The Kings are offering you a chance to take a post-game photo with Peja Stojakovic April 6th, at a game they're calling #KingsSelfie Sunday!

Vivek Ranadivé and Mark Cuban were part of a panel at an All-Star weekend tech summit back in February where they discussed the pros/cons of encouraging fan use of handheld technology during an NBA game. Business Week wrote a great article on the debate and you should definitely check it out.  Mark Cuban, who has a bit of a "get off my lawn" view point here, wants fans focused on the game and would like you to put your phone away. Vivek looks at that same "distraction" and see's an opportunity to enhance the fan experience with statistics and tools that allow you to order concessions or interact with other fans. Good or bad, social media's impact on the sport of basketball and the fan experience is undeniable and the topic makes for great debate.

In what appears to be a playful nod to their ongoing tech debate, the Kings are going to be encouraging fans to use their phones at the game even more this coming Sunday, April 6th. Going as far as using a hashtag in the branding of the event, they are calling the game #KingsSelfie Sunday.

Fans will be encouraged to take "Selfies" (I included a link to the definition for Section214) at the game, and post them to social media sites using the hashtag #KingsSelfie. They are even offering discounted tickets with a bit of SWAG for fans who opt to purchase tickets using this link:

PURCHASE TICKETS

Code: KINGS

In an attempt to fully flex their new-age tech muscles, the Kings are inviting fans who purchase tickets using that link to take a post game photo with Kings legend Peja Stojakovic! As exciting as meeting Peja is, a post game photo seems pretty standard right? Well... the photo is going to be taken by a remotely piloted flying drone.Yep, you read that right, if you buy a ticket using that link you'll get to take a futuristic-drone-selfie with Peja. NBA 3.0 y'all.

Fans will also receive a "Viveking" foam finger, presumably to enhance their selfies.

So if all this tickles your technological fancy, make sure you buy your tickets right away.

And while we're at it, how do you guys feel about the use of cell phones at games?

Alonzo Mourning will join Gary Payton as former Miami Heat players inducted into the Hall of Fame, but star point guard Tim Hardaway once again did not make the cut.

They played together, built the franchise together and even won a gold medal together as part of USA Basketball. But, at least for now, former Miami Heat greats Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway will not be enshrined together in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame.

Various sources report that Mourning's 11-year career was worthy of joining the Hall. As per Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick (via Twitter):

Multiple reports that Alonzo Mourning has made the Basketball Hall of Fame.

— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) April 3, 2014

This was Mourning's first time on the selection ballot for eligible finalists. Zo retired in 2008 with over 14,000 points, 2,300 blocks and 7,100 total rebounds and still holds various records as part of the Heat organization.

Unfortunately, Hardaway - a two-time finalist - was not selected, as reported by Yahoo!Sports' Marc J. Spears:

Former NBA player Tim Hardaway tells Yahoo Sports that he didn't get inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) April 2, 2014

Other finalists included sharpshooter Mitch Richmond (a former teammate of Hardaway's as members of the Golden State Warriors) and longtime Phoenix Suns point guard Kevin Johnson (now the Mayor of the City of Sacramento and a major factor in keeping the Kings basketball team in Sactown).

Richmond, who played at Boyd Anderson High School in Broward, will join Mourning in the Hall.

While it would have been fitting for both Heat teammates to be enshrined together, this ideal scenario will have to be put on hold for at least a year.

An official announcement from the Hall of Fame is expected on Saturday. Check back with Hot Hot Hoops for an in-depth look at Mourning's career and his contributions to the Miami Heat, both on and off the court.

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The Sacramento Kings avoided a season sweep to the Los Angeles Lakers, winning for the second game in a row, led by Rudy Gay's 31 points. Rookie Ray McCallum scored a career-high 27 points in his fifth consecutive start.

It was a fun night of basketball at Sleep Train Arena Wednesday night as the Kings beat the Lakers for the first and only time this season in what was dubbed "Bollywood Night".  The arena was brightly decorated with multicolored shirts, Indian music and dancing occurred throughout and Rudy Gay briefly became Shiva, destroyer of worlds.

The Lakers were able to keep the game interesting for most of the night despite their many injuries by utilizing the three point line, where they hit 12-28 threes (42.9%).  In comparison, they only hit 36.7% of their two point shots.  Nick Young hit 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, but was otherwise abysmal, going 6-17 overall.  Los Angeles also did a good job of hitting the offensive glass with 14 offensive boards.  6 of Jordan Hill's game-high 15 rebounds came on the offensive end.  Jodie Meeks' 21 points (of which almost half seemed to come from cherry picking the Kings defense) led the way for Los Angeles.

For Sacramento, it was yet another incredibly productive night for the ever improving Ray McCallum.  For the 3rd consecutive game, McCallum set a career-high in points with 27 on 12-22 from the field to with 4 rebounds and 5 assists in 46 minutes of play.  17 of those points came in the first half alone.  Ray was only surpassed in scoring by Rud Gay, who scored 31 points on 12-24 shooting after only scoring 4 points in the first quarter.  Gay caught fire in the second half and was able to provide an answer whenever the Lakers went on runs.

DeMarcus Cousins was only able to play 21 minutes due to early foul trouble, but when he was on the court, there was no answer for him.  Despite the limited action, Cousins still managed to put up 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists.  If he had been able to play more, the game probably would not have been as close.

There were good signs from the supporting cast as well.  Ben McLemore continued to shoot relatively well, scoring 12 points on 5-11 from the field.  Travis Outlaw scored 11 points off the bench, along with 7 rebounds and 2(!) assists.  Jason Thompson scored only one basket, but contributed elsewhere with 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in 23 and a half minutes.

This game was Sacramento's last against a sub-.500 team, and with 7 games remaining, the Kings will have a chance to surpass last year's win total of 28, although it won't come easy.  They'll start by looking to continue this win streak on Friday in Oakland against the Golden State Warriors.

For the opponent's perspective, visit Silver Screen and Roll.

Sport5, an Israeli sports site, is reporting that Maccabi Tel Aviv, one of Europe's perennial basketball powers, will play a preseason game vs. the Nets on October 7, one of two games Maccabi will play in the U.S. The other is in Cleveland two days earlier.

NetsDaily can confirm the Nets will host Maccabi. Earlier this year, league sources told NetsDaily that the team will fly to China in preseason to play the Sacramento Kings as part of the NBA's Global Games next October.

Neither set of games has officially been announced by the NBA.

Back in October 2010, shortly after Mikhail Prokhorov bought the team, the Nets also played an Israeli team --Maccabi Haifa-- and traveled to China. They played the Rockets in Beijing and Shanghai after stopping over in Moscow for practice.  The Nets have twice traveled to London for regular season games since Prokhorov acquired the team, once last season vs. the Hawks and in a pair contests vs. the Raptors in 2011.

