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Kings assign Hamady N'Diaye to Reno Bighorns

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The 3rd year Senegalese center will be taking his sneakily funny skills to Reno.

The Sacramento Kings today announced that they have assigned center Hamady N'Diaye to their D-League Affiliate, the Reno Bighorns.

N'Diaye has played 9 games with Sacramento, averaging 5.8 minutes a contest and 1.4 rebounds a game.  This is N'Diaye's fourth stint in the D-League, having previously played for the Dakota Wizards, Maine Red Claws, and Iowa Energy.

N'Diaye was the only free agent with an unguaranteed contract to make the cut out of Sacramento's training camps, as Coach Michael Malone felt he needed another big body, especially considering Carl Landry's hip injury.  N'Diaye has seen more meaningful minutes than most probably expected, providing energy and effort if not much else.

N'Diaye is rather old for a D-League assignment at 27 years old, but it's clear that his game still needs a lot of work.  The Kings would love to have a dependable rim protector available, as the team is currently last in the league in blocked shots.


Kings vs. Lakers final score: Sacramento crumbles late, loses 106-100

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The Kings straight up sucked in the fourth quarter.

The Kings probably should have beaten the Lakers on Friday, but the fourth quarter was an unmitigated disaster and L.A. won 106-100. Jodie Meeks and Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 19 apiece. Ben McLemore and DeMarcus Cousins each scored 20 for the Kings.

In the fourth, the Kings scored 13 points in 22 possessions while giving up 25. Before a meaningless McLemore three at the end, the Kings had committed four straight turnovers. Michael Malone did try to shake things up late in the quarter; he yanked Isaiah Thomas with four minutes left after some dicey offensive possessions, including an atrocious I.T. turnover. But McLemore, who had a breakout night, sat most of the fourth as Marcus Thornton played. Patrick Patterson also got big minutes despite bad shooting; Jason Thompson played well early, but didn't play in the fourth.

This was a bad loss, all told. The Kings are in Salt Lake on Saturday.

Sacramento forgets how to play basketball in fourth quarter, gives away game to Lakers

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The Kings played well the first three quarters, only to give the game away in the fourth quarter for their sixth straight loss.

Coming into last night, there was about as much hope as could be expected for a team that had lost five in a row.  Sacramento was competing nightly against some very good teams, even though they weren't pulling out victories.  The Lakers presented another quality opponent, but one that was banged up with several key players out.  Sacramento came out strong and won each of the first three quarters, only to let the game slip away thanks to what might have been the worst quarter of the season.

This was not a good loss, not even close.  This is the first loss of the season where I pin much of the blame on Coach Malone, although the players definitely deserve their fair share of criticism.

So what went wrong?  For starters, the rotation that played most of the fourth was abysmal.  The Kings rolled out a lineup of Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Thornton, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes.  There is literally one trustworthy offensive weapon in that lineup (Isaiah) and the Lakers knew it.  Ball movement slid to a standstill, and when the Kings did get shots, they weren't hitting.  For the second straight game in a row, Patrick Patterson shot 1-9 from the field.  His regression this season has been absolutely baffling considering how good of a shooter he was last season.  Now I cringe whenever I see him taking a wide open shot.

Marcus Thornton continues to give us nothing on offense, which is not the norm of the last few years.  Thornton is just a couple years removed from averaging nearly 20 points a game for us, and now it seems as though he only shows up once every five games.  I will say that he's been putting in a lot more effort on the defensive end, but offensively he's been awful.

John Salmons actually shot well last night, but when he's in the game you tend to get a lot of dribbling and isolation.  The Lakers were also able to take advantage of Chuck Hayes' short stature, with Jordan Hill grabbing rebound upon rebound for second chance opportunities.  Those second chances came as the Kings forced bad shots, only to see the Lakers score anyway because nobody could secure the rebound.

Malone eventually put Cousins in for Hayes, but that came with it's own set of problems.  DeMarcus was not having a good game.  His 6-17 performance was his worst shooting night in a while, and he also had 6 turnovers, making repeated bad decisions (like trying to run the fast break again) or driving into the middle of the defense.  Perhaps the worst part of Cousins' game though was his Pick and Roll defense.  The Lakers absolutely destroyed Cousins in the Pick and Roll.  Robert Sacre (ROBERT FREAKING SACRE) managed to score 11 points on 5-7 shooting in just over 16 minutes, largely by punishing Cousins when he overhelped on Steve Blake.

Coach's next substitution was to take Isaiah Thomas out of the game for Greivis Vasquez.  Thomas hadn't been playing particularly well in the quarter up to that, but the Kings needed offense and Thomas is the guy leading the NBA in fourth quarter scoring.  He's the guy who just a game ago scored 21 points in the fourth quarter.  This is a guy you want in at the end of games.  With the small ball lineup the Lakers were playing, we could have had both Vasquez and Thomas in the game, but instead our second best player gets benched for the final four minutes.

Coach Malone also kept Ben McLemore and Jason Thompson out of the game for far too long.  Thompson played just 23 minutes, but shot 4-5 from the field with 5 rebounds.  Ben McLemore was having the best game of his career, and he didn't re-enter the game until the final minutes when momentum was all Lakers.  The fact that those two players sat for most of the fourth while Patterson and Thornton (a combined 4 points on 12 shots) got so much time is inexcusable.  That's on Coach Malone.

This was an atrocious loss, one that the Kings still somehow had a chance to win despite how bad the fourth quarter was.  The Kings had just 8 turnovers heading into the 4th quarter, and then 7 in the 4th quarter.  At least three of those turnovers came in the final couple minutes when the Kings desperately needed a bucket.  The Kings failed to execute, and it cost them the game.

As a fan at the arena, this was an infuriating loss.  Yes, long term it's better if we lose, and it was very nice to see Ben McLemore have a great game, but this was not the kind of loss you want.  This was a game that Sacramento had in their hands, only for them to give it to the other team.

The Kings play the Jazz tonight.  If they lose and Milwaukee wins, we'll officially have the worst record in the NBA. But last night, we felt like the worst team in the NBA anyway.

Random Observations:

  • Our best player in the fourth quarter last night? Nick Young, who was nearly shooting the Lakers in the foot with how many bad shots he took.  The Kings couldn't take advantage.
  • Ben McLemore looked great last night aside from that late turnover.  He seemed to slow down just a tad and it paid off big dividends as his stroke looked pure.  He needs a lot more finesse around the basket though, right now when he's not dunking he's not hitting anything at the rim.  He looks like he's shotputting his floaters.
  • Wesley Johnson is becoming a quality roleplayer in the NBA, which wasn't such a sure thing a couple years ago.  He's becoming a "3-and-D" guy that probably would be starting for Sacramento.
  • Mike D'Antoni has done an incredible job with this Lakers team.  It almost feels like they're a playoff team without Kobe Bryant.  It'll be interesting to see how they play when he comes back since they'll be taking their best shooter (Jodie Meeks) out of the lineup for him.

Kings vs. Jazz preview: Worst of the west

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Good news: Sacramento finally gets an opponent with a losing record. Bad news: the Kings are awful.

If the Kings lose to the Jazz in Salt Lake on Saturday, Sacramento will take over last place in the Western Conference. Welp!

The Kings' season has been primarily without angst. The team's not good, but few expected more. Lately, the team has competed every night, and usually against good (really good) teams. The Kings almost beat the Clippers, Warriors and Thunder over the past week! But the Friday loss to the Lakers -- in which Sacramento scored just 13 in the fourth with a whole mess of sloppy turnovers and horrible attempts -- was ugly, and any flavor of loss to the Jazz would be gross.

So, uh, fun night ahead!

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Greivis Vasquez vs. Trey Burke

The rookie has nine games under his belt now, and while he's shooting poorly he's shown some glimpses of an all-around game with good rebounding and decent assist numbers. It'll actually be interesting to see whether Michael Malone puts Ben McLemore on him -- there's been some backcourt crossmatching of late -- or hangs him on Alec Burks and makes Vasquez work Burke.

