The Kings and Lakers were once the two best teams in the NBA. Now almost a decade later they're on the opposite end of the spectrum.
The Kings take on the Lakers tonight (7:30 pm on News10 and KHTK 1140) in Los Angeles. This once mighty rivalry has all but disappeared, especially with the Crown Prince of Darkness, aka Kobe Bryant, still out with injury. The Lakers have been devastated by injuries this year, but they've still managed to beat Sacramento in both games the two teams have played so far this year. The Kings will also be without DeMarcus Cousins, and they're 0-9 in those games this season.
The Lakers don't have all that many weapons, but Pau Gasol is still incredibly skilled and able to put up big performances. The Kings will be without their own main weapon, but shutting down Gasol will help Sacramento's chances big time. Thompson will also be able to operate in the post more with Cousins out, and that's where he is most comfortable.
3 THINGS
1. The Kings will of course be without DeMarcus Cousins, who is out with a case of sore fist. However, they will have the services of Rudy Gay and new signee Orlando Johnson. The last two times the Kings played the Lakers, Gay had yet to join the team. Theoretically, Gay should be able to have his way with Los Angeles' wing players, none of whom are premier defenders.
2. Kendall Marshall is having a bit of a career renaissance in Los Angeles, which is funny to say since he's in just his 2nd year. Marshall is averaging a near double-double with 9.5 points and 9.4 assists in 31.5 minutes a game, and he's shooting a ridiculous 45.5% from three, somewhat surprising considering his shooting was a knock coming into the league. Defensively though, Isaiah Thomas should be able to have his way with him, as he's slow footed.
3. As is the case with any Mike D'Antoni team, the Lakers love shooting threes, and are 3rd in the league in makes this season. The Kings are one of the worst three point defense teams in the league. Something has to give.
START FOUR
This is the last game of our Start Four contest, so if you've been playing, get one more good prediction in. Check out this FanPost for details!
PRE-GAME HAIKU
Oh silly Cousins, Your fisticuffs were bad form. Now you cannot play.
PREDICTION
Kings 143, Lakers 102 as Rudy Gay goes for 82 points in Kobe's building.
When Jimmer just wanted to grab a bite to eat with his GM, a brief second of phone silence changed the course of history as we know it.
One mishap can change one's life in a second. None learned this harder than Jimmer Fredette did when he called up Pete D'Alessandro to ask his friend if he wanted to grab a bite to eat at his favorite burger joint, In 'n Out.
"I was a little hungry and had been meaning to talk to Pete about my plans to retire a King and sign a long-term deal when he sounded a little confused. It is a confusing time for everyone right now, with the Winter Olympics being finished and us not knowing what to watch or do with our lives, so I just thought nothing of it. I said. 'Hey there Pete, I want to buy you some In 'n Out.'" said the fan favorite. "He told me he didn't really want to do that, and asked me how much it would be, so I told him $6.35, and he agreed. I went to In 'n Out, waited a few hours, and Pete never showed. I thought I did something wrong! Next thing I know, I am listening to Carmichael Dave and Keith Brooks the next morning, and I hear that I am getting bought out. It's messed up! I like it here."
"It was strange... about 11:30 in the afternoon I got a call from Jimmer and he said "Hey there Pete, I want to... buyout." I was stunned. Then when he said it would only cost us $6.35 I figured we did something really bad to make him mad, so I obliged. The next morning, he calls me in a panic and asks what I was doing. I told him what happened, but it turned out he just wanted to BUY me some In 'n OUT. I been meaning to change phones, as I have a problem with the sound going in and out, no pun intended. It's kind of embarrassing when you think about it. But hey, we all make mistakes." said D'Alessandro.
When asked if he was going to reverse the buyout the first-year Kings GM said, "Nah, it's a lot of paperwork, then I gotta talk to Adam Silver, send some faxes, it's kind of a lot of work, and I just don't really feel like stressing over every mistake I make. He'll forget eventually."
This was just the beginning, however, as word spread throughout the area. Stores were closing, rioters were rioting, and looters were looting. STOP even got involved and sent out 52 petitions to keep this transaction from happening. They were thrown out after it was realize that the petitions were written in scented marker and fingernail polish. Sacramento was a madhouse. That night, when word got to the Kings right before the game, reality struck.
"I heard first, then told Corliss." Mike Malone, first-year coach of the Kings said, "Corliss told me that whatever I did, I could not tell DeMarcus until after the game. The whole team cried for a few minutes until DeMarcus entered the locker room with a smile on his face. 'Where's Jimmer, I bought him a friendship bracelet. I've been so excited to give it to him.'"
The coach said he did not want to, but he had to lie and say Jimmer left with a stomach flu. The lie worked until the the start of the game, when the coach made a mistake. "Make a shot! Jimmer's not here to bail us out anymore!" exclaimed Malone. When DeMarcus heard this, he punched Patrick Beverly, yelled at the ref, tried to fight Dwight, yelled at another ref, tried to fight Corliss, threw his headband, and ran to the locker room crying.
"I might have overreacted a little bit, but he was my best friend!", explained the big man, "We were supposed to go to FunderLand this weekend. I just got a little emotional and I guess I kind of overreacted."
A touching moment did occur after the game when Jimmer came into the locker room after the game and said his goodbyes. DeMarcus was able to give Jimmer the friendship bracelet he had been so excited about, and the two shared a hug.
"It felt good to have some closure, and as soon as my other friend, Marcus Thornton, gets back from his vacation to Istanbul, I will at least still have someone to play with.", DeMarcus said of the incident. "Don't tell anyone, but I got him a bracelet too!"
Malone looked at us from behind him with one finger over his lips and a silent hush.
Ryan Lillis, the excellent city reporter at The Sacramento Bee, joins us to discuss STOP and the timeline for the new downtown arena.
The lawsuit against the city clerk by the Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork (STOP) group over their petition to put the city's arena financing plan on the ballot was recently tossed by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley.
Ryan Lillis of The Sacramento Bee was kind of enough to join me to discuss the latest news and what happens next with both STOP and the Voters For a Fair Arena Deal (VFAD) anti-arena group, as well as the timeline for the construction of the new downtown area.
