The Lakers head up the Pacific coast to take on a division rival after a tough loss against the Clippers.

The Los Angeles Lakers' marathon start to the season comes to it's conclusion when the purple and gold visit the Bay Area to take on the Golden State Warriors in their fourth game in five nights. The Lakers have lost their first three games, putting on their best showing against the Los Angeles Clippers Friday night but struggled to close the game out in the fourth quarter.

Now, they'll look to avoid losing their fourth straight game, which won't be an easy task. The Warriors made quick work of the Lakers during preseason and have been resting up early in the season. Their only game so far this season was against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, giving them two full days of rest while barely leaving their doorstep to open the season in Sacramento.

Klay Thompson finally signed the maximum-level extension he desired, landing a monster four-year, $70 million deal to stay with the Warriors as Steph Curry's Splash Bro. Let's just pretend Steph didn't sign a four-year, $44 million contract in 2012 that looks like peanuts compared to the extension Klay earned (or demanded, depending on your perspective).

The Lakers are coming off of their best game of the season, even if it was a loss. Many things went right, and Jeremy Lin did a good job of taking the wheel after looking tentative through the first two games. It's still a work in progress, but he showed open to the criticism he took and made an effort to adjust. Kobe Bryant looked phenomenal, tearing apart the Clippers' defense and exposing their biggest weakness: Perimeter defense. He'll have a much harder time trying to work around Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala.

The Lakers were close to notching their first win of the year but wound up with fool's gold. This may turn into a futile effort, but the tough start to the year is nearly over. The Lakers only have two games next week, and both will be at Staples Center. The year may start 0-4, but there was definite progress Friday. Get through this game, maybe put on a stunning performance in the Warriors' home opener, then get back to Los Angeles and hit the drawing board.

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Station: TWCSN, NBATV

The Questionable Blogger has arrived again this season ready to preview each game with a perspective from across enemy lines. Today we feature Akis (Aykis16) editor in chief from SacTown Royalty

To prepare for the Clippers vs. Kings matchup this Sunday, I reached out to Akis in order to answer some questions about his beloved Kings, including how he feels about Boogie this year and a host of others. For more of in depth look at the Kings be sure to check out Sactown Royalty.

********

Larson Ishii: Is this the year DeMarcus Cousins becomes an All Star?

Akis: Cousins arguably should have been an All-Star last season. Unfortunately, being on a losing team and Cousins' reputation didn't do him any favors. If Cousins exceeds the year that he had last year, there's no doubt in my mind he should be an All-Star, even in the very deep Western Conference. What will really help him even more than statistical increases however, is if the Kings can manage to remain somewhat competitive and don't fall into the cellar too early.

Larson Ishii: How big will the loss of Isaiah Thomas be for the Kings this season?

Akis: It's still too early to tell, but most Kings fans were not pleased that not only did the Kings let him go, but they got a paltry return for him. If the Kings had not wanted to invest in Isaiah as the future at PG, they should have just traded him at the trade deadline last summer for something of real value. The loss of Isaiah as an asset might hurt the Kings more than losing him on the court.

Akis: Malone will continue to stress defense, and the Kings did make a nice leap on that end towards the end of the season. The focus of this preseason and offseason however has been the offense, notably to increase the ball movement and push the pace. Sacramento was one of the worst passing teams in the league last year and they'll look to rectify that this season.

The Clippers take their unimpressive 2-0 record into a Sunday matinee against the Sacramento Kings.

To prepare for the Clippers vs. Kings matchup this Sunday, I reached out to Akis in order to answer some questions about his beloved Kings, including how he feels about Boogie this year and a host of others. For more of in depth look at the Kings be sure to check out Sactown Royalty.

********

Larson Ishii: Is this the year DeMarcus Cousins becomes an All Star?

Akis: Cousins arguably should have been an All-Star last season. Unfortunately, being on a losing team and Cousins' reputation didn't do him any favors. If Cousins exceeds the year that he had last year, there's no doubt in my mind he should be an All-Star, even in the very deep Western Conference. What will really help him even more than statistical increases however, is if the Kings can manage to remain somewhat competitive and don't fall into the cellar too early.

Larson Ishii: How big will the loss of Isaiah Thomas be for the Kings this season?

Akis: It's still too early to tell, but most Kings fans were not pleased that not only did the Kings let him go, but they got a paltry return for him. If the Kings had not wanted to invest in Isaiah as the future at PG, they should have just traded him at the trade deadline last summer for something of real value. The loss of Isaiah as an asset might hurt the Kings more than losing him on the court.

Akis: Malone will continue to stress defense, and the Kings did make a nice leap on that end towards the end of the season. The focus of this preseason and offseason however has been the offense, notably to increase the ball movement and push the pace. Sacramento was one of the worst passing teams in the league last year and they'll look to rectify that this season.

With the permission of our esteemed leader I will take an unconventional and hopefully fresh look at each of the Clippers' opponents, by comparing them to something that has nothing to do with the NBA. I will feature one to two teams per week. This week, the Sacramento Kings are like some of the participants in the documentary film, Murderball.

The Sacramento Kings are like.......

Murderball.

After watching the documentary film, Murderball, I understand that the goal was not for me to feel sympathy for the disabled athletes who are the subject of the movie. After the machismo and testosterone infused film, what I felt about the participants was not joyous triumph or the strength of the human spirit or any accepted post 21st century male sentimentalism; I just thought that these people are more asshole-ish than able-bodied professional athletes, at least more asshole-ish than those who are not affiliated with the NFL. I wanted to root for them and see the human triumph over adversity theme, but I could not.

Even with my city mode on, I am generally nice to the elderly and people with mental or physical handicaps. All of us are going to get old one day, and most of us will not get old like George Clooney or Alec Baldwin. Most people with disabilities did not choose the cards they were dealt. However, I learned early on that people with disabilities can often engage in more asshole and douchebaggery behaviors than their able-bodied counterparts. Russ and Shawn Farmer were cousins that I knew in middle and high school. I lived next to their grandfather, who would drink Pabst or Old Milwaukee's Best while cleaning/gutting fishes on his front lawn and cursing. Russ was a hyperactive idiot, always loud and obnoxious. Imagine someone with Westbrook's energy, Carlos Boozer's yelling and old Kobe's assholeness without the accomplishments, and you have Russ. As intolerable as Russ was, Shawn was worse. Russ might have been missing a few synapses between the ears, but Shawn was born without a left forearm. There was no radius or ulna there, just a nobby stump. Shawn made up for his disability by being a cocky asshole with douchebag tendencies. He put people down for no reason, cursed at younger kids, and made fun of every one who was not in his peer group. He picked fights, but always had at least three people to back him up. The whole school hated him, but he made sure he was cool with the popular fifteen percent who ran the school social circle. As I watched parents say things like, "Oh, that is so sad, he only has one arm." I would think to myself, "Who gives a shit, that dude is an asshole."

The Sacramento Kings are like the participants in Murderball and Shawn Farmer. Being from a rural area, I always championed every small market team. I like Milwaukee, Portland, Charlotte, and even San Antonio, although they a difficult watch during the Bruce Bowen era. As a good Laker-hater, I was pulling for the Kings before they were beaten by the Lakers, referees, free throws, and injuries in the early millennium. I started to move toward indifference about the Kings around the time of the Maloof brothers' drama and relocation controversy. I did not think the Maloofs were blameless, and I certainly did not think that they are exceptional human beings. However, slimy Kevin Johnson's involvement makes my stomach more queasy than street food in a third world country.

KJ has been accused of inappropriate sexual conduct with multiple students at charter schools in the Sacramento area which are run by his group, St. HOPE Academy. His inappropriate sexual conduct with students goes back to his NBA days, when he was 29, and the girl involved was 15. There have been money offers and payouts regarding the alleged victims ranging from $1000 a month to $230,000 lump sum. Irregardless of who or what you believe, if you are an NBA Player, why would you get involved with a 15 or 16 year old, are there not enough women between the ages of 19 to 40, who would love to be with you 300 days a year? And athletes have been involved in schools and education for years. I have not heard any allegations from students at their academies accusing Andre Agassi or Jalen Rose of inappropriate sexual conduct. If one looks beneath the surface, there is something uncomfortably self serving about Kevin Johnson's persona and political ambitions. I was equally uncomfortable when KJ became the unofficial representative of the players during the Donald Sterling debacle. I cannot support Sacramento or the Kings, knowing that Kevin Johnson had a lot to do with them remaining in Sacramento.

