Vlade's back! Grant Napear has been hinting on the radio for a couple of weeks now that Kings fans will be very excited about some upcoming news, and now we know what it is. The Sacramento Kings today announced that the Kings legend will be joining the team's front office in a full-time capacity as the new Vice President of Basketball and Franchise Operations. From the Press Release:
In this capacity, Divac's responsibilities will include advising the Kings front office and coaching staff, assisting the organization's global branding efforts, augmenting fan outreach initiatives and oversight of player development programs. Additionally, he will facilitate talent evaluation and help foster relationships between the team and a growing pipeline of European athletes.
Divac is one of the most beloved Sacramento Kings players of all time and it's awesome to have him back with the organization, hopefully for the long term. This isn't a small role either, as it seems clear that Vlade will have major input and influence with the team. Vlade seems glad to be back as well:
"It's a great honor returning to the city that has provided a lifetime of unforgettable experiences," said Divac. "Sacramento and the Kings organization were always in my thoughts and I often dreamed of having a role in helping our amazing fans realize the ultimate NBA prize. I'm thankful to Vivek for the opportunity and look forward to creating more special memories here."
The Sacramento Kings kicked off their season-long eight game road trip in the best fashion possible, trouncing the New York Knicks on their home floor 124 to 86. Sacramento led by as many as 44 points midway through the 3rd quarter in this one as New York was never able to get anything going on either end of the floor. Sacramento had six players in double-figures, led by Rudy Gay's game-high 25. Alexey Shved led the Knicks with 15 points.
This game was never in doubt as Sacramento came out gunning to outscore New York 35-19 in the opening frame. DeMarcus Cousins scored 12 of his 22 points in the first quarter, including a three pointer from the top of the key. Sacramento as a team was surprisingly accurate from distance, hitting 10-18 overall. Sacramento added to their efficiency by getting to the line a ton, making 32 of 37 attempts.
Ben McLemore joined Cousins and Gay in the 20 point club with 20 points himself on 6-12 shooting and 6-7 free throw attempts. It has been nice seeing Ben be more aggressive getting to the line under Karl. Ben also had 4 assists which ties his season-high. The Kings as a team had 26 assists to just 14 turnovers.
Sacramento's bench was productive once more, a continuing trend under George Karl. Derrick Williams had his second good game in a row, scoring 17 points on just 12 shots. Andre Miller didn't score and had just 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 20 minutes, but he played a big part in Sacramento blowing the game open in the second quarter. Rookie Nik Stauskas also got his first meaningful look under George Karl and ended up having one of his best games of the season, tying his career-high with 15 points to go along with 2 assists.
The blowout was the perfect situation for the Kings, because now they have to go immediately to San Antonio for a game tomorrow for a rematch against the San Antonio Spurs.
Perhaps the best thing about Stauskas' time on the court was the fact that he wasn't settling for bad shots or just trying to spot up for threes. Nik came out aggressive early looking to get to the rim or the line and it paid off. He went 6-6 at the line and most of his points came at the rim. This is the Nik Stauskas we have been waiting to see all year. Now let's see if he can keep it up against much better upcoming competition.
The rowdiest that Knick fans got was in the 4th quarter when they started breaking out "Tom Hanks" chants with the game well out of reach. Hanks went to Sac State by the way.
"Early was late to that shot". I love Jerry.
Shane Larkin provides a nice little energy boost off the bench. On a good team, he could be a decent change of pace option. He kind of reminded me of J.J. Barea.
Jason Smith was the sole Knick with a positive +/-. I actually think Smith would work well with the Kings as a bench forward option with his ability to shoot. Perhaps someone to keep an eye on this summer for free agency.
Carl Landry does not seem to factor into George Karl's gameplan, which is surprising given how good of a scorer Landry is. However, one thing that Landry is not is a passer, and passing is paramount to Karl's system.
Sports cities love their heroes, and Sacramento is no exception.
With Tuesday's announcement that Vlade Divac is returning to the Sacramento Kings organization, the Kings continued a long tradition of Sacramento nostalgia. All sports cities love their heroes, and Sacramento is no exception. Kings fans tend to welcome back reminders of their past, even from the bleakest eras of Kings basketball, players that most franchises may not be overly enthused by. Divac obviously is among the best of Sacramento's past, which simply makes the occasion even better.
This is the city that has welcomed back Reggie Theus as a coach. Welcomed back Bobby Jackson as a scout, an assistant, and now as an analyst for the halftime show. Welcomed Mitch Richmond as an owner. We were thrilled when Corliss Williamson was added to the coaching staff. We excitedly welcome Scot Pollard anytime he's in town, and the list goes on.
Kings fans don't haven't had a lot to be excited about in the post-Vlade era. Seeing one of our most beloved players become involved in the day to day operations of the team is a silly little thing to be excited about. But we should absolutely get excited about it. We don't have titles in the Sacramento era. Our best moments center on what almost was, but out of those moments came players that we loved and embraced. In a season full of ups and downs, the news of more Vlade is a welcome upswing in a recent succession of upswings.
The Spurs used their last bout against the Kings to snap their four-game losing streak. The two teams face off again for the second time in less than a week.
AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas March 4, 2015, 7:30 PM Spurs Time TV: FSSW - RADIO: 1200 AM WOAI
The Kings have played terribly on the road (8-18) and looked even worse without All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins (2-13). They got their franchise player back last night, but will still need to play great ball if they're to win their second game in two nights.
In that game, the Spurs slowly pulled away after falling behind by double digits in the first quarter, with Kawhi Leonard (17, 7 and 5) leading the charge. They compensated for their cold shooting by protecting the ball and letting their superior ball execution eventually result in points.
The Kings have the added misfortune of playing in New York on Tuesday. It's not that Andrea Bargnani and Tim Hardaway Jr. will tire them out them too much, but the late arrival Tuesday night won't do any favors for a team that's already short-handed.
