Lakers pull away in the final minute to beat the Kings 128-123 Thursday night

Swipa vs LA
Mr. Fox put up a quick 18 points in the game Photo: @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Thursday night was an exciting night for NBA starved basketball fans in Sacramento. The Kings traveled to Los Angeles to take on King James and the Lakers in a preseason affair. The keyword in that sentence is “preseason.”

The number one goal in a preseason game is not to win. Now, these are professional athletes, and they hate to lose at anything, anytime. However, the preseason is about getting players working together, learning the playbook, seeing how different combinations play as a unit, and deciding who make the open spots on the roster.

Understanding those parameters explains the final score of 128-123 with the Lakers coming out on top. There were moments where defense came into play, but it certainly did not look like the type of defense you will see in the regular season. No one wants to go into the regular season battered and bruised.

Kings

  • Marvin Bagley III led the Kings with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes on the floor.
  • De’Aaron Fox put on quite a show, scoring 18 points and dishing five assists in just 18 minutes of playing time.
  • Buddy Hield recorded 16 points in just 20 minutes of PT. Hield hit 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
  • Harry Giles III posted 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 24-plus minutes.
  • Wenyen Gabriel was the Kings’ other double-digit scorer with 10 points.
  • Sacramento shot 45.5-percent (45/99) from the field; 41.9-percent (13/31) from beyond the arc and hauled in 41 rebounds (9 offensive boards). The had 27 assists and turned the ball over 15 times.
MBIII vs LA
MBIII5 led Kings in scoring Photo: @SacramentoKings

Lakers

  • Brandon Ingram led the Lakers scoring attack with 31 points and nine rebounds. After the game, King James praised Ingram for his performance and effort.
  • Speaking of the King, he put in 18 points in just over 15 minutes on the court. James played some time at the five spot for the Lakers in the game.
  • Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart scored 17 points each.
  • Los Angeles shot 52.6-percent (41/78) from the floor and 30-percent (6/30) from long-range. The pulled down 48 rebounds, had 19 assists and turned the ball over 18 times.

In typical preseason fashion, there were 24 lead changes in the contest and the game was tied 12 times.

Up Next

The Kings will be back on the floor Friday night in Seattle to take on the Golden State Warriors. The Seattle fans will be anxious to see Kevin Durant. They will also have a chance to see a Kings team that almost moved to Seattle.

The Lakers host the Clippers on Saturday night.

Harry meet the King
Mr. Giles meets the Kings Photo: @SacramentoKings

This Yogi knows when it’s over as Kings get 106-102 victory over Suns

sacramentobee.com photo: The Sacramento Kings Yogi Ferrell leads the way with 26 points in the Kings first preseason victory in Phoenix against the Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Monday night

By Jerry Feitelberg and Morris Phillips

The Sacramento Kings Yogi Ferrell found his way to the bucket enough times to help get a preseason win for the Kings with 26 points. Ferrell, who played two seasons for the Dallas Mavericks, was signed by the Kings as a free agent in the offseason.

The Kings’ three-pointers were also falling, hitting 11-of-25 for 44 percent. The Kings were glad to notch this victory at Talking Stick Resort Arena for their first road victory and first game of the preseason 106-102. On the other hand, the Phoenix Suns were lacking with the three-point attempts, going 3-for-22.

Ferrell came off the bench in this contes,  but with the most minutes of any Kings player of the night, he shined with his intensive ability to find the hoop inside and out staying in the contest with the hot hand at 30 minutes. The Kings’ Willie Cauley-Stein also contributed huge with double digits in both the first and second halves of the game.

Stein went 7-for-11 and finished with 14 points, hitting baskets from the mid-range and in the inside, his 12 rebounds was the team-high for the contest. Head coach Dave Joerger had 15 players ready to play with Bogdan Bogdanovic and three players sat out.

The King opted not to use Zach Randolph, who out of the 11 players who got time, Randolph is a regular and a veteran and is expected to make the team. Of the 11 players used, they averaged 19 minutes with the exception of Wenyen Gabriel, who played for only two minutes.

Morris Phillips and Jerry Feitelberg cover the NBA for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Timberwolves beat the Warriors 114-110 in preseason game

Photo credit: @Timberwolves

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors opened up the 2018 NBA preseason with a home game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves at Oracle Arena on Saturday.

Prior to Saturday’s game, Kevin Durant was presented with his 2017-18 Season-long NBA Community Assist Award.

Warriors basketball was back, and the Splash Party picked up where it left off. Stephen Curry started the Splash Party with a couple of 3-pointers and then Durant and Andre Iguodala followed suit. In addition, a sweet dish from Durant set up the slam by Kevon Looney. Despite the Warriors’ on-court successes, the Timberwolves led 37-36 at the end of the first quarter.

The Warriors bounced back in the second quarter and subsequently carried a 71-65 lead over the Timberwolves to the locker room at the end of the first half. Klay Thompson had 15 points and 4 rebounds. Curry had 14 points and 3 assists. Durant had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Jordan Bell had 10 points and 4 rebounds. Shaun Livingston had 6 points and 2 assists. Draymond Green had 6 assists, 2 points and 2 rebounds.