On the other end, Vasquez needs to plug into the pick and roll more often. If it doesn't work with DeMarcus Cousins, use the power forwards or Derrick Williams. This is Vasquez's strength. Use it.

3 THINGS

1. Three-point defense. Utah is bad everywhere, including from beyond the arc. But the Kings have a habit of letting anyone get open shots. (Some of the fourth quarter shots L.A. got on Friday? My God.) If Utah shoots well from long-range, look out.

2. DeMarcus Cousins' mobility. He seemed sluggish on Friday, potentially due to the ankle. A back-to-back doesn't bode well for that.

3. Pride. It's a tricky thing to see with a bad team. But against a fellow horrid team, maybe it'll be more evident. We need to see it after that ugly implosion on Friday.

START FOUR

Man, I am really bad at this game. I finished No. 63 out of 81 on Friday. But I'm in the 30s out of 100 or so overall for the month. There's still time to catch me and be eligible for the drawing for a Kings gift card. You need to be ahead of me at the end of December. Here's the group. Keep in mind that you can make picks for future games, too.

PREGAME HAIKU

Are the Kings the worst?
Pretty much, if they lose this.
There's always next year.

PREDICTION

Kings 87, Jazz 84.

Kings vs. Jazz Fan Predictions

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It's Prediction Time!

Link to The Leaderboard

Below are a series of prediction questions for tonight's game. The first four questions will be asked every game, while the 5th will change each game.

Point value for predictions are listed next to the questions. If you believe that more than one player will lead a category, you can vote for multiple players, and this is worth double points if you are correct, but zero if you are wrong. Alternately, if you only guess one player when multiple players are tied, you get zero points.

All submissions must be input before tip-off. Any submissions after tip-off will not count. You are allowed only one submission and may not change unless specifically stated.

Questions:

1. Who do you think will win the game, and what will the final score be? (1 point for guessing winner. 2 points for guessing winner and correct score of one team. 5 points for guessing winner and exact score)

2. Who will be the game's leading scorer? (1 point for guessing scorer, 2 points for guessing exact points scored)

3. Who will be the game's leading rebounder? (1 point for guessing rebounder, 2 points for guessing exact rebounds)

4. Who will be the game's leading assist man? (1 point for guessing assist man, 2 points for guessing exact assists)

5. Predict Trey Burke and Ben McLemore's combined points, rebounds and assists (1 point for one right answer, 3 points for two right answers, 5 points for all right answers)

History of Violence: The Utah Jazz and Sacramento Kings don't like each other

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Tonight the Utah Jazz host the Sacramento Kings. These two teams seem to hate each other. Particularly Kings center DeMarcus Cousins seems to hate any point guard on our team -- going after Devin Harris, Earl Watson, and Mo Williams over the last few seasons. I guess he's going to want to say hello to Trey Burke tonight. But knowing DeMarcus he's going to probably going to have to get it done in the first half of the game . . . you know . . . because . . .

Of course, the Kings/Jazz animosity didn't start there. There's a long history. Check out this hilariously produced video of a flagrant foul Chris Webber put on John Stockton in the playoffs. Seriously, that's the stuff that franchise celebrates.

And who could forget Ron Artest (Metta World Peace) doing his thing?

Yes, tonight's game should be fun. And I'm not talking about all the Jimmer Fredette fans who will be in attendance. It's going to be fun because it's a match-up of two bad teams (the Jazz are 4-17, and the Kings are 4-13) that played and lost last night. DeMarcus Cousins is a wildcard. And our guys hopefully play with some pride tonight. The fun starts here at SLC Dunk all night long. Game Preview to drop around 5 pm MT.

Poll
Will something memorable happen this game?

  78 votes |Results

Utah Jazz (4-17) vs Sacramento Kings (4-13) -- Game Preview

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Game #22 -- Sacramento Kings (4-13) @ Utah Jazz (4-16)

EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 pm (MT) -- TV: ROOT Sports, RADIO: 1280 AM / 97.5 FM

NBA Regular Season Game #22:

Sacramento Kings (4-13) @ Utah Jazz (4-17)

December Game StreamsSactown Royalty (SBN) / Kings vs Jazz coverage

Cousins is a few personalities away from being able to drive in the car pool lane all night long

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Part of me just wants to recite the old pastor's speech from "Mississippi Burning" . . . but I think I'll just link to the video instead. Essentially . . . I have no more love to give . . . I have only anger in my heart today! I'm kinda sick and tired of dumb rotations, dumb substitutions, and overall imbecilery from our coaches. I knew within a minute of looking at Portland's offense that they love to take and make threes. Was this not covered at all in the lead up to the game? We know the players didn't cover it though. So I'm also sick to death of these players doing stupid things on the court. From Kanter's double clutch jumpers and Burks' degree of difficulty finishes to Lucas' bricks and Rush's turn overs. Our team isn't playing together, and our players aren't playing well.

The idea Jazz fans were sold on this year were losses, but close losses. The team would try hard and fight for one another. We haven't seen much of that this year, even in our wins. The Bill of Goods we were sold was one of the youth taking the necessary steps to get better and become future leaders of this franchise, instead we're seeing the youth not even get regular steps off of the bench. For many fans last night was a turning point -- even the most placid and 'wait and see' types were adamant about some of the necessary changes needed.

Change is needed in Utah. And we don't want to wait too long for the cancer to spread and infect other, currently functioning, parts of the healthy Jazz organism.

Well, tonight the Utah Jazz get to face off against a team that's almost as bad as they are. Utah is #15 in the West, and Sacramento is #14. The Jazz have a 4-17 record, and are 3-12 against the West. The Kings have a 4-13 record, and are also 3-12 against the West. The Jazz are 3-7 at home, and the Kings are 1-4 on the road. Ostensibly, this is a much more equal matchup for the Jazz than their previous two games: against the East leading Indiana Pacers, and then the West leading Portland Trail Blazers.

The Kings have lost 6 games in a row and are 2-8 in their last 10. They are coached by Mike Malone, who is in his first year and is sporting a winning percentage of 23.5%. As a team they have one of the worst defenses out there (28th in DRTG -- 108.0 / 100.0), and they don't really challenge shots at all -- they are 29th in opponents eFG% (52.3%).

The Jazz have lost only 2 games in a row, but are not much better, 3-7 in their last 10. We're coached by Tyrone Corbin, in his fourth year, and has a winning percentage of 46.2%. Ty did start his first season with a 28.6 winning %. The Jazz also spot one of the worst defenses out there (29th in DRTG -- 110.2 / 100.0), but the real force multiplier here is that the Jazz also have one of the worst offenses as well (#28 in PPG: 91.5; #27 in ORTG -- 99.4 / 100.0). The Jazz relentlessly send teams to the line, and are the second worst defensive rebounding club out there. (Glad to know we keep Gobert anchored to the bench, all of the metrics suggest that a dude who averages 9.6 DREB per 36 and has a 32.7 DRB% should stay on the bench when you are #29 as a team in it.) (Sorry for the numbers game, Tyrone.)

Both teams are missing key rotation players right now. The Kings are without free agent steal Carl Landry; and the Jazz are without Marvin Williams. Ironically, I could have seen both guys match up against one another had they been active.

This game is at home for the Jazz, and both teams played last night. Tonight is the second night of the back to back for both, but in addition to that, it's the 3rd game in four nights for our Jazz. The Jazz are 93-77 against the Sacramento Kings in the regular season. This All-Time mark looks even better when focused on just the Jazz playing at home, where we hold a commanding 61-24 regular season advantage. But with injuries, coaches, travel time, fatigue, and where the game is played I'd have to say that neither team really has the intangible edge right now.

It's going to come down to players and the main match-up is going to be between Cousins and Favors. It pains me to admit that Cousins is having a monster year, and his USG% really shows that he's the main man for them. A sideshow will be how Trey matches up against someone smaller and faster than him in Isaiah. If we can win these two head to head matchups I feel confident in the rest of our core helping the team get it done against their group.

