to add another dimension to Chicago with his ability to penetrate and make big shots.

2. It'll be interesting to see how the Kings react now that it is all but official that Tyrone Corbin is gone after these two games.  They seemed to play well for the most part against the Suns and that was immediately after the news had started to leak about Karl.

3. Weirdly enough, Chicago is a much better road team (19-9) than a home team (13-11).  They're also without Mike Dunleavy and Kirk Hinrich which hurts their shooting and depth respectively.  The Kings might still be without Darren Collison and Rudy Gay but if they can play with the same intensity that they played with in the first three quarters against Phoenix, they'll have a good chance.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Joakim Noah vs. DeMarcus Cousins

Noah and Cousins is always a fun matchup and Cousins has gotten the better of it in recent games.  Noah hasn't been the same defender this year due to a variety of ailments that he's tried to play through, but he's still effective and chippy.  Boogie needs to make sure that Noah doesn't get under his skin and play through the non-calls that are sure to come.

PREGAME LIMERICK

31 more times of making things rhyme?
Where the hell did I think I'd have the time.
This was ambitious,
and not expeditious,
think I'll go have a Corona with lime.

PREDICTION

Kings 194, Bulls 68 as Tyrone Corbin decides he doesn't have anything to lose and decides to try some crazy new ideas he has (Darren Collison sitting on Ryan Hollins shoulders, intentionally missing all second free throw attempts to try to get the putback, yodeling) that end up working out way better than expected.

Dean Smith has indelibly left his mark on the NBA. Here are the five Hawks who once played for the coaching legend at UNC.

Dean Smith has indelibly left his mark on the NBA.  Here are the five Hawks who once played for the coaching legend at UNC.

Al Wood

Wood had a storied career during his four years at UNC under Smith (1977-81), finishing with a 56 percent career shooting percentage which led to over 2,000 points - good enough to be currently fifth all-time on UNC's career scoring list.  Wood was selected fourth overall by the Hawks in 1981, but only played in 19 games before being traded to the San Diego Clippers for Freeman Williams.  He was the first of Dean's alumni to put on a Hawks uniform.

Dudley Bradley

Bradley earned his nickname "The Secretary of Defense" while under Dean Smith from 1975-1979, especially in his senior year at UNC when he was known as an elite defender.  He is remembered there for a regular season victory over a flagging NC State team, when he stole the ball with eight seconds left and got an uncontested dunk for the win.  He played for Smith's 1977 UNC which fell to Marquette in the championship game.  Bradley came to Atlanta in 1988 for his final season of a respectable ten year career.  The Hawks were his seventh team.

Kenny Smith

The Jet's four years at UNC from 1983-87 were a great prediction of his NBA days.  His 51 percent shooting in college translated to a 48 percent career shooting percentage in the NBA, and his points per game in college and the NBA were almost identical (12.9 and 12.8, respectively).  He was selected sixth overall in the 1987 draft.  In 1990, he was traded from the Kings to the Hawks in February, but only got to play the final 33 games for Atlanta before being traded in the offseason to the Houston Rockets, where he won two rings.

Jerry Stackhouse

Stack was considered elite after playing on Smith's 1993-95 UNC teams, scoring 19 points per game in his sophomore year.  He went pro and was selected third overall by the 76ers in 1995.  Stackhouse had an excellent NBA career and finished in the top 100 in all-time scoring.  In 2011, Jerry signed with the Hawks for one season, making Atlanta the seventh of his eight teams.  He didn't see a lot of time as a Hawk, but did compete in the All-Star Weekend festivities representing Atlanta.

Rasheed Wallace

Sheed's history with the Hawks is well known.  After spending two productive years (1993-1995) at UNC, Wallace bolted for the NBA and was taken fourth overall by the Washington Bullets.  In 2004, Wallace was traded to the Hawks and played one game, scoring 20 points.   He was then traded to Detroit, where he won a championship that very year.  He had an excellent eighteen-year career in the NBA.