Brett Yormark has said the Nets' policy is to "raise our hands" when the league is looking for volunteers to go overseas.

• Maccabi Tel Aviv will reportedly play against Cavaliers and Nets next October - Sportando
  

As Jan Vesely's extended end of season trial for the Nuggets continues, we take a look at a skill that Jan is performing at an elite level.

"In getting to know him over the last couple of weeks that he has been here and just seeing him in the limited practice time we’ve had, he has a good feel for the game in terms of his basketball IQ."

-Brian Shaw

Since arriving at the trade deadline from Washington on an expiring contract, Jan Vesely has been looking to play his way into an NBA contract for next season. During this time there has been a skill on display for the Nuggets that Vesely performs at an elite NBA level on the defensive end: stealing the ball.

• Per 48mins Jan ranks 5th in the NBA in steals and is the highest ranked PF or C in steal rate in the NBA in his 47 games played this season (players with minimum of 10 steals).

Jan is able to achieve this high rate of steals through a combination of excellent positioning and the use of his length, quickness, and jumping ability. While many players get most of their steals in one-on-one situations, Jan is able to create steals in a variety of ways often using his abilities to tip a ball and turn it into a steal. In addition his disruptive defensive play often results in other positives such as deflections and blocked shots.

Positioning on Defense

Despite being only 23 years old, Jan has a very good understanding of balancing defending his man with help responsibilities. This gives him the ability to roam into spots when his man is off the ball and that allows him to monitor his man and also: react and move into the passing lanes, to help on a player, or to rotate back to his man depending on what the offense does. The following plays demonstrate this ability.

Play 1. Vesely defending up high
As the play begins the Kings swing the ball to the far side of the court. As JJ Hickson is fronting DeMarcus Cousins to prevent the entry pass, Jan rotates across the paint to be in position to block the path to the hoop if Cousins gets the ball. As Sacramento rotate the ball back across to the near side Vesely rotates back to his man Quincy Acy.  Isaiah Thomas telegraphs a pass to Acy and Vesely uses his speed and length to move into the passing lane and tip the pass ahead to himself getting the steal and finishing with a fast break dunk.

Play 2. Vesely defending from the weakside
Here Jan again demonstrates a good feel for help defense. He begins matched up on his man under the hoop as the Blazers run a pick and roll at the 3 point line. As the roll man receives the ball Vesely moves up into the paint and challenges the drive using his length and the ball is knocked away. Portland recovers and resets and Vesely picks up his man out at the 3 point line. The ball rotates to the far side of the court and Vesely moves down to be able to offer help defense if needed while still tracking his man. The Blazers run a side pick and roll and the roll man gets under his defender (Quincy Miller). Jan rotates across to stop the open roller and is able to steal the attempted lob pass to him and pass off to Randy Foye.

Pick and Roll Defense

Jan is also able to use his length when defending the pick and roll. This allows him to perform a soft hedge to block both the driving lane and the passing lane to the roll man as the clips below demonstrate.

Play 1. Pick and Roll
The Lakers run a pick and roll to the middle of the court. Vesely prevents the drive of Jordan Farmar as he turns the corner around the pick. Farmar attempts to pass to Pau Gasol on the roll but Vesely uses his quick hops and wingspan to bat the ball into the air. Kenneth Faried is then able to secure the ball before being fouled by Farmar.

Play 2. Pick and Roll
Washington runs a pick and pop with a second (under) screen. Vesely covers John Wall as he comes off the first screen. Jan is then screened himself by the second Washington big man. Wall sees his driving lane is now covered by Darrell Arthur so he trys to pass back across to the pop man in the middle of the floor. However Jan has kept his eyes on Wall despite the screen and uses his length to tip the pass allowing him to recover for a steal and a breakaway dunk.

The Future

With an expiring contract at the end of the season and a limited offensive game, whether Vesely will appear in a Nuggets uniform next season remains unclear. However Jan has recently shown more comfort on the offense end with the Denver players, especially in finishing lobs and on pick and rolls close to the hoop. And having demonstrated high basketball IQ and unique stealing skills for a young big man (23yrs) on the defensive end, Jan is making an interesting case for the Nuggets to re-sign him going forward.

Sacramento's other rookie has been making a name for himself lately.

About a week ago, we found out that Isaiah Thomas would be missing some time with a deep thigh injury.  Upon hearing this, I prepared myself for some ugly basketball, as without Thomas, the only guards the Kings had left available were rookies Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum.  McCallum had just started to see real playing time after the All-Star break after not playing much at all before then, but while he had shown some occasional flashes (like a 15 point effort against the Bucks), there were more moments where it seemed clear he wasn't ready for more responsibility.

McCallum appears dead set on proving me and many other people wrong however.  The first two games of Isaiah's absence were really rough, as I had expected, but in each consecutive game he seemed to grow more confident and more capable.  Take a look at his progression these last 5 games:

3/26/14 vs. New York: 10 points, 3-14 FG, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers in 42:42

3/28/14 @ Oklahoma City: 13 points, 6-16 FG, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 turnovers in 45:42

3/29/14 @ Dallas: 16 points, 7-17 FG, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 turnovers in 48:00

3/31/14 @ New Orleans: 22 points, 9-19 FG, 2 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 turnover in 43:56

4/2/14 vs. Los Angeles: 27 points, 12-22 FG, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 turnovers in 46:03

It's a small sample size to be sure, and the two teams he really went off on featured Kendall Marshall and Austin Rivers as big minute players (not exactly lockdown defenders), but it's also more than the numbers.  After the game last night, Coach Malone praised McCallum's recent play.

From the Bee:

"The biggest thing that impresses me isn't his scoring, it's not his assists," Malone said. "It's his demeanor, it's his composure, it's his poise that he shows that he shows. For him to be a young kid, a rookie, that hasn't played a lot this year, to exhibit all those attributes at such an early age, I think is remarkable. And obviously that bodes very well for his career."

Ray spent a lot of this year both on the bench and on multiple trips to Reno for development in the D-League.  He's seen teammates come and go on an almost monthly basis.  This has not been an easy year for him, so for him to be able to come out and step up his game when the team needs him to has been a welcome sight, and not one that's expected from a rookie.

In McCallum, the Kings have yet another young player who has shown he deserves to be in this league and that he can be a good player, given the opportunity.  He's certainly making the most of the opportunity he's being given now, and I look forward to see how he ends the season, as the final 7 games all come against tough Western Conference opponents, starting Friday against Golden State and Stephen Curry.

