Reviewing the season so far, while understanding we're still very early in the journey.

The Sacramento Kings are off to an improbable 3-1 start.  The Kings schedule doesn't get any easier in the next week or so, but it's been fun to watch the team.  The larger NBA collective doesn't believe the Kings can sustain anything close to this level of success, and they have every reason to doubt.  That said, let's review a few things, with the caveat that it's only been four games.

It's only four games, but...damn this team is fun to watch.

It's only four games, but...Boogie is a monster, and has contributed on both ends of the floor.

It's only four games, but...the team is grinding out wins in a way we haven't seen in Sacramento in a very long time.

It's only four games, but...Darren Collison has been excellent.

It's only four games, but...Pete D'Alessandro might have known what he was doing this offseason.

It's only four games, but...Ramon Sessions has been awful, and should be benched for Ray McCallum.

It's only four games, but...the Kings are the 5th best team in the West.

It's only four games, but...the Kings are a half game back on the Golden State Warriors for the division lead.

It's only four games, but...Boogie is averaging 1.5 blocks per game.

It's only four games, but...the Kings are 9th in opponents points per game.

It's only four games, but...the Kings are 4th in opponent FG%.

It's only four games, but...I'm enjoying the hell out of the start of the season.

The Clippers have had a shaky start to their season, but started to show some life going into their bay area matchup Wednesday night. Also, please send your condolences to the family of Rudy Gobert after DeAndre posterized him last night.

RIP RUDY GOBERT:

Among the different power rankings that came out on monday, many of the expert picks have dropped the Clippers expectantly after their lackluster play. ESPN has the Clippers ranked 8th, Yahoo Sports has the Clippers ranked 7th, CBS Sports has the Clippers ranked 11th (classic Matt Moore), and Sports Illustrated has the Clippers coming in at 7th.

Five takeaways from the Clippers' 98-92 loss to the Sacramento Kings - LA Times
Here are five takeaways from the Clippers’ 98-92 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday at Staples Center

This Set Play From The Clippers Is Beautiful And Unfair
The Clippers lost to the Kings 98-92 yesterday, but they came out ahead on style points after running one of the prettiest plays of the young season late in the fourth quarter.

LA Clippers Can't Afford to Stumble While Western Conference Door Is Open | Bleacher Report
An article by Fred Katz on how the Clippers need to capitalize on their chance to win the west.

Clippers' Glen Davis to play Wednesday - Los Angeles Clippers Blog - ESPN Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Clippers forward Glen Big Baby Davis, who has been out since Oct. 17 with a right groin strain, will return for Wednesday (to destroy Steph Curry).

Ballmer's high-energy ways helping Lob City soar more | NBA.com
Long, interesting piece by David Aldridge on Steve Ballmer and his work and relationship with the Clippers.

Steve Ballmer’s New Game - WSJ - WSJ
The former Microsoft chairman and CEO says these days he’s focused on his basketball team, the Los Angeles Clippers. But he still answers questions about his legacy at Microsoft, and whether he was innovative enough.

Blake Griffin on Halloween: 'My mom never let us go trick-or-treating' - LA Times
When Clippers superstar power forward Blake Griffin was young, he didn't have the typical childhood experience of putting on a costume and going door-to-door getting candy on Halloween .

Blake Griffin got help from J.J. Reddick with clutch free throws in Thursday’s win over Thunder
J.J. Redick wants some kudos for Griffin’s clutch two. "I think it’s a big step for (Griffin)," said Redick, whose team took on the Lakers on Friday at Staples Center. "Him and I were talking earlier in the game. I’m going to take credit for those two free throws. I gave him a pointer. I’m not going to say what it was. ... He came to me and I just gave him one little thing and it went in."

Doc Rivers agrees his players are too demonstrative on the court toward referees
Rivers on Monday was queried as to whether he believes his players are being too demonstrative on the court with the referees. There was no diplomacy in his response. "Probably, yeah," he said ahead of his team’s game against the Utah Jazz at Staples Center. "Well, (Sunday), I think as a team we were, for sure. We’ve got to get to playing. You know, I’ll do all the antics if they need me to do them. "But I just think the players have to play. I just find it very difficult to play and ref. I think that’s really hard to do. I think we’ve gotta pick one or the other."

The Mid-Range, Contested, Pull-Up, Early-In-The-Shot-Clock, Shot Selection Heartbreakers - Nylon Calculus
A very interesting piece that looks for mid-range shots that came after at least one dribble, with a defender four feet or closer and eight seconds or less elapsed on the shot clock from last season.  "Also, can we stop and recognize the ability of Jamal Crawford to turn silliness into something special. He made nearly 60 percent of these shots, twisting the old adage to "garbage in, diamonds out." Maybe those Jamal hero shots are actually really good shots?

The Kings app has new features including Uber and enhancements to the in-game experience.

The Sacramento Kings have launched a new version of the fan app, equipped with an updated user interface and other features, including Uber integration and a "Going to the Game" section.

Adding Uber, which is a popular taxi/private car or ride share service built around mobile phone integration, continues Vivek Ranadive's and the rest of the Kings ownership's goal of creating a "more frictionless experience" for fans attending games, according to Andy Miller, Kings co-owner and head of technology for the team.

"Not only are we able to create a more frictionless experience, but with Uber, we're also increasing the safety for our fans and arena neighbors and supporting a platform that helps make Sacramento a more vibrant and viable place to live, work and play," Miller said.

The Kings also are trying to build a complete "location-aware" and "state-specific" app with tailored content for fans going to the game, at the game and leaving the game. The new app, which was made available for iOS on Oct. 31, includes a "Going to the Game" feature. To use this, Kings fans will see a menu bar appear in the app prior to the game. When they click on it, they will get things such as the weather and have the ability to request an Uber ride to the game.

"Over the course of the season, fans will be able to see traffic, pay for parking and see who among their friends will be in attendance," Miller said.

The "During the Game" section of the app provides fans the ability to see live stats - both team and player stats - and game highlights.

"Soon, fans will be able to order food from their seats and upgrade their seats. Over the course of the season, we will test the multicast replays to specific sections in the arena," Miller said.

The "After the Game" section gives fans access to the game recaps as well as video highlights and stats.

As attention switches to how technology can boost the fan experience at the new downtown arena, which is expected to open in 2016, the Kings continue to test their options at Sleep Train Arena. One example is their goal to add charging stations throughout the concourse by the end of the year. In addition, the new scoreboard screens and stage lighting the team has installed at the current arena will remain for the season.

"This is also about continuing to test what works well and what is the highest value for fans so that we can invest accordingly in the new arena," Miller said.

In addition, 28 more antennas for improved Wi-Fi throughout the bowl have been installed.

One current downside to the new app is that it doesn't have the radio broadcast feature with Gary Gerould built in, but Miller said it will be live in the app in a couple of weeks after the first update happens.

The app will be available on Android later this month.

What a week!  The Kings are 3-1 despite a tough opening schedule and are playing more cohesively than they have for years.  If we keep playing like this I might have to change the name of this series.  Before we take a look at the amazing week that was, remember that there's still time to join us for Sactown Royalty Night on Nov. 15th against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Good:

1. The Kings are 3-1! The Kings are 3-1!

Before we go any further, let's take a moment to appreciate that the Kings have won 75% of their first four games.  The last time that happened was in 2010-11, but in comparison, this start is way better.  Back in 2010, the 3 teams that the Kings beat were the post-LeBron Cavs (finishing with 19 wins), the post-Bosh Raptors (22 wins) and David Kahn's Minnesota Timberwolves (17 wins).  Those were bad teams that the Kings only beat by a combined 7 points.  This year the Kings have beat two playoff teams in the Blazers and Clippers, and then went on the road on the second night of a back to back in Denver, one of the most notoriously difficult places to play, and snuck out another win.  These weren't fluke wins either, as the Kings were able to grit out wins thanks to their defense.  The Kings could arguably be doing even better if they were getting any consistent production from their SGs or bench.

