SACRAMENTO–The DeMarcus Cousins era in Sacramento has apparently come to an end. Multiple reports have Cousins going to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for shooting guard Buddy – “the Nutcracker”- Hield, guard (and former King) Tyreke Evans, shooting guard Langston Galloway plus a future first-round and second-round draft pick.
Buddy Hield goes to the hoop
“The Woj” of The Vertical was the first to send the rumors of the possible trade up the wires earlier on Sunday. Most of the reaction to the rumor was negative based on Vlade Divac’s statements to ESPN last week on the Kings intentions to sign Cousins to a long-term extension and the fact that Sacramento is still in contention for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
As the day progressed and the All-Star Game got underway, the rumors of a Cousins trade continued to heat up. Where it had just been New Orleans as a possible destination, there then became rumors that other teams were vying for Cousins. As time passed, the story began “to grow legs”.
Tyreke Evans is coming back to Sacramento
Adding fuel to the fire was the limited amount of playing time that Cousins saw in the All-Star Game. Cousins played just two minutes and scored three points.
It would appear that the Kings have moved into a rebuilding mode. If they hold unto the number 10 or better lottery draft pick, the Kings will retain that selection rather than having to send that pick to the Chicago Bulls. The upcoming draft has been deemed one of the most star-studded in years. The trade would indicate that the Kings want to participate in the draft process.
Do not forget that Sacramento hedged their bets by sending Marquese Chriss to Phoenix for the rights to shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic who is currently playing in Turkey. He is seen as a potential impact player in the NBA.
Bogdan Bogdanovic will be a King next season
This certainly marks a major change in philosophy for the Kings. Up until now, it has been “all Boogie – all the time”. Now, it’s a clean slate. What kind of team do the Kings want to build? Vivek Ranadive was a minority owner of the Golden State Warriors and loves their style of play. Who doesn’t love the Warriors style?
All change is crisis. So, the Kings are in the middle of another major crisis. They have to justify to their long-suffering fans why they did an about-face and dropped out of the playoff race while jettisoning their only legitimate All-Star player.
I would not want to be an account representative having to call season ticket holders for renewal orders on Monday. When those current season ticket holders ask what are the Kings plans for the future, the answer at this point is probably an honest … I’m not sure.
There is one constant that has not changed. The Sacramento Kings are never boring. They are never easy to understand, but they are never, never boring.
The problem with the Golden State Warriors is not their not only a good team that lost a couple of games the problem is their so amazing that they lost a couple of games and thing get blown out of proportion. If they have a poor half against Sacramento or they drop a game by 15 to the Denver Nuggets we all get up in arms let’s just step back for a minute it’s the All Star break the Warriors are 47-9.
Between 1994-2011 the Warriors won 47 games in a season once. That was that 48 game season the year after the “We Believe” team 2007-08 season the was the only time in that 20 year time frame where they won more than 47 and won 48. The Warriors have 47 at the All Star break so let’s not get too bent out of shape out of shape and we have to have some prospective here and the Warriors are a great team.
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) argues with a referee after a technical foul against the Sacramento Kings in the first half of an NBA game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. Green would be ejected for a second technical foul. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By: Eric He
The Sacramento Kings entered halftime ahead 50-47 on the Warriors. By the time the third quarter ended, they were trailing 89-65,“It was a terrible first half for us all the way around and it obviously didn’t help that we were coming out without Draymond,” said Stephen Curry who scored 13 points and was doubled teamed at times to help control is point total.
The Kings were blitzed by the NBA’s best team on the road on Wednesday night in a 109-86 defeat. The Warriors outscored the Kings 42-15 in the third, where Klay Thompson scored ten of his game-high 35 points.“But we didn’t want to go into the break with anything but a win and we needed to find energy and respond.” said Curry
Sacramento was led by Matt Barnes’ 15 points, but the Kings only got 13 points from DeMarcus Cousins. Five players did finish in double figures, though, as the Kings actually started strong in the first half.
They hung tight after the Warriors jumped out to a 21-12 lead, coming back to take an advantage into halftime.
But bolstered by an ejection to Draymond Green — who became upset after a foul call — the Warriors stormed back for an easy win. The Warriors Patrick McCaw filled the bill although scoring only four points he was crucial on defense said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, “McCaw was amazing,” said coach Steve Kerr. “He had a ton of deflections, he was all over the place and just seemed to be in the middle of every play defensively. Even if his offensive numbers don’t show it, he had a huge impact on that game.”
“We knew it would happen,” Cousins told reporters. “It was all downhill from there. We just don’t respond well to that, that last hit.”
