There are only three games remaining, starting today with the Kings. The Clippers have a chance to sweep the season series with a win.

2013/2014 NBA Regular Season
	vs
55-24		27-52
April 12th, 2014, 12:30 PM
STAPLES Center
Prime Ticket, KFWB 980 AM, KWKW 1330 AM
Win-Loss Breakdown
21-9	East	13-17
34-15	West	14-35
32-7	Home	16-23
23-17	Road	11-29
29-17	.500+	12-37
26-7	.500-	15-15
7-3	L10	3-7
Probable Starters
Chris Paul	PG	Ray McCallum
J.J. Redick	SG	Ben McLemore
Matt Barnes	SF	Rudy Gay
Blake Griffin	PF	Jason Thompson
DeAndre Jordan	C	DeMarcus Cousins
Advanced Stats
98.37 (6th of 30)	Pace	96.64 (14th of 30)
109.3 (2nd of 30)	ORtg	102.9 (18th of 30)
101.9 (7th of 30)	DRtg	106.2 (23rd of 30)
Injuries/Other
Jamal Crawford (calf) probable		Isaiah Thomas (bruisied quad) out
Danny Granger (hamstring) out		Carl Landry (meniscus surgery) out
		Jason Terry (knee surgery) out

The Back Story (The Clippers lead the season series 3-0):

There are just three games left, and Jamal Crawford will return to the lineup today against the Kings.

2013/2014 NBA Regular Season
	vs
55-24		27-52
April 12th, 2014, 12:30 PM
STAPLES Center
Prime Ticket, KFWB 980 AM, KWKW 1330 AM
Win-Loss Breakdown
21-9	East	13-17
34-15	West	14-35
32-7	Home	16-23
23-17	Road	11-29
29-17	.500+	12-37
26-7	.500-	15-15
7-3	L10	3-7
Probable Starters
Chris Paul	PG	Ray McCallum
J.J. Redick	SG	Ben McLemore
Matt Barnes	SF	Rudy Gay
Blake Griffin	PF	Jason Thompson
DeAndre Jordan	C	DeMarcus Cousins
Advanced Stats
98.37 (6th of 30)	Pace	96.64 (14th of 30)
109.3 (2nd of 30)	ORtg	102.9 (18th of 30)
101.9 (7th of 30)	DRtg	106.2 (23rd of 30)
Injuries/Other
Jamal Crawford (calf) probable		Isaiah Thomas (bruisied quad) out
Danny Granger (hamstring) out		Carl Landry (meniscus surgery) out
		Jason Terry (knee surgery) out

The Back Story (The Clippers lead the season series 3-0):

The Big Picture:

The playoff picture is becoming more clear, although it has still yet to snap into place completely for the Clippers. Houston's loss last night to Minnesota clinched no worse than the third seed for the Clippers, their highest playoff seed since moving to California. The loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday doesn't put the second seed completely out of reach, but OKC would have to lose three of their remaining four games while the Clippers won all of theirs -- no likely. So it's all but certain that the Clippers will be the third seed. Who they'll play is less clear, although the Warriors are currently in sixth and have the best chance of finishing sixth. Having said all of that, even if the Clippers are essentially locked into the three seed, it doesn't mean they have nothing left to play for during the regular season. It's further down the road, but in a finals matchup with Miami, the Clippers would currently have the home court advantage as they have a better record -- but they're only a game ahead in the loss column and Miami owns the tie breaker. It may not come into play, but if it does the Clippers would certainly want to have have HCA in the NBA Finals against the defending champs. There are other advantages to playing well -- for one thing, they need just one more win to tie last season's record for wins in a season, and two more wins to break the record. And of course playing well is a goal unto itself heading into the playoffs. To that end, Jamal Crawford is likely returning to the lineup tonight after sitting out off and on since the beginning of March. If Crawford does play, the Clippers take one more step towards full health for the first time this season. Only Danny Granger, whose hamstring will keep him out until the playoffs, is still hurt. The Clippers have beaten the Kings three times this season, all of the meetings coming back in November, though none of the victories have come easy. Since those meetings, Sacramento has traded for Rudy Gay.

The view from the Capital

Sacramento Kings

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The Antagonist:

The Kings have three players averaging over 20 points per game -- and the third worst record in the western conference. That tells you about all you need to know. DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas (who is currently injured) can all score, but it's far from clear that they are winners. Thomas has had a break out season -- which actually works against the Kings now, as he was a second round pick and is a free agent. In other words, he's going to be making a whole lot more than a second round salary next season -- and that might be somewhere other than Sacramento. The Kings don't have much more than pride to play for right now, but they truly don't like the Clippers, so that's probably motivation enough.

The Subplots

• Comparison of key metrics. The Clippers defensive efficiency has gone from 28th to 21st to 16th in the last two games. They haven't been able to stop the Kings so far this season, so they'll have to play better if they want their defensive rating to continue improving.
• Different team. The Clippers played the Kings three times way back in November. Over four months have passed since the last meeting, and the Kings have completed three fairly important trade since the start of the season. They traded Luc-Richard Mbah a Moute to Minnesota for Derrick Williams. They traded Greivis Vasquez and three other players to Toronto for Rudy Gay. And they traded Marcus Thornton to Brooklyn to make room on the court for rookie Ben McLemore. At least Blake Grifffin won't have to deal with the departed Chuck Hayes.
• Bad blood. We've known for a while that DeMarcus Cousins does not like Blake Griffin. At this point it has become obvious that Boogie doesn't much like Chris Paul either, and in fact it seems like maybe he doesn't like anybody on the Clippers. Cousins was on the edge in all of the first three games; watch him closely in this one, because something is going to happen.
• McLemore. When the Clippers played the Kings four months ago in the third game of the season, I asked Aykis of Sactown Royalty when he thought lottery pick Ben McLemore would crack the starting lineup in Sacramento. Well, it turns out that the correct answer was Game 7 of his rookie season. He hasn't exactly been a world beater in the NBA so far -- he's shooting a dreadful 37% from the field -- but at the same time, they like him and they expect him to be a big part of their future.
• The other rookie. The Kings have another rookie guard they like a lot in Ray McCallum. In fact, with Thomas out, they'll start a rookie backcourt tonight.
• No Thomas. The Clippers showed little ability to stop Isaiah Thomas in the first three games so it figures to be a bit of good fortune that he's not playing in this one.
• Connections.Travis Outlaw (who has been surprisingly productive off the Kings bench) was briefly a Clipper in 2010 and he was signed by the Kings after being amnestied by the Nets last season. Matt Barnes played high school basketball and football at Del Campo High in Sacramento. Willie Green and Kings rookie Ray McCallum are the two active NBA players from Detroit Mercy (Go Titans!). The recently acquired King Reggie Evans was a Clipper two seasons ago.
• Get the Kings perspective at Sactown Royalty.
• Shakespearean reference:
  Sonnet LXIV (69)
  Against my love shall be, as I am now,
  With Time's injurious hand crush'd and o'er-worn;
  When hours have drain'd his blood and fill'd his brow
  With lines and wrinkles; when his youthful morn
  Hath travell'd on to age's steepy night,
  And all those beauties whereof now he's king
  Are vanishing or vanish'd out of sight,
  Stealing away the treasure of his spring;
  For such a time do I now fortify
  Against confounding age's cruel knife,
  That he shall never cut from memory
  My sweet love's beauty, though my lover's life:
  . His beauty shall in these black lines be seen,
  . And they shall live, and he in them still green.

Dunks, dunks and more dunks from Blake Griffin.

The Kings are down to just two games left, and tonight against the shorthanded Timberwolves may just be their best remaining chance to win.