There's still a long way to go for Ray McCallum, but over these past weeks, he's started to write himself into this franchise's future plans rather than become an afterthought.

DMC produced like an All-Star this season, and in his mind his reputation cost him a spot in the showcase.

Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins didn't make the All-Star Game this year, despite having a career season. He's averaging 22.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 50 percent from the field. Those numbers were about the same when the league's coaches picked other players over him to represent the Western Conference. Cousins said he should have been sent to New Orleans for the festivities in an ESPN The Magazine profile:

Asked whether he is hurt about not being named to the team, he answers, "Absolutely. I hear it's because I'm on a losing team, but Kyrie Irving was a reserve with [16] wins. Anthony Davis? Same story. So you can't sell me on that."

Agitated, he stops and sighs. He runs his hand across his forehead and down his face.

"[The fans] pick who they want to pick," he says. "That goes with the reputation. I can accept that. But I was flat done wrong [by the coaches]. And it's clear as day."

To get some nitpicking out of the way: Davis was not selected by the coaches, either -- he was named an injury replacement by the league. Irving was selected by the fans, not the coaches, and started for the Eastern Conference. Still, Cousins does have a point. If not for his reputation as a loose cannon, he could very well have been picked. He has been playing like an All-Star since the start of the season.

The problem, though, is that the West is full of guys who are playing like All-Stars. It looks ridiculous now that Goran Dragic didn't make it, but at the time it was hard to differentiate between him, Tony Parker and Mike Conley. Only Parker made the team. The Cousins vs. Davis argument is a difficult one, and it is likely that the two Kentucky alums will share the frontcourt in that setting at some point. It's just difficult to know when exactly that will be -- as long as Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, LaMarcus Aldridge and Marc Gasol remain in the West, it's going to be tough.

Deuce Mason returns to the show, and we've got a lot to talk about.

The Sactown Royalty Show is back!  This week I'm joined by Dave "Deuce" Mason, making his second appearance on the show.  Deuce is a great guest, and we had a great conversation.

We covered a lot of topics in this episode.  We talked about the growth of Ray McCallum, the offseason approach the Kings should take with Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas, how we feel about Michael Malone, and much more.

Towards the end, we had some issues with my audio cutting out.  Sorry about that.  Hopefully you're able to enjoy the earlier parts of the show.  If you'll excuse me, I need to go yell at my internet company.

During the episode, we mentioned an interesting article by Brett Koremenos on Grantland.  You can check it out here.

Like the show? Subscribe to us on iTunes or on Stitcher! Leave us ratings, leave comments, let us know how we're doing. Ratings and comments on iTunes really help us out with promoting the show. And of course, continue the discussion in the comments below.

And a big thanks to Audible.com for supporting us. To get your free 30-day trial and a free audiobook, sign up here. Using that particular link gets you the special offer, and let's them know you heard about them through our show.

As always, thanks for listening.

In the last six NBA Drafts there have been 15 bigmen drafted among the top five spots. Some are better than others. Some have gotten more chances to show what they can do. Let's look at the data.

In the golden days if you drafted a bigman in the Top 5 of any given NBA Draft it was clear that you were probably getting at least an NBA Starter. Sometimes you got a Hall of Famer. Today, where getting picked high in the draft is more a product of unaccounted for potential and equal parts mystery, taking a big high in the draft is no longer such a smart thing to do. After all, bigs come in with the fewest NBA skills (most of the time, guys like Ant Davis break that mold as he grew up as a guard). And the bigs with the most potential usually have played the least basketball. It's an end result, especially in the "one and done NCAA" era, that requires NBA teams to invest heavily in developing these guys.

If you fail to invest in a high draft pick big it means either one of two things: from what you know about the player he is a bust; or your team isn't currently dedicated to full-time development, and shouldn't be drafting project bigmen in the Top 5.

Over the last six NBA Drafts (2008 till 2013) there have been 15 bigmen who were drafted Top 5. Some have produced. some have not. These are their career averages (sorted by most PPG + RPG + APG + BPG combined):

There are three 'zones' here. You have a group of players that get over 20.0 combined BARP per game (not BARPS, I took steals out here). YOu have players that get lower than 12.0 BARPS. And everyone in-between. Before we go too far let's get one thing out of the way. The more you play, the more you have a chance to contribute. This isn't magic, or folklore. This is evidenced by the 0.961747 correlation coefficient between career cumulative BARP and career cumulative MPG.

Not folklore.

But there's more to it than just that. There's a correlation coefficient of 0.838016 (still pretty high) between two other factors that we, Utah Jazz fans, should be wary of: BARP / Min and the estimate average number of minutes a player will play over a season if they played 82 games. Why is this something? Well, BARP / Min is just how frequently a player (big) is doing good things on the floor. It's simple, quick, and dirty. And the bigger number is better. It's a good and easy stat to track that isn't too complex or frustrating. (The last thing I want to do is make things frustrating! Not everyone went to school for maths or sciences. I see you Near-Baltic History majors!) The second thing is more complicated. It shows a rate. It shows how many minutes a player would be on track for, if they played 82 games in a season. It eliminates some of the "this data is orphan city" issues that cropped up with this data set: that included a lock out shortened season, and in the case of Love, an 18 game season due to injury.

I've long held that playing 2k minutes in a season is important for a young player. The data I will show below shows that the players on track to play that much, or much more, have been a) the players who actually Do play the most minutes, and b) are the players who are the most efficient "do-gooders" there are in this 15 player list. Unfortunately, we're not solving the "are they doing good because they are good?" vs "are they doing good because they play?" question. The 0.96 and 0.84 correlation coefficients tell me that there is a good deal of both in play here.

The Bigmen drafted in the Top 5 (2008-2013):

(Sorted by highest avg of mins per season per 82 games)

Really no surprises here. Griffin, Love, Davis, Cousins, and Thompson are all the players who have already averaged 2k per season. It'll go up for some of these guys as they finish the season or play in the playoffs (the case for Griffin). It's also no surprise that these players average a ton of minutes per 82 game season. If there were no lockouts, or these guys had the fortitude of Karl Malone (a #13 pick, by the way), then their actual numbers would be closer to these estimations.

Why do we bother with the estimations? We do because sometimes players, like Kanter, still miss games they should be playing in. These estimations don't boost up how many minutes they play in a game, just put everyone on an equal 82 game footing.

When put on that equal footing you see that Favors and Kanter are well behind here too. The average is 2.0497 k minutes per season per 82 games. Derrick is at 1.9228 k (close), and Enes is at 1.5136 k (not as close). But both are behind the likes of Beasley, Valanciunas, and Thompson. We like to think that our guys are better than those three guys. According to their career cumulative BARP scores, though, they are not. And it also shows in how many minutes these players get per estimated 82 games. They perform better, partly because they have more actual NBA experience (in minutes per season), and partly because they play more (as seen in cumulative MPG).

