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Kings vs. Raptors Preview: Return of the King

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Rudy Gay returns to the city that spurned him, and the Kings see a few old friends as the road trip continues.

Rudy Gay is returning to the city where he started the season as the Kings take on the Raptors (4:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California, NBA TV and KHTK 1140). Since the trade, the Raptors have blossomed, currently holding the 3rd best record in the East, while Rudy Gay has been a paragon of efficiency.  In other words, the trade has worked out pretty well for both teams.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Isaiah Thomas vs. Kyle Lowry

Lowry has probably been the biggest reason for Toronto's resurgence.  Despite not making the All-Star team (even over his teammate DeMar DeRozan), he's been Toronto's best player and is playing the best basketball of his career.  Lowry is a bulldog on both ends of the floor, able to both lock down on defense, get into the lane, or hit big threes.  The last time these two teams played in Sacramento a month ago, Thomas was able to outscore Lowry by a couple points but shot a much worse percentage from the field.  The Kings will need Thomas to keep Lowry busy on both ends of the floor.

3 THINGS

1. Few teams have been as hot as Toronto has lately.  They've won 7 of 9, and are coming off a solid win against the Golden State Warriors.  Their two losses in that 9-game stretch have been by a combined 7 points.  The Raptors have improved greatly on both ends of the court and are now 10th in Offensive Rating and 7th in Defensive Rating.  This is not a team to take lightly, even if they play in the weak Eastern Conference.

2.  Of the players that the Kings traded to Toronto in exchange for Rudy Gay, perhaps none has done better than Patrick Patterson.  Patterson was in a huge shooting slump in Sacramento this season, but in Toronto his percentages have gone up to 48.5% overall and 42.3% from three.  That's more in line with what Kings fans had hoped to see at the start of the year but for whatever reason didn't.

3.  Ray McCallum has had two good games in a row, including scoring a career-high 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting against Milwaukee.  Can he play well again, this time against a good Raptors team with many veteran guards?

PRE-GAME HAIKU

Rudy and Rob Ford,
Toronto hates both a lot.
Can't trade Rob Ford though.

PREDICTION

Kings 109, Raptors 110 as Chuck Hayes hits the game winning three. Nobody expects Chuck Hayes.


Video 3 in the Key: Kings vs Raptors Gameday Preview - Rudy Returns to Toronto

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Rudy Gay makes his return to the ACC tonight as the HQ's Kayla Grey breaks down the match...

The Sacramento Kings have hit 5 of 21 shots from long-range in their past two games.

So if you're looking for a good place to start when talking about keys to tonight's Toronto Raptors vs Sacramento Kings match, that likely represents "GO."

Yes, Rudy Gay makes his return to the Air Canada Centre tonight in what will likely be a boo-filled reunion albeit not at Vince Carter or even Chris Bosh levels.  Gay and his Kings haven't exactly fared as well as the Raptors have in the wake of the trade that sent him along with Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray, to Cali.

That being said, Gay and his Kings beat up on the Raptors the first time these clubs met a few weeks ago, and the Kings always represent a tough match-up challenge thanks to the likes of DeMarcus Counsins down low.

As the HQ's Kayla Grey notes in her preview, keeping the Kings on the perimeter and out of the paint will go a long ways towards grabbing a W tonight:


Kings vs. Raptors Fan Predictions

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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 Rudy and Quincy's combined Points, Rebounds and Assists in their return to Toronto (1 point for one right, 3 points for two right, 5 points for all right)

Diagnosing Ben McLemore's outside shot

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The Kings rookie was known for his great shooting at Kansas but that hasn't translated to the NBA.

Coming out of college, there was one strength Ben McLemore was supposed to have: a deadly outside shot. In his lone year at Kansas, Ben hit 73 of 174 threes in 37 games, or a very respectable 42%. Of all players drafted this past year, Ben hit the 4th most threes, behind just Trey Burke, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock. He hit the most threes of any Freshman in the country, let alone the ones that got drafted.

It hasn't worked out that way in the NBA though. So far this year, Ben is shooting an abysmal 36.0% from the field and 31.6% from three. Almost 43% of Ben's total shots have come from behind the arc, but he hasn't been hitting them with any kind of consistency.

So I wondered, how many players have shot a similar amount of threes at a similar percentage as rookies? Thanks to Basketball-Reference, the tools are there so I searched for all players in their first year that had hit 70 or less threes but shot 192 or more, and came up with 16 names aside from Ben, including 9 that are still active: Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Charlie Villanueva, Kevin Durant, Kyle Singler, Jae Crowder, Terrence Ross, Dion Waiters and Kemba Walker.

One good sign for Ben is that out of all 16 names, most of them have gone on to become good shooters, and a couple that haven't (Walker and Crowder) haven't been in the league very long. Terrence Ross and Dion Waiters are good recent examples of players who have seen a big bump to their three point shooting in their sophomore year.

Shotchart_1394143057995_medium

A quick look at Ben's shot chart also tells us that he's already quite good at hitting the short corner three, a shot more in line with the college three pointer that he did so well with. Unfortunately, Ben also shoots the corner three the least of all his three point attempts, and his percentages in the other areas are not good.  One might even say they are bad.

More worrying is how Ben's shot is actually getting worse as the season progresses rather than getting better. In November, he hit 36.4% of his threes, a respectable number, but in the subsequent months that's dropped to 35.1%, 29.3%, 23.5% and finally 25.0%. Shooters typically do better with the more repetition they get, but for Ben it's basically been the opposite. There's also the fact that among all those 16 players listed above that were poor three point shooters on high volume their rookie year, Ben has the lowest overall Field Goal Percentage, just below Kemba Walker's 36.6%. Part of that is because so many of his overall shots are threes themselves, but the shot chart shows he's been pretty bad from most areas on the court, not just from three.