The Kings entered the game winners of four straight, but ran into a Warriors squad that was just too much to handle.
They hit the All-Star break with a 24-33 record, on the outskirts of the Western Conference playoff picture behind the Nuggets. They will face Denver in their first game back from the break at home on the 23rd.
The Golden State Warriors, hoping to rebound from the blowout loss to Denver Monday night, did not play well for the first 24 minutes of the game. The Kings beat the Dubs in Sacramento and wanted to continue to play their game and beat the Dubs again. Their hopes would fall by the wayside as the Warriors came to life in the third quarter and blew out the Kings by a score of 109-86.
The first two periods of the game were very close. The Dubs led by 10 19-9 about halfway through the quarter. The Kings slowed down the Warrior offense, and the Kings closed the deficit to three as the period ended with Golden State leading 28-25. The Warriors were not able to get anything going in the second period. The Kings slowed the game down. They made a couple of key threes and were able to tie the game at 47. The Kings took the lead with a three to end the half leading the Dubs 50-47. They outscored the Dubs 25-19 in the quarter, and things looked ominous when the Warriors’ All-Star forward, Draymond Green was called for a double technical near the end of the half. Green was ejected from the game, and his loss sent a chill through the crowd as their best defender was not available to stop the Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins.
The Warriors started slowly in the second half. The Kings held the lead at 57-54, and the fans were starting to squirm as they realized the Kings might beat the Dubs again. However, the Warriors showed the Kings and the fans why they are the best team in the NBA. They are not only the best offensive team in the league, but they are also the best defensive team, too. The Dubs went on a 28-2 run to blow the game wide open. Klay Thompson knocked down 17 as he went on one of his patented runs when everything goes in for him. The Warrior defense held the Kings to just 15 points in the quarter, and they scored 42 to end the third period with a 23-point lead 89-65.
Klay Thompson started the fourth quarter but was pulled very quickly after the game was well in hand. Steph Curry and Kevin Durant sat out the entire period. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr inserted his second and third unit players to finish the game. James Michael McAdoo. Ian Clark, Patrick McCaw, Damian Jones, and Briante Weber all saw several minutes of playing time. The Warriors win 109-86
Game Notes and Stats- With the win, the Warriors improve to 47-9. The Kings, just a game and a half behind Denver for the eighth playoff berth in the Western Conference falls to 24-33. The Warriors extended the NBA record to 142 consecutive games without two losses in a row. The Warriors are off for the next 8 days for the annual All-Star break. The Warriors expect Zaza Pachulia and David West to return to action after the break.
Klay Thompson led the attack with 35 points. Klay remarked after the game that the team “got back to our brand of ball.” He credited his teammates as they “did a great job of feeding me.”Kevin Durant had a solid performance with 21 points, 7, assists, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Steph had 13, 9 assists, 8 boards, and he blocked 2 shots. McAdoo had 7 points, and 2 blocks and Andre Iguodala scored just 5 but he, too, blocked two shots but was a force on defense, especially in the third quarter.Kerr said that Andre” had a huge impact in the game.” Matt Barnes led Sacramento with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Cousins was held to held to just 15. He scored 40 against the Lakers Tuesday night. Willie Cauley-Stein added 14 and Darren Collison finished with 14.
Steve Kerr was pleased that “our guys responded beautifully. We were in a tough spot without Draymond.” He also remarked that “our defense led to a lot of easy baskets.” He said “we love Draymond. He plays with an edge, and we need that edge. We sometimes struggle without him. We don’t want to take away the chip on his shoulder.”
The Warriors shot 48.8% from the floor and 37.1% from beyond the 3-point arc. They had another game with more than 30 assists(32 to be exact.) The Dubs lead the NBA in steals and blocked shots. They had 10 steals and 11 blocks in Wednesday night’s game. They had a 38-9 advantage in fast break points.
The Warriors are off until Thursday, February 23rd when they play the LA Clippers at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm.
Sacramento Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins, right, drives past Los Angeles Lakers’ Larry Nance Jr. during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017, in Los Angeles. The Kings won 97-96. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
By: Eric He
LOS ANGELES–Lou Williams missed a game-winning shot at the buzzer as the Kings held off the Lakers for a slim one-point win on the road on Tuesday, 97-96.
DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 40 points and he scored the Kings’ last 10 points to seal the win for Sacramento. The Kings blew a 13-point fourth quarter llead, but were resilient and bounced back despite the Lakers tying the game several times.
Williams had hit two three-pointers late to even the score, the latter with 30 seconds left to tie the game at 96-96. A free throw by Cousins gave the Kings a one-point lead, and Williams’ missed shot at the buzzer ended the contest.