The Kings are back home for the final two games of the season, looking to end the season on a positive note and snap a 5 game losing streak tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves (6:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California and KHTK 1140).  The Kings will be once again without Isaiah Thomas (who may be cleared to play in the finale on Wednesday) but the Timberwolves are even more shorthanded, with Kevin Love, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic all questionable to play.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Rudy Gay vs. Corey Brewer

Normally this is a matchup that would heavily favor the Kings, even though Brewer is known as a good defender.  Rudy was very rusty yesterday against the Clippers so hopefully we see him play better today.  But Corey Brewer is coming off the best game of his career and one of the more improbable games in NBA history, as he scored 51 points in a win against the Houston Rockets on Friday.  That's not a typo. Corey Brewer, of the 10.0 points per game career average, scored 51.  That's simply remarkable.

3 THINGS

1. Rookie Gorgui Dieng has gotten a lot of playing time lately as Nikola Pekovic has been in and out of the lineup with ankle issues and he's made the most of it, averaging 12.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.6 blocks as a starter.  It should be noted that Dieng is already 24 years old and should be expected to make an impact sooner than other rookies, but it doesn't take away from the fact that he's been impressive.  He even hit the game winner in their last game against the Rockets, where he had his second career-game of grabbing at least 20 rebounds (both of which came against Houston).

2. As mentioned, the Wolves have their three best players possibly out tonight due to injury.  If Love doesn't play, Dante Cunningham will likely start in his place.  Dieng starts for Pekovic, and Robbie Hummel starts for Martin.  Adelman does a good job of making undermanned teams play better than the sum of their parts though, so should all three of those guys be out, the Kings can't take them lightly.  Sacramento will have a big size advantage in the post and should be able to get DeMarcus Cousins going whenever they want.

3. Tonight might be Sacramento's best chance for a win, and a chance to tie last season's 28 wins.  However, even if they don't tie that record, this is a Kings team that is clearly better than last season's squad.  Injuries to key players have held the team back, as has unparalleled roster turnover.  Perhaps most impressive to me though is that despite the adversity and the losing record, this team has yet to give up on the season, playing very competitively against some very good teams.

PRE-GAME HAIKU

Retire something
for Rick Adelman in Sac.
The best coach we've had.

PREDICTION

Kings 109, Timberwolves 98 as the Kings break the losing streak and give the home crowd one last win before the season ends.

Sacramento welcomed back Isaiah Thomas and came back from down 10 points and overcame a 43 point effort from Kevin Love in part thanks to a huge 35 points, 15 rebound and 6 assist effort from DeMarcus Cousins. Unfortunately, Cousins may have played his last game of the season as he picked up his 16th technical of the season late in the 4th.

The Kings will not end the season on a 7 game losing streak, thanks to a huge effort from DeMarcus Cousins and company.  The Kings outscored the Wolves 59 to 51 in the second half to come back from 10 down and win 106 to 103.

DeMarcus Cousins was magnificent, scoring 35 points on 13-21 from the field to go with 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks.  He was incredibly active on both ends of the floor, drawing double teams and altering shots.  In what was a serious downer though, Cousins was whistled for a technical foul late in the 4th, which is his 16th of the season.  Cousins had gone more than a month without being whistled for a technical and had hoped to go the entire season without another one, since it would mean a suspension.  The technical itself seemed to be rather borderline, and there's still a chance that it can be rescinded by the NBA.  However if it is not, this will have been the last game of what has been a pretty great season for Cousins, one in which he has become a legitimate star.

For Minnesota, Kevin Love tried and failed to one-up teammate Corey Brewer's 51 points from the other night, only scoring 43 on 12-23 shooting with 11 rebounds.  Rookie Gorgui Dieng continued to impress in Nikola Pekovic's absence, scoring 21 points to go with 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.  On an interesting note, the rookie Dieng is actually several months older than DeMarcus Cousins.

Besides Love and Dieng, the Kings did a good job of shutting down Minnesota's offense, holding them to 39.8% from the field.  Kevin Martin was 0-8, Ricky Rubio 0-4, Corey Brewer 2-8 and J.J. Barea 2-11.

Besides the fantastic performance from Cousins, the Kings got an exceptional game from rookie Ben McLemore, who scored 19 points on 6-11 from the field, along with 2 blocks.  McLemore was aggressive in taking it to the hoop as well, and got to the line 5 times.

The Kings welcomed back Isaiah Thomas for the first time in 8 games, and while Thomas looked a bit rusty (mainly from the three point line where he was 1-5), he still scored 14 points on 6-13 shooting to go with 4 assists.  Ray McCallum transitioned nicely to the bench role, adding 11 points to go with 6 assists and just 1 turnover.  Thomas and McCallum played some meaningful minutes together as well, which was nice to see.

The Kings as a team shot 50% from the field, outrebounded Minnesota 47 to 41, had 25 assists (really high for this team) and had 6 steals and 6 blocks.

This might have been Rick Adelman's last time as a coach in Sacramento, with speculation rampant that he is to retire after the season.  What better way to send him off than seeing the Kings win, something he helped to do so often while he was here.

The Kings are now guaranteed to not have a worse record than last season with this being their 28th win, and a chance to improve it and spoil Phoenix's playoff hopes on Wednesday in the final game of the year.

For the opponent's perspective, visit Canis Hoopus.

DeMarcus Cousins was whistled for his 16th technical foul of the season on Sunday in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Cousins chose not to discuss what happened in the post game. Instead, he fielded questions about his season and the team's future under head coach Michael Malone.

DeMarcus Cousins was called for his 16^th technical foul Sunday night in the Kings' 106-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

According to Sean Cunningham of News 10, Cousins received the technical in the fourth quarter because he threw his hand in the air and yelled "bull****" after a foul was called. It's debatable whether it was directed at a specific referee, but it was enough in the ref's eye's to slap Cousins with that 16^th technical.

You can watch the sequence at the 1:23 mark of this video.

If the technical isn't rescinded, Cousins will be suspended for one game due to league rules and he won't be suiting up for the Kings' final game of the season against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. He hadn't picked up a technical foul since Feb. 25 against the Houston Rockets.

Cousins, who had 35 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal Sunday night, wasn't interested in discussing what happened with the media after the game, quickly saying, "I'm not talking about it." Instead, he answered questions about his season and the team's future.

Here are a few of his comments.

On the Kings' comeback win over the Timberwolves: "We're still a team trying to grow, find ourselves and I think we took steps forward today."

On if he has grown this season: "I think I've grown a lot, but I mean, there's some disappointments this season. There's some things I wish could have happened differently, but I mean, of course I'll learn from it and I'll be a better man at the end of the day."

On Kings head coach Michael Malone: "Coach Malone has done an incredible job, I don't think he gets enough credit. I mean so many changes with this team just throughout the season ... and I think he's done an incredible job of keeping us together, keeping us motivated. I mean, I've been in this situation before with other coaches and this is the most positive the locker room has been this late in the year with basically no reason to play."

On the if the future looks brighter: "I think the future is brighter, I'm with [Michael] Malone till the wheels fall off, he knows that. He has my back, I've got his. So you'll be seeing me for a while until they get rid of me, it won't be my choice."

***

Coach Malone said after the game that "we'll try to do whatever we can to get that rescinded." Malone also commented on how his center has made strides in handling his emotions since his last technical in February.

Coming to Cousins' defense, many Kings fans took to Twitter Sunday night using the hashtag #rescindtheT in an effort to get the NBA to call off the technical foul.

DeMarcus Cousins may not play in the final game of the season, but it was still a season that he can take pride in as a big step forward.