2. The Defense!

Have the Kings actually bought in?  So far through the first four games, the Kings are one of the better defensive teams in the league, currently at 7th in Defensive Rating, allowing just 100.1 points per 100 possessions.  They're also 3rd in opponent FG%, allowing just 40.1% from the field.  Darren Collison and DeMarcus Cousins have been a big presence on this end, but we're seeing guys like Ben McLemore and Jason Thompson step up on this end as well.

3. Darren Collison

See Player of the Week

4. DeMarcus Cousins' Demeanor and Defense

Cousins hasn't exactly set the world on fire with his offense so far this season aside from a big explosion against the Los Angeles Clippers, but he's still been able to be a big factor for this team thanks to his defense.  Playing on Team USA has seemed to change him for the better, and he's acting like a real leader at times.  At one point during Monday's game against the Nuggets, Cousins very visibly told Jason Thompson to stop complaining to the official and to focus, and Thompson listened.  As for Cousins himself, while he's shown frustration with some non-calls, it hasn't been anything egregious and he hasn't even come close to getting a technical called on him.  If this is the Cousins we see all season, we're in for a big season I think.

5. Rumors of the demise of efficient Rudy Gay have been greatly exaggerated

Rudy Gay had a very rough preseason, and his first game against the Warriors was bad as well.  He has more than responded since then though, with his 40 points in game two against the Blazers carrying the way.  Here's a very interesting video detailing just how Rudy got his 40 points (h/t to lay-it-up-like-a-man for the FanShot):

Rudy's been very good in the post, and he was on fire from outside in the Blazers game.  If Rudy can hit a three with any consistency, he'll be even better than last season.

6. Jason Thompson, Role Player

Thompson has had issues in the past with his role on the team, but this year he seems to have finally bought in that he'll never be a primary option on offense, and instead he's settling for defending, rebounding, setting screens and cutting for open shots.  I thought he was particularly good against the Clippers, defending Blake Griffin well and also cutting to the basket for a couple easy dunks.

7. Omri Casspi 2.0

I really like this version of Omri Casspi.  Last time Casspi was here, there was still some thought in his mind that he could be a star, and he tried to do too much.  In the years after his first stint in Sacramento, he's learned his limits and has settled in as a fine veteran player.  Casspi might just be the most naturally unselfish player on the Kings, moving the ball without hesitation.  He's also able to work the glass and attack the basket, and he's very good at pushing the pace.

8. Top Hat is back

The Kings really missed Carl Landry last year, and he's showing why this season.  Landry has been Sacramento's best bench player so far, averaging 7.8 points on 56.5% from the field.  Most of his damage has been coming right around the basket (90% from 0-3 feet), where he excels at using hesitation moves to find an opening to score.

9. Arena Groundbreaking

The Kings finally officially broke ground on their new arena on Opening Night.  Here's the video for those that missed it:

The Bad:

1. The Shooting Guards can't shoot

There was hope that this year, we'd finally get a little bit of something out of our SG position.  It's early yet, so while it's not time to worry, the fact that the Kings have played four games and their two Shooting Guards have combined to shoot just 25% from the field on 36 attempts is not good.  In Stauskas' case, he gets a little more of a pass as he's a rookie trying to adjust to the NBA game, but Ben is still missing plenty of wide open opportunities. I feel like Ben does better with more volume, but the Kings aren't going to trust him to take more shots if he can't hit the few he gets with any regularity.

2. Ramon Sessions has been a hot mess

Here's something nobody expected to see.  Sessions was supposed to be our change of pace Point Guard, a guy who could come in, relieve Collison and handle some of the scoring duties.  He's certainly changed the pace so far when he's come in, notably in the other team's favor.  He's just 2 for 15 from the field in four games (13.3%), and has only 5 total assists to 8 turnovers.  He's also a big drop-off from Collison defensively, so when he's not providing the scoring punch we need, he's a net negative.  Sessions is a veteran, so hopefully this is just a slump that he'll be able to overcome.  Otherwise I'd rather be spending time developing Ray McCallum, who came in and provided a spark against Denver.

3. Derrick Williams is lost

It didn't take long for Derrick Williams to lose his rotation spot.  After a very poor performance against the Warriors, Williams was benched in favor of Omri Casspi.  He's just not able to provide enough on either end right now to justify playing him.  It's a sad state of affairs for the former #2 overall pick.

The Ugly:

1. Opening Night Loss

The Kings opened up the season in depressing fashion, losing to the Warriors while only shooting 30.8% from the field and turning the ball over a whopping 27 times.  The Warriors are a good (some would say very good) defensive team, but the Kings didn't do themselves any favors, making silly mistakes and forcing tough shots into the teeth of the defense.  This was an excruciatingly tough game to watch, especially in the second half when the Warriors broke the game open.

2. The 1st Quarter in Denver

This was the definition of ugly.  The Kings couldn't score, the Nuggets couldn't score.  It was an affront to the sport of basketball.  Fortunately the game picked up after this quarter and we were able to pick up a win.

3. The Clippers' Mustaches

'Nuff said

Player of the Week:

Darren Collison

16.3 PPG, .404 FG%, 5.3 RPG, 6.5 AST, 2.3 STL, 0.5 BLK 2.0 TOV in 35.8 MPG

I can happily say that up to this point I have been completely wrong about the kind of impact that Darren Collison would have.  Collison has easily been the MVP of the Kings in the first week, the only player that has offered consistency on both ends in every game.  He's a steady presence, and I've already lost track of how many times the Kings have pushed on a fastbreak, Collison saw there was nothing available, and he slows it down so that the team can run a set instead of forcing something.  Defensively though is where Collison has won me over.  Many of us (myself included) scoffed at the claims that Collison was going to improve our defense, yet here we are.  In the first four games of the season, Collison went through one of the toughest PG meat grinders you can get: Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Ty Lawson.  Those guys combined for just 36% from the field (18 of 50).

FanPost of the Week:

An analysis of ESPN's Player Rankings, and how the Kings stack up by henryclemente

Images/GIFs of the Week:

Malone Can't Believe It!!!!

byBradley GeiseronNov 3, 2014 | 9:06 PMreply unrec (43)actions

Time for play Donkey basketball.

by Klam on Nov 2, 2014 | 3:53 PMupreply unrec (47)actions

Comment of the Week:

Also just to Note

Kings are 2-0 all time vs Steve Ballmer

by sacman on Nov 2, 2014 | 3:27 PMreply rec (17) flagactions

Highlight of the Week:

Caption Contest:

Link to Last Week's Picture

Last Week's Winner (and Loser): HeuristicLineup

DO YOU GUYS REMEMBER THAT TIME THAT ROBERT FREAKING HORRY HIT THAT SHOT YOU PASSED TO HIM VLADE?!?!?!?!?!

Last Week's Runner-Up: section214

"Hey, did you guys see the picture that Aykis chose for his kick-off GB&U?"

This Week's Picture:

A reminder of the rules for the Caption Contest. Leave your caption in the comments below, and the most rec'd (to recommend a comment, hit action, then rec) caption wins.

