Category: Sacramento Kings

Memphis Grizzlis Vs Sacramento Kings

Kings Overtake a Tough Memphis Team

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Jeff Hall

SACRAMENTO –

The Kings hosted a tough team in the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are one of the NBA’s best teams and the Kings came away with a 102-90 win.

The Kings got off to a good start in the first quarter against the Grizzlies an opened the game with a 32-25 lead. The Grizzlies struggled with poor shooting in the first shooting 43 percent from the field. The Kings shot 53.8 percent with just two turnovers that led to four Grizzly points. Ben McLemore led the Kings in scoring with 11 first quarter points.

The Kings carried their lead to the end of the first half of action with a 61-52 lead as the Grizzlies there poor shooting finishing the first half shooting 44.4 percent from the field Late In the second quarter Kings Head coach George Karl received his first Technical and DeMarcus Cousins got into foul trouble and picked up his third foul with three minutes remaining in the first half. Cousins walked off the court extremely frustrated with the officiating and kicked a chair on the bench Rudy Gay then put on a scoring show with six quick points inside the paint. Gay had 16 points in the first

But Zach Randolph fired a desperation shot and finished the half firing a sixty-two foot shot and sinking the long three pointer as time expired in the second.

Early in the third quarter the Grizzlies began showing their frustrations when Zach Randolph and DeMarcus Cousins got into a heated exchange under the basket at the Grizzlies end. Randolph was charged with a technical.

Once Cousins got into foul trouble the Kings began to struggle in the third quarter and saw their 10 point lead evaporate. The Grizzlies began stepping their game up both defensively and physically and that play would gain a one point lead 77-76 at the end of the third. The Grizzlies outscored the Kings 25-14 in the third.

The Kings responded with a strong fourth quarter outscoring the Grizzlies

Cousins foul trouble kept his scoring numbers down, However Cousins still had a Solid performance with 16 points and Nine rebounds and six assists despite limited minutes

Rudy Gay led the way in scoring for the Kings with twenty-eight points and 10 rebounds and six assists.

Coach Karl was pleased with the play of Cousins despite the foul trouble. “Cousins had a great game considering he played twenty-four minutes, most guys don’t have games like that in that amount of time.” said Karl after the game.

Up next the Kings will host the San Antonio Spurs at Sleep Train Arena on Friday.

Kings Notes: The Kings announced Vance Walberg as a new assistant coach. Walberg has more than three decades of experience at the pre, collegiate an professional levels. Walberg was formerly an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was an Assistant for George Karl with the Denver Nuggets.

The Grange Resturant Sponsors Kings talk with Jeff Hall

Sacramento Kings podcast: Kings set to take on one of the NBA’s best the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by Jeff Hall

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings are going to face one of the best teams in the NBA the Memphis Grizzlies and their a team that’s loaded with talent. There will be no hand outs from the three teams that are coming in for the Kings next three home games. The Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trailblazers. It’s going to be a tough home series but the Kings have a new head coach coaching his third game with the team George Karl.

The Kings have used him for a couple of games so far one at home when they beat the Boston Celtics and the next night which they lost in Los Angeles against the Clippers. Their in a transition state right now and the team is trying to learn how to play basketball for Karl. It’s a different style of basketball.

That first win was very exciting for Karl and the crowd at Sleep Train Arena just went nuts when they announced Karl to the fans and it was fascinating the way the crowd reacted to him. So he’s welcomed to Sacramento, there not too many expectations because nobody knows what’s going on with this team.

There’s hopes that Karl will be able to turn this team around, is he going to turn the team around quickly? Probably not it’s going to take him a season in a half and that’s the reason why the Kings wanted to bring him aboard. Before the transition of Karl the Kings were getting offers from other NBA teams about DeMarcus Cousins but the Kings didn’t panic and held onto him.’

The Kings can’t be losing Cousins he’s the best player they have on the team and you hate to lose a guy like that. The Kings have seen the importance of having him on the team. When Cousins have the viral meningitis it’s not the same. It’s obvious when he was out he was not the same Cousins is an important part of this team. Cousins has a lot of respect for Karl which is good and that’s what you have to see how the players are going to react to the new coach.

The Kings lost a tough game under Karl in L.A. against the Clippers and you have to remember that the Kings are trying to plan their new strategy now. Cousins after that game felt the team was fatigued because their running a fast break that they’ve never run before. It’s starting to wear the team down and he thinks that had an impact on them against the Clippers.

Jeff Hall is a beat writer covering Kings basketball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the rest of Jeff’s podcast below

Sacramento Kings commentary & podcast: Karl wants these two next games against Memphis & San Antonio

Published on by lleonardbwLeave a comment

by Charlie O

SACRAMENTO–Kings head coach George Karl coached his first two games against the Boston Celtics in Sacramento and his second game in L.A. versus the Clippers with different results. Nobody really knew quite what to expect many reporters haven’t in Sacramento haven’t been able to cover Karl that much but you see the persona on television.

Head coaches are suppose to be friendly and their suppose to be nice and their suppose to be fun guys on ESPN. Many were on hand to see what their first impressions were with Karl at the helm. I got a chance to be at his pre game conference for his first game last Friday night which is set 90 minutes ahead of the tip.

It was really interesting to me it was a tremendous media circus there were about 50 reporters there instead of the normal four to five your would have in the coaches office before the game. One of the things he talked about he was really overwhelmed by the reception he was getting from media in Sacramento with the coverage.

