Hoy he visto que Sergio Rodríguez había metido 24 puntos y me ha alegrado mucho. He pensado que le habrían dado muchos minutos por alguna extraña razón, pero no, ha metido un punto por minuto. Tyreke Evans no tiene recambio (40 minutos), aunque juega más como escolta, y los minutos en la posición de base se los reparten Sergio y el esloveno Udrih, que es un excelente jugador.

¿Qué ha hecho Sergio para meter 24 puntos en tan poco tiempo? Pues, sencillo, tirar prácticamente en todos los ataques, trece tiros de los que ha convertido nueve (dos de ellos triples) y cuatro tiros libres. El español tiene claro que, para triunfar en la NBA, hay que ser protagonista y lanzar tiros cuando uno está en una posición mínimamente buena. Así lo está haciendo Sergio.

El jugador canario tiene muy difícil jugar esta temporada porque está rodeado de excelentes jugadores en su posición. Pero, además de que en los últimos partidos está contando con más minutos, la competencia con jugadores de gran categoría le servirán para mejorar su juego. Sergio está madurando y se nota. Ya no es el jugador nervioso de hace unos años, aunque tampoco ha perdido su explosividad que deslumbró a todos en Japón. Si persevera puede ser un jugador muy importante, si no en Sacramento quizá en otra franquicia. Todo el trabajo que ha realizado hasta ahora, si bien no ha obtenido todavía resultados, no ha sido en balde, y pronto dará sus frutos.

A few games ago the Rockets went into Sacramento and lost to the Kings. They were looking for some redemption and a bounce back win after losing a heartbreaker the night before to Atlanta. It didn’t hurt that Tyreke Evans, who had a 20 in the last meeting, missed the game with an injury but the Kings size would still give the Rockets plenty of problems. Believe it or not, Houston won the opening tip for the 1st time this year. Things continued to go well for the Rockets for most of the 1st period. Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola dominated on the offensive end and Trevor Ariza was going strong enough to the basket to prompt Matt Bullard to say that Ariza is “getting much better at moving with the basketball. You know, taking the ball to the basket and finishing.” I will concede that Ariza is getting better but he still has a long way to go if he wants to be a number 1 option.

The offense looked good throughout the quarter but the back-to-back games seemed to show in the Rockets’ legs on the defensive side. Houston was running and getting easy buckets but they couldn’t pull away because the Kings size and ball movement were taking a lot of energy out of the Rockets.

Scola finished the quarter with 14 points but a 3 by Omri Casspi at the buzzer kept the Kings within 6.

33 – 27 Houston after 1.

The home team started the 2nd with a 6 – 0 run to force Sacramento to call a timeout. After the timeout Houston would continue to build the lead thanks to some strong finishing in the paint by Carl Landry and Chase Studinger and some nice play-making by Kyle Lowry. The Rockets put 50 on the scoreboard with 5:00 still left in the half but from there the Kings were able to close the gap before halftime.

The under-sized Rockets were having a tough time with Jason Thompson again. He set his career mark for scoring in the matchup in Sacramento and he had another solid performance this time with 15 points.

59 – 52 Houston after 2.     

The 3rd quarter would be full of runs by both sides with both sides looking fatigued on the defensive end because both were playing for the 2nd night in a row. Donte Greene, the Rockets former draft pick, opened the half with a personal 6 – 0 run as the Kings went on to an 11 – 0 run as a team. The Rockets stopped the bleeding with a Shane Battier 3 which gave him 26 straight games with a made 3-pointer. Then the defense stepped up and led to some easy baskets as Houston responded with a 10 – 2 run.

The back-and-forth would continue with an 11 – 0 answer by the Kings to  open up their biggest lead of the game but Houston countered with the obvious choice….. Chuck Hayes on the block on 3 consecutive possessions.

Hayes drew a foul, made an assist to Battier and then powered through Thompson for an “and 1″ to keep the score close but the team was visibly tired which is understandable seeing that they were not only playing a 2nd game in 2 nights but it was also their 8th game in 12 days. Luckily Houston has a few days of rest coming up because they don’t play again until Wednesday night when they host Dallas. Buy tickets on Ticketmaster.com, the #1 ticketing portal on the web.

84 – 80 Sacramento after 3.

Studinger came out in the 4th a tied the game at 84 with a great drive through traffic and then a block on Casspi on the next play. He looked very active compared to many of the Rockets and, as a result, he got some big minutes down the stretch which allowed Battier to sit until there were only 4 minutes to go. Studinger wasn’t the main man in the quarter though, Kyle Lowry controlled the action for the entire 12:00.

Lowry was constantly penetrating the lane and setting up easy baskets for Scola and Landry and he was pushing the pace just enough to give the Rockets an edge but not so much that the veterans ran out of gas. It was a masterful showing by a guy who has been up-and-down with his decision making so far this season. The guy who seems to go as Lowry goes has been Landry and, with Lowry playing well, Landry really had an impact.

Carl went off for 13 points in the quarter including a few outstanding finishes around the rim. He also rebounded well; he basically put the game away on a possession with under 2 minutes to go. Landry grabbed 2 offensive boards on the possession allowing the Rockets to run the clock down to under a minute and a half and get 2 Ariza free throws. That shouldn’t really be a surprise though because Landry averages 21 a game at home, now if we could just get him to have the same success on the road.

Ariza followed those points with a fantastic baseline reverse with :58 left to keep the lead at 5 and force the Kings to start launching threes.

113 – 106 Houston final score.