Kings Player Stats:

PlayerPosGMPGPPGRPGAPGTOA:TOSPGBPGPERUSG%AST%TRB%
1DeMarcus Cousins51630.721.610.12.73.00.91.61.224.734.6%18.3%19.0%
2Isaiah Thomas11727.417.42.44.82.61.81.30.022.728.6%31.9%4.9%
3Derrick Williams43426.39.55.51.51.51.00.50.011.518.3%9.3%12.1%
4Greivis Vasquez121726.110.11.95.41.63.40.40.114.918.7%33.8%4.3%
5Marcus Thornton211326.09.62.71.30.52.60.90.111.817.8%8.2%6.0%
6Patrick Patterson41624.56.95.80.91.00.90.80.210.111.5%5.7%13.5%
7John Salmons321724.56.12.52.30.92.60.60.59.313.4%14.3%5.9%
8Ben McLemore231723.49.82.91.01.10.90.80.211.820.7%7.1%7.2%
9Jason Thompson41721.56.95.60.91.40.60.20.69.717.4%6.8%15.0%
10Travis Outlaw31414.96.03.40.60.41.50.40.417.416.8%7.1%13.0%
InjuredPosGMPGPPGRPGAPGTOA:TOSPGBPGPERUSG%AST%TRB%
xCarl Landry40------------------------

Jazz Player Stats:

PlayerPosGMPGPPGRPGAPGTOA:TOSPGBPGPERUSG%AST%TRB%
1Gordon Hayward232136.216.45.25.03.21.61.40.414.724.8%24.5%8.3%
2Derrick Favors452132.113.49.51.42.10.71.31.218.320.1%7.7%17.2%
3Enes Kanter542029.212.56.40.82.00.40.20.613.421.5%5.1%12.6%
4Richard Jefferson32128.09.42.81.81.71.10.70.29.217.4%10.8%5.7%
5Alec Burks212126.711.62.82.61.71.50.90.212.923.2%17.0%6.0%
6Trey Burke1926.212.02.93.81.13.50.70.014.523.8%26.8%6.4%
7John Lucas III11820.65.71.31.60.72.30.30.06.516.0%12.3%3.6%
8Jeremy Evans43819.08.55.01.11.30.81.00.823.617.2%11.3%15.2%
9Diante Garrett121216.14.20.93.31.62.11.00.011.727.1%33.4%3.3%
10Brandon Rush23414.01.81.01.31.50.90.30.0-0.512.4%13.4%4.1%
InjuredPosGMPGPPGRPGAPGTOA:TOSPGBPGPERUSG%AST%TRB%
xMarvin Williams341326.010.45.21.10.91.20.80.415.617.2%7.4%11.5%

At the end of the day, we're not going to beat any team with how we played against the Blazers last night. Our old Jazz teams responded to butt kickings by coming out with some fire and obliterating the next team they faced. I miss that toughness in this squad. (When does Mad Dog Marvin come back?) How we respond tonight will go a long way towards establishing our personality as a team. If we buckle early is this an indication that we've tuned the coaches out?

Ever the optimist I feel like we win tonight.

Kings vs. Jazz final score: Sacramento ends streak with 112-102 overtime win

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Ben McLemore hit a huge three and DeMarcus Cousins dominated as the Kings ended their losing streak.

DeMarcus Cousins could not be stopped as the Sacramento Kings ended their six-game losing streak by beating the Utah Jazz 112-102 in overtime. Cousins scored 28 points on 10-15 shooting with six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Isaiah Thomas added 26 points on 8-14 shooting with eight assists off of the bench.

Ben McLemore hit the biggest shot of the night, an open three with less than five seconds left to knot the game at 97. Before that point, McLemore had been 4-14. He added another jumper in overtime to finish with 15 and a career-high nine rebounds. McLemore also played more minutes than any other King (38).

With the win, the Kings ensure they do not have the league's worst record. (The Bucks also needed to win to make that happen; the Bucks lost to the Nets.) The Kings are now 5-13. They next play Monday back in Sacramento as the Mavericks visit for the first time this season.


Kings' win over Jazz as metaphor for Sacramento's season

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Two players did it all, basically, with some help from others. That's the Kings' story.

If you're looking for this Kings season to date in a nutshell, the win over the Jazz on Saturday does a pretty good job of it. The Kings needed overtime to beat the worst team in the NBA, and won on the backs of basically two players: DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas. Ben McLemore, showing glimpses of future success, added some timely plays, none better than the game-tying three inside of five seconds in regulation.

But Boogie and I.T. did most of the important work here, at least on offense. Cousins had 28 on 10-15 shooting, Thomas dropped 26 on 8-14 shooting with nine assists. For the season, the two are the Kings' top scorers at 22 and 17.8 ppg respectively. They are also No. 2 and 3 in assists per game and within the team's top four in effective field goal percentage and True Shooting.

Most notably, they are both in the NBA's top 10 in PER. The Kings are the league's only team with two players that high. Boogie is No. 6, I.T. is No. 10. Only one other King has a starter-level PER -- Travis Outlaw at 15. Greivis Vasquez is at 14.5. Everyone else is lower.

Cousins has looked like a legitimate star this season, and Thomas actually isn't far behind based on the numbers. Vasquez and Outlaw have been pretty good. McLemore, as noted, has shown flashes but is still below the level of consistent positive contributor. The power forwards have been surprising drains. The small forwards are, you know, the small forwards.

As Akis wrote this week, the Kings need more good players, plain and simple.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 2013-14 Week Six

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This week, this series couldn't be more aptly named.

The Good:

1. Competing against the Thunder

This was an exciting game, and one that the Kings could have won. No DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings gave the Thunder everything they had. The Thunder eventually showed they were the better team, and then Isaiah Thomas happened. Thomas scored 21 points in the 4th quarter, and even had a chance to send the game into overtime. He got a good look, but it was just short. I wasn't expecting this result, and I'm glad the Kings were able to take it to the wire.

2. Isaiah Thomas

See Player of the Week

3. Ben McLemore

B-Mac looked much better this week. The Kings have moved him over to the Point Guard position on defense to stop penetration and while he's still showing a lot of inexperience, I like him getting that experience. It will only help him in the long run, where he has the potential to be a phenomenal defender thanks to his length and athleticism. McLemore also looked much better shooting the ball, and hit a huge three to send the Kings-Jazz game into overtime. Areas for Ben to work on include dribbling, shooting around the rim, and just being a little more patient with his shot selection. Still, I'm loving what I'm seeing from the rook so far and think he's going to be a stud.

4. DeMarcus Cousins against Jazz

This is the Cousins we want to carry our franchise. He's just unstoppable down low and powers his way to the basket with ease. Sure, it helps that the Jazz didn't have much big man depth but he still took advantage by going inside rather than settling for jumpers.

5. Jason Thompson

Thompson has looked much better this week, especially offensively where he's looked less like rookie JT and more like last year JT. I still would rather see him come off the bench since he's a better post presence than Patterson, but so far Patterson hasn't been able to hit shots at a consistent rate yet.

6. Derrick Williams

I'm loving the energy Derrick Williams brings as well as his ability to rebound at the three. So far, he hasn't shown an ability to knock down an outside shot consistently, but he's been able to get to the line and to the basket. He's also been able to stay in front of opposing wings which is rather pleasantly surprising. He had to face Kevin Durant this week and I think he did a pretty good job staying in front and contesting his shots. I don't think Williams is a long term starter at SF, but off the bench or as a PF I think he can have a role in this league for a long time.

7. Nobody expects Chuck Hayes

Hayes comes in and is a professional every time he walks in the court. He's also pretty good around the basket when he gets the ball. My one criticism is that opposing bigs find it easy to grab offensive rebounds over him or lob it over him, but that's not his fault, just a practical fact because of his size.