Nostradumbass Prediction for Next Week:

11/5 vs. Nuggets W  (The Kings didn't play their A game and only played DeMarcus Cousins 26 minutes in a victory over the Nuggets in Denver.  With a win streak, confidence and a little more rest, I think the Kings will come out strong and keep on winning)

11/7 @ Suns L (This is where the streak comes to an end.  I think Dragic will be the first Point Guard to give Collison problems with his size, and Bledsoe will be too quick for McLemore.  The Kings have an interior advantage but I still think the Suns win)

11/9 @ Thunder W (This is one of those games that we should win considering all the Thunder injuries and yet I wouldn't be surprised if we lost.  I think this game will tell us a lot about what this Kings team is made of if they can take care of business)

Nostradumbass Record for the Year: 1-3 and couldn't be happier

Random Observations from around the league:

• Klay Thompson has certainly got off to a good start this season, leading the league in scoring with 29.7 points per game after getting a big maximum contract extension.  I honestly don't know what took the Warriors so long to give him a max contract, as the moment they decided that Kevin Love wasn't worth giving up Klay was essentially valuing him as a max player.
• Fun with stats during the early season: Nik Vucevic leads the league in rebounding at 15.7, Brandan Wright and Jeff Teague are 2nd and 3rd in PER at 33.4 and 32.2 respectively and Kobe Bryant leads the league in Usage with an obscene 37.3%.  That last one might hold up for the rest of the season though.
• Remember when Perry Jones III was considered a high lottery pick?  By the time he actually was drafted, he ended up falling to Oklahoma City all the way at 28th.  He hasn't been able to play much in his first two seasons, but this year he's had to step into a starting role due to Kevin Durant's injury and he's filled in admirably.  So far through the first four games he's averaging 18.5 points on 46.4% from the field and 38.1% from three, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists a game.  When Durant comes back, the Thunder will have a new young and talented rotation player.
• Think we're the only team with a rookie struggling to shoot?  Right now there are only 11 rookies averaging over 44.1% from the field, and four of those guys have only attempted 3 total shots or less.  It takes a while for these guys to adjust to the NBA game, and that's why I'm not too worried about Nik Stauskas' shooting struggles so far.

The Sacramento Kings have assigned the first player to the NBA D-League this season in Eric Moreland.

According to NBA.com, the Sacramento Kings have assigned the first player to the D-League for the 2014-15 season in rookie forward Eric Moreland.

Kings have assigned Eric Moreland to the D-League affiliate Reno Bighorns. #NBAKings. Opportunity for him to get some run up there

— Sean Cunningham (@News10Sean) November 4, 2014

For background, Moreland played four years of college ball at Oregon State and was undrafted in 2014. The 6'10" forward averaged 7.2 points and 8.6 rebounds at Oregon State, shooting 54 percent from the field. The Kings have more than enough wings right now with Rudy Gay and Derrick Williams, so it makes sense that Moreland is heading down to Reno. However, Reno is stacked with players for training camp after the recent D-League Draft.

The Bighorns spent their first-round pick in the NBA D-League Draft on 6'10" forward Joonas Caven from Finland with the 10th pick. Caven is draft eligible in 2015. Besides Joonas Caven, Reno also picked up forward Keith Chamberlain (played at Grinnell with Bighorns head coach David Arseneault), Marcus Johnson, David Wear, Kysiean Reed, Alfred Aboya and Brandon Oliver who averaged 17.6 ppg last season with Mississippi State. As you can see, there's competition in Reno for a spot in the front court, so Moreland will have to continue to grind to get back to the Kings.

The Bighorns are bringing 18 players into camp with Moreland being assigned.

The Kings are riding higher than they have been in a long, long time.  Winners of three straight to start the season, against tough opposition no less, has them carrying their heads high and ready for any challenge.  While the Kings did beat the Nuggets in Denver on Monday, they'll have to face them again tonight in Sacramento.  The Nuggets will be looking for revenge and trying to avoid dropping their third in a row so the Kings will have to remain vigilant and play well to keep their winning streak going. Tonight's action tips off at 7:00 pm tonight on Comcast SportsNet California and on KHTK 1140.

3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. The Kings weren't ezactly at their best against the Nuggets on Monday even though they did win.  They got off to a very rough start offensively and even though they picked it up later, they still finished at just 42% from the field.  Fatigue was probably an issue as the Kings had played the night before but with a day off in between these games they should be rested enough now.  Malone did a good job of managing his team's minutes in that game, with Darren Collison leading the way with just 29 minutes.  DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay only played 25 and 23 minutes respectively.  We'll see a lot more of the starters tonight.

2. The biggest thing the Kings did right on Monday was getting to the line, with a whopping 47 attempts.  DeMarcus Cousins was a big part of that, getting the Nuggets big men into quick and constant foul trouble.  The Kings are currently first in the league in Free Throw Attempts and it's been the bread and butter of their otherwise bad offense.  Sacramento needs to continue living at the line.

3. Sacramento's bench really stepped up on Monday, but the Shooting Guards continued to have issues.  Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas are shooting just 25% combined on the season.  Nik barely even got to play on Monday considering he picked up 3 fouls (2 of which probably shouldn't have been called) in just 1:33 of playing time.  Malone mentioned on Grant Napear's show yesterday afternoon that he wanted to find a way to get Ben and Nik more involved in the offense, so we'll see if that changes tonight.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Rudy Gay vs. Wilson Chandler

Wilson Chandler got the start for the Nuggets on Monday as Danilo Gallinari is still adjusting to NBA action after missing all of last year with a knee injury.  While Chandler didn't start off well offensively, he did a good job of forcing Rudy Gay into tough shots.  He finally found his offense in the fourth quarter and became one of Denver's few reliable weapons.  The Nuggets will likely start Chandler again and try to see if they can take advantage of the fact that he was able to get what he wanted towards the end of the game.  Sacramento will also have to do a better job of getting the ball to Rudy in his spots.

PREGAME LIMERICK

There once was a man named Kevin,
he's been a Kings fan since he was 7.
he's going nuts,
'cause Kings are kicking butts,
and hoping this win streak goes to 11.

PREDICTION

Kings 99, Nuggets 81 after Kenneth Faried defects to Sacramento at half time to join his Team USA teammates.

Revenge is on the Nuggets mind, as they try to return a favor to the Kings in Sacramento

Game 4: 2014-15 NBA Season
	@
1-2 (0-1 on road)	Series 0-1	3-1 (1-1 at home)
Nov. 4, 2014
Sleep Train Arena - Sacramento, CA
8:00 PM MT
Altitude / 950 AM
Ty Lawson	PG	Darren Collison
Arron Afflalo	SG	Ben McLemore
Wilson Chandler	SF	Rudy Gay
Kenneth Faried	PF	Jason Thompson
Timofey Mozgov	C	DeMarcus Cousins
Notes
Um... You are already here...	Blogs	Sactown Royalty
None (J.J. Hickson is serving game 4 of his 5 game suspension)	Injuries	None
Denver's lowest scoring game of the season (Game 1, 89 points) is also their only win thus far.	Etc...	If the Kings win this game, they are off to their best start in 13 years.

The Denver Nuggets are off to California's capitol with revenge on their minds, after a lackluster game in Denver on Monday night. Sacramento took 47 of the 63 foul shots called in the game, and made 40 of those to put Denver in a deep hole. Combined with the Kings vastly improved defense and a number of shots failing to fall for the good guys, and it's a bit of a miracle the Nugs only lost by five points (110-105).

