Category: Sacramento Kings

Kings lose their home opener to the Clippers 111-104

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Karl Presser

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings opened their final season in the Sleep Train Arena with a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers 111-104 on Wednesday night. The Clippers – led by forward Blake Griffin – appeared to be headed to a relatively easy victory until the Kings fought their way back into the game in the fourth quarter.

The Kings trailed the Clippers by as many as 15 points in the game. The Kings took their first lead in the game with 6:51 to play on a Rudy Gay jump shot. The lead seasawed back and forth until Los Angeles went on a “mini” six point run that put the game out of reach for the Kings.

The game took on a playoff atmosphere as the sellout crowd did all they could to urge their team to an opening night victory. In the end, the Kings began their run too late to overcome the very talented Clippers squad.

Kings

The Kings were expected to rely more on outside shooting under the leadership of George Karl. Instead, the game became a battle in the paint in the first half. It continued to be a game dominated by play in the paint until the Kings began to find their outside shooting range in the fourth quarter. Sacramento scored 48 points in the paint to just 36 for the Clippers.

The Kings finished the game shooting .436 from the floor (41-for-94). Sacramento shot just .350 from the field in the first quarter.

Sacramento shot .458 (11-for-24) from beyond the 3-point arc with eight of those 3-pointers coming in the second half.

The team did not shoot well from the free throw line which is surprising because the Kings are known as an excellent shooting team from the stripe. The Kings went 11-for-18 (.611) from the free throw line. The limited number of trips to the foul line may also be of concern to coach George Karl.

It appeared that the Kings might do themselves in with turnovers. They committed 10 turnovers in the first half. The team tightened up its play and committed just six turnovers in the second half.

Sacramento finished the game with 24 assists – just one off the goal George Karl has set for the team of 25 per game.

The Kings out-rebounded the Clippers 49-42.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings in scoring with 32 points. Cousins also grabbed 13 rebounds to make it a double-double performance.

Rudy Gay scored 16 points. Darren Collison put up 13 points to go with six assists. Kosta Koufos scored 10 points, Marco Belinelli recored nine points, Omri Casspi scored 5 and Rajon Rondo 5.

Belinelli dished out seven assists while Rondo added four of his own.

Coach Karl used 11 players in the game in varying configurations. Several times the Kings went with a three guard look.

Clippers

The key the Los Angeles victory was their shooting. The Clippers shot .525 (42-for-80) from the field and .316 (6-for-19) from beyond the 3-point line.

The Clippers were led by Blake Griffin’s 33 points. Griffin seemed to be able to score at will in the first half. He scored 20 of his 33 points in the first half.

Guards Chris Paul and JJ Redick combined for 33 points. Paul scored 18 and made it a double-double night by adding in 11 assists. Redick put up 15 points shooting 5-for-11 in the game.

Center DeAndre Jordan played much of the game in foul trouble but managed to score eight points and grab 12 rebounds. Jordan also added in four blocked shots.

Jamal Crawford (11 points) and Paul Pierce (12 points) played significant minutes coming off the bench.

What they had to say after the game

“I liked the flow of the whole game except for the first quarter,” said Kings head coach George Karl. “The first quarter we had seven turnovers and not much pace. They are a very good basketball team that knows how to win close games.”

“We didn’t play great,” explained Clippers head coach Doc Rivers. “We made a lot of turnovers, unforced errors, but it was like a team win. We bring Paul (Pierce) in, he makes a shot. We take him out. We put Austin (Rivers) in, he makes a steal. Come out of a timeout and DJ (DeAndre Jordan) gets the dunk. That’s how you want to win really. Execution is very important and we did that tonight.”

“I think it was a good thing for us. We talked about it a lot and that we still got to figure some things out. We have to figure out our identity, the new faces and stuff like that but at the end of the day you have to win and figure it out at the same time,” said Clippers guard Chris Paul.

Up next

The Clippers traveled back to Los Angeles where they will play their home opener on Thursday night versus the Dallas Mavericks.

The Kings have Thursday off and will return to action on Friday night when they host the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Kings and Clippers will face off again on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings tip off for home opener Wednesday against Clips

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by Charlie O Mallonee

photo credit google images Kings vs. Heat in action photo

SACRAMENTO–The Kings tip off against the Los Angeles Clippers for the home opener at Sleep Train Arena on Wednesday night. It will be the last home opener at Sleep Train before the Kings next home opener at Golden One Center their new digs downtown in October 2016.

