Category: NBA

The Sacramento Kings need an executive like Chris Granger for Basketball Operations

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

This article first appeared on this site just after the NBA All-Star Game in February. In light of recent events, it seemed appropriate to post it again.

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday was overshadowed by the news that the Sacramento Kings had traded their All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans for three guards and two draft picks in the 2017 draft. The trade stunned Kings fans who had placed all of their hopes for success on Cousins for the past seven  years.

In a news conference on Monday, vice president of basketball operations and general manager Vlade Divac revealed that Kings missed out on a better trade for Cousins two days earlier after it was pulled off the table. A franchise that has been viewed as unstable and without direction looked even more so after that revelation.

messy office 2

In the 2016 off-season, free agents and top draft prospects refused to come to Sacramento for workouts. The events of the past 48 hours have done nothing to improve that situation for the upcoming free agent period and 2017 NBA Draft which has been labeled as being “star-studded”.

The Kings are in desperate need of an basketball operations executive who can set a direction, develop realistic goals and establish stability for the team. They need a person who can create a can do atmosphere and attract top talent. You are probably thinking the Kings could never recruit that kind of top executive talent. That is where you would be wrong.

Granger
Chris Granger Photo: Capradio.org

Let me introduce you to Chris Granger – President of the Sacramento Kings and Sacramento Basketball Holdings, LLC and here is what he has accomplished in that position:

  • The value the franchise has risen to $1.025-billion from the original purchase price of $534-million in 2013
  • The Golden 1 Center was built in downtown Sacramento in joint public – private partnership that saved the Kings franchise from moving to Seattle
  • The Golden 1 Center has been tagged as “the Tesla of arenas”
  • Granger and the Kings are the driving force behind a $500-million mixed-use downtown development that includes a team owned 16 story hotel that is center-piece of a city revitalization project
  • Under Granger’s watch – a downtown that became a “ghost town” after sunset is now alive and thriving because of the thousands of people coming to the city center for sports and entertainment events on evenings and weekends  at the Golden 1 Center

Fast Company just named the Sacramento Kings the Number One of the “Most Innovative Companies” in the Sports Sector for creating a what they call the “Modern Day Fan Experience”.

Granger came to the Kings with a wealth of experience in the NBA having worked in the league offices from 1999-2013. In his last assignment, he was the executive vice president of Team Marketing  and Business Operations advising NBA, WNBA and NBA D-League teams on ticket and sponsorship sales, marketing, communications, digital media and community relations. The Sacramento franchise has excelled in all of these areas because of his experience.

If Vivek Ranadive had hired a basketball operations leader with same level of experience that Granger possesses on the business side, the Sacramento Kings would not find themselves in the disarray that they are in currently.

reset

The Kings have hit the “reset button”. They cannot afford to blow this reset. The fan base in Sacramento has been waiting for 10 long years for a return to the playoffs. They have endured multiple threats to have the team ripped away and moved to another city. Fans stepped up and purchased every available season ticket package in support of the team moving into the new arena.

Now, the Kings one legitimate All-Star has been traded away for three guards and two draft picks. The not so hidden message to the fans is “you’ll have to be patient while we figure this out.” The fans will not be patient for long because they are very, very tired from years of chaos from what is supposed to be entertainment and escape from the cares of daily life.

If Ranadive can recruit and hire a high-powered executive like Chris Granger to run the business operations and “make it rain” money for organization, he is capable finding an experienced basketball operations executive with a successful track record who can come in and turn the Kings around.

hinkie
Sam Hinkie

Bringing in a President of Basketball Operations does not mean that Vlade Divac and his staff need to pushed out the door. Having Divac and Peja Stojakovic in the front office is a great link to the history of the franchise and to the fans. They also have great ties to Europe which is becoming an increasingly more important player development and recruiting region for the NBA.

Ranadive needs to do one more thing. He needs to follow the “Rooney Rule” even though the NBA does not have a mandate to follow that protocol.  Marc J. Spears wrote in June 2016 on his theundefeated.com about the distressing lack of black leadership in the NBA. Mr. Ranadive has the opportunity to address two critical issues simultaneously.

The key is Ranadive must act now. The Kings cannot afford to make a miscalculation in this year’s draft. A major mistake could have years of negative impact. The team must also create an atmosphere where at least quality second unit free agents are willing to come play in Sacramento.