Of course, Favors and Kanter had the benefit of playing behind Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. That's the tale we tell ourselves. The reality is that our front office was not committed to development, and our coach didn't trust these younger players. As a result they are fundamentally behind the curve based upon the cumulative data of Top 5 pick bigmen from the last six draft classes. And in terms of on court production they are in the middle of the pack, but nearer to the back of the middle, than at the forefront.

I do think part of this is because they aren't approaching their yearly maximums for a normative return on the minutes investments they should be getting. DeMarcus is a nutcase, but he produces. He was given all the opportunities in the world to motivate himself to get better (he didn't have to squire for a non-All-Star for 3 years), and this season he is averaging 22.2 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.5 spg, and 1.3 bpg. He has gotten better. We like to think Favors is better, but Favors is only producing 12.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.0 spg, and 1.5 bpg. Part of that is coaching. Part of that is Xs and Os. But a huge part of that is that while DeMarcus was supposed to be more talented than Derrick on draft night, since that point in time DeMarcus has improved more as well.

And that is just experience. It's one column 0.96 correlation, and one column 0.84 correlation.

If you do tend away from actual data, and go for the comfortable embrace of folk lore and anecdotal evidence -- you have Michael Beasley. He is someone you could call "over-dipped". He played over 2k minutes his first three seasons in the league, and we think he's trash right now, right? He's not even a real bigman, even if he played PF in college. But you know what? For his career he averages 20.0 BARP per game, while Favors is only at 18.4. And while Favors is at an impressive 0.78 BARP / minute, Beas is at 0.80. By the numbers he does more on the court per game, and also per minute. And yes, he got way more playing time early. The idea here is that we hope that Favors is a billion times better than Beasley. But the theory in practice here is that Beasley is closer to his maximum level (which is lower) than Favors is, and part of that is due to getting experience.

Sure, you can't give every young player a lot of minutes -- especially not if you are trying to make the playoffs. The Jazz have always tried to make the playoffs. And the are 1/4 in their last little go-around (Favors career). The teams that were more committed to developing their Top 5 Drafted bigmen (Timberwolves, Clippers, Pelicans, Kings) seem to have gotten the most out of picks. ('Sota made more space for Love by getting rid of Big Al, like how the Jazz got rid of Dantley to let Karl Malone be the focus)

We have two middle of the pack bigs who are behind where they should be, but we hope they'll one day be great. They're just behind because a) the team didn't commit to them, and b) the coach didn't trust them. The players that had both went farther. The fly in the ointment here is Tristan Thompson, right? Oh, the guy averaging 10.8 ppg, and 8.6 rpg for his career. (Favors is at 9.4 and 6.9, Kanter at 8.1 and 5.3).

Looking at this generation of under-ready bigs who are drafted high based on potential, and have little experience coming into the NBA -- it appears that NBA experience early and often is the key to getting them to maximize their talents quickly, and help the franchise gain a return on the expensive financial investment. A franchise unwilling to invest minutes into these players end up reaping what they sow.

So do you know how many minutes a Top 5 big should be getting? If you want them to  be any good, the baseline has to be north of 2,000 minutes a season. Blake just had another triple double last night. He averages close to 3,000 minutes a season. Blake, Love, and Davis were all All-Stars this year, and all get over 2,500 a season (per 82 games).

Our guys are a little behind according to both the 0.96 and the 0.84 correlation coefficient data sets.

And if any team is going to draft an unproven, prospect big in the Top 5 based on potential -- they should pay attention.

The Kings have just 7 games left, and they're all against good Western Conference teams.

The final 7 games of the season are here, and all but one of them is against a Western Conference Playoff team, starting tonight in Oakland as the Kings take on the Golden State Warriors (7:30 pm on Comcast SportsNet California and KHTK 1140).  The Warriors are currently in the 6th seed, but are just a couple games away from being out of the playoffs altogether, so every win is important for them.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Ray McCallum vs. Stephen Curry

McCallum has had a good few games as a starter, but he's also gone up against the likes of Devin Harris, Jose Calderon, Kendall Marshall, Brian Roberts and Austin Rivers.  That's not exactly a bunch of world beaters.  Stephen Curry is on a whole other level, and McCallum will be tasked with the very important (and difficult) job of trying to slow him down.  With the Warriors banged up, Curry will be looking to score even more than usual, and should the Kings allow him to go off, winning will be very difficult.  The scoring Ray has brought has been nice, but tonight we need him to expend his energy on the defensive end.

3 THINGS

1. As I mentioned, the Warriors are banged up.  In their last game, a loss to the Spurs, they played without starters Andrew Bogut, David Lee and Iguodala.  Both Bogut and Lee are unlikely to play tonight against Sacramento, but Iguodala may try to give it a go since the Warriors playoff hopes are on the line.  Regardless, the Kings should have the stronger frontcourt in tonight's matchup, and should look to get Cousins going early and often.  On the Kings own injury front, Isaiah Thomas is likely out again after an MRI revealed a deep hematoma (a bad bruise) in his thigh.  Malone says the team hasn't yet talked about shutting Thomas down for the season, but there are only 12 days left in the season anyway and the Kings aren't playing for much.  In my opinion, Isaiah's long term health is more important.

2. Last time these two teams met, Rudy Gay was shut down hard by Andre Iguodala.  Iguodala's a fantastic defender, but the Kings don't stand a remote chance of winning if Rudy can't get his offense going.  When Rudy's off, the only other reliable option we have is Cousins (and Thomas of course, but he's out).  Everyone else is hit or miss, especially guys like Derrick Williams and Travis Outlaw.

3. It's pretty amazing to consider the Warriors an elite defensive team and a mediocre offensive team but that's what they've been this season.  Their offensive rating is 13th (Sacramento, for comparison, is 15th) but their defensive rating is 4th.  That's a big jump from last year when they were the 15th best defensive team.  Development from some of the younger players, a healthier Andrew Bogut and the addition of Andre Iguodala have been big boons to their defense.  It goes to show that even with a couple players on the floor who are defensive liabilities normally (like Curry and Lee), a good team mindset and a couple of elite defenders will take you a long way.

PRE-GAME HAIKU

Thank you Golden State.
Because you gave us Vivek,
Me love you long time.

PREDICTION

Kings 102, Warriors 114 because they came out to plaaaaaaay.

The Warriors won the first three times, but never without both Bogut and Lee.