I have been fortunate enough during my working tenure in Sacramento to see the development of the arena it unbelievable. It’s very exciting and this time next year we’ll be talking about the opening night at the Golden One Center.

Opening night this week will be on Wednesday night and everything right now is sweetness of light. Everybody is ready to put the exhibition season and training camp behind them and get into the action of the regular season. On Wednesday night it will be the beginning of the end of Sleep Train Arena and the Kings will relive some of the great moments played there during the season.

Listen to Charlie O on the Kings podcast as he gives you analysis of opening week at the Kings at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

 

Kings waive Stockton

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stockton

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have waived guard David Stockton. The Kings were carrying 16 players and needed to reduce the roster to 15 before October 28th.

Charlie O and Lee Leonard predicted that Stockton would be “the odd man out” on the Kings Weekly Podcast on Sportsradioservice.com. The Kings have depth at the guard position and there was not room for an extra point guard.

Stockton played for the Kings D-League team in Reno for most of the 2014-15 season. He was signed by the Kings to a 10-day contract and then to a contract for the 2015-16 season.

By waiving Stockton now, he has been given a better chance to be signed by another NBA team before the beginning of the season next week.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Don’t expect to see Mayor at any Kings presentations in the near future

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by Charlie O Mallonee

photo credit deadspin.com of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson

SACRAMENTO–Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has not come out with a statement regarding the sex scandal involving Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and how the Kings will proceed with the very man who helped keep the Kings in Sacramento and who was instrumental for the Kings construction of their new arena downtown which is still the $100,000 question.

The whole situation of that dynamic really changed when ESPN backed off the 30 for 30 series doing a bio on Johnson and his success on pulling off keeping the Kings in Sacramento. ESPN said their not going to show the film until more information on the sex scandal comes forward confirming that has Johnson accuser Mandi Koba at age 16 in a 1996 video who said that she was sexually molested by Johnson when he was playing for the Phoenix Suns at that time. Johnson has since monetarily settled with Koba at that time but Koba said she was 16 then and now is old enough now to come out and tell all that happened.

Charlie O has the entire commentary of how the Mayor and the Kings plans to move forward regarding this sex scandal plus coverage of the Kings getting ready for the regular season. Listen to the podcast below.

Kings beat the Pelicans in Kentucky

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NBAE/Getty Images
NBAE/Getty Images

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Kentucky Wildcats capped off their “Midnight Madness Weekend” by hosting a NBA preseason game between the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. The Wildcats had three of the top 10 basketball recruits in the nation on campus for the big weekend.

The Kings – Pelicans game featured four former Kentucky players (three of whom played for head coach John Calipari) and two of Calipari’s former Memphis players. The Kings DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein played for Kentucky under Calipari. Rajon Rondo played for Tubby Smith at Kentucky.

The Pelicans star center Anthony Davis played for Calipari in Lexington. New Orleans players Tyreke Evans and Chris Douglas-Roberts played for Calipari at Memphis.

That is not a bad way to impress high school recruits. Please meet these five NBA players who I coached in college. Did you say you would like to play in “the association”?

Now on to the game

This contest was the Kings sixth and final preseason game. The next time the Kings play an opponent it will be on October 28th when they open the season with the Los Angeles Clippers in Sacramento. It was George Karl’s last opportunity to see his players in actual game situations.

The Kings started the game slowly falling behind the Pelicans 31-20 after the first quarter of play. The Kings then turned up the tempo and outscored New Orleans in each of the final three quarters.

The Kings won the game 107-98. The victory allowed Sacramento to finish the preseason with a 5-1 record. The loss dropped the Pelicans preseason record to 2-2.

Kings

Rudy Gay led the Kings attack scoring 20 points in 30 minutes of playing time. Gay made it a double-double game by pulling down 10 rebounds.

DeMarcus Cousins put up 19 points while grabbing five rebounds in his 24 minutes on the floor. Fellow Kentucky Wildcat Willie Cauley-Stein scored seven points and recorded six rebounds. The Kings other Kentucky alum – Rajon Rondo – posted three points and three assists.

Darren Collison had a strong game for the Kings scoring 19 points, grabbing seven rebounds while dishing out five assists. Collison shot 8-for-11 from the field.