The Kings led 43-41 at halftime, and gained separation in the second half, though the Lakers made a comeback.
Besides Cousins’ 40, Darren Collison and Ben McLemore both contributed 13 points.
“This was actually a big win for us, believe it or not” Collison said. “We didn’t lose focus. Normally in the past we will lose focus and we won’t come out with that same urgency that we did after we win a few games.”
The Lakers gave into the fact it was a hard effort but time ran out and the Lakers Julius Randle who scored 11 and said they had their chances and cut it real close but just couldn’t seal the deal, “We gave ourselves a chance,” said Randle, who also collected seven rebounds. “The second unit did a good job of coming back, making a run in the end. We had a chance, but it just didn’t go our way.”
The Kings have now won four in a row going into Wednesday night’s tilt against the Warriors at Oracle Arena.
Portland Trail Blazers center Mason Plumlee (24) dunks in front of Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams, right, in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
The Sacramento Kings are currently tied for ninth in the Western Conference standings which puts them one position out of the playoffs. Their tied with Portland, they are two games behind Denver whose in the eighth position and final playoff position right now. All three of those teams are 5-5 in their last ten games. Denver is on a one game winning streak where they just demolished Golden State on Monday night. Good gosh 24 three pointers in that game for Denver I didn’t know they were capable of that.
Golden State didn’t know that Denver was capable of that. Portland has lost two games in a row and Sacramento has won three games in a row and have the Lakers next. Denver and Portland just made a trade generally when you’ve got two teams that are this close together and fighting for a playoff birth the last thing your going to do is make a trade and they made a trade of centers. So the Nuggets get Mason Plumlee from the Portland Trailblazers whose been averaging 11 points per game and is a pretty good ball player the Nuggets also picked up a second round pick. Portland gets back from the Nuggets Jusuf Nurkic who is a center averaging seven points per game five rebounds per game they get a first round pick a pick that originally belonged to Memphis.
Golden State Warriors center JaVale McGee, left, and forward Kevin Durant look on from the bench against the Denver Nuggets in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
by Jerry Feitelberg
Denver- The Denver Nuggets, fighting for a playoff berth in the Western Conference, blew out the Warriors by a score of 132-110. The Dubs were playing without four key members of the team. Zaza Pachulia is still out with a shoulder injury. David West has a fractured thumb, Klay Thompson sat out with a sore heel, and Shaun Livingston was given time off to witness the birth of his baby.
The Warriors, however, ran into a buzzsaw. They scored 30 points in the first quarter, but Denver scored 42. The Nuggets made 7 three-pointers in 11 attempts to propel them to a 12-point lead. The second was worse for the Dubs. Denver made 9 3-point shots and cruised to a 25-point lead at halftime. The Dubs were down 79-54.
The Warriors attempted a comeback in the third period, but they were only able to cut the deficit to 22, and the game belonged to Denver. The Warriors and Denver each scored 25 in the fourth quarter.
Game Notes and stats- The Warriors had five players in double figures. Kevin Durant had 25, Patrick McCaw 19, Ian Clark 18, Steph Curry 11, and Andre Iguodala had 15. The Nuggets’ big man Nikola Jokic had a triple-double. He scored 17, had 12 assists, and a fantastic 21 rebounds. Juan Hernangomez led the Nuggets with 27, Will Barton had 24, Jameer Nelson 23, Gary Harris 16, and Jamaal Murray 14.
The Warriors shot a respectable 48.9% from the floor, but Denver shot 54.5%. The Dubs went 8-for-32 shooting threes good for 25%. Denver shot 24-for-40 for an amazing 60% from three-point range. The Nuggets had 34 assists while the Dubs had just 25. The Nuggets outrebounded the Warriors 52-27. They dominated the board Monday night. The Dubs excelled in steals and blocks. They had 12 steals and 6 blocks. That was the only bright spot in a very long evening.
The Nuggets needed a victory to stay in the race for the final playoff spot. They lost to the Cavaliers Saturday. They also made a trade before Monday Night’s game. They sent disgruntled center Jusuf Nurkic and a 1st-round draft pick to the Portland Trailblazers for Mason Plumlee.
The Warriors return home to face the Sacramento Kings Wednesday at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30 pm.
Boogie and the Brow look for the rebound Photo: NBAE
by Charlie O. Mallonee
The Sacramento Kings were in a must win situation on Sunday night when they hosted the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans are also a “Tier 3” team that is trying to break free of the NBA Draft Lottery and make it into the first-round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs.