Positives:

1. Incredible free throw shooting by Houston. 24 of 26 is getting it done. If thhey can continue to shoot that well from the line they will win a lot of close games.

2. They got the job done even though it wasn’t pretty. The Kings are better than most people know so it was good to see Houston come away with a victory in a game in which they were definitely laboring.

3. Lanndry and Scola are killing it.

Negatives:

1. Omri Casspi set his career high with 17 points in the game. He is a nice young player but his performance speaks more to Houston’s inability to matchup with big guards than to his personal ability. Lowry and Brooks are both good players but they are also both really short so big guards are going to give them issues every time.  

2. Brooks has got to stop turning the ball over so much. Before the season started I said he was going to be an All-Star but that’s not going to happen if he doesn’t raise his assist-to-turnovers ration drastically. He’s at 1.4 assist per turnover right now which is not even good enough to get in the list on nba.com. That means he’s not even in the top 85! Inexcusable for a PG.

Insights:

Houston needed this one to stay over .500 and to keep a 2-game lead in the SW. If they can play at this level all year they will make the playoffs. It is really going to be interesting to see what happens when Tracy McGrady comes back though. I would love to see him come off the bench as the 6th man for 3 reasons: 1) he can play several positions so he can come in for anyone who gets in foul trouble and 2) his role can be to come in and score without having to worry about fitting in with Ariza and Brooks and 3) he can play 20 – 24 minutes through the season so that he will be healthy for the playoffs. If he comes back and Adelman tries to make him carry the team and play 38 minutes a night, the Rockets will lose their chemistry and T-Mac will finish the season in a suit. Let’s hope they can make it work.

Glad to Be Recovered and Back Up-to-Date,

Multatuli 

The Rockets went to Sacramento on Friday night to take on the Kings who were on a 3 game winning streak. It would prove to be “one of those nights” as the Rockets couldn’t make a layup while the Kings were throwing up prayers with the shot clock expiring that seemed to go in every time.

Trevor Ariza started the game off nicely with 2 threes. Ariza stayed hot throughout but Aaron Brooks’ start to the night would be more indicative of the team’s night. Brooks found his way into the lane 3 times in the opening minutes only to see his usually reliable layups roll around and off the rim. So Houston was missing layups and committing turnovers but the Kings were dominating the boards.

Jason Thompson, the Kings’ young 6′11″ PF, had a career day against the Rockets and most of his success was due to the fact that the Houston front-court is just too diminutive to compete with him on the offensive glass. Thompson went off for a career-high 27 points on 9/15 from the field. Many of those baskets came off his 9 offensive rebounds. Granted, he is a talent and he had plenty of up-side, but there is no way he should be putting up those kinds of numbers against a team that prides itself on defense.

30 – 30 after 1.

The 2nd quarter was much worrse than the 1st because the subs came in an d played very poorly. Carl Landry was held scoreless for most of the game and Kyle Lowry was not making good decisions like he usually does. Sacramento went on a 14 – 5 run to open up a sizeable lead but Ariza was able to keep the Rockets close with 5 steals and some easy fast break points.

It’s a good thing too because any layups that didn’t come off fast breaks, did not go in the basket. The Kings, on the other hand, could not miss. Beno Udrih was drilling everything he threw at the rim and Sacramento, as a team, did not miss a single 3-pointer in the quarter. They ended the half shooting 50% overall, 8/12 from the arc and boasting a 32 – 13 rebounding edge.

63 – 52 Sacramento at the half.

Coming out of the half, the Rockets looked a lot better; a couple of shots actually went down and they played enough defense to close the lead to 1. They just couldn’t overtake the Kings though because every time Houston got close the Kings would throw up a running, left-handed, spinning fade-away and nail it. Near the end of the 3rd Udrih came out of the game and Tyreke Evans moved to the point guard. The Houston guards couldn’t handle him and he started to take over the game.

82 – 77 Sacramento after 3.

Landry finally got his 1st bucket of the night with only 10:30 to go but he would not be able to build on that. It seemed like the Rockets either missed an easy layup or turned the ball over every single time they came down the court. Shane Battier did his best to keep it close though.

Shane knocked down 2 consecutive threes to make it 91 – 89 but the momentum died when Ariza missed a wide open 3 to give Houston the lead. Udrih came the other way and stroked a jumper. Lowry responded with a turnover and another missed layup and that was aboput all she wrote.

Andres Nocioni drilled 2 prayers that went in as the shot clock expired and Evans followed those with 2 jumpers including one that banked in from the top of the key. 

That play sums up the night for Houston.

109 – 100 final score.    

Positives:

1. Shane Battier hit a 3 in his 21st consecutive contest.

2. The Rockets had 3 guys with 20 points. Good balance on the offensive end.  

Negatives:

Everything else.

Insights:

I know this is a game that a good team has to win but these kinds of nights happen to everyone. Hopefully Houston can bounce back and get a win in LA tonight against the Lakers.  

For Regular 12-team H2H

Anthony Morrow is somehow only 22 per cent owned in Yahoo leagues right now, below injured players such as Francisco Garcia and Mike Dunleavy Jr. I know his early averages have been nothing to cheer about (12.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.7 apg) but for anybody in need of shooting percentage help from the wings (and buckets of treys while at it), Morrow is your man. He broke out against Memphis going for 24 points on 83.3 per cent (!) shooting, 4-4 from long range. Don’t expect that every game, but if he evan halves that production consistently he’s worth a pickup for those looking for speciality help in those cats.

