Category: NBA

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings leaf got turned after Karl was a lock on coaching gig

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On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O the Kings are in the middle of a three game win streak with three tough teams coming to Sleep Train Arena starting tonight San Antonio, LA Clippers, and OKC Thunder. Things got turned around for the Kings when it was announced from Kings team president Vlade Divak that the team was not going to fire head coach George Karl as rumored and the team felt a little more stability after that.

The Kings beat the Philadelphia 76ers to start things off in Philadelphia and then came home and beat Denver in a home at home and in Denver they won that game too. The Kings are feeling the momentum and the adrenaline as they head into these three big games. When Kings assistant coach Vance Walberg was fired it didn’t sit too well with Karl as Walberg was a great help to Karl and a good friend. But despite that the Kings fought on and are expected to give it their all in these next three home games.

Charlie O is a beat writer covering the Sacramento Kings and does the podcast each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

photo credit: foxsports.com Sacramento Kings head coach George Karl

 

 

Cousins goes for 39 as Kings escape with win in Denver

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

NBAE photo: Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins finished with 39 points in Denver Tuesday night

A monster night for DeMarcus Cousins was enough to propel the Kings over the Nuggets on the road on Tuesday night, 114-110.

Cousins finished with 39 points and 10 rebounds, including a putback to extend the Kings’ lead to four 14 seconds to play. Nikola Jokic narrowed the margin to one with a 3-pointer, and the Nuggets had a chance down by two in the final seconds, but Cousins stripped the ball away from Darrell Arthur to seal the victory.

The big man made another big play in the clutch, recording a steal and drawing a foul on the other end to give the Kings a 109-107 lead with under a minute left.

The Kings led 61-50 at halftime and stretch the lead to as high as 17 in the third quarter, but the Nuggets rallied in the fourth, where they outscored the Kings by 10 to make it a close game.

Eight players finished in double figures for the Nuggets, who were led by Will Barton’s 18 points off the bench.

The Kings are back at it Wednesday when they kick off a three-game homestand against the Spurs at Sleep Train Pavilion.

Sportstalk podcast at Chops Steakhouse downtown Sacramento Mon Feb 22, 2016

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Cast: Michael Duca (host), Charlie O Mallonee, Tony Renteria, Morris Phillips, Jerry Feitelberg, Amaury Pi Gonzalez, and Lee Leonard (producer). Sportstalk enjoyed the remote podcast from Chops Steakhouse at 1117 11th Street in downtown Sacramento where you can enjoy a great line up of fine steaks like the Grilled Top Sirloin, New York Steak, and also try the Grilled Blackened King Salmon. There are many more selections for lunch sandwiches and salads. For dinner try a Grilled New York Steak, Filet Mignon, or the Grilled Top Sirloin.

Our thanks go to the Chops Steak, Seafood, and Bar owners Trisha Flynn and Denise, Special Events Coordinator Michelli Heber, servers Manny, Candice, and Nick. Their hospitality was top notch and if you ever needed something they’re always around to help accommodate you with drinks, appetizers, main courses, soups, salads, deserts.

Join Sportstalk as we cover the Sacramento Kings their latest games and struggles and if head coach George Karl will stay with the club. Team president Vlade Divak says that Karl is a keeper for now but the team will more than likely evaluate Karl’s future in the off  season. If Karl is let go the team will have to pay him the remainder of his contract. Also join us for more talk from spring training in Arizona.

photo credit: chopssteakhouses.com Chops Steak, Seafood, and Bar in downtown Sacramento

 

 

Warriors Withstand Hawks Comeback, Get Historic 50th Win.

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By Shawn Whelchel

With the aid of a third quarter outburst, the Hawks nearly played spoiler to the Warriors historic night. But the Splash Brothers found the bottom of the net late in the game to secure their record-setting 50th win of the season with a 102-92 victory in Atlanta.

The Warriors path to becoming the fastest team to 50 wins in NBA history got off to a good start Monday night, with the squad jumping out to a 19 point lead at the half. Atlanta entered the locker room room looking as if they had no answer for Golden State on either end of the court.