The Kings entered the game with a predicted 69-percent chance of winning the contest with the Pelicans. The Kings had won three of their five previous games. Sacramento is still in the hunt for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The men in white and purple had a lot on the line.
The Kings (22-32) did not disappoint their fans as they downed the Pelicans (21-34) 105-99. Sacramento repeated their familiar pattern where they under-performed in the first half and excelled in the second half. The Kings have been victorious in four of their last six games.
Where the Kings stand in the Playoff Race
The Kings are currently in 10th place 1.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers stand in between the two teams one game behind the Nuggets and one-half game ahead of the Kings. All three teams are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
It was another battle of Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday night
The premiere match up of the night was at center which featured two former Kentucky Wildcats – DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis. Davis – “the Brow” is an All-Star starter for the Western Conference and Cousins – “Boogie” is a Western Conference All-Star reserve.
Davis scored a game-high 32 points and made it double-double by adding 10 rebounds. He shot an impressive 11-for-24 from the floor and went a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line in his 40-minutes on the floor.
Cousins led the Kings scoring attack with 28 points and also recorded a double-double by hauling in 14 rebounds. He dished out seven assists. Cousins shot 7-for-14 from the field and went 14-for-16 from the charity stripe.
Stars of the game
Kings
Collison drives past Solomon Hill Photo: NBAE
Darren Collison gets the star for Sacramento. When the Kings needed someone to step up, Collison was the man. He finished with 20 points (7-for-16 shooting including 2 3-point baskets), eight assists, six rebounds and three steals. Collison again played big minutes playing just under 41-minutes in the game.
Pelicans
The star has to go to “the Brow”. The fact is without the presence of Davis and his finesse on the floor the Pelicans are never really in this game. New Orleans is very much like Sacramento. Take their former Kentucky big man out of the lineup and they are a team that is in deep, deep trouble.
Looking into the book
Kings
Matt Barnes was important on offense when needed him and then on defense when the situation called for it. Barnes finished with 12 points, five rebounds, three assists. He also hit 2-of-6 3-point tries.
Ben McLemore had an 11 point game with nine of those points coming off three 3-point baskets. He hit on 3-of-5 tries from long range.
Arron Afflalo put up 10 points, had two assists and one steal
Anthony Tolliver struggled a bit shooting as he scored nine points on nine shots. All of his points came off 3-point buckets.
Willie Cauley-Stein – the other big man from Kentucky – scored eight points in 17-minutes on the floor. Cauley-Stein did a pretty good job defending Davis which is no easy task.
As a team: the Kings shot 44.9-percent; they went 11-for-31 (35.5-percent) for 3-pointers; they converted 24-of-27 from the free throw line; they out-rebounded the Pels 46-36; Sacramento had 23 assists and made 20 turnovers giving up 16 points to New Orleans.
Pelicans
Jrue Holiday had another solid game posting a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists
Dante Cunningham scored 14 points hitting on 4-0f-7 from long range. Do not leave that man open in 3-point land.
Solomon Hill went 3-for-5 from the field (all 3-point attempts) and scored nine points
As a team: the Pels shot 41.5-percent; they went 13-for-31 (41.9-percent) from downtown; NOP had 23 assists and 18 turnovers that resulted in 15 Sacramento points.
Now that’s hitting below the below the belt
The Pelicans’ Buddy Hield was ejected from the game with 2:55 remaining to play in the second quarter after he literally hit DeMarcus Cousins below the below the belt. Cousins had already been assessed a technical foul and any retaliation by Cousins could well have resulted in his ejection. The Kings big man kept his cool. The officials in New Jersey reviewed the play and Hield’s actions were ruled a Flagrant 2 foul which resulted in an automatic ejection.
Who knows how the game would have turned out had Hield still been on the floor in the fourth quarter?
Night of Technical Fouls
Cousins looks to drive the paint Photo: NBAE
The officiating crew felt free to pass out “tech fouls” in the game on Sunday night. They issued three:
Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry picked up the first “tech” just 2:11 into the game when he let the officials know he felt DeMarcus Cousins should have been called for a foul on a play that resulted in two points for Sacramento.
Cousins picked up his 17th technical foul of the season with 1:06 to go in the first quarter when he tangled up with Donatas Motiejunas under the Pelicans basket. The play was reviewed to see if it was a flagrant foul which it was ruled not to be. If Cousins is assessed tech foul number 18, he will be suspended for another game under NBA rules since he is over the 16-tech foul limit.
New Orleans was charged with a technical for a 3-second defensive violation in the first quarter.