So what is going to happen with STOP and VFAD? From what you are hearing, do you think things are pretty much over for them?
One of the groups involved in the lawsuit, Voters For a Fair Arena Deal, has flat out said they are not going to appeal so they're done. STOP has said they probably are not going to appeal. They haven't made a final decision, but time is running out on that. They'd have to appeal and have the appeal heard and decided on by Monday [STOP would later make the final decision to not appeal the ruling]. So what's next then, assuming that lawsuit is gone, the ballot measure is no longer an issue ...
You've got a separate lawsuit that's charging that there are hidden arena sweeteners and certain subsidies hidden in the term sheet that weren't discussed properly.
You've got the environmental impact report, which after the city council certifies it, there will likely be a challenge to it, there generally is in a project of this size. But those challenges can only take place within the first 30 days.
The city is very confident that they would be able to defend themselves against any of those challenges. And in fact, given new state regulation, even if there is a lawsuit based on the environmental report, the city can still continue with construction and continue with issuing those revenue bonds for the project even if there is pending litigation. So it could, at least in the short-term, not even have an affect on the arena.
With the Soluri (sweetener) case and the eminent domain issue (with the Macy's building in Downtown Plaza), would Judge Frawley be making the ruling on those too?
Frawley is not on eminent domain, he's, that I know of, he's definitely on the Patrick Soluri, Jeffrey Anderson sweetener lawsuit. The eminent domain case, you know, the leaseholder has asked for a change in venue. They want it to be moved to Alameda County. They don't think they'd get a fair trial here. The change of venue hearing is March 6. If the judge denies that request, a judge is then scheduled to rule on the eminent domain lawsuit March 11. If the judge rules in the city's favor, the city would just take possession there within 30 days.
The city and the Kings are very confident that they are going to be able to take control of that Macy's property either through the lawsuit or through some kind of settlement.
But clearly the STOP lawsuit and the ballot measure issue being resolved was by far the largest hurdle for the arena, which has now been overcome.
And just to clarify for everyone. This whole issue with STOP and VFAD has not slowed anything down on the arena front, correct?
No, not at all. As far as the city is concerned, they have pressed on throughout this process on the guideline that they set out last year. They said they weren't going to let a potential ballot measure play a role in the timing of the project until it became a definite, and then at that point, there was some concern that if there was a ballot measure pending for June that the bond market would be reluctant to issue bonds for this project. There was the question of whether at that point it would have even been proper for the city council to have voted on a term sheet this coming April. But the city was operating under the assumption that there wasn't a ballot measure or at least it wasn't playing a role in the timing, and they have stuck to their calendar for nearly a year on this project.
The next big thing coming up from the city's perspective in finalizing the environmental impact report and that is going to the city council in April.
Yes, they're targeting April 1 or April 8 for a city council vote to certify the environmental impact report and to approve the development agreement, which includes the financing package. It's expected that both of those will pass, very likely 7-2, as past city council votes have gone, and at that point, the city is all in. That's where they give their final blessing to this project and within a matter of just a few weeks, the city treasurer would be in New York City selling bonds for the project with demolition of Downtown Plaza right now scheduled to begin the first week of June.
And then we are looking at the actual construction on the arena beginning in September, as the Mayor stated at his State of the City address, correct?
Yeah, September for actual moving from demolition to actually starting construction; starting to build vertical as they say and start construction of the project, yeah. But the demolition is going to be quite a, for all intents and purposes, the beginning of the demolition is the beginning of this project because that is a huge undertaking - demolishing an enormous six-square block. I guess they're not going to be demolishing all six square blocks, but they are demolishing a huge chunk of a pretty sizeable commercial space.
Once this thing gets really going, do you see any other challenges coming to the project, and if so, where do you see that possibly coming from?
I would expect there to be challenges to the environmental report, but I don't know how to characterize them in terms of are they going to be significant or not significant. It doesn't seem that Caltrans, the state Department of Transportation has an issue, they don't seem to have an issue with the project. You will almost certainly see challenges from citizens, from local groups and probably maybe even multiple challenges, but I can't say how significant they'll be until they actually materialize.
Lastly, on a lighter note, I saw your whole back and forth on Twitter with Dave Deuce Mason over at KHTK, so I wanted to get your side of the story as far as these claims that he would beat you in a media trampoline dunk contest.
He didn't say that there was going to be a trampoline involved. See that's a little different, then I would destroy him. I was a triple jumper in high school and college, granted that was 20 years ago. But I still like to say that I could dunk on like an eight-foot hoop. And if you throw a trampoline into the mix, yeah, my first trick I said would be to dunk over Carmichael Dave like he was Blake Griffin's Kia, that would be my first dunk.
I think this needs to happen.
There used to be a [media] football game, but I've never played in a basketball game with competing media. We're getting old and I'm afraid that you're just asking for like ruptured Achilles tendons all over the basketball court.
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 Orlando Johnson's Playing time (1 point if you guess DNP-CD and are right, 3 points for within a minute, 5 points within 10 seconds, 10 points for exactly right)
Jordan Farmer scored 30 points on 14 shots, including 8-10 from three point range, as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 126-122 in front of a crowd of 18,997 at the Staples Center. The Lakers shot an unbelievable 19-27 (70%!) from beyond the arc, offsetting a 32 point performance by Rudy Gay. Isaiah Thomas and Derrick Williams scored 26 points each - Williams was pressed into a starting role as DeMarcus Cousins sat out his suspension. The Kings drop to 20-38, while the Lakers improve to 20-39.
Orlando Johnson made his Kings debut with 4 points in 14 minutes, and the non-boxscore highlight of the night had to be watching the Kabong Brothers (Reggie Evans and Quincy Acy) share the floor for a spell. Evans and Jason Thompson combined for an animal style double-double (25 points, 20 boards) out of the center position.
The Kings take on the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow at Sleep Train Arena.
The Pacers are in Boston where their March schedule increases in intensity and difficulty. The game in Boston on Saturday night will be the first of five games in seven days.
The Pacers hope to be at full steam when they visit the Boston Celtics on Saturday night, but the status of George Hill's shoulder remains day-to-day which means he will likely be a game-time decision.