The Bad:

1. DeMarcus Cousins against Lakers

We got good Cousins and bad Cousins this week. Cousins was terrible against the Lakers. Offensively he looked slow and he forced way too much. Perhaps it was his ankle flaring up, but he just looked a step slow. The worst part was his defense, where the Lakers repeatedly took advantage of him overhelping on Pick & Rolls. This allowed Robert Sacre (ROBERT FREAKING SACRE) to score 11 points on 5-7 shooting in 16 minutes. That's unacceptable.

2. Outlaw outlawed?

I'm not sure why Travis Outlaw has seen his playing time disappear. Outlaw had been having his best season to date, and all of a sudden, he started racking up the DNP-CDs again. Considering that the bench has been in serious need of a scoring punch besides from just Isaiah, I'd like to see Outlaw get more minutes, especially over John Salmons.

3. Marcus Thornton

Thornton may as well be nicknamed "No Buckets" this season. He has played 13 games and only two of those were above average or even average. Thornton's shooting just 38% from the field and less than 30% from three. He's missing wide open shots, and there doesn't seem to be an end to his struggles. He has been playing better defense lately, but even at his best, he's not a good defender. Thornton's strength is his offense, and without that, he might as well not be playing.

4. John Salmons as our designated defensive stopper

Since trading Mbah a Moute, the Kings have seemed to go to John Salmons as the "defensive stopper". It hasn't exactly worked out. Younger players have blown by Salmons regularly, and it's costing more productive players like Derrick Williams and Travis Outlaw minutes. Salmons is a crutch that doesn't help us walk.

5. Greivis' Defense

Greivis' defense has gotten so bad that the Kings have tasked Ben McLemore with guarding opposing Point Guards so as to prevent penetration. It's a good lesson for Ben, but bad for the team that Vasquez can't guard his man. The thing is, I'm still not sure I'd bench Vasquez because then our bench would have no scorers instead of just one. Vasquez's strength is his passing, and putting him on the bench would weaken even that since he'd be passing to guys like Salmons and Thornton.

6. 3 Point Defense

Sacramento seems to do an inordinately bad job of defending the three. Sacramento's three point defense is 28th in the league, as they're allowing teams to shoot 39.0% (This stat does not take into account the Utah game, where the Jazz shot 42.1%). Most of these threes seem to be wide open as the Kings rotate poorly. The Lakers especially made Sacramento pay for their mistakes.

The Ugly:

1. 4th Quarter against Lakers

I don't really have much else to say that I didn't already say in my recap. This quarter was just stupid, and I haven't left a game this angry since the blowout where Denver scored 90+ points in the paint.

2. Patrick Patterson's shooting stroke

This has been perhaps the most puzzling happening this year. Patterson was an excellent shooter last year, and is at nearly 50% from the field for his career. This year he's at barely over 40% from the field, and just under 25% from downtown. If Patterson can get out of his funk and hit his outside shot, Sacramento's offense will see a big boon. But if his struggles continue, the Kings won't be able to count on consistent production from a big man aside from Cousins.

3. The lineup from Hell

This lineup should absolutely never be in the game: Thomas-Thornton-Salmons-Patterson-Hayes. Thomas is the only true threat in the lineup. Thomas, Thornton and Salmons all tend to take a lot of time before taking shots, resulting in less ball movement. Patrick Patterson is in a big shooting funk. Hayes is too small to prevent offensive rebounds. There's no post threat. This is not a lineup that works.

Player of the Week:

Isaiah Thomas

21.3 PPG, .511 FG%, .400 3P%, 6.7 AST, 1.0 RPG, 4.0 STL

Isaiah is not without his faults, much like most players. But Isaiah's pros have far outweighed the negatives so far in his career. He's an exceedingly talented scorer, and efficient as well. He's able to make plays for others through his aggressiveness, and he also manages to be a pest on the defensive end. You can't ask for more from someone that was taken last in his draft. This week we saw Thomas outscore the Oklahoma City by himself in the 4th quarter 21 to 19. He also kept Sacramento in the game against the Jazz. Thomas is leading the NBA in bench scoring, 4th quarter scoring and moxie (true story).

Image / GIF of the Week:

Couple good ones this week.  First, we found out who Marcus Thornton looks like:

Finally figured out who he looks like

Comment of the Week:

A couple of phenomenal ones this one. First we have a response to someone calling Barbara (aka Sign Lady) the Michael Jordan of fans.

Michael Jordan: The Barbara Rust of the NBA.

Then we have perhaps my favorite response ever to a "What if we had drafted X over Y" question. Someone asked what if we had drafted Paul George over Cousins. Gabraham replied "Velcro". When someone asked him what that meant, he responded thus:

A pointless answer to a pointless question

FanPost of the Week:

The team I want to root for by CrossCausewayCaustic

Highlight of the Week:

Isaiah's 21 point 4th quarter against the Thunder was spectacular

Caption Contest:

Link to Last Week's Picture

Last Week's Winner: adamsite

Ref 1: "Ok, we have an ultimatum to eject Cousins. He is overdue this season."

Ref 2: "I got this. Guaranteed he'll post up next play. It's all the Kings got. I'll tell Bogut to sell it."

Ref 1: "Great idea. I'll call the Flagrant 2."

Ref 3: "What about instant replay? They'll catch us for sure!"

Ref 2: "Maybe we can kill the power again? No instant replay?"

Ref 1: "Yeah, that's the ticket! Call a Flagrant 2 on Cousins, eject him, kill the power, go home early and watch Grey's Anatomy! Bap, bap, bap!"

Last Week's Runner-Up: FutureGM

"We are calling a flagrant 2 on number 15 for the power outage."

This Week's Picture:

20131203_jla_ax5_399

A reminder of the rules for the Caption Contest. Leave your caption in the comments below, and the most rec'd (to recommend a comment, hit action, then rec) caption wins.

Nostradumbass Prediction for Next Week:

12/9 vs. Dallas L (Monta Ellis surprisingly looks really good when he doesn't have to be the #1 guy. He's having a career year, and the Kings will be hard pressed to stop both him and Nowitzki)

12/11 vs. Utah W (Utah simply isn't that good, and the Kings should be able to take advantage at home.)

12/13 @ Phoenix W (The Kings have beaten the Suns twice already, although both of those came with Eric Bledsoe out. I still think Cousins is a bigger matchup problem for Phoenix than Bledsoe is for Sacramento so the Kings should hopefully take this one as well)

12/15 vs. Houston L (The Rockets match up very well with the Kings. Howard is better than Cousins, Harden is better than anyone on Sacramento, and the supporting cast is deep.)

Nostradumbass Record for the Year: 8-10

Random Observations from around the league:

  • Jason Kidd has "re-assigned" Lawrence Frank from lead assistant to just writing daily reports. Frank's involvement was a big part of the justification to make Kidd a head coach in the first place due to his experience. What a weird year for basketball in New York.
  • I can't help but feel that Miami is not going to repeat for a third title this year. Dwyane Wade is hurting, and there are too many other good teams out there now. Indiana is deeper and so far has been playing much better. The West has seemingly a half dozen teams that could compete for a title. Personally, I'm rooting for small market Indiana to finally win it all.
  • Did you know the Charlotte Bobcats have the 3rd best defense in the NBA so far this year? That's not a joke. Zach Lowe had a great post on them the other day and whether their success is sustainable.

2013-14 Season: Oklahoma City Thunder weekly grades for November 30 - December 6

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The Thunder had a bumpy ride this past week, but still managed a 3-1 record. How did each individual player do?

The Thunder faced 3 potential playoff teams this week and went 2-1 against them, but oh how that 1 loss hurt. The positive is that OKC was able to gain a measure of revenge against the Timberwolves, but after a rocky showing against the Kings they could not put away the West-leading Trail Blazers. The Thunder ended the week well with a solid win over the Pelicans, but that Blazers loss still lingers.

Here is how each Thunder player performed as the team went 3-1 overall.

