by Charlie O. Mallonee and Jordan “Chape” Chapin

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings season came to an end on Wednesday night as they defeated the number one seeded playoff team in the NBA Western Conference – the Houston Rockets – 96-83. Now, it is important to know that the Rockets did not allow James Harden and Chris Paul to step on the court for fear that they might sustain an injury that would cause them to miss the playoffs.

Even without the two Houston superstars on the floor, there was some very entertaining basketball played by both teams. The Rockets reserves wanted to impress their coaches that they could contribute if given playing time during the playoffs. The Kings players desperately wanted to send their fans home with a victory to remember until new season tips off next October.

The Kings started fast and finished strong

The Kings won every quarter except the fourth period which they did not need to win because they had the game well in hand by that time. Four of the five Kings starters scored in double figures and seven of the nine players used by Sacramento scored in double digits.

Willie Cauley-Stein finished with a team-high 22 points and he made it a double-double by grabbing 11 rebounds. Buddy Hield scored 14 points, pulled down five rebounds, handed out five assists and made two steals in 27-plus minutes of playing time.

Sacramento shot 47.5-percent (38-for-80) for the game and hit 7-of-26 (26.9-percent) attempts from downtown. The Kings went to the free throw line 20 times but converted only 13 of those opportunities (65.0-percent).

Houston relied on two key players for the entire game

Forward Gerald Green led the way on offense for the Rockets on Wednesday night scoring a game-high 31 points. Green shot 11-for-22 from the field and hit 7-of-17 attempts from 3-point land. RJ Hunter posted 19 points shooting 7-for-16 overall and sinking just 3-of-11 attempts from behind the 3-point line.

Tarik Black played just over 38-minutes against the Kings and recorded a double-double. Black scored 12 points and hauled in 11 rebounds.

The Rockets also played Aaron Jackson who they signed on Wednesday after he had been playing in the Chinese Basketball Association for the Beijing Ducks. Jackson will be eligible to play for Houston in the playoffs. Jackson scored eight points in 34-plus minutes of playing versus the Kings on Wednesday night.

Kings win fewer games in 2017-18

The Kings finish the season with a record of 27-55 for the year. Sacramento finished with a record of 32-50 in 2016-17.

Head Coach Dave Joerger reflects on the game and the season

Vince Carter talks about why there will be another year of Vinsanity

Bogie explains why he is a rookie until next season

Charlie O’s and “Chapes” Kings Player of the Year

We did not have to take a moment to contemplate who our choice of would be our choice for this season because our selection for Player of the Year is a no-brainer in our humble opinion. Second-year guard Buddy Hield has been outstanding in his development and execution in 2017-18.

The big knock on Hield as a player was that he was purely a one-dimensional guard. Hield was a shooter who could come into a game and shoot the ball … period. Experts said he could not handle the ball, set up assists, rebound and he most definitely could not play defense.

Then, the Kings finally signed Bogdan Bogdanovic and the Sacramento backcourt became a very crowded place. Early on in the season, it became apparent that Bogdanovic was going to be a starter along with De’Aaron Fox. That meant Hield would be coming off the bench.

Hield adjusted to being the Kings “sixth man” very quickly and never complained about his role. He frequently provided the spark the team needed to get into a  game where they started off slowly.Hield also began to play more minutes per game.

As Hield played more, the turnovers went down as his rebound, assist, and steal numbers went up. Then observers began to notice something else about his game, Buddy Hield was making a real effort to play defense.

As Hield entered game 82 on Wednesday night, he was averaging 13.5 points per game which is the second-best average for the Kings. Hield is the overall points leader for Sacramento with 1065 points.

Hield has averaged 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.05 assists in 25.3 minutes per game this season. His season-highs show 35 minutes played, 27 points scored, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals, and two blocked shots.

Hield shooting numbers have also been impressive. Overall, Hield has shot 44.6-percent from the field while converting a team-high 43.1-percent of his 3-Point attempts. He has also been deadly from the free throw shooting 88.8-percent from the stripe.

2017-18 has been a year of real growth and dynamic production for Buddy Hield.