Last night might have been DeMarcus Cousins' last game of the season due to him picking up his 16th technical foul.  Cousins had gone more than a month straight without picking up a technical, as getting his 16th would mean he'd get suspended.  There's still a chance that his technical will be rescinded and he'll be available Wednesday to play in the season finale against the Suns, but even if it isn't, it doesn't take away from his excellent performance this season.

Going into this season, many of us were skeptical (myself included) of the Kings' decision to give DeMarcus Cousins a max contract extension.  In his first three years, he had shown some flashes of greatness but also a moody temperament, an inability to stay on the court for long stretches, bad defense, and inefficient scoring.

Fortunately, not only has Cousins righted the ship, he's sailed straight into stardom with a season that saw huge improvements in almost every category.

Points: 17.1 to 22.7 (#10 in NBA)

Field Goal %: .465 to .496

Free Throw Attempts: 5.6 to 8.4 (#4 in NBA)

Rebounds: 9.9 to 11.7 (#4 in NBA)

Blocks: 0.7 to 1.3 (#13 in NBA)

Minutes: 30.5 to 32.4

Player Efficiency Rating (PER): 20.2 to 26.2 (#5 in NBA)

True Shooting %: .524 to .555

Defensive Rebounding Rate: 27.0% to 30.6% (#1 in NBA)

Assist Rate: 15.3% to 17.8% (#33 in NBA, #5 among big men)

Offensive Rating: 102 to 107

Defensive Rating: 106 to 102 (T-14th in NBA)

Offensive Win Shares: 2.0 to 4.2

Defensive Win Shares: 2.3 to 3.8

The best part about this improvement is that Cousins still has plenty of room to improve, not turning 24 until August. According to Basketball-Reference, there have only been 8 times that a player has averaged 22 points and 11 rebounds with a PER of 26 or higher by the Age of 23 years old and only 6 players that have done so: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Walt Bellamy, Shaquille O'Neal, Bob Pettit and now DeMarcus Cousins.

The next steps Cousins will need to take involve getting even better on the defensive end (where he has surprisingly become good this season), staying on the floor longer through not fouling, and not missing games due to needless suspensions and technical fouls.  My hope is that this is the last time in his career that DeMarcus Cousins will put himself in the situation to miss a game because of too many technical fouls.  He managed to go 22 games in a row without a tech before last night, by far the longest stretch of his career.  My challenge for him next season is to try to go all 82.  It very likely won't happen, but playing with the same mindset he's shown this last quarter of a season will drastically lower the amount of technicals he gets and improve his reputation with both the officials and around the league.

In Cousins, the Kings have their first legitimate franchise cornerstone in a long time.  The road back to respectability is a long and arduous one, especially in the West, but thanks to Cousins' improvement this year, a big step forward was taken, even if the team's record hasn't changed from last year.  Awards, accolades and winning will eventually come in future seasons, but 2013-14 is the season in which Boogie took the next step in his development.

Seriously.

The Sactown Royalty Show is back!  This week's episode was a complete thrill, as I welcomed my guest, Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadivé.  That's right.  The one and only Vivek was kind enough to come on our show, and was as wonderful as you would expect him to be.

This episode is a little shorter, as we wanted to be considerate of Vivek's time.  But Vivek, as with any interview you've ever seen from him, gives fantastic answers to questions.  We covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time, too.  We talked about the Kings growth, Vivek's first year as an owner, when the Kings might play a preseason game in India, and Vivek's favorite Shaq story.  Check it out.

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.

Mirza Teletovic played six years in the Spanish League, learned more than a bit of the language, winning championships and the MVP of the Copa del Rey (Kings Cup) in 2009. After Sunday's game, where he scored 20 points, a Spanish sports site interviewed him on camera about whether players' mentality changes during the playoffs?

Teletovic answered that question and others about the playoffs, offering optimism about the team's ultimate goal.

Mirza: "I know from last year that it is much different from the regular season, much more energy, much more aggressiveness and players play with more intensity and well, there’s aren’t many games left to go… we have to win."

Mirza: "First of all there are no excuses, I believe everyone will be prepared mentally to do big things."

Mirza: "If we play our style of basketball… if we play hard how we know how to play with a very tough defense, you have to start there, with defense , play for each other , share the ball with each other… I believe there isn’t a team in the NBA that can stop us."

Thanks to Claud of NetsDaily Forum for the translation of the video.

• Mirza Teletovic: "No hay equipo que pueda pararnos" (Video) - Basket4Us
  

Memphis claimed the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference on Monday.

It came down to the final minutes in Phoenix, but we have finally settled the eight playoff teams in the West. With a win over the Suns, 97-91, the Grizzlies secured their spot in the postseason on Monday.

The Suns absolutely caught fire in the second quarter, scoring 28 points to pull within four of the Grizzlies by halftime after Memphis started out hot in the opening period. A strong defensive showing in the third allowed the Suns to draw even, 67-67, by the beginning of the fourth. Memphis kept on coming, and late three-pointers by Mike Miller and a steal by Zach Randolph with under a minute left clinched it for Memphis.

The win puts the Grizzlies at 49-32, and seals the eighth and final playoff spot over the Suns. Even if Memphis loses to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, Phoenix won't be able to top them with a win over the Kings.

Randolph had a season-high 32 points to go along with nine rebounds, two assists and a steal. Marc Gasol added 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, nabbing eight rebounds and three assists. Mike Miller had 21 points off the bench.

For Phoenix, it was Markieff Morris who burned the brightest. The young big man had 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting, adding three blocks, two rebounds, a steal and an assist. Goran Dragic scored 14 points while Eric Bledsoe added 13. Dragic, Bledsoe and Channing Frye shot a combined 17-of-42 from the field.

The Pizza Guy delivered some smiles this afternoon when he surprised his number 1 fan, 98-year-old Feling Mostajo, with a visit and a bouquet of flowers!

Now THIS is how you appreciate your fans!  50" TV's and Sony Play Stations are great and all. But memories like this, for both Mrs. Mostajo and her family, are what it's all about.

From StR to Isaiah Thomas and the entire Sacramento King's organization... WE SALUTE YOU!

Watch this video and try not to have a ridiculous amount of feelings.  Now please excuse me while I go into the other room to get something out of my eyes...

You can watch a slightly longer version of the video on the Kings Facebook page HERE.

The Kings' season ends tonight, but for a nice change of pace, we know there's going to be a next season. And at least 35 more after that.

The 2013-14 season is coming to an end for the Sacramento Kings tonight as they take on the Phoenix Suns (7:30 pm on Comcast SportsNet California and KHTK 1140) in the last game of what has been a season of renewal.  The Kings will be without DeMarcus Cousins however, but to make up for his absence on Fan Appreciation night, the Kings are bringing in Mitch Richmond and Oscar Robertson for the festivities!

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Isaiah Thomas vs. Goran Dragic Eric Bledsoe

Dragic has been the heart and soul of a Phoenix Suns team that inexplicably almost made it to the playoffs after most prognosticators thought they'd be in contention for one of the top picks in the NBA draft.  Dragic has had a huge year, scoring over 20 points a game and shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from three.  Isaiah Thomas has also had a big year, although without as much team success as Dragic.  These two have had some good games against each other this season, and we'll see who outduels who tonight. UPDATE: Apparently Dragic is out, thus continuing a season-long trend of players that I include in the matchup of the game not playing in said game.

3 THINGS

1. It's criminal that the Phoenix Suns will have to sit out of the playoffs with 47 wins (possibly 48 if they beat us tonight), which is the same record as the 3rd seeded Toronto Raptors in the East (a much easier conference in which to get wins).  The idea of conferences in today's modern day and age is a bit arcane, what with instant communication and private charter jets that can zip to cities across the country within hours.