Ranadive did not become a baron in the high tech world by letting things just happen. He has a man of experience and action on the business side. Now, he must hire someone with the same level of expertise on the basketball operations side or face years of anguish and frustration.

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: One thing for sure the W’s never take the Rockets for granted

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots against San Antonio Spurs center Dewayne Dedmon during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, March 29, 2017, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–The 113-106 victory over the Houston Rockets was really a big one for the Warriors on Tuesday and the Rockets are figured to make some noise in the playoffs and the Warriors have played them a couple of times in the post season in the last two years. The Rockets are not a team to be taken lightly in fact the Rockets beat the Warriors in December at Oracle in overtime. The Warriors beat Houston once before in Houston and they take the Rockets seriously, they are a tough team.

The thing for the Warriors against Houston is defense what they’ve been able to do in most of their match ups with the Rockets is keep James Harden in check and if Harden is healthy you don’t have any top of the line All Star scorers on the Rockets roster. The Rockets are noted to bomb away from three point land even more so than the Warriors. They have three point shots, free throws, dunk, but almost never use the mid range shot.

David has more on the Warriors podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

The Warriors win their eighth in a row as the defeat the Houston Rockets

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USA Today photo: Stephen Curry of the Warriors drives past Clint Capela of the Rockets during the third quarter on March 28 in Houston. The Warriors won 113-106.

by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors won their eighth game in as they, behind a strong defensive effort, sent the Houston Rockets down to defeat 113-106 Tuesday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The Warriors started strong and led 37-20 after the first 12 minutes of action. The Dubs increased the lead to 22 early in the second quarter, but the Rockets went on a 9-0 run to get back into the game. The Warriors finished the first half leading 60-52. The Warriors shot 55.3% from the floor and held the Rockets to just 38%. The Rockets remained in the game as they went to went to the free throw line twenty times and made eighteen. The Warriors went to the charity stripe once. Steph made one and missed one. Steph, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green led the Warrior offense.

The Warriors increased the lead to thirteen behind a three-pointer by Klay and a bucket by Draymond Green. The Rockets kept coming back, but the Dubs had an answer for every challenge. Draymond Green had to leave the game with a sprained ankle, and Warrior fans held their collective breaths as Draymond is so critical to the Warriors’ defense. Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr had to insert backup center JaVale McGee into the game. McGee was not slated to play as he did not match up well with the Rockets’ big men. However, JaVale made his presence felt as he scored two key baskets and was a force on defense. The Dubs finished the third quarter on a 10-2 run and led 87-75 after three periods of play.

Steph Curry started the fourth quarter and scored five points early in the period. Steph had to leave the game as he picked up his fifth personal foul and Kerr did not want him to foul out. Ian Clark and Matt Barnes filled in nicely until Steph could return. In the meantime, the Rockets kept going to the free-throw line. James Harden knocked down a three to close the gap to 99-92. Harden, at this juncture, had tallied 21 points. He scored 8 from the field and 13 from the charity stripe. Matt Barnes made two big shots to keep the Rockets at bay. Draymond hit a bucket to up the lead to six 103-97. Steph made it 105-97. The Rockets came back with a bucket, but Draymond mads another shot. Steph, the baby-faced assassin with ice water in his veins, put the dagger into the Rockets’ heart as he made a three-pointer with 1:46 left to secure the win for the Warriors. The final score was 113-106.

Game notes and stats- The Warriors led from wire-to-wire as they shut down the Rockets’ high-powered offense. The Warriors’ offense is second in the NBA, and their defense is ranked number one. The Rockets are ranked 18th in defense.

The Warriors’ James Michael McAdoo suffered a head injury late in the first quarter. McAdoo had played well but was injured when he fell to the floor. One of the Rocket players tripped and hit McAdoo in the head as he landed. McAdoo’s forehead slammed into the court, and he was bleeding profusely from his forehead. McAdoo went to the dressing room and received seven stitches above his eyebrow. He passed the concussion protocol but did not return to action. It is known at this time if he will be able to play Wednesday night against the Spurs. With, the win, the Warriors improve to 60-14. The team has now won 60 or more for three consecutive seasons. Thies was the first time in NBA history that a team has achieved that feat. Steve Kerr won his 200th game as coach of the Dubs. No other coach, in any major sport, has reached 200 wins faster than Kerr. His record as Dub coach is 200-38. After the game, Kerr remarked that the Warrior defense did a fantastic job Tuesday night:” they missed open ones. (we) did a great job on 3-point defense” as the Rockets were just 5-for-31 from behind the arc.