I really believed that he was indeed overwhelmed in that first game as head coach for the Kings. That was carried out even more when he was introduced to the crowd during the intros. You can tell he was just taken aback from the way the crowd responded to him. Sacramento is a really unique town, it’s an NBA town.

That’s because it’s an NBA only town, the Kings are the only show in town, there’s the minor league soccer team the Republic FC, the minor league baseball Rivercats, and a former UFL team the Mountain Lions. Sacramento is a one team market like Memphis, Oklahoma City, or like Portland. It is the big thing in Sacramento and you could tell almost immediately that he has been caught up into how important his role is to the fans and the sporting community in Sacramento.

Karl is aware the fans obviously care about this team and what their going to do and it was a nice introduction. I liked his attitude and the way he handled the press. It was a real scrum because you had everybody out covering it there were people there that I haven’t seen at a Kings game in the last two years that I’ve been covering the Kings. He handled it with grace and he really made people feel like he cared.

Charlie O covers Sacramento Kings basketball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com catch his podcast below

Clippers crush the Kings 126-99

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA.com
NBA.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings (19-35) went to school on Saturday night in Los Angeles versus the Clippers (37-19), and the Kings did not have a good time. The Clippers crushed the Kings 126-99.

After outscoring the Clippers 29-24 in the opening quarter, the Kings fell apart in the second quarter as Los Angeles went on a 28-4 run and scored a total of 42 points in the period. The Clippers left the floor at halftime leading Sacramento 66-47, and Los Angeles just played clean up for the rest of the game.

“They (Clippers) play at such a high level of well – even if we had played our A-game I don’t know that we would have won the game tonight. After the first quarter, they were working. Everything was working for them,” said Kings Head Coach George Karl.

The Clippers shot 73.9-percent (17 for 23) from the field and went six for eight (75.0-percent) from 3-Point range in the second quarter. JJ Redick shot a perfect three for three beyond the arc. Matt Barnes connected on both of his 3-Point shots. The Kings turned the over six times resulting in 15 points for the Clippers.

Austin Rivers scored a career-high 28 points for the Clippers. JJ Redick scored 24 while Jamal Crawford poured in 23 points. Chris Paul had quiet night scoring just 10 points but he also added nine assists to his stat totals.

Los Angeles shot 48.4-percent (46 for 95) from the floor and hit on 14 of 35 (40.0-percent) 3-Pointers. They shot 71.4-percent (20 for 28) from the charity stripe. The Clippers turned the ball over just 11 times and recorded 31 assists.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings scoring with 21 points but had a tough night shooting connecting on just six of 19 shots. He grabbed just four rebounds.

“I think some fatigue kicked in. This is a new playing style for this whole team. I think the fatigue kicked in. Then our energy level went down. We let them gain confidence and they just ran away with the game,” explained Cousins after the contest.

Rudy Gay scored 15 points but was just four for 13 from the field. Omri Casspi scored 11 points and grabbed 17 rebounds (career high).

The one real bright spot for the Kings was the play of point guard Ray McCallum. He scored 10 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out five assists in his 23 minutes on the floor.

The Kings shot just 34.1-percent (30 for 88) from the field. They hit on just four of 16 3-Point attempts. They had a good night from the free throw line hitting on 35 of 46 opportunities (76.1-percent).

Sacramento turned the ball over 17 (28 points) and recorded just 18 assists. That ratio will not lead to wins.

“In many ways, we are in a mid-season training camp. We’ve got to take the video and then come out against Memphis. We’ve got three great teams coming into out building. All three have a skill-set that we have to get better at defending and also get better offensively not creating mistakes or turnovers,” said Karl.

The Kings will have a few days to practice their new playbook. They will be off until Wednesday when they host the Memphis Grizzlies.

Kings win first under Karl beating Boston 109-101

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA.com
NBA.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee

George Karl told his Sacramento Kings to think about the rest of the 2014-15 season as a 30 game mini-season. The Kings are now 1-0 in their mini-season after defeating the Boston Celtics 109-101 in Sacramento on Friday night.

The game did not start off looking like the Kings would do anything but lose. Sacramento was out of sync. They turned the ball over. Boston went on a 16-2 run. It looked bleak for Kings’ fans.

Just when it looked like it could not get worse, DeMarcus Cousins picked up a technical foul at the 4:51 mark for arguing a a controversial out of bounds call that went against Sacramento. With 3:50 to go in the first quarter, Karl sent Cousins to the bench and brought in Derrick Williams.

Karl went “small ball” with his lineup and it worked. The Kings closed the gap, took the lead and led 28-27 after the first quarter.

Cousins and Gay started the second quarter on the bench and the Kings played well. When Cousins returned to the game, he looked more comfortable and played better. Sacramento was looking for the extra pass, kicking the ball back out to the perimeter and scoring using their outside shooting.

The Kings shot 53.5-percent (23 for 43) from the field and hit on seven of 13 3-Pointers (53.8-percent) in the first half.

After a dismal start, the Kings led the Celtics 56-51 at the half.

The Kings came out cold to open the third quarter going zero for four from the field. The Celtics cut the lead to one, but Cousins came alive. Cousins scored the first seven points of the quarter for Sacramento.

Both teams seem to lack energy in the third period. The Kings outside shooting was not effective. Boston struggled from the free throw line. The Kings held on to the lead and led 82-74 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was a battle down under the rim. Neither team shot particularly well. Both