Ben McLemore's rookie season has definitely been a struggle, and in fact, historically bad. Of players who have played at least 1400 minutes, only 7 have had a PER of less than 8 and a True Shooting Percentage of less than .470 in their rookie season: Gene Wiley, Mike Farmer, Ben McLemore, Larry Demic, Junior Harrington, Austin Rivers and Adam Morrison. That's not good company to be with.

It's far too early to close the book on Ben McLemore or to label him as a bust. He's been thrust into the spotlight much earlier than anticipated thanks to a huge amount of roster turnover and new management. But the early returns aren't kind. If there's anything good to take from these numbers is that the only way to go is up. For Ben's sake and the Kings, I hope he can figure it out.

Rapid Recap: Raptors Topple Kings in Gay's Return, 99 - 87

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Rudy Gay's return to the ACC tonight didn't go as planned as the Toronto Raptors defeated his Sacramento Kings, 99 to 87. The HQ's Brian Hennessy breaks it down.

In the return of the prodigal shooter, the Toronto Raptors pulled off a convincing win against the Sacramento Kings, 99-87. As has been the case for the majority of Raptors games post-trade, a team effort grounded in solid defense and selfless ball movement was more than enough to get them the W. This now ties the Raptors season win total for last year (34). With 22 games left to spare, all hail Masai Ujiri.

The narrative of the Toronto Raptor's season, prior to trading Rudy Gay, was a frustrating one. Though we were shown glimpses of a promising and young core of players that could hang with the best of them on defense, on the other side of the ball Toronto struggled to find any offensive efficiency. There's no question among followers of the club, that the Raptors struggles could be largely attributed to the fascination that Rudy had with long, contested jumpers.  This resentment was made evident by the fans present at the ACC on Friday night. Boos rang out during his pregame introduction and could be heard every time Gay had the ball in his hands.

An observation became apparent early in the first half; without DeMarcus Cousins, the Sacramento Kings don't have the firepower to compete with the Raptors. Cousins picked up 3 fouls in the first half, barely avoided a technical foul, and was limited to only 8 and a half minutes of first half play. With Cousins on the bench, Sacramento struggled to find any rhythm on offense. The only thing that seemed to be "working" for them was getting to the free throw line. Unfortunately for the Kings only managed to make 11 of their 21 shots at the charity stripe. In particular, Reggie Evans made free throw shooting look downright painful. Evans converted on only 1 of his 8 attempts. Yikes.

This game was a perfect representation of how the Raptors have benefited from the trade that took place on December 9th, 2013.

First, consider the expanded opportunity that was opened up for Terrence Ross in the starting lineup. In this game, Ross scored all of his 18 points by way of knocking down 6/8 three point attempts. Stretch the floor much? Equally important, however, was his focus and effort in defending Gay who, although may not have been the case in Toronto, has been very reliable lately for the Kings. And as Dwane Casey has repeated over and over again when speaking of Ross' potential, when he locks down on defense, the Toronto skyline is the limit. Rudy was held to 15 points on 35.7% shooting... the nostalgia of his Raptors career is bittersweet to say the least.

Another Raptors sophomore, Jonas Valanciunas, made his presence felt over the course of tonight's game. The numbers won't jump off the score sheet at first glance, but to JV's credit, his 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting serve as a reminder of his offensive potential when he's playing with confidence. Regardless of the 17 point lead to start the fourth quarter, coach Casey rewarded his young big man with playing time in the final frame and this resulted in some well-deserved touches in the post.

What really stood out about this game was the balanced production. No Raptor broke the 20-point threshold, but five scored in double figures and as a team they held the Kings to 87 points on 41.7% shooting. This game shouldn't be reason for too much added optimism for the long term outlook of the team (it is the Kings we're talking about), but I think as Raptors fans we can all rejoice in a subtle, understated fist pump.

Next up, Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. Til then, party on.

Kings 87, Raptors 99: Balanced Toronto attack stifles Kings

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The Raptors didn't have any one standout player but managed to win comfortably thanks to a balanced team effort.

The Kings lost to their Raptors on Friday night in Toronto, splitting the season series with a Raptors team that shares so much in common with Sacramento thanks to a big trade earlier this season.  The Raptors came out strong to start both halves and the Kings were never able to make up enough ground in the other two quarters.

Toronto was led in scoring by sophomore Terrence Ross, who had 18 points including 6-8 from downtown.  The Raptors as a team shot 10-21 from long range with former King Patrick Patterson hitting 3-4 as part of his 15 points.  Five Raptors finished in double digits and two more had at least 8 points.  The Raptors as a team shot 46.6% from the field compared to Sacramento's 41.7%.

DeMarcus Cousins had a game-high 24 points on 8-12 shooting but was limited to just 27 minutes of action due to foul trouble.  Rudy Gay had 15 but on just 5-13 from the field, and Isaiah Thomas and Ben McLemore both had 14 points, but only on a combined 9-24 shooting.

Reggie Evans and Ray McCallum continued their sparkplug play off the bench, with Evans nearly having another double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds.  He would have had the double-double if he could hit any of his free throws, but he went just 2-10 from the line.  McCallum scored 8 points in 24 minutes but helped set a different tone with his energy on both ends of the court.

The Kings now have a couple days off before they continue their road tip on Sunday in Brooklyn, where they face former teammate Marcus Thornton and the Nets.

For the opposing perspective, visit Raptors HQ.