But the Hawks refused to rollover, using a third quarter flurry to turn the tables on Golden State, effectively giving them a taste of what they’ve done to so many other teams during the final six minutes of the frame. Facing their largest deficit of the game- at 23 points- Atlanta broke out for a torrid 28-6 run before closing out the third, reigniting their team and the crowd at Philips Arena.

Atlanta would use their momentum to jump out to an early three-point lead in the fourth before Golden State would regroup and refocus their efforts. With the game slipping away from them, the Warriors’ big players would go on to make big plays, as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson would hit some crucial shots-including Thompson’s three ball to regain the lead- to shift the tide in their favor. Aiding Thompson and Curry’s efforts in the backcourt, C Andrew Bogut would use his size to come up with key blocks and a steal down the stretch, helping to stymy the Hawk’s scoring outburst before they sizzled out to just 17 points in the final frame.

Curry lead all scorers with 36 points on 14-of-22 shooting in the hard-fought win, followed by Thompson’s 27 points. Hampered by a nagging achilles injury, Bogut would put through just 3 points, but came up big for Golden State with his fourth quarter defense.

Following an interesting night against the Clippers, it was the second consecutive game that Golden State nearly lost control of. Part of this came at the Warriors insistence to live-and die- by the three ball. The tone was set early after a wide-open Curry passed up an easy look under the net to kick it out to a waiting Draymond Green behind the arc for the bucket. The Warriors would finish the night with 45 attempts from downtown, connecting on just 31.1 percent of those tries. Golden State’s 1-for-11 shooting from three point range in the third was part of their downfall, but Thompson and Curry’s sharpshooting in the fourth also helped to salvage the game.

Golden State’s win keeps them in contention to surpass Michael Jordan and the 1995-96 Chicago Bull’s record of 72 wins. The Warriors’ road trip continues with a matchup against the Miami Heat on Wednesday at American Airlines Arena.

Golden State Warriors Saturday post game wrap: Clips try to close the gap in the final seconds Dubs hold on with 115-112 win

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by Jessica Kwong

AP photo: The Golden State Warriors Draymond Green right reaches over the LA Clippers DeAndre Jordan center for the ball the Warriors Klay Thompson is on the left at Saturday’s game at Staples Center

LOS ANGELES – After being blown out in Portland the previous night, the Golden State Warriors’ 115-112 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday was “more like us,” head coach Steve Kerr said.

 Golden State, without big men Andrew Bogut due to a sore right Achilles and Festus Ezeli due to knee surgery, avoided their first back-to-back loss since last April. They are now 3-0 in the series against the Clippers, who’ve been on fire despite the absence of Blake Griffin, inactive since breaking his hand while punching a team staff member.

 “These guys are very competitive. We haven’t lost two in a row all year, which we’re very proud of,” Kerr said. “I thought tonight was a good response to a great challenge because the Clippers have been playing really well. They’re a great team and on the road after a long flight, it was a hell of a win.”

 The Warriors’ mostly double-digit lead throughout the nationally televised game at Staples Center was put in jeopardy in the remaining seconds of the game, after Los Angeles’ Wesley Johnson stole the ball and Pablo Prigioni hit a three-pointer with five seconds remaining to narrow Golden State’s lead to 115-112.

 Golden State called a timeout, brought back Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala, and after the Clippers’ CJ Wilcox missed a three point shot, the game was history.

 “Up until the last minute, we played well,” Thompson said. “I am just proud of the way that we were solid with the ball. When we don’t turn it over, we are tough to beat.”

 The Warriors had 11 turnovers on Saturday, a major improvement from 20 against Portland on Friday.

 The Warriors wasted no time going for the win in Los Angeles, taking a quick lead over the Clippers at the start of the game that extended to 33-20 by the end of the first quarter, with Klay Thompson contributing 16 points.

 Golden State held strong in the second quarter too. With about 7 minutes remaining, the Clippers’ Jamal Crawford hit a three pointer, was fouled, and scored at the free throw line to cut Los Angeles’ deficit to 42-33, but the Warriors quickly brought their lead back to double digits and ended the half up 10.