Golden State Warriors (46-29) vs. Sacramento Kings (27-48)

7:30 p.m. PST

Oracle Arena - Oakland, CA

TV: CSNBA/HD | Radio: KNBR 680

Buddy blog: Sactown Royalty

The Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings in the first three times the two faced one another, but none of those games were played without the Dubs' starting frontcourt.

The Warriors say Andrew Bogut and David Lee are out tonight vs. Sacramento. Andre Iguodala is a game-time decision.

— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) April 4, 2014

Nevertheless, there's probably still reason to believe that the Warriors should win this game: the Kings won the offensive rebounding battle the first three times anyway, which one would presume missing a pair of frontcourt players would most strongly affect.

Offensive rebounding rates for the Warriors and Kings in their first three meetings (via Basketball-Reference.com).

Does that mean things could get worse this time? Sure. And Rudy Gay could hurt the Warriors should Andre Iguodala not play: he has been about as efficient as the Warriors have ever been in his 51 games with the Kings (57% TS/26.7% usage).

That puts a lot more pressure on the Splash Brothers to pick up the slack as they did in the first two games of this series.

Three keys

• Splash Brothers going off: In the first two games against the Kings, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combined to shoot 57% from the field on 73 shots. They shot a shade under 40% in the last game at Sacramento, but got solid performances Jordan Crawford and Draymond Green off the bench. If Green can keep up his better play of late to supplement Curry and Thompson, they will be in good shape.
  
• Turnovers: The turnovers have been a major source of discussion throughout the season, but without their starting posts (and possibly Iguodala) keeping Sacramento from scoring off turnovers in transition will be key.
  
• Steve Blake: This will be Blake's first game against Sacramento as a member of the Warriors this season and it would be nice if he could break out of this little slump he's in lately: he hasn't hit a shot in the last three games (0-for-8). Of course, he's had 8 assists to 2 turnovers, but it would be nice if he could add some scoring punch with key pieces of the team missing.

Of course, the most important thing is that the Warriors can't really afford to drop games right now as they're only two games from being out of the playoffs and could use wins against conference opponents in case of tiebreakers.

Yeah, it's just the Kings, but tonight's game should be a bit of a letdown if three starters are missing.

Nope.

I'm going to give this recap the same amount of effort as the Kings did. In fact, this recap is showing up early, something the Kings did not do in this game, a game which saw them score 29 points in the first half and fall behind by as much as 42 points.

The Warriors are a much better team than the Kings.  That much is not in dispute.  But this game was seemingly decided from the get-go, with the first few minutes dominated by turnovers and bad shots.  In fact, the Kings had as many turnovers (6) as points in the early going.  At the time of this writing, there are 9 minutes left in the game and the Kings are down 36 and have 10 assists to 15 turnovers with 18 made field goals, shooting 29%.  Ray McCallum is shooting 1-11. Ben McLemore is 0-6. Golden State has 6 players in double figure scoring.  The Kings barely have two.

That's disgusting.  As a fan of this team, I don't ask much other than that the team show up and compete.  Tonight they didn't.

For the opposing perspective of the team that actually showed up to play, visit Golden State Of Mind.  Here's a box score if you want, but I will not be held accountable for broken monitors or sore foreheads from the facepalm you will give yourself.

Not to end on a sour note, good luck to Rudy Gay and his wife, who are expecting their first child any minute.

Kings Rudy Gay told Yahoo he is playing "nervous & scared" because his wife is due to give birth any minute now in Memphis to their 1st kid.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) April 5, 2014

*** UPDATE ***

I waited until 11:00pm just to be certain nothing changed... but the Kings still lost by a lot.

Final Score:

102-69

Breakin' Records:

69 points incidentally, is a Sacramento era low for points scored in a game against the Warriors and it's the lowest total of the season.

Kings' 69 points are their lowest scoring total against the Warriors since the Rochester Royals scored 64 on 11/10/53

— GSWStats (@gswstats) April 5, 2014

Jersey retirement is an honor that many players receive after they have retired, but it takes a special sort of player to have his jersey retired during his career. Travis Outlaw is this special kind of player.

Chris Webber. Vlade Divac. Mitch Richmond. Oscar Robertson. Tiny Archibald.

These are just some of the players who have their jerseys majestically hanging over the top of Sleep Train Arena. Three of these players have been inducted into the hall of fame, and it is not out of the question that the other two will eventually get there. All of these players had their jerseys retired years after they had left the Kings organization. Travis Outlaw is going to change that tradition. The Kings brass has been so impressed by Travis Outlaw's performance during his tenure as a King, that they have decided to reward him with a rare mid-career jersey retirement.

"He's deserved it. With his fearlessness to take any shot that's handed to him, as well as his fearlessness to take any shot that isn't handed to him, Travis displays a certain level of confidence, and quite frankly, a large level of swag, that cannot be ignored.", said coach Michael Malone about his star player.

Travis Outlaw, or "Swaggissippi", as his teammates have come to call him, is in his third season as a Sacramento King, and his presence has been felt through and through. When the team acquired him, they had come off of a 24-win season. Since Outlaw has arrived, the team has been a perennial 25-27 win team. It is quite obvious that this improvement could not be ignored. While stars come and go, there is only one Travis Outlaw.

The Kings have spared no expense for the retirement ceremony, which will take place during half time of the season finale vs Phoenix. Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, and Jerry West are just a few of the names that have politely declined the invitation to the historic ceremony. In their place, however, is a who's who of the biggest names in entertainment. The Raptor from Walking with Dinosaurs will be there. Superstar big man Hassan Whiteside will be there. The creepy guy who says "I'm a Pizza Guy" way too long in that commercial will also be there. Bill Walton will be the MC of the historic occasion, which will feature a performance by Outlaw's teammate, and budding R&B superstar Demarcus Cousins, aka "Boogie Smooth".

Outlaw seemed legitimately moved by the Kings' decision to honor him.

"It feels great to gain such a huge honor. To see my jersey up there with all of the greats will be a surreal experience, and I want to thank Vivek for making this honor happen. I still can't believe it."

There are rumors that Outlaw is the frontrunner to replace David Letterman in 2015, so a farewell tour may be in order for next season. So enjoy Outlaw while you still can, Kings fans.

Tickets are on sale now. Order now and receive a special ticket package that allows you to play some minutes at backup PG. Contact the Sleep Train Arena Box Office for more info.

The Kings had one of their worst performances in franchise history against the Warriors on Friday. They'll look to bounce back as Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks head into town.