The Raptors Get Balanced Scoring and Solid Defense in Win Over the Kings

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Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan had rough shooting nights, but the Raps had 5 players in double-digits, and the team player great defense in the 1st and 3rd quarters, to grab a comfortable win over the Kings.

With a comfortable 99-87 win over the Sacramento Kings last night, the Toronto Raptors are now 34-26. The Raps went 34-48 last season.

What a difference a year makes.

Last night's win wasn't quite as dramatic as the Raps' overall turnaround, but it was another solid indicator of their progress. With Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan going a combined 6-24 from the floor (they still contributed from a distribution standpoint) the Raps were able to lean on a balanced scoring attack. Terrence Ross had 18 points -- all of them coming from downtown -- Jonas Valanciunas was solid offensively with 14, and the awesome Patrick Patterson dropped 15 off the bench.

Overall the Raps shot 47% from 3-point range, and had 21 assists on 34 made field-goals. In contrast the Kings went 5-19 from downtown, and had 17 turnovers to just 14 helpers -- yeah, that's not going to get it done. DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings in points (24) and bad body language; and Rudy Gay, back in Toronto for the first time since that earth-shattering (for the Raps, at least) December 8th trade, was quiet -- 15 points on 5-13 shooting. Thankfully the booing wasn't at a Vince Carter decibel level, but it was -- idiotically -- still audible. Why some fans felt the need to boo a guy who didn't choose either to come to Toronto, or to leave the city, is beyond me. But moving on...

The Raps came into this game having not played since the previous Sunday, but there was no sign of rust early on -- both teams looked good early, in fact. However, the quarter turned on a lazy reach-in foul by Cousins (the guy doesn't move his feet on defense), his second foul of the game. Mike Malone was forced to sit his main man, and the Raps opened the game up thereafter. Patterson put the Raptors up by 7 with a 3-pointer, and DeRozan drove and got to the line a number of times, putting up 8 points in the first quarter. The Raps led by 10 after 12 minutes of play, shooting 55% from the field, and holding the Kings to just 36% shooting.

The second quarter was the Raps' worst of the game, however. After Patterson nailed another 3, and John Salmons hit a jumper to put the Rap up by 13, the Kings went on a 10-2 run to bring them within 5, and Casey was forced to take a timeout. Throughout the second quarter the Kings were able to get into the paint at will -- whether it was their bigs posting up deep, or their guards -- Isaiah Thomas and Ray McCallum Jr., in particular -- driving through the lane. The Kings scored 26 points in the paint in the first half, and the game was becoming a bit of stop-start foul-fest -- not a good sign considering what happened when the teams met in Sacramento last month.

But after the timeout the Raps turned the tide somewhat. Ross drilled a 3, as did Lowry a couple possessions later. The Raps led by 7 at the half, but Malone and the Kings would've been reasonably pleased considering that Cousins had played just 9 minutes.

In the 3rd quarter the Raps cleaned things up. After Boogie threw the ball out of bounds on the Kings' first possession of the second half, Ross nailed another 3 to put the Raps up by 10. Then Patterson dropped a trifecta to put the Raps up by a dozen. Thomas and DeRozan exchanged buckets, before Ross hit another 3 -- again, coming off a screen that the Kings defenders seemed unable or uninterested in fighting through -- to put the Raps up by 15.

At the other end, despite the fact that Boogie looked moody, and all-around disinterested, he was still essentially un-guardable -- the Raps triple-teamed at one point in the game. Un-guardable until Casey put Chuck Hayes in the game, that is. Hayes finished the quarter on Boogie, and once again proved that even the very best offensive big-men have major issues backing him down in the low-post. Hayes forced a visibly frustrated Cousins into making two turnovers. Note: Chuck Hayes DOES NOT skip leg day.

The Raps ended the 3rd quarter with a Patterson put-back, after a Salmons miss. Up 17, heading into the fourth, this game was essentially over. More great defense -- and the Kings' inability to make a basic entry pass -- led to a Salmons-Patterson break away in transition (the ex-Kings had fun last night). That Patterson dunk put the Raps up by 21 and it was a mere formality after that. Jonas had some nice reps going at Boogie in the post, Landry Fields and Nando de YOLO! got some minutes, and the Kings brought the score to something bordering on respectability. And that was that.

The Raps move 8 games over .500, on a night in which the Bulls and Nets both lost. Good stuff. The team will face a much stiffer test on Sunday, however, with Kevin Love and the 'feast or famine' Timberwolves in town.

Additional Game Notes

  • Patrick Patterson was awesome last night. Just awesome. The guy did a bit of everything. His value in restricted free agency is probably going up by the game, and I'm not so sure he's a luxury the Raps are going to be able to afford. But it's been great watching him this season whatever happens.
  • Boogie Cousins is a scary basketball player. His body language and lazy defense would drive me bonkers if I was a Kings fans, but he sulked his way through last night's game and still put up 24 points and 7 rebounds in just 27 minutes of play. Hayes slowed him down in the 3rd, but he's basically un-guardable in the low-post.
  • Speaking of Chuck: I'm convinced that his lower-body is made of titanium. His upper-body? Yeah, not made of titanium.
  • Thankfully Reggie Evans can't shoot free-throws (2-10 last night), but he's a huge pain-in-the-ass when he's on the floor. 10 rebounds in the first half, plus 10 shots to his opponent's groin (I'm assuming).
  • The Raps shot the ball well from downtown, but the Kings did a horrible job closing out on shooters. Ben McLemore put up some real rookie defense last night.
  • Kyle Lowry's going through a shooting slump right now. He still contributes in so many other ways, but it's something to watch/get irrationally concerned about if you have a lot of free time (like I do).
  • Sign of the apocalypse: Raptors fans (a minority) booing because 99 points and a win equals no free pizza. *Deep(dish pizza) Sigh*
  • Saving the most profound tidbit for last: The HQ's Harsh Dave pointed out that Brad Pitt and Jack Armstrong are the same age, which is hard to believe. Also -- sticking with a belated Oscars theme -- Jared Leto is just 9 years younger than Jack. Yeah, time for me to go to bed.