Omri Casspi added 16 points and seven rebounds. Kosta Koufos scored 11 points in 14 minutes of playing time.

As a team, the Kings shot .447 (38-for-85) from the floor. They shot just .273 (6-for-22) from 3-point range. Sacramento hit 25 of 34 free throw attempts (.735).

The Kings won the battle in the paint as they outscored the Pelicans 58-31 down low. Sacramento also won the battle on the boards pulling down 50 rebounds to just 45 for New Orleans.

Sacramento had only 14 assists in the game but also committed only 14 turnovers (four in the second half). Karl wants the assist total be at 25 per game, but he will live with 14 turnovers.

Pelicans

Ryan Anderson led the Pelicans scoring with 20 points going 6-for-14 from the floor.

Former Kentucky star Anthony Davis put up 19 points shooting 7-for-15 from the field. Davis was 2-for-4 from 3-point land.

New Orleans shot 34-for-79 (.430) in the game.

Up next

For the Kings, it is lots of scrimmages until the 28th of October when they open the season at home with the Clippers.

The Pelicans close out their preseason with the Rockets in Houston on Monday night.

Denver Spoils Home Opener, Downs Warriors 114-103

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By Shawn Whelchel

The Golden State Warriors weren’t in championship form on Tuesday night, as sloppy play and a lack of defense spoiled the teams long awaited return to Oracle Arena in a 114-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

The Warriors defense looked uncharacteristically lethargic and porous, as the NBA champions failed to stop a rolling Denver offense that put up 63 first-half points. The Nuggets were able to use a 18-3 run late in the second quarter to give themselves a solid lead heading into the half and never looked back.

Klay Thompson had a particularly rough night for the Warriors, making just one-of-eight field goal attempts for eight points across 24 minutes of play. Draymond Green lead the starting five with 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting, while Steph Curry dumped in 14 points on a similar shooting line, going just 1-of-8 from behind the arc. Leandro Barbosa looked to be the most offensively consistent player for Golden State, adding a team-high 16 points off the bench on an efficient 5-for-8 shooting in just 15-minutes of play.

But while the Warriors failed to keep their foot on the offensive gas pedal throughout the middle-two frames of the game, the Nuggets, led by PF Kenneth Faried, took advantage of the spotty Warriors defense to score a preseason-high 114 points.

Faried led all scorers in the game with his double-double line consisting of 22 points and 12 rebounds. Five other Nuggets scored in the double-digits on the night, including four-of-five starters for Denver, and 16 points off the bench from PG Jameer Nelson.

Adding injury to insult, the Warriors lost Harrison Barnes in the second quarter after the small forward sprained his knee while running into a Denver player while running the floor in transition. The Warriors are expected to update his status on Wednesday.

After allowing the Nuggets to shoot 49.5 percent from the field on Tuesday, the Warriors will need to shore up their defensive effort before the Houston Rockets, and spurned MVP candidate James Harden, come to Oracle Arena on Thursday night.

 

Kings defeat Lakers, 107-100, in Sin City

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO- Lady luck was on the Kings side tonight as they continued to show excellent team offense with 7 players in double figures while adding 26 teams assists, even with All Star Center Demarcus Cousins sitting out. The Kings’ passing and good shooting allowed them to hold a lead throughout the game. The Kings beat the Lakers, 107-100, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Kings started off slow in the 1st quarter as the Lakers lead for almost the first half of the quarter. However, Rajon Rondo once again stepped up for his team and showed that he is not only a passer. Rondo scored the ball well and the point guard known for horrible shooting, shot 3 for 5 from the field in the 1st quarter, scoring 7 points and adding 3 assists. He finished the game with 11 points, shooting 5 for 9 from the field, 1 for 4 behind the 3 point line, and added 6 assists in 25 minutes of play. Marco Belinelli also did a good job of scoring the ball for the Kings with 5 points, shooting 2 for 3 from the field. The free agent signings helped give the Kings a 31-27 lead heading into the 2nd quarter.

Again the Kings 2nd quarter woes continued, giving up a 5-0 run to start the quarter. The defense was lackluster until Eric Moreland came up big defensively with a couple blocks and added 6 points on the offensive end. Belinelli began to heat up again as he hit a couple of threes and Darren Collison continued that charge. The Kings got out on an 8-0 run until Lou Williams hit a pair of free throws. To finish out the half, Kosta Koufos, who replaced Cousins in the starting line up, tipped in a buzzer beater to give the Kings a 63-51 lead. At the end of the half, the Kings shot the ball 53.5% from the field with 15 assists.