Not included in this article were players who never suited up for the Hawks, such as Darrell Elston, who was drafted by the Hawks, but played for the Virginia Squires in the ABA, or Antawn Jamison, who was traded to the Hawks then waived immediately.

Quincy Miller's second 10-day contract with the Sacramento Kings has ezpired, and NBA rules dictate that if the Kings want to keep him longer, they have to sign him for at least the rest of the season.  While that still could be the case, it won't be decided until the All-Star break per a report from RealGM's Shams Charania.

Kings, Quincy Miller parting for now as he'll play in D-League ASG, sides plan to negotiate new deal afterward, league sources tell RealGM.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 9, 2015

Miller has played 6 games for Sacramento, averaging 2.8 points on just 22.2% from the field to go with 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 steal, 0.5 assist and 0.5 blocks in 10.2 minutes.  It's not exactly an impressive stat line but he does have a lot of potential, particularly on the defensive end.  Given that the Kings aren't playing for much, keeping him on for the rest of this season (and possibly on a non-guaranteed deal heading into 2015-16) makes some sense.

The more 7'5", 360 pound Reno Bighorns' center Sim Bhullar progresses, the more likely it becomes that an NBA team will eventually give him a shot.

At 7'5" and 360 pounds, Reno Bighorns' center Sim Bhullar is undoubtedly one of the most imposing forces the NBA D-League has seen, let alone, professional basketball as a whole, in recent seasons.

After spending training camp with the Sacramento Kings last fall, the big man was jettisoned to the team's minor league affiliate to further continue honing his skills and conditioning, too.

Bhullar became the first player of indian descent to sign an NBA contract.

Given his background, size, and stature, it's no surprise how and/or why Bhullar is becoming one of the more intriguing and popular players in all of the D-League. But interestingly enough, he's been proving as of late that he may have the skills to back up all of the (sometimes unnecessary) off-the-court hype as well.

There's no doubt that the more often Bhullar has had an opportunity to strut his stuff, he's been able to impress, albeit it, a bit. That said, it's taken him some him to adjust and find a natural fit (perhaps he's still working at it) inside Reno head coach David Arseneault Jr.'s rapid fire offense. The unique run and gun system calls for players to constantly be on the go from one end of the court to the next. Not the most athletic player, this takes time and effort from Bhullar. Taking into the consideration the pace at which the team plays, patience is not something that's always accounted for, so to speak.

The Bighorns have given Bhullar various rest days this season, and have played him more than thirty minutes just once. That appearance came on January 31st, when Bhullar helped Reno to victory en route to scoring a season-high 19 points, while also grabbing 11 rebounds and swatting away 5 blocks. He owned an eye-popping +36 in the contest.

Building upon that game, Bhullar has now averaged 12.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3 blocks in his last four contests. He's shooting 71% from the field along the way.

His lack of athleticism aside, Bhullar continues to take advantage of some of the God-given gifts bestowed upon him, but not necessarily to most others. On the defensive end, he can block shots and grab rebounds with ease. When it comes to offense, he's steadily learning how to assert himself and use his physicality to his advantage down low, regardless of what kind of pressure the defense throws his way.

There are plenty of reasons why an NBA team would want to give Bhullar a shot, and just a few (arguably underwhelming) reasons why they wouldn't. The 22 year old will break into The Association at some point. There's little doubt about that. As he towers over all around him (quite literally, obviously), he's too awing of an individual not to take a chance on.

Whether or not he sticks around on the big league level, and proves he's more than simply meets the eye, remains to be seen. That said, it'll take him embracing what comes easy and using it to his advantage (all the while rising above some of his evident shortcomings in the process) to warrant an opportunity to show he can compete at the next level.

The Kings big man said he hasn't been consulted on the possible hiring of George Karl.

The Sacramento Kings' pursuit of George Karl continues to drag on and DeMarcus Cousins has been in the middle of the drawn-out process. Early reports indicated the talks between the Kings and Karl stalled due to resistance from Cousins' camp.