The season has had a bit of a rocky start, with confounding losses to the Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder, and a sub-90 point victory against the Detroit Pistons. With players looking to find their rhythm and shots on the offensive end, and a few holes still to work through on the defensive end, Denver is not coming out of the gates as they'd hoped. This fact has Nuggets fans on edge early on, but rocky starts have also borne some pretty fun seasons along the way (our recent 57-win campaign amongst them). Though the first 144 minutes have left a lot to be desired, here's hoping that we might watch a few more games before deciding to strip the cupboards bare.

On Offense...

Denver comes into the contest trying to break out of a season-starting-slump, shooting 35, 44, and 39% from the floor in the three games, respectively. Even the high-percentage stuff has failed to fall early, and Stiff Stud Jeff Morton reported that shooting occupied a large part of the Nuggets recent practice, in hopes of breaking out sometime soon. One of the first 12 quarters the Nuggets have played have been worth celebrating, and that might be generous.

On Defense...

On the defensive end, there are glimmers of hope to be seen, with several more defensive-minded players on this season's squad. Alonzo Gee, Wilson Chandler, Darrell Arthur, and many more have shown early signs of what could become one of Denver's best defensive squads in years.

Surprsingly, Sacramento has started the season as one of the NBA's top five defenses, so the Nuggets need look no further than across the court for some unexpected inspiration.

From the Top...

Early on, Brian Shaw has called himself on the carpet a couple times, with a few head-scratchers along the way: letting an eight man crew from OKC dictate the pace, and not running straight at their only point guard when he had five fouls in the game? Tough stuff. Shaw admitted as much, recognizing Denver was ill-prepared for the Thunder's zone defense. He also lumped himself into the picture when discussing the offense and fouls from Monday night's loss to the Kings.

Though there were questionable moments, it was heartening to hear Shaw address his own growth opportunities along with those of the team. I'm admittedly a Nuggets optimist, but there's a lot of talent on this team, and the ability to identify issues and improve on them will be a vital cog in turning these close losses into close wins, hopefully carrying over to even bigger things.

What's your expectations for tonight, Stiffs? Can the Nuggets exact a little revenge and even up their record in one fell swoop? Will the scoring finally get on track? Can Brian Shaw find a few hot combinations and push the right buttons with this squad?

The road from here doesn't get much easier, so how our boys come out of the gates tonight could be an early indicator of how this team will respond to adversity this year. On our boards, I've seen a few early rumblings that could get seismic quickly if we don't put a few pieces together. Give me your barbaric yawp, Nuggets Nation.

Small sample sizes and all that, but the numbers and the eye test tell us Ben is playing much better defense.

Ben McLemore struggled in his rookie season, in nearly every aspect.  Towards the end of the season McLemore put together some better scoring performances, and we hoped to see him continue that trend in his sophomore year.  Most expected that he would continue to shoot better as he had more NBA experience.  He's struggled to start the year, but it's still early.  But a bigger question coming in to this year was his defense.  And in this area McLemore has surpassed all expectations.

McLemore had the tools to be a good defender.  He's incredibly athletic, and has good footspeed.  He just seems to lack the awareness, never knowing where to be or when.  Not sticking with guys.  Getting lost in rotations.  We expected shooting to improve because McLemore has a nice shooting motion.  We wondered if a 21-year old could ever be taught basic defensive principles if he hadn't learned them already.

This season, McLemore has been a great surprise on the defensive end.  He's using his athleticism, and putting in the effort to make his man work.  It's there in the eye test, his defense is noticeable during games.  And although we know we're dealing with small sample sizes, the numbers are backing up what the eye test says.

Last season, Ben McLemore had a defensive rating of 107.6.  Defensive rating was developed by Dean Oliver, who now serves as the Kings' Director of Player Development.  It indicates the number of points a player gives up per 100 possessions.  107.6 is, to put it bluntly, awful.  It matches up with the poor defense we saw last year.

This season, McLemore's defensive rating is 94.0.  That is insanely good.  Now, that number is going to go up over the course of this season.  I can confidently predict this because last season's NBA leader in defensive efficiency was Joakim Noah, at 95.8.  So, sustainable?  No.  But impressive?  You better believe it.

It's frustrating watching Ben struggle with his shooting.  He needs to get some confidence and begin knocking down shots.  He needs to draw some fouls and get to the line.  But we can be really, really excited by his progress on the defensive side of the floor.

*****

Stats via nba.com/stats and basketball-reference.com

Team chemistry seems pretty good.

Denver goes 0-for-2 with Sacramento, on a rough night all around

I liked Kevin's Nesgoda's format so much after the Oklahoma City Thunder game, I'm stealing it! (Thanks, Kevin!). Here's the bad and good of Denver Nuggets vs. Sacramento Kings, Part Deux, Electric Boogie-Loo.

First Quarter

Nothing was new for Denver in the first quarter, save a lack of focus on defense. Shots as simple as layups didn't fall, and the team looked dispirited quickly. Even when they played decent D, the Kings shots were falling. Very little went right in Q1.

Second Quarter

The Nuggets closed the gap a bit early in Q2, with the bench getting a little scoring going. Nate Robinson poured in a few nice shots along the way, and Wilson Chandler was a bright spot, offensively, through the half. After going small, Denver kept the pressure on, and at one point, had closed the gap to eight points, before wrapping up the first half down by 14.

Third Quarter

The starters came out of the gates poorly again, and Sacramento's lead was back to 18 before anyone came off the bench. Fouls were called abundantly against the Nuggets and things started getting chippy quickly. Even with the bench in the game, this one slowly got out of hand. DeMarcus Cousins got in foul trouble about halfway through Q3, and still Denver had difficulty making any inroads. Nuggets fouls got out of hand, with one of their few decent scorers, Darrell Arthur, fouling out with two minutes left in the period. By the end of the quarter, Denver had 72 points to go with their 30 fouls. Ugh.

Fourth Quarter

Well... What else to say? It didn't get a whole lot better.  We closed the gap a bit, but mostly in garbage time. Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson were in to close it out, you wonder if just to give them a chance to get unstuck. Good guys lose by 22.

Frustrating night yet again for the Nuggets, more to come in a bit with broader recap. For now, this is where we let it out, Nuggets Nation!

A first quarter blitz featuring a lot of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay buried the Nuggets who never seriously challenged afterward.

The Kings' offense thus far has left much to be desired. Ranking near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories, the Kings finally blew down the doors in an avalanche of a first quarter, exploding to a 40-19 lead. They would ride that wave virtually unchallenged, and the final scoreboard was lit up to a final score of 131-109.

DeMarcus Cousins was the engine for the team and had one of the finest nights of his career. At halftime, his statline read 26 points and nine rebounds in only 15 minutes of play. And although he fouled out in the fourth quarter, the team never needed him afterwards. He ended the game with 30 points and 11 rebounds on 10/14 shooting from the field in only 22 minutes of action. Cousins was patient, decisive, and imposed his will on the entire Nuggets frontline.

Cousins was joined by his Team USA wingman Rudy Gay, who added 9 points in the first quarter. Gay wasn't as explosive as Cousins was, but made consistent contributions throughout the game. He ended his night with 29 points on 9/12 shooting in 35 minutes of work. Gay forced very little this game and is settling beautifully into the role that Mike Malone has envisioned for him in this offense.