Sacramento will be missing starting point guard Darren Collison, who continues to leave a playmaking void behind. Ray McCallum is still not comfortable starting, and newly acquired Andre Miller is too old to carry a bigger load than providing steadiness and leadership in the second unit.
Cousins' return makes this game a lot more interesting. While it was originally unclear how long he'd be out for, he came back and played well against the Knicks last night and seems excited to show new coach George Karl what he can do. Sacramento's poor three-point shooting means San Antonio can focus their defensive efforts on wrangling him down low.
As always Tony must dominate Fisher, and you can get your San Antonio Spurs tickets from Daniel Farias with Spurs Sports & Entertainment: Tel: 210-444-5607 | dfarias@attcenter.com
It's that time of the year again. Time for that traditional New York to San Antonio back to back. Fresh off a lopsided win over the Knicks, can the Kings steal the second game in this brutal back to back vs. the Spurs?
After a much-needed lopsided win vs. Lou Amundson and the New York Knicks, the Sacramento Kings head south to take on the San Antonio Spurs for what seems like the 38th time this season (it's the 4th). After playing last week minus DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings look to steal one in San Antonio, where the Spurs are finally home after their annual "Rodeo Road Trip". The two teams tip off at 5:30 on Comcast SportsNet California and KHTK Sports 1140.
3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR
1. New York to San Antonio is one of the stranger back-to-backs you will see on an NBA schedule. Luckily, due to the lop-sided game, no Kings starter played more than 28 minutes, so they should at least have fresh legs in time for the game. While the situation isn't ideal, the Kings need to put that aside and play the game. The Spurs are a tough game and will require great focus, so making excuse before the game even starts is pointless.
2. The Spurs are coming off their own 9-game road trip where they went 4-5. The Rodeo Road Trip has typically been a turning point for the Spurs, so that is actually a surprisingly poor number by their standards. After that many games on the road, they are almost sure to enjoy being back home, so expect them to play their A game.
3. Tony Parker has been struggling as of late. Outside of a couple of good games on the road trip (one against the Kings), he has been unable to find a shot. The Kings will need to keep him at bay and not allow a coming out party for him. Ray McCallum, Andre Miller, and probably Ben McLemore will need to defend well. Tony is far too good to struggle like this for much longer.
There are a few good matchups for this game, but I am going with the matchup at the 3. Kawhi and Rudy both are capably of going off on any given night, and Kawhi loves a good challenge on defense. I expect these two to go at each other all night. It should be some exciting basketball.
PREGAME LIMERICK
There once was a man named Vlade,
Who left, and the team turned to potty,
But know he's back,
And the Kings will attack,
And will leave a new trail full of bodies.
PREDICTION
Kings 112, Spurs 99 cause we're the Kings and nothing surprises me.
The Spurs used their last bout against the Kings to snap their four-game losing streak. The two teams face off again for the second time in less than a week.
AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas March 4, 2015, 7:30 PM Spurs Time TV: FSSW - RADIO: 1200 AM WOAI
The Kings have played terribly on the road (8-18) and looked even worse without All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins (2-13). They got their franchise player back last night, but will still need to play great ball if they're to win their second game in two nights.
In that game, the Spurs slowly pulled away after falling behind by double digits in the first quarter, with Kawhi Leonard (17, 7 and 5) leading the charge. They compensated for their cold shooting by protecting the ball and letting their superior ball execution eventually result in points.
The Kings have the added misfortune of playing in New York on Tuesday. It's not that Andrea Bargnani and Tim Hardaway Jr. will tire them out them too much, but the late arrival Tuesday night won't do any favors for a team that's already short-handed.
Sacramento will be missing starting point guard Darren Collison, who continues to leave a playmaking void behind. Ray McCallum is still not comfortable starting, and newly acquired Andre Miller is too old to carry a bigger load than providing steadiness and leadership in the second unit.
Cousins' return makes this game a lot more interesting. While it was originally unclear how long he'd be out for, he came back and played well against the Knicks last night and seems excited to show new coach George Karl what he can do. Sacramento's poor three-point shooting means San Antonio can focus their defensive efforts on wrangling him down low.
As always Tony must dominate Fisher, and you can get your San Antonio Spurs tickets from Daniel Farias with Spurs Sports & Entertainment: Tel: 210-444-5607 | dfarias@attcenter.com
What looked like a schedule loss actually turned out to be just that, as the Spurs run the tired Kings team out of the gym
Just erase this one from the memory. Due to a weird schedule quirk, the Sacramento Kings were forced to travel halfway across the country to play against the defending champs. And much like the game against the Los Angeles Clippers a week and half ago, the Kings team came in and played a scrappy first quarter, but fizzled out in the second and the game was essentially over afterwards. The San Antonio Spurs did what they had to do, destroying the Kings 112-85.
DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay both had frustrating, forgettable nights. Due to a combination of foul trouble and blowout rest, Cousins only played 22 minutes tonight, scoring 14 points and only grabbing three rebounds. Gay, on the other hand, was completely annihilated by Kawhi Leonard on both ends of the court. Leonard was in Rudy's shirt all game long, harassing the passing lanes, contesting Rudy's usual good looks, and bothering his shaky handle. On offense, Leonard was on fire, shooting 9/11 from the field and 2/4 from three point range. Gay got a technical foul out of frustration in the second and, in my opinion, probably should have been ejected because of his continuing verbal assault on the refs.
But there was plenty of terrible play to go around. Ben McLemore, after some explosive games, crashed back down to earth, only scoring 3 points when the game was still competitive and finishing with 9 on the night. Jason Thompson was godawful, missing several easy bunnies around the rim on his way to a 3/8 shooting night. Ray McCallum was really quiet, but got to pad his stats in garbage time to end up with 12 points on 12 shots. The Spurs, on the other hand, were able to get practically whatever they wanted after the second quarter, scoring 28, 31, and 27 points in the final periods.