DeJuan Blair again is worth a look for speciality needs. Particularly if your league counts offensive rebounds, his 3.3 per game would offset decidedly poor FT numbers. His .704 from the field is nice however, and overall 9.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 0.5 steals in only 20 minutes a game are gaudy numbers any way you slice it.

Roy Hibbert is sitting at 51 per cent owned right now, meaning just over half of the owners out there are cluing in. Expect that number to rise precipitously over the next week. With Jeff Foster and Troy Murphy both hampered by injury, Hibbery has posted back-to-back massive double-doubles in his last games, hauling in 15-14 and 14-12 along with averaging 3 swats over that stretch. There is no reason not to expect more of the same going forward.

Corey Brewer is shooting an atrocious .364 from the field. If you can live with that however, and his equally traumatizing 53 per cent from the charity stripe, he might single-handidly win you the steals category. Brewer is averaging an insane 2.6 steals per game along with 1 block, 12.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. His contributions in the valuable hustle categories definitely make him viable for a team with enough solid shooters to hide Brewer’s brick laying tendencies.

Ben Wallace is back. Don’t look now, but Big Ben has returned to at least a partial shadow of his old self, averaging 10 boards, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. Teams in deep leagues needing big man stats could definitely do worse. Wallace’s 4.2 points on 61 per cent shooting also won’t do any real damage, while his signature achilles (50 per cent FT shooting) is mitigated by him averaging only one trip to the line per game.

Beno Udrih should see starters minutes with the recent announcement that Kevin Martin will be out 6-8 weeks with a fractured left wrist. Although Andres Nocioni should also see an uptick in numbers, it will probably be Udrih who gets fills Martin’s missing court time as Tyreke Evans slides to the shooting guard position. Udrih had 16 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds in a win against Memphis this week and followed that up with a 14 points performance against Atlanta. Although decidedly inconstant in his decision making, as a fantasy option Udrih has always produced decent numbers given adequate minutes. Expect averages close to 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists with nearly a steal, nearly a three and decent percentages all-around. For 6-8 weeks, at least.

Jornada corta la de anoche en la NBA, y protagonizada en su mayor parte por duelos entre equipos mediocres. Sin embargo, también hubo alguna cosita interesante: el regreso de Allen Iverson (que no sirvió a los Grizzlies ni para ganar a los Kings), la primera victoria de los Knicks y la nueva derrota, y ya van cuatro, de los Nets. Y encima, perdieron a otro jugador por lesión…

Charlotte Bobcats 79-New Jersey Nets 68: Duelo “de la máxima” entre equipos de la zona baja del Este, que se saldó con victoria de los Bobcats porque fueron los menos malos. Y eso que los chicos de Larry Brown se esforzaron en hacerlo tan mal como pudieron: sus porcentajes fueron horripilantes (32% en tiros de dos y 6%, que se dice pronto, en triples), perdieron 19 balones y dieron sólo 12 tristes asistencias, pero contaron con dos hombres inspirados que decantaron el partido: Gerald Wallace (24 puntos y 20 rebotes) y D.J. Augustin (21 puntos desde el banquillo). Además, los Nets se empeñaron en hacerlo incluso peor que Charlotte en un tramo vital del partido, entre el tercer y cuarto periodo, en el que recibieron un tremendo parcial de 24-0 que demuestra bien a las claras su actual estado. Por si eso fuera poco, el equipo, al que ya le faltaba Devin Harris, perdió a Yi Jianlian por lesión después de que Wallace le cayera encima de la rodilla derecha. Así las cosas, el mejor en New Jersey fue Chris Douglas-Roberts, con 20 puntos, pero los Nets siguen sin haber ganado un solo partido y, con estas lesiones, podrían tardar un poco en ganarlo. Los Bobcats están un poco, sólo un poco mejor: ya están en 2-2 pero siguen sin haber superado la barrera de los 80 puntos en ningún partido…

New York Knicks 117-New Orleans Hornets 111: Parece que la plantilla de los Hornets es demasiado corta incluso para ganar a los Knicks, y es que si dejamos a un lado a Chris Paul, David West y Emeka Okafor, cuesta encontrar a alguien que pueda contribuir en este equipo. Anoche lo acabaron pagando contra un equipo que no defiende ni a su abuela, pero al que no le faltan recursos ofensivos, en especial si David Lee está inspirado en ataque. Ayer lo estuvo (28 puntos), y entre él y Al Harrington (24) dieron un arreón en el tramo final del partido al que los Hornets no pudieron responder. El parcial en el último cuarto fue un escandaloso 40-30 favorable a los de Mike D’Antoni, que no echaron de menos a Nate Robinson y en los que destacó Larry Hughes (20 puntos, su clásico espejismo de principio de temporada). En los Hornets CP3 terminó con 32 puntos, 13 asistencias y 5 rebotes, Okafor metió 24 y cogió 10 rechaces y David West sumó 21 puntos, pero el resto del equipo no estuvo al nivel, y si exceptuamos a Peja Stojakovic (11 puntitos), se puede decir que estuvo muy, muy flojo. Y me da que esta puede ser la tónica en los Hornets durante toda la temporada…