Durant threw down some dunks in the third quarter. And, to be fair, Durant’s dunks appeared to be in mid-season form. Durant was able to show off the handle as well as the mid-range.

The Warriors trailed the Timberwolves 94-92 at the end of the third quarter.

The Warriors’ rookie power was certainly a sight to see. Jacob Evans III notched his first career preseason bucket at the 10:11 mark of the fourth quarter. Marcus Derrickson followed up with two 3-pointers.

The two teams were tied with 3:05 left in the fourth quarter. Evans continued to put in work on the Warriors’ court. But Evans’ or anyone else’s efforts were disregarded as the Timberwolves defeated the Warriors 114-110.

The Warriors’ final statistics showed Curry with 21 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds, Thompson with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, Durant with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 rebounds, Bell with 10 points, 7 assists and 1 rebound, Derrickson with 10 points and 3 rebounds, and Looney with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 rebound.

Notes
Warriors’ starters: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Damian Jones. 

Up Next
The Warriors and Sacramento Kings will battle it out next Friday at 7:05 pm PT inside the KeyArena in Seattle in a nationally televised game on ESPN.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Who will win the AL MVP?; Ex-Raider Ball suffering aneurysm; Vikings’ Griffen asked to take mental evaluation

Photo credit: @StribSports

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 In the American League MVP selection, it comes down to the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout with .314, 38 HRs and 77 RBIs, and for the Boston Red Sox’s Mookie Betts .343, 32 HRs and 80 RBIs.

#2 Former Oakland Raiders linebacker Neiron Ball, who played for the team for only six games in 2015 and was also a former Florida Gator. Due to a knee injury, Ball left the Raiders in his brief NFL career suffered a brain aneurysm that ruptured on September 16th. Could head trauma play a role in brain aneurysms and other head injuries after a player has retired?

#3 Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen was ordered by the Vikings to take a mental health evaluation after having an outburst at the team’s Minneapolis hotel last Saturday. He was heard screaming and yelling that he was going to shoot someone if they didn’t open the door to his room. Police were called and found that he had no weapon.

#4 Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said that the comparison of the 1998 Chicago Bulls to the 2018 Golden State Warriors is a huge difference. The ’98 Bulls had free agents that were going to leave the team and the 2018 Warriors have players that plan to stay and the top brass is going to work to keep the free agents.

#5 The New York Yankees look like they have a great shot at getting the AL Wild Card title. The Yankees lead the Oakland A’s by two full games and neither team have given up. Both A’s and Yankees still continue to win.

London does the Headline Sports each week and will host the next remote podcast at Il Fornaio in downtown Sacramento Mon Nov 5th at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings: Bogdanovic left knee procedure goes well; back in four to six weeks

Serbia vs Greece
Bogdanovic goes to the hoop versus Greece in the World Cup Qualifier

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings second-year guard Bogdan Bogdanovic underwent what the team called a “minor” arthroscopic procedure on his left knee Thursday in New York City. The procedure was performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery by Dr. Riley Williams. The reports are the procedure was successful and Bogdanovic should be able to return to game action in four to six weeks.

Based on the four to six weeks estimate, that means Bogdanovic would miss all of the preseason games and the season opener with the Jazz. If he were to need the full six weeks to recover and rehab, the Kings star guard might not be available until November 4th versus the Hawks on the road in Atlanta.

Bogdanovic injured the knee in a game on September 17th while playing for the Serbian National team versus Estonia in a World Cup Qualifying game. Bogdanovic reported experiencing discomfort in his left knee early in the first quarter of that game, which Serbia won 91-65.

That’s Amaury News and Commentary: Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame–Greg Papa, Class of 2018

@Greg_Papaa file photo: Greg Papa in photo during his Golden State Warriors days

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

Greg Papa has been the radio voice of the Raiders for the past 20 years. He has also broadcast A’s and Giants baseball along with Warriors basketball. In addition, he has served as an in-studio host for both the Giants and Warriors broadcast on NBC Sports Bay Area.

Papa has attained iconic status as one of the top sportscasters in the United States. He was product of Syracuse University–the cradle of sportscasters. During his Warriors years in the 1990’s, I got to know and travel with Greg, who is a hard-working, accomplished sportscaster with a good sense of humor and has lived in the Bay Area for most of his adult life.

The members of BARHOF Class of 2018 include: Scott Beach known on the air for his work on KCBS. Michael Stavko, one of the legendary characters of the airwaves hosted the KFOG’s morning show. Newscaster Jon Bristow, who’s currently with KCBS and also was a reporter and news anchor at KGO for more than 25 years. Gene Burns arrived in KGO in 1995 after a lengthy career that took him from his native New York into Philadelphia, Boston and Florida.

Others: Fred Krock, Engineering. Gordon Zlot, Management. Floyd Farr, Pioneer. Chris Edwards, Legend; and the Second Annual Sherwood Award went to Brian Sussman.