2. With a Kings win tonight and a very likely loss by Detroit to Oklahoma City, the Kings could end up being tied for 8th in the lottery rather than in sole possession of 7th.  That would not be ideal, and yet I still refuse to root for the Kings to lose.

3. Disregarding trades, this might be the last night in a Kings uniform for some players.  Isaiah Thomas is set to be a restricted free agent, Rudy Gay can opt out of his contract, Quincy Acy's final year is unguaranteed and Aaron Gray is an unrestricted free agent.

PRE-GAME HAIKU

Thank you everyone,
yes, even ElRonToro:
he who hates Haikus.

PREDICTION

Kings 101, Suns 110 as both teams play incredibly hard despite having nothing to play for.  However without DeMarcus Cousins available, the Suns are able to prevail.

Despite barely missing the playoffs, the Suns have had a tremendously successful season overall. With the pressure now off, the Suns will play one last game, and give heavier minutes to the younger players before wrapping it up until later this year. Can they give us one more night of excitement?

What:Phoenix Suns At Sacramento Kings

Where:Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, CA

When: 7:30 p.m. (PST)

Watch: FSAZ (Locally), NBA League Pass

Tonight, the Phoenix Suns (47-34) will take on the Sacramento Kings (28-53) in their season finale. Without the playoffs on the line, the Suns will sit Goran Dragic who has been playing on a sprained left ankle. Gerald Green will start in his place.

Although the rest of the first unit will start as usual, Paul Coro reported that the Suns will play their rookies more tonight as well, which certainly makes sense now that there's no reason not to.

As for the Kings, they will be without their star big man DeMarcus Cousins, who is serving a one-game suspension during their last game of their season, after picking up his 16th technical of the year in their win against the Timberwolves on Sunday night. Pretty crappy way to end the season after having such a great year.

Probable Starting Line-Ups:

Suns:

G - Eric Bledsoe

G - Gerald Green

F - P.J. Tucker

F - Channing Frye

C - Miles Plumlee

Kings:

G - Isaiah Thomas

G - Ben McLemore

F - Derrick Williams

F - Jason Thompson

C - Not DeMarcus Cousins

Keys to the Game:

• Alex and Archie! - There's no reason to play the starters a ton of minutes tonight...For the first and only time this season, the pressure is off. They can now take a long look at their young, talented rookie draft picks, and finally give them some extended minutes. I expect to see a lot of both of them tonight.
• Have Fun! - This applies to both the players and the fans watching. Sure, it would be nice to see the Suns win one more time this season...but hey, let's just enjoy this one regardless. This will be the last time the team plays together, and the last time we get to cheer for them for months to come. I'm just hoping for a good show.
  

Up eight going into the fourth quarter, the Pistons finished their 2013-2014 losing season as expected.

What happened:

Kevin Durant put a stamp on his 2013-2014 MVP resumé by dropping half of his game-high 42 points in the fourth quarter against the NBA's worst fourth quarter team. A truly fitting finish.

The Pistons led by 10 with 10 minutes to play, and by all accounts played a great overall game, but they were outscored 28-17 the rest of the final quarter of the season. Durant scored 16 of those 28, including a driving dunk with 16 seconds left to play to put the Thunder up by the final score, 112-111.

Who stood out:

Starting in place of Rodney Stuckey, rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished the season with promise, scoring a career high 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting. He had 20 of his 30 in the first half.

Bullets:

-- Box Score

-- Andre Drummond finished with 22 and 13 before fouling out. It was his Eastern Conference best 57th double-double of the season.

-- Greg Monroe nearly recorded a triple-double with 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

-- Josh Smith didn't play and the Pistons were better -- imagine that!

-- Breathe. The season is finally over.

-- As I type this, the Kings are tied with the Suns at the half. If the Kings win, the Pistons will be tied with them for the 7th worst record in the NBA, with a coin flip deciding the combinations for the two teams.

-- Roll Call

Like so many times this season, the Kings managed to fall just short. Nonetheless, it was a fun game to cap off a fun season.

The theme of the evening may have been Fan Appreciation, but the underlying theme was progress.  The Sacramento Kings lost to the Phoenix Suns 104-99, but like so many games this season, it was a loss full of promise.  Throughout the night we were reminded of how far we've come in the past year.  How far we've come as fans, how far the Kings have come as a team, and how far Sacramento has come a city.  The loss is a number in the record books, but it doesn't capture what this game meant.

For the first time in three years, Kings fans found themselves enjoying a season finale without worrying about the future of the team.  We're fans, so we'll always worry about the future, but we know it's our future.  The Kings aren't going anywhere, and we're safe to get excited about the progress we see.

The Kings broadcast featured appearances from Kings President Chris Granger, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, Kings great and now Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond, Kings GM Pete D'Alessandro, and they all echoed a similar message; what a difference a year makes.  This teams, despite its flaws, it moving towards the future in every way.  The roster is showing signs of improvement, the new arena is on track, and we're able to appreciate our past with the knowledge that we have a future.

At halftime, Mitch Richmond spoke to the fans.  As he's confirmed previously, he affirmed he'll enter the Hall as a Sacramento King.  But he reminded us that he wouldn't be going alone.  He was going to be taking Kings fans with him.  He was joined on the court by his family, Vivek Ranadivé, Chris Mullin, and Jerry Reynolds.  Jerry, Mitch reminded us, was the man who traded to bring Mitch to Sacramento.

As for the game, progress was everywhere.  Ben McLemore had a difficult transition to the NBA, but finished his season on a high note.  Ben played aggressively, and finished with a career-high 31 points, a career-high five assists, and five rebounds.  He shot well from three, from mid-range, and used his athleticism inside.

A quick note on the Suns.  They truly deserved better than this year.  That team played wonderfully, and has the misfortune of playing in the Western Conference.  But they can take some small solace in the fact that they've got a great young team with a bright future.  Archie Goodwin led the Suns with 29 points.  For the Suns perspective, visit our friends at Bright Side of The Sun.

The team as a whole played with a tremendous amount of heart.  The Kings had nothing to play for, and neither did the Suns, yet both teams came out and played hard.  The Kings had multiple highlight alley-oops.  It was a fun show in front of a sellout Sacramento crowd.

Speaking of the crowd, bravo to everyone in the stands.  There was tremendous energy.  You'd never guess this was the capstone to a 28-win season.  And although the team finished this season with the same number of wins as last season, the difference was night and day.  This season has been a pleasure to watch and to cover.  It's been my favorite Kings team to watch and root for in years.  I hope you all have enjoyed it as much as I have.

I know the Kings lost, but I humbly suggest we close out the season with some dance gifs.  What say you?

Boyz II Men they are not. But, you gotta know... I'm not just some guy. That sound is like a combination of Fergie and Jesus!

The King's season ended last night and the players were feeling understandably nostalgic. So they did what any group of red-blooded Americans would do...

They huddled up and sang Boyz II Men's, "End of the Road"... LOUDLY!!  After several dysfunctional seasons, it's pretty cool to see a close knit locker room.  These guys have been going to war together for months.  It's only natural they would begin to harmonize right?

IT'S UNNATURAL, YOU BELONG TO ME, I BELLOOONNNGGG TO YOU!!!

(H/T to Sacramento Kings' instagram)

The Sactown Royalty crew takes a look at the season that was.

With the season over, I decided to ask my fellow contributors for their favorite plays, moments, and games from this season. From an outsider's perspective, this season doesn't seem like it was anything to be proud of, but it was different for us, free from relocation drama and reveling in the joy of being able to simply enjoy basketball again.