Again, this one is probably worth just flushing from memory. The team got into San Antonio last night at 3 am, facing a Spurs team that traditional ramps up its intensity about this time. There's not much to glean here. The next game is at Orlando on Friday.
Random Observations
Derrick Williams continues to be useful off the bench. He scored 11 points on only 4 shots in this game, hitting his only three pointer. Williams' first quarter explosion helped propel the Kings to a lead. The only thing is that he needs to do a better job on the defensive boards, although that just may be by design because George Karl has him leaking out so much
The Spurs' defensive pressure really spooked the Kings. They were harassing ballhandlers, attacking the passing lanes and just making it uncomfortable to run the offense. The Kings would have had trouble beating this given their level of discipline even if they were fresh, forget about when they were tired.
The refs didn't help matters in the first half. The Spurs are a quality defensive team, but definitely got the benefit of a friendly whistle tonight. Unfortunately, this led to the Kings complaining to the referees in place of playing basketball.
Andre Miller is a marvelous passer. Its been so long since the Kings have had a passer of this quality that he just amazes day-to-day
The Spurs extend their win-streak to three with an absolute thrashing of the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.
The defense was great for about 42 minutes and the offense was pretty good all game as the Spurs put this one away shortly after halftime.
The Spurs started the game off on a tear, grabbing an 11-2 lead three or four minutes into the game, but then turnovers happened (11 in the first half) and by the end of the quarter the Kings held a 27-26 lead. A shut-down second-quarter performance by the Silver and Black held Sacramento to just 11 points and the Spurs led by 16 at the half, 54-38.
The Spurs extended the lead to 23 four minutes into the third and that just about put the game away - the Kings would only trim the lead to less than 20 for about a minute and the Spurs pushed the lead over 30 at times.
It's the Kings, but the dominant fashion by which the Spurs dispatched them is encouraging from a SA fan's perspective.
Your Spurs improve to 37-23 but remain mired in the seventh seed for the moment.
Notes:
The starting small forwards for the two teams had drastically different nights. Kawhi Leonard got the best of Rudy Gay on both ends, with Whi finishing with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting while Gay struggled and finished with 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting.
Tim Duncan was whistled for five fouls in his 19 minutes on the floor. That's the most fouls Timmy has picked up in less than 20 minutes in his career. He also moved into ninth on the all-time rebounding list.
Tony Parker looked good and finished with a nice 19-points on 14 shots. I say this after every good Tony performance, but let's hope he can build off this one.
This is just the fourth time this season that the Spurs have won a game by 24 or more points, but their second in their last two games. They had 11 such wins last season. Cautious optimism.
The three ball fell at a good clip for the Spurs. The looks have been there this season, let's hope the team can knock them down like they did on Wednesday.
The Sacramento Kings, with the help of some local contractors, installed the first steel beams at the new downtown arena site Wednesday.
The steel beams, the first of which was purple, were installed at what will become the team's new practice facility.
Each vertical column is around 40 feet tall, according to the Kings. Approximately 9,000 tons of steel will be used in the overall project. Steel installation at the practice facility will last around four to five weeks. After that, the arena itself will begin to go all "vertical steel" on us as well.
The Kings say steel installation will continue through fall of 2015.
The steel was supplied and fabricated by Schuff Steel, out of Stockton, and Pacific Erectors, which is out of Rocklin.
The team released the following video of Wednesday's installation.
In addition to this, the following work continues this week: the pouring of concrete mat slabs and pile caps (the seventh concrete mat slab pour has been completed); construction of the arena's concrete walls below the street and plaza level; installation of the aggregate base over the concrete mat slab to create space for conduit and piping pathways under the arena event slab; and installation of plumbing utilities in the aggregate base over the concrete mat slab.
The construction of the exterior walls (facade) of the arena will begin as early as fall 2015 on the north side. Things will really begin to become visual from L Street this winter, according to a Kings spokesperson.
Game 60 Vs. Sacramento: Spurs 112, Kings 85 Rec: 37-23 4th in Southwest, 7th in West Streak: W-3
If nothing else, the Spurs are at least getting back in the habit of blowing out bad teams.
That's not cynicism or sarcasm, I swear. It's a legitimate sign of progress. For the better part of the season, the Spurs have struggled to emphatically beat anyone, much less do it twice in a row. Consecutive 27-point curb-stompings may have been routine for the 2012-2014 Spurs, but not this bunch, not with so many of their significant players slogging through sub-par years.
Consider this: The Spurs, including the last two games, have won just nine games all season long by 15 or more points and just seven by 20 or more points. Before these consecutive 27-point blowouts, their best back-to-back showing were wins by 14 against Portland and 20 against Utah, both at home, on Jan. 16 and 18.
Last season the Spurs won 27 games by 15 or more and 18 by 20 or more, not counting the playoffs. They had seven separate instances of winning consecutive games by 15 or more including two four-game streaks of doing so. These Spurs have been hard-pressed to even win four in a row much less win them all convincingly. By now hopefully we've all come around to understanding the statistical variance of what Manu Ginobili calls "coin-flip games." Lucky teams win a high percentage of close games. Good teams win blowouts. You can have your unicorn-chasing narratives about being clutch and mentally strong and all that. The best way to ensure victory is to dominate from the opening tip and not let up. That's what the Spurs did in the last postseason, more or less.
They didn't exactly do that against the Kings Wednesday night, trailing 27-26 after the opening quarter, but took control of the game in the second period once DeMarcus Cousins was whistled for his second and third fouls 45 seconds apart midway through on a pair of dicey calls. That Cousins didn't get T'd up after his foul after his profanity-laced protest to two separate refs was a telltale sign that the crew realized that they erred.