The Kings last played Wednesday in a victory over the Lakers, because you can't call whatever they did Friday in Oakland playing. The Kings get the chance to redeem themselves tonight against the Mavericks (3:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California and KHTK 1140), a team they nearly beat in Dallas a week ago.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

DeMarcus Cousins vs. Fouls

A big part of the Kings recent offensive struggles has been when DeMarcus Cousins has had to leave games early due to foul trouble. While there have been some bad calls, it's the avoidable ones that frustrate me the most; Fouls like lowering his arm to try to get a difficult block, or swiping at a ball out of frustration. The Kings are a much better team when Cousins is on the floor, especially when they're already missing Isaiah Thomas (who again, may or may not play tonight). Cousins needs to find a way to avoid fouling so that he can stay in games.

3 THINGS

1. Wow. That last game was bad. So bad in fact, that it almost makes this game all the more important, just to get back on the right track. Nobody could say they had a good game, except maybe DeMarcus Cousins, but even he was limited by foul trouble (see above). We don't need a win, but we need a hell of a lot better performance and effort.

2. The Mavericks have had a day off after winning back to back games in LA against both the Clippers and the Lakers. Barely a game separates them and being out of the playoffs. The Kings hit them hard last week, and I expect that they'll take the game even more seriously tonight. One of the big reasons they managed to beat the Kings was because they got to the line a bunch, especially in the fourth quarter. Sacramento needs to be able to defend without fouling.

3. Ray McCallum and Ben McLemore were especially poor performers against Golden State. Hopefully their confidence isn't too shaken and they can show the mental fortitude to bounce back. They had both been playing well before last game, so hopefully it was just one step backward before two steps forward.

PRE-GAME HAIKU

Forget the last game,
if you could call it a game.
Tonight we bounce back.

PREDICTION

Kings 108, Dallas 115 because this means a whole lot more to the Mavericks than it does to us.

Game three of a four game road trip takes Dallas on a visit to see the feisty Kings.

What have the Kings done lately?

After getting beat late by the Mavericks last Saturday, the Kings beat the Pelicans and the Lakers. Then on Friday night, they ran into a buzzsaw, getting destroyed at home by the Golden State Warriors, 69-102. The Kings scored 27 points in the first half. Needless to say, I expect their pride to be on the line and they should come out firing against a rather hapless Dallas defensive squad.

What Maverick might be due for a big game?

I'm going to say Monta Ellis. Though he actually served as a solid play maker against the Lakers, he's had two games where he looked really out of sorts for stretches. Against the Clippers, his late game decision-making was a key factor in the LA game run. Against the Lakers, he was lackadaisical early and it allowed Los Angeles to stay in a game they had no business being a part of. If Isaiah Thomas misses another game due to his quad injury, Ellis has a real chance to put up big numbers against a depleted King back court.

What does Dallas need to do to be successful against the Kings?

DeMarcus Cousins is very nearly a force of nature, so there's not much the Mavericks can do to stop him other than hope he stops himself (happens a lot, oddly enough). In order to keep the Kings from stealing a victory, the Mavericks MUST limit Rudy Gay. In the two prior match-ups, Gay is averaging 32.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and three assists. Shawn Marion and Jae Crowder and whoever else sees time on the talented forward has to slow him down somehow. Gay is good, but he's not this good. They also need to get Dirk going early and often again.

What's the biggest match up to watch?

The Dallas back court versus Ray McCallum. Who is Ray McCallum? He is an NBA 2K14 "Create-a-Player" who gained sentience and inserted himself into a cadaver. He had 16 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds last Saturday against Dallas. If Ellis or Calderon or anyone can limit him even a bit, the entire Kings offense should fall apart. They do not have back up options at this point.

This is a classic trap game for the Mavericks. They must win it, with so few games left to play.

Game three of a four game road trip takes Dallas on a visit to see the feisty Kings.

What have the Kings done lately?

After getting beat late by the Mavericks last Saturday, the Kings beat the Pelicans and the Lakers. Then on Friday night, they ran into a buzzsaw, getting destroyed at home by the Golden State Warriors, 69-102. The Kings scored 27 points in the first half. Needless to say, I expect their pride to be on the line and they should come out firing against a rather hapless Dallas defensive squad.

What Maverick might be due for a big game?

I'm going to say Monta Ellis. Though he actually served as a solid play maker against the Lakers, he's had two games where he looked really out of sorts for stretches. Against the Clippers, his late game decision-making was a key factor in the LA game run. Against the Lakers, he was lackadaisical early and it allowed Los Angeles to stay in a game they had no business being a part of. If Isaiah Thomas misses another game due to his quad injury, Ellis has a real chance to put up big numbers against a depleted King back court.

What does Dallas need to do to be successful against the Kings?

DeMarcus Cousins is very nearly a force of nature, so there's not much the Mavericks can do to stop him other than hope he stops himself (happens a lot, oddly enough). In order to keep the Kings from stealing a victory, the Mavericks MUST limit Rudy Gay. In the two prior match-ups, Gay is averaging 32.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and three assists. Shawn Marion and Jae Crowder and whoever else sees time on the talented forward has to slow him down somehow. Gay is good, but he's not this good. They also need to get Dirk going early and often again.

What's the biggest match up to watch?

The Dallas back court versus Ray McCallum. Who is Ray McCallum? He is an NBA 2K14 "Create-a-Player" who gained sentience and inserted himself into a cadaver. He had 16 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds last Saturday against Dallas. If Ellis or Calderon or anyone can limit him even a bit, the entire Kings offense should fall apart. They do not have back up options at this point.

This is a classic trap game for the Mavericks. They must win it, with so few games left to play.

Coming off a huge win on Friday against the Sacramento Kings, our Warriors have their eyes set on another victory and season sweep vs the struggling Utah Jazz. In a game where every win counts, the Jazz look to play spoiler this evening while our Dubs march on to another post season run! No mistakes allowed on this one, let’s get the job done Warriors and keep pushing!

...to victory!

X-Factor - Draymond Green: D.G.'s having one helluva season! Green had a double-double against the Kings on Friday night scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds (not to mention a pair of assists, steals and blocks) starting for the Dubs. We're gonna need that fire going into the game tonight.

Secret Weapon - Marreese Speights: Actually, it's no secret. Speights has been contributing some great numbers alongside Jermaine O'Neal during Lee & Bogut's absence. He recorded a nice double double as well off the bench securing Friday nights win.

No mistakes allowed: At 24-52, sadly the Jazz have the worst record in the Western Conference. It's plain and simple folks... run the floor, maintain a strong lead and play some great defense. In no way should this be a close one. With Trey Burke &Derrick Favors putting in some great numbers, we need to contain these guys and not get comfortable.

Magic number: 4. No pressure, the western conference standings are a close one. Take in an "easy" win tonight (knock on wood, nothings ever easy at the Roaracle!) we can make a push for the 5th spot and clinch soon enough.