***

Best moment of the season (on-court edition)

• The first game of the season, having Vivek come onto the court and give his "This is your team and I'm here to tell you, they're here to stay" line. There were definitely some ninjas chopping onions nearby my seats when that happened. - Akis
• I was unable to attend or watch the first game due to finishing up my time at Culinary school that first week of the season, so I have to say literally the day I moved back to Sacramento just getting to go to the game vs. Portland. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I was going to a Kings game to watch some basketball. No drama outside of it. Just, basketball. - Bradley
• Well this is a toss up. Akis took the season opener (which was incredible!) so I'm going to so with the Nov. 15th game against Detroit. It was the first StR night of the season, my birthday, and Here We Roar Night! ONE THOUSAND StR readers flooded into the arena (and onto the court for two MASSIVE post game photos), and a sellout crowd broke the Guinness World Record for indoor crowd noise... TWICE. It was an incredibly fun night, and the best part was I predicted the whole thing two months before it happened. *MJ Shrug* - Kevin
• Akis took the season opener, but he is a Greek overlord so he can do such things. I am not going to single out one individual moment because I think the whole season was its own moment; a moment in time Kings fans and Sacramentans alike will never forget, for obvious reasons. Mayor Kevin Johnson and Vivek Ranadive laid the hammer down and we kept the purple and black. There is such renewed hope from the fan base - it is something that is a testament to this great city. - Blake
• Vivek on opening night was #1 for me, but I also got chills at "Here We Roar." I closed my eyes during one of the sound record attempts and was transported back to 1996 and our first playoff game in ten years...against Seattle, no less. My sleeper pick would be the overtime win against the Heat. In the grander scope of things it meant little, but for one night the best team in the NBA wore black and purple. - section214
• There were so many fun games this year, even a lot of the losses. Since opening night and Here We Roar are covered, I'll choose March 18th. Overtime win over the Wizards, and Isaiah Thomas' first career triple-double. A fun game, with a fun win over a playoff team. It was also the game Drew Gooden lit us up, which appeals to the part of me that enjoys random, weird crap in NBA games. - Greg
• It's been mentioned, but Here We Roar was the most memorable for me. As someone who never got to attend a Playoff game in the golden years, feeling the arena shake with 120+ decibels of pure Kings fandom was unlike anything I'd experienced, even at our loud old barn. - Bryant
• All of the above nominees are well worth the honor. Beating the Heat at home was incredible, too. Think about how many casual NBA/sports fans might have been in that building as season ticket holders sold the most valuable ticket in town. And think about them watching DeMarcus Cousins destroy the champs in overtime. - Ziller
• So many great moments mentioned already. I don't remember feeling a greater sense of pride as a fan than I did on opening night, however the most rewarding night of the year had to have been at the season finale. The fans were into the game the entire night, but as the Kings fumbled it away at the end the fans began to file out as if it were just another game, no longer mindful of that familiar relocation paranoia. It was liberating to have a season end without tears (unless you were REALLY invested in the Kings beating the Suns that night), without exiting the concourse wondering if it was going to be the last time you left a Kings game. Just another game. - Adam

Best moment of the season (off-court edition)

• STOP stopped. When the Judge officially ruled that STOP's petitions were invalid, I let out a huge sigh of relief. With that out of the way, the way to a new arena and a long-term future for the Kings in Sacramento became much more certain. - Akis
• Shaq. Talk about making a splash. As someone who was a huge Shaq fan In Orlando, Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland, and Boston, it was great to see us get a big name like Shaq in with the ownership group. Sure, we have our bad history, (Don't worry, as much as I liked all other versions of Shaq, I despised Lakers Shaq. My AIM name back in the day was shaqisfat88. I was too clever for my own good). It is great to have a voice for our franchise that can be heard, and while he didn't run it down peoples' throats, Shaq was never afraid to shout out our team or our players. Not to mention the positive impact on DeMarcus Cousins. - Bradley
• Has to be the "Long Live the Kings Rally" at Cesar Chavez Park on May 23rd right?! What an amazing night. It was the first time I'd heard Vivek use the phrase "Here We Stay," and it might seem silly, but I was overcome with a sudden sense of pride/happiness/relief. We weren't a bad word anymore. Kings FANS weren't the enemy any longer. Finally we had an owner who "got it." I'll never forget that night. (I'm gonna toss a runner up vote to the BOG meeting in Dallas. 1. Because the Kings were STAYING and 2. Because I snapped a picture of George Maloof getting chased into a bellhop closet.) - Kevin
• Aside from the stellar moments already mentioned, I would have to say the love that Kings fans and the organization showed for Sign Lady (Barbara Rust) after it was announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. I think most Kings fans, and especially Barbara, consider each other to be family and it was proven. Sign Lady and her husband Niko are great people and I know they really appreciated the support they have received. Oh, and then she was inducted into the ESPN Fan Hall of Fame on top of that! Cheers, Barbara. #LoveForSignLady - Blake
• I'm going to riff a little off of Blake's comments regarding Sign Lady. The fact that the Kings fan base could rally in such a way to get her deservedly honored in the ESPN Fan Hall of Fame speaks volumes about the crazies that continue to support this team, year after year after year. After everything that the fan base had accomplished over the past several years, it should have come as no surprise. But it was still refreshing to see. Admittedly, I have a little bias here, as Barbara (Sign Lady) and Niko (Mr. Sign Lady) are two of the most genuine people that you would ever want to meet. Not an ounce of self-promotion in either one of them, which makes the story even more amazing. - section214
• Again, so many fun moments to choose from. For me, personally, it was getting to talk to Vivek on the podcast. Not just because it was a personal thrill, but because it was so indicative of the change we've seen with this franchise. This organization cares about us fans as much as we care about the team. It's a delight. - Greg
• I was stuck at work during the "Long Live the Kings Rally", but watching it live online was STILL the most powerful moment for me. Seeing the fans all together again, fully confident for the first time in forever, with Vivek being properly introduced to the fandom, it was the moment where it all clicked for me, that this was really happening, and that they were, in fact, "Here to Stay". - Bryant
• David Stern shook my hand and cracked a total inside joke that I still can't believe he made. Even better: I got to have lunch with Barbara and Niko Rust. Helluva day. - Ziller
• Definitely the love and support that the fan base and the organization showed for Sign Lady, Barbara Rust, after her cancer diagnosis. At the end of the day the Kings fan base is a community of people, and that outpouring was more indicative of us than any of basketball's trivialities. - Adam