Utah Jazz 96-Houston Rockets 113: Los Rockets siguen supliendo sus carencias interiores tirando hasta la zapatilla desde la línea de tres, y la verdad es que cuando les funciona, complican las cosas hasta al más pintado. Anoche los de Rick Adelman tiraron por encima del 50% en triples, y con un 34-19 en el último cuarto lograron tumbar a los Jazz en su propio y temible feudo. Los Rockets movieron mucho el balón (29 asistencias) y terminaron con ocho hombres con dobles dígitos, encabezados por un Aaron Brooks con 19 puntos. Curiosamente, los Rockets superaron en el rebote a Utah por 46-38, y entre eso y sus porcentajes de tiro, Jerry Sloan no terminó nada contento con la defensa de su equipo, y así lo expresó al terminar el partido: “Si no piensas defender, es bastante difícil ganar un partido”. En los Jazz el mejor fue Mehmet Okur con 21 puntos, seguido de Ronnie Brewer con 19 y Deron Williams con 18 y 8 asistencias. Ah, sí, un último detalle muy sintomático: el banquillo de los Rockets superó ampliamente al de los Jazz (40-13), con especial mención al rookie Chase Budinger, con 17 puntos. Pero de él hablaré dentro de un rato…

Sacramento Kings 127-Memphis Grizzlies 116: De nada sirvió el regreso de Allen Iverson a los Memphis Grizzlies, que cayeron en la prórroga ante unos Sacramento Kings en los que Kevin Martin tuvo uno de esos días en los que hace de todo: 48 puntos, 7 triples, 5 rebotes, 4 asistencias, 4 robos… Los Kings ganaron por Martin y por el banquillo, que sumó nada menos que 67 puntos, por 17 de los titulares que no se llamaban “Kevin Martin” (especial mención, por lo negativo, a Tyreke Evans, que lleva un principio de temporada bastante decepcionante). Entre esos suplentes cabe destacar a Beno Udrih, que metió 16 puntos y también metió la bandeja que forzó la prórroga:

Sí, vamos a decir que Zach Randolph podría haber hecho algo más por defender la penetración de Udrih. Por cierto que la buena actuación del base suplente de los Kings hizo que Sergio Rodríguez no jugara ni un solo minuto… En cuanto a los Grizzlies, el problema no estuvo precisamente en ataque, ya que tuvieron seis hombres por encima de los 10 puntos, destacando los 30 puntos y 16 rebotes de Z-Bo y los 21 y 13 de Rudy Gay. Iverson jugó 18 minutitos desde el banquillo y metió 11 puntos, y Marc Gasol volvió a tener una sólida actuación con 16 puntos, 16 rebotes y 2 tapones, pero nada de todo eso sirvió para evitar la derrota ante un equipo a priori inferior. The Answer, por cierto, fue fiel a sí mismo y no faltó la pataleta post-partido por el poco tiempo de juego que había tenido. Dijo AI: “Mirad mi historial y veréis que no soy un sexto hombre. No creo que tenga algo que ver con el egoísmo, sino con quién soy. No quiero cambiar algo que me ha dado todo el éxito que he conseguido en esta liga”. Y vuelta la burra al trigo…

Los Angeles Clipper 93-Minnesota Timberwolves 90: Aunque habían peleado lo suyo, los Clippers todavía no habían estrenado su casillero de victorias esta temporada. La espera terminó anoche, con un trabajadísimo triunfo del equipo que entrena Mike Dunleavy. Fue un partido muy apretado, pero una buena actuación de Chris Kaman (25 puntos y 11 rebotes, cómo está este chico) y la pelea del equipo en el último cuarto acabaron permitiendo a los Clippers ganar por fin un partido. En los Clippers también destacaron Eric Gordon (17 puntos) y Rasual Butler, que salió de titular y metió dos tiros libres importantes en los últimos segundos. En los Timberwolves, el mejor fue Al Jefferson con 24 puntos, que estuvo demasiado solo (con decir que Pecherov metió 13 puntos el mismo día en que el equipo anunciaba que le había descartado, está dicho todo). No sé, este equipo no acaba de carburar del todo, y me da que va a echar mucho de menos a Kevin Love…

By Justin Cherot

THE NBA IS BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!

And, you know, we here at Pick and Pop try to keep it as fresh and quirky as possible.  So, my plan for the next 32 (or some odd) days is to not break down how a team will do.  That’s for sportswriters with degrees and such, although I guess a night before the season tips off Colin and I will do something like that. 

Instead, I’m giving every single player in the league, even some guys that won’t even make the roster, a little ink.  Because not all players are created (and adored) equally by yours truly, some will have much longer anecdotes/analysis or what have you than others.  Case and point: would it be fair to give Dirk Nowitzki and Adam Morrison the same amount of space?  I haven’t gotten that far yet, but I’m willing to bet I won’t do that.

I guess to make sure the pecking order of the NBA isn’t completely ruined, I’m going to go in ascending order in terms of how I predict the teams will finish… meaning I’ll start with the lowly Sacramento Kings.

STAR:

Cherish this photo of Kevin Martin, because we may never mention him or the Kings again on this website. Photo courtesy kicksonfire.com

Kevin Martin

 

Because the Kings are atrocious, half the people reading this probably don’t even know how good this kid is.  Truthfully, I’ve been high off the Martin fumes for a minute.  When the Kings initially took him 26th in 2004, I told everyone–my boys, my girlfriend, my psychiatrist, the guy I got free subs from in Subway–that K-Mart, Jr. would eventually pan out to be a 20+ point scorer in the NBA.  Yep, I love being right.  It’s just too bad that Maloof and Co. won’t surround him with enough talent for this team to ever be mentioned in casual NBA conversation.  Oh well.  If they ever do put him on TV again, savor it… because you may never see him again.  Hopefully, he’ll end up on a halfway decent team while he’s still in his prime.