If Hill can't go or is limited, Evan Turner may see more minutes along with C.J. Watson. We've seen the good, the bad and the ugly from Turner in his first two games. He can do a variety of things on the court and showed against the Bucks that he doesn't have to score to keep things rolling on the floor, but there's no doubt he will get his shots up.
Those shots weren't falling against the Bucks, but the great thing about having Turner in this reserve roll is that he doesn't have to play 25 minutes. If things aren't going well, the Pacers can just go back to their first line of attack. There will surely be games where Turner has a big hand in delivering a W, but the Pacers don't necessarily need him to come up big every night.
Depth of talent often spreads the big numbers throughout the Pacers playing rotation and creates a roll Turner will have to get used to, where he doesn't have to be the man every time he takes the court.
As you will see in the links, Rajon Rondo created a little drama for Brad Stevens in drama by recently missing a game, but the C's will have Rondo available tonight. Also, Orlando Johnson played off the bench for the Kings in their loss to the Lakers last night. Pulp logged 14 minutes with four points, two assists and a rebound.
The Kings put up an embarrassing defensive effort in Los Angeles yesterday and need to do much better to beat the Timberwolves.
In the second night of a back to back, the Kings take on the Wolves (7:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California and KHTK 1140) after an embarrassing loss in Los Angeles where they gave up 19 of 27 threes to the Lakers. The Kings were of course without DeMarcus Cousins, suspended for punching Patrick Beverly. The Kings are now 0-10 without Cousins, who will be back in action tonight.
Two of the best big men in the league, not exactly going head to head, but if one gets going, that could change the course of the game for their team. Love is a threat all the way out to the three point line and with his passing, but Cousins is stronger in the post and a better defender. Cousins also has the benefit of a day of rest and hopefully something to prove.
3 THINGS
1. The Wolves could be without Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic, or they could have both. Martin's been out for a while with a fractured thumb, and Pekovic has been dealing with ankle bursitis. Pekovic is one of the few players that seems to give Cousins consistent trouble thanks to his strength, so if he's gone, that's a big boon for the Kings. If not, Cousins will have to have another performance like he did the last time the Kings played Minnesota.
2. The Timberwolves are better than their record indicates. According to their point differential, they should be 36-21, but instead are 28-29 as they've lost an astounding amount of close games. They've only won two games that have been decided by five points or less out of 16.
3. The Wolves are actually a solid defensive team, but they're one of the worst shot blocking teams in the league. Their defense is all about forcing turnovers and bad shots, but if you can attack the rim consistently, you can score on them. The Kings are blessed with multiple guys that can do that.
START FOUR
We'll announce the winner of the Start Four contest soon, thanks for playing.
PRE-GAME HAIKU
19 freaking threes??? Jordan Farmar hit 8? Wow. Pretend to play D.
PREDICTION
Kings 108, Timberwolves 308 as Minnesota hits 91 threes.
The Kings gave up 19 threes and the victory to a Lakers team that's been backtracking faster than they have this season, and we continue to pour gasoline on the tanking fire.
The number one cause for tanking accusations is bad teams. The Kings are a bad team. Sure, you have your prototypical rebuilding teams. Those that tear the whole three bedroom house down in the hopes of constructing a mansion. But the Kings have been trying to rebuild on the fly; adding a couple extra rooms, maybe redoing the kitchen a little. They're going for the big time, they're just maintaining the foundation to the house, no matter how faulty it may be.
No matter what stage of your rebuilding you're in, though, you can look at any given time and see the wreckage. Maybe the kitchen is in shambles, maybe the guest room has been stripped down to its foundation. Basically, up until the remodel is complete, the house isn't looking too great. Last night was a prime example of the manifestations of that wreckage.
Ben McLemore played 30 minutes, scored 0 points, went under on a inordinate amount of screens and sagged off of guys who are going to do little else other than hit threes.
Ray McCallum played 23 minutes, had decent production off the bench and in two guard lineups with Isaiah, but also had the same trouble containing three point shooters.
To start the game the Kings gave up dribble penetration at will, and then when that problem was corrected a little bit things swung the other way and the Lakers dropped an unconscionable amount of three pointers.
I compare it a little to the visual of somebody with their hands full beginning to drop something, beginning to make a few futile attempts to keep it from falling over and then dropping even more things in the process.
The Kings dropped half of their stuff, and they never really picked it back up.
The Lakers scored 72 points in the second half with 14 of their threes coming in that time as well. That's gaudy, I'd say, for a team being commandeered by the likes of Jordan Farmar, Wesley Johnson and Jodie Meeks. But those were the players that killed us.
It'd be hard for the Kings to have given up 19 wide open threes, which they didn't entirely. A lot of times Jordan Farmar was able to shoot right over the top of Isaiah, or the Lakers were able to get threes in semi-transition off of bad Kings' offensive possessions.
Granted, the Kings were playing without DeMarcus Cousins. It's not clear how much he would've helped with the Lakers' three point barrage, but the Kings were clearly not at their strongest capability. They were at least able to find relative success in lineups that featured Derrick Williams at the 4, he had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 2 steals on 10-20 shooting.
On a little bit of a side note, it'll be interesting to me to see how the Kings rejigger the power forward rotation in the off-season. While it's clear the Kings were angling to trade Jason Thompson, he and Derrick Williams played well together as the two big men. There's a higher cap figure attributed to Landry's contract, and he also plays the same position as Derrick Williams. As two tweener forwards, there's little likelihood that an average defense in spot minutes can be built around them off the bench, so the Kings might have to choose on down the road. Carl Landry was Pete's first Free Agent acquisition, and while that hasn't shown to matter much (Vasquez, Greivis; Mbah a Moute), moving Landry would be an almost complete wipe-out of D'Alessandro's 2013 offseason. To me the ideal scenario would be acquiring a big man that better complements Cousins, whether it be Noah Vonleh or somebody already in the league, dealing Landry and then moving forward with a four-big rotation of Cousins, Complement X, Williams and Thompson. And this isn't even bringing into account Reggie Evans and Quincy Acy, who'd be good guys to have on any team. First, though, the Kings will probably want to know how much Derrick Williams' next contract will be valued at, if they're making personnel calls on relative economic feasibility. Williams' contract expires after next season, so this will be resolved soon.