Biggest Surprise

• Shaqramento. I never thought I'd see the day where Shaq was not only openly welcomed by Kings fans, but actually an official part of the organization as a minority owner. I don't think I'll ever get over how weird it is to see him in Kings gear. - Akis
• Ray McCallum. I thought he could be a good rookie, but the level of play he displayed during this last month of the season has exceeded any and all expectations I had for this kid. Not only is he fun to watch, but he has a crazy good Assist/Turnover ratio on most nights, and seems to be a very good decision maker who just needs a little bit of experience to work out his kinks. - Bradley
• MOVES MOVES MOVES!! Pete D'Alessandro gets my vote for biggest surprise. I had a feeling we'd try to make a splash but our first year GM came out SWINGING! He started with a three team sign and trade for Greivis Vasquez. Snagged Carl Landry and Luc Mbah a Moute. Signed DeMarcus Cousins to a multi year extension. Flipped Luc for Derrick Williams. Traded Greivis, John Salmons, and Patrick Patterson for Quincy Acy, Aaron Gray, and Rudy Gay. Turned Marcus Thornton's contract into Reggie Evans and Jason Terry. And that was all before he even unpacked his suitcase! I'm unbelievably excited to see what he does this offseason. - Kevin
• The Tom Ziller trade. - Blake
• DeMarcus Cousins. I thought that Cousins would be incrementally better, but nothing like this. Cousins was (deservedly) not considered as a top forty player at the beginning of the season, and slotting him near Greg Monroe on the talent chart would have been more than appropriate. I think that Cousins has easily moved himself into the top twenty five, and perhaps a bit higher. The Cousins or Monroe conversation is now a Cousins or Anthony Davis conversation. He still has a long ways to go to become the player that the organization is pinning their future on, but he greatly elevated his game this year, well beyond my expectations. - section214
• Rudy Gay's play in Sacramento. I liked the trade when it happened, but even the most optimistic of us didn't expect anything like the performance Rudy has delivered. It's been a joy having him here. - Greg
• I'm copying Greg's, I also think it was Rudy Gay. I'd never much of a Rudy Gay fan, and when the news first broke (before the pieces were leaked), I actually dreaded the deal. Once it became clear that the Kings weren't giving up Isaiah/McLemore/picks for Gay, I grew more comfortable with the trade, but it wasn't until Gay actually played that I came to like the deal. His efficiency was easily the most surprising development of the season for me, and in the span of five months I went a full skeptic to a huge fan. We can only hope he sticks around, but if he doesn't, we should thank him for reminding us that good small forwards exist. - Bryant
• DeMarcus Cousins' massive defensive improvement. I'm a believer now. 100 percent. - Ziller
• How broad the Kings outreach has been on an organizational level. I don't know whether to call this a surprise or something that we all as recently liberated Maloof-Petrie prisoners are wholly unfamiliar with, but it's been impressive the extent that management will go to from both a business and basketball standpoint to make their mark. - Adam

Biggest Disappointment

• Carl Landry was supposed to be Sacramento's stud sixth man, but instead he was wracked by injuries and was never able to return to form in the few games he did play. Even more disappointing is the fact that the Kings signed him to a relatively long-term deal, one that could impact re-signing guys like Isaiah Thomas and Rudy Gay. - Akis
• I am going to go a little outside the box on this one and say not being able to see Ben McLemore shine in a real Dunk Contest. I'm never one to call a player a disappointment in their rookie year, and we know he had his ups and downs, but I was legitimately excited to see him play in the Dunk Contest, I maintain he could have been champ in a traditional format, or at least played in the finals. While many people loathed the gimmick of the one real dunk he was able to show, it really was a good dunk when you strip away the cheese. I would have loved to see him try the 720, and a couple more athletic feats. - Bradley
• Two words: Roger Mason... - Kevin
• Just kidding, the biggest disappointment has to be DeMarcus Cousins not making the All Star team this year. I don't need to tell you guys why this is B.S. There were other deserving snubs... but I don't care about any of those nerds. Stop screwing with me NBA!! - Kevin
• I am going to go with Greivis Vasquez. That may not be entirely fair because we didn't get to see him at full health I believe, but his approach to the game and his attitude about coming to Sacramento was refreshing. The "pass-first point guard" concept that came with him just never propelled the offense and the 1-2 punch of Vasquez and Isaiah Thomas wasn't as potent as I had thought it would be. Now, he wasn't a complete disappointment - the Kings did get Rudy Gay when they dealt him to the Toronto Raptors, and it also allowed Isaiah Thomas to continue his rise (and Ray McCallum for that matter). - Blake
• The amount of time that it took for us to see even a glimpse of defensive effort and focus. I understand why - with the massive roster turnover throughout the season, it was challenging for the Kings to ever gel defensively. But when Michael Malone was hired, he spoke about establishing a defensive presence. I was hoping for the improvement that was seen in Golden State. At the very least, I would have liked to have seen some of the positive steps taken by Charlotte this year. The Kings began playing better defensively down the stretch, and hopefully they can build off of that next year. - section214
• Injuries. We've discussed at length how good the Kings are when the big three all play at least 30 minutes in a game, but we saw far too little of it. Isaiah missed extended time with his quad injury, DeMarcus missed time with his ankle, Rudy has missed time with various aches. It would have been fun to have had a few more games where all three were full strength. - Greg
• Derrick Williams. After the trade, Derrick's first game was against the Clippers where he threw down those back-to-back alley-oops and we thought we'd be seeing those dunks nightly. I had high hopes that he'd become a capable starter, but that optimism has faded fast. I think some of the blame goes to the Coaching staff, and I think they need to really work this season on figuring out his role, but Derrick has a ton of developing to do. - Bryant
• Like 214, I'm pretty flummoxed by the lack of defensive growth on the roster, especially given Boogie's better efforts. Other teams with rookie head coaches were able to improve a ton on that end, but not the Kings. Which tells me it's a personnel issue. - Ziller
• At the beginning of the season it was probably the play of Marcus Thornton. I really thought that after the Tyreke Evans trade and the establishment of his only competition being rookie Ben McLemore we were going to be treated to season closer to his 2011-2012 campaign. But he never got into a rhythm shooting the ball and he quickly became expendable. But ultimately Cousins' not making the All-Star team is probably as contributory to him not being broadly mentioned as one of the games' best centers as his stigma is. - Adam

Best game of the season

• There were some great games this season, including the fabulous win against the Heat, but for me the best game of the season was the 117-111 win over the Wizards that saw the Kings come down from a fourth quarter deficit to send it to overtime and the late explosions from DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay that saved the day. - Akis
• I gotta go with that Mavericks game when we were undermanned due to the Rudy Gay trade. It was just a very exciting game versus a great team, and we all showed up. DeMarcus Cousins and Derrick Williams were hot all night, and never let up. Plus, it had that awesome intro to the three new Kings. It was truly an exciting game. - Bradley
• Going with Akis here. I like to think of the March 18th game against the Wiz as the night the "Big 3" was born. Kings came from behind to force OT and won 117-111. DeMarcus (24pts/14rebs) and Rudy (24pts/6rebs/3stls) dominated and The Pizza Guy delivered his first career triple double (24pts/11rebs/10asts). If this is a glimpse of what we can expect to see going forward, I want to see more. - Kevin
• The Pacers game at home on Jan. 24. The Kings were without the services of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay and still took the Pacers (who were a much better team than they are today, and at full strength) to overtime. (That "foul" on Paul George that led to the four-point play is still troubling.) The Kings may have lost 116-111, but the fight the team displayed had that crowd rocking man. It also was nice to see Marcus Thornton have a breakout game, finally (remember he scored 42 points???). Isaiah Thomas was a beast also, scoring 38 points. - Blake
• As noted above, I'm going with the 12/27 Heat game. The big three of the Kings scored 75 points, grabbed 27 rebounds and dished out 17 assists. It was a harbinger of things to come when Cousins, Gay and Thomas all logged at least 30 minutes each. - section214
• It's the opener for me. While the Here We Roar night was the most powerful, it ended in a loss. The opener was a game COULD NOT end in a loss. There was just no way the basketball gods could allow the Kings to lose. DeMarcus Cousins dunking on JJ Hickson (my vote for underappreciated play of the year) was the cherry on the top. - Bryant
• I may have misunderstood the earlier question where I cited the Wizards game. Anyway, since I covered that one already, I'll add a recent game. Game 81, against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was disappointing that DeMarcus picked up his 16th tech, but the team played as a team. Isaiah returned from injury. DeMarcus didn't let a tech take him out of his rhythm, and the Kings won a close game against a better team. - Greg
• The opener. What a bizarre, enthralling experience. - Ziller
• The season opener was probably the funnest game to be at but I'm hard pressed to find a game I enjoyed more than the January 24th game against the Indiana Pacers. Taking the Pacers, who were still playing kick-ass back then, the distance was almost as impressive as Marcus Thornton's breakout game and the Paul George 4-point play which also doubled as probably the coolest way to lose. - Adam