Where Rudy Gay didn't expect to be

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Rudy Gay returns to Toronto and muses on missing another playoff chase.

TORONTO -- Back in October, Rudy Gay wanted to take the Toronto Raptors to the playoffs. Uncertainty surrounded their future, with Masai Ujiri having taken over as general manager in the offseason. Ujiri didn't tear down the Raptors immediately, but everyone knew he could if they started slowly.

If the season went as Gay envisioned it, the eighth-year forward would be in the thick of a playoff race at this point, close friends Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan at his side. Remembering every step of the Memphis Grizzlies' ascension from the league's basement, Gay could speak to what it's like down the stretch when you're on a winning team compared to when you're not.

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"The vibe in the locker room is different ‘cause at that point it's all about seedings, who you're going to play and you have to keep pushing and you're still playing for something," Gay said in the preseason. "Obviously you're still playing for something -- you're playing for your city even if you're not a playoff team -- but it's more than just going out there, just being competitive when you're out there. You're actually playing for something, you're playing for the best playoff seed you can get."

Now Toronto is playing for something, but it's without Gay. He and the Raptors lost 12 of the season's first 18 games before Ujiri shipped him to the Sacramento Kings. That's when things turned around for a Toronto team that is now third in the Eastern Conference.

Just like when the Grizzlies traded Gay and all he could do was cheer for his friends in the Western Conference Finals, he's happy for his former teammates but focused on what he has to do.

"They're a playoff team," he said. "Of course I'd like to be a part of that. I'm in Sacramento now and I have to build this team."

The bench depth the Raptors received in return for Gay helped them, and Lowry and DeRozan have had career seasons in the backcourt. Sophomores Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross have grown, too. They've been worlds better aesthetically and otherwise, sharing the ball on offense and trusting each other on defense. Maybe Gay was blocking their progress, maybe they just needed time.

"We don't know if that would have happened if I were there, too," Gay said. "It happened early in the season. Nobody knows."

Compared to the rise of the Raptors, Gay's rejuvenation as a King has been an underplayed storyline. At 22-40, Sacramento isn't exactly entitled to a ton of positive press. Since arriving there, though, Gay is averaging a career-high 20.8 points on a career-high 50 percent shooting, up from a career-low 38.8 percent in Toronto.

Instead of being the go-to guy, he's the second or third option, behind center DeMarcus Cousins and sometimes point guard Isaiah Thomas. Gay is in the post more, and he's not nearly as often trying to create a shot from the perimeter against a set defense.

"We didn't look at Rudy just as, as I call him, ‘Rudy the Raptor,'" Kings head coach Mike Malone said, pointing to the success Gay had earlier in his career alongside Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol in Memphis.

While Gay told reporters he "took the fall for a lot of things" when the Raptors visited Sacramento last month, on his first trip to Toronto since the deal he chose not to take the bait when asked if he felt he'd been done wrong.

"I was inefficient when I was here," Gay said. "I'm not anymore."

With the increased productivity, his reputation around the league has surely shifted. He's in his prime at 27 years old, and he can opt out of the final year of his maximum contract this summer. As a free agent, he could all but ensure he'd play in games that matter again. The other option is to take the $19.3 million he's owed next year and see what the Kings can do.

***

After Sacramento's 99-87 loss at the Air Canada Centre on Friday, a reporter asked Malone for his thoughts on the game.

"I thought we were awful tonight," he said.

The final margin was not indicative of the night, according to Malone and anyone else who watched. Toronto led by as many as 23, and the Kings looked like they didn't want to be there in the first and third quarters. Sacramento played without cohesion, likely a result of the makeup of the roster and the fact it's not going anywhere.

"It's a very young team that hasn't won," Malone said. "That's just the reality of it."

Gay, who scored 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting as the offense stagnated, received more boos than cheers. He said that he didn't pay attention to the reaction, and sounded about the same as he did after numerous of Raptors losses a few months prior.

"I was inefficient when I was here. I'm not anymore." -Rudy Gay in Toronto

"I think we weren't making plays for each other," Gay said.

With the Kings' abundance of young talent, their future is unknown but might be bright. The Gay trade happened in the first place because of a new front office, unafraid to swing big. Cousins is maturing, Thomas is stuffing stat sheets and both swingman Ben McLemore and forward Derrick Williams could come into their own. No one in that mixture of mostly scorers has played a playoff minute, however, and it's unfair to expect them to have it all figured out.

"It's going to take a lot of time, a lot of experience," Gay said. "This is just one of those things where it's a learning experience for those young guys, getting out there playing while they're young. That's the best way to get better."

In the not-too-distant past, Toronto was seen as having a long way to go to reach respectability. It's possible Gay and the Kings also aren't actually that far away. That's just not happening this year, and Gay never planned to be playing out the string again.


Carl Landry out for rest of season with torn mesniscus

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Carl Landry' season has ended early.

Carl Landry's first year back as a Sacramento King has been rough to say the least.  After signing a 4 year, $26 million contract this summer, he missed the first few months of the season after tearing a hip flexor.  He never really got back into game shape even after coming back, and now it looks like he never will, at least not this season.