Anyways, back to the game. Isaiah Thomas had 26 points on 10-16 shooting to go along with 8 assists, but was uncharacteristically bad in regards to taking care of the basketball, relinquishing possession 5 times.
As a whole, the Kings took great care of the ball, only coughing it up 11 times.
The Lakers had 35 assists in the game, however, with 17 of them coming from the point guard tandem of Kendall Marshall and Jordan Farmar.
16 of the Lakers' 19 threes came off of assists, and to me, that is representative of a Kings team that's slow to make rotations and unsound in playing off the ball defense. Passively double teaming the post-up situations leading to open threes from the post entry passer, rotating to the roll man in PNRs so much that it only takes one reversal of the ball to find an open three point shooter, those are all things the Kings have been getting beat in for long stretches of the season.
This is what happens when you're remodeling the house. You don't pull out the kitchen sink and expect to be able to wash the dishes right after. You might have it thrown at you from time to time in the form of Jordan Farmar and Marshan Brooks, but you just hope in the end the new house is worth it. We might pull out the tank card as an excuse for the process, but this was inherent all along.
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. How many threes will the Timberwolves hit, which one will attempt the most threes, and which one hits the most threes (These guesses are all Timberwolves) (1 point for one right, 3 points for 2 right, 5 points for all right)
Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reports that Jimmer Fredette will sign with the Bulls. And stuff.
We all knew it would happen, and it did. Jimmer Fredette, formerly of the Sacramento Kings, cleared waivers. After doing so he signed with the Chicago Bulls. So, I guess he will take his talents to Lake Michigan. Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune adds:
Fredette officially cleared waivers Saturday and has agreed to sign with the Bulls for a prorated portion of the veteran's minimum contract, sources said. Fredette is shooting a career-best 49.3 percent from 3-point range and is expected to attend Sunday's matinee against the Knicks.
The Bulls hope Fredette will provide them with what they desperately need: scoring.
"The more shooting you have, the more it opens up the floor," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We want to open things up to attack off the dribble, with our cuts, things of that nature. We feel that is an area of need."
Fredette, seeking to revive his career heading into free agency, can point to how the Bulls helped resurrect D.J. Augustin, whom the Raptors dumped. Since joining the Bulls, Augustin is averaging 13.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in 30.6 minutes.
"There are a number of guys who are good, and sometimes, as you see with D.J., it's an opportunity to step in and add to what a team may need," Thibodeau said. "Whoever we sign, if we do sign someone, we want to play to their strengths and cover up their weaknesses."
The Wolves continue their road trip tonight in Sacramento against a Kings team that is languishing at 20-38. They lost last night in Los Angeles against the Lakers, so are on the 2nd night of a back to back, though DeMarcus Cousins did not play last night due to a suspension.
The Kings have made several changes this season, most notably acquiring Rudy Gay from Toronto, but it hasn't resulted in too many wins; they are currently only a half game out of the Western Conference cellar. This is one the Wolves really need to keep the momentum going.
Let's take this opportunity to check in on another Kings trade acquisition: erstwhile Wolf Derrick Williams. He's more or less playing at the same level as he did in his Wolves career, though there are a couple of encouraging signs. He's had his best 2 point FG% stretch since joining the Kings, and despite his usage dropping to the lowest point in his career, he's getting to the line more times per 36 then he did in any of his Wolves seasons. However, his 3 point shooting has completely fallen apart, and he still isn't doing much of anything off the ball. It all adds up to more or less the same player.
For the Wolves, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic plan to play tonight; whether they will both be in the starting lineup isn't known. Pekovic says he still has pain in his ankle, but that he can play with it. Frankly, that makes me a bit nervous, as last season his stretch of ineffectiveness came when he was suffering from ankle pain. Hopefully he is able to play close to his normal level, though his minutes will likely to be limited at least for a while. Still, the team needs bigs given the injury to Ronny Turiaf.
The Wolves moved to 3-1 on their road trip with a 108-97 win over the Sacramento Kings.
The Wolves celebrated the return of Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic with a win tonight in Sacramento. Keyed by a strong third quarter, the Wolves took a 13 point lead into the 4th, and were able to withstand a run by the Kings that got them to within two points.
Martin and Pekovic both had strong outings in their first games back from injury: Martin led the Wolves with 26 points on 9-16 from the field, and was particularly strong early in the ball game when he carried the offense in the first quarter. Pek collected 20 and 9, including 7 offensive boards. He looked like Pek, and it was spectacular.
They were needed as Kevin Love struggled shooting the ball tonight, managing only 4-12 from the field, though he did make 12 of 14 free throws to finish with 22 points. Still, it was not the dominant performance we've come to expect from Love, especially recently. That others were available to share the load was key to this win.
Sacramento started the game very hot from the field, and the Wolves were able to hang in mostly at the free throw line, where they wound up with 38 attempts on the night. Eventually, the Kings cooled off, and their penchant for turnovers came to the fore (19 for the game), and the Wolves were able to take control of the game in the third quarter.
As often is the case, the first few minutes of the 4th were harrowing for the Wolves, as their bench unit saw the lead evaporate quickly. By the time the starters returned, the Kings were on a serious roll, and managed to get within two points at 97-95. The key sequence started with a Rubio turnover, which led to a Rudy Gay layup attempt that would have tied the game with under 2:00 minutes left. His miss was followed by two Pek free throws off an offensive rebound, then a Rubio steal that led to his three pointer with under a minute left that gave the Wolves a seven point lead and effectively ended the game.
The Wolves are now 3-1 on their road trip, and a win in Denver on Monday would make this the most successful trip in recent memory. They are perhaps now playing their best basketball of the season, with four wins in five games since the All-Star break. It's likely too late for a real playoff push, but it's exciting to see them playing good ball.
The Kings outscored the Timberwolves in every quarter but the third, in which Minnesota outscored Sacramento 31-14. The Kings were nearly able to come back, but a missed Rudy Gay layup and a dagger three by Ricky Rubio sealed their fate.