Favorite in-game play of the season

• Derrick Williams posterizing Blake Griffin, getting it waved off due to a foul before the dunk, then the Kings running the exact same play over again and him dunking it again. One of the best in-game moments I've seen in person. - Akis
• As a shameless Jimmer fan from his time here, his game at the Garden when he was on fire, and decided to pull up for that 30 footer and hit it with ease. I knew that was his coming out party, and he was going to take no prisoners from here on out. He was bought out a week later. - Bradley
• The Kings haven't been world-beaters but they HAVE been a lot more fun to watch. There really have been A LOT of awesome highlights this year. That being said, I'm going to have to go with Derrick Williams' NASTY 2 handed windmill against the Magic. Dunk you very much Derrick. - Kevin
• The DeMarcus Cousins dunk over Dirk Nowitzki…oh, the blood. - Blake
• I can't recall the game (or even the opponent), but Cousins blocked a shot and then Jason Thompson blocked the putback attempt, with Rudy Gay (I think) winding up with the ball and triggering a fast break that resulted in a Kings bucket. Team interior defense, huzzah!!! - section214
• Cousins going beastmode against the Nuggets. I was at the game and had a great view of this one. I loved it. - Greg
• Akis mentioned it; the back-to-back posterizations of Blake Griffin by Derrick Williams. On the flip side, it raised our hopes that we'd be seeing more of such play, but it was amazing while it lasted. A close second was Ben McLemore's game-tying, overtime-forcing three pointer in Utah that eventually led to a win. - Bryant
• Isaiah's no-look pass Jason Thompson in transition in the second game of the season against the Los Angeles Clippers after a evasive spin in traffic. I never jumped out of my seat quicker. - Adam

Player of the Year

• It has to be DeMarcus Cousins. He more than earned his big extension with his play this year, and while he was snubbed off the All-Star team, he put together an All-Star performance this season. - Akis
• This is obvious. It has to go to the guy who has gone the whole year leading this team, though he did not always get to stay on as long as he liked. A guy who has been seen as a top talent from the time he first stepped on the court for us. A guy who real fans know is the top player at his position. A man who's very name is known to rattle the earth and shake the heavens. Travis Outlaw. DeMarcus Cousins was also alright. - Bradley
• Cousins is the easy answer here, but I'll mix it up and say Rudy Gay. The rest of the NBA had all but written Rudy off when Pete picked him up, but he's been "reborn" playing next to DMC. If he doesn't opt out of his contract the Kings will be on the hook for $19,000,000 next season. And while I know that seems pretty daunting, after 7 or 8 seasons of basketball without a small forward I can't really be convinced that $19,000,000 isn't what one of those guys costs. I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed this but basketball is WAY more fun when you have a small forward. Who knew? #RudyStay - Kevin
• DeMarcus Cousins is the player of the year, and rightfully so - his numbers were the highest of his career in each of the following stat categories: points (22.7), rebounds (11.7), assists (2.9), blocks (1.3) and field goal percentage (49 percent). But for the sake of argument, I am going to say Isaiah Thomas is just as deserving because his improvements this season have been impressive. He had career numbers in points (20.6), assists (6.3), rebounds (3.0), steals (1.3) and field goal percentage (45 percent). The Pizza Guy had to deal with another position threat this season also, like he has every season, with Greivis Vasquez. He overcame it and proved he is a force to be reckoned with. -Blake
• DeMarcus Cousins, edging out Rudy Gay for time served. Except for Cousins' pout-fest after being spurned for the All Star game, he played at a very high level throughout the season. As I noted earlier, there is still a long way to go for Big Cuz. But he had a great season. (And 1 - One could certainly argue Gay for player of the year. He is a pro's pro, and that influence cannot be overstated. A team needs professional basketball players to be successful, and Rudy Gay is, more than anyone else currently wearing a Kings uniform, a professional basketball player. His value to this team goes beyond the box score.) - section214
• It's a tough call between Rudy and DeMarcus, but I'm giving it to Rudy. He's simply been amazing since he arrived in Sacramento. His arrival marked a major turning point in the season. - Greg
• DeMarcus. His development in every area on the floor has exceeded my most optimistic expectations. The fact that he is only 23 is the scariest part. - Bryant
• DeMarcus Cousins has been one of the best players in the NBA. Isaiah was clearly awesome, too, but man. Boogie. - Ziller
• It has to be DeMarcus Cousins if only that he delivered on not only the monetary investment of the management but also the emotional investment of the fans. Through those highly inefficient, highly promising years under Westphal and Smart there was always that fleeting hope that if he could just play under an organized system with complimentary offensive sets he would thrive. Well, when the infrastructure finally became complimentary to his skills, he delivered in a big way. - Adam

How about you guys, what were some of your favorite moments from this season? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Ben McLemore's rookie season has been rocky. He scored a career-high 31 points Wednesday night in the Kings' season finale, which sends him into the offseason with some positive momentum. There is still much work to be done though.

Ben McLemore's season ended on a strong note with him scoring a career-high 31 points to go along with five assists and five rebounds Wednesday night, but his season as a whole can only be described one way: "up and down." And that is exactly how head coach Michael Malone put it after the Kings' season finale.

Malone followed that up by saying McLemore hit a "rookie wall" in February that took a toll on him both "physically and mentally," and that the shooting guard did a good job of playing his way out of it.

"He could have stayed down and kind of hung his head and felt sorry for himself, but that's not who Ben McLemore is. He's a fighter, he is very resilient and I thought the way he played these last two months especially to end the season, was phenomenal," Malone said.

McLemore was glad to have been able to climb out of his February slump.

"I responded each and every day, just getting better and that's all I wanted to do, just do whatever I got to do to reach my goals," McLemore said.

McLemore did play better recently. He scored in double digits in 12 of the last 15 games of the season. Over that stretch, he averaged 13.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He certainly showed flashes of what he could eventually become throughout the season. His season averages were 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1 assist per game - OK for a rookie, but nothing that jumps off the page for a lottery pick who had extended minutes for a good portion of the year.

The Kansas standout was simply too streaky and still needs to master the art of impacting a game when his shot isn't falling. As Akis pointed out last month, McLemore's shooting was substandard overall. He did bump his field goal percentage up to 39 percent in the final 15 games though - up from his season average of 37 percent. For the season, he shot 32 percent from three, however. But hey, that was still better than Michael Carter Williams, who appears to be the most likely player to win Rookie of the Year. He shot a dismal 26 percent from three...he also averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds though…whatever.

McLemore is usually one the most athletic players on the floor in any given game and he still needs to figure out how to take advantage of that when his shot is off. On Wednesday, he had 15 free throw attempts and made 10 of them. That was more than double the attempts he had taken in any other game this season. In fact, he never had more than six free throw attempts in any other game this season. He did get a little better at attacking the rim toward the end of year and that is something he can certainly build on moving forward.

With that comes the need for him to command the ball more and work on his ball-handling because he still gets lost in the offense (and on defense). His defense could certainly use some fine tuning because with his speed and athleticism there is potential (there is that word again) for him to be the stopper on the wing the Kings need.