The Other Starters

Spencer Hawes

Hawes is one of only three players on this current roster that this team should keep to build around.  Yes, he’s goofy-looking and doesn’t exactly scare you with his athleticism, but centers who can play aren’t easy to find in the NBA.  Book it right now: this man will average a double-double this season.

Jason Thompson

Kings’ fans probably almost had a heart attack when Thompson got picked so high last season.  But, from watching the draft night video highlights (yeah, I know, sometimes they can be deceiving), I at the very least knew he wouldn’t be a bust.  He doesn’t have that “wow” game, but he’s a nice solid piece who I see playing in the NBA for many years because he’s a big guy who can face up. 

Francisco Garcia

He has surprised me.  I didn’t think he had as much range as he did coming out of college, but then again sometimes even I can be wrong (see, Week 3 Picks ).  I still think he’s limited skillwise and would be much better suited for around 20 minutes a night on a good team.

Beno Udrih

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the worst starting point guard in the NBA!  I believe I could step in there with my ailing back and there wouldn’t be that much of a drop-off in production.  What do they have to lose?

Bench

Tyreke Evans

The Kings are so bad that Evans might unseat Udrih before the season even begins as the starting point guard, which despite plenty of opinion to the contrary they do not want to do.  Not a knock on Evans, but to me he doesn’t exactly shout “Team First”.  I do admit that he’s pretty much unguardable from 15 feet and in, and maybe the Martin-Evans combo will compliment each other well.  And maybe Michael Vick will start next week.

Andres Nocioni

Love him as a player.  If the Kings were smart they’d find a way for him to be on the floor 30 minutes a night.

Sergio Rodriguez

He has deficiencies, yes, but he’s better than Beno.  If he can find his jump shot, he may be a good pick-up.

Desmond Mason

You’re 31, Des.  Learn something else besides dunking.

Omri Casspi

Casspi will be out of the NBA by 2012.  Who wants to take action on that?

Donte Greene

On a team going nowhere fast, I think he at least deserves to get some minutes.  If he ever learns to get aggressive, Greene could end up being a good one.

Kenny Thomas

Kenny Thomas makes HOW much???

Sean May

Low risk, how reward signing for the Kings.  Personally, I think if he ever gets over his weight issues he can contribute in this league.

Jon Brockman

Because one white player from Washington is never enough.

30 Previews in 30 Days!, no this is not an ABC Family holiday gimmick: this is the official Paints in the Point 2009-2010 Season Preview.

We start of course with the Champ, for I will be kicking off this series and will bring it to a close in thirty days.

The format that the “Paints Dudes” have decided on is that of regular season records, worst to best, which means the first team to be previewed, is the once-mighty Sacramento Kings.

A Little History:

“The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. The Kings are members of the National Basketball Association (NBA).”

…or maybe not.

Let’s see, the Sacramento Kings’ roots trace back to Cincinnati when they were the Cincinnati Royals and acquired superstar Oscar Robertson. The Royals never won a title in the Robertson era, but they saw elite individual success from Robertson. In the 1961-1962 season, Robertson averaged a triple-double, and in 1964, won The NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. In 1963, Jerry Lucas, another superstar joined Robertson in Cincinnati, but by the end of the decade both were traded to other teams. Robertson was traded to Milwaukee where the Bucks won a championship in 1970.

The Royals became the Kings during the move to Kansas City in 1972, as the result of the Kansas City Royals baseball team. Also, during the Kings’ tenure in Kansas City, the ownership thought it would be brilliant to split home games in Omaha as well. Oddly enough, this turned out to be a tremendous failure. The Kings in this era were borderline obscure and did not achieve great playoff success until their move to Sacramento in 1985.

But it would take a while once the Kings found their latest home in Sacramento. It was not until their acquisitions of Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, and the draft selection of Jason Williams, as well as the arrival of Peja Stojakovic, until the Kings found significant success. Under the “Princeton Offense,” the Kings scored points in bundles, but were criticized for their poor defense. In 2001, Williams was traded to Vancouver (yes, Vancouver, which moved to Memphis) for Mike Bibby, which led to the best season in franchise history with a record of 62-21, winning the division as well as having the best record in the league, only to lose in seven games to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Unfortunately, 2001 marks the peak of the Kings at that time, for the team has not achieved such playoff success since. In 2005, sniper Peja Stojakovic was traded for Ron Artest, following 2004’s “Malice at the Palace.”

The Royals became the Kings during the move to Kansas City in 1972, as the result of the Kansas City Royals baseball team. Also, during the Kings’ tenure in Kansas City, the ownership thought it would be brilliant to split home games in Omaha as well. Oddly enough, this turned out to be a tremendous failure. The Kings in this era were borderline obscure and did not achieve great playoff success until their move to Sacramento in 1985.

But it would take a while once the Kings found their latest home in Sacramento. It was not until their acquisitions of Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, and the draft selection of Jason Williams, as well as the arrival of Peja Stojakovic, until the Kings found significant success. Under the “Princeton Offense,” the Kings scored points in bundles, but were criticized for their poor defense.

In 2001, Williams was traded to Vancouver (yes, Vancouver, which moved to Memphis) for Mike Bibby, which led to the best season in franchise history with a record of 62-21, winning the division as well as having the best record in the league, only to lose in seven games to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Unfortunately, 2001 marks the peak of the Kings at that time, for the team has not achieved such playoff success since. In 2005, sniper Peja Stojakovic was traded for Ron Artest, following 2004’s “Malice at the Palace.”