Steph Curry had a double-double with 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. Klay Thompson scored 25 and made two blocks. Draymond tallied 19, 4 assists, and 9 boards. Andre Iguodala pitched in with 12, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. McGee, Clark, Livingston, West, Barnes, and McCaw all helped the Dubs to the win. The Dubs’ bench play has been outstanding helping Golden State win 8 in a row.

Jame Harden led the Rockets with 24 points. Harden had another triple-double as he had 11 assists and 11 rebounds as well as 24 points. Clint Capela tallied 21. Trevor Ariza 13, Patrick Beverley 10, Eric Gordon 10, and Lou Williams, the former Laker, finished with 17.

The Warriors face the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday in San Antonio. Game time will be at 6:30 pm. If the Warriors win, they will have a three-game advantage with just seven games left on the schedule. They cannot finish the season with a tie with the Spurs for the best record as the Warriors do not own the tie-breaker.

 

 

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings seek permission to speak with 76ers GM; team seeking operations manager

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nbcphiladelphia.com still: Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie speaks to the media as talks about his possible being the Sacramento Kings Basketball Operations Manager has been the latest news

by Charlie O

SACRAMENTO–There been a lot talk regarding a new basketball of operations man that could take over and be over team president Vlade Divac. This was a story that was broke by Mark Stein of ESPN. You hear a rumor coming down from his level him and CBS Sports Jack Maloney you sit up and take notice. All of a sudden you hear those two guys say that the Kings and owner Vivek Ranadive who is the managing governor for the Kings that they are seeking permission to talk to Philadelphia 76ers GM Sam Hinkie.

The Kings who acquired all of the 76ers draft picks you then sit up and take notice and say “wow” the other thing that kind of makes that interesting is that Hinkie is living in Northern California right now and that makes it a little more intriguing as the story goes along. Just to give a little background on that as managing or majority owner Ranadive apparently does not have much of a percentage with the Ranadive group and does not have as large of a percentage as you might think.

There’s varied reports on what that percentage is but his group has the largest percentage therefore they ended up with the managing partner status, they wound up with the governorship which doesn’t have anything to do with the Lakers situation involving the Buss family. Jeanie Buss wound up as owner of the Lakers for life after some legal struggles with her brothers.

There’s a lot more on the Kings management scramble and Charlie O covers it’s all at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sacramento Kings Monday game wrap: Collison’s steady hand lifts Kings 91-90

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Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) breaks away for a dunk against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, March. 27, 2017. The Kings won 91-90. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)

By Jeremy Harness

SACRAMENTO – Things were going very smoothly for Darren Collison and the rest of his Kings teammates going into the fourth quarter, but the wheels started to fall off in the final minutes and allowed the bigger, more intimidating SUV that is the Memphis Grizzlies to get back in to the game and take the lead.

However, Collison did not back off and continued to attack, and after Sacramento lost the lead in the final minute, he went to the basket and forced the Grizzlies to foul him. He then knocked down two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to give the Kings a 91-90 win Monday night at the Golden 1 Center.

It was the Kings’ second win against a playoff-bound team in as many days, a night after knocking off the Los Angeles Clippers in another game that came down to the final possession. This can be seen as a young team passing a major test in its development into the playoff team that it aspires to be.

Collison, who has arguably been the Kings’ steadiest player in the past month, got the better of his head-to-head matchup with his point-guard counterpart in Mike Conley – who just happens to be the NBA’s highest-paid player – scoring 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with seven assists and four rebounds, while Conley had 22 but went 8-for-23 from the field to do it.

To do so, Collison continually came off of high screens and pulled up for midrange jumpers – which he seemed to have down for three quarters – or making quick darts to the basket for nifty layups, the exact moves that he was seen rehearsing in the hour leading up to Monday’s game.

In fact, he only missed one of his nine shots for that timeframe, and the Kings were in control of the game.

In the fourth quarter, however, things swung heavily in the other direction. The shots that poured in during the first three quarters began to bounce off the rim in the fourth, allowing the more physical, playoff-tested Grizzlies to use their style to get right back into the game.