Game 1: Thunder finish road stand with 113-103 win over Timberwolves

Game 2: Thunder eek by Kings, 97-95

Game 3: Thunder cannot close the deal against Trail Blazers, fall 111-104

Game 4: Thunder get back on winning trail, down Pelicans 109-95

***

KEVIN DURANT

30.3 PPG 9.0 REB 4.8 AST 2.5 BL 2.3 ST 2.3 TO (-5.3 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_b_medium
I'm not going to hold the Nicolas Batum dagger three against Kevin Durant this week, so that's not why he gets a B. He was phenomenal against the Timberwolves with his historic triple-double. The other games, however, were pretty subpar. Durant has shown poor shooting in plenty of games this season and that must improve. He was active on the boards, recording more than 10 in 2 games this week. If he just cleans up his shooting percentage, he'll get his A again.
ShermanGrade_b_mediumKevin Durant won both NBA Player of the Week and Player of the Month this past week. So why did I feel like his play left something to be desired, and what does that say about how much higher Durant's ceiling is over everyone else in the West? The Wolves game aside and with the Pelicans win bearing an asterisk, I really didn't like the way Durant played against the Kings, and his defensive breakdowns vs the Blazers, throughout the 4th quarter were spotty.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK

20.0 PPG 3.5 REB 5.3 AST 0.3 BL 2.0 ST 3.8 TO (-3.0 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_cplus_medium
Russell Westbrook only shot 50% from the field one time this week. He also failed to record more than 7 assists in any game this week, and the 7 he recorded was against the Kings, in which was his best game this week. Westbrook needs to be more effective and he needs to be more of a facilitator to get a better grade.
ShermanGrade_bminus_mediumWestbrook's presence on the court always means something, and I really liked the way that he was aggressive against Damian Lillard of the Trail Blazers. That said, Westbrook's posture toward just about everything else with the exception of the Pelicans game was sometimes detrimental. Westbrook isn't finishing at the rim well, and when he isn't doing that, he doesn't get the same level of respect from the defense to pop off his free throw jumper. On top of that, I'm never, ever going to be comfortable with Russ taking more than about three 3's per game.

SERGE IBAKA

14.5 PPG 10.0 REB 0.8 AST 2.8 BL0.3  ST 2.3 TO (-0.5 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_b_mediumSerge Ibaka has been on a shooting tear this season, but this week he showed some signs of cooling a bit. Much like Westbrook, he failed to go over 50% shooting in any game this season. His rebounding and shot blocking was good this week, but we've been a little spoiled with his stellar play to start the season.
ShermanGrade_bminus_mediumCritics will point to what LaMarcus Aldridge did to Ibaka and automatically fail him, but I ask you, what player in the NBA could have stopped such an offensive barrage? LMA was knocking down 20 foot fadeaways with a hand in his face. It was just his moment. No, what bothered me more was Ibaka's weaker effort on the defensive glass in the 2nd half of that game, which enabled Portland to get a number of extra chances at the rim. Outside of that game, Ibaka keeps plugging along as one of the most balanced PF's in the game.

THABO SEFOLOSHA

4.0 PPG 3.0 REB 1.0 AST 0.5 BL 2.0 ST 3.8 TO (-3.0 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_dplus_medium
Thabo Sefolosha had a bad week. His game is judged on what he does defensively, not offensively. With that being said, his defense was missing this week and that's why he gets this grade. The fact that he averaged almost 4 turnovers a game offensively, doesn't help either.
ShermanGrade_cminus_medium
Thabo Sefolosha keeps slipping in big game moments and I'm not sure what to do with him. He's one of the Thunder's defensive specialists, yet he is often on the court in the beginnings of games when OKC struggles the most on defense. On the other end of the court, Sefolosha has taken only a single 3-pointer in December so far. This means that Thabo is essentially a non-factor on offense. Scott Brooks needs to figure out what to do with Thabo too, because at this kind of production and defensive inefficiency, it is more and more difficult to justify minutes to Sefolosha.

KENDRICK PERKINS

2.3 PPG 2.3 REB 1.3 AST 0.8 BL 0.5 ST 1.3 TO (-8.3 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_cplus_medium
Kendrick Perkins hasn't been terrible, but he hasn't been good either. His stats alone do not match with his salary. I think I speak for everyone, though, that as long as he isn't costing games, he's alright.
ShermanGrade_b_medium
I'd give Kendrick Perkins a half a letter grade for that ridiculous running hook shot alone. Perk's numbers continue to look like an eye sore and he's still missing easy catches down low that cost his team points, but I think his performance still justifies getting minutes as the starter. His effort against the Timberwolves front line was solid and still serves notice that Perk has a place to play in OKC.

STEVEN ADAMS

2.5 PPG 4.3 REB 0.5 AST 0.0 BL 0.3 ST 0.5 TO (-1.3 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_cplus_mediumI don't know if the love fest with Steven Adams has come to an end, but his play has been pretty solid. He hasn't showed the amazing moments he provided earlier in the season and pre-season, but the competition he's gone against has made it tough to do so. He'll be okay.
ShermanGrade_cplus_medium
Steven Adams did not get much opportunity to play this past week, as he was facing either a fast line-up or was getting hammered by Nikola Pekovic. He continues to pick up a lot of cheap fouls too and responds with a genuine, "What did I do?" He needs to work on cleaning that up so that Brooks needs a better reason to keep him out of games rather than basic foul trouble. On the other hand, THIS. That was like Randy Moss pulling in a deep post from Tom Brady.

JEREMY LAMB

8.8 PPG 2.0 REB 1.3 AST 0.5 BL 0.3 ST 1.3 TO (6.0 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_bminus_mediumJeremy Lamb still has been the best surprise this season, as his role in the rotation is pretty much set. He has shown improvement in his shot selection, and he is playing with extreme confident, which people believed he lacked earlier in the season. This week wasn't his best, but it was still really solid. As good as he's been, he still hasn't had his one big game.
ShermanGrade_b_medium
Jeremy Lamb continues to establish himself as a key player in Thunder rotations, and is getting more and more opportunities late in games. His shooting percentage remains strong and he only looks for good shot attempts, which has held his 3-point shooting right around 40%. I'm still waiting for a breakout 3-point game where he knocks down 5-6; I feel it is coming. On the other end though, Lamb needs to be less aggressive with his defense while playing in open space, as he's begun to pick up a lot of cheap fouls.

NICK COLLISON

5.5 PPG 3.8 REB 0.8 AST 0.8 BL 0.0 ST 1.3 TO (13.5 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_b_mediumNick Collison shared the lead for +/- this week for the Thunder and that gives him a bump from his usual C grade I give him. He's still the man.
ShermanGrade_b_mediumSteady as she goes. Collison is tied with the guy below for the top +/- on the team, even as he has struggled with getting his shot to fall. Let me be on the record as well that I'm not a fan of the Collison corner-3 play. He is now 1-6 on the season and every time he hoists one I think that the Thunder are wasting his best attributes in the offensive set.

REGGIE JACKSON

13.5 PPG 3.8 REB 3.3 AST 0.3 BL 0.5 ST 1.5 TO (13.5 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_bplus_mediumReggie Jackson tied with Nick Collison for +/- this week and that's no coincidence. I absolutely love the second unit of Jackson, Lamb and Collison because they pretty much run the show and display their ability to score. I don't mind the low assists numbers for Jackson because the second-unit has been really effective this season.
ShermanGrade_bplus_medium
Reggie Jackson continues to progress as an exceptional offensive player. He knows exactly to get what he wants, and he is not forcing the issue or trying to rack up a 20  point game when a 15 point game will suffice. That said, I'd like to see him work a little bit more to set other guys up instead of simply trying to take his own man off the dribble. We know he can finish well, but he needs to continue to improve his PnR game so that he can set up others as equally adeptly.