 The Clippers came out more aggressive in the third quarter and came within 5 points of the defending champions, but Golden State closed the quarter up 93-84.

 Thompson scored a game-high 32 points while Green, who played center, got his 11th triple-double of the season in a tough matchup with DeAndre Jordan.

 “I wanted to battle him. He is all over the offensive boards, clogging up the paint and protecting the rim but I was just trying to put him in uncomfortable situations,” Green said. “When he is at the rim, I was trying to make CP (Chris Paul) finish, instead of giving up the lob and also when he is there fighting for the rebounds, I just stayed into his legs. It is hard to jump if a guy is into your legs.”

 Plenty of Warriors fans showed up in blue and gold at Staples Center, cheering often as loudly as Clipper fans and shouting “MVP” for Curry.

“It feels good to have fans everywhere we go,” Kerr said pregame.

 The Warriors, who shot 52.5 percent from the floor and had 32 assists on 42 field goals, are now 49-5. Setting an NBA record isn’t something the team walks off the court thinking about, Curry said.

 “If we can win one game at a time, it may happen,” he said. “It’s just finding ways to win that next matchup, the next challenge.”

 The Warriors face the Hawks in Atlanta 5 p.m. on Monday.

     
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Careless with the ball, Kings still nab victory

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit: Associated Press

SACRAMENTO- Flashback Friday took place at Sleep Train Arena with the old school court on display. The Kings took the fans back in time as well by playing a lot more competitive basketball and picking up a victory. The win came in big part to tremendous play from DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo and Rudy Gay. Darren Collison was a huge spark off the bench. After a ton of talks of firings and trades prior and during the All Star break, the Kings pulled out an important win.

In the first quarter of play, the Kings and Nuggets went back and forth for the majority of the quarter. Sacramento played better defensively, but both teams were very careless with the ball. Sacramento’s five first quarter turnovers hurt them as they lead to nine points for Denver.

Luckily, the Kings played some better defense and their All Star center DeMarcus Cousins picked up right where he left off. Cousins got to the line six times in the quarter and nailed all six shots from the charity stripe. Rudy Gay showed some confidence in his game by totaling eight first quarter points, 2-3 from the field, with both coming from beyond the arc.

Rajon Rondo also sunk two three pointers. The Kings shot uncharacteristically well beyond the three-point line, 5-7, in the first quarter.

Rondo and Denver center Jusuf Nurkic each picked up a technical after a little shoving match and trash talk coming off a Ben McLemore offensive foul.

Sacramento capped off the quarter with a three-point buzzer beater from Darren Collison off a Rondo assist. Through one quarter, the Kings led Denver, 31-24. The Kings held the Nuggets to less than 30 points, for the first time in Sacramento’s last ten games.

After a nice first quarter, the Kings scored five points in the first minute of the second quarter to go up, 36-24. But soon after, the Nuggets found some offense of there own for a 10-2 run in a minute and 20 seconds.

 

The Kings took a timeout to slow down the Nuggets. Out of the timeout, the Kings went out scored Denver 17-8 with 5:54, which put them up 55-42 with 5:54 left in the half. The run was capped off by a monstrous slam by Cousins who was fouled. Cousins was fouled on the dunk and made the free throw for a three-point play.

Collison made a technical free throw after Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone picked up a technical. Malone chirped at the refs and his frustration led to the tech.

The Kings were careless with the ball yet again with eight turnovers leading to 11 Denver points, but they did capitalize off Denver’s six turnovers. The Kings scored 11 points as well and their hot shooting kept them up on the Nuggets. Sacramento shot 59.5% from the field and went 10-13 from behind the arc in the first half. Although they kept shooting well from three-point range, the Kings got back into the paint, adding 20 points in the paint in the second quarter and a total of 26 in the first half. The Kings led the Nuggets 70-57 through the first half of play.