The Kings got solid contributions across the board. The most welcome came from Ben McLemore, who finally broke out of his early season slump to score 10 points on 3/7 shooting, including 2/5 from three point range. His defense continues to be stellar; his Nugget counterpart, Arron Afflalo, only scored 2 points on 1/4 shooting. Carl Landry came off the bench to score 18 points on only 6 shots from the field. Landry attacked a Nuggets interior which has had issues defending without fouling early this season.

All-in-all, the Kings had 6 players score in double digits. The team finally broke out of its three point slump, hitting 8/19 from three. Even Reggie Evans got to show off his offensive skill, hitting an elbow jumper and swooping in for a finger roll in feats likely not to be repeated this season. The Kings lived at the line, hitting 39 of their 50 attempts. The ball movement was on point all night, with 21 total assists to only 13 turnovers. Just a fun night all around.

The Kings are now 4-1 on the season and next take a trip to the desert for a showdown with the red-hot Phoenix Suns. For the opponent's perspective, visit Denver Stiffs.

Random Observations

• This game got a little chippy at times. Cousins is a load down low and deals a lot of physical punishment to opposing frontcourts. Today, we saw both Timofey Mozgov and Jusuf Nurkic flail out at times. Thankfully, the game was far enough out of reach that it never really boiled over. Best part: no technical on Cousins! (knock on wood)
• Ben McLemore even mixed it up a bit. With Ben's flagrant foul on Griffin a few nights ago and his little elbow shiver tonight, he's showing more attitude in two games than he showed all season long last year.
• Ray McCallum got some run again in the second half and once again showed he belonged. He scored 8 points on 3/4 shooting and was brought in to slow down Nate Robinson, who was running a little wild on the Kings. If Ramon Sessions doesn't shape up soon, he could possibly lose his spot to the talented youngster.
• Omri Casspi continues to bring some serious punch off the bench. His aggressiveness is infectious, and he shows a surprising deft level of skill. His ability to move the ball helped grease the offense, especially for a bench unit which has been rather stagnant offensively.
• Mike Malone continues to impress as coach, but it wasn't a perfect outing. I'm personally not a fan of seeing Landry at center anytime during the game because it leaves the team without any rim protection. But otherwise, his substitutions were solid. One particularly underrated move, noted above, was inserting McCallum next to Darren Collison when the Nuggets ran Nate Robinson next to Ty Lawson, for more quickness and defense in the backcourt.
• FOUR-ONE.

Some troubling patterns remain for your Denver Nuggets

Well... hell.

The Denver Nuggets come out flat tonight against the Sacramento Kings, and save a few bright spots with bench players in the second and fourth quarters, it was tough sledding throughout. What happened? I'm so glad you asked.

Offense

The Nuggets offense has proven to be offensive thus far, though tonight was (shockingly) their best shooting performance of the season (45% on the night). Wilson Chandler had a solid first half (and 13 points tonight in total), and Nate Robinson got us back in the game on a hot streak, at one point getting Denver within eight points. Aside from Ill Will (who wasn't a starter two games ago), the starters struggled. Ty Lawson also contributed 13 from the floor, most of them in the second half after things had gotten out of hand. Timofey Mozgov had seven points, and was manhandled all night by DeMarcus Cousins. It got worse from there, as Arron Afflalo finished with two points (on one of four shooting), and Kenneth Faried was dangerously close to two points of his own, sinking both of his free throws. Faried had his only basket of the game with 30 seconds to go, that only due to coming in for Jusuf Nurkic when he fouled out. Shots were not falling, and you wonder when (hopefully not if) the Nuggets scoring will trend back to their career norms.

Defense

Denver's defense wasn't embarrassingly bad through most of the game, and still shows occasional signs of cohesion. Even so, the Kings came out on fire, shooting 66% from the floor in the first quarter, sinking contested shot after contested shot. Though they didn't stay that hot through the game, the Kings dominated both ends of the floor whenever it counted. Though I missed it via League Pass, several Stiffs commented on Coach Melvin Hunt's interview in which he labelled us more a defensive squad than a running squad. Here's hoping we might be both. When we were hustling on D, we often were still slightly behind the play, which caused more fouls... and so...

From the Stripe

Simple math here. The Nuggets let Sacramento tie this NBA season's early mark for most free throws attempted, matching Houston's 50 from a few nights back. The Kings took further advantage, making 39 of those. That's 79 points the Nuggets have given up to the Kings from the free throw line in the past two games. Going to be tough to win many with that sort of outcome. Possibly before addressing woes on either end of the floor, the Nuggets simply must learn to play the defense they're attempting to without the abundant fouls.

So... some disheartening patterns here, especially amongst the starters. Though it sounds a broken record, it's too early to tell if this is just a rough start, or simply the beginning of a long, tough season. Though I'm still leaning towards the former, every outing that looks like this will only add gasoline to a growing fire.

Step it out for me, Stiffs. What's the first thing we need to fix?

DeMarcus Cousins set a goal to have 5 technical fouls or fewer this season. So far, he's on track.

DeMarcus Cousins set a goal before the season to earn five or fewer technical fouls this season.  At that time, it seemed like a pretty unrealistic goal.  After all, Cousins was one of the league leaders in technicals last season.  So, five games in, let's take a look at how Cousins measures up.

Players with more technical fouls than DeMarcus Cousins:

We're just five games into the season, but there's reason for optimism with the Kings' center.  Cousins has been hammered by opponents, especially in Wednesday's win over the Denver Nuggets.  Yet Cousins has maintained his cool.  He's had calm discussions with refs.  He's kept his head in the game even when calls didn't go his way.

The season is young, but Boogie has zero technical fouls after five games.  That's four games longer than many folks expected.  We'll be keeping an eye on Boogie's progress, but he's showing a maturity unlike anything we've ever seen from him.

Michael Malone and his players share their thoughts on the positives and negatives of Wednesday's game and their plan going into Friday's game against the Phoenix Suns.

The Sacramento Kings defeated the Denver Nuggets 131-109 on Wednesday, improving to a 4-1 record on the season. Following the game, head coach Michael Malone and his players shared their thoughts with the media on what went right. They also stressed the need to keep their foot on the pedal with a full 48 minutes of defense as they hit the road for their Friday matchup with the Phoenix Suns.

What Went Right

Michael Malone: "What I am really happy about is 21 assists and only 13 turnovers. 13 turnovers is our target number. If we can stay at that number or below, we're going to be amongst the league leaders in fewest turnovers per game. But to see Carl Landry getting his rhythm back and give us the presence he's giving us in the post off the bench; Ray McCallum comes in and plays very aggressively with confidence; it's good to see Ben McLemore make a few shots tonight; and then obviously when you have a team that gets to the foul line 50 times, we're playing in attack mode, very aggressive and I think DeMarcus [Cousins] and Rudy [Gay] are playing at a very high level right now."

DeMarcus Cousins (Asked about the team's growth and the improvements on offense): "Defense - guys buying in. Embracing the fact that we're a defensive team. Accepting that the main goal every night is to win the game regardless of who has the hot night...I think the defensive part is helping the offense. Us playing defense the way we are, communicating, playing together, being on one string I think is helping on the offensive end as well. Because playing defense that way, I believe, helps build chemistry with trusting one another and it's going over to the other side of the floor."

Ben McLemore: "Team effort man, that's what we've been doing is playing as a team and moving the ball…defensively, we've been great. We want to keep that and stay locked in and keep the same focus and same game plan each and every night."

Jason Thompson: "Moving the ball. Our defense was really good. We rebounded the ball good as well too so been aggressive on both sides of the floor, cutting the turnovers down and assists are high."