PERRY JONES III

1.0 PPG 1.0 REB 0.0 AST 0.0 BL 0.0 ST 0.0 TO (1.5 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_c_mediumAside from  a nice put-back dunk this week, we really didn't see much from Perry Jones. A few more minutes would be nice for him, but I just don't see anybody else falling out of the rotation to accommodate that.
ShermanGrade_c_medium
It is a broken record at this point, but what you get out of Perry Jones is what you give him the opportunity to do. In limited action, PJIII provided energy, an offensive rebound, and a put-back. Hopefully his recent DNP's had more to do with factors outside of his control. I think he has a lot more to give than what we're seeing.

DEREK FISHER

3.0 PPG 1.3 REB 1.3 AST 0.0 BL 0.3 ST 0.0 TO (-5.3 +/-)


GradeComments
JuanGrade_b_mediumI'm going to give Derek Fisher a leadership grade here. He shows that he's always ready and he has a great presence in the locker room. He had that nice 4-point play this week, so that gets him a little boost, too.
ShermanGrade_bminus_medium
Once again, Fisher is giving OKC exactly what they need and adding things to the table without taking much off of it. He is only taking a few shots per game and his role is clearly defined. His big 4-point play against the Pelicans shocked us all, and not because he made it, but because his toe wasn't on the line.

HASHEEM THABEET

DNP


GradeComments
JuanGrade_c_mediumHasheem Thabeet continues to log DNP's so we don't really have anything on him, except his Wiz Khalifa looking hair.
ShermanGrade_bplus_medium
I give Hasheem Thabeet props this week, not for anything he did on the court, but for his voice in reflection on Nelson Mandela's passing.

ANDRE ROBERSON


GradeComments
JuanGrade_cplus_mediumAndre Roberson is now with the Tulsa 66ers and that is the best thing for him right now. He's started a couple games for the Thunder is plug-in duty, but it was clear he needed to mold his game more. Being in the D-League will help his skills and it'll help him and the Thunder moving forward.
ShermanGrade_a_medium
Andre Roberson was assigned to the Thunder's D-League team the Tulsa 66ers, and nobody was really shocked at this move because Roberson right now just needs to play. He isn't going to get meaningful minutes in OKC, and there are too many holes in his game to be a consistent contributor. By going to Tulsa, Roberson can work to develop his shooting and finishing skills while still focusing on his best attributes, which are defense and rebounding.

SCOTT BROOKS


GradeComments
JuanGrade_b_mediumAside from some slow starts, especially against the Kings, Brooks did a good job with the team. His rotation is pretty much set in stone so he'll be judged in late-game situations and in-game adjustments. The team was able to rally against the Kings so it saved a 2-2 week and Brooks' grade would have been lower. The game against the Blazers was more of a Durant missed assignment than a bad call by Brooks.
ShermanGrade_b_medium
Scott Brooks led his team to a 3-1 record this past week, a solid mark against one elite team, two low level playoff contenders, and one lottery team. The biggest detriment to his team's play is that Brooks cannot seem to get them to start games well. They tend to rush on offense and give up too many open 3-pointers on defense, which has led to early deficits. He needs to get his players to be a bit more disciplined early on so that the starters can occasionally leave their bench with a lead to manage.

OVERALL THUNDER TEAM GRADE


GradeComments
JuanGrade_aminus_medium
A 3-1 record is always accepted, but the Thunder showed they can play away from OKC. They lost a close one to the Blazers, and that still hurts, but they played some quality teams and prevailed. Even the Kings, who probably aren't a playoff team, still have a good home-crowd and the Thunder came away with a win, despite not playing their best and that's exactly what good teams do.
ShermanGrade_b_medium
Again, a 3-1 record is strong, especially since OKC had on the 2nd night of a back-to-back a) a double digit halftime lead against the West-leading Trail Blazers; b) a chance to win it at the end. It was frustrating that OKC could not hold on, but I think the loss uncovered some of the telltale signs that we've seen over the years. The Thunder can get careless and reckless with how they play and fall back too often on their elite natural talent. The Kings game was almost a disaster because of it, and hopefully a loss against a deserving Portland team will be enough to alert OKC that they need to play smarter in order to play better.
Poll
Who was your all-star performer of this past week?

  5 votes |Results

Kings near Rudy Gay trade, according to report

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The Kings are trading for Rudy Gay, according to Yahoo. Yep.

The Kings are nearing a deal to trade for Rudy Gayreports Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

UPDATE 1: Woj reports that Johnny Salmons, Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes are headed to the Raptors. That means more Toronto players will be coming to Sacramento.

UPDATE 2: Vasquez leaving means that Isaiah Thomas becomes the starting point guard. The question is whether Gay becoming the starting small forward (as you'd expect) will take shots from I.T. and DeMarcus Cousins. Gay is a high-volume, low-efficiency shooter.

UPDATE 3: Woj says Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy are the other Raptors heading to Sacramento.

UPDATE 4: Holy crap, Ray McCallum is going to get minutes! That's not bad. With Salmons gone, it could also mean more time for Travis Outlaw.

UPDATE 5: Needless to say, this trade is likely to take the Kings pretty completely out of free agency in 2014. Gay is due to make $19 million next season. All Kings in the deal but Hayes were to be free agents. Hayes is due $6 million. Gray will be a free agent, Acy's deal is unguaranteed.

UPDATE 6: Intrigue!

That sounds you hear is Jason Thompson shaking his damn head.

UPDATE 7: The Kings will not need to waive anyone to make the deal since they are giving up four players and picking up three. They now have 14 players on the roster. Sign Trent Lockett!

Raptors Trade Rudy Gay to Kings in Exchange for Vasquez, Salmons, Hayes and Patterson

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Christmas comes early for many Raptors' fans...

Who needs to wait for December 15th?

According to reports, the Toronto Raptors have traded Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings for a package of players. Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski first broke the newsand indeed, it looks like another major piece of former Raptors' GM, Bryan Colangelo's empire, will be no more.

The deal has the Raps sending Gay, along with Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy to the Kings in exchange for point guard Greivis Vasquez, wing John Salmons, and forwards Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes.

While there's no player of Gay's talent coming back to Toronto in the deal, the move give the club a ton more financial flexibility as well as one of the league's top pick-and-roll point guards in Vasquez.  The Raptors worked out Patrick Patterson in the draft where they selected Ed Davis, and he should give the club some needed depth up front.  Salmons at one point was a do-it-all wing type and a solid perimeter defender but his stock has dropped in recent years and is likely viewed more as salary cap fodder.  And finally Chuck Hayes, while undersized at the forward position, will replace a lot of what Quincy Acy provided in terms of hustle and rebounding.

We'll be doing more in-depth posts on the trade in the coming days but from a bird's eye view, this trade is a win for Toronto as it removes Gay's salary, as well as his offensive stagnation.  I wouldn't even be surprised if the club improved in the wake of this move.

The next question then is, who's next on Masai Ujiri's chopping block?

Rudy Gay trade: Kings concede potential 2014-15 cap space in hopes of improvement

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The bet for the Kings: Gay will be better than anyone the team could have gotten for the traded assets or potential cap space.

Had the Kings held tight and waived John Salmons at the end of the season, they could have had enough cap space to chase a mid-rung free agent in July 2014. Instead, the Kings on Sunday flipped Salmons, Chuck Hayes, Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson for Rudy Gay and two small contracts. The Kings take on an extra $12 million in 2014-15 salary due to the deal.

In the unlikely but possible event that Gay opts out of his contract in June, the Kings would have an extra $7 million in cap space on account of losing Hayes' deal and the $1 million guaranteed owed to Salmons. Again, it's unlikely Gay will opt out of $19 million owed in 2014-15. Possible, but not likely at all.

Part of this deal is basically a guarantee that more deals are on the way. With Gay's massive deal, the Kings have $65 million due in 2014-15 before accounting for the 2014 draft pick ($2-5 million likely) and restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas, who figures to be upwards of $7 million, perhaps much more. The Kings absolutely need to lose another player in the Jason Thompson/Marcus Thornton range to make this work.