On professional teams, the face of your franchise is your best player. For the Sacramento Kings, the face of their franchise is DeMarcus Cousins, from Mobile, Alabama. Many players from the South have a grain of humility about them, but maybe it is a completely new generation because Cousins missed the memo. He has done some good things for charity and appeared likable in a few interviews, but it is difficult to appreciate his talents while watching him on the court. Forget the handshake incident at the end of last year's Clippers-Kings game, what's more telling was his brushing off of JJ Redick after a hard foul in the next game between the two teams. JJ was the one who was fouled and reached out to him, and Cousins gave him a GTFOH. I still do not know how he was not ejected out of the first Kings-Clippers game of last year when he threw a 30 to 45 seconds hissy fit at the end of the Kings' bench. There was also the flagrant 2 foul against Vince Carter, crazy yelling at teammates on the court, and the punching of Patrick Beverly.

Historical Insignificance

The Kings have employed all three of Tariq-Abdul Wahad, Shareef Abdur-Raheem, and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.

Abdul-Rauf was one of the best shooting point guards in the history of the NBA. He had a career 90.5 percent free throw percentage, and at his peak, shot around 38 to 39 percent from three point range. Depending on who you asked, he was blacklisted from the NBA for refusing to stand during the national anthem. His NBA career came to die in Sacramento, and he finished out his pro career in Greece, Saudi Arabia, and Japan for the Kyoto Hannaryz. I'm not sure what a Hannaryz is, but at least he finished his pro basketball career in a beautiful city. During his time on road trips with the Nuggets, Abdul-Rauf toured every inner city and spoke to men who had issues with fatherhood, incarceration and drugs. This was pre-internet era, and pre-NBA cares commercials by great men like Dwyane Wade, which proves it is never good to be truly sincere or ahead of your time.

Abdur-Raheem was an All-Star in 2002, and a gold medalist on the 2000 Olympic Team. The tweener scoring forward made close to 100 million in his career, while appearing in the playoffs only once, in 2005-2006 with the Kings. If you view sports as a business, and earning monetary rewards efficiently as the number one goal in life, Abdur-Raheem was a spectacular success. He was very good at what he did, and earned nearly 100 million over 11 years, by only working 5 or 6 months out of the year.

Abdul-Wahad, a defensive specialist who could not shoot, was the first player born and raised in France to compete in the NBA. The non-shooting guard had a great 2/3 of a year playing for Doc Rivers in Orlando, way back in 1999-2000. He was traded to the Denver Nuggets, who signed him to a 7 year, $43.3 million contract. The Frenchman retired three years into his contract. Abdul-Wahad, an art connoisseur who hates the politics of attaining a big time coaching position, is currently coaching a high school basketball team in San Jose.

I will teach my children to have the soul of Tariq Abdul-Wahad, the sincerity of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and the earning power of Shareef Abdur-Raheem.

Kings Watchability Essay

Their offense sounds like the Spurs-lite, move the ball and get good shots. It is only a few games into the season, but it is hard to see this ever coming to fruition with guys like Rudy Gay, Darren Collison, and Ramon Sessions who are not known to be great passers. Cousins is a talented passer, but he is still learning how to balance his immensely talented offensive arsenal. However, Gay is a compelling player to watch.

Rudy was the analytics community whipping boy during his Memphis and Toronto days. There were years when he was in the 31 and 32 percent range from three point land and still kept shooting, and he couldn't finish around the hoop in his Toronto era. Despite of all this, I always thought of Rudy Gay as a guy I would want on my team -- as a very good third option. He can bail out stagnant second units with his ability to get his own shot. He should be at least an average defender when engaged with his length and athleticism. Gay has found a way to be efficient with the Kings, shooting above the league average from mid-range. It is only one game, but he just had 40 points on 19 shots against the Trail Blazers on Halloween. Perhaps, it was the eye surgery. I'm not saying Gay is worth 19 million dollars, he may not even be worth 10 million, and it is stretching a bit to have him as a second option, but he is probably a better player than most give him credit for.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

While making a transaction at a national bank in Southwest Las Vegas, I saw a man with dark curly hair, who look slightly too old to be wearing black designer jeans and a white shirt, sleeves rolled up, of course. He was at the "business customers" teller. "Damn, that's George Maloof Jr.," I thought to myself. No, it was not an excitement like when I met David Frank at an soul concert in the Temple Bar or a cool situation like discussing 70s reggae record with Common at Dustygroove. I was thinking more in the lines of "This dude is a part of a family that used to be worth a billion dollars, you should have never built Palms Place, George." Maloof was with a blonde in a summer dress that was not attractive, not even in a perverse MILF way. She looked like a Real Housewives of Orange County recurring character who had too much Botox. While you see billionaires at NBA games in t-shirts or polos, I doubt that you would see them or damn near billionaires (anytime you are over 300 million or 500 million, that is close enough for me) banking with us commoners. In hindsight, I don't dislike the Maloofs because they almost made professional basketball disappear in Sacramento. I dislike them because they gave Kevin Johnson more publicity and positive press that he deserved.

Paul Tee's Prognosis

Neutral. In the immediate present, the Kings are like the 40th or 50th ranked tennis player who can give the top 5 players a run for their money in smaller tournaments, but cannot beat them in a best of five sets grand slam, and cannot string together more than three consecutive wins. In a one game regular season setting, the Kings with obvious offensive talent in Cousins and Gay can beat anyone. In the long run of 82 games, they won't be anywhere close to the playoffs because of lack of defense and role players who are either unproven (Ben McLemore), checked out (Jason Thompson), or talented but on the wrong team (Derrick Williams). The Kings are stuck in that we're not awful enough to get a top 5 lottery pick but not anywhere close to being a consistent playoff contender. Unless you are a DeMarcus Cousins fan, there's not really a lot to like. This was the team that should have moved to Seattle.

The Clippers have started the season off with two straight wins, however neither have come very easily or as the result of very good basketball being played. Will this game against the Kings be the first to spark some energetic and motivated play?

2014/2015 NBA Regular Season
	vs
2-0		1-1
November 2nd, 2014, 12:30 PM
STAPLES Center
Prime Ticket, KFWB 980 AM, KWKW 1330 AM
Win-Loss Breakdown (2013-2014)
21-9	East	13-17
36-16	West	145-37
34-7	Home	17-24
23-18	Road	11-30
25-18	.500+	11-37
32-7	.500-	17-17
2-0	L10	1-1
Probable Starters
Chris Paul	PG	Darren Collison
J.J. Redick	SG	Ben McLemore
Matt Barnes	SF	Rudy Gay
Blake Griffin	PF	Jason Thompson
DeAndre Jordan	C	DeMarcus Cousins
Advanced Stats (2013-2014)
98.39 (7th of 30)	Pace	96.75 (14th of 30)
109.4 (1st of 30)	ORtg	102.9 (19th of 30)
102.1 (8th of 30)	DRtg	106.3 (23rd of 30)
Injuries/Other
Glen Davis (groin) doubtful

The Back Story (The Clippers lead the season series 4-0):

The Big Picture:

The Clippers have won the first two games of this new season, but have thus far looked pretty lackluster in their play. By no means is 96 minutes of play a big enough sample size to render any sort of verdict about the Clippers' fate for the rest of the season, though it can allow for some tempered, reasonable signs of concern. Throughout the preseason, the Clippers seemed to be lacking energy both offensively and defensively, even having Doc rant about how the team was nowhere near in-game shape. Justifiably, many passed it off as preseason malaise, and expected the Clippers to flip the switch once the real games started. However, having played against two teams injury riddled teams in the Thunder and Lakers, that switch may have flickered on and off occasionally, but has no means been turned on. Against the Thunder the Clippers struggled to make shots, and against the Lakers the Clippers struggled to play passable defense for a majority of the game. The one bright spot of the team has been the play of Blake Griffin, Flying Lion Extraordinaire. He was a bull on the block against the Lakers scoring 39 points and racking up countless fouls against their front line, to which he converted 11 of 12 free throws. If Blake can keep up this MVP level of play, the Clippers will hopefully be playing in June this season. As for Blake's counterpart in Chris Paul, he seems to have been playing with too much passivity and deference. CP3's has always battled when to get his own shot and when to set up teammates, but he has passed up multiple wide open looks these past two games; a more aggressive Paul usually results in good things for the Clippers. The other role players have met with mixed success as Matt Barnes has shown some life, not on the defensive end per se, but J.J. seems to have had his shooting powers deteriorated by his new beard. Jamal has been Jamal, lighting up the Lakers last night and DeAndre has been relatively solid, but will face a real test in DeMarcus Cousins this afternoon. The past history between the Kings and Clippers has been a bit checkered and chippy, with insults being lobbed by Boogie at Chris Paul as well as the forearm that broke J.J.'s wrist last year. Whenever these teams meet, tempers seem to flair, and hopefully that will mean the Clippers will finally turn it on, coming out with energy and focus from beginning to end.