What Went Wrong

Malone: "Tonight was a Jekyll and Hyde night. The first and third quarter our defense was phenomenal. Second quarter 35 points allowed, fourth quarter 37 points allowed. So I'm happy we won. I'm happy with all the good things we did, but I don't want us creating poor habits and to allow a team to score 37 points in the fourth quarter the way they did, really as I told our team, that's unacceptable...we have to defend for 48 minutes."

Darren Collison: "I think we've got to do a better job of pushing the lead up. There was a couple of times where we were up by 10 and then the lead came under 10. It's one of those things where it's hard when you are up by 20, it's hard to play with that same effort. You want to continue to play with that same effort. So we've just got to lock in mentally. I think we gave up too many points in the second and fourth quarter so we've got to do a better job of doing that."

Cousins: "Can't have breakdowns regardless of if we're up 30 or we're up two. Can't have those types of defensive breakdowns and we can't relax the way we did tonight. That game could have easily changed."

Thompson: "If we get a lead, the NBA is a game of runs, but just to keep it going, not look at the scoreboard and know what it took for us to get that lead and just keep it consistent regardless of who is on the floor."

What's Next: Phoenix Suns

Malone: "Phoenix is a team that is going to try to run you out of the gym, they're going to play three point guards at times, so we have to make sure we're getting back. We gave up 23 fast-break points tonight, which is not good. And then we have to contain the ball - another area that we really struggled in tonight - because [Goran] Dragic, [Eric] Bledsoe, Isaiah [Thomas] are all going to be in attack mode and looking to get into our paint to create shots for their teammates."

Collison: "Three really good guards, but we're not worried. The biggest thing is we've got to play our game, we've got to do what we do and what got us here. They're going to play their game, we've got to play our game and we're going to see whose game fits better. I think right now, we have a good thing going and there's no point in adjusting to anybody else. I think we've just got to play our style of basketball."

Cousins (was asked about how he approached the matchup with Miles Plumlee): "Phoenix is a good team. Not really concerned about matchups. Really concerned about the way we go in and play. Not really concerned about the individuals on the team, I'm worried about my team and how we go in there and perform."

McLemore: "We've got to stick together and keep this momentum going where we're playing as a team, moving the ball. With them being a fast-break team we've got to get back. That's one of the things the coaches are going to stress a lot is getting back and that's with any team. But with that team, they want to get up and down, it's getting back."

Thompson: "It's a run-and-gun team, you've got to protect the ball, can't turn it over. They want to outscore you. We can score the ball, but also we can't let them score and be in their comfort zone. So we keep defending like we have been and rebounding and we should come out with a W."

Last night's game, Gordon Hayward's apology, Stats, Video Games, and LeBron's history in Utah

Wow, where do we start? I guess with last night and the Utah Jazz's 102-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Jazz were up by 16 points, but held on through the eventual LeBron James (31 pts) / Kyrie Irving (34 pts) / Refs (CLE 40 FTA) onslaught. For reals, I didn't think the Jazz were going to win this game. I didn't think it when the schedule was released, I didn't think it when the season started, and I didn't think it was even a possibility yesterday morning. I felt like a motivated LeBron James and a thoroughly shamed Cleveland team would find some pride and heart and show up.

They didn't.

And I'm so happy that our young Jazz team flipped the NBA script and won a huge game. More attention is given to the Sacramento Kings right now (and I know why -- because NBA wants to get into that huge Indian middle class market), but I really think that on any given night our Jazz guys are better than them.

Anyway, for more on last night's game check the recap here, the highlights here, the prophesy here, and the Vines here, here, and here.

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We all know that a few months (week? who is counting? The Shums is counting. That's who!) ago G-Time posted that challenge on his blog about being better than LeBron James (at a video game). Last night he write a written apology to the Cleveland Cavaliers:

"Dear Mr. LeBron James: I know everyone tried their best out on the basketball court this evening. Unfortunately, there could be only one winner. Due to my actions before the final horn sounded, it was my team that won," wrote Hayward in immaculate cursive script. "I immediately felt terrible because I knew it would upset some people - and that was before seeing the looks on the faces of you and your teammates and your hard-working coaches and staff. I so appreciate you coming out to Salt Lake City to play basketball against me and my teammates. I truly hope your trip wasn't completely ruined. With utmost respect and friendship, Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz."

- Gordon Hayward, through the mind of DJ Gallo, Sports Pickle, 2014 [A sports satire site]

It's hilarious, check out the whole thing over here.

In other news....

gg wp L4b0n. gg.

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So the Utah Jazz have two wins, against the Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers. They need 23 more wins this season to tie last year (I think they'll make it). Here's a quick snapshot of what our players do during wins!

Exciting, right? Our best players in terms of on court (or Fantasy basketball) production are Derrick, Gordon, Alec . . . and Trevor. That's in wins, only, mind you. If you further break that down into "averages per win" you get this:

So what does this say? Well, in wins the team is led by two guys averaging over 20 PPG, with three more with over 10 points. Everyone usually helps with the assists, and rebounds (where there are five guys averaging at least 5 RPG). It really is a team effort, but with the most senior players showing their star potential can be a star reality.

Of course, this is just with the sample size of 2 wins. Both at home. Both against teams that played the night before. Over the course of the season we may see this trend continue, but not the winning.

And I think we're fine with that. This team has lost a lot of games. They've made smart moves to get players through the draft who have star potential. Now it's time for them to play like stars, and get that recognition -- so that the next step in the plan can take place. Have our stars lead us to wins, and thus, the playoffs.

This Jazz team is on track. And I love it.

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Do you play video games? You all know that I do. I play NBA 2K15 (sorry, on the PS4, not Xbox), and usually in the MyTeam mode. My goal is to construct the best possible Utah Jazz team in that game, and things got a little crazier a few days ago.

I don't know if you can read that, but they put it out there that they were going to be releasing throwback players to add to your MyTeams. Two of them were Andrei Kirilenko ('05-06) and Deron Williams ('09-10). I had been lamenting to myself (because no one will talk to me about this) about how the Andrei and Deron in the game were diminished players compared to their peaks. I really felt bad about AK who was such a shell of himself compared to how dynamic he used to be. And boom! Now they released these two players and I had to go for them! Because I missed out on the actual, normative process of getting them I had to get them in the auction -- which costs me a lot of real world dollars.

But I have them now, and my team is so much better with Andrei blocking everyone, and Deron being able to pound it against every point guard in the league and make crazy, flashy passes for assists. (For those who want the individual stats, or how much better the throwback versions are compared to the '13-14 versions, ask away)

I think NBA 2k15 is a really fun game, and the people who maintain it seem to want it to be the most up-to-date game there is. After all, this just happened:

@slcdunk so G did LeBron dirty last night for this to happen today. #CLEatUTApic.twitter.com/tCmxusUCGl

— brandon cooper (@bcoopsta) November 6, 2014

Ha ha ha, poor LeBron can't get a break.

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LeBron James is now, for his career, 13-9 against the Utah Jazz, and 5-7 in Utah.

When Reggie Evans starts knocking down elbow jumpers you know you've got something going. And the Kings definitely had something going last night as they blew out the Denver Nuggets, 131-109.

We didn't know what to do with our hands... and neither did Omri Casspi. So he pretended to be Shooter McGavin.

Dear Omri... never stop doing this. Ever.

(Thanks for the Vine, Mr. Ziller)

Isaiah Thomas wants to "kill Sacramento." But is he the best option in a crowded Phoenix backcourt?