Sacramento dropped their third straight thanks to one sloppy quarter and a bunch of bad defense. The Kings outscored the Timberwolves in three of the four quarters, but it was the one bad one that did them in. Minnesota started the quarter on a 21 to 6 run and finished it 31 to 14, turning a three point halftime deficit into a 14 point lead heading into the final frame.
Rudy Gay led the way for Sacramento with 24 points, 22 of which came on 8-11 shooting in the first half. The problem however was that Gay only got three field goal attempts in the entire second half, and one of them was a breakaway layup that could have tied the game at 97 but instead rolled out. The Wolves scored on back-to-back possessions after that, including a Ricky Rubio dagger three.
DeMarcus Cousins came back for Sacramento after serving a one-game suspension and had a very good game overall, with 21 points, 17 rebounds, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks. Defensively though, he had trouble with the very physical Nikola Pekovic, who scored 20 points on 8-12 shooting.
Defense was a problem for the Kings, particularly doing it without fouling. The Timberwolves got to the line 38 times to Sacramento's 21, one of the two major areas of difference in the game, the other being turnovers. Turnovers continue to be a problem for the Kings, and tonight was no different. Sacramento gave up 27 points off of 19 turnovers while forcing just 10 miscues of their own. Ben McLemore was a prime culprit, with 5 of his own. While the rookie did shoot better than he did in L.A. (7 points on 3-7 from the field), he had a rough time guarding former King Kevin Martin. Martin ended with a game-high 26 points.
The Kings have one more home game before embarking on a season-long 7 game road trip. That game is Monday against Tyreke Evans and the New Orleans Pelicans.
For the opposing perspective, visit the magnificent Canis Hoopus.
The Kings may have lost all three games on the court this week, but their victory off the court was more important than any of that.
The Good:
1. STOP stopped
More than any other victory on the court, this one off of it is probably the most important development this season. The STOP petitions were the last major hurdle to a new downtown arena, and with those thrown out so thoroughly by a judge that STOP didn't even bother to appeal, there's no real road block left. By the time next season rolls around, we could already be seeing the framework of the new arena being built live and in person.
2. The Great Rudini
See Player of the Week
3. Isaiah continues to shine
Isaiah has always been a good scorer, but recently it seems he's also been doing a better job of focusing on getting the ball to his teammates, and as such his assist numbers have gone up as well. If the Kings don't re-sign him this summer, then they'll need to get a seriously good replacement, and I'm not sure how many of those guys are available.
4. Jimmer bought out
Last week we discussed how sad it was that the Kings and Jimmer weren't able to find a trade that would allow Jimmer to ply his trade elsewhere and allow the Kings to get an asset in return. But this week the Kings bought him out, an option I frankly hadn't considered but that makes perfect sense. This allows Jimmer to go to a team of his choosing (which ended up being the Bulls) and it allows this new Kings front office to get a reputation as a team that does right by its players. The fact that Jimmer and Rudy share an agent helps things as well. The buyout also lets the Kings use 10-day contracts to test out players like Orlando Johnson and Royce White among other to see if any of them stick. By the way, I highly recommend reading James Ham's exit interview with Jimmer Fredette.
5. Derrick Williams as a starter
Derrick has proven this year that he's actually pretty good given solid minutes, which usually only come as a starter, It also helps that he's playing with a higher quality of teammate during those minutes. As a starter, he's averaging almost double the points, more than double the rebounds and assists. I wish he could play with the same confidence and efficiency off the bench though, and defensively he still has a lot of work to do.
6. Reggie Evans
I've liked what Reggie Evans has brought to this team in his short time here. He's rebounding like crazy, setting great screens, hustling on D and providing some vet leadership for our other bigs. That's all we can ask for from him.
The Bad:
1. McRookies struggling
The Kings have been playing Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum a lot lately and while there have been some flashes of brilliance, it's been mostly outweighed by tough to watch basketball. McLemore especially looks lost on the court, not very confident in his shot and absolutely awful on defense. McCallum has been the better rookie as of late, but that's not saying all that much. Both these guys still have a lot of work to do before they become valuable NBA contributors.
2. Turnovers
Turnovers continue to be a big problem for the Kings, especially on the fastbreak. I don't know how many times I've seen this year that the Kings have ruined a fastbreak due to an overthrown or bad pass. Those are easy points that the Kings are giving up. Another issue is the lack of off-ball movement from guys. You watch a team like the Timberwolves and they're constantly moving and trying to find the open man. The Kings instead do a lot of standing around and dribbling. When they do pass, the pass is rarely easy. There was an instance in the Minnesota game where Rudy had the ball on the wing, got doubled and tried to throw the ball to Ben McLemore all the way on the opposite sideline, but the pass instead ended up in the first few rows of fans. Keep it simple with the passes guys and move to get open.
The Ugly:
1. Boogie explodes, in a bad way
When the NBA announced DeMarcus' one-game suspension, it seemed almost like a culmination of Boogie's regression of the past month. After coming back from his ankle injury, he hasn't been the same dominant player on the court and his attitude has grown worse. Punching Beverly was idiotic, even more so than his ejection (which puts him one technical away from another suspension). But even more worrying in my mind was his explanation to the media in practice the next day about what he can do differently and instead of taking responsibility for his actions, he shunted that on the referees, saying that the techs he get aren't really techs and maybe he should "just not show up to games". Sorry but that's bullshit. If he truly wants to be a leader, he needs to do so by first taking responsibility for his own actions and correcting those.
2. Three ugly losses, each in their own way
The Kings started off the week with a huge blowout loss to the Rockets, a game that was over after the first quarter. The next two games weren't nearly as out of reach, with Sacramento definitely having a chance to win in both, but didn't due to critical mistakes and defensive errors. The Kings allowed the Lakers to make 19 of 27 threes (70+%!), including 8-10 for Jordan Farmar. Against the Wolves, they slowed down for just one quarter, but that was enough.