The Antagonist:

This season, the Kings seemed to be slightly optimistic over what they may be able to accomplish, hopefully beginning to compete after years of dwelling in the cellar. Both DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay were on Team USA this summer, and the Kings would like for that experience to serve as a launching pad for both players to explode this season. DeMarcus Cousins may just be the most gifted big man in the league, but has often struggled with his attitude and maturity. By giving him a contract extension this last year, the Kings are committing all in to Boogie in the hopes he can become an All Star Center. Rudy Gay exploded against the Blazers last night putting up 40 points to help the Kings win. Under Mike Malone, the Kings' defense seems to continue to improve, it being one of the main reasons for beating the Portland, and having caused fits against the Warriors on their season opener. Oddly, both Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard have struggled against the Kings, so it will be interesting to watch how Paul deals with the Kings. Sacramento has improved this season and by no means is a roll over type of game; they will compete and play hard and the Clippers must be ready for them or they could be in trouble.

The Subplots

• Comparison of key metrics. The Clippers had the most efficient offense in the league last year, but have so far looked average outside of Blake's dominance. The Clippers will be facing a bottom 10 defensive team last year in the Kings, and hopefully will start to get their offensive game figured out.
• The Questionable Blogger. This week Akis from Sactown Royalty was gracious enough to answer a few of our questions about the Kings. To see this whole post, check it out here.
• Big 2. The Clippers have what may be regarded as one of the best, if not the best, duo in the league with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. Both are top 5 players according to ESPN Rank this year, and both have been identified as possible MVP candidates for the season. However, Sacramento also boasts an interesting Big 2 of their own in DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. The Kings were one of two teams in the league that had two players on Team USA this summer, the other being the Warriors. The Kings are hoping that their Big 2 will continue to benefit from their own post-Team USA boost in play and development.
• Bad blood. It was often thought that Boogie Cousins had a real beef with Blake Griffin. Many thought it was because of the ferocious way Blake dunks compared to the reputation he has as a flopper around the league. However, on the B.S. Report this summer, Cousins seemed to indicate that he in fact has no problem with Blake or his game. Chris Paul on the other hand is a different story. Cousins does not like Paul and has not been shy about making his feelings known. Boogie has called Paul a "cheater" in the past that he doesn't "respect" and told Bill Simmons he "dislikes CP3 a lot." Boogie may also not like J.J. Redick considering the forearm to the side he gave him last year which ended up breaking Redick's wrist.
• McLemore vs. Stauskas. If you're a lottery pick for a team, they are often looking to you to fill that position for the foreseeable future. So how does it bode for Ben McLemore that the Kings chose to take another shooting guard in the lottery this year after McLemore's lackluster rookie season.
• Losing Thomas. The Kings lost Isaiah Thomas to the Suns this summer via free agency, and that may prove to be a big deal. Thomas produced for the Kings last year after fighting and winning the starting job from Vasquez, making him expendable in the Rudy Gay trade. Will the duo of Collison and Sessions be able to provide adequate minutes for the Kings at point? Also, not having Thomas may help the Clippers because he always seemed unstoppable against them when they played.
• Free throws. In these first two games the Clippers and the Kings have both taken a high volume of shots from the charity stripe with the Kings totaling 70 and the Clippers coming in at 69. It will be interesting to see who can keep out of foul trouble and stopping the other team from converting easy points. If Blake continues his play from last night, there may be no one on Sacramento's roster capable of guarding him one on one.
• Behind the Arc. In contrast to the similarity from the free throw line, the Clippers have attempted many more three pointers in the past two game than the Kings, almost double. The Kings have shot 7-28 from behind the arc while the Clippers have gone 19-63.
• Connections. Darren Collison played a major role on the Clippers last season, often filling in when either Chris Paul and J.J. Redick were down with injury. This summer Collison bolted in free agency to Sacramento after being offered the MLE, and it will be interesting to see how he plays against his mentor Chris Paul running his own team. Similarly, Ryan Hollins was a huge component of the Clippers towel wavers coming off the bench last season, giving huge chest bumps and celebrations for Lob City. Hollins signed with the Kings this off season to back up DeMarcus Cousins and we'll see if how much love he still has for his former teammates. Matt Barnes played high school basketball and football at Del Campo High in Sacramento. Reggie Evans played for the Clippers previously and was a major component in their miraculous comeback win against the Grizzlies. Reggie has always been a big crowd favorite at Staples, so look to have the Clipper faithful show him so love if he gets any playing time.
• Get the Kings perspective at Sactown Royalty.
• Wikipedia definition:King
  King is one of the most popular characters on the Tekken fighting game series. Throughout the different versions of Tekken, King has appeared in one of two versions, as either King 1 or King 2. King 1 was a street brawling orphan that only cared about violence and fighting. After one particularly vicious fight King 1 collapsed in front of a monastery where the Marquez Priests took him in and cared for him. King 1 became a Catholic Priest and determined to build an orphanage for street children like himself, but lacking the necessary funds, he entered the King of Iron First Tournament. King 1 achieved 3rd place but soon after gave up his Jaguar mask for life falling into the depths of depression and alcoholism. King 1's rival Armor King saved his life by making him join King of Iron First Tournament 2 in which King got his life together through training. King 2 was a street urchin who grew up in King 1's orphanage and spent many years with him. After King 1's death at the hands of Ogre, King 2 donned the famous Jaguar mask in order to raise money for the struggling orphanage. Unfortunately King 2 was horrible, losing every match until Armor King mysteriously appeared and took King 2 under his wing, training him to become a fighter worthy of King 1. King 2 has had a tumultuous life of fighting since, with his master Armor King dying and fighting and later befriending Marduk.

After a tough loss to the Kings in Sacramento Friday night, the Blazers return home for a meeting with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson -- the world-famous Splash Bros. -- and the Golden State Warriors.

The Clippers face the Kings this afternoon in what turned out to be quite the heated matchup last year. There is no love lost between these two sides, and hopefully this will make the Clippers play their best.

2014/2015 NBA Regular Season
	vs
2-0		1-1
November 2nd, 2014, 12:30 PM
STAPLES Center
Prime Ticket, KFWB 980 AM, KWKW 1330 AM
Win-Loss Breakdown (2013-2014)
21-9	East	13-17
36-16	West	145-37
34-7	Home	17-24
23-18	Road	11-30
25-18	.500+	11-37
32-7	.500-	17-17
2-0	L10	1-1
Probable Starters
Chris Paul	PG	Darren Collison
J.J. Redick	SG	Ben McLemore
Matt Barnes	SF	Rudy Gay
Blake Griffin	PF	Jason Thompson
DeAndre Jordan	C	DeMarcus Cousins
Advanced Stats (2013-2014)
98.39 (7th of 30)	Pace	96.75 (14th of 30)
109.4 (1st of 30)	ORtg	102.9 (19th of 30)
102.1 (8th of 30)	DRtg	106.3 (23rd of 30)
Injuries/Other
Glen Davis (groin) doubtful

The Back Story (The Clippers lead the season series 4-0):

Sacramento rebounded from a tough opening night to beat the Portland Trail Blazers for their first victory of the season.  Now the Kings head to the road for an early afternoon matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers.  There's no love lost between these two teams, and it's sure to be a hard fought game.  Tonight's action tips off at 12:30 pm tonight on Comcast SportsNet California and on KHTK 1140.

3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1.  DeMarcus Cousins has had a rough start to the season offensively.  He's shooting just 33.3% from the field over his first couple games, and it's a big reason Sacramento's offense has struggled.  The Kings need their big man to be at his best.  Cousins always gets hyped up against the Clippers, so hopefully he gets back on track.

2. Blake Griffin is always a force to be reckoned with, and he's added a new weapon to his game this summer in a reliable mid-range jumper.  Jason Thompson and the other Kings big men will need to respect that jumper, as well as Griffin's passing and driving ability.  This is not someone who only dunks anymore.

3. Sacramento's offense has noticeable stalled when the bench unit has come in.  Nik Stauskas hasn't yet found his shooting rhythm but that's easily attributable to being a rookie.  Ramon Sessions on the other hand, should be playing much better as a veteran.  The Clippers bench is pretty deep, so the Kings can't afford another non-showing from their own.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Darren Collison vs. Chris Paul

It's a classic case of Master meets Apprentice.  Collison has spent two seasons in the NBA studying behind the NBA's preeminent Point Guard including last year in Los Angeles.  Now it will be up to him to keep Paul under control, not an easy task.  Collison has been very good for Sacramento in his first two games, running the offense well and also playing good defense against two very tough Point Guards in Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard, and Paul's tougher than either since his passing is even more dangerous than his scoring.  Defending Paul isn't a one-man job; It will be up to Collison's teammates to cut off some of his passing lanes and take away as many of his weapons as possible.  I don't expect that Paul will be completely stopped, but to at least slow him down might be enough.