Not that Cousins was having a good game anyway, mind you. Tiago Splitter made his third consecutive start and set the tone early on with an emphatic block of Cousins at the rim, and he and Tim Duncan combined to limit Boogie to 3-of-8 shooting and three turnovers in the first quarter. Once Cousins sat with 6:39 to go in the half, the Spurs turned a 37-33 lead into a 54-38 advantage at intermission, holding Sacramento to 11 points in the quarter and 31.8 percent shooting for the half.
No one for either side stood out, really, with the notable exception of Kawhi Leonard, who singlehandedly prevented the game from being an unwatchable mess, setting a career-high for points in a half with 19 on 8-of-9 shooting, connecting on various mid-range jumpers in isolation, pair of threes and some damage inside. He added his usual carnage on the other end, with three steals and holding an overextended Rudy Gay to 3-of-12 shooting.
The Spurs had more balance in the second half, with 12 of the 13 actives scoring at least one bucket (all but Duncan, who played just 6:12 after half and did not attempt a shot, though he did hang around long enough to pass Nate Thurmond for ninth on the all-time rebounding list with 14,465 pulls). Leonard had just one bucket in the second half, and it was a slam right in Cousins' mug. The most encouraging sign, however, was Tony Parker scooting effortlessly wherever he wanted and being able to get his teardrop off and finish his layups. He made 8-of-14 shots in all, finishing with 19 points.
Overall the game reminded one of the 2013 Spurs. The starters dominated but the bench was up-and-down. Ginobili made 5-of-9 shots, but threw the ball all over the gym in the second quarter, finishing with six turnovers in 20:44. Marco Belinelli hit a couple of prayers, but still made just 5-of-12 overall, with worrisome shot selection. Contrary to what we've grown accustomed to with the bench, the garbage time crew in the fourth were actually quite good but the actual rotation guys were wobbly for the first three quarters. It was heartwarming to see Jeff Ayres bounce back with a strong showing after his personal nightmare at Phoenix, as he hammered home an and-1 dunk, grabbed seven boards and blocked a pair of shots in 10 minutes.
The next step for the Spurs is to string more of these games together, regardless of opponent. They had a bit of a scheduled win tonight in that not only are the Kings bad, but they were on a SEGABABA, having played at New York the night before. Gregg Popovich spoke before the game about wanting to see better, more consistent ball movement from his guys, and though he insisted that concept isn't mutually exclusive with force-feeding Leonard the ball in isolation and post-up situations, the two sure don't seem to go hand-in-hand when you look at it on the floor.
"I think for moments today we did it well," Ginobili said of the ball movement. "It doesn't feel like we feel the necessity of really moving that defense to score the way we did against Portland, Oklahoma City and Miami last year in the playoffs. We still have a [ways] to go."
However they did it, they managed to get Leonard and Parker to both play well in the same game for one of the few times all season. When both do, the Spurs are practically unbeatable, if they play any defense at all. When both do, we wind up being reminded of the team that used to blow out people with regularity.
Your Three Stars:
3. Tiago Splitter (18 pts)
2. Tony Parker (54 pts)
1. Kawhi Leonard (92 pts)
[Players are given 5 points for first star, 3 points for second star and 1 point for third star. The numbers in parentheses are their accumulated totals for the year]
The Spurs showed that making a habit out of blowing out the opposition can help smooth out any bumps in the Rodeo Road Trip.
As I optimistically noted in the RRT Recap yesterday, "The Spurs are 10-2 in the home game immediately following the Rodeo Road Trip." In the most definitive way imaginable, the Spurs improved that record to 11-2. And it was exactly what the Spurs needed, not to mention the fans.
After a four game losing streak that featured some truly depressing play, a three game win streak is delightful. It also extended the streak of quarters playing the wonderful brand of basketball we have come to love and expect to 10 (admittedly with 6 of those against these same hapless Kings). The very important streak of winning by 27 points was also extended to 2 consecutive games, though it could've easily been by 35 on Wednesday.
The game started out with a heavy dose of Kawhi Leonard, as he did everything from posting up, isolating at the top of the key, to bagging corner threes. Pop said that Leonard set the tempo for the Spurs on both ends in the first quarter, and Tiago Splitter matched DeMarcus Cousins' physicality with great rim protection. Splitter has shown that he deserves to be a starter, and that is in no way a knock on Aron Baynes.
Another promising sign was an active and aggressive Tony Parker. It took a few minutes for him to get his game going, but this ended up being a really strong performance. After missing a few bunnies near the rim, I started to wonder if we'd ever see "Elite Rim Finisher Tony Parker" again, or we'd have to get used to "Corner-3 and Midrange Jumper Tony Parker." TP had 8 points in his first 17 minutes, and 11 points in his final 8, attacking the rim and delaying my existential plight for the time being.
Tim Duncan had a quiet but effective game. He protected the rim with 3 blocks, and was outstanding in his screening and impeding Sacramento's defense in the paint. Between his run blocking skills and back-to-back full court outlet passes, you'd have thought he was auditioning for his beloved Chicago Bears.
This was a fun game to watch, something I'm sure the players, coaches, and all fans could all get behind. Let's hope that the streak of games the Spurs win by 27-point continues against Denver on Friday.
Quote of the Night
"Well, I wish we didn't have cell phones & three-point shots...not gonna happen"
- Popovich on whether he'd like to see an amateurs-only return to international games (via @MichaelErlerSBN)
Odds and Ends
I've come up with a theory that Kawhi Leonard's strength comes -- like a modern day Samson -- via his cornrows. They were absolutely pristine tonight, and it makes sense. After being away from his stylist while on the Rodeo Road Trip, his hair was replenished for strength anew. See Game MVP below.
Marco Bellineli came out pompoms a'blazing. He had a 1st quarter buzzer beater that was really the last time this game looked like a contest. He shot 3-of-6 from deep and had some incredible passes that deserved more than his 3 assists in the box score.