First reported by Cowbell Kingdom's James Ham and later confirmed by the Sacramento Kings, an MRI has revealed that the sore knee Landry has been nursing for the past couple weeks is actually a torn meniscus in his right knee.  The injury will require season-ending surgery.

Landry was the Kings only Free Agent signing this summer, coming off a great year in Golden State where he was a legitimate 6th Man of the Year candidate.  The Kings had hoped his veteran presence and good scoring instincts would be a boon to their bench and team culture.

Landry's injury means more playing time for guys like Jason Thompson, Reggie Evans, and Quincy Acy, as well as possibly Royce White if he joins the big club after his first 10-day stint in Reno.

Get well soon Carl, hopefully you're in tip Top Hat shape for next season.

Carl Landry injury: Kings PF needs surgery, out for season

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Like D-Rose, Landry will miss the rest of the season due to a meniscus tear in his knee.

SB Nation's GIF Tournament V

Sacramento Kings power forward Carl Landry will miss the remainder of the 2013-14 season due to a medial meniscus tear in his right knee, the team announced. An MRI on Saturday revealed the severity of the injury, which will require surgery.

Landry, who already missed five games with a "sore knee," initially injured himself last month. He never recovered from that issue, which led to the MRI over the weekend. Unfortunately, the procedure revealed a tear in Landry's meniscus, similar to the one that's sidelined Derrick Rose most of this season.

Signed to a multi-year deal during the offseason, Landry appeared in just 18 games for Sacramento this year. Expected to fill a key role after starring off the bench for Golden State last season, he averaged just 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game before going down.

The Kings still owe Landry $6.5 million annually through the 2016-17 season, so it's not surprising they're being cautious during a lost season. By undergoing the procedure soon, there's little reason to believe Landry would miss any of next season.

The Nets open up a tough week against Sacramento

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That didn't go well. Facing a team that was coming off a disastrous home loss on Wednesday night and focused solely on draft position, the Brooklyn Nets couldn't extend the winning streak and fell to the Celtics 91-84. The Nets are at .500 and are 2.5 games behind Washington for the fifth seed and two games ahead of Charlotte for the sixth seed.

Coming to town will be the Sacramento Kings. At 22-40, they're no where near playoff contention but it looks as if they're building nicely towards the future. They're in good draft position as of this writing, but history has shown us time and time again that a high draft position doesn't automatically mean the team will make the right selection.

The last time the Nets played Sacramento, they got obliterated 107-86. The rosters are much different from the first time around, as the Kings traded for Rudy Gay and Brooklyn got Marcus Thornton.

The season so far

What's up with these two? Check the stats:

2013-2014

Brooklyn

Sacramento

Record

30-3022-40

Pace

94.1296.79

Offensive Efficiency

102.8103.9

Defensive Efficiency

104106.4

Offensive Rebounding percentage

22.127.8

Turnover rate

15.414.9

Assist rate

16.615.5

Rebound rate

47.251.4

Free throw rate

31.432.6

Effective Field Goal percentage

50.148.8

Opponent Effective Field Goal percentage

50.451.5

Kevin Garnett missed another one due to his back spasms. No word yet on his availability. If he doesn't play, Mason Plumlee will get the start in his place.

Joe Johnson is coming off a pretty poor game. Johnson only shot 9-21 after playing excellent ball against Memphis & Chicago. He'll have the rookie Ben McLemore on him to start off. McLemore hasn't had a great debut campaign as his 7.4 PER is the worst of the players in the rotation.

Since he's joined Sacramento, Rudy Gay has played great. In his 38 games as a King, Gay has averaged 21 points and six rebounds on a true shooting percentage of 58.4, a career high. He's been criticized throughout his career for settling too much, but that doesn't appear to be the case from the outside looking in. The majority of his attempts have come inside the painted area and he's been getting to the foul line at a career high rate. There are questions as to his future with the Kings franchise, but if (if!) he continues to play at this level, the Kings will have a great building block going into the future.

There were rumors that he was going to be moved at the trading deadline, but Isaiah Thomas is still here. The lefty has taken another step forward and is averaging 20 points and six assists a game. The matchup against Deron Williams will be very exciting to watch. Deron is one of the few Nets to have a decent game on Friday, & he's managed to turn his first half struggles into a distant memory. He (like every other Net) was thoroughly outplayed in the Sacramento meeting so look for him to set the pace early. IT is a solid jump shooter and has hit on about 37 percent of his three point attempts this year.

Reggie Evans is making his return to Brooklyn, so look for him to get a nice hand when he enters the game.

Player to watch: DeMarcus Cousins

Anybody wanna bring up the Derrick Favors-Cousins debates again? No? Well ok. To get an idea as to how important Cousins is to the Kings' future, Akis Yerocostas of Sactown Royalty explains:

He's the first true franchise player the Kings have had in a long time, and that wasn't so certain the last three years he was here.  There were good statistical arguments the last few years that the Kings were actually better those last three years with DeMarcus off the floor; The same cannot be said this year, even with the addition of an efficient Rudy Gay and improving Isaiah Thomas.  Just look at Sacramento's seven-game losing streak without him.

I'll admit that I wasn't one of Cousins' biggest fans going into this season. He wasn't that efficient from the field, couldn't finish around the rim and was bad defensively. However, I should have taken into account all of the turmoil around the Kings and the fact that he's still in his early 20s. He's been having a career year for Sacramento, averaging career highs in points per game, rebounds per game and true shooting percentage. Most importantly on offense, he's lived at the foul line. He's averaging a career high nine free throw attempts a game and is fifth overall in total FTAs. On defense, he's gotten better but can still get better. Sacramento is five points better per 100 possessions with Cousins playing, but he's allowing opponents to shoot 51 percent when he's guarding the rim. He also has a foul problem too, but with more time he'll get better. He missed some time due to an ankle injury & one for suspension, but he's been cool for the most part. I should also add he's a better person than I am because I would've put them hands on Dennis Schroeder after he punched my groin area.