But Artest had his issues on and off the court, meanwhile shooting guard Kevin Martin began to emerge as a star in the league. Artest went to the Rockets, and now presently the Lakers while Martin continues to lead a young team…

A few more basics:

2008-2009 Record: 17 – 65 (Worst in NBA),  5^th in Division

Coach: Paul Westphal

Projected Lineup:

PG: Beno Udrih: a 6’ 3’’ point guard from Slovenia, who is said to thrive under low expectations. A decent scoring average at 11 points per game, and a decent assist per game average of 4.7 a game, but a below average starting point guard in the National Basketball League.

SG: Kevin Martin: The face of the franchise, K-Mart has probably the most unorthodox shot in the NBA, and shows promise of developing into a superstar if the Kings improve. Martin was seventh in league scoring averages last year with an impressive 24.6 points per game, but with a less than average 2.7 assists per game. Martin’s defense is questionable but his numbers are getting better over time.

SF: Francisco Garcia: A true shooting guard who will split time with Andres Nocioni at the SF position, Garcia looks for improvement. Even though he has already signed an extension which keeps him in Sacramento, Garcia has said he wants to win more games, which preferably means an increase in last year’s scoring average from 12.7 points per game.

PF: Jason Thompson: The only player in NBA history to come from Rider College, Thompson’s numbers in the pros have held up well. A long armed rebounder and a competent shot blocker, Thompson shows promise at 23, and has proved himself to at least put up a fight against other NBA Power Forwards.

C: Spencer Hawes: The young center out of Washington has really yet to prove himself in this league. Hawes, does have the qualities of a traditional center (Zydrunas Ilgauskus, Yao Ming), and seems like an equitable replacement to Brad Miller.

Hawes does share an interesting likeness to a certain Olympic Swimmer:

Key Gains:

G Tyreke Evans: The King’s draft choice (1^st round, 4^th Selection) offers promise at the starting point guard position if given the chance. The guard out of Memphis showed spectacular play in the NCAA Tournament.

The Kings are not a spectacular franchise involved in the free agent market.

Key Losses:

C Brad Miller: The Chicago Bulls now have the veteran Center.

Key Quote:

“For me to be wealthy means having the opportunity, along with my teammates, to bring Sacramento basketball back to its winning ways, and compete for a championship very soon. Being wealthy also is about being a positive role model to our young kids who look up to us, and make Sacramento a better place for them.” – Kevin Martin

Scottie Pippen = Kevin Martin?

Anybody?

Also See:

An Argument for Kevin Martin

Recap:

1. Sacramento Kings
2. Washington Wizards
3. Los Angeles Clippers
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
5. Memphis Grizzlies
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Golden State Warriors
8. New York Knicks
9. Toronto Raptors

Kings fans, it's totally understandable if you turn to drink.

The scene seems dour in Sacramento, where former Phoenix point guard and current Mayor Kevin Johnson has made it clear that the team may not stick around:

After learning that Arco Arena is considered unsuitable to host a major college basketball tournament, Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday that Sacramento could lose the Kings if efforts for a new arena aren’t stepped up.

“If we don’t have a clear path to an arena in the not too distant future, then we as Sacramentans need to know that (the Kings) very well may look elsewhere,” Johnson said.

Johnson is desperate for a new arena to be built, but diverting tax-payer dollars into private enterprise — even for the good of a professional basketball team — is unlikely to gain much popular traction in these times of economic strife. Ask citizens of Seattle what happened the last time public assistance was required for a stadium upgrade.

But ownership and arena questions are off-court issues, to be dealt with and hammered out by rich men in backrooms. The Kings faithful have more pressing concerns: the serious lack of talent, or potential, on their team.

It’s not all bad, of course: Kevin Martin continues to develop as a preposterously efficient scorer. Tyreke Evans may well be Dwyane Wade without the court vision, playmaking ability, or defensive prowess. Omri Casspi is compelling, and should lock up the as-yet-untapped Israeli basketball fan market. Spencer Hawes looks like a serviceable centre, and Jason Thompson, taken with the 12th pick last year, looks like a solid pick-up, an efficient, slightly raw big man.

And — perhaps most importantly — the roster will be free of some ugly contracts come the summer of 2010, including Shareef Abdur-Rahim (making $6.6m this year in return for not playing) and Kenny Thomas (pulling in $8.5m in return for warming the bench). With only $32.4m locked up for 2010-11, Geoff Petrie and the Brothers Maloof should have some cash to throw at some tempting free agents, even if they pick up the team options on Spencer Hawes ($2.97m) and Jason Thompson ($2.17m).

But that magical summer of 2010 — so full of promise for so many terrible teams — is a year away. In the meantime, Sacramentans will be asked to pay for the privilege of viewing some truly repugnant basketball.

They’ll watch Beno Udrih — who is owed an average of $7m until 2013, despite his seemingly obvious lack of interest in playing basketball at a professional level — clog up the point guard spot, presumably stealing minutes from the more-deserving Sergio Rodriguez.

They’ll reluctantly talk themselves into Francisco Garcia, also on the books until 2013, at $6m a season. Garcia is a beanpole swingman dilettante; he does a lot of things serviceably, and nothing exceptionally, like a potential-poor Wilson Chandler.

They’ll hope Kevin Martin is a franchise guy, not just an extraordinarily talented second-fiddle waiting to be teamed with a genuine superstar. More than that, they’ll pray Martin isn’t as injury-prone as he appears to be; he missed 21 games in 2007-08, and 31 last season.