A dominant offensive performance came from Cousins, who scored 24 points, 8-11, and grabbed eight boards in the half. Gay also shot the ball well, 5-9 from the field, 4-4 from beyond the three-point line, for 16 points. Rondo and Collison, who came off the bench, each totaled 12 points, while Rondo added 6 assists. Denver’s Danillo Gallinari had the team high for the Nuggets with 17 points in the half and Joffrey Lauvergne had 13.

After an incredible offensive first half, the Kings slowed down at an incredible rate in the third quarter. The team totaled a measly 18 points with Cousins scoring nine of those 18. Cousins continued to get to the line, 5-5 from the charity stripe in the quarter. The quarter was slow and the Kings managed to turn the ball over five more times. With the score 79-72, the Kings pulled out a 7-0 run to go up 86-72. The Nuggets only totaled 20 points with eight of those from Gallinari.

With a quiet third quarter from both teams, the Kings led 88-77 through three.

The fourth quarter showed more offense especially for the Nuggets who found their stride. Denver was able to keep things close by putting up 33 in the quarter, but Rondo came up big for the Kings. Rondo hustled really hard, added eight points and six assists in the fourth quarter. Rondo was clutch going 4-6 from the free throw line late in the ball game. The Kings were able to come out with a win after the break over the Nuggets. The final score was 116-110.

Cousins finished with 37 points,12-20 from the field and a career high 20 rebounds. Cousins also went 12-15 from the line as he got into the paint a lot and Denver’s bigs played him tough. The Kings totaled 56 points in the paint.

“[Cousins] was flat out amazing.” Collison said “They couldn’t stop him.”

Rondo had a big game and was especially important down the stretch. He finished with 24 points, 8-16 from the field, 10 assists and 9 rebounds.

“Rajon had great control of the game down the stretch” said head coach George Karl. “And understanding who were playing and what we had to do to be successful.”

Gay matched Rondo with 24 points and off the bench Collison totaled 17 points.

The Kings offensive was once again very good, except for the third quarter. The team made no three pointers in the second half, which slowed their scoring down quite a bit. The only real flaw of the game was the team’s 22 turnovers that turned into 34 points for Denver. The defense was much better and the Nugget’s high points total mostly came from carelessness as they scored 26 fast break points.

“We really didn’t go over much offense [during practice]. We basically just [practiced] a lot of defense.” Gay said “Our offense is going to be a little sloppy.”

On Tuesday, the Kings will face the Nuggets in Denver. They will need to stop Lauvergne who scored 22 and Gallinari who scored 27 points. These next stretch of games are incredibly crucial as Sacramento faces playoff caliber opponents. The next few weeks will say a lot about this team and it looks like they are ready to make a statement.

Lillard, Blazers humble Warriors

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By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

AP photo Portland’s Damien Lillard who scored 51 points against Golden State on Friday night in Portland

PORTLAND — Oakland native Damien Lillard scored a career-high 51 points and finished with seven assists leading the Blazers to their fourth straight win with a 137-105 over the Golden State Warriors Friday night in both teams’ first game after the All-Star break.

Lillard was absolutely tremendous, shooting 18-of-28 from the floor, including 9-of-12 from three-point range. Lillard also added six steals.

C.J. McCollum, Lillard’s backcourt mate, scored 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting and knocked down 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. McCollum finished with seven assists

Mason Plumlee and Gerald Henderson each scored 12 points, while Maurice Harkless chipped in 11 points off the bench.

Reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry led all Warriors with 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting. Curry drilled 7-of-11 of his 3s, but the Warriors looked a bit rusty coming back from nine days off.

After having just six turnovers in the first half, Golden State committed 13 turnovers in the third quarter. Portland (28-27), took advantage of the sloppy play from Golden State and built a 104-79 midway through the third quarter.

Draymond Green had a near triple-double night, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists.

Newly crowned three-point shooting champ from All-Star Weekend Klay Thompson scored 23 points, but Golden State (48-5) just couldn’t get the winning mojo tonight leading Portland to snapping the Warriors’ 11-game winning streak.

Golden State must quickly rebound as they will travel to Los Angeles to take on their bitter rival in the Clippers before a national television audience Saturday night at Staples Center.

Kings Update: No trades and one assistant fired

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Former Kings assistant coach Vance Walberg

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The NBA trade deadline was Thursday at 12:00 PM (PST). The deadline came and went without the Kings being able to make a move.

There had been multiple reports that the team had made Rudy Gay, Kosta Koufos, Marco Belinelli and Ben McLemore available on the trade market. Cleveland and Chicago had been rumored to be interested in one or more of those players.

One scenario had the Bulls Pau Gasol and his expiring contract coming to Sacramento in exchange for Koufos and McLemore. The deal would have also altered the draft pick provisions of the selection the Kings owe the Bulls.

There had also been rumors that Cleveland was interested in a trade for Koufos.

Ultimately, the Kings were unable to make any trade so the current roster will stay intact. That does not mean the playoff push is over but it does mean that the current players will have to make the adjustments on defense in order to make the team more competitive.

Walberg terminated

In a surprise move, the Kings fired assistant coach Vance Walberg on Wednesday. The move was reportedly made despite a protest from head coach George Karl. Karl and Walberg have been colleagues and friends for years. Walberg was a member of Karl’s coaching staff in Denver.

Walberg is known as the father of the “dribble-drive motion offense” also known as the “Memphis Attack”. The dribble-drive motion offense has been used successfully in the NBA by Denver and at the college level by Kentucky. Walberg has taught the offense in clinics around the world.

George Karl instituted the offensive scheme in order to meet the expectations of Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive. Ranadive wanted his team to play uptempo basketball more in the style of the Golden State Warriors.

The Kings offense has not been the problem. The team ranks number three in points scored at 107.1 per game. The defense has been the problem.

Sacramento gives up more points per game than any other team in the association at 109.1. The team has not been able to transition from the uptempo offense to defense all season.

The firing of Walberg would indicate that Vlade Divac feels that the offense needs to change in order for the team to play better defense.

The Vertical.com has reported that former Cavaliers and Lakers head coach Mike Brown is being considered to replace Walberg. Brown is known for his defensive expertise.

 

Golden State Warriors podcast with David Zizmor: Warriors hit the road for six games can they come back 6-0?

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by David Zizmor

OAKLAND–It’s going to be tough this is the last really long road trip of the season for the Golden State Warriors. You could call it like a seven gamer because of the Phoenix game right before the All-Star break. Let’s not really call it that because the Warriors had a week and half off until the Portland game that Friday.

So this trip is really a six game road trip they start in Portland this Friday and they play the Clippers in LA this Saturday and they kind of do a tour of the South East when they go to Atlanta, Miami, Orlando and have three games in four days. Then they close it out with a barnburner in Oklahoma City with the Thunder.

It is a tough road trip these are all good teams there’s not really a stinker among them Orlando is probably the least of those teams but even they have their moments their not completely incompetent like the Philadelphia 76ers. You look at the teams on this list Portland is sitting there right in the seventh spot in the Western Conference their 27-27. The Clippers are up to number four.

David Zizmor does the weekly Warriors podcast for http://www.sportsradioservice.com click below to listen

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Work overload for Divak has Kings headhunting for new GM

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On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O the Kings are searching for a new general manager as team vice president Vlade Divak is overwhelmed by the day to day operation and also has to handle player salaries. With all that hat wearing combined Divak went to team owner Vivek Ranadive for a lifeline and asked to search for a new general manager who can at least handle the payroll aspect one of many things for the new Kings GM.

Divak had to handle the George Karl rumors that he was going to be fired just before the NBA All-Star break and got that settled as he said in a team statement that Karl will be staying with the team. The rumors persisted after the Kings took a beating in Brooklyn and team management were angry and pointing the finger at Karl at the time. Since the dust has settled Divak wants to shop for a new GM for the team to handle some of these internal issues for the Kings.

Charlie O does the Sacramento Kings podcasts for http://www.sportsradioservice.com click to listen below

AP photo: Kings vice president Vlade Divak contemplates hiring a new team general manager