Even Collison couldn’t find the basket in the final minutes. Leading by one with less than a minute left, for instance, the Kings had the ball and ran a high screen for Collison, but he missed the elbow jumper that had served him well for three quarters.

Sacramento secured the offensive rebound, but Anthony Tolliver then missed an open 3-pointer. Memphis then grabbed the rebound and forced a foul on the other end, and when Zach Randolph sank a pair of free throws as part of his 17 points and 15 rebounds, the Kings had lost the lead for the first time in the quarter.

The Kings, however, would have the final say, thanks to Collison.

Sacramento controlled the action for much of the first quarter, as the team was jump-started by the early hot shooting by Buddy Hield, who nailed a pair of threes to put Sacramento ahead. Hield finished the game with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting and also grabbed four rebounds.

The Kings also edged the Grizzlies from the free-throw line, drawing six fouls on Memphis in the first quarter and making all but one of their nine free throws.

They found themselves leading 51-49 at the half, and after Memphis took the lead early in the third quarter, Collison seized control of the game and keyed a surge that saw the Kings leading by as many as nine. He scored seven points and hit all three of his shots in the quarter, and when he wasn’t putting it in the basket himself, he was finding teammates such as Garrett Temple and Willie Cauley-Stein for wide-open threes and alley-oops.

Are the Kings looking to hire a new head of basketball operations?

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO–Just when you thought things were settling down into an end of the season routine, bam! – here comes another rumor out of right field that Kings managing owner Vivek  Ranadive  may be looking to hire someone to head up the basketball operations department. That person would supervise Vlade Divac and the rest of the operations staff according to the rumor mill.

The executive the Kings are targeting may be as much of a surprise as the fact they are looking for additional front office help. The rumors say the Kings are pursuing former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie.

Hinkie has been out of the league for almost a year since the Colangelo’s (Jerry and Bryan)    took over the Philadelphia operation. Hinkie  is known as “the process” for his plans he put together to rebuild the 76ers especially by “tanking”.

Hinkie drafted Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Jahlil Okafor. He also put together a deal with the Sacramento Kings that netted the Sixers Nik Stauskas plus the right to swap first-round picks in 2016 and 2017. The trade also results in Philadelphia receiving the Kings 2019 first-round draft pick. The Kings basically received salary cap relief and the rights to two little known Euro League players.

There have been persistent rumblings that minority owners have been putting pressure on Ranadive to bring in someone with more experience to run the basketball operations. The Kings have been very successful on the business and marketing side under the leadership of Chris Granger. The minority owners are looking for the kind of expertise that Granger brings on the business side to be put in place on the basketball operations side.

Does this story have legs? Six months ago, I would have said no but now I have to say maybe. The team who was never going to trade DeMarcus Cousins did move him and that makes everything fair game in this reporter’s opinion.

As of today, the Kings will two lottery picks in the 2017 NBA Draft. Those picks could determine the success or failure of the team for seasons to come. Having all the experience and expertise in the front office as possible at this critical time for the organization would be a major plus for the Kings.

The Warriors win their seventh in a row, it was not easy, but they prevailed 106-94

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by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The visiting Memphis Grizzlies gave the Warriors a very tough battle for three periods Sunday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors utilized a very stingy defense in the second half and were able to beat the Grizzlies 106-94.

The Grizzlies had beaten the Warriors twice this season, and with the win, the Warriors evened the series and retained a two-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the NBA. The Grizzlies remained in seventh-place in the Western Conference and would face the team that finished second in the first round of the playoffs.

The Warriors wanted to get off to a good start and force the Grizzlies to play catch-up. The Grizzlies had other ideas as they had the Dubs playing their game.

The Grizzlies love to play tough defense. They love to force opposing teams to beat them by having them shoot from the perimeter. The Grizzlies grind it out on offense and use as much of the 24-second clock as possible before taking their shots. The strategy worked as they led for most of the first half and trailed by just two points at the end of three periods of play. The Warriors, to their credit, know how to play defense too. The Dubs shut down the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter as they held them to just 13 points to secure the win.