In this writers opinion, the Gentry call was a quick trigger and the Cousins “tech” is a candidate to be rescinded. Also, the NBA needs to review the use of “the Tech” and decide what its purpose really is in the structure of the game. “The Association” also needs to grasp that fans do not come to an arena to watch refs call tech fouls.
Up next
The Kings will play the first of their two road games in the month of February on Tuesday in Los Angeles when they face the Lakers. This is another must win game for the Kings. The Lakers are a lower level “Tier 3” team that Kings have to beat if they are to jump into the eighth and final playoff slot.
The Pelicans travel to the Valley of the Sun to face the Suns on Monday night.
Kevin Durant, in an emotional return to the city where he played for eight years, led the Warriors to a 130-114 victory over the Thunder. The fans booed him during the introductions, they yelled at him every time he touched the ball, they cheered when he missed a shot and loved it when he was fouled hard by Andre Roberson. In the end, it was the Warrior firepower and great defense that won the game for Golden State. Durant’s former teammate, Russell Westbrook, had a big night as he scored 47. However, Westbrook couldn’t do it alone, and the Dub’s defense was able to shut down the rest of Westbrook’s mates.
The Thunder led for most of the first quarter. They led 17-10 about midway through the period. The Warriors’ JaVale McGee helped the Dubs close the quarter on a 16-5 run and the Dubs led by six after 12 minutes of play. McGee knocked down eight for the Warriors. The Warriors showed a national TV audience how good they are by scoring 43 points and they increased the lead to 73-50 at halftime. The Dubs made 4 3-point shots, and they outscored the Thunder by 17. It was the most points the Warriors have scored in the second quarter all season. KD led the Dubs with 15, and Russell Westbrook had 21 for OKC. It was the 8th time this year that the Warriors reached 70 or more points in the first half and it was the tenth time that they have led by 20 or more points by the end of the first half.
OKC cut the deficit to 18 by the end of the third period. The Thunder tried to get closer, but the Dubs were able to answer every challenge. Things got hot in the quarter when Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant got into a shouting match. Later in the period, KD and former teammate Andre Roberson had a very heated exchange as Roberson fouled KD hard on two different occasions. KD, as usual, kept his demeanor and answered by scoring 19 points in the second half. The Thunder closed the gap to just 12 trailing 110-98, but the Warriors put the pedal to the metal and led by 20 with just a couple of minutes left to play. Steph closed out the scoring with a trey to increase the lead to 130-108, but the Thunder scored the last 6 points of the game. Dubs win 130-114.
Game Notes and Stats- KD Led the Dubs with 34 points, 3 assists, and 9 rebounds. Steph and Klay each had 26. Draymond Green had 6, 8 assists, 8 rebounds, and one block. JaVale McGee, who continues to improve and play well in the absence of Zaza Pachulia and David West, scored 16. Kevon Looney and James Michael McAdoo also played well filling in for the two injured centers. Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston made significant contributions off the bench. Russell Westbrook had a double-double with 47 points and 11 rebounds. Westbrook, however, turned the ball over nine times.
After the game, when asked how he felt about his return to OKC and the game, KD said: “it was a fun game.” He was also asked: “does it mean anything to you when Westbrook was yelling at you?” Kd replied: “not all all.”
The Warriors are now 46-8 while OKC falls to 31-24. The Warriors are off on Sunday but return to action Monday night in Denver against the Nuggets. Game time is at 6 pm.
Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins, right, hugs teammate Darren Collison after the Kings came from 22 points down to beat the Atlanta Hawks 108-107 in an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
By Tony Renteria
SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings (21-32) coming off a big win against the Boston Celtics hosted the visiting Atlanta Hawks (31-22) tonight in the capital city with a sold out crowd. The Kings have been looking to fight up to the eighth spot to make the playoff this season and tonight’s 108-107 thrilling win has helped the home towns team cause.
The Kings have be on the upside of the power curve the last month and tonight’s win against a quality opponent is the a good sign that that rate will continue. The Kings have been under some pressure to part ways with All Star Center DeMarcus Cousins either for his off court actions or to start the rebuilding process with a new squad.
Cousins still continues to deliver in the paint and on the stat line as he added 22 points and eleven rounds. He was aided by Ben McLemore who had a great game for the young player who is still trying to find his feet in the NBA season grind.
The Hawks who fell on the third game of this west coast swing after a hard fought vicoty on Wednesday in the Mile High City against the Nuggets were led by Tim Hardaway JR who scored 28 points on the road and was helped by Paul Millsap who scored 25 of his own in the losing battle.
The Hawks continue the West Coast swing by heading up north to Portland on Monday to face the Trailblazers while the Kings host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