This game had an incredible underlying redemption story arc. If you haven't yet read Michael Erler's piece on Jeff Ayres, do so right away. Tonight Ayres had an enormous dunk, an excellent block/steal, 2 blocks, and 7 rebounds in 10 minutes. The loudest I cheered all game was on his dunk.
Manu Ginobili had an incredibly Manu Ginobili-esque game. He shot beautifully, finished a Duncan "GO" route (and drew the foul), and made another one of his (literally) thousands of incredible highlight-reel passes.
But ... also had 6 turnovers.
Game MVP
Kawhi Leonard.
21 points on 9-of-11 shooting. 5 rebounds. 3 steals. 1 block. Many highlights.
Could be that 2nd quarter. Could be the offense when Boogie was off the court. Could be Rudy Gay realizing Kawhi ain't a rookie no more. Could been the formerly-big Macs (Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum) who came back to earth after their outstanding showing last time these teams met. Take your pick.
Numbers Game
14,470. Tim Duncan passed Nate Thurmond for 9th all time in rebounds. He is currently 36 behind Kevin Garnett (who has played over 4,600 minutes more).
62. Duncan needs only 2 blocks to tie Patrick Ewing for 6th, but the real target is David Robinson who currently has the 5th most blocks all-time with 2.954.
22. Maybe Lincoln would say: "One score and 2 games" remain, but with just under 75% of the season gone, the Spurs are still in the mix for a higher seed as they currently sit 3 games behind the #3 seed and 3.5 games ahead of the #8 seed (and the unconscious Russell Westbrook).
Internet Watercooler
I think Diaw might actually take offense to his omission:
I need to see more Baynes attempts at Cousins. Closest I'll get to watching two elephant seals fighting.
Last night against the San Antonio Spurs, Jason Thompson played his 518th game as a member of the Sacramento Kings, tying Peja Stojakovic for the most games played for the Kings in the Sacramento-era. On Friday, Jason will surpass Peja and sit alone at the top of the recordbooks. How on earth did that happen?
(Time to rewind Sactown Royalty to the year 2008)
"With the 12th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Sacramento Kings select ... Jason Thompson from Rider University"
When the Kings picked Jason Thompson, fans were shocked. Thompson hadn't been on anyone's radar for the lottery. Kings fans had been clamoring for Jerryd Bayless and talking themselves into Anthony Randolph so when Thompson's name was called, disbelief and confusion reigned. Here was a rare (ha!) chance for the Kings to use a lottery pick and the Kings used it on a little known senior from a small school.
While Thompson never really lived up to lottery pick standards, he's still become a pretty good roleplayer in the NBA and that's despite being in perhaps the most chaotic organization of the last decade. Thompson joined the Kings at perhaps their lowest point in history. That 2008-09 season saw the Kings trade away the last vestige of their glory year teams (Brad Miller) and embark on a full scale rebuilding project that was forestalled by the fact that ownership didn't really want to build anything in the first place.
JT never got a real chance to develop. Over his 7 years he's seen 7 coaches, over 150 teammates, two near relocations of the team, an ownership change, multiple other big men brought in to play over him that don't succeed (J.J. Hickson, Carl Landry, Thomas Robinson to name a few), and an endless amount of losing. It's remarkable that Thompson has remained as positive and productive as he has in spite of it. We as fans have expressed an incredible amount of frustration with this team and organization this past decade, but Thompson has been even more deeply impacted by everything because he's been directly involved.
Jason Thompson gets a lot of flack because of what he isn't. He's not a star. He's not a stretch four. He's not a rim protector.
I think it's time to start focusing on what Jason Thompson is. He's a hard worker. He's a good defender. He's loyal. He's tough. You have to be to have survived these last seven years (and counting) in this city, with this team. Thompson's longevity is a tribute to these attributes.
Congrats on 519 games Jason. Hopefully you can get to experience what winning feels like sometime in the next 519, because few players deserve it more.
The Spurs were locked in Wednesday night on both sides of the ball, shooting a scorching 56.5 percent from two and 43.5 percent from deep and racking up a combined 23 steals and blocks as they crushed a Kings team which was only able to hang with the reigning champs for the first quarter before things got out of hand.
After shooting poorly from deep across the board, the Spurs finally got on track and knocked down the open looks (and even some of those which weren't -- I'm looking at you, Belli) they seemed to have been getting, but missing for so long. The Silver and Black were due a nice regression to the mean, so hopefully this is the start of longer trend of improved three-point shooting.
This game was really the opposite of last Friday's contest against the Boogie-less Kings in Sacramento, where the Spurs shot five percentage points worse than the kings in eFG%, but dominated ball control so completely that their poor efficiency was mitigated by the sheer number of looks. On Wednesday, on the other hand, the Spurs managed pretty modest rebounding and BCI advantages, but generated tons of great looks and shot such a high percentage that the Kings couldn't compete.
The Spurs played absolutely ferocious defense, bolstered a bit by some decidedly passive officiating as the good guys swiped and swatted their way to 13 steals and 10 blocks. It was beautiful to behold the Kings' complete discomfort on the offensive end. Kawhi Leonard in particular tormented poor Rudy Gay, holding him to 4-16 from the field and a frustrated technical foul.
The Spurs defense led to a much-improved transition game, something which has been sorely lacking this season as the Spurs only average 10.5 fast break points/game, down from 13.2 last season. Those 20 points were a welcome site for a team which has been missing out on a lot of easy ones in games they could've used them. Hopefully Leonard's return and the nascent resurgence of Tony Parker will lead to an uptick in that mark.
That's a shot chart for the books -- look at that beautiful sea of green, just lovely. Notably, the Spurs apparently hit every mid-range jumper they shot, in addition to excellent finishing at the rim, which is a nice way to ensure a stellar FG%. I'll take it.