Cousins' agent later denied that claim and now Cousins has also spoken out on the situation (via Adrian Wojnarowski):

I wasn't consulted when the decision was made to fire Mike Malone and I'm not being consulted now. I just hope they make a decision soon and stick with it. George Karl is an experienced, proven coach and if that is who they chose to coach this team, I will support it. I do not like all these discussions in the media while we have a coach in place. It is a distraction and not fair to Coach Corbin and this team.

Cousins' statement comes after he drew some criticism as a result of the reported resistance from his agents, despite the fact Cousins had remained silent on the issue until releasing the statement. Cousins has now made it clear he's not leading resistance and instead sounds like a player who would just like to move on and focus on the happenings on the court. Cousins' name has been at the forefront of the anti-Karl reports, but minority owners and even other players have reportedly resisted the hire.

Despite reported resistance from several groups, reports indicate Karl and the Kings continue to progress toward a deal.

DeMarcus Cousins was rightly frustrated the other night when instead he should have been jubilant after hitting the first game-winning shot of his career.  The Sacramento Kings negotiations to hire George Karl as their new coach have been very public and played out through the media, and Cousins' name was brought into it as a reason why the Kings were perhaps against hiring Karl.  That rumor was propagated by various media sources and as such, Cousins felt the need to speak out for clarity lest more hall of famers call him out publicly for something he doesn't have the power to control.  He released the following statement today to Yahoo! Sports and ESPN (as told through tweets from Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Stein):

DeMarcus Cousins statement: "I wasn’t consulted when the decision was made to fire Mike Malone and I’m not being consulted now." (Cont)

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 10, 2015

Cousins: "I just hope they make a decision soon and stick with it. George Karl is an experienced, proven coach ...."

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 10, 2015

Cousins: "...and if that is who they chose to coach this team, I will support it. I do not like all these discussions in the media while..."

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 10, 2015

Cousins: "...we have a coach in place. It is a distraction and not fair to Coach Corbin and this team."

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 10, 2015

DeMarcus Cousins tells ESPN: "I don't fire coaches or hire them. Everyone knows I liked and respected Coach Malone. I didn't want (CON'T)

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 10, 2015

More Cousins: "I didn't want that to happen. I'm not involved in any coaching decisions. I've heard that George Karl is a great coach (CONT)

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 10, 2015

More Cousins: "If that is the direction the organization chooses, I'll support it. Out of respect for Coach Corbin, I hadn't planned (CONT)

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 10, 2015

More Cousins: "I hadn't planned on making any comments about what is out there. But at this point I felt some things needed to be clarified"

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 10, 2015

Like many fans, Cousins has been frustrated by all the leaks and reports coming from the media and the distractions that have come with it.  Because he has been drug into these reports, he has even more reason to be upset.  As a fan, I can appreciate the sentiments in his statement and feel much the same way.  This ownership and front office has a bad problem of talking too much, either publicly or privately, and it makes them look even worse than if they had said nothing at all.  There are so many voices in the room and no clear leadership.  When Vivek and co. took over last year, they wanted to establish a culture change and get rid of the dysfunction.  They got off to a good start but these past few months have erased a lot of the work that was put in place.  Some of that is just inexperience all the way around.  Vivek is a first time owner, Pete a first time GM, Malone was a first time coach.  Hell, only Cousins and Jason Thompson remain from the team that they took over.

If management has learned anything this year, hopefully it's that they're not above reproach and that they need to learn from their mistakes.  The Malone firing and the ensuing handling of it was a colossal mistake, and one that can't be repeated.  The dragging in of Cousins' name to the media was another.  The Kings are on shaky ground, and too many mistakes like that could cause the foundation to crumble.  It's not a good sign when your best player has to make statements to the media to clarify his role in a decision that he's not even responsible for.

Someone needs to take charge of this team because right now it's a mess.

The Pistons picked up a game in the standings on the Hornets in their most lopsided win of the season, 106-78.

The Pistons will be down a couple players on Tuesday night against the Charlotte Hornets, but I wouldn't say we'll be missing them, Bob. Keith Langlois was all over it:

Cartier Martin (right ankle), Caron Butler (back) are, indeed, out tonight. KCP, Meeks, Singler could soak up all minutes. Jonas in mix.

— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) February 10, 2015

Martin, a career 38-percent three-point shooter when signed this past off-season, is shooting 18 percent on such shots this season. In fact, he hasn't hit a three-pointer since the beginning of December. Ouch.

Caron Butler was also brought in to rack up minutes on long distance calls in addition to providing veteran leadership. His three-point shooting is down a few percentage points this season and he has hit only 26 percent of threes since the turn of the new year.

Meanwhile, Jonas 'out of the mix, but in mix' Jerebko (37-percent three-point shooting and tenacity) has five DNP-CDs over the last few weeks. FREE JONAS!

As for the Hornets, they'll also be without a few of their players:

Hornets have done well playing through injury. Missing 3 tonight: Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bismack Biyombo

— Keith Langlois (@Keith_Langlois) February 10, 2015

Tip is at 7 p.m. ET. We'll be back in a bit with the GameThread.

Now your thoughts.

The veteran coach, who publicly expressed interest in Orlando's vacancy, is headed for California's capital.

As ESPN scribes Marc Stein and Chris Broussard reported Wednesday evening, the Sacramento Kings will soon hire George Karl as head coach, with the 63-year-old slated to take over after the NBA All-Star Break, barring "a dramatic and unexpected collapse in the final stage of negotiations."

The Kings' hire of Karl, once official, will take the Orlando Magic out of the running for arguably the best and most accomplished coach on the market. Orlando parted ways with Jacque Vaughn on Thursday and has promoted James Borrego as interim coach on a "day-by-day" basis.

Days after Vaughn's firing, Karl took to Twitter to comment on the vacancy. "Love the skills and speed of the Magic and the great young players throughout the league!" he wrote. He also retweeted a photo manipulation of him in a Magic huddle.

Other free-agent coaches who may be available are Scott Skiles, a former Magic guard; Mark Jackson; Mike Malone, whom the Kings dismissed in December; and Vinny Del Negro.

The Pistons improved to 16-9 over their last 25 games.

On Monday night in the Queen City, some of the Pistons went to see the movie Kingsman: The Secret Service. On Tuesday night, the Pistons played like emphatic Kings, taking down the buzzless Hornets by 28, 106-78. The win pulled the Pistons within a game and a half of the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

After a slow start and 11 lead changes, the Pistons closed out the first half on a 12-3 run (8-0 in the final 1:20) to take a 54-46 lead they wouldn't brake on. In the third, they stepped on the gas pedal, outscoring the Hornets 29-14 to push the lead to 23 going into the fourth. The lead accelerated to 31 before ending at 28.

After giving up over 110 points in four of the last 10 games, 78 points seems incomplete and surreal. But the Pistons played a full 48 minutes of solid basketball on Tuesday night, taking care of the ball (only eight turnovers), rebounding (48-38) and controlling the paint (50-32). Al Jefferson, who has killed the Pistons over the years, only scored 13 points on 14 shots.

The Hornets started the game hitting 73 percent of their three-pointers, way more than twice their 31 percent season average, but they predictably regressed in the second half by only hitting 7 percent of their threes. The Pistons only took four threes in the second half, hitting only one like the Hornets, but the Pistons hit 10 more free throws (17-7).

Greg Monroe was an all-out beastly Moose with 23 points and 12 rebounds (all in three quarters), including this third quarter buzzer beater. Jodie Meeks had 18 points off the bench on eight shots. Anthony Tolliver added 16 in 25 reserve minutes. D.J. Augustin had 18 points and five assists opposite only one turnover early in the game.

Box Score

Now your thoughts.

This should generate some discussion.

The Celtics have a treasure trove of draft picks and trade assets but nobody to deal with. Kind of like me and my baseball card collection from when I was 10.

The Kings are an absolute mess (as usual) and DeMarcus Cousins sounds a bit fed up with it.  So, (say it with me now) I wonder if the Celtics should try to pry Cousins away from the Kings - either this week or in the summer.