The Kings may have lost all three games this week, but it certainly wasn't because of anything Rudy Gay did. For everything that's happened this year on the court, the most important development has been the acquisition of Gay; After years of needing a Small Forward, the Kings now have an exceptional one. Disregarding salary, how many SFs would you rather have than Gay, assuming he continues to play like he has been? My list is LeBron, Durant, Melo, George, and maybe Iguodala. I'll be very interested to see what happens this summer with regards to Gay, because I think with a full training camp, continued development of our other players, and a high draft pick this could be a very good team. We're now 14-15 with Thomas/Gay/Cousins and that's considering our poor depth, bad defense and little production from the shooting guard position.
Images / GIFs of the Week:
The visual of all of JT's teammates:
I hope i didnt miss anyone...this took my work hours to make lol
This gets me to thinking (and that's never good) about the psychology of fans as it relates to the jerseys they wear (yeah, this is really not good)
Cousins: You are the anti-hero, always hoping to stick it to the man. You also like going on the kiddie rides at the fair, and you get along a lot better with kids than adults.
Isaiah Thomas: You’re short in the torso and inseam, and this is your way of getting even for all of those rides that you were prohibited from going on when you were a kid.
Rudy Gay: You are very comfortable in your own skin and above cheap humor.
Jason Thompson: Your two favorite colors are black and white, your favorite ice cream is vanilla (as long as it’s not too cold), and you own five pairs of the same khaki pants. You’re basically Jim Harbaugh without the money.
Ben McLemore: You like the jersey, because you always mis-align the buttons on your dress shirts. You are a bit of a romantic, and klutzy in a way that others find strangely attractive…for awhile.
Travis Outlaw: You have never received as much as a parking ticket in your life.
Ray McCallum – You are his mom or his dad.
Derrick Williams – You no longer wear it, as you inadvertently sewed the head/neck hole shut.
Quincy Acy – You want to be Reggie Evans when you grow up.
Reggie Evans – You constantly bump into people, and always excuse yourself by saying "no offense."
Aaron Gray – You listened to your grandpa spin yarns about Henry Finkel and Chuck Nevitt when you were a lad.
Last Week's Runner-up, actual caption division: SacramentoKing
Rudy: "This is my ball. There are many others like it, but this one is mine."
This Week's Picture:
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:
3/3 v. New Orleans W (The Kings won't be at home again for a while, so they'll need to take advantage of the opportunity they do get, especially against a depleted Pelicans squad)
3/5 @ Milwaukee W (The Bucks are the worst team in basketball right now and by far the best chance for the Kings to get a win on the big road trip.)
3/7 @ Toronto L (The Raptors are a good team, and Rudy is going to be in Canada again, and something in the air there makes him play bad)
3/9 @ Brooklyn L (The Kings obliterated the Nets early on in the season in one of Marcus Thornton's best games of the year. Now though, the Nets have turned their season around and Marcus Thornton is one of them. Sacramento has a size advantage, but the Nets have plenty of depth and experience.)
Nostradumbass Record for the Year: 27-32
Random Observations from around the league:
The SLOAN analytics conference has been going on in Boston, and some interesting tidbits came of it, including the first acknowledgement of tanking by a former front office member: Bryan Colangelo. Colangelo said: "I didn't come out and say, ‘Coach, you have to lose games.' I never said that. I wanted to establish a winning tradition and a culture and all of that, but I wanted him to do it in the framework of playing and developing the young players. With that comes losing. There's just no way to avoid that." Is that tanking, or just being pragmatic? It's essentially what the Kings are doing right now, with the focus on developing McLemore, McCallum and the 10-day signings.
We know Jimmer's gone to Chicago, but there's a couple other buyout signings that will make more of an impact come playoff time: Caron Butler to Oklahoma City and Danny Granger and Glen "Big Baby" Davis to Los Angeles. Butler, while far past his prime, can still do well spelling Durant for a few minutes here and there, and even playing with him at times. The signings for the Clippers are even bigger deals in my mind though because I think they give them some real depth. Granger is the flashier name, but Davis gives the Clippers a solid big man off the bench with a coach that knows how to use him.
The Hawks drafted Mike Muscala in the second round this year but didn't sign him until this week, in large part due to injuries to almost all of their big men. Muscala has spent this year playing in the Spanish ACB and leading that league in rebounding, a league that is largely considered second best to only the NBA. I was really high on Muscala in the draft and had hoped the Kings would take him with their second round pick so I will be very interested to see how he does in the NBA.
Phil Jackson sat down for an interview with Sam Amick, and among other things, his role in the Sacramento-Seattle saga as well as his opinion of the Maloofs came up.
This morning, I checked my e-mail and saw the latest "Good Morning, it's Basketball" from Tom, in which he linked to an interview that Sam Amick did with Phil Jackson. The interview covers a multitude of topics, and I highly recommend reading it in its entirety, but one part stuck out like a sore thumb to me.
From USA Today (bold emphasis mine):
Q: But was there a point when you thought it was leaning (towards the team moving to Seattle)?
A: Yes, when Chris was able to purchase the Maloofs' interests. I was (convinced it would happen) until I was told there was that opening in the buyout where somebody else could come in and purchase it from a local group. And being a guy who likes (Sacramento Mayor and former NBA All-Star) Kevin Johnson - even though we had a lot of run-ups against Kevin when he was playing - I highly respect what he tried to do and how he was able to save that for the community. Whether that's a good deal or not is still to be determined.
Q: A good deal in what sense?
A: Can they sustain a team? Will it be a sustainable thing? They're charged with getting an arena. The NBA has (said), have them get a plan, get an arena. And they provided a plan. But we know how hard the Maloofs had to work to try and get one and couldn't get it done.
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As Samuel L. Jackson once said, "Well, allow me to retort".
The Maloofs owned the Sacramento Kings for nearly 16 years. When they bought the team in 1998, the arena was already considered out-of-date despite being just 10 years old. It was not an arena that had been built to last, but instead one to pass the time until a new downtown arena could be had. That responsibility fell on the Maloofs, a responsibility that they never wanted.
Three times, an arena deal was seemingly ready to be approved, with most of the groundwork being done by people other than the Maloofs. All three times it was the Maloofs who killed the deal.
The first came in 2006, with Measures Q and R introduced to start a quarter-cent sales tax for Sacramento county that would be used for a new arena at the Railyards. The Maloofs were supposedly on board with the deal from the start, and were all set to give a rousing speech in support at the press conference.