In the first quarter, the lead changed hands several times, and Memphis finished leading 28-25. The Warriors, behind the inspired play of Andre Iguodala, were able to finish the first half leading 56-54. Andre led the Dubs with 16 points. The Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry added 21. (Steph 11 and Klay 10). JaMychal Green, Michael Conley, and Zach Randolph each had 12 for Memphis. The Dubs shot 50% from the floor, but the Grizzlies were better at 56%. Memphis scored 30 points in the paint.

The third quarter was even. The Dubs led by seven 81-74 but the ageless wonder, Vince Carter, made a three and a deuce to close the gap to two. Memphis tied the game at 81, but Steph finished the quarter with a bucket to regain the lead.

In the fourth period, the Warrior defense was fantastic. Steve Kerr had David West at center and Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala at the forward position. The Dubs defense was able to keep Memphis from scoring a single point for over four-plus minutes in the quarter. Klay Thompson became a torch as he continued to hit three-point shots. Klay made five three-pointers in the second half. Steph Curry also made two triples to increase the lead to 101-01. Iguodala made a stuff on a pass from Steph and Steph made a three to secure the win 106-94

Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors won their seventh game in a row and improved to 59-14. The Warriors play the next four games against teams that will be in the playoffs and teams that have beaten them at least once. The meet the Houston Rockets Tuesday in Houston. They face San Antonio on Wednesday in San Antonio then return home to face the Rockets on Friday and the Washington Wizards Sunday, April 2nd at Oracle.The Warriors will be seeking to avenge the loss to the Wizards on February 28th. The Dubs not only lost the game, but they also lost Kevin Durant to an injury. The doctors will re-evaluate KD’s condition next week, and he should be ready to return to action in limited minutes fairly soon.

Steve Kerr, after the game, remarked: “we had good energy from the bench guys.” The leader off the bench was Iguodala, who scored 20 points, had four assists, seven boards, and a blocked shot. Kerr told him ” whatever you are doing, keep on doing it.” Steph added ” it means a lot when Andre does what he doses. He sometimes thinks we forget how good a player he is but we know.” The Warriors are 5-0 when Andre scores 20 or more points.

Klay Thompson scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half. Steph had a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists. Draymond Green, who played the center position in the third period, finished the night with 9 points, four assists, seven rebounds, and one blocked shot. Matt Barnes added 10 points off the bench.

The Warriors recorded 30 assists on 39 buckets. It was the 45th game of the year with 30 or more assists in a game. The Dubs had nine steals and 4 blocks on defense. Michel Conley led the Grizzlies with 29. Randolph had 15, but just 3 in the second half. JaMychael Green ended the night with 13. He had 12 in the first half.

The Warriors will have their hands full Tuesday night in Houston. The Rockets scored 137 points in the win over the Thunder on Sunday. James Harden had 22, Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon 24, andLow Williams, the former Laker, led the club with 31.

 

Sacramento Kings Sunday game wrap: Clips Paul misses jump shot at buzzer gets Kings razor thin win 98-97 at Staples

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Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) reacts with teammate guard Buddy Hield, right, after scoring the go-ahead basket with 1.8 seconds left in an NBA basketball game while Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul look on, Sunday, March 26, 2017, in Los Angeles. The Kings won 98-97. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

By: Jessica Kwong

LOS ANGELES – The struggling Sacramento Kings entered the fourth quarter with a 11-point deficit against the playoffs-bound Los Angeles Clippers. So when 1.8 seconds remained in the game Sunday afternoon and Chris Paul missed a jump shot, handing the Kings a 98-97 victory, Staples Center was shocked.

Sacramento chipped away at the Clippers lead to 97-96 and with 4.9 seconds left, Kings guard Ben McLemore missed a running lay-up. But Kings forward Willie Cauley-Stein got the rebound and scored a put-back lay-up to put his team up by 1 point with only a few seconds to go.

“I just remember taking off and seeing Ben had a lay-up and the only thing I’m thinking is, ‘If this ball comes off, I’ve just got to grab it and put it up,’” Cauley-Stein said of the last Kings possession. “And it just came right to my hands.”

The victory was a bright spot in the Kings’ (28-45) season that’s now focused on developing the young players and anticipating a high draft pick. It hurt the Clippers (44-31), who are chasing the Utah Jazz in hopes of taking fourth place in the Western Conference.

“It’s a bad loss, probably the worst one in the regular season in my career,” said the Clippers’ star point guard Paul. “It’s tough. That was a bad one. That was a bad loss.”