Players (Definitions at bottom of post, columns sortable)
Kawhi was feeling it from the tipoff, hitting his first five shots and looking completely dominant with a monster line of 21 points on 11 shots, along with five boards, an assist, a block and three steals in just 29 minutes. The Spurs seemed to have found a nice compromise between their democratic, whip-the-ball-around style of offense and ISOs for Leonard which was lovely to behold.
Tony Parker once again looked fantastic against the Kings, going 8-14 from the field and hanging 19 on a Kings squad which couldn't keep Tony from getting to his spots. He looked quick, explosive and savvy and was able to get the kind of looks we expect from our future HOFer, even scoring on a lovely patented TP spin move which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Danny Green and Manu Ginobili were both efficient and played disruptive defense, although Manu's passes tended towards errancy as he tossed it away six times to lead the Spurs in that category. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention that Jeff Ayres was second on the team in AdjGS points/minute, contributing eight in his 10 minutes of play, including a monster dunk which made everyone feel great after reading Erler's wonderful piece on the plight of guys like Ayres. Good on you, Jeff!
Not a ton of assists (see: Kawhi isos), but excellent shooting, fantastic rebounding and lockdown defense add up to a solid 105.2 score on the Spurs Index. Go Spurs Go!
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Definitions
eFG%: Effective Field Goal percentage. (via) Effective Field Goal Percentage; the formula is (FG + 0.5 * 3P) / FGA. This statistic adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal. For example, suppose Player A goes 4 for 10 with 2 threes, while Player B goes 5 for 10 with 0 threes. Each player would have 10 points from field goals, and thus would have the same effective field goal percentage (50%).
AdjGS: a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It takes points, assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls into account to determine an individual's "score" for a given game. The "adjustment" in Adjusted Game Score is simply matching the total game scores to the total points scored in the game, thereby redistributing the game's points scored to those who had the biggest impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.
Usage%: This "estimates the % of team possessions a player consumes while on the floor" (via). The usage of those possessions is determined via a formula using field goal and free throw attempts, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. The higher the number, the more prevalent a player is (good or bad) in a team's offensive outcome.
Floor%: Via Basketball-Reference.com: Floor % answers the question, "when Player X uses a possession, what is the probability that his team scores at least 1 point?". The higher the Floor%, the more frequently the team probably scores when the given player is involved.
Offensive Rating (offRtg): Points per 100 possessions.
Defensive Rating (defRtg): Points allowed per 100 possessions.
The values for each metric are determined based on how a particular game's performance compares to the Spurs 2013-2014 regular season average for that metric. For instance, the average effective Field Goal percentage for 2013-2014 was 53.7%. So if the Spurs shot 60% in a given game, the score for eFG% would be calculated by: (0.6 / 0.537) * 20, which would yield a "score" for that factor of 22.3.
Special thanks to:
Bill Connelly over at our sister blog Rock M Nation, for the idea for Study Hall (and many of the stats and definitions)
Three wins in a row! Let's look at some of the plays that stood out from the Spurs' drubbing of the Kings on Wednesday night.
Kawhi Leonard had this emphatic jam on Boogie Cousins after he beat Ben McLemore on the perimeter. Such a forceful dunk from Game-MVP Kawhi.
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Tony Parker and Tim Duncan run a give-and-go, Tony gets into the lane and draws Omri Casspe's attention which leaves Kawhi free to drift just below the break. Tony hits Whi with a solid bounce-pass and the cornrowed-one puts three on the scoreboard for the good guys.
The only guy actually playing in the league that is older than Tim Duncan, Andre Miller, has underestimated just how long Kawhi's arms and hands are. Danny and Whi switch, Miller looks to get Rudy Gay the ball for a post-up and Leonard takes the ball away as Miller starts to make the entry pass.
Tony Parker looked good in the game. Here's one of his oft-successful spin-moves that have become a rare sight lately. It's good to see TP aggressive.
Confident Tony in transmission is what you want as a Spurs fan. Timmy D clears out the lane for Parker and the Frenchman stretches out to keep Cousins away from the ball and gets the layup to drop. With Tony unable to finish the way that we've become accustomed to seeing lately, this was refreshing.
Let's end this edition with one more from Tony Parker in transition. Parker goes behind his back to get by Ray McCallum before he races down the floor, sees Boogie back and goes to his floater. The ball catches the front of the rim but a couple of soft bounces led the ball through the bottom of the net. The floater isn't 100% back yet, but it's going in and that's a step in the right direction. Good game from TP.
Hopefully the Spurs can make it four wins in a row when they take on the Nuggets on Friday night in San Antonio.
Sacramento's road trip continues with a weekend in Florida as the Kings start the first night of a back-to-back against the Orlando Magic. Orlando has been a little bit better since firing Jacque Vaughn, but not a whole lot better. The two teams tip off at 4:00 on Comcast SportsNet California and KHTK Sports 1140.
3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR
1. The last time these two teams played, DeMarcus Cousins wasn't available and the Magic ended up running the Kings out of their own gym. It was one of the final games under Mike Malone and a testament to just how important Cousins is to the team. Cousins is a little beat up at the moment, but he should be available and provide an option for Sacramento that Orlando will have a tough time dealing with.
2. Orlando's a young team, but they're not without some nice pieces. Nik Vucevic is one of the better offensive centers in the league today, Tobias Harris is a very good young wingman and Victor Oladipo is looking to be a future star. If Sacramento isn't careful, this Magic team has several ways it can hurt you.
3. One way the Kings should look to take advantage of the Magic is by getting to the paint. Orlando is 29th in the league in blocks and 24th in fouls. They have quite a few athletes but are inexperienced and lack rim protection.
MATCHUP OF THE GAME
Nik Vucevic vs. DeMarcus Cousins
Vucevic is a load inside and for Sacramento to win they can't afford to have him go toe-to-toe with Cousins. Fortunately for Sacramento, Vucevic is still far from a good defender and Cousins could look to get him in foul trouble early. If Vucevic is unable to play big minutes, Orlando's rebounding and offensive woes should be exacerbated even further.