PREGAME LIMERICK

Hickory dickory dock,
there's four seconds on the clock.
Paul falls down,
acts like a clown,
and the ref blows his whistle in shock.

PREDICTION

Kings 104, Clippers 102 after DeMarcus Cousins blocks Spencer Hawes' game winning shot attempt so hard that it goes into the other basket for the win.

The Warriors enter Moda Center for the first of four against the Trail Blazers who will look to take out their 1-1 frustration on the 2-0 W's.

Matchup
Portland Trail Blazers 1-1 (1-0 home)				vs	Golden State Warriors2-0 (1-0 road)
Details
November 2, 2014
Moda Center, Portland, OR
6:00PM PT
CSN Bay Area | KNBR 1050 AM
Blog Buddy:Blazer's Edge
Projected Starters
Damian Lillard				G	Stephen Curry
Wesley Matthews				G	Klay Thompson
Nicholas Batum				F	Harrison Barnes
Lamarcus Aldridge				F	Draymond Green
Robin Lopez				C	Andrew Bogut
Key Injuries
Meyers Leonard (illness day-today)					David Lee - doubtful (hamstring) Brandon Rush - day to day
2013/14 Four Factors
eFG%	TOV%	ORB%	FT/FGA		eFG%	TOV%	ORB%	FT/FGA
..488 (16th)	10% (4th)	26.4% (14)	.200 (19th)	OFF	.554 (3rd)	18.6% (29th)	25.7% (17th)	.297 (7th)
.432 (4th)	11.7 (23rd)	22.9 (30th)	.321 (28th)	DEF	.413 (1st)	20.3% (1st)	32% (29th)	.265 (24th)

There comes a point in a team's season when they're shocked by a loss and have every intent to cram all of the emotions that run with that disappointment into the next game. They run through the tunnel a bit faster, warm up a bit harder, and in most cases from top-to-bottom of the depth chart there's greater focus.

Such could be the state of the Portland Trail Blazers, 48 hours after a surprising loss to the Sacramento Kings.

They've had time to sulk, discuss and regroup. Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and crew must watch out for Portland's emotional leaders Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge. While Lillard has gotten off to a sluggish start to the season, he's still hit 6-of-15 trey balls for 40 percent and Aldridge is putting up 24.5 points through two contests.

With Meyers Leonard out for the Blazers, coach Terry Stots will look to Chris Kaman to assert himself off the bench and put points on the board. Festus Ezeli must put Kaman in the one place he hates to be on the floor: the low block playing a physically bruising game. Kaman and Aldridge are two major contributors towards the 35 points a night the Blazers are putting up in the paint.

Speaking of the paint, currently 53 percent of the Blazers points are coming from the field while 30 percent are from three, so the Warriors will have to be on defensive alert, getting their hands into passing lanes and defending the post better than any of their first two contests. Smothering Aldridge in the same manner the Warriors put some extra TLC on Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins will be vital. Every bucket scored in the paint needs to be well-contested and hard to come by.

Getting in Mathews' face will be just as important since 67 percent of his field goals have been assisted, it seems Lillard and Blazers head coach Terry Stotts have been trying to get Mathews going early as a greater threat from deep opens up scoring for players like Aldridge and Kaman down low. In the Blazers first two games, Mathews has averaged 19 points. Limiting his production will be important for the W's.

Aside from the individual matchups, this game will be about tempo and speed. The Warriors must continue to play their brand of basketball and at the pace they dictate - they can't allow speedy guards Lillard and C.J. McCollum to set the pace of the game.

In 211 games played in the playoffs and regular season, the Warriors own only 91 of those wins which accounts for a .431 winning percentage against Portland. If the W's can contain Lillard's movement while limiting Wesley Mathews, they'll be 3-0 before heads hit pillows tonight.

Wooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

That's my first reaction to an amazing 98-92 Kings win in Los Angeles against a very good Clippers team.  The Kings have started the season 2-1 for the first time since 2010-11 on the back of great defense and an even better game from DeMarcus Cousins.  Cousins was unstoppable, scoring 34 points on 15-23 shooting to go along with a game-high 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks.

Rudy Gay was still feeling it after his 40 point explosion on Friday against the Blazers, following up that effort with 25 points on 14 shots to go with 7 rebounds and a team-high 6 assists.  Starting Point Guard Darren Collison shot just 4-12 from the field, but his 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists along with his tough defensive work proved huge, especially in crunch time.  Collison's jumper with under a minute left helped seal the game for the Kings

The Clippers were without scoring dynamo Jamal Crawford but still had plenty of weapons left.  The Kings took most of them away though, with only Chris Paul really having a good game, finishing with 16 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.  Blake Griffin chipped in 17 points, but shot just 6-20 from the field, not finding a rhythm at all.

The Kings defense again stepped up, holding their 3rd straight opponent to under 100 points.  The Clippers as a team shot just 37.5% from the field and 29.0% from three.  Sacramento also outrebounded the Clippers 46 to 35.

Sacramento's now got the tough task of trying to play the second night of a back to back in Denver tomorrow, but at least they'll be feeling good about the way they played tonight.

For the opponent's perspective, visit Clips Nation.

Random Observations:

• The Kings shooting guard position still isn't giving us much offense.  Both Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas only scored 3 points each, and Ben's three was of the absurdly lucky variety.  We need these guys to be hitting their open shots, but I'd also like to see some plays run for them, Nik especially.  I do however like the defensive effort that both have given.  Ben was having a little trouble with how much Redick was moving off the ball, but he held his own for the most part.  Nik ended up with THREE blocks.  That might stay his career-high forever.
• DeMarcus Cousins was truly on another level.  He was active on D, and relentless on O.  There were a couple occasions where he missed his first attempt, surrounded by several Clippers players, but somehow came out of the scrum with the ball and finished the second chance.  He also had some amazing high-low passes to Jason Thompson throughout the game.
• Rudy Gay has some of the best up and under and rip-through moves in the league.  He's so good at creating space when there doesn't seem to be any.  If he gets into the paint with any semblance of space, it's basically game over.
• Omri Casspi is a ball of energy, and one of the few Kings that seems to take to unselfish ball movement naturally.  I really like what he's bringing to this team.  6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in just 16 minutes is great work.
• I love Reggie Evans' effort.  I do not love Reggie Evans' offense.
• Turnovers were a problem again as the Kings piled up 19, but their defense was good enough that it didn't hurt too bad.
• Yet another bad game from Sessions.  At one point the Kings were down two points in the fourth quarter but three straight possessions ended with no points because of Sessions, including two missed free throws and a really bad turnover.  I'd like to give him more of a leash considering he's a veteran, but if he keeps playing like this I'm not so sure that Ray McCallum doesn't start seeing some time.
• Carl Landry is a wizard around the basket.  That's why I don't get why he settles for long jumpers ever.  He only took one today though, so that's not too bad.
• Jason Thompson might not have had any gaudy stats but he was definitely a big part of this win, especially on defense.  He was a big part in holding Blake Griffin to just 6-20 from the field, and he also did a good job of cutting and was rewarded by high post passes from Cousins for two key baskets.  This is the type of game we need from JT consistently.
• The Clippers all had either moustaches or handlebars.  I think they must be doing a version of Movember.  Blake Griffin's mustache was particularly bad.
• Spencer Hawes had an annoyingly effective game early, especially as the Kings kept biting on all of his pump fakes.  He finished with 17 points for the Clippers on 5-10 shooting but he did miss a huge wide open three down the stretch that helped seal the Kings victory.
• I like that there's a new NBA replay center, but man, it seems to take even longer than usual for replays.  It kills momentum and takes way too much time.  I feel like refs should have a shot clock for replays, and if they can't figure it out in that time, the call on the floor stands.  That should speed things up.
• For the most part the Kings played very good defense.  However I have to say that in J.J. Redick's case they got lucky quite a few times.  There aren't many games where you'll see Redick go 2-10 from three with the kind of open looks he was getting all game.

The Clippers have not played well in the past three games, and tonight it finally caught up to them. DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay were unstoppable while the Clippers continue to miss shots.