The Kings held their own in the first half.

Though Los Angeles took the lead early on, Tyreke Evans hit a three-pointer that gave Sacramento a 18-17 lead near the end of the first quarter. DeAndre Jordan’s slam dunk to put the Clippers up 20-17 with just under 3 minutes left in the quarter, but Darren Collison answered back with a triple to bring the Kings within 24-22. Then Kings center George Papagiannis made a three-foot lay-up to tie the game at 24 at the end of the first quarter.

Sacramento held on in the second quarter and quickly scored to take a 29-24 lead in the first minute-and-a-half. Clippers forward Anthony Tolliver scored two three-pointers, the second putting his team up 40-33 with less than five minutes in the quarter. But Los Angeles caught up and Paul passed the ball to Jordan for a slam dunk that gave them a 44-42 lead at the half.

The game started getting away from the Kings in the third quarter. A few minutes in, Jordan made a running lay-up and the Clippers took a 54-44 lead. That grew to as much as 17 points when Clippers guard Jamal Crawford scored a triple with 2 minutes and a half remaining.

But Sacramento kept at it. Guards Langston Galloway and Buddy Hield hit some big shots and the Kings cut the Clippers’ lead to 11 points at the end of the quarter.

“It felt like we couldn’t score a basket in the third quarter, but we didn’t put our heads down,” Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger said. “We kept saying we were two baskets down from being 10 down or nine.”

The fourth quarter was looking even worse for the Kings, who trailed by as many as 18 points a few times. Hield, Galloway and Cauley-Stein made several shots to bring the Kings back within single digits and the latter’s lay-up and the Clippers meltdown gave Sacramento the win.

“We didn’t lose hope. You talk about when LG (Langston Galloway), Buddy, Ben, Willie, they didn’t lose hope, not one bit,” Collison said. “They kept pulling and pulling and pulling and eventually got some big threes.”

Collision said beating his former team was “fun.”

“It’s all competition and the Clippers are considered one of the best teams in the NBA,” he said. “Anytime you get to play one of the best teams in the NBA, we definitely want to perform at a high level.”

The Kings return to the Golden 1 Center to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kings go to Golden State University on Friday night losing to Warriors 114-100

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gswtoppix

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings educational tour continued on Friday as they traveled to the Bay Area to take on the Golden State Warriors for the final time this season. The Kings had a chance to split the season series at 2-2 with a victory. The Warriors won the game 114-100 and win the season series three games to one.

The Kings did not go with an all youngster starting lineup

Dave Joerger was not of a mind to just let his team be steamrolled for the sake of learning and falling back in the draft lottery standings. Joerger went with Afflalo, Koufos, Cauley-Stein, Hield and Lawson to open the game.

Sacramento did hold out Darren Collison, Tyreke Evans and Anthony Tolliver for “rest”. The bottom line on those decisions are designed to get the less experienced players more time on the court. With the playoffs out of reach, getting  playing time for younger players in order to evaluate their talent and value to the organization is the priority.

Buddy Hield led the way again for the Kings

gsw hield vs curry
Hield works against Curry Photo: NBAE

Hield had another big night for Sacramento as he finished the game as their leading scorer with 22 points. He shot 7-for-14 (50-percent) overall from the floor and hit 4-of-9 from behind the 3-point line. The rookie out of Oklahoma was perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. He played 33-minutes versus the Warriors.

Hield grabbed eight rebounds, dished out seven assists and had two steals in the game. He continues to show marked improvement in handling the basketball in traffic and passing the ball when open shots are not available.

WCS was efficient on offense

Sacramento Kings v Golden State Warriors
Willie Cauley-Stein works against Curry Photo: NBAE

Cauley-Stein scored 12 points as the starting center playing 27-minutes against Golden State rather than his usual 30-plus minutes of “PT” we have been seeing from him in recent games. He hit 5-of-6 shots from the floor and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. He also recorded four rebounds, two assists and one steal.

That other kid from Kentucky played 27-minutes as well

Rookie Skal Labissiere did not start the game but did play substantial minutes. Labissiere finished with a double-double scoring 10 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. He also distributed eight assists.

Labissiere just keeps doing things that amaze and prove that he deserves to be in a Kings uniform and on the floor playing in NBA games. The future is bright for this rookie and the fans in Sacramento.