A big press conference was called and the night before, local politicians spent the evening going over every detail of what was to be said the next day with the Maloofs. The stars were aligned for Sacramento to finally get a dream arena with both the owners and city on board.
According to sources with intimate knowledge of the situation, everything was perfect until moments before Joe Maloof took the stage. Instead of following the talking points from the city's press agent, he shunned them away in favor of a new script from his attorney. At that point, Sacramento knew the fix was in.
Joe stumbled through a speech and tanked the deal in catastrophic fashion. He questioned the viability of the site. He questioned the parking situation and in effect, he threw away months, if not years of work by city officials. The infamous Carl's Jr. commercial followed, almost mocking the voters of Sacramento with the brothers Maloof sharing a $6,000 bottle of wine to go with their $6 burgers.
To nobody's surprise, support for that measure (and the team) dropped considerably after that debacle. The measures failed so spectacularly that all though of a new arena was put on hold for a lengthy period of time. It wasn't until Mayor Johnson was elected that progress started anew.
Johnson's first attempt at the arena deal came in 2010 with a land-swap idea that involved Cal Expo, but Cal Expo pulled out of the plan, paving the way for the Maloofs to attempt a relocation to Anaheim. When that relocation fell through, mainly because of Johnson's work convincing the NBA that Sacramento could get something done and the Maloofs' own ineptness (the lack of a real television deal in Anaheim and drawing the ire of the Clippers and Lakers doomed that potential move), work begun on a new plan. This one was seemingly approved by the Maloofs and David Stern at the 2012 All-Star game in Orlando, with Gavin Maloof even giving a rousing speech at the next game talking about how we would have a brand new arena in 2015.
That deal lasted about a month before George Maloof pulled the plug, asking for more and even laughably asking why a renovation of the current arena couldn't work, despite the Maloofs putting the kibosh on any such talk for the last decade.
Now it's March 3rd, 2014 and Sacramento has an arena, not just an arena deal, that is coming to fruition at last. It's a deal that's better for the city than any of the last few plans, and it's cleared most hurdles in it's way. There's one big reason for this plan's success after so many failures, and it's because of the Maloofs' lack of involvement. So when I hear someone like Phil Jackson saying the Maloofs worked hard to get a new arena, I can't help but take offense. There are a number of people who have worked incredibly hard on this, for years and years and years.
The Kings are much better than their record indicates. This season, it's good that wins and losses underrates the team.
Look at the standings and the Kings are pretty, pretty awful. At 20-39, Sacramento is tied for worst in the West (with the Lakers!) and tied for fifth worst in the entire NBA. If the season ended today, that would be really weird. But also, the Kings and Lakers would flip a coin to decide who picked fifth and sixth in the case neither moved up into the top three of the NBA Draft. The Kings would have a 7.5 percent probability of winning the No. 1 pick overall and a 25 percent probability of moving into the top three. The Kings are in a stronger draft position than last season in a better draft year.
But instead look at the Kings' points margin and it's pretty clear that Sacramento is way better than last season's edition and, really, in a very lucky spot right now.
Historically, points margin is a better measure of a team's quality than win-loss record. Why? Wins and losses are crude instruments. In won-loss record, a 2-point victory counts the same as a 30-point victory. Over the course of the season, looking at teams' average point margin will put a finer detail on how good or bad a team is. This very Kings team is a good example.
The Kings are on pace for 28 wins, same as last season. But in 2012-13, the Kings average scoring margin was -4.88 points per game. (The average Kings game ended Other Team 105.1, Sacramento 100.2). This year, the Kings' average scoring margin is -2.54 points per game. The average Kings game is ending Other Team 104.1, Kings 101.6. Sacramento also has a tougher schedule this season (thanks to the West getting even better while the East lags). If you adjust for schedule strength, the Kings are more accurately a -1.54 points per game team this season.
Per Basketball-Reference, the Kings have the No. 17 schedule-adjusted scoring margin in the league. Sacramento's ahead of two Eastern playoff teams (Nets, Bobcats), every East lottery team and every West lottery team except for Minnesota and Memphis.
Based on points margin, the Kings should be 24-35 instead of 20-39. That would put Sacramento in line to pick around No. 10 with a slim chance to move into the top three, not around No. 5 with a substantial chance of moving up into the top three.
How does a scoring margin get so far away from a won-loss record? In this case (where won-loss underrates a team), close losses and blowout wins. The same thing has happened to the Wolves, who are No. 9 in the league in schedule-adjust scoring margin but No. 16 in wins. For the Wolves, this is horrible news: Minnesota is pushing for the playoffs, and is good enough to get there. But luck has bounced away from the team.
For the Kings, this is fantastic. Sacramento is good enough to finish No. 11 in the West with a 33-49 record -- its best since 2007-08. But in a year with a great draft class and a bunch of bad teams, the Kings are poised to finish 28-54 with a great chance at an impact rookie.
Getting unlucky results in close games are actually moments in which Lady Luck is taking the long view. Embrace them.
While Jackson admitted to have conversations with several teams, he didn't want to give any specifics:
"There are a few (opportunities), but I shouldn't name them. It wouldn't be right to talk about it, name anything. But yeah, there are some. There are winners and losers in the NBA, and a lot of people are trying to reclaim their position or change their culture or whatever. So yeah, there is. I've had conversations. Some of them are feelers. "Are you interested?" type of thing. I did go out to Detroit last year and sit with (Pistons President) Joe (Dumars). I guess we weren't successful, but I really encouraged (Pistons owner) Tom Gores that the general manager has to be able to pick his coach so they can win it together. And Joe wanted Maurice, so it didn't work out, unfortunately for Maurice. I developed a relationship with the owner, who lives in LA. We have conversations."
Jackson continues to act as "an unpaid adviser" to Gores, but it's looking more and more like the Zen Master wants to get back into basketball in a more official capacity as long as his health holds up. Jackson had interest in a front-office position if the Sacramento Kings had successfully moved to Seattle, and while that didn't pan out, he's clearly still a wanted man.