The Kings front office know their roster is weak, stunningly lacking in depth, and a lock for the lottery. Their response this off-season? Sign Desmond Mason:

The Desmond Mason of three years ago really couldn’t play anymore. He shot a True Shooting percentage of .493 three years ago. On last year’s 17-win Kings team, that would have only beaten Donte Greene, who happens to be 21 years old and full of potential, not 32 years old and coming off a major knee injury. That was the Desmond Mason of three years ago: terrible. So I’m not too excited about getting Desmond Mason of three years, even though the idea we could be so fortunate to get the Desmond Mason of three years is pretty danged optimistic, considering players tend to get worse and not better as they enter their thirties.

Geoff Petrie seems content to watch sub-par basketball.

That’s their off-season. They drafted Evans and Casspi, and brought in a busted embarrassment of a veteran. The Mason signing wasn’t just a misfire — it augers terribly, implying the team isn’t solely set on developing its young players, regardless of wins (or, more likely, consistent losses). This is a team so sub-par that playing any veteran seems like a waste. A three-year plan is needed, not stopgap measures like Mason. GM Geoff Petrie needs to establish who he likes — let’s say Martin, Hawes, Evans, perhaps even raw-but-promising Donte Green — and stick with them, building through the draft and free agency. That’s what quality general managers — R.C. Buford at the Spurs, Sam Presti at the Thunder — do.

As it is, Petrie seems content to hobble towards 16 wins each year, without a plan a place. The sense of aimlessness is palpable.

The future looks bleak for Sacramento. More than that, the outlook looks downright ominous, with a poorly-assembled squad of stragglers playing on a team struggling to bring in fans (30th of 30 in attendance last year), in an arena apparently so mediocre the NCAA wants nothing to do with it.

What are Geoff and the Maloofs going to do to give fans hope for the future?

Posted By: Anton

Visit the Count later this week for a look at another team with no future: the Toronto Raptors.

Follow the Sport Count on Twitter.

My current view of this team is somewhat skewed by the fact that they’re an NBA worst, 14-52, heading into an almost guaranteed loss playing versus the Hawks tonight.  The funny thing as we move forward, is what direction this team has, and what players does it need to take the Kings there, is that the upcoming 2009 NBA draft will mean so much more than anything else moving forward.

Center Position: Obviously, games like, having a career high vs OKC a week ago, or a game like the other night vs Washington, helps.

My general feeling is that while Spencer generally has improved; his greatest weakness at the beginning of the year still exists today. He needs to develop a quality go to move, and he needs to figure out where he wants his shots to come from. Some of that is coaching, and the expectation the coaching staff has when asking Spencer to do things. More than that though, if anything, he needs to have a feel for what he should be doing offensively when he’s on the block, at the top of the key, and everything else. He hasn’t quite developed that. Also, TZ did an incredible job using the NBA hot spots highlighting where Shawes most effective shooting is coming from. Surprisingly, or maybe not I suppose when you watch Mr Hawes closely, what you see is a player who slows down is the most effective. In the mid range game, he’s rushed his shots more often than not.

Power Forward: Jason Thompson is an interesting case study in how a player’s development is crucial to the franchise, both in the decision making the franchise will undertake, and to the player’s ability long term to be counted upon as a player in the rotation. There is some questions whether JT can make that leap. That’s really not the question I have at this point. My question is can Kings fans be patient with JT if the Kings don’t take Blake Griffin in this draft? After all, there are memories of not taking Karl Malone because the team had Otis Thorpe.

Speaking of Griffin, I don’t know that Griffin is going to have the career that people are hyping him for. He doesn’t seem to have the length to be a very good shot blocker (and JT is scratching the surface here as well), and his rebounding, while astounding, is not necessarily going to be a huge strength if he suffers in the low post defense and shot blocking department that he is clearly suffering from. His defense will take awhile to catch up, and there’s a chance, if nothing else, he may not having anything to give beyond what his gifts will give you. He’s probably going to be a 20-10 guy if healthy for a number of years, but I’m not sure that’s what the Kings really need at this point. Particularly since I believe Jason Thompson could get there with time given how little he touches the ball now in this offense, and how much growth he has in several area’s to do offensively. One area is that he needs to get better footwork when he makes moves on the block. You often see him spread his lower body making a move and it’s symptomatic of several things. One, his footwork is not what it should be because his feet (credit to David Thorpe for pointing this out) often point in different directions.

I believe that JT is making nice progress. The question is whether that progress translates to a good player, very good player, or something beyond. Nobody knows that answer, and if somebody says they do, they’re lying. My personal feeling is that JT’s ceiling is David West level talent with less offensive firepower and more defensive firepower (which doesn’t bother me with Shawes around).

Small Forward: Donte Greene has not played very much, or, most of the time, that well so far this season. Depending on whom you believe, and if you ask me Jerry Reynolds is worth believing, is that Donte is the type of 2 positional player that can burn bigger players outside, and punish smaller players inside. What does this mean position wise? Well, vs Power Forwards, he takes them outside, and against Smaller Forwards he takes them inside. That’s what the Kings see. It’s a potentially lucrative matchup. It’s even better when you consider that Jason Thompson is 6′11, Spencer Hawes is 7 feet, and Donte Greene is 6′10. However, unlike Thompson and Hawes who’ve made serious strides, Greene is still seeing a lot of stumbling blocks as some are questioning his maturity and ability to work on his game. (Watch the clip I linked to on StR–there’s a great shot of Donte working with Pete Carril, and looking interested in doing so. I don’t think that was by accident. The team recognizes that are subtle ways to show the kid is making improvements. That’s one way.)