All signs point to DMC having a big night. With Garnett not at full strength, Cousins should dominate Plumlee. Mason has a foul problem (five per 36 minutes) so look for the Kings to feature Cousins early and often. Once Plumlee hits the bench, Andray Blatche&Jason Collins will get a crack at him. They're hoping that they can use their size to slow Cousins down, but I wouldn't bet on it.

From the Vault

The Kings are up 2-1 on the defending Western Conference Champion Utah Jazz in the 1999 Western Conference Quarterfinals. Can they pull off the upset?


More reading: Sactown Royalty

O.J. Mayo suspended for one game after punching Greg Stiemsma

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The Bucks forward will miss Monday's game against the Orlando Magic.

Milwaukee Bucks wing O.J. Mayo has been suspended by the league for one game following a punch delivered to the throat of New Orleans Pelicans forward Greg Stiemsma on Friday. Mayo will miss Monday night's matchup with the Orlando Magic.

Mayo got tangled up with Stiemsma late in the first quarter against New Orleans. The Bucks guard was trying to fight around a pick set by the Stiemsma when the big man spun, appearing to make incidental contact with Mayo's left cheek. Mayo took exception, angrily flipping around and throwing a punch with his right hand into Stiemsma's throat. He was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game.

This wasn't the only suspension for the Bucks this week. Ersan Ilyasova was suspended for the game against the Pelicans for pushing Sacramento Kings forward Reggie Evans to the ground on Wednesday.

Mayo has posted season averages of 11.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, but has seen his minutes dwindle lately. Milwaukee is just 12-50 on the season, firmly in the last spot in the NBA. Orlando sits at 19-45.

Kings vs. Nets Preview: The Reunion Tour continues in Brooklyn

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Another road game, another familiar face as the Kings face Marcus Thornton and the Nets.

As the Kings face the Nets this afternoon (4:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California, NBA TV and KHTK 1140) it's crazy to think that on this seven game road trip, the Kings will face 7 players who were on the roster at the beginning of the season. This team has been changed so much in so many ways, and yet changed so little in others.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Rudy Gay vs. Joe Johnson

Gay and Johnson don't play the same position, but I'll be surprised if they aren't matched up against each other. In a way, they're similar players: Talented scorers who excel in isolation. Both have a reputation for coming through in the clutch, and neither has ever been known as a great defender. Johnson is probably the better passer, but on a team led by Deron Williams he doesn't have to run point very much. Johnson tends to score the same amount in wins or losses, but his efficiency is much different, at 47% in wins and just over 40% in losses.

3 THINGS

1. The Nets are a much better team than the one the Kings blew out early in the season. Everyone expected this Nets team to be very good or at least good after they acquired Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko. Now they've added Marcus Thornton to that mix. On Jan. 1st, the Nets were 10-21. Since then, they've gone 20-9. Their defense, once the worst in the league has improved to 19th.

2. A big reason for Brooklyn's improvement has been moving Kevin Garnett to Center and Andrei Kirilenko's health. The Garnett switch was unintentional thanks to Brook Lopez's season-ending injury. Kirilenko has troubled the Kings in the path, but I don't think Garnett's defense is as good as it once was. DeMarcus Cousins will be a load he's not used to seeing. This Brooklyn advantage might not be as big against a big team like the Kings.

3. Our old friend Marcus Thornton hasn't been doing all that much better in Brooklyn than in Sacramento although he's had a couple of big games. The problem with Thornton has never been his ability to get going, but rather his consistency. It's almost all or nothing with him, although I have a feeling we'll see more than nothing tomorrow since he's going up against his former team.

PRE-GAME HAIKU

Buckets and Jay-Z,
Living it up in Brooklyn,
a shot at a time.

PREDICTION

Kings 100, Nets 147 as Marcus Thornton decides to not miss a shot at all.

Kings vs. Nets Fan Predictions

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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 Marcus Thornton's combined Points, 3PM and 3PA in their return to Toronto (1 point for one right, 3 points for two right, 5 points for all right)

Game 61 - Brooklyn Nets vs. Sacramento Kins, 6:00 PM

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The Nets open up a tough week against the Sacramento Kings.

That didn't go well. Facing a team that was coming off a disastrous home loss on Wednesday night and focused solely on draft position, the Brooklyn Nets couldn't extend the winning streak and fell to the Celtics 91-84. The Nets are at .500 and are 2.5 games behind Washington for the fifth seed and two games ahead of Charlotte for the sixth seed.

Coming to town will be the Sacramento Kings. At 22-40, they're no where near playoff contention but it looks as if they're building nicely towards the future. They're in good draft position as of this writing, but history has shown us time and time again that a high draft position doesn't automatically mean the team will make the right selection.

The last time the Nets played Sacramento, they got obliterated 107-86. The rosters are much different from the first time around, as the Kings traded for Rudy Gay and Brooklyn got Marcus Thornton.

The season so far

What's up with these two? Check the stats:

2013-2014

Brooklyn

Sacramento

Record

30-3022-40

Pace

94.1296.79

Offensive Efficiency

102.8103.9

Defensive Efficiency

104106.4

Offensive Rebounding percentage

22.127.8

Turnover rate

15.414.9

Assist rate

16.615.5

Rebound rate

47.251.4

Free throw rate

31.432.6

Effective Field Goal percentage

50.148.8

Opponent Effective Field Goal percentage

50.451.5

Kevin Garnett missed another one due to his back spasms. No word yet on his availability. If he doesn't play, Mason Plumlee will get the start in his place.