Naturally, when there's talk of Jackson getting back into the game, the Los Angeles Lakers come up as a possible destination. However, Jackson doesn't envision becoming a Lakers employee again, despite the fact that his bride-to-be is a major player in the front office:
LeBron James is wearing a mask to protect his broken nose, but that hasn't stopped the Heat from continuing their recent dominance.
"I don't think so. I have a good relationship with the vice president in business affairs (Jeanie Buss) - at least it has been pretty good (laughs). She's dedicated to their family running the business and trying to feel what that's like. Their father's memorial service is not a year old, but he has been gone for a year now and they're still just kind of figuring out, 'How are we going to do this?' So I think they want to have an opportunity to do it. And Mitch, obviously, has a relationship with (Lakers executive vice president of player personnel and Jeanie's brother) Jimmy that has been going on since, I think, 2004 or so, when he started becoming really involved. So for the last 10 years, he and Mitch have been pretty much working together. (Late Lakers owner) Dr. (Jerry) Buss came in on things. We had a few issues. Kobe (Bryant) had an issue one year. We had an issue getting Pau (Gasol). Some of the major moves, Dr. Buss was still there. But the other stuff Jimmy and Mitch have been working on. They've got a relationship, so I don't see that happening."
Another intriguing option for Jackson is the Houston Rockets. Jackson expressed interest in coaching up Dwight Howard in Los Angeles, so perhaps he would like another chance at it. But the 68-year-old was non-committal:
"No, I. I'm sorry. I mean. Um, no. I don't (pauses). I like that. That's funny. I've got a (phone) call at 10 (a.m.) - how am I doing at time?"
And just like that, the interview was over. Jackson did speak with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey at Sloan, which could lead to people trying to connect some dots.
One thing is certain: If Jackson returns to the NBA, it's "damned sure" he won't be on the sideline. So let the speculation begin!
There's only one home game left before the Kings hit the road for a couple weeks, and it's a winnable one.
The Kings play the New Orleans Pelicans in Sacramento tonight (7:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California, NBA TV and KHTK 1140) in their last home game before a season-long 7 game road trip. The Kings have a good chance to get some momentum going into the trip, as both the Pelicans and the next game (against Milwaukee) offer decent chances of victory.
One was named an All-Star and one wasn't and I'm sure DeMarcus is going to come out wanting to prove something because of it. Cousins and Davis are two of the best big men in the league already, and they're just 23 and 21 (in a week) respectively. Davis and Cousins likely won't go up against each other directly, although if they did, I'd have to give the advantage to Cousins, at least for now. Davis does lead the league in blocks at 3 a game, and though he has a reputation for defense, he's still managing to put up 20 points a game on over 50% from the field. Man, I wish we had won the lottery the year he came out, because he and Cousins would be unstoppable together.
3 THINGS
1. The Pelicans have had even worse struggles than the Kings have of late, losing 7 straight and 9 of their last 10. During this losing streak they've averaged just 92.9 points while giving up 105.3. They're the 29th ranked defense in the league (Sacramento is 25th but the difference is negligible). They are however the 11th best offense, so if the Kings don't try on defense, a win won't come easily.
2. The Pelicans have almost the opposite problem of the Kings at Shooting Guard. Right now the only Shooting Guards the Kings have are rookie Ben McLemore and 10-day signee Orlando Johnson. The Pelicans have the theoretically terrifying duo of Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans. Both have different strengths, but there's no question that they're better than Sacramento's swingmen. Slowing those guys down will have to be a team effort. The Pelicans do much better when Tyreke is on his game: in wins, he's shooting 46.1%, while in losses that drops all the way to 35.6%.
3. New Orleans hasn't had an answer for DeMarcus in their first two games this season, but it was Rudy Gay that really made the difference in the last game. Rudy went off for 41 points in that matchup, and the Kings blew out the Pelicans by 17 on their home court. In the first game in which the Kings lost, Rudy scored just 11 points on 2-12 from the field.
PRE-GAME HAIKU
Remember Tyreke? He used to be our future. My, how things have changed.
PREDICTION
Kings 113, Pelicans 104 and Slamson beats up Pierre the Pelican for good measure.
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. In honor of Tyreke's 20-5-5, predict which players will finish with more than 20 points, which will finish with more than 5 rebounds and which will have more than 5 assists (1 point for each right, -1 for each wrong)
The Pelicans and Kings have split the season series thus far, 1-1. The pair are currently sporting losing streaks, albeit New Orleans 7 in a row is noticeably worse than Sacramento's 3. Both teams are above average on offense and hideously poor on the opposite end of the floor.
In our last match-up, their big 3 (Thomas-Gay-Cousins) completed dominated the game: 79 points, 8 three's, 22 rebounds, 22 assists, 6 steals and 4 blocks. Needless to say, the Pelicans miserably failed in containing the biggest key to the game. We'll have to do a significantly better job if a win is to be the outcome.
However, it won't be a total loss if we come up short. Apparently, the organization has changed course and is now looking to give the youngsters a deeper look. Austin Rivers has been averaging approximately 26.5 minutes a game in the past four, Jeff Withey has moved ahead of Greg Stiemsma in the rotation and Darius Miller has joined the living, having seen time the last 3 games. On the other end of the spectrum, Al-Farouq Aminu and Anthony Morrow didn't even get off the bench in the game Saturday.
Instead of the 3 keys to the game (since winning isn't paramount anymore), we'll start posting on what to watch for.
Tyreke Evans. In his two starts, Evans is averaging 18 PPG, 1.5 3PM (gotta love small sample sizes), 7 REB, 4.5 AST, .5 STL and 3.0 TOV. Out of the starters in our last game, he was the only one that drew praise from Monty Williams.
Brian Robert's struggles. In his last 5, Roberts is only averaging 24 minutes a game. Has he been limited more by the stats (31.0 FG%, 2.4 TOV) or the organization's commitment to give Rivers greater playing time?
Slowing down DeMarcus. Cousins has feasted on New Orleans in the previous two meetings this season: 21.0 PPG, 12.5 REB, 3.5 AST, 2.5 STL and 3.0 BLK. Will Monty just rotate through the roster again and hope someone sticks or will an actual game plan be devised?