To begin the 3rd quarter, Rondo made the first bucket of the half off an assist from Koufos. From there the Kings continued to push the ball around the perimeter while also getting the ball inside. Rondo assisted Rudy Gay who filled the lane in really well to give the Kings a 16 point lead. Gay finished the game with a double-double, 10 points with 11 rebounds in 24 minutes of play, although he shot 3 for 12 from the field. But the Kings defense struggled once more giving up a 7-0 run to the Lakers. Ben McLemore, who finished with 11 points on 3 for 9 shooting from the field, 2 for 5 behind the arc in 25 minutes, made a big 3 pointer to stop the Lakers in their tracks. Nonetheless, the offense for the Kings kept their lead to double digits. The big story of the 3rd quarter was Kobe Bryant leaving the quarter with a left leg contusion and sitting out for the rest of the game. Bryant finished with 10 points, going 4 for 12 from the field and his fadeaway jumper looked good early in the game. And Belinelli, the Kings top scorer of the night, once again shot the ball well to finish the first 3 quarters with 17 points, going 5 for 9 from the field and 3 for 5 on 3 point field goals in 23 minutes of play, shooting 50% from the field. The Kings lead to end the 3rd was 88-74, and their field goal percentage was 51.7%, with a 3 point field goal percentage of 40%.

As the 4th quarter got underway, Eric Moreland came up big with 2 more blocks and showed Coach Karl he is a huge asset on defense. The Kings held a lead throughout the 4th quarter, but let the Lakers make the game a little closer. Collison once again came up big and did a great job of scoring the ball while distributing to his teammates. Towards the end of the 4th, the reserves came in and D’Angelo Russell tried to make it interesting scoring 6 points in the final minute.

Collison finished the game with 16 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists. The final Kings player in double figures was Moreland who scored 10 points in 15 minutes going 5 for 6 from the field. Moreland also tallied 4 blocks with 5 rebounds and revitalized the Kings effortless defense.

The overall team effort, ultimately leading to a win, now puts the Kings at 4-1 during the 2015 preseason. The Kings’ offense looks sharp as they continue to swing the ball and push it inside or find the open man, finishing with a 45.6% field goal percentage with 38 points in the paint. If the Kings can get their defense on the right path and pass the ball as well as they have this entire preseason, the 2015-16 regular season could be an exciting one in the City of Trees.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings looking to use Rondo and Collison in the back court more often

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On the podcast tonight Charlie O discusses why the Kings are using Rajon Rondo and Darren Collison in the back court and will the Kings be doing more of this. Rudy Gay didn’t dress Saturday night and head coach George Karl tells us why. Ben McLemore has been struggling of late and Charlie O has some insight into why. Also what’s coning up for the Kings.

Later follow the game recap from Las Vegas with Mike Martinez Jr as the Kings and Lakers battle it out in pre season action.

Listen to the Kings podcast with Charlie O below:

Sac Kings beat reporter Jeff Hall passes away too young too soon; plus Jeff’s last podcast from Oct 2nd

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by Charlie O and Mike Martinez Jr

SACRAMENTO–He was probably in the circles of the Sacramento media one of the most welcoming figures to work with for veteran journalists and rookie journalists alike Jeff Hall passed away today and for those who knew him he was a friend, a great co-worker and an inspiration to many journalists alike.

Jeff who suffered from a stroke on Mon Oct 5th was hospitalized and while there was a brief ray of hope doctors said that Jeff would only have about a month left. He made it eight more days. His colleagues, friends and most importantly kids and family were at his side during the pending days and held vigils in hopes that Jeff would make a miracle recovery.

Jeff who passed at only 50 years old left a legacy of friends a laundry list of them that most people don’t get to enjoy in a lifetime. Jeff started out his professional sports coverage career working at KSMJ radio in Sacramento in the early 90s.

Jeff said that his biggest highlight during those early days of his media career was covering the 1992 MLB All-Star game in San Diego. Jeff covered many baseball events with the late and veteran Sacramento TV and radio anchor Ken Gimblin. Jeff said he enjoyed making his trip out to Camden Yards with Ken in Baltimore when Oriole Park was just built. The two took in the new park and walked on the field, did a number of interviews and enjoyed the crab cakes in the media room.