The BARHOF Class of 2018 Induction Luncheon will take place on Saturday, October 13, 11 am at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco. Terry McGovern will be the Master of Ceremonies. This year’s class was selected in voting conducted among current emembers of BARHOF. For more information on reservations to attend this event visit www.broadcastlegends.com

BARHOF Class of 2010 in Sports: Sports Radio Service’s Amaury Pi-González, alongside Jon Miller and Gary Radnich.

Michelle Richardson’s Final Thoughts Commentary: Cuban needs to step away from the limelight; Meyer should have been fired from Ohio State

ESPN still: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban answers questions about sexual harassment in the Mavericks front office being interviewed by ESPN’s Rachel Nichols

On Michelle’s Final Thoughts Commentary:

The independent report came out about the Dallas Mavericks and work place culture and the article came out in the expose in Sports Illustrated about the Mavericks organization that it was a hostile work environment of sexual harassment and domestic violence and it was just an old boys club.

Women were just victimized and treated just horribly and Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban appeared on ESPN with Rachel Nichols and I’m going to applaud Rachel she did not let him off the hook she really pressed Cuban. I’ve never seen Mark Cuban without words and he couldn’t say anything. Cuban stuttered and stammered in the interview.

Listen to Michelle’s Finals Thought Commentary weekly on the NCAAFB podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Tyler Ulis reportedly agrees to Exhibit 10 contract with the Warriors

Photo credit: @957thegame

By: Ana Kieu

The defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors are continuing to make moves this offseason. The Athletic’s Anthony Slater first broke the news on Twitter.

Ulis last played for the NBA G League’s Northern Arizona Suns in 2017-2018. The 22-year-old was initially selected 34th overall in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. The former Kentucky baller made 71 appearances and 43 starts last season in Phoenix, averaging 7.8 points, 4.4 assists and 23.4 minutes per game.

According to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears, Ulis reportedly chose the Warriors over the Rockets and Kings.

Ulis was waived by the Suns on June 30th.

Of course, we’ll have to see how Ulis plays in Oakland. But I think that this move was a win-win for both parties. Ulis likely wanted to join a winning team and the Warriors appeared to be planning for the future.

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Raiders open up regular season on MNF; The shock waves of the Khalil Mack trade; plus more

Photo credit: @steverosenbloom

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The Oakland Raiders open up their regular season this Monday night September 10th at the Oakland Coliseum. There are lots of expectations for the Raiders on the primetime show.

#2 The talk throughout the NFL is the Khalil Mack trade to the Chicago Bears and getting a record $114 million deal. London discusses how this will work out for the Bears.

#3 Trump says that Nike is sending a “terrible message” with the Colin Kaepernick ad. Trump still doesn’t see unequal treatment and police brutality going on in the African American and Latino/Hispanic communities.

#4 The San Jose Earthquakes, who took a tough 2-1 loss last Saturday in Vancouver, have another two months worth of soccer left with only three wins for the season. Can they make the best of it or will they just go through the motions and suffer through it?

#5 After former Sacramento Kings player DeMarcus Cousins left Sacramento, who will carry the Kings this season? Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere, Bogdan Bogdanovic, D’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, or another player to be named later?

London Marq does the Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Headline Sports with London Marq: Meyer meets with players before starting suspension; Cardinal alum come to give 2018 offense some tips; plus much more

Photo credit: @WillCainShow

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 Ohio State coach Urban Meyer met with players and assistant coaches of his team to explain his suspension from the team. Meyer was restricted from addressing the suspension and it’s issues but was allowed to talk to his team and Athletic Director Gene Smith. How will something like this a national story impact the Buckeyes going into week one of the season?

#2 Stanford Cardinal had some of their old alumni come in to address specific offensive issues with the incoming class of 2018 as the Cardinal’s opening kickoff begins on Friday, August 31. The former quarterback Kevin Hogan spoke with the quarterbacks, Andrew Luck talked to the offense, and Tavita Pritchard spoke with the offense as well. It’s a good way to have some of the team’s former alumni come back and inspire the current team.

#3 Turning to baseball, lots of talk about the direction of the AL West. First, the Houston Astros at one point were struggling, but on their current homestand, they know facing the visiting Oakland A’s, it was a critical matchup. The Astros on Monday night set the tone with a 11-4 thrashing of the A’s and on top of that the A’s learned that their ace starter Sean Manaea will be on the 10-day DL. The A’s shook it off and got a one one win on Tuesday night to even the series 4-3.

#4 The Boston Red Sox are coasting 6 1/2 games in front of the second-place New York Yankees and they got a key win on Tuesday night over the Miami Marlins. The Marlins were no pushovers, but lost by a run, 8-7.

#5 The San Francisco 49ers close out their preseason Thursday night at Levis Stadium against the Los Angeles Chargers. Head coach Kyle Shanahan will be trimming down the roster in preparation of opening week in September. What are some of the things that he will be expecting during Thursday’s game?

London Marq does the Headline Sports podcasts each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com