Joe Johnson is coming off a pretty poor game. Johnson only shot 9-21 after playing excellent ball against Memphis & Chicago. He'll have the rookie Ben McLemore on him to start off. McLemore hasn't had a great debut campaign as his 7.4 PER is the worst of the players in the rotation.

Since he's joined Sacramento, Rudy Gay has played great. In his 38 games as a King, Gay has averaged 21 points and six rebounds on a true shooting percentage of 58.4, a career high. He's been criticized throughout his career for settling too much, but that doesn't appear to be the case from the outside looking in. The majority of his attempts have come inside the painted area and he's been getting to the foul line at a career high rate. There are questions as to his future with the Kings franchise, but if (if!) he continues to play at this level, the Kings will have a great building block going into the future.

There were rumors that he was going to be moved at the trading deadline, but Isaiah Thomas is still here. The lefty has taken another step forward and is averaging 20 points and six assists a game. The matchup against Deron Williams will be very exciting to watch. Deron is one of the few Nets to have a decent game on Friday, & he's managed to turn his first half struggles into a distant memory. He (like every other Net) was thoroughly outplayed in the Sacramento meeting so look for him to set the pace early. IT is a solid jump shooter and has hit on about 37 percent of his three point attempts this year.

Reggie Evans is making his return to Brooklyn, so look for him to get a nice hand when he enters the game.

Player to watch: DeMarcus Cousins

Anybody wanna bring up the Derrick Favors-Cousins debates again? No? Well ok. To get an idea as to how important Cousins is to the Kings' future, Akis Yerocostas of Sactown Royalty explains:

He's the first true franchise player the Kings have had in a long time, and that wasn't so certain the last three years he was here. There were good statistical arguments the last few years that the Kings were actually better those last three years with DeMarcus off the floor; The same cannot be said this year, even with the addition of an efficient Rudy Gay and improving Isaiah Thomas. Just look at Sacramento's seven-game losing streak without him.

I'll admit that I wasn't one of Cousins' biggest fans going into this season. He wasn't that efficient from the field, couldn't finish around the rim and was bad defensively. However, I should have taken into account all of the turmoil around the Kings and the fact that he's still in his early 20s. He's been having a career year for Sacramento, averaging career highs in points per game, rebounds per game and true shooting percentage. Most importantly on offense, he's lived at the foul line. He's averaging a career high nine free throw attempts a game and is fifth overall in total FTAs. On defense, he's gotten better but can still get better. Sacramento is five points better per 100 possessions with Cousins playing, but he's allowing opponents to shoot 51 percent when he's guarding the rim. He also has a foul problem too, but with more time he'll get better. He missed some time due to an ankle injury & one for suspension, but he's been cool for the most part. I should also add he's a better person than I am because I would've put them hands on Dennis Schroeder after he punched my groin area.

All signs point to DMC having a big night. With Garnett not at full strength, Cousins should dominate Plumlee. Mason has a foul problem (five per 36 minutes) so look for the Kings to feature Cousins early and often. Once Plumlee hits the bench, Andray Blatche&Jason Collins will get a crack at him. They're hoping that they can use their size to slow Cousins down, but I wouldn't bet on it.

From the Vault

The Kings are up 2-1 on the defending Western Conference Champion Utah Jazz in the 1999 Western Conference Quarterfinals. Can they pull off the upset?


More reading: Sactown Royalty


Can Rajon Rondo be patient enough through the rebuild process?

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This may be the most important question heading into this summer.

The lottery is very, very important.  The draft itself will be telling and key to the future.  What Ainge does with trades and free agency (including Avery Bradley) will be really interesting.  But none of them are as important as what the team will do with Rajon Rondo.

I still believe that Rondo is worth more to the Celtics than to any other team, so the only real reason the team would have to trade him is if they didn't think Rondo was up for the long haul rebuild process.  I say long-haul because barring a miracle 2007 re-boot, it will take a little while to get back to being a championship contender.  Playoffs, maybe, but legit contender?  That's harder.  Which is why so few teams are in that discussion each year.

So is Rondo ready to take things year by year and suffer through another year or more of being an also-ran?  It sounds like this is a legit concern.

(Note: This is an excerpt from an excellent in-depth look at Rondo by Baxter Holmes.  I recommend it highly.)

There’s no questioning Rajon Rondo’s commitment to winning - Celtics - Boston.com

But will the notoriously impatient Rondo have the patience for a rebuild? "That’s where I have my only concern with Rondo," Rivers said. "He’s extremely competitive, so that’s hard." Rivers’s story about Orlando, McGrady, and the underestimated difficulty of rebuilding — especially for a star player — was shared with Rondo. "He’s right on the money," Rondo said. "It’s difficult. It’s a frustrating process." Pierce agreed: "I try to forget those days, because those are your trying days, man."

Ainge, for his part, offers a different perspective.

As for rebuilding, Ainge said, "Listen, I feel like there's a time when we're all patient with one another. Right now, we're being patient with Rondo as much as he's being patient with us. He's not 100 percent. "But I think he is with us. I think he is patient and understanding."

So will he or won't he?  That is the question.  It is a question that could very well determine the direction Danny Ainge goes with the team - as early as this summer.

Obviously Rondo is a bright guy.  He knows that the majority of the league is stuck in rebuilding or also-ran status.  He knows that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.  Teams like the Kings and Pistons will always come calling with offers to Ainge, but that doesn't mean that the fit there will be any more beneficial to Rondo than it is here.