Pete D'Alessandro has certainly been active in six months on the job. Chances are there are plenty more moves to come before July.

Rudy Gay traded to Kings for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons and more

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The Kings are trading for Rudy Gay, Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy, according to Yahoo! Sports. The Raptors get Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Chuck Hayes.

The Kings are nearing a deal to trade for Rudy Gay, reports Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

UPDATE 1: Woj reports that Johnny Salmons, Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes are headed to the Raptors. That means more Toronto players will be coming to Sacramento.

UPDATE 2: Vasquez leaving means that Isaiah Thomas becomes the starting point guard. The question is whether Gay becoming the starting small forward (as you'd expect) will take shots from I.T. and DeMarcus Cousins. Gay is a high-volume, low-efficiency shooter.

UPDATE 3: Woj says Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy are the other Raptors heading to Sacramento.

UPDATE 4: Holy crap, Ray McCallum is going to get minutes! That's not bad. With Salmons gone, it could also mean more time for Travis Outlaw.

UPDATE 5: Needless to say, this trade is likely to take the Kings pretty completely out of free agency in 2014. Gay is due to make $19 million next season. All Kings in the deal but Hayes were to be free agents. Hayes is due $6 million. Gray will be a free agent, Acy's deal is unguaranteed.

UPDATE 6: Intrigue!

That sounds you hear is Jason Thompson shaking his damn head.

UPDATE 7: The Kings will not need to waive anyone to make the deal since they are giving up four players and picking up three. They now have 14 players on the roster. Sign Trent Lockett!


Rudy Gay trade causes lineup shifts galore for Kings

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There are, needless to say, massive ramifications for the remaining Kings in the wake of the trade for Rudy Gay.

The Kings trading four players for Rudy Gay, Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy obviously has massive implications for the teams' lineups. Let's go through them one by one.

STARTING POINT GUARD:Greivis Vasquez is gone, which means that Isaiah Thomas is the clear starter at the point. This is a good thing. Isaiah has been the team's second best player and best guard. He remained on the bench because ... well, I'm sure there were reasons. I didn't think it was totally unreasonable to start Vasquez but lean heavily on Isaiah as a reserve. No more of that: he's the starter.

BACKUP POINT GUARD: One of two possibilities -- Jimmer Fredette gets another shot running the team (doubtful), or Ray McCallum gets minutes. Ray is free, everybody! Ray is free!

SMALL FORWARD: It looks like, based on tweets from Marc Spears, that Derrick Williams and Rudy Gay may both be playing the forward spots interchangeably. I wouldn't mind seeing how that works. Neither can shoot a lick, but they are really athletic and both rebound well. John Salmons is not better than Rudy Gay, I'll say that. Quincy Acy is also a combo forward, for what it's worth, though I can't imagine him leaping Travis Outlaw from the start.

POWER FORWARD: While Jason Thompson may head to the bench if Gay and Williams are the starting forwards, he'll likely get more minutes with Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes gone. Patterson played more than 24 minutes per game, all at power forward.

BACKUP CENTER: Aaron Gray will possibly get the minutes Chuck Hayes and Hamady N'Diaye received behind DeMarcus Cousins. It's him, N'Diaye or Thompson.

The "one player too many" crush at shooting guard is unaltered: either Marcus Thornton or Jimmer is likely to rot on the bench unless Fredette gets point guard minutes ahead of McCallum. The big ol' question at starting point guard is solved. The forward situation is more fluid than ever. This team done changed big-time.

Rudy Gay trade: The Internet reacts

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Twitter naturally went wild with the news that Rudy Gay had been dealt from the Raptors to the Kings.

After trading Andrea Bargnani this offseason, new Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri worked his magic again, dealing the overpricedRudy Gay along with Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy to the Sacramento Kings for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Chuck Hayes and Patrick Patterson.

Gay has now been traded twice in the last two seasons, and he has been the subject of much scorn for his inefficient ways on offense. Despite undergoing eye surgery to improve poor vision in the offseason, Gay has continued to shoot poorly while using up a lot of possessions, which is a major reason why the Raptors wanted to move him:

The trade naturally brought about plenty of reactions from around the interwebs, and needless to say, Raptors fans are pretty happy the shot-happy Gay will no longer call Toronto home:

Out in Kings land, there was some mixed reaction. While some aren't all that excited about the prospect of Gay on the Kings, there was much rejoicing about the fact that Salmons and his jab step have been shipped out of town:

With this trade in the books, there are now important questions to answer about the future of the Raptors and Kings. Will Ujiri continue the fire sale? Will the Kings allow stat sheets in the locker room? Stay tuned for more:

More from SB Nation NBA:

Sunday Shootaround: Celtics focus only on future

Kawhi Leonard’s leap to stardom put on hold

Ziller: Everything you need to know about Isaiah Thomas

The Hook: How to eliminate intentional fouls from the NBA

Deeks: When should NBA teams pay the luxury tax?

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Utah Jazz Preview

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The cellar-dwelling Utah Jazz take on the Western Conference-leading Blazers tonight after a 32-point loss to them Friday. Throwing the records out the window, how could the Jazz pull out the upset victory against Portland in Salt Lake City?

Monday, December 9
EnergySolutions Arena; Salt Lake City, UT | 6:00 p.m. PST | Local TV/Radio: CSNNWHD; 620 AM
Out for the Blazers: C.J. McCollum | Out for the Jazz: Marvin Williams (day-to-day), Derrick Favors (day-to-day)

The Blazers and Jazz meet up in Utah tonight to play against each other for the second time since last Friday, sandwiching close losses for both teams over the weekend.

Dave and Ben covered Portland's loss to Dallas Saturday night, a game in which the Blazers dominated on the boards and at the free-throw line -- oddly, a few usual indicators that Portland would likely win a game. They were done in by sub-par performances in the paint on both ends, extra turnovers, allowing the Mavericks to score from all over and missing 21-of-30 three-point attempts.

The Jazz had a back-and-forth affair of their own on Saturday, ending regulation against the Kings tied at 97 points a piece. After leading at 102-101 in overtime, Utah succumbed to Sacramento and never scored again, losing the game 112-102.

We all knew that Friday's contest between the Blazers and Jazz would likely end in victory for Portland barring uncharacteristic performances by both teams, and the Blazers dispatched Utah in blowout fashion.

Friday's preview covered all the important individual and team-oriented match-ups between Portland and the Jazz, and not much has changed in the few days since, so that information is still applicable. Because there's really no need to rehash the same preview and frame exactly what's likely to happen tonight when the two teams face off for the second time in three games, let's take a look at what the Jazz would have to do in order to secure a victory against the Blazers instead.

To do so, we'll look at each team's average performances in wins and losses, considering both team and individual outputs. Yes, Utah has only won four games and Portland has conversely only lost four of its own games, so the sample sizes are small, but there are some trends that can be gleaned from the details.

When the Jazz have won games this season, they've scored about 16 more points on average than they have garnered in their losses. In wins and losses, Jazz opponents' scores have ranged from 98.8 points a night to 102.7, a noticeable difference but not nearly as important to victory as Utah's own scoring output.

Winning the assist battle has been key for the Jazz in their four wins so far, and unsurprisingly, when Utah shoots poorly, they're unlikely to beat a team. They hold teams to less efficient scoring performances in wins -- not very surprising, really- - but the differences in opponents' efficiency isn't as pronounced from game-to-game and in wins and losses as the Jazz' own performances are. Essentially, teams are going to score against Utah either way. The Jazz win games by collectively meeting where there bar is usually set and exceeding that by a great amount, meaning if they play way over their heads, Utah gives itself the best chance to win.

The only problem is that for the Jazz to piece together a good enough game for a victory, they have to see a lot go right. As you'd probably guess, winning the rebounding battle helps Utah win. Similarly, and the same can be said for just about any stat, the better a team plays across the board, the likelier they are to win. The key factor for the Jazz is outside shooting. In wins, they hit 47.3 percent of their outside attempts. In their 18 losses, they've managed just 29.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc, representing a huge swing.