Predictions (Note: some might be blown out of proportion, lol)

Career night for Stephen Curry. Triple double night, I got dibs he'll pull it off 3 minutes into the third quarter! (place your bets!)

Another great night from Harrison Barnes. Jumpers, solid defense & a monstrous dunk.

Draymond, Mareese & Jermaine: Look out Utah, they're all going to have great nights.

The "Splash Brothers Night" event isn't until Thursday at the Roaracle. The pre-game event may start early if these guys hit it off at the 3-point line... Splash!

Warriors win by 14. My biggest prediction number, good luck fellas! Keep the momentum going our way. "Dubs All Day."

Dallas didn't look great at really any point during a late-afternoon game against the Kings. Luckily, the Mavs held on to help tighten their playoff hold.

This game was pretty much the season. Yes, there are two games with Memphis and Phoenix. But with Memphis currently getting pounded by San Antonio and Phoenix playing the Thunder, there was a massive opportunity for the Mavs to really strengthen their playoff chances.

So of course, it had to be the Kings. A Kings team that has been one of the NBA's worst for years, except when they play the Mavs. Because DeMarcus Cousins is pretty much the monument to all the Mavericks sins.

They also always usually have a bunch of springy, athletic guards.

So yeah, this followed the script of a typical Mavs, Kings game of the last few years. Dallas seemed to survive just because they're a little bit better at basketball things than the Kings. Sacramento would get close, but they couldn't finish because they just don't have a lot of great shooters to surround Cousins with.

And typical Mavs, the fourth quarter was heart-attack inducing. Somehow Shawn Marion was allowed to take free throws, he missed them, the Mavs missed another and luckily, since they're the Kings, Sacramento didn't really have a good final shot.

Dirk was awful at 5-of-17. Brandan Wright played six minutes. And yes, this was one of those Mavs games where Samuel Dalembert wasn't just needed, he was CRUCIAL.

Caldeorn and Ellis had some good games to help bail out the offense. Vince Carter made some shots. But boy, that wasn't really fun to watch.

Doesn't matter at this stage. And hey, there won't be any DeMarcus Cousins in the playoffs. Neat! Talk about how much you almost threw up watching this game in the comments below.

Gay and Cousins shine in loss, but Sacramento's depth struggled and Kings couldn't close out seventh seeded Mavericks.

The Sacramento Kings needed a bounce back game for pride's sake alone, and while the outcome wasn't what Michael Malone and his troops wanted, the 93-91 loss to the Playoff hopeful Mavericks was a step in the right direction.

Rudy Gay dominated with 32 points, eight assists and six rebounds and DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points and 10 rebounds, but the remainder of the Kings depth added just 30 points in the loss. Monta Ellis had 23 points while Vince Carter added 17 bench points for the Mavericks, who maintain possession of the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

The Kings had a shot at overtime after Dirk Nowitzki made just one of two free throws to make it 93-91, but an disjointed offensive possession ended with Cousins airballing a long jumpshot.

It's hard to count any loss as a moral victory, but Sacramento played with much improved effort, especially on the defensive end. Dallas shot just 40.4% from the field, and Nowitzki struggled all game long, finishing with 15 points on 5-17 shooting.

After the debacle in Oakland on Friday (this being the last time that contest ever needs to be discussed), it was excellent to see the Kings rebound with energy. The team struggled to maintain a consistent offensive production, but Sacramento held their own for most of the game against a very solid and deep Dallas team. Given that the Mavericks were playing for a Playoff birth while Sacramento played for nothing but pride, the outcome wasn't a real disappointment.

Still, there were concerning signs for the Kings. While Gay and Cousins combined for 60 points, players not named Gay or Cousins shot just 12-35 from the field, or 34%. The Kings also failed to zone out on three point shooters in the fourth quarter; the Mavericks scored four straight threes, capped off by a Monta Ellis bomb with 3:04 to play that put Dallas up 87-82.

With Isaiah Thomas missing his seventh straight contest, rookie Ray McCallum had another solid performance, finishing with eight points and nine assists. Fellow rookie Ben McLemore was mostly invisible, getting just five points on 2-9 shooting while struggling to contain Ellis on the defensive end.

The schedule gets no easier for the Kings down the stretch, with three more upcoming games against Playoff bound squads. The Kings play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, and then head on the road to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday and the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday

For the opposing perspective, visit Mavs Moneyball.

The season is coming to a close and the Kings are looking to close out strong, even as the schedule is incredibly tough and Isaiah remains out.

The Good:

1. DeMarcus finishing the season strong

See Player of the Week

2. Mitch Richmond in the Hall of Fame!

The Sacramento Kings finally have a representative in Springfield, and it's none other than the Rock.  Richmond deserves to be in the Hall and I only wish that the Kings could have had more success while he was with us.  It's funny that even in parting ways, he helped propel the Kings to the next level by being traded for Chris Webber.

3. Ray McCallum becoming a part of this team's future

Most second round picks don't pan out, so it's always nice to see when they do.  Ray has been making the most of the opportunity he's been given in Isaiah's absence, playing an obscene amount of minutes (he's averaging 45.4 minutes per game as a starter in 7 games).  He's responded with great games like those against New Orleans (22 points, 10 assists) and Los Angeles (27 and 6), and even in games where he didn't score as much he's contributed.  Against the Warriors he couldn't find a bucket, but got 10 assists.  He shot poorly again against Dallas, but still had the near double-double of 8 points and 9 assists.  I also think his huge minute load is a reason for some of those poor shooting performances.  It's nice to see Ray playing well, and I think he's definitely going to see a more consistent role as Sacramento's backup PG next year, either to Isaiah or Isaiah's replacement.

4. Rudy seems open to re-signing

While Rudy has yet to make a really committed statement on his free agency options this summer, it was nice to hear him say good things about Sacramento and seem open to the possibility of re-signing here long-term.  Rudy's been great for the Kings, and he'll obviously be the top priority for the Kings this summer.

5. Special Kings nights

The Kings had an interesting twist to each of their home games recently, and I thought they were all good.  The first was having former King Brian Grant come to the Pelicans game.  Then we had Bollywood night against the Lakers, and seeing all the multi-colored shirts and the Indian theme going was really fun (beating the Lakers was even better).  Finally we saw Peja at the Mavericks game.  It's cool how the new ownership is doing a good job of connecting the future with the past, and I look forward to seeing what they have planned when the Kings are actually good again.

The Bad:

1. Isaiah still out

Despite the progress of Ray McCallum, it's clear this team misses Isaiah Thomas, and probably would've won a couple more games had he been available.  That being said, at this point in the season it's probably best to just shut down Thomas for the rest of the season.  That carries the unfortunate note that we might have seen the last of Isaiah in a Kings uniform, although I'm hopeful that the Kings will re-sign him.