PREGAME LIMERICK
Orlando's got some talented young men, such as the rookie Elfrid Payton, but don't Google Fournier, trust me, okay. We're not going through this again.
PREDICTION
Kings 109, Magic 94 as Andre Miller rebukes the Magic players for scoring and tells them they're grounded.
Six Magic men finished in double figures, as they beat the Kings in a tight one.
Coming off a tough loss to the Phoenix Suns, their fourth in a row, the Orlando Magic returned to action in game three of a four game home stand, this time against the Sacramento Kings. Things got close late, but the Magic managed to close out a close game, winning 119-115.
Before the game even started, the Magic were behind the eight ball. Prior to the game, it was announced that Evan Fournier and Luke Ridnour would once again be out with a sore right hip, and a straight right hamstring respectively. Also added to the Magic's injury report was Willie Green, with a sore right achillies, and starting center Nikola Vucevic with a sore left ankle. All four players, along with rookie Devyn Marble, who's out with a detached retina, were inactive, leaving the Magic with just 10 healthy players for the night.
Despite being short handed, the Magic got off to a blazing start. Behind Victor Oladipo's 13 first quarter points, the Magic scored their most points in an opening quarter this season, pouring in 35 in the opening 12 minutes. Their high scoring was done so in a highly efficient manner as well, with the team knocking down 72.7 percent of their shots in the quarter. Without Vucevic they struggled on the boards, giving up seven offensive rebounds to an active Kings team. Rudy Gay led the charge for Sacramento, scoring 10 in the opening 12 minutes.
The fast start carried over for the Magic, as their offense continued to run at an extremely high level in the second quarter. They moved the ball well, finding open shooters, while also taking care of the ball, turning it over just twice in the quarter, and three times for the opening half. Despite having only a handful of healthy bodies, the Magic's bench gave them a big boost, scoring 22 in the half. The team's 68 points were a season high for a first half as well. Oladipo continued to lead the Magic, pushing his total to 19, with Gay leading the Kings with 20.
Out of halftime, things continued to go well for the Magic on the offensive end. They were clicking on all cylinders, moving the ball and finding good shots. However, after pushing the lead to as many as 18, the Kings began to whittle it down, cutting to just six heading into the final quarter. The Magic's defense struggled to slow the things penetration down, giving up nearly as many easy shots as they got on the offensive end. Gay continued to torch the Magic, scoring 10 more in the quarter, pushing his total to 30 for the night. Oladipo had another quiet quarter, scoring just five, pushing his total to a team high 24 on the night.
With their lead disappearing, things were looking problematic for the host Magic heading into the fourth. They began to struggle some on the offensive end, while still not being able to string together consecutive stops on the other end. The Kings fought all the way back to grab their first lead of the game midway through the quarter. After the Magic grabbed the lead back, pushing it up to five, the Kings fought back and retook the lead once again after a three-point play from Gay. Back-to-back baskets from Oladipo and Channing Frye put the Magic up four with under two minutes to go. A pair of free throws from DeMarcus Cousins cut the Magic lead to three.
After a poorly executed after timeout play from the Magic, the Kings had a chance to tie or take the lead. The ball was swung to Omri Casspi in the corner, who was closed out on, and fouled, by Magic rookie Aaron Gordon. Casspi made all three to give the Kings a one point lead with just 32 seconds remaining. After an inbounds pass to Oladipo, the second-year guard found Tobias Harris open in the right corner for a three-pointer to give the Magic a two point lead with 28.9 seconds remaining. Following a big stop on a miss from Cousins, Frye knocked down a pair to put the Magic up four with six seconds remaining. After a three from Gay cut the lead to one, Harris knocked down four free throws to seal the victory for the Magic.
The shorthanded Magic brought forth a balanced effort, with six players finishing in double figures. Oladipo led the way with a 32-point, 10 assist double-double. Frye finished with a season-high 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Harris added 19, with Andrew Nicholson scoring a season-high 14. Ben Gordon scored 12 off the bench, with Elfrid Payton scoring 10 points and dishing out a season-high tying 12 assists.
Four Kings finished in double figures, led by Gay's game-high 39. Cousins finished with a 29-point, 12-rebound double-double, with Ray McCallum adding 13. Casspi rounded out the group finishing with 12.
After playing atrocious defense in the first half, the Kings comeback is torpedoed by awful decision-making
Well, you can't say they didn't have their chances. After the Sacramento Kings played the part of matador to perfection in the first half, the team woke up in the second and made it a game in the second. The Orlando Magic didn't exactly execute a pristine offense down the stretch, but the Kings still found a way to out-bonehead the youngsters. The Magic won 119-114.
It was truly a tale of two halves. In the first, Victor Oladipo got wherever he wanted on offense. The Kings decided to start the game defensively switching pick-and-rolls on the perimeter, leading to utterly disastrous results. Oladipo frequently found himself lining up to a hapless Kings big man, tonight mostly Jason Thompson, and feasted by getting layups, open jumpers, driving-and-kicking... pretty much whatever he wanted. Oladipo torched the Kings with 32 points, 10 assists, and 5 steals. The Kings also forgot to guard Channing Frye, who got loose for a season high six three pointers and 20 points. Thankfully, the Kings offense was humming along nicely all night, mostly thanks to Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins, who finished with 39 and 29 points respectively. But the Magic still 68-57 at half.
The Kings comeback came once the defense started stepping up in the third. George Karl switched to a more traditional defensive scheme, and the team was able to take the Magic out of their offense. A lineup featuring Andre Miller, Nik Stauskas, Omri Casspi, Gay and Cousins was particularly effective. The Kings found themselves leading 100-99 on a Stauskas three with 6:45 remaining.