Utah guards Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke seem to have the biggest impact in deciding games for the Jazz; In victories, both Hayward and Burke play much better in almost all areas. Because Hayward is shooting so poorly this year, when he takes fewer outside shots -- making a higher percentage of the ones he does attempt -- Utah plays better. Burke shoots way better and almost doubles his scoring outputs in wins. Bigs Derrick Favors and Enes Kanters are somewhat consistent from game-to-game, but small forward Richard Jefferson can really help swing games the Jazz' way when he's able to get into a scoring rhythm.

In short, for Utah to have a chance at winning a game, they usually have to see Hayward, Burke and Jefferson play well above how they play when the team loses. Winning other statistical battles as a team obviously makes a victory much more obtainable for the Jazz, but performing well from behind the arc is a large source of points for them, and when they're scoring a ton more points than usual, Utah's cause is helped tremendously.

The Blazers, on the other hand, usually lose due to poor defensive performances. In both wins and losses, Portland finds ways to put points on the board. When they rebound better, the Blazers help themselves out quite a bit, but really, stopping teams from scoring easily and often is how they've won most of their games. In losses, the Blazers give up an average of 112 points, whereas in victories, they only allow the opponent to score a mean of 97.4 points.

As you could probably surmise, three-point shooting is huge for Portland's offense. They've shot terribly from deep in their losses, but usually when they've won, the Blazers have done well from beyond the arc. Opponents' percentages on three-pointers are fairly consistent in all outcomes. Opposing teams tend to shoot very accurately from everywhere on the court in the Blazers' four losses. The defense doesn't have to play perfectly for Portland to win, and the offense doesn't always have to, either, but fluctuations in defensive performance are more detrimental to the Blazers and contribute greater to losses than does their offense, as a whole.

It sounds crazy, but forward LaMarcus Aldridge tends to play well in Blazers wins. Still, he's not averaging much worse numbers in losses, showing that he's pretty consistent from game-to-game. His rebounding, though, is a huge key to victory for Portland. There's a 4.5 difference in how many boards Aldridge averages in a win vs. how many he averages in losses, so if he's not doing well on the glass, his team suffers a lot for it.

When Blazers point guard Damian Lillard takes a ton of shots, Aldridge takes fewer and the Blazers struggle more as a whole. When Lillard is less of a distributor and puts more of the scoring load on his own shoulders, Portland tends to have a harder time winning games. In losses, Lillard is the only Blazer shooting above 30 percent from outside. In victories, there are five rotational guys who average no worse than 38.3 percent on three-pointers. It can't be stressed too much how important outside shooting is to Portland's chances of winning, because it so clearly swings games into their favor when they're connecting and makes deficits difficult to surmount when they're not hitting from deep.

In Blazer wins, the scoring is spread relatively evenly across the board, but when losing, the bulk of the scoring comes from Lillard, Aldridge and to a lesser degree, Batum. If these guys get no help from the supporting cast, wins are very tough to come by for Portland. Contributions from Matthews have been huge all season, and it's no coincidence the Blazers lost Saturday night when he shot 2-10, because his shooting has been a key element to Portland's success on the year.

You saw what happened Friday when both the Jazz played as poorly as they are likely to against an elite team, and the Blazers responded to playing a weaker opponent by stomping them by 32 points, effectively putting the game out of reach with over a quarter of game-time to play.

How, then, could Utah make this game close and possibly pull out a victory against Portland?

A lot of variables would have to swing from the norm. First, the Jazz would probably have to see lights-out performances from both Hayward and Burke. Jefferson would likely have to play a good game, and the rest of the rotation would have to play mostly average or better. Securing rebounds always helps. The outside shooting would have to be top-notch.

Defensively, Utah would have to put in a solid effort from start-to-finish to beat the Blazers, paying particular attention to the three-point line. Aldridge and Lillard could have their numbers, but they'd have to be forced into extra shots to get those points, lowering the possibility of one or more of the Blazers' secondary players contributing meaningfully. Stopping Matthews would be a good way to stay in this game, because he tends to help swing games one way or the other with his shooting. Predictably, backup guard Mo Williams has a similar -- albeit smaller -- ability to keep his team in or out of games via his scoring or lack thereof.

Portland shouldn't lose this game. The Blazers delivered one of their more impressive all-around outings in the blowout victory against the Jazz last Friday, and there's no indication that an upset from Utah is likely, especially if Favors and forward Marvin Williams sit out the game as they both did Saturday against the Kings. Still, it's interesting to think about what it would take for the 4-18 Jazz to beat the odds against the 17-4 Blazers and pull out a win. The door to a Jazz win tonight over Portland is cracked, if only very slightly. This game will probably be closer than the last meeting between the two teams, and Utah will probably come out a bit stronger at home after being dismantled by the Blazers in the Moda Center, looking to attack a few of Portland's weaknesses while trying to string together a decent performance from not just a few individuals, but the team as a whole.

-- Chris Lucia | Twitter

NBA trade rumors: Kings may shop Jason Thompson after Rudy Gay deal

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The Sacramento Kings have made two midseason trades to acquire two forwards, and that could mean power forward Jason Thompson will be the odd man out.

After trading for Derrick Williams and Rudy Gay to keep themselves busy this season, it wouldn't appear that the Sacramento Kings are done dealing. ESPN's Marc Stein reports that moving forward Jason Thompson could be the team's next course of action.

It's the acquisitions of Williams and Gay that cause that presumption to make sense. Both join the Kings after inefficient tenures at their last stops, and both will need plenty of minutes to be most effective. Though they are considered small forwards by trade, either Williams or Gay could fill in at power forward.

And it seems that Thompson, who has started at power forward alongside center DeMarcus Cousins, would not be against a fresh start elsewhere, according to Stein.

If Thompson were moved, Williams could slide into the power forward spot and start with Gay. The third-year pro hasn't shown he can rebound consistently or play on the perimeter, but Gay could make up for Williams' shortcomings to make for an interesting forward duo. Whatever the case may be, Thompson's role is currently changed, and not in a positive way for him personally.

Thompson is averaging 7.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season, and now the question is what the Kings could get in return and that's if anyone wants him. The 27-year-old and No. 12 pick in the 2008 draft signed an extension that is paying him $5.6 million this season and upward of $6 million through 2016-17, though the final year is only partially guaranteed.

More from SB Nation NBA:

The Hook: A tale of two Rudy Gay trades

Kobe Bryant returns: "It was really weird"

NBA power rankings: Pacers roll while Heat sink

Sunday Shootaround: Celtics focus only on future

Kawhi Leonard’s leap to stardom put on hold

Kings vs. Mavericks Fan Predictions

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It's Prediction Time!

Link to The Leaderboard

Below are a series of prediction questions for tonight's game. The first four questions will be asked every game, while the 5th will change each game.

Point value for predictions are listed next to the questions. If you believe that more than one player will lead a category, you can vote for multiple players, and this is worth double points if you are correct, but zero if you are wrong. Alternately, if you only guess one player when multiple players are tied, you get zero points.

All submissions must be input before tip-off. Any submissions after tip-off will not count. You are allowed only one submission and may not change unless specifically stated.

Questions:

1. Who do you think will win the game, and what will the final score be? (1 point for guessing winner. 2 points for guessing winner and correct score of one team. 5 points for guessing winner and exact score)

2. Who will be the game's leading scorer? (1 point for guessing scorer, 2 points for guessing exact points scored)

3. Who will be the game's leading rebounder? (1 point for guessing rebounder, 2 points for guessing exact rebounds)

4. Who will be the game's leading assist man? (1 point for guessing assist man, 2 points for guessing exact assists)

5. Predict Ray McCallum's FGA, Travis Outlaw's 3PM and Hamady N'Diaye's Rebounds (1 point for one right answer, 3 points for two right answers, 5 points for all right answers)

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