Sacramento's up next for your Phoenix Suns. It's the first game against the Kings for Isaiah Thomas since his trade to Phoenix, and in August he gave us this gem when asked about his former employer:

"I tell everybody I love Sacramento," he said recently. "I always will love Sacramento, but when we play them I'm going to kill Sacramento."

"Kill Sacramento" should absolutely be the name of a band. Or at least your fantasy basketball team.

If nothing else, it's the goal for Friday. Following a back to back with the Lakers and Grizzlies, the Suns get a day of rest before welcoming the Kings to Phoenix. So who of the backcourt triple threat fares best after a day off?

The shooting percentage numbers for Goran Dragic are nearly identical with a day off compared to playing games in consecutive days. Whether it's the second game of a back to back or a day in between contests, The Dragon connects on about 46% of his shots. Behind the arc his numbers are 36% with no rest, 37% with a day off. But what of the opponent?

The numbers from Dragic may surprise you. He shoots particularly poorly behind the arc against Sacramento. His 27% three point shooting percentage for his career is his third worst among all NBA teams, ahead of just San Antonio and Toronto. It's not a small sample size either. He's appeared in 21 games against Sacramento and hoisted up 55 triples, connecting on just 15. His 42% field goal percentage against the Kings is worse than his performances against 25 other teams.

Field goal percentage numbers for Eric Bledsoe with a little bit of rest don't change too dramatically. With no rest he's shooting about 44% from the field. With a day off, he's good for about 45%. However his three point numbers drop off significantly the more time he spends off the court. With no rest he shoots about 39% behind the arc. A day off and that number drops to 33%. Two days off and the numbers plummet to 23%. Bledsoe's field goal percentage against the Kings is middle of the road. He shoots 44% against Sacramento, his 15th favorite opponent.

That brings us to the new acquisition, Mr. Thomas. Obviously, he's not yet had the opportunity to put up any numbers against his old squad. Let's hope they are of the video game variety. Nevertheless, a little time off does wonders for IT's three point numbers. While his field goal percentage stays at about 44%, a day of rest and his three point percentage spikes from 30% to 37%. Two days off and the number rises even further to 41%.

You know what all those numbers mean? They mean you should bank on Thomas to make good on his threat to "kill Sacramento."

"I want to beat those guys," Thomas said last night. "That's a pretty good team over there. Obviously I want to play well. I want to shot those guys they made a mistake, but at the same time it's about winning. It's about doing what's best."

Of the 4-1 Kings, Thomas wouldn't go into any more praise than he had to. When asked about their hot start, he replied: "What are we, five games in? That's all I can say. It's five games."

If I know you like I think I do, you spend most of your extra income on Suns Swag. And I can't really blame you for that. But if you don't live in Arizona and you've got a couple extra bucks left over, check out the one day fantasy basketball leagues they have going on over at Fan Duel. And I mean "a couple" quite literally. It's $2 to play. But wait!

Here are the specific rules. They include this: "In order to deposit money to play paid entry games you must be able to represent and warrant that you are not a resident of any of the following states: Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana or Washington."

If you're like me, your favorite team plays in one of those states. If you live in one of those states you should check out the site anyway, they've got a lot fun, free games that won't cause Johnny Law to show up on your doorstep. And if you reside in the state of Washington, we are doing you a favor anyway. You were probably going to draft Hersey Hawkins and David Wingate.

The Kings are 4-1 but start a tough four game road trip tonight in Phoenix. The Kings know full well the capabilities of the Suns, as former Sacramento King Point Guard, Tony Delk, once scored 52 points on them.

The Kings are 4-1 guys!  Of course, now they just face an even stiffer challenge as they head to Phoenix for the start of a four game road trip that has them playing some of the West's best teams (albeit one, Oklahoma City, has been ravaged by injuries).  The Suns were last year's Cinderella team, just missing out on the playoffs.  Right now, the Kings are well on their way to being this year's surprise team, but it will take more quality wins against teams like the Suns for that to be the case. Tonight's action tips off at 6:00 pm tonight on Comcast SportsNet California and on KHTK 1140.

3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR

1. The Suns are a good team but are coming off a big loss against the Memphis Grizzlies.  Memphis was able to slow down their guard play as well as their bench.  The Suns thrive in the fast break, so valuing the ball will be a key against this teams so as to avoid giving them free points.  Plus, the Kings will have to deal with a player on a vendetta; Still salty at the perceived disrespect the Kings showed by not signing him, Zoran Dragic is sure to play with a chip on his shoulder (if he enters the game).

2. Phoenix likes to play small, which creates matchup problems for teams.  The Kings can create their own matchup problems by playing big, with DeMarcus Cousins potentially being a problem that the Suns can't solve.  The Suns have just two centers on their roster in Miles Plumlee and Alex Len.  If Cousins can get them in foul trouble early, that'll be a big time difference maker, and there's no reason to expect that he shouldn't; Cousins and the Kings are the league leaders in Free Throw attempt rate and it's not even close.  It's been a big part of their early season success, as Cousins, Gay and Collison all have made a living at the line.

3. The Pizza Guy.  That's right.  You thought we'd go the whole article without talking about him, didn't you?  Well why not talk about Ben McLemore.  He got off to a great start on Monday against the Nuggets by being aggressive towards the basket and confident in his shot.  It was his best game of the young season, and arguably his only good offensive one.  He'll have a tough defensive challenge tonight against Phoenix's guards, but I'd still like to see the same aggressiveness on offense.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Jason Thompson vs. Markieff Morris

So far this season, Jason Thompson has proven to be a valuable defender.  However, he's mostly done his defensive damage against more traditional big men who like to attack the paint.  Markieff Morris is not averse to attacking the paint, but he's also very comfortable utilizing his mid-range and long-range jumper.  Thompson will have to play a little bit differently to limit Morris, because if he can't, he probably won't see that much playing time as the Kings opt to play a little smaller, perhaps with Omri Casspi, Rudy Gay or Derrick Williams at the 4.

PREGAME LIMERICK

The Kings are on the road,
decked like Braveheart all in woad.
The Suns are up first,
they're not the worst,
but there's no stopping Boogie in Beast Mode.

PREDICTION

Kings 109, Suns 100 as DeMarcus Cousins decides 30 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes was too slow and opts for 40 and 20 in 15 minutes as a follow up.

The Phoenix Suns need a win in a big way, and Isaiah Thomas wants to beat his former team badly. The Kings come to town, though, with a 4-1 record looking to disappoint the valley in another Orange Friday game.

In the season's second Orange Friday game (7pm AZ time on FoxSports Arizona), the Phoenix Suns (3-2) face the surging Sacramento Kings (4-1) in what promises to be a fast-paced game. The Kings run hard (5th in pace) to get into early offense and draw fouls, while the Suns run hard (7th in pace) to score as quickly as possible or shoot a three ball.

New Suns backup point guard Isaiah Thomas will surely want to show his former team what they are missing.

"I want to beat those guys (the Kings)," Thomas said on Wednesday night. "That's a pretty good team over there. Obviously I want to play well. I want to show those guys they made a mistake, but at the same time it's about winning. It's about doing what's best."

The Kings

Isaiah Thomas' old team is off to a raucous 4-1 start, feeling quite good about themselves and their new "pass-happy" offense. I put the "pass-happy" in quotes because Kings players have said they feel like the ball is moving a lot better than ever. Yes, the Kings are passing more - up to 294 passes per game vs. just 270 last year (last in the league by far). Factoring in their faster pace this season, that's one more pass every fifth possession.