The rest of the team is pretty much what anyone thinks. Nocioni is tough. Martin is super efficient offensively and, not right until the off-season heals his ankle. (When he has that rest he is a different player.) Udrih has disappointed. McCants, is, umm McCants. I do not hold out hope on him. I’ve always considered it a bonus if he played well, which he has had his moments. Will Solomon can fade away as soon as April 20th comes. Who is Calvin Booth and Cedric Simmons? I kid, but for the Kings purposes, that’s pretty much it. Even if they won’t officially say it. Bobby Jackson is probably out for the rest of the season assuming he cares about his face. Bobby has gutted out this awful season. I say the Kings should let him rest up and decide on his future. What happened to his cheek was just bad luck. Francisco Garcia actually deserves his own post, and I don’t feel like doing that right now. Let’s just say that the difference between good and bad Cisco is small, and the difference means everything to the Kings.

Thompson, Hawes, Martin, Greene, Garcia, Udrih, and Nocioni will all be under contract next season. The Kings have options for Ike Diogu (who hasn’t played much), and Rashad McCants. They will also have a minimum of 3 draft picks heading into the June draft (their pick, Houston’s selection likely to be anywhere from 18-25), and their own 1st round (likely to be 31st or 32nd overall). The important point is that this team has one chance to get a franchise altering player, and 2 chances to pick rotation players. Regardless of Trades or Free Agency, this draft will chart the important course for this team over the next 10 seasons. Are you, as fans, ready to deal with that reality?

BBQ adds Joey Graham, drops Beno Udrih

I can understand why BBQ dropped Beno. He’s been underperforming this year vs last and he had sleeper expectations. Add in the fact that his stats have been falling each month and you get a dissatisfied owner. He is still young and a starter, though, so he has potential as a waiver wire pickup. I might pick him up if I can free up a bench spot.

Graham has had a few attractive box scores recently, but i don’t expect him to be consistent enough to warrant picking up. He will have to fight for minutes and he isn’t guaranteed a starting spot. He does have potential, though, since he hasn’t played major minutes before and it’s only his 3rd or 4th year.

The Doctor adds Andrew Bynum via waivers, drops Joakim Noah

With Bynum’s knee injury, THG dropped him. I tend to agree with THG’s implicit evaluation that Bynum won’t make any significant contribution for the rest of the season. While the news today from Phil Jackson proposed a potentially early return by giving 2 weeks rest followed by 2 weeks of ultra-aggressive rehabilitation, Bynum’s injury history does not bode well for his owners. In my opinion, the Lakers are better off taking their time in rehabilitating his knee in order for him to be ready for the playoffs. It’s true that they’ll lose more games w/o him than w/, but they should still be able to secure a decent playoff seeding *and* they will go farther in the playoffs with a healthy Bynum. anyway, this pickup wasn’t a bad move because the Doctor has the worst waiver wire priority already and if he can afford the bench spot, then he could find a golden egg sitting there in a few weeks. The probability is low, but it’s still there. I, on the other hand, cannot afford the bench space, especially because I am behind in games played. I will need a much more active bench very soon if I want to stay competitive for first place in my league.

In less than 72 hrs, two of Black America’s most brightest and “ballest” NBA stars were humiliated on the court by a white, or non-black basketball player.

First up, it was Sacramento Kings point Guard, Beno Udrih’s wicked crossover against Kobe during a pre-season game (Not Pretty):

And then came the horror now simply known as, “Stuart Tanner v Devin Harris.” In an impromptu game at a London street park last week, New Jersey Nets star, Devin Harris was offered to play a dorky looking UK fan. Unbeknown to Harris, this fellow is somewhat of a StreetBall legend in the UK, and Harris, sure enough, soon found out how much of a legend he was:

- Get it together guys

Reposted From Your Black Brothers

Yes, it’s true. Beno schools Kobe on this here move.

“Youngin’s ice grilling me. Oh, you not feeling me? Fine. It costs you nothing. Pay me no mind.”

I’m sick of people thinking everyone in the public eye needs to be a role model, especially athletes. Former NFL player Jim Brown some time out of his schedule to complain to the LA Times about Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Jim Brown On Why Kobe Needs To Step It Up

“Athletes need to represent more than that just getting a big contract and lots of endorsements,” he says. “Take Michael Jordan. To me, he’s full of bull. He’s hiding his true self. All he cares about is getting ahead, being popular and enjoying the wealth of this country. Same with Kobe Bryant. For them, it’s all about making money and doing all the commercials.”

“Sports is detrimental to the development of culture if all you’re willing to do is enjoy the fruits of this country,” he says. “You’ve got to reinvest in the culture, not just exploit it. Today people just want non-combative heroes, who smile and say all the right things. That’s fine, but that doesn’t mean you have to play the fool and shake your butt just because you caught a pass for a touchdown.”

FULL STORY

Does anyone agree with these comments or is it clear that this guy is just bitter that he didn’t make the same profit from the sports industry?

BONUS: Beno Udrih Breaks Kobe’s Ankles?

I’m not enough of a Kobe stan to completely excuse something this potentially embarrassing, but I really think he may have been tripped or something.

I don’t hate Kobe or anything but you can’t sit here and tell me he didn’t get shook. Notice his fake hustle to get back on offense. Props to Gotty of TSS for the laink. I had to steal it man haha.

Some more Kobe-related shenanigans.

Here’s a mockumentary of “Shaq” attempting to jump over an Escalade.

Kobe rappin’ with Tyra on the hook= STRAIGHT UP BANGER.