2. Three Point Shooting

The Kings don't have any real three point threats.  In fact, the best one they have seems to be Travis Outlaw right now.  The most threes the Kings hit this week was five, and they never hit more than 33% of their attempts.  This is an area I'd like to see rectified this summer, although hopefully a healthy Isaiah (who was hitting well above 40% prior to his wrist injury) and a more developed Ben McLemore will help there.  Still, someone like Jodie Meeks would be an excellent Free Agent target in my opinion.

3. Defensive Rebounding

The Kings have done a very bad job of grabbing boards on the defensive end, with three of the four teams they faced this week grabbing more than 26% of available offensive rebounds.  Against Dallas especially, this led to a lot of second chance opportunities. Playing great defense for a possession doesn't matter if you can't secure the defensive rebound to end the possession.  All that hard work goes to waste.

The Ugly:

1. Drubbing in Oakland

This is the-game-that-shall-not-be-spoken-of.  The Kings definitely acted like they weren't supposed to play that night.  The 69 points the Kings scored was a franchise-worst against the Warriors, and the 11th lowest scoring game in Sacramento Kings history (the team lost 101 to 59 in 1991 for the worst performance).

2. Derrick Williams, the invisible man

It's easy to see why Minnesota fans soured on Williams.  The guy has a tendency to disappear when he's not made a focal point of a team's offense, and he also doesn't seem to have the mentality to make himself part of the offense.  Too often he also settles for outside jumpers, despite his strength lying in attacking the basket and getting to the line.  I'm very disappointed that Williams hasn't adapted better to his bench role, because right now our best bench player is Travis Outlaw and that shouldn't be the case.

Player of the Week:

DeMarcus Cousins

25.5 PPG, .577 FG%, 11.3 RPG, 1.5 AST, 1.3 STL, 1.0 BLK in 30.8 MPG

The big fella has done a good job of closing out his best season strong.  More importantly he's showing up to play every night.  Even in the game against the Warriors, he was the only King who can claim that he had a decent game, although his early foul trouble was problematic. Those statistics he put up there over 4 games were in just 30.8 MPG.  The next big step in his growth will be staying on the court longer.  On another note, it felt like Cousins has been automatic with his mid-range jumper lately so I went back and took a look at his shooting chart over the last four games.  He's hit 16 of 26 (61.5%) of his shots outside of the paint in the last 4 games. That's obviously a small sample size that will skew lower over time but if he ever gets to the point where he's David West-ian with that mid-range jumper, there won't be many ways you can guard him.

Images / GIFs of the Week:

3 KFipp's drop it like it's hot

by HeuristicLineup on Apr 1, 2014 | 10:58 PMupreply unrec (14)actions

Gotta love finding these things on reddit

by F**koffanaheim on Apr 2, 2014 | 10:33 PMreply rec (45) flagactions

Travis Outlaw claims another victim tonight

by beeradgee88 on Apr 2, 2014 | 11:35 PMreply unrec (50)actions

Recap of tonight's game.

by beeradgee88 on Apr 4, 2014 | 9:44 PMreply rec (23) flagactions

So the homepage is telling an incredibly accurate story in picture form...

by HeuristicLineup on Apr 5, 2014 | 1:39 PMreply unrec (19)actions

Comments of the Week:

In regard to the GIF of a dinosaur on the Kings court

I thought Steve Nash was inactive

by section214 on Apr 3, 2014 | 9:10 AMupreply unrec (21)actions

Boogie Smooth track list.

1) Technical love ft Dick bavetta
2) Emotional ft Chance the Raper
3) King of Kings ft Tom Ziller and the STR gang
4) Lemon Pepper my wings ft Rick ross
5) If youre trading me dont let me know ft Paul Westphal and Geoff Petrie.
6) *FtM ft Vivek Ranadive and Mark Mastrov
7) Big Fellas ft Rick ross
8) Drake fan club ft Jonny Manziel

by Robby1987 on Apr 3, 2014 | 1:01 PMreply unrec (15)actions

In regards to Ray McCallum averaging 17.6 shots in his first five starts:

I am impressed that he can average that many shots without "pure" point guard proponents going batshit crazy

by section214 on Apr 3, 2014 | 12:44 PMupreply unrec (33)actions

Highlight of the Week:

Caption Contest:

Link to Last Week's Picture

Last Week's Winner: chandlerj

Rudyson, if do crane kick correctly, no can defend.

Last Week's Runner-Up: Slam_Dunk

Rudy Gay tries to act out Jerry Reynold's Hippity hop to the barber shop but gets mixed up with which foot goes hippity and which one goes hop.

This Week's Picture (Final one of the year!):

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:

4/8 v. Oklahoma City L (Isaiah's the OKC killer and we don't have Isaiah. Also OKC is just way better than us)

4/9 @ Portland L (Probably our best chance at another road win but Portland's looking to get some momentum going heading into the playoffs)

4/12 @ L.A. Clippers L (We've actually played the Clippers pretty well this season, with a couple coming right down to the wire.  However, I feel the Clippers are better than they were at the beginning of the season, and we're not at full strength)

4/13 v. Minnesota W (Bit of a homer pick here but the Wolves won't have anything to play for at this point and while the Kings don't either, I think they'll be a little more motivated to end a five game losing streak)

4/16 v. Phoenix W (Let's end the season on a positive note and possibly spoil Phoenix's playoff hopes at the same time)

Nostradumbass Record for the Year: 42-35

Random Observations from around the league:

• What the heck is going on with the Pacers?  For a while there, Indiana seemed to be a lock to win the #1 seed in the East with a dominating defense and capable offense.  However, since the All-Star break the defense has gone from dominating to merely good (a big drop off for them) and their offense has fallen off a cliff.  They've won just 2 of their last 9, and those wins have been a 1 point game over Miami and a 7 point win over Detroit.  Miami has now tied them in the win column with a higher overall winning percentage.  A low came yesterday when the Hawks beat Indiana by 19 with Roy Hibbert getting benched for the entire second half.  This is not a good time to be slowing down, and Indiana looks to be in real danger.
• Not strictly related to NBA but still relevant, the College Basketball championship is today between UConn and Kentucky, both unlikely choices to make it there when the tournament began.  Who do you have winning it all?
• Larry Sanders was suspended 5 games for violating the league's anti-drug policy for violating marijuana. It's been an incredibly rough year for Sanders, especially after playing so well and earning a big extension last year.  I'm not sure he's the type of guy I want on this Kings team, but he also seems like the type of "buy low" guy that D'Alessandro has targeted so far, although with 4 years and $44 million left on his contract, he carries more risk than most.