Where the Kings are truly thriving is at the free throw line. In five games, the Kings lead the NBA in free throw attempts (40) and makes (32.6) per game. That's a whopping 57.4% more points per game on free throws than they averaged all last season. New pickup Darren Collison is averaging 6.8 free throw attempts (FTA) per game, Rudy Gay 9.2 and DeMarcus Cousins 9.8. Gay and Collison have so far nearly doubled their career FTA averages, on a per-minute basis. Outside of free throws, the Kings offense has declined dramatically. Their three-point attempt rate is 28th in the league (down 25%). Their overall field goal % has declined as well.

On the plus side, the Kings defense has improved a great deal. The Kings are outrebounding their opponents by 9 per game (47 vs. 38.2) and allowing fewer three-point makes. They are allowing more three-point attempts to the opposition (again, 28th worst in the league) than last year, but the opponents are making only 27% of them so far. Put those together, and the Kings are in the top half of the league on defense this season.

The Suns

Welp, the Suns are still trying to find their groove. The depth of the team has eaten into everyone's playing time and left some of them wondering what their role is. Of course, the simple answer is that you play the role you're given. The more difficult answer is that the role you're given is not always the one you like to hear.

It's the coach's job to define those roles as clearly as possible, and then once they are defined to provide an environment for success. Coach is still experimenting with different groupings of players in pressure situations. It appears that the first month of the season is a science experiment. So far, the only real positive answers are that Markieff Morris is still good and predictable, Isaiah Thomas and Gerald Green are scoring machines off the bench, and Alex Len is a guy who can develop into a real player.

The Suns are 3-2 largely because they played one good game (last Orange Friday, over San Antonio) and then had the Lakers twice. The supersized Grizzlies and Jazz were bad matchups last year and they will be bad matchups again this season.

The Suns don't have much room to talk on passing. Last year, they threw the second-fewest passes in the league (Kings were last), and this year they are slightly worse (268.6 passes per game vs. 270). Still, the Suns assist total is steady, and their drive-and-kick scheme is fine as long as players are making their jump shots. So far this season, that hasn't been the case since opening night.

Last year's Suns-Kings series

Unfortunately for Suns fans, the Kings are a bad matchup too. On November 19 and 20 last year, the Suns lost a home-and-home b-2-b to the Kings when Eric Bledsoe missed both (shin). DeMarcus Cousins roasted the Suns (27 and 12 in game 1, 19 and 12 in game 2) as did Isaiah Thomas (19 and 3 in game 1, 23 and 4 in game 2 off the bench). Goran Dragic had one good game (31 points) and one bad (10). Gerald Green was good in both games, as was Marcus Morris. But Markieff Morris was a complete non-factor in both.

The Suns were much better in the last two matchups with the Kings when Eric Bledsoe was available to form the Slash Brothers. Bledsoe and Dragic combined for 57 points as the Suns cruised to a 116-107 home victory. Isaiah Thomas was a starter by that time, after Vasquez was traded for Rudy Gay. Thomas threw up 29 points and 6 assists in the loss while DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and 16 rebounds. The final matchup was the season-ender, where Archie Goodwin scored 29 glorious points to help the Suns finish on a high note after being eliminated from the playoffs.

The Stats

The (potential) Lineups

The Key Matchup

Obviously, one key matchup here is DeMarcus Cousins and whoever is guarding him. Cousins has been the best big man in the league so far this season and it might not even be close. His scoring is up a bit from last season (24 PPG va. 22.7), his shooting percentage has improved (51% vs. 49%) and he's getting to the free throw line at an incredibly high rate (9.8 attempts per game). The Suns will counter with Miles Plumlee and Alex Len, who will both be physically overwhelmed but just need to limit their fouls enough to make sure DeMarcus doesn't beat the Suns singlehandedly.

The other obvious key matchup is Isaiah Thomas vs. Darren Collison. Collison has come out like a house on fire for the Kings, with career highs all over the board in total stats but shooting poorly (as you might expect of a player given more minutes than ever). Thomas has come to the Suns with that famous chip on his shoulder, leading the team with a 18.7 PPG average with high shooting %. The Suns' clear advantage is that Thomas is only the third best point guard on the Suns. Collison will have to battle with physical starter Eric Bledsoe first, then speedy Thomas second and a bit of crafty Dragic in there as well.

Out on a limb

Goran Dragic is due for a breakout game. You simply cannot go an entire season without making a three pointer after making better than 40% of them the year before.

I predict Dragic will score 20+ points tonight with 2 or 3 three-pointers in there.

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Final Prediction

The Kings are off to a hot start but some of the numbers look like the poster child for "small sample size". Still, they are more physical than the Suns and that's a recipe for winning.

Yet while the Kings, especially DeMarcus Cousins, can be tough they also play into the Suns hands by playing at a fast pace. The Kings are 5th in pace, so the Suns might just be able to shake off some early-season doldrums with a free and easy game plan.

Isaiah Thomas scores about 30 points against his old team, and the Suns cruise to a 115-105 win.

Ben McLemore is still trying to find his shot. But that hasn't stopped him from striving for his goal to become on the best two guard defenders in the league.

There was no other way to describe Ben McLemore last season other than sporadic. One night he would have a quarter or two where his crisp shooting technique would guide the ball delicately into the hoop, and on other nights the ball would send an echo that reverberated deep into the stands as it clanked off the rim. We're five games into the 2014-15 season and we have seen a lot of the same underwhelming shooting from the second-year shooting guard. But McLemore seems to have learned the art of impacting a game with his defense, and he has high aspirations for himself in this category.

"My offense is going to come, but one of my goals is to be a good defender - one of the best two guard defenders in the league," McLemore told Sactown Royalty. "You see me last year, it was like rookie defense. Now, I'm starting to watch film and learn the game and learn how to play defense."

In Wednesday's win over the Denver Nuggets, McLemore stayed in front of his man, stopped the ball and logged a block to go along with seven rebounds. Greg Wissinger recently went into depth about McLemore's defensive progress - his defensive rating is much improved (94.6) and he is holding his opponents at the two guard position to 41 percent from the field overall and 33 percent from three when guarding them (the Kings have really stressed taking away the three). And with him playing next to Darren Collison, who is doing a pretty darn good job on defense as well, the Kings backcourt no longer looks like an open expressway to the basket for opponents.

McLemore's defense on Wednesday also led to his offense clicking, scoring 10 points as he finally saw the ball go through the hoop a few times.

"I know it's going to come, like you saw tonight. But my defensive effort, my offense was rolling. It made it easier for me on the offensive end," McLemore said after the game.

Defense leading to offense is one of the things head coach Michael Malone lives by and so far, it looks like the entire team, including McLemore, has bought in.

McLemore also showed some fire when he got into it a little with Denver's 7'1'' center Timofey Mozgov. On the possession immediately after that, he buried a corner three and threw up "threes" on his hands for the crowd. You like to see that sort of resolve and confidence from a guy who was always pegged as a natural scorer but is still trying to figure it out.

With DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay playing at the level they are currently playing at and the bench producing at a high rate, McLemore's shooting woes have been masked more than they were last season, which has helped accentuate his defense. There are some talented, talented shooting guards in the NBA so McLemore has a long way to go to reach his goal to be one the best defenders at the position, but his progress is certainly noticeable.

The progress of the 4-1 Kings also is noticeable. My conversation with McLemore on Wednesday night ended with him saying, "we're all having fun together."