Fellow rookie Ray McCallum in some ways played just as well, if not better than McLemore this season. He is a point guard so he naturally has the ball in his hands more, and his sample size wasn't as large as McLemore's, so it's not completely fair to compare McCallum to McLemore (so many Mc's!), but McCallum, who was selected in the second round, proved he belongs in the NBA just as much as McLemore did.

Over the last 12 games of the season, which included that stretch of 10 games with 40-plus minutes, McCallum averaged 13.5 points, 6.7 assists, 3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and only 1.9 turnovers. When his shot wasn't falling, he still figured out a way to rack up assists, play solid defense and even crash the boards. This isn't too much of a surprise considering he is a coach's son, but it was still nice to see.

McCallum, like McLemore, knows he still has specific things he needs to work on.

"Just keep mastering the pick and roll, that's a strong part for a point guard and my midrange game and just different finishes around the rim, just being a consistent shooter on the outside and knocking down my shot consistently," said the second-round pick, who looks to be one of the steals of the 2013 NBA Draft.

Overall, both rookies seemed to make the most of this season. They both have well-regarded work ethics so that should help them moving forward. What the team looks like next season roster-wise could play a big role in how many minutes each of them get, however, so we'll have to wait and see on that. McLemore got his big opportunity this season because Marcus Thornton's contract was sent to the Brooklyn Nets. But did he do enough as the starter to convince ownership and the front office that he is the starting shooting guard for next season? We all know they are high on his potential, so I fully expect to see plenty of him moving forward, but how much? That's anyone's guess.

With one season under his belt and momentum on his side, there is no reason to believe the guy who dunked over Shaquille O'Neal can't take a big step forward in 2014-15.

###

As a side note, make sure you check out Aaron Fischman's piece over at Cowbell Kingdom on McLemore's similarities to Peja Stojakovic in his rookie season.

An Orlando newspaper scribe argues that the Magic need to win more games in their next season.

In the two seasons since they traded superstar center Dwight Howard to begin in earnest a monumental rebuilding project, the Orlando Magic have won 10 fewer games than any other NBA team. After subjecting their fans to such misery, argues Mike Bianchi in Friday's edition of the Orlando Sentinel, the time has come for the Magic to start winning again.

"The problem is that all of the losses over the last two seasons are dangerous becaue the Magic aren't just losing games; they're losing fans--and lots of them," says Bianchi. "When games and seasons become meaningless and mundane, then fans will rightfully find something more exciting and enjoyable to do with their time and discretionary income."

Though he praises Rob Hennigan, the Magic's general manager, for his work in amassing assets and talented youngsters since pulling the trigger on the Howard deal, Bianchi underlines that it's "imperative" for Orlando to start righting the proverbial ship. A postseason berth isn't out of the question.

"Next season will be Year 3 of Rob Hennigan's detailed plan to remake the Magic, but, more importantly, it will be Year 1 of Magic fans judging the plan based on wins and losses instead of hope and promise," he says.

Based on comments here at Orlando Pinstriped Post over the last two seasons, but especially as the most recent one wound down, a majority of Orlando fans agree with Bianchi's assessment. As entertaining as some of the Magic's young studs can be to watch, nothing quite matches the thrill of victory.

Adam Francis of Raptors HQ answered five questions and gave his prediction for the Nets-Raptors series. Follow Adam on Twitter for great Raptors-related insight to the series.

1.) We're hearing a lot about experience vs. youth in this series. Are you concerned at all about the lack of playoff experience on the Raptors roster or do you think that it's being overblown?

I think the experience piece is overblown. Do I think it's a complete non-factor, no, but in my mind, this series is going to be decided based on a few match-ups and which team can execute their style of play better. So experience does factor into these pieces a bit, but I don't think Toronto should forfeit due to lack of post-season experience.

2.) The Raptors really took off after the Rudy Gay trade. Can you explain to Nets fans why that was?

As well liked as Rudy was in the locker room, he just didn't fit on the court. Simply put, Gay never meshed well with the bulk of the starting group's skillsets, especially on offense, rendering some redundant, and relegating others to much lesser roles than were likely deserved. The result was a fairly inefficient offense -not to mention one that was EXTREMELY painful to watch- often having possessions deteriorate into Rudy Gay going one-on-five up against an expiring shot clock.

The removal of Gay had a two pronged effect in that it not only got the ball moving again on offense, but also allowed players to fit more into their natural roles at both ends of the court. The team began creating easier and more efficient scoring opportunities, and I think as a result, overall offensive confidence was given a big shot in the arm, something you've seen in the individual games of players like Terrence Ross (Mr. 51 points) and DeMar DeRozan (All-Star!)

3.) It felt like there was a time when the Raptors were going to "blow it up" and start collecting assets -- around the time Rudy Gay was traded and the Kyle Lowry rumors started getting heavy -- So, I guess my question is, how shocked are you that we're sitting here heading into the playoffs and the Raptors hold the Atlantic Division title and are the 3rd see in the East?

I am definitely surprised. While I knew from the jump that we'd see a better Raptors team post-Rudy Gay, I didn't think the team would be THIS good. I loathed Gay's acquisition to begin with (aaaah the Colangelo era) and was praying that Masai Ujiri found a taker for his services. However I didn't expect the club to gel the way it did, and for the Sacramento acquisitions to have such an impact. Many of the former Kings essentially found new life in Toronto and this gave the Raptors an extra boost that I don't think any of us expected.

On top of this, I didn't expect clubs like the Bulls and Nets to struggle earlier in the season (the Knicks, yes - that's what you get for trading for Andrea Bargnani) so part of my surprise is due to the fact that other teams DIDN'T fare as well thus opening the door for Toronto.

4.) For Nets fans who aren't all that familiar with him, can you give us a mini scouting report on Jonas Valanciunas?

Love to, as I view him as the X Factor for Toronto in this series. Valanciunas is a fairly mobile big man who has a decent offensive repertoire, and who can be a difference maker at the defensive end. He's solid rebounder, isn't afraid to fight for loose balls in traffic, and is an excellent foul shooter. He's fairly effective at putting the ball on the floor and driving to the hoop, but has some work to do on his face-up game, especially from beyond about 8 feet. He struggles at times against bigger players defensively, often gets lost on pick-and-roll coverages, but has improved in these regards with each passing season.

To me he's the X factor as if he's got it going offensively, it creates a major mismatch for the Nets. KG isn't the player defensively anymore and while I love Plumlee (I'm a Duke fan), Valanciunas has the size and strength to get position down low and force double-teams. Towards the end of the season he was on a real tear, and if he starts racking up the points down low, it may force Jason Kidd out of his small ball lineups.

BUT, he needs to get touches and get in rhythm early to make this happen. Unfortunately his teammates at times forget about him on the court, and Dwane Casey tends to keep him on a fairly short leash, opting to go with the likes of Tyler Hansbrough and Chuck Hayes at the first sign of trouble.

5.) Finally, we have to get a prediction from you. How do you see this series playing out?

My gut says that the Raptors take this in six but I'll be honest, I'm worried about the club's defense. While Toronto won the bulk of its games down the stretch, it was mostly due to timely offense, and not lock-down D. The Nets on the season weren't a top 10 team in offensive efficiency but they can score and if the Dinos don't guard the three-point line or if they start turning it over (Nets as you know are one of the best teams in the league at forcing TO's and converting off them), this series could be over very quickly.

If the D is back though, I just don't see the Nets being able to play to some of their strengths against the Raptors like they could have versus say a Washington or even Chicago. The Raptors are one of the best teams in the league at taking care of the ball and guarding the three-point line, and are voracious rebounders, especially on the offensive end, an area Brooklyn was not exactly stellar in, all season.

So Raps in six but more importantly, let's get this series started!!