Fox was fearless in driving the lane against the Rockets on Wednesday night
Kings showed great effort versus the Rockets on Wednesday night
This was a classic battle between a Tier 1 team and a Tier 3 team
Willie Cauley-Stein silenced many of his detractors
The Kentucky connection came up big for the Kings in the opener – Cauley-Stein, Labissiere and Fox made a major impact in the game
Buddy Hield was a major player for SAC in the game
George Hill showed why the front office wanted him on the roster to provide a veteran presence on the floor
The Kings play their first game on the road Friday night in Dallas – this will be a Tier 3 vs Tier 3 game. Both teams will be in the 2018 Draft Lottery
It will be a chance to see Dennis Smith who many media reporters feel has the inside track on becoming Rookie of the Year
Join us for out next Kings Press Row Podcast next Tuesday only on SportsRadioService.com.
Cauley-Stein puts in a dunk to cut the Rockets lead to three points with seven seconds to go in the game
by Charlie O. Mallonee
Kings open the 2017-18 regular season with loss to the powerful Houston Rockets
The Sacramento Kings kicked off their new season before a sellout crowd of 17,583 at the Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night. Their opponent was the very powerful and talented Houston Rockets who started their season on Tuesday night with a last second win over the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
The Kings hoped to take advantage of catching the Rockets on the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. They also received some good news when they learned that Chris Paul would not play due to ongoing problems with a knee contusion.
Sacramento (0-1) kept the game close through all four quarters. They even won the third quarter 24-23. The lead changed eight times in the game and the contest was tied four times. Houston’s largest lead was 11 points while the Kings biggest lead was six.
James Harden struggled through the first three quarters of the game appearing to be tired from effort that expended versus the Warriors on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for the Kings, Harden caught a second wind in the final period and scored 12 of his game-high 27 points over those last 12 minutes. That performance really made the difference for the Rockets (2-0).
Despite being down by 11 points with 5:13 remaining in the game the Kings did not give up and cut the Houston lead to just three points with 26-seconds to go in the contest. It was at that point this game took a left turn that the Kings would never recover from.
The Kings George Hill sank two free throws to make it a 98-95 game with Houston in the lead with 26-seconds remaining. On the inbounds play, Hill appeared to disrupt the possession by Eric Gordon who lost control allowing the ball to go out-of-bounds. The big crowd went wild but settled as a video replay was ordered.
What the crowd, the Kings bench and the majority of the media did not understand was the replay was not to determine if Gordon was the last player to touch the ball before it went out-of-bounds. The replay was to confirm a foul call that made on Hill by the referee on the far-side of the court. The replay center in Secaucus upheld the foul call and Gordon was sent to the charity stripe to shoot two shots.
Gordon hit both shots to give Houston a five-point lead with 26-seconds to play essentially sealing the win for the Rockets. The Kings gave it their best effort but came up short.
Kings head coach Dave Joerger addresses the call in a very subdued manner in part two of his video comments.
Dave Joerger was very proud of the effort his team gave against the talented Rockets
Ben DuBose of Sports Talk 790 Houston and Locked on Rockets Podcast previews the Houston Rockets for Kings fans.
CP3 moves past Curry Photo: USA Today
How are James Harden and Chris Paul working out as a backcourt team so far in the preseason?
With Harden and CP3 on the floor together does that change the pace of play for the Rockets?
How does local favorite Ryan Anderson look so far in the preseason?
Now that the roster is set – are there any surprises?
Is there any worry about a let down on Wednesday in Sacramento after the hype and energy that will be expended in the Bay Area versus the Golden State Warriors?
Get the insiders view of the Kings first opponent of the 2017-18 season in just 20 minutes of fast paced questions and answers. Be ready for opening night by knowing more about the Rockets and what to watch for as they play the Kings.
Sports fans the story should be the game in Oakland and the loss by the Kings to the Warriors, but this reporter has to ask why was the game shown in the Bay Area and not in Sacramento and the Valley? Frankly this this reporter is still scratching his head trying to figure out why the rabid Kings fans were not able to watch their team take on the best team in the NBA even if it was a preseason game.
The majority of Kings fans will not be able to see the Warriors play their beloved Kings in person this season. They would love to see their team in action against the NBA’s best anytime they have the opportunity to see it happen. So why did Bay Area fans have the opportunity to watch the game while Sacramento fans had to depend on the radio broadcast and internet feeds? There really is not a logical answer. One would think advertisers would have been thrilled to support a broadcast that featured the Kings versus the NBA’s best.
The Kings held their own in this game
Sacramento trailed just 54-51 at halftime. They were still hanging in there trailing by just three – 84-81 at the end of three quarters. Ultimately, the Warriors were just too strong coming down the stretch as they outscored the Kings 33-25 in the final frame to take the game 117-106.
This game featured 12 lead changes and was tied seven times. The longest point run was a 7-0 run.
Top scorers
David Stockton – who was just added to the Kings roster – was their leading scorer with 23 points. Stephen Curry led the Warriors in scoring with 18 points in just a little over 18 minutes of playing time.
Top rebounders
The Warriors Jordan Bell was the leading rebounder in the game with 11. Skal Labissiere was the Kings top man off the glass grabbing eight rebounds.
Assists leaders
David Stockton of Sacramento was the games top assists leader with eight. Klay Thompson was the man for Golden State dishing out six dimes.
Team stats
The Warriors outrebounded the Kings 47-40. Golden State grabbed 21 offensive rebounds to Sacramento’s 13. The Kings controlled the defensive boards 27-26.
GSW dished 34 dimes to the Kings 27.
The Kings made six steals to the Warriors four thefts.
Golden State blocked four shots while Sacramento blocked just two shots.
The Kings turned the ball over 16 times while the Warriors turned it over just 12 times.
3-point shooting: Sacramento 10-for-22 45.5-percent; Golden State 15-for-33 45.5-percent.
Remember this was a preseason game
No matter how exciting this game was fans cannot forget this was a preseason game. It was in no way representative of what a regular season game between these two teams will be like. That is not to say the regular season games will not be competitive and exciting, but they will be different than the game on Friday night.
The countdown to the regular season is on
The regular season will begin on Wednesday when the Houston Rockets visit the Golden 1 Center to take on the Kings in game one of the 2017-18 season for Sacramento.
~ LOS ANGELES– Sacramento lost for the fourth time in a row, as the Clippers (2-2) won by 17 Thursday, 104-87.
In their past three games, the Kings’ scoring has increased but so has the amount of points given up to their opponents.
Meanwhile Los Angeles continued their loss-win trend, scoring 100 points for the third time this preseason.
For the Clippers, Blake Griffin led all with 18 points. Wesley Johnson had 16 points with four three’s. DeAndre Jordan had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Milos Teodosic had a game-high six assists. Tyrone Wallace scored six points off the bench.
Zach Randolph led Sacramento with 14 points. Â Off the bench, Frank Mason, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Garrett Temple each scored 13 points. Kosta Koufos scored 10 rebounds.
In the first half, neither team leading for the majority of the quarter mattered.
Los Angeles had the lead for most of the first quarter, with their biggest lead five points, but the Kings ended up top at the end. Jordan missed two free throws and Sacramento started out with the 2-0 lead. All of the Kings’ leads only lasted one possession. Sacramento got the lead again with 7:12 left. Randolph tied the game at 15.  The Kings led again with 2:19 left, before several lead changes. The first then ended with Mason’s 24-22 jumper with 21 seconds left. There were four ties with Griffin and Randolph leading the way.
Johnson started off the second with a game-tying shot. A strong dunk by Wallace then gave the Clippers the lead. Mason responded with two straight shots as the Kings retook the lead at 8:50, which they held until the end of the quarter. Sacramento’s biggest lead was eight points with the help of two three’s from Bogdanovic. Los Angeles came to within one with 2:59 left. Griffin made a free throw after scoring against Vince Carter. Jordan then tied the game at 44 apiece with 1.9 seconds left, making both of his free throws.
The tie was broken by Randolph in the third with 9:49 left and then the lead switched until 8:34 left. The Kings took control of the score with 6:36 left. The game difference reached a high of nine points as the Clippers shot 47.5% at the end of quarter. Sacramento got as close as three. Â
Los Angeles kept on scoring in the fourth while the Kings’ shooting stayed as it had been. C.J. Williams extended the Clippers’ lead to 18 points with 3:33 left.
Game notes: Sacramento’s George Hill and Bogdanovic exited the game with a hurt right groin and a right ankle sprain respectively, but both do not seem serious. The Kings end the preseason on Friday the 13th versus the Golden State Warriors at 7:30pm.
AP File Photo: Sacramento Kings coach Dave Joerger talks to reporters during the NBA basketball team’s media day Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
On the Kings Podcast with Charlie O:
1) What have we learned so far about the Kings in the preseason?
2) Who’s stock is rising & who’s stock is falling right now?
3) Do you think Dave Joerger is concerned about being 1-3 in the preseason right now?
4) What does Charlie expect that we’ll see in the final two preseason games in LA & Oakland?
5) One last question, Lavar Ball just announced he is pulling his youngest son LeMelo out of high school to Home school him & train his son himself. Charlie’s thoughts.
Sacramento Kings forward Justin Jackson (25) looks for an open teammate around Portland Trail Blazers defender Jusuf Nurkic (27) during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. The Trail Blazers won 97-83.(AP Photo/Steve Yeater)
By Jeremy Harness
SACRAMENTO – The Kings rested most of their stars Monday night, while the Portland Trail Blazers played just about everyone.
As a result, the only real intrigue that the game had would be if any players from either team would kneel for the national anthem. Once it was established that all of the players and coaches would stand for the anthem, it continued on as a regular preseason basketball game.
The fans did not get to see new additions Zach Randolph, George Hill nor Vince Carter, and they did not see exciting new rookie De’Aaron Fox, either. Meanwhile, Portland had its full squad on display, and the results were expectedly in the favor of the Blazers, as the Kings fell by the score of 97-83 inside a half-empty Golden 1 Center.
Sacramento, however, did have the services of rookie Justin Jackson, who scored 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting to go along with a pair of rebounds in almost 27 minutes on the floor. Skal Labissiere chipped in with 13 points while making six of his 13 shots from the floor in playing almost 36 minutes.
Monday’s game didn’t give us anything in regards to how the Kings regulars are expected to mesh with one another, since most of them sat the game out. However, Monday’s game did allow some guys who are either on the bubble or not expected to make the team at all a chance to get some burn and exposure.
One of those guys is point guard Marcus Williams, a former first-round pick who had spent the past seven years playing professionally in different leagues around Europe, Asia and Latin America. Since he left college, his career has been a reclamation project of sorts, as during his junior year at the University of Connecticut, he was kicked off the team for several months for attempting to sell stolen laptop computers.
Williams, who is not expected to make the team due to the fact that the Kings already have three point guards – rookies Fox and Frank Mason, who got the start Monday, as well as expected starter George Hill – had a nice start to Monday’s game in handing out three assists in the first quarter.
He played 18 minutes and had three points with five assists and turned the ball over only once.
For the Blazers, center Jusuf Nurkic led the team with 16 points while pulling down seven rebounds. Meanwhile, Oakland native Damian Lillard had 14 points with three assists and three rebounds, while his backcourt partner, C.J McCollum, had 12 points and three rebounds to go along with a pair of assists.owverH
Vince Carter directs traffic in the Kings — Lakers game in Las Vegas Photo USA Today Sports
by Charlie O. Mallonee
The third preseason game of the year for the Kings was a premiere matchup between Pacific Division rivals. The Kings and the Lakers are both very young teams that are trying reestablish themselves as legitimate playoff contenders in the NBA Western Conference.
Frankly, neither of these teams will be playing a game after the end of the regular season in April. That being said — both the Lakers and Kings are going to be much more entertaining to watch in 2017-18 than they were last season with the players they acquired in the draft and in free agency.
The game on Sunday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was not a “beautiful game”, but it was an entertaining game. The Lakers established a big lead in the first quarter and then the Kings fought their way back into the game in the second period.
The Kings actually took the lead in game in third quarter behind 22-9 run but they would not be able to hold on to that lead in final quarter of the game. When the final buzzer sounded, the Lakers had held on to record their first win of the preseason 75-69 over the Kings before a decidedly pro-Laker crowd in “Sin City”.
There were really no losers on Sunday night in Las Vegas
Magic Johnson spoke to the fans in Las Vegas before the game on Sunday Photo USA Today Sports
Both the Kings and Lakers donated their proceeds from the game on Sunday night to victims and first-responders of the mass shooting that happened last Sunday in Las Vegas. The donations will go to the MGM Grand Foundation who will administer the distribution of the proceeds.
This was a very nice gesture on the part of both teams.
The Ball vs Fox matchup did not happen again
The summer league rematch between Lonzo Ball and De’Aaron Fox did happen due to an injury reported by Ball. That brought out many comments about Ball not wanting to be embarrassed by Fox the way he was in the UCLA — Kentucky matchup.
On Sunday, it was announced that Ball would not be available due to an ankle problem. Fox would not have been able to play in the second-half due to a lower back bruise suffered in the first-half of the game.
Do not worry. The big face off is going to happen during the regular season and it will be worth the wait.
Neither team had impressive stats in the game
Kings
Sacramento shot 25-for-80 (31.2-percent) from the floor. They connected on just 7-of-25 (28.0-percent) for 3-point attempts. Those are not the kind of shooting numbers that will win games in the regular season. Sacramento went 12-for-16 (75.0-percent) from the free throw line. The percentage was fine but the number of attempts was too low.
Sacramento grabbed 37 rebounds (5 offensive). They recorded 15 assists and 12 turnovers which is not an acceptable ratio. The Lakers scored 10 points off the Kings 12 turnovers.
Lakers
Los Angeles shot 41.4-percent (29-for-70) from the field. The Lakers hit just 6-of-24 (25.0-percent) from beyond the 3-point line. They were 11-for-15 (73.3-percent) from the charity stripe.
The Lakers hauled in 49 rebounds (2 offensive). They recorded 21 assists and 20 turnovers which is not acceptable to any coach. The Kings scored 18 points off the Lakers 20 turnovers.
Team Leaders
Sacramento
Zach Randolph was a team leader for the Kings on Sunday night Photo USA Today Sports
Zach Randolph led the Kings scoring attack with 16 points. Z-Bo was 7-for-15 shooting. Garrett Temple put up 12 points while Vince Carter added nine. Bogdan Bogdanovic, George Hill and Buddy Hield each added seven points in the game.
George Hill was the Kings top rebounder with eight. Kosta Koufos grabbed seven.
The Kings used just 11 players in the rotation on Sunday night.
LAK
Rookie Kuzma was a star for the Lakers on Sunday Photo USA Today Sports
Julius Randle posted a double-double by putting up 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Rookie Kyle Kuzma dropped in 15 points. Many observers feel that Kuzma could be a bigger story than Ball this season but remember this is just the preseason. Brook Lopez scored 12 while Jordan Clarkson added 10 points.
Kuzma also pulled down eight rebounds.
Alex Caruso led the Lakers in assists with four and Kuzma had three.
Interesting stat of the game
When you look at the stats, you know this was not a great field goal shooting game. It really became an “old style” NBA battle in the paint contest. Sacramento scored 24 points in the paint (12-for-28) while the Lakers scored 40 points in the key (20-for-34).
Up next
The Kings (1-2) will be back in action on Monday night in Sacramento when they will host the Portland Trail Blazers (2-1). Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Sacramento Kings learned the very tough lesson on Friday night that all NBA teams must learn – it is very tough to win on the road in “the Association”. After beating the Spurs in their preseason opener in Sacramento, the Kings suffered their first loss of the preseason on Friday night in “the Alamo City” losing to the Spurs 113-93.
Sacramento came out of the gate fast
The Kings outscored the Spurs 24-15 in the first quarter of the game on Friday night. Buddy Hield led the Kings scoring barrage putting up eight points in the first 12-minutes of the game. Willie Cauley-Stein and Frank Mason added four points each in what would be a 24-point first quarter for Sacramento.
Unlike Monday, it was the young the Kings who were chosen to start on Friday night on the road. Malachi Richardson, Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox were the starting five in San Antonio.
The Spurs outscored the Kings in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters
The Spurs outscored the Kings by 12 points in the second quarter, six points in the third quarter and by 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Danny Green led the way with 20 points for the Spurs. LaMarcus Aldridge shot 5-for-10 from the field to score 10 points for San Antonio. Brandon Paul, Bryn Forbes and Davis Bertrans scored nine points each against the Kings.
The Spurs shot 55.4-percent from the field and 48.4-percent (15-for-31) from 3-point range. San Antonio had 28 assists and 17 turnovers. That is not the ratio a team wants to have but is was good enough to post a win on Friday night.
The Kings young players were featured on Friday
Willie Cauley-Stein was the Kings leading scorer in game with 14-points. He also grabbed nine rebounds and turned the ball over just two times.
Skal Labissiere had a 13-point game for the Kings on Friday night. He went 6-for-10 from the field, hauled in two rebounds and did not turn the ball over in 25-plus minutes of playing time.
Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox each added 12-points in their time on the floor.Georgios Papagiannis played 29-minutes and recorded 10-points and three rebounds. Marcus Williams who is fighting for a spot at the end of the bench put up nine points in 13-minutes of playing time.
The Kings shot 45.2-percent from the field and 26.7-percent from 3-point land. Sacramento had 32 rebounds and 13 turnovers.
The bottom line lesson
Winning on the road in NBA is very hard. Unfortunately for the young Kings, that is a lesson that will be a lesson that will be learned many times in 2017-18.
Up next for SacramentoÂ
The Kings will return to preseason action on Sunday night in Las Vegas when they will face the Los Angeles Lakers. Proceeds from the game will be donated to victims of the tragic shooting of the Route 91 Harvest music festival.
Harry Giles update
The Kings have revealed that Harry Giles will not be available to play until January 2018 as he continues to rehab from his surgery for an injury to his ACL. Giles who was originally projected to be the number one pick in the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery has suffered setbacks due to knee troubles.
Giles is just 19-years old so the Kings can afford to patient. He has been most often compared to Chris Webber. If he can be close to Webber, waiting until he his fully healthy will be worth the wait.
Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein, center, goes to the basket between San Antonio Spurs’ Davis Bertans, left, and Danny Green, during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. The Kings won 106-100. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
On the Kings Podcast with Charlie O:
1) this the kickoff to the first full season without DeMarcus Cousins in Purple & White – how significant is that?
2) what is your opinion of the Kings new roster?
3)Zach Randolph ran into some trouble in SoCal late in the summer does that worry you?
4) What about his statements about being wrongly arrested?
5) People are saying the Kings should have done more to Keep Scott Perry in Sac rather than letting him go to the Knicks. Some are saying the successful draft and veteran player signings were all his doing. Should Vlade Divac stepped into a ceremonial role and given the keys to the Kingdom to Perry?
6) What about the Kings win over the Spurs Monday night – your impressions and thoughts.?
7) Some observers are talking about the Kings tanking this year to get the best draft pick they can because the do not have a #1 pick in 2019 – do you agree those thoughts?
8) Vlade & Dave Joerger just received contact extensions – how is that important to the organization?
by Charlie O. Mallonee
Sports Radio Service 