Going into this game the Clippers boasted an undefeated 2-0 record, but no one was inspired by their lackadaisical play on the offensive and defensive game. The Clippers faced a tough test from the Kings, who seem to be a much better team than what their record of past years seem to have reflected. The Clippers shot 37.5% from the field for the game and a chilling 29% from three, going only 2-16 in the second half with many crucial misses at the end of the game. It was their shooting in the first half that kept them in the game, and what ultimately let them down in the end.

From the first quarter the Kings made their game plan clear, they were going to direct all of their offense through DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, their two Team USA members. Cousins was unstoppable throughout the whole game finishing with 34 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. For all of the recognition that Blake has gotten the past couple of years, Boogie has a remarkably similar skill set being able to post, reliably hit an outside jumper, as well as handle the ball and pass; plus, Cousins has the size that Blake will never achieve. Cousins hit the first 5 field goals for the Kings and set the tone for the rest of the game. At the end of the first quarter Gay took over and scored seemingly at will against Matt Barnes, finishing the night with 25 points on 50% shooting. Until the Clippers make a trade, Barnes goes to Germany for Kobe's magical surgery, or CDR goes all Rocket Power, I expect opponent wings to kill us all season.

One thing that must be noted in the middle of the first quarter was Ben McLemore's flagrant foul on a Griffin breakaway, causing a violent tumble. Griffin was immediately flustered and seem to be ready to brawl with McLemore as he got up. Blake proceeded to miss his flagrant foul free throws short and continued to miss jumpers for the rest of the quarter and half short. I wonder if the fall affected Griffin and his form at all, or the fact the Clippers have played 3 games in the past 4 days. Either way Griffin's shot was off all game as he finished with only 17 points, going a putrid 6-20 from the field. Griffin also seemed to be taken out of the game from the lack of calls from the officials, an aspect of his game that was supposed to be alleviated by Doc's arrival.

With Jamal out for this game, there was some concern over the offensive capabilities of the Clippers' second unit. Jordan Farmar, Spencer Hawes, and Hedo Turkoglu all stepped up big for the Clippers, playing a coherent offensive system that kept the Clippers in the game. With Farmar poised and under control, the Clippers lit up the Kings from behind the arc in the second quarter. Hawes finished the game 17 points and Farmar with 10 points. It seemed odd that with all of the Kings improved defensive system under Malone, they were especially horrible at covering the three point line. Often all of the Kings would collapse into the paint at any sign of penetration, and there was a consistent lack of effort, and by that I mean none at all, in closing out shooters. This helps when the Clippers make shots, and at least in the first half they did. The Hawes/Farmar/Hedo trio had 21 points in the first half, and the Clippers ended up ahead 51-45 at the midpoint, which almost seemed improbable. The Kings were shooting 51.5% from the field and the Clippers only 34%. But the Clippers were 7-15 from three, and the Kings only 1-3, meaning an 18 point advantage from deep; the Clippers also had 8 less turnovers than the Kings in the first half.

To start the second half the Clippers went straight to Chris Paul in the post trying to exploit his mismatch against either McLemore or Darren Collison. The Clippers ran the same set 5 times in a row and converted almost each time with the Kings unable to stop anything. Paul came up big in the third scoring 12 points in the quarter after having an injury scare in the first half when Rudy Gay stepped on his ankle. For once the Clippers starters seemed to be functioning at an acceptable offensive level and the Clippers continued to exploit mismatches; the Kings adjusted their defense to double Paul and Griffin on the catch. Cousins remained absolutely a beast making some completely ridiculous shots, seemingly on fire throughout the whole game. Gay also continued to attack the Clippers weak point keeping the Kings close down 70 - 74 at the end of the third.

In the last period the second units matched up against one another, except Cousins was playing with the Kings bench because he had been subbed early as a result of foul trouble. Hawes proved to be little help in stopping Boogie and the Kings took the lead in the beginning of the fourth. Doc brought the starters back in hoping that they would help to close out the game like they had the past two contests. The Clippers kept it close against the Kings, trading the lead back and forth for most of the fourth quarter with the Kings constantly ahead be no more than 4 points.

With six minutes to play, DJ got a breakaway lob from Chris Paul and it seemed to energize the Clippers' defense down the stretch. With three minutes to play the Clippers got all the stops you could really ask of them, preventing the Kings from scoring 5 of 7 times, outside of free throws. It was the first time that we have seen the Clippers ratchet up their defensive intensity to meet their opponent, and it was nice to see that they can still bring it when needed. DJ was especially impressive going 1 on 1 with Cousins down the stretch. DJ played solid 1 on 1 defense on Cousins, blocking him multiple times, Cousins just happens to be an incredibly gifted offensive player. When your center can play out of the paint above the free throw arc and consistently hit a 17 footer from there, but also have the handles to drive past you if you close out, it makes you almost unguardable; in the same way Griffin is a challenge to defend, so is Cousins. Looking back to the Lakers game, Doc seems to rather have a center shoot from mid range than constantly pull DJ out of the paint to contest and guard them.

The problem the Clippers experienced is that only playing good defense is not enough; you need to be able to also make shots when you're behind. The Clippers had multiple wide open looks from three for Barnes, Redick, and Hawes down the stretch, but the Clippers just couldn't convert, shooting only 2-16 from three in the second half. Ultimately in a make or miss league, if you can't make shots at the end of the game, you're going to lose, and that's what happened tonight. It also doesn't help that Cousins and Gay couldn't be stopped the entire game and your MVP candidate shoots 30%.

A couple of thoughts overall about the Clippers offense and defense tonight. The Clippers defensive rotations off of the ball I thought was rather good, causing a lot of havoc for the Kings resulting in multiple turnovers (the Kings also had possessions of just sloppy play). Some times you just run into great offensive players like Boogie, and Gay will exploit our biggest weakness as a scoring SF. Outside of Boogie/Gay/Collison, no other King was in double figures.

As far as the Clippers offense, one of the most glaring things to me is that they hardly ever are running high middle pick and rolls anymore, or just pick and rolls in general. One of the most devastating plays for the past three years in the league has been a Blake Griffin and Chris Paul pick and roll, but the Clippers just aren't doing it anymore. Instead they are posting different players like Blake of Paul, resulting in more isos and more of the ball sticking and ball watching. Even with J.J.'s off ball movement, it is rarely in addition to actions on the ball in pick and rolls. Maybe Doc really is going in a different direction this year without Gentry on his staff, and I'm not sure it has worked well so far. Regardless, the Clippers have been getting open looks that they are simply missing and that's the main reason they lost tonight; or maybe it was all the moustaches.

Denver is notorious for being one of the toughest home courts in the NBA thanks to the high altitude, and the fact that the Nuggets are a talented team helps as well.  The Kings have beaten two very good opponents in a row, but it will take another big effort to keep this winning streak going.  Tonight's action tips off at 6:00 pm tonight on Comcast SportsNet California and on KHTK 1140.

3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. Danilo Gallinari is back and healthy for the Nuggets after missing all of last year with a back injury.  He has yet to get his rhythm back however and probably won't play major minutes against the Kings either.  Defensively the Nuggets will probably try to hide him on Ben McLemore, with Arron Afflalo on Rudy.

2. I would really like to see the Kings shooting guards get going.  So far we haven't seen much offense from either Ben McLemore or Nik Stauskas.  Neither player is a featured part of the offense, especially with Cousins and Rudy taking up so many offensive possessions, but they're also not helping matters by missing the wide open shots they do get.  The Kings' success so far this season has come with basically zero offensive production at this position, and I don't think that's sustainable.

3. This is the second night of a back to back and Sacramento's stars played big minutes yesterday against the Clippers.  Compounding matters is the fact that the Kings are in the high altitude of Denver and the Nuggets have had a couple days off to rest.  Darren Collison and Rudy Gay both played nearly 40 minutes against the Clippers, and DeMarcus Cousins was at 35.  The Kings' bench will likely get more run tonight, and we'll need them to step up.  So far Omri Casspi and Carl Landry have been the only consistent contributors off the bench; we'll need the likes of Ramon Sessions, Reggie Evans and Nik Stauskas to join them.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Darren Collison vs. Ty Lawson

For the third time in four games, the featured matchup involves Darren Collison.  Collison has got to have the hardest strength of schedule in terms of guys he has to guard in the first five games of the season.  So far he's faced Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and Chris Paul and Denver's Ty Lawson will prove to be another challenge.  Collison has done an admirable job defensively so far this season, but Lawson is very quick and is a skilled shooter.  Hopefully Collison has some energy reserves in the tank for this battle.

PREGAME LIMERICK

The Kings have surprised us all,
winning two games in a row, what gall!
But Denver is tough,
and likes to play rough,
so for God's sake take care of the ball.