The new Kings ownership group is better than the old one but they've made some unpredictable moves.  The way they've handled the coaching situation has everyone scratching their heads.  Between firing Mike Malone early in the season (probably would have been better done in the offseason if at all) to bringing in George Karl (amid constant rumors leaking out of the organization) it has become a distraction to the team and in particular the team's star.

There have been rumors that Cousins isn't crazy about the prospect of the Kings hiring Karl.

Here's what he said last night.

DeMarcus Cousins on Kings: 'I just hope they make a decision soon and stick with it' - Yahoo Sports

"I wasn't consulted when the decision was made to fire Mike Malone and I'm not being consulted now," Cousins told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday night. "I just hope they make a decision soon and stick with it. George Karl is an experienced, proven coach and if that is who they chose to coach this team, I will support it. I do not like all these discussions in the media while we have a coach in place. It is a distraction and not fair to Coach Corbin and this team."

That prompted this humorous tweet.

State of the Kings: DeMarcus Cousins is the grownup

— netw3rk (@netw3rk) February 10, 2015

That's amusing but here's the thing.  I think perhaps we aren't giving DeMarcus enough credit for growing as a player and person.  Here's what Tom Ziller wrote about him a week or so back when it looked like Cousins was going to be left off the All Star squad (he was later added as an injury replacement).

DeMarcus Cousins belongs in the All-Star Game - SBNation.com

Those of who have watched DeMarcus Cousins' career most closely sensed it coming. Despite gaudy stats, a reformed attitude, much-improved defense and a clear positive impact on the court every single night, Boogie was left off of the 2015 NBA All-Star roster. Throughout Cousins' career, excellence has never been enough. Too many people in the NBA -- analysts, coaches, fans -- make up their minds about someone and never re-evaluate. Cousins caught a reputation as a knucklehead and malcontent early in his career and deserved it. All of that's over, but you wouldn't know it by the way some folks still talk about him. Even this week, as Cousins' All-Star status was discussed and revealed, you had people mentioning his propensity to argue with the referees. Oh, Cousins is tied for 23rd in the NBA in techs? Tied with Marc Gasol, Kyle Lowry, Sebastian Telfair and, uh, Joel Freeland? Huh.

Granted, Ziller is a Kings fan and adores his star in ways that remind me of my defiant devotion to Rajon Rondo.  But I guess that's why I get it.  I love (productive) guys that march to the beat of a different drummer.  At some point that can become distracting to the team, but as long as he isn't breaking the law or defying management, you can live with some of that for All Star level production.

Cousins might be happier in Boston given their stable ownership, management, and coaching situations.  He would be going to another rebuilding effort, but one that perhaps has a better heading than the Kings.  This summer Boston would have the cap space to go get him and Marcus Smart some more help and perhaps become contenders sooner rather than later (especially in the weak East).

I don't really know Cousins well enough to say that he'd be good or bad for the Celtics but I know that Danny Ainge has never been shy about adding talent.  He especially loves getting great value and Cousins could make it clear to the Kings that he wants out, which means that the Celtics could get him for less than his real worth.

In theory of course. Nobody has made a trade demand and I don't have any rumors to indicate to me that Cousins is a guy that the Celtics would go after.  I'm just speculating here and welcoming you to speculate and share your opinion.

So what do you think?  Should the Celtics make an offer for Cousins?  Should they push for it now or in the summer (or both)?

The Bucks are home to play the Sacramento Kings tonight in the last full day of NBA basketball before the All-Star break. That makes tonight your last chance to get in on the one-day fantasy basketball tournaments hosted by SB Nation partner FanDuel.com!

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Bucks vs. Kings Fantasy Tip

Nobody on the Bucks' roster is on a bigger roll right now than Giannis Antetokounmpo. In his last six games Giannis is averaging 16.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. That's an incredible stat-stuffing line for a player whose daily fantasy basketball salary is still under $7,000.

Wait, what am I saying? Don't pick him, we're gonna jinx it! No, wait, STOP!

Note: Any opinions expressed in this post are solely my own. See FanDuel.com for details and official rules. FanDuel gave me some cash to play their daily fantasy games.