It almost certainly is in Rondo's best interest to just play things out next year and then see what the market has to offer (not just financially, but in terms of fit and future potential), regardless of which city it is in.  Then again, much like Garnett, it sounds like Rondo has a desire to see things through in the place where he is now.

With that said, as I've said before, I'm not sure how much loyalty Rondo has to the organization that has put him in trade rumors just about every year and has systematically traded away each of his best friends on the team.  The team had every right to do those things, but you can't turn around and ask Rajon to forsake his own personal agenda in the name of loyalty.  He's got to do what's best for him.

Of course, I can ramble on and on, in article after article suggesting guesses about what Rondo might or might not want to do next and it wouldn't do anyone any good.  Rondo is as much of a closed book as an NBA player can be and he'll do what he thinks best, regardless of what you or I think of it.  So I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Kevin Garnett out for his fifth straight game; Mason Plumlee will start in his place

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Jason Kidd announced before tonight's game against the Sacramento Kings that Kevin Garnett will miss his fifth straight game due to back spasms.

Kidd said that he wasn't concerned about KG's back and that "he looked good today." Mason Plumlee will start in Garnett's place once again tonight. Kidd thinks that the Nets are fine without Garnett and that the Nets have actually improved with him out of the lineup.

The Nets have three important games this week: the Raptors, Heat, and Wizards are all on tap; the team can use Garnett as healthy as possible for those three contests.

2nd Half Game Thread: Nets vs. Kings

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The Nets see a 16 point lead cut to 9. Paul Pierce injured his shoulder and will not return.

Nets 49, Kings 40

Banged up Nets handle Kings, 104-89

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As Marcus Thornton burns his old team, Paul Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko suffer injuries.

Paul Pierce left tonight's game at the Barclays Center with a shoulder injury almost before it started.  Andrei Kirilenko missed the second half with a sprained ankle.  Kevin Garnett missed his fifth straight with a balky back.  And, of course, Brook Lopez hasn't been part of the 2013-14 season for a long time.

But it was a player missing from the Kings roster that made the most difference in the game.

Marcus Thornton exploded in the 4th, making 5 of the Nets' first 6 baskets in the quarter as his new team buried the one from whence he came.

"Playing your old team, you always get up for it.", said Thornton. "I saw a couple of shots go down and my teammates kept feeding me the ball and I just tried to provide for them."

He also explained his theory of the game, "If I'm open, I'm shooting."

Thornton wound up with 27 points on 11-15 shooting and went 5-8 from beyond the arc.

Before Thornton's breakout, it was Joe Johnson who paced the Nets, scoring 18 points on 7-12 from the floor.  Deron Williams added a steady 10/7/4 line.

For the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins took advantage of the perpetually undersized Nets' frontcourt, scoring an easy 28 points and collecting 20 rebounds.

The Nets made up for their lack of an inside presence as they usually do - with their now trademark aggressive defense.  They forced 24 Kings turnovers and that - along with shooting 53% to the Kings' 44% (including 5-23 from long range) - was more than enough to overcome a startling 26 rebound deficit.

Brooklyn came out fast and erased any speculation that they would overlook the struggling Kings in anticipation of tomorrow night's big matchup against the division-leading Toronto Raptors.  The Kings made some runs - even tying the game in the 3rd quarter - before Thornton and the Nets flipped the switch and ran away.

With the win, The Nets pulled to within 4 games of the Raptors.  Who will be on the floor tomorrow night remains to be seen, but the blueprint will undoubtedly be the same - force turnovers, limit the opponents' ball movement, defend the perimeter.  It seems the Nets have developed something they haven't had for a while - an identity.

Kings can't find the net, fall 104-89 in Brooklyn

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Turnovers and Marcus Thornton catch up to the Kings on the road in Brooklyn.

The Sacramento Kings picked up where they left off in Toronto on Friday against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, and that isn't a good thing.

The Nets, without Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, who left early in the first quarter with a shoulder injury, outplayed the Kings in nearly every facet of the game (other than rebounding). What hurt the Kings most in the 104-89 loss was turnovers (24 total and only 11 assists). On the opposite side of the coin, the Nets tallied 25 assists and only had 10 turnovers - that ratio will get you a win on most nights.

The defense also was nowhere to be found - the Kings allowed the Nets to shoot 53 percent from the field, while they shot 44 percent. The Nets controlled the game for the most part, outside of a Kings run at the end of the second quarter and start of the third when they tied the game at 57. But they quickly let it slip away shortly thereafter.

DeMarcus Cousins put up DeMarcus Cousins numbers with 28 points, 20 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. This was Cousins' fourth career 20-point, 20-rebound game. Cousins also had six turnovers, however. That turnover number was bested by Isaiah Thomas though, who had seven of his own. Thomas also went 3-14 from the field. It just wasn't the Pizza Guy's night.

This game was a reunion of sorts for Marcus Thornton and Reggie Evans, who both were involved in the trade last month between Sacramento and Brooklyn. Thornton got the best of the Kings off the Nets bench, scoring 27 points on 11-15 shooting and 5-8 from three. He added three rebounds, two steals and one assist. Joe Johnson added 18 points and five assists.

Evans was no slouch, grabbing nine rebounds to go along with three points and two steals in 17 minutes of action.

Rudy Gay had a scare in the second half, landing awkwardly on his ankle. A Kings spokesperson told Sactown Royalty that he is OK though. Gay finished with 20 points and four rebounds.

The Kings will take on the Pistons in Detroit on Tuesday.

For the opposing perspective, visit Nets Daily.

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