PREDICTION

Kings 197, Nuggets 0 after DeMarcus Cousins and Kenneth Faried choose to decide the game with a talent show.  Faried chooses karaoke, Cousins chooses scoring a basketball repeatedly.

And one very big reason they are not.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the NBA season to date is that the Sacramento Kings are 2-1 against a brutal schedule. The Kings lost to the Warriors at home on opening night, then bounced the Blazers two days later, and on Sunday, waltzed into L.A. and beat the Clippers. The Kings won just 28 games last season, had a poorly-reviewed offseason and ... just beat two 50-win teams back to back.

The popular thing to say about any team is that they are the new Suns, nodding back to Phoenix's stunning, out-of-nowhere rise in the 2013-14 season. So are the Kings the new Suns? Here are three reasons why the comparison is apt and one big reason why it's not.

1. The Kings play an unusual style

The Suns turned heads by playing fast, loose and reckless with a double point guard lineup featuring Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. Up front, Phoenix had Markieff Morris and Channing Frye stretching the floor, often playing without an interior big. It worked! It threw opponents off and let Phoenix dictate the flow of the game.

A column on the NBA.10/30: OKC's Westbrook problem10/29: 3 reasons the Lakers may be tanking10/28: Relax and love the NBA 10/27: Kawhi should hold out for max10/20: Warriors perfect for modern NBA10/17: The worst team in the NBA*10/13: Learning to love Kobe

Sacramento doesn't play like that at all. With the offense focused on DeMarcus Cousins, one of the last true post-up centers in the NBA, the Kings don't fly. (They have tended toward faster than average offenses in recent years, but that's been more due to quick shots on the break than organized up-tempo tactics.) Instead, the Kings play weird by living near the rim and at the free throw line, and using that interior play to open up long two-point jumpers.

Sacramento is actually taking fewer three-pointers than the Lakers this season, landing at No. 29 in attempts per game. The team doesn't have many (any?) great shooters, so the ball ends up going to Cousins at the elbow or in the pivot, or Rudy Gay freelances. The Kings rank dead last in assists, but very high in free throw attempts as Gay has been attacking and Cousins draws loads of contact.

While the NBA does have a bumper crop of tall shotblockers, the lack of post-up bigs has de-emphasized post defense. It seems few big men these days can defend Shaq-style lane loads. (For example, Andrew Bogutcan handle that and limited Cousins to poor shooting in the opener. More modern defensive centers Robin Lopez and DeAndre Jordan were eaten alive by Boogie.)

Bringing something weird on offense was effective for the Suns, and it looks to have been successful so far for the Kings. Even good teams aren't really well-equipped to defend massive, creative centers who take a lot of shots in the paint.

2. The Kings' defense looks much improved

That was the secret of the Suns: despite all the attention paid to the attacking offense, Phoenix was surprisingly good because Jeff Hornacek had the defense playing quite well. (The Suns ended up No. 15 in defensive efficiency.) So far, against three excellent offenses (Nos. 1, 2 and 12 last year), the Kings have held their own, allowing less than 100 points per 100 possessions.

In particular, the performances against L.A. and Portland stand out. The Clips scored 92 points in 91 possessions and had an effective field goal percentage of .426. The Blazers scored 94 points in 89 possessions. In both games, the Kings' frontcourt -- Cousins, Jason Thompson, Carl Landry and Reggie Evans -- held back opposing All-Star power forwards. LaMarcus Aldridge shot 7-of-18 on Friday, and Blake Griffin went 6-of-20 on Sunday.

Both Cousins and Thompson have been more disciplined and cohesive to date, while Landry's return to the court after playing just 18 games last season has made a noticeable impact. The Kings don't have stoppers on the wing or in the backcourt, but a strong defensive back line would work wonders in the West. Despite coach Michael Malone's reputation, the Kings' defense was disappointing last season. Perhaps a change at point guard, another training camp and more buy-in from Cousins and Thompson has changed the calculus.

Collison, Photo credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

3. The Kings still have things to improve.

They are not overachieving up and down the roster. Sacramento is 2-1 despite getting almost nothing on offense from three of its four rotation guards. Darren Collison has been really useful on both ends, but young shooting guards Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas have been uneven (to say the least) and Ramon Sessions has been stunningly mediocre through three games. (We're another bad week away from loud, legitimate calls for Ray McCallum.) Sure, Gay isn't going to shoot 50 percent all season, but the Kings are likely to get more than they have out of their backcourt.

***

Of course there is one huge, massive, blinking reason to believe that the Kings are not this season's Suns.

1. We're only three games into the season.

This could be a series of flukes. Remember that the Sixers were 3-0 to start last season and ended up with 19 wins. Offenses struggle much more than defenses in the early days of the season as units get their timing together: we could just be witnessing new system growing pains for the Warriors and warm-up sessions for the Clippers and Blazers. Or the shooters missing shots against the Kings could just be ... missing shots regardless of the defense. (J.J. Redick missed a number of open Js on Sunday, for example, including this one.)

Furthermore, we have seen so much bad defense from the Kings over the years -- including last season under Malone -- that Sacramento is really going to need to prove it for a sustained stretch before we buy it. Thompson has been solid at times through his career, but is foul-prone and has never been great helping from off the ball. Cousins got much better last season, but is still foul-prone and not a shot blocker. The guards are small and have little record of defensive success. And, in my opinion, Gay remains the biggest impediment to a strong team defense despite his elite physical attributes. He just showed so many bad habits last year.

If this is real and the Kings are going to be surprisingly good, it's on Gay to play smart all season and Cousins to dominate regularly. It could happen, but we're going to see more proof before we buy it.

It's early in the season no doubt, but the Kings have caught people's attention this weekend thanks to two very impressive victories over the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers.  After three games, the Kings are 7th in the league in Defensive Rating and are also near the top in rebounding.  The last time the Kings started a season off this well it was in 2010-11 when the Kings started 3-1, but against far inferior competition than the teams Sacramento has faced this year.

Given how early it is in the season, all of this could change in a flash, but for now, the Kings are sitting pretty with a 2-1 record and are garnering praise around the NBA.  In various weekly Power Rankings reports, the Kings have seen a big jump after their successful weekend.

From our own SB Nation:

19. Sacramento Kings (2-1, Last week: 25)

DeMarcus Cousins just thrashed the Clippers, putting on a show with 34 points, 17 rebounds and five assists in a quality win. Their defensive numbers look pretty good after being one of the worst last season, but their offense has really suffered after watching Isaiah Thomas join the Suns. If Boogie can become a two-way center, he could carry Sacramento a long way this year.

CBSSports has us all the way at 8th!:

Wins over the Blazers and Clippers, with defense and a lot of DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings won't be in this spot by the end of the week (or Monday, considering they have the dreaded Denver back-to-back). But boy has it been fun to watch this Kings team... where are we?

ESPN ranked us 16th:

Who had a better weekend than Boogie Cousins, Rudy Gay and the Sacramento Kings? It's too soon to outright recant some of the pessimism found in this comment cyberspace last week, but the wins and stat lines they uncorked against the Blazers (home) and Clips (road) add up to a loud response.

Yahoo joins the party in putting the Kings at 17th:

It's early, but keep an eye on the Kings, who have wins over Portland and on the road against the Clippers.

NBA.com cautiously put us at 11th

The Kings looked awful in the second half of their opener against Golden State, but they're the only team with two wins over top 10 teams from the preseason rankings, beating both the Blazers and Clippers (in L.A.) over the weekend with big fourth quarters. Hold off on the "Boogie 4 MVP" campaign until they get through this stretch of 10 of 14 on the road.

Sports Illustrated also has us 11th

You could make the case that the Kings should be even higher than this, thanks to impressive victories over the Clippers and the Trail Blazers. Rudy Gayscored 40 against Portland, and DeMarcus Cousins manhandled Los Angeles with 34 points, 17 rebounds and five assists. Maybe Sacramentowon't have to cherry-pick after all.

***

It's far too early to think that this means the Kings will be a good team this year, but if they keep playing the way they have been, they'll certainly be a better one.  They still have a ridiculously tough schedule the rest of November, with just 5 home games left this month and no games against a team that had a worse record than them last year until Orlando and Utah come to town on December 6th and 8th.

When the Kings cut undrafted rookie Sim Bhullar to end preseason, our friend James Ham reported that the Kings would be assigning him to the Reno Bighorns.  NBA rules allow for up to four "affiliate players" to be assigned to D-League teams by the team that cut them.  Today, the D-League released the complete list of affiliate player assignments, and sure enough Bhullar's name was listed as was David Wear's.  Sacramento's other training camp cut, Deonte Burton, is headed overseas to play in Germany for Ratiopharm Ulm.