“Papa G” spent some valuable time in class

Sacramento Kings v Golden State Warriors
Papa G tries to stop Curry Photo: NBAE

Kings rookie center Georgios Papagiannis received 26-minutes of classroom time on the floor versus the Warriors on Friday night. The big man had times when he looked confident and time when he looked lost. Just what you would expect from a 19-year rookie facing the best team in the NBA.

Papagiannis finished with seven points shooting 3-for-6 from the field and hitting 1-of-1 from the free throw line. He also posted four rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.

Other Kings contributors

Ty Lawson scored 20 points hitting 8-of-9 from the floor. Ben McLemore scored 11, Langston Galloway 8 (they need to find this guy more shots), Garrett Temple 5, Arron Afflalo 3 and Kosta Koufos 2 points.

Sacramento team numbers

The Kings shot an impressive 48.2-percent (40-for-83) from the floor. They had a better 3-point shooting percentage – 47.6-percent – than the Warriors. Both teams sank 10 3-point shots.

Two stats that killed the Kings:

  • Turnovers: Kings 21 that resulted in 36 GSW points; GSW 13 that created seven Kings points
  • Assists: Kings 27 ; Golden State 37 … let that sink in

Streaks

  • Kings: have lost four-in-a-row and are 2-8 in their last 10
  • Warriors: have won six-in-a-row and are 7-3 in their last 10

Up next for SAC

The Kings are back in action on Sunday at 12:30 PM PDT when they will face the LA Clippers at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

 

 

 

The Warriors cruise to their sixth win in a row, beat the Sacramento Kings 144-100

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 by Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland – The Golden State Warriors won their sixth game in a row as they defeated the visiting Sacramento Kings 114-100 Friday night at Oracle Arena.

The Dubs were not as dominating as they had been in their last four games but they were able to handle the Kings easily.

There were four lead changes and two ties in the first quarter of play. Sacramento led by a point 18-17 but the Dubs went on a 10-2 run to finish the quarter with a seven-point lead 27-20. The Warriors looked as if they were going to leave the Kings in the dust as they led 51-39. Sacramento, however, matched the Dubs with 30 points in the quarter and trailed 57-50 at the half. Steph Curry led the Dubs with 10. Ty Lawson tallied 18 for the Kings.

The Warriors, as they have done so many times this season, broke the game open in the third quarter. Draymond Green made three three-point shots to help the Dubs gain control of the game. Andre Iguodala, David West, JaVale McGee, and Steph Curry put together a 28-17 run to give the Dubs the lead 92-72 after three periods of action. In the fourth quarter, Steph made three consecutive three-point shots to ice the victory for the Dubs. The Warriors finished the game 114-100.

Game Notes and stats. The Warriors, with the win, are now 58-14 for the year and have just 10 games left on the schedule They lead the San Antonio Spurs by 2 games for the best record in the Western Conference. They will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs if they finish first.

Steph Curry led the Dubs with a double-double. He knocked down 27 points, including 5 3-pointers, and had 12 assists to go along with 7 rebounds. Draymond Green had a season-high 23 points in the game. Klay Thompson had an off-night as he scored just 8 points. The story of the game was the play of the bench. Iguodala, McGee, West, Ian Clark, Shaun Livingston, and Matt Barnes all made contributions to help win the game. The Dubs defense was good, not as good as coach Kerr would have liked as he said “our defense was not very good tonight. We have to play better Sunday against Memphis.” However, the stat sheet show the Warriors outrebounded the Kings 44-37 and they had 14 steals and 8 blocked shots and forced 19 turnovers. The Dubs scored 36 points off the turnovers and scored 31 fast break points. The Warriors shot 49.4% from the floor.

The Warriors recorded 37 assists in the game and it was the 44th game this year with 30 or more assists. It was also the 37th game with 10 or more steals. They Dubs are first in the NBA in steals and blocked shots.

Scoring leaders for Sacramento were Buddy Hield with 22, Ty Lawson 20, Willie Cauley-Stein 12, Ben McLemore 11, and Skal Labissiere,10. Labissiere pulled down 10 boards to record a double-double.

The Warriors face the Memphis Grizzlies Sunday evening at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 5 pm. The Grizzlies have beaten the Dubs twice this year and the Warriors will be looking to even the series with a win.