Unfortunately, the late game execution was, um, shaky. The Kings lead would last a good 15 seconds before an Elfrid Payton floater would swing the lead right back. Then, in three straight agonizing possessions, Cousins would rush a shot in the paint, Gay would rush a fadeaway two, and Miller missed a three off the dribble. The Magic built a 108-100 lead, but fortunes reversed for the Kings one last time as the referees waived off a Tobias Harris three for failing to beat the shot clock. The Kings would grind their way back into the game and take the lead after Casspi was fouled shooting a three; Omri calmly knocked down all three free throws, giving the Kings a one point lead with 32 seconds remaining.
But the stupid just kept on coming. On the very next possession, an unexcusable mixup on defense gave Tobias Harris a wide open corner three, and the Kings would never see the lead again. Cousins would miss a shot in the paint, the Magic made free throws on the other end, and with six seconds to go the Kings were down 115-111. Gay hit another miracle three in the corner to cut the lead to one, leading to two more Magic free throws. The Kings had the ball with 3 seconds to go, but Miller turned it over getting the ball inbounds, and that was the end of it.
Unfortunately for Kings fans, these growing pains are all too familiar. Seeing as how this is the third coach this season, its excruciating watching the team adapt to the new system. Karl isn't without blame in this one because his defensive strategy in the first half was awful, but the late-game execution is something that has plagued this team all season, and that isn't something that won't be fixed overnight. Just another hurdle for this team to clear on its way to respectability.
Random Observations
Ben McLemore was completely shut out of this game. In a contest of 2013 lottery shooting guards, Oladipo wiped the floor with Ben, 32 to 0. Not only was McLemore missing from deep, he was surprisingly unaggressive, settling for jumpshots instead of attacking closeouts off the dribble. The Kings didn't need him offensively today, but the team really is that much better when Ben is aggressive.
I wasn't a huge fan of Andre Miller's game tonight. Miller got plenty of assists, but made some serious mental errors. He was a big contributor in the Kings' comeback though, which is more than anything a backup Kings point guard has done all year.
Ray McCallum sure does get beat up a lot without foul calls. I know he's built like a bowling ball, but come on refs, throw him a bone.
Omri Casspi was a mixed bag today; Casspi has only one thing on his mind when he goes to the rim, but hit some big shots and those three clutch free throws showed some serious icewater in the veins.
Boogie the rim protector was out patrolling the paint tonight. Played some great defense around the rim with three blocks. Unfortunately, the Magic decided that they were going to destroy the Kings from the perimeter tonight with 13 three pointers.
After a comeback that fell short, Miami must quickly rebound home against the Kings.
Miami has won 12 in a row at home against the Kings and win #13 will be needed for Miami's playoff chances. Currently tied with Indiana, a win could mean a #8 seed again.
Miami has beaten Sacramento by an average of 17 points since 2001 and beat the Kings 95-83 in their house back in January of this year. Miami is 5-9 on back-to-back nights while the Kings are 5-8 so whichever team wins tonight still has to deal with that under .500 stat.
Chris Bosh and Luol Deng combined for 55 points the last time these two teams played but this time Bosh will be out and Wade most likely back. Deng is questionable for tonight, but considering the effort given from the likes of Michael Beasley, Tyler Johnson, Shabazz Napier and James Ennis, you'd be ok with Deng resting some more.
As for Goran Dragic, he is questionable for tonight after aggravating his back against the Wizards. Sacramento is 3-17 when away from home since November as well.
What to watch for:
Hassan Whiteside: After being benched, Whiteside will be facing the team that cut him. Will he have a big night againt Cousins or a night where he picks up fouls in frustration?
Point Guard: Who will handle the floor with Dragic possibly being out tonight? If he isn't in full form, can the trio of Napier, Johnson and Mario Chalmers be enough of a balance?
The Pacers and Knicks scoreboard: Indiana will travel to NY tonight to play the Knicks. If they lose and Miami wins, the Heat get to be #8.
A glimpse of Arizona Wildcat performances in the NBA
Solomon Hill: Solo had one of his best games of the season on Friday night, as he had a team-high 16 points on 5-10 shooting, and went 2-5 from behind the arc. The Pacers jumped out to an 18-9 lead in this one thanks to 9 first quarter points by Hill. He contributed in other areas as well as he had 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block as well. His block was rather impressive because he hit a three in semi-transition, and then quickly got back on defense where he blocked Pau Gasol at the rim. You can watch this play at the beginning of this video:
Channing Frye: Frye had a monster game on Friday night in his return to the starting lineup. He had a season-high 22 points while shooting 7-11 from three, and 6-9 from behind the arc. And aside from just lighting up the scoreboard, Channing had a double-double too as he grabbed 10 rebounds and had 3 blocks too. Here are extended highlights of his performance:
Aaron Gordon: Gordon played 14 minutes on Friday and had a pretty minimal impact as he scored just 2 points, and grabbed a rebound. The increase in minutes is a good sign though. The Magic beat the Kings 119-114.
Derrick Williams: Williams was the third Wildcat to play in Friday's Kings-Magic game, and he pretty good in limited minutes. In 13 minutes, he finished with 6 points, all coming off three pointers, and grabbed 2 rebounds. It's kind of surprising that Williams only played 13 minutes as he was coming off 3 double-digit scoring outings in a row.
Jordan Hill: Hill had another productive night for the Lakers as he scored 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 24 minutes. Jordan has now scored in double figures in his last 8 games.
Andre Iguodala: Iggy played 23 minutes on Friday and was productive despite not lighting up the box score. He finished with 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and a steal. As usual, Iggy did a little bit of everything with his best work coming on the defensive end.
Richard Jefferson: Jefferson got the start for Dallas on Friday, but didn't do much. He had 4 points of 1-4 shooting, but he did make his only three point attempt. He grabbed 5 rebounds, had an assist, and a steal too.
Jason Terry: Terry came off the bench for Houston and in 13 minutes, he scored 2 points, and had 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
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