Bhullar and Wear will be joining a Bighorns team under new coach David Arseneault, Jr. who is sure to experiment offensively.  They'll likely be joined at some point by rookie Eric Moreland, who is unlikely to see much playing time on the main roster, barring injuries.  This year with Reno will be a good chance for Bhullar to get in shape and potentially rejoin the Kings next season with a real chance at making the roster.

Darren Collison pushes the break and hits Ben McLemore for soaring alley oop.

The Kings' reserves provided just enough to buoy a tired team to their third straight victory.

Its not easy playing the second end of a back-to-back in the Mile High City.  The altitude is thin and the Nuggets like to play fast. But for the second year in a row, the Kings walk into Denver having played the night before and leave with a well-earned W by a score of 110 to 105.  As a cherry on top, the Kings are now 3-1 to start the season, a mark they haven't hit since 2010-11.

The problem playing in Denver is always fatigue. In a game that was tightly contested throughout, the Kings needed the bench to come alive in the worst way to give the starters a long enough breather to stay fresh for the stretch run. And that's exactly what they got. Carl Landry (14 points), Omri Casspi (9 points) , Ramon Sessions (13 points) and a surprise late-game insertion of Ray McCallum all contributed at timely spots throughout the third and fourth quarter.

Michael Malone coached a masterful game with his substitution pattern. Knowing the team was fatigued from their long battle in Los Angeles the day prior, he stuck with the reserves much longer than he usually would. The starters were subbed back into the game around the 5:30 mark of the fourth quarter, and the extra rest paid huge dividends. Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins didn't have the most efficient nights of their careers, but they attacked aggressively through the whole game and came up huge in the clutch. Gay finished with only 14 points on 4/13 shooting, but 12 of those points came in the second half, and 9 came down the stretch on a variety of post moves and free throws. Cousins ended the game with 19 points and 5 rebounds on 6/13 shooting, but had a huge fadeaway jumper and two clutch free throws down the stretch. Darren Collison provided a big punch in the third quarter, asserting himself offensively right as the team needed it to the tune of 21 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds on 5/9 from the floor. Collison's elbow jumper feels automatic at this point.  Collison also did a great job defending Ty Lawson, holding the Nuggets guard to just 9 points on 1 of 8 from the field.

Perhaps Malone's gutsiest move on the night was sticking with seldom-used McCallum down the stretch instead of returning to Ben McLemore or Nik Stauskas. McLemore and Stauskas both struggled on the night, especially defensively on the post-up threat of Arron Afflalo, ending with 4 and 3 fouls respectively. But McCallum timed his contributions admirably, scoring a layup off a set play and then getting a fast-break bucket when the Nuggets fell asleep defensively. McCallum ended the game with 4 points on 2/5 shooting in 14 minutes.

Ultimately, the Kings are coming home off an outstanding road trip. You can't argue with the best start the team has had in years against a brutal schedule to start. Next up on the Kings' slate is a rematch with these very same Nuggets, this time at Sleep Train Arena. By now, the hype around this team should be starting to brew, so expect to see a raucous crowd greeting the team that has put the city on its back.

For the opponent's perspective, visit Denver Stiffs.

Random Observations

• The Kings are 3-1. Two wins against Western Conference second round teams. The Kings are 3-1. Two straight wins on the road. The Kings are 3-1. Best start the team has had in probably a decade if you factor in strength of schedule. The Kings are 3-1.
• I can't give Malone enough credit in this game. He pressed all the right buttons, the substitution chess game between him and Shaw ended in a decisive checkmate by Malone, and he has the team flying all over the court on defense and moving the ball on offense. Easily best coach the team has had since Adelman, not that its saying much.
• Sessions finally had a bounceback game, but it wasn't perfect. There were several ballhandling adventures and he was highly inefficient from the field, but he got to the free throw line to make up for the deficiencies elsewhere. Hopefully this will get Sessions going a bit.
• Stauskas was allowed to play for about 2 minutes before he was called for three fouls guarding Afflalo in the post, most of the ticky-tack variety. Rookie treatment in full effect.
• Wins tends to bring out great chemistry. There were so many smiles at the end of the game, especially when Collison pulled down the game-clinching rebound and got knocked down. My ice-cold Kings fan heart could possibly be thawing. I hope Sacramento is ready to fall in love with a team again, because this team is much closer to being good than anyone could have imagined.

Poor shooting does the Nuggets in... again as the Kings ride Darren Collison to victory, 110-105.

The Sacramento Kings came into Denver and showed no signs of fatigue as they lead throughout most of the game.  A balanced scoring attack lead by Darren Collison's 21 points was enough to outlast the scrappy Denver Nuggets, 110-105.  Demarcus Cousins added 19 points and Rudy Gay had 14 points.  Former Nugget Reggie Evans lead all rebounders with 14 total.  Denver had seven players in double figures.  JaVale McGee and Arron Afflalo lead all Nuggets with 16 points each.

The only person on the court able to impose his will in the first half was Joey Crawford.  There were 32 total fouls called in the opening half.  The Nuggets bigs were whistled early and often.  Coach Brian Shaw called McGee's number first to replace Timofey Mozgov after two early fouls.  McGee found himself  in early foul trouble after just over two minutes of entering into the game and Jusuf Nurkic was the third center to enter for Denver in the first 7 minutes of the game.  Both teams shot well from the line, Sacramento 21-24 and Denver 15-18 over the first 24 minutes.  Neither team slowed down from the line in the second half either.  The Kings finished 40-47 and the Nuggets 28-33.  Despite the high percentages from the charity stripe, the smooth stroke from the line didn't carry over into game action for either team.

Denver shot 38.7% from the field and an anemic 20.1% from three.  Sacramento did not shoot much better, 42% and 22.2%, but when the bar is set so low it is hard for another professional basketball team not to better your effort.

Denver came out attacking early and were not content to stand back and take whatever shots the Sacramento defense would allow.  Ty Lawson was driving furiously to the hole.  His shots were not falling, finishing 1-8, but he was drawing fouls and setting up open looks for his teammates.  Unfortunately, his teammates were unable to capitalize on their open looks.  It wasn't until Chandler found success driving to the rack that his three point shot finally came through, nailing his only three pointer of the game late in the fourth quarter.  His defense on Gay was fantastic.  This was accentuated when Alonzo Gee was schooled by Gay resulting in an and-1 during the fourth quarter.  Gee's stock as a fourth quarter defensive secret weapon is yielding diminishing returns, but I like his energy and maybe the taller Gay was more than he could chew.  Rudy Gay > DJ Augustin.

Missed shots were not limited to outside the paint.  The low post offensive attack from Kenneth Faried, Mozgov, and Nurkic resulted in 11-25 shooting with 8 turnovers.  Manimal played 38 quiet minutes.  Sacramento's Jason Thompson was effectively pesky and even instigated a technical on Faried when Kenneth argued a no-call in the first quarter.  Darrell Arthur, Nate Robinson, and McGee were extremely efficient scorers, but neither logged over 16 minutes.  Could they have maintained their numbers over an additional 5 or 10 minutes, I don't know.  When a team this deep struggles, it can seem covering one leak only leads to exposing another leak.

Before any Stiffs jump off the edge, rest assured that Denver isn't going to shoot this poorly for an entire season.  This is an early cold spell that will right itself.  The players and schemes currently in place are setting the Nuggets up to succeed.  The shots haven't fallen but when they do, we will be in for some exciting upsets instead of disappointing losses to teams once considered also-rans.  Right now our faith is being tested, but it will make the payoff that much better.

Box Score

Random thoughts:

Ben McLemore is bad.

Gallo may take longer to break from this cold spell than any other Nugget.

Nik Stauskas only registered two stat categories: 2 minutes played and 3 personal fouls.

I give you, The Triple Flop!

In this edition of the Blazer's Edge Mailbag we deal with fears about the slow start, ask who's responsible for late-game timeouts, and deal with quirky announcers.

Let's get to a few Mailbag questions before we focus in on tonight's Cleveland-Portland matchup.

Dave,

Gotta be honest. I didn't expect to be 1-2 heading into a game with Cleveland. How concerned are you with the bad start?

Phil

Not very. This is still within the fat part of the probability bell curve...certainly more so than 31-9 was last season. (We should also remember that the 31-9 record was built upon a 2-2 entrance.) Sacramento and Golden State have both been playing well. The Blazers will be good this year but if you think they can't be beat by any given team, that seems an overly-high estimation of their prowess. This is the joy of playing in the Western Conference, circa 2015. It's impossible to predict the outcome when any of the top two-thirds teams play any of their peers.

I suppose losing to Sacramento was a mild surprise based on record and reputation but we already know DeMarcus Cousins makes hash out of the Blazers on a regular basis. Last year the Blazer survived (3-1 haed-to-head) by suffering through Cousins' outbursts and containing everybody else. This time "everybody else" included a quick, motivated, and intelligent Darren Collison pressing the Blazers' point guard defense button while Cousins continued to hammer at the center position. Cracks in the dam established, Lake Rudy Gay poured through and broke it all down.

Matchups between the Blazers and Warriors are always epic and always close. You never chalk up a win before it's earned between those two teams.

In short, two losses may be disappointing but they're not entirely surprising.

I am mildly concerned with how the Blazers are losing (as opposed to that they're losing). Come to think of it, I was concerned with how they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder as well, so I suppose my concerns are outcome-independent.

During stretches--the fourth period against the Thunder and a couple of streaks against the Warriors--the Blazers have clicked. The offense looked crisp, the defense coherent. Effort and energy flowed, chemistry reigned. Whether the latter factors cause the former or vice-versa doesn't matter. You may recall this mantra from last season: either everything goes right for the Blazers or nothing does. They're a set of dominoes, one falling into the next. Whether they tip to the good or the bad, they're all going together.

Every once in a while the stars--LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard--provide a stopper when things are falling apart. You see the defense fade, the offense fizzle, and suddenly the Blazers are tossing the ball to one of those two and letting them carry everybody else. Sometimes it works, but it's not a recipe for sustained winning.

The dominoes have not dropped favorably for the Blazers this season. They've been falling apart more than coming together. Each game has required bail-out moments from Aldridge and Lillard. Aldridge has been successful, Lillard has been one more domino in the chain.

The best solution would be to need less bailing out. Guys aren't moving, covering for each other. Sustained energy is lacking on both ends of the floor. It feels like the players are looking at each other more than playing for each other...or maybe as a group they're expecting to be given what the actually have to go out and earn. Three guys working hard and two guys checking out won't bring success for this team. Their talent base isn't that far above their peers. They win through intelligence and execution. If plays don't get sharper, rebounding more consistent, defense more cohesive, the Blazers better pray both Aldridge and Lillard come through every night.

It's hard to come through every night when you've got a bullseye on your back though. Aldridge is used to that by now. Lillard's new to it. Between The Shot, the shoe deal, and the TV exposure he's not sneaking up on anybody anymore. Opponents are invested in breaking him down on one end, shutting him down on the other. So far it's working. We'll see how he adjusts.

Portland's weaknesses aren't going away. That's been evident in the first three games. The question becomes how--or if--they will compensate for them. It'll either be through team-wide sacrifice and attention to detail, through blazing star power, or not at all. Portland's answer to that riddle concerns me far more than record at this point. 1-2 is fine. Does that mean the Blazers fine, though? We'll have to see.

DAVE,

WHY DIDNT STOTTS CALL A TIMEOUT WHEN WES HAD THE BALL SWIPED FROM HIM?  WHAT ARE TIMEOUTS FOR?  OR COACHES?

Ziggyb

(For the uninitiated, Ziggyb is describing the final moments of the fourth period in the recent Blazers-Golden State Warriors game chronicled here.)

I'm sure if Coach Stotts had it to do over again, knowing what we now know, he would have called timeout. But let's flash back to the real-time decision-making process.

Stotts has drawn up the inbounds play. He has a single timeout remaining in a close game. His team is up by 1 with 26-ish seconds remaining. The standard pattern here is simple: ball goes in, player gets fouled, player makes free throws, other team gets possession with a chance to tie or go ahead (depending on the outcome of the free throws). Stotts' responsibility is to get his best free throw shooters in the game so when the opponent does foul, his team has the maximum chance of making both foul shots. He did that. Under normal circumstances he also wants to preserve a timeout in case the opponent ties the game on the ensuing possession, leaving his side a chance to win it in regulation. That was the plan going in.

To outward appearances the play did not unfold all that abnormally. Wesley Matthews, a career 83% foul shooter, received the inbounds pass. Yes, he was trapped on the sideline but keep in mind that the Blazers did not need a shot to go ahead at this juncture. They already had the lead with the final horn just around the corner. The pressure was on Golden State to foul and get the ball back, not on the Blazers to score. Had Matthews simply held the ball and thrown it high in the air as the shot clock hit zero, the Warriors would not have had time for another attempt. That would have been an acceptable outcome. Had Matthews been fouled by the two defenders he could have scored at the line. That was the expected outcome.

In this situation you wouldn't want to call timeout.  What happens if you call it just before the refs were going to call the foul that you were anticipating...the foul that comes on the vast majority of these plays? What if you call timeout and the ensuing inbounds play goes to a poorer free-throw shooter than Matthews, or worse, gets stolen on the inbounds?

The only point at which you know you want a timeout is when you know the ball is going to get stolen. But how is Coach Stotts supposed to know that? He's standing 100 feet away on the opposite side of the court, screened from the play by the same trap that's hassling Matthews. He has no direct line of sight. There's no way he can tell whether Matthews is in danger or whether he's just covering up the ball and waiting to take the foul as a player normally would.

In pinning the timeout on the coach you're asking him to perceive something he can't see, interpret that this situation is outside of the norm, forecast that the officials will not call a foul, make a judgment call that burning the last timeout is worth it, and get the attention of the refs who are all across the court from him, all before the ball comes loose. That's a lot to demand.

If you're going to ask for a timeout from anyone (and I'm not sure you should, because stuff happens) you'd probably look to Matthews himself. He felt pressure. After stalling he spun in an attempt to get free because he was uncomfortable, fearful of losing the ball. If he had called timeout instead of trying to spin away, or if one of his nearby teammates had sensed the situation and bailed him out by calling time, we might not be having this conversation.

A coach can prepare players and manage the game, but there are limits. In critical moments, the players are responsible for reading situations correctly and making the right decisions. Veteran squads know this. Whatever plays were drawn up, the Blazers got flustered and didn't execute like veterans in the final moments of that Warriors game. No amount of moment-by-moment coaching was going to change that.

That said, I imagine the Blazers have gone over this in film and practice so they're better prepared next time this situation arises. Coaches can do that. But reading a player's situation (and really, his mind) when you can't see his face, the ball, or a play which appears to be going fairly normally until the second it doesn't...that's beyond the ability of any coach.

Dear Div;

No, that's not a typo.

I know you have some connection to a number of individuals in the Blazers media coverage community. Does one of them happen to be the Comcast SportsNet Blazers promo voiceover guy? Could you kindly explain to him that the pronunciation of 'Blazers' uses a long 'a' sound for the first vowel and not a short 'i'? He has been making this mistake for years. Further, I have heard him say words with a proper long 'a' so I know it is not caused by a speech impediment. Please note that the first draft of this email was written in much angrier tone and with far more words which would not get through the filters of Blazersedge.

Warmly,

Ryan

Okiy, we're telling them. But I've got to siy, this probably pilles in compirison to todiy's griyt problems: the lack of spiss explorition, riys from the sun hitting the ozone, Rudy Giy scoring 40 on Dimian Lillard and the Blizzers' defense. You miy want to give the guy a brik.

Keep those Milbag...uh...Mailbag questions coming to blazersub@gmail.com. We'll get to them as soon as we're ibble.

Dang you, Ryan.

--Dave blazersub@gmail.com / @DaveDeckard / @Blazersedge

Saunders says Cassell hurt himself doing his signature dance and that was a reason why the Wolves lost to the Lakers in the 2004 Western Conference Finals.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Kevin Martin paid tribute to Sam Cassell with a toned-down version of Cassell's infamous Big Balls Dance after knocking down a clutch three against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Martin was fined $15,000 for the "obscene gesture," and Wolves head coach Flip Saunders wasn't too thrilled with the homage.

That's because Saunders claims Cassell injured his hip doing the dance and cost Minnesota a shot at a championship, according to Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune.

Cassell did the dance after knocking down a big shot against the Sacramento Kings in Game 7 of the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals. The Wolves won the series, but ultimately fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the Western Conference Finals.

Cassell was excellent in the first two series of that postseason, but he missed two games and barely played in two others against Los Angeles. Cassell averaged 9.3 points and 2.5 assists while shooting 43.3 percent in the series, and Saunders thinks things may have turned out differently if his point guard was healthy:

"We lost a championship by that," Saunders said. "When [Cassell] did that he had an avulsion fracture in his hip. ... So, from that perspective, I've always been against that type of thing."

Who knows if Cassell actually injured himself doing the dance. Perhaps Saunders is just making a convenient excuse. But if it's true, that makes this origin story even more legendary.