Jeff in the those early days of the 90s also covered the San Jose Sharks who started out their franchise year in 1991 where he and his broadcast partner Dave Goolsby would travel from Sacramento to Daly City to cover the NHL’s newest team and drive back after the game. Chris Collins who did color on Sharks radio and worked at KSMJ FM with Dave and Jeff would also make the trek to the Cow Palace.

Jeff got married and left the radio business and also his sports coverage and virtually very few in the industry heard from him again until 2014 when he came back to cover the Sacramento Kings after it was announced that the Kings would stay in Sacramento a move that Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive had a huge role in that made it possible. Jeff was pleased to be back doing what he loved doing the most covering professional sports.

Jeff had mentioned about his surgeries he had two of them for brain cancer and he didn’t want anyone’s sympathy he just wanted to be treated like everyone else and he muscled every bit of strength that he could to come out to San Francisco or Oakland to cover baseball or games at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. Jeff literally laid it all on the line for his family, friends, co workers, and his co workers in the media.

Those that got to know Jeff treasured every second of working with him and admired his strengths for what he had done in and out of covering the games. Like KCBS’ Joe Salvatore said, “Rest in peace Jeff, you were a good friend but most important, a great father.”

Please listen to Jeff’s last podcast he recorded doing commentary on Sac Kings basketball from Fri Oct 2, 2015 click below

Kings down the Blazers 94-90

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Kings vsw Blazers

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 94-90 at Sleep Train Arena on Saturday night. It was the Kings second victory over the Blazers in a week.

The Kings were led by guard Darren Collison who scored 18 points in 32-plus minutes of playing time. Collison also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out three assists.

Portland’s CJ McCollum led all scorers with 30 points. McCollum was 5-for-10 from 3-point land and 11-for-20 from the field. He scored 19 of his points in the third to quarter to keep the Blazers in the game.

The Kings won the game by outscoring Portland in the paint 38-28 and by scoring 25 points off the fast break to just 13 for the Blazers.

Kings

  1. The Kings started Rajon Rondo and Darren Collison in the backcourt for the first time in the preseason. According to George Karl it was the first time the pair had played together because so much their time has been spent in team scrimmages. Rondo and Collison combined for a total of 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
  2. DeMarcus Cousins scored 18 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, had three assists and two steals in 23-plus minutes of playing time. He also picked up his technical foul of the preseason in the third quarter arguing over an out of bounds call. Cousins earned the “T” by not stopping after his first appeal to the referee.
  3. Willie Cauley-Stein had a good game scoring seven points and pulling down nine rebounds. Cauley-Stein is a presence on defense but is still a work in progress on offense.
  4. The Kings shot .408 (31-for-76) from the field. They were 7-for-22 (.318) from beyond the 3-point line.
  5. Rudy Gay did not dress for the game. He is not injured. Karl was just giving Gay the night off to get some playing time. for other players in this contest,

Trail Blazers

  1. Portland played the game without their very talented guard Damian Lillard. Lillard is nursing a left ankle injury.
  2. The Trail Blazers had four players who did not dress for the game. All four players were out due to injury.
  3. Portland shot .415 from the field and .353 (12-for-34) from beyond the 3-point arc.
  4. The Blazers out-rebounded the Kings 50 to 41.
  5. Portland scored 25 points off turnovers to just nine points off turnovers for the Kings.

What they said after the game

“We’re ahead of the curve right now. We have a long way to go, but we’ve done some very good things in every game we’ve played. We need to continue to get better.” said Kings head coach George Karl.

Kings center Kosta Koufous said, “We’ve got some things we’re going work on defensively but everybody is playing hard and that’s the biggest thing. As long as everybody’s playing with 100% effort, that’s all you can ask for.”

“I felt that we could have played better obviously. Foul trouble kind of got us close behind the eight ball early and we never really recovered. We had twice as many fouls called against (us) and it was just tough to bounce back from that,” explained Portland head coach Terry Stotts.

Leading scorer CJ McCollum told reporters, “I felt comfortable even in the first game when some shots didn’t drop really. Just like tonight, I missed my first few shots. The biggest thing is to just stay confident, try to get to my spots.”

Up next

The Kings will play again on Tuesday when they will face the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas.

The Trail Blazers play the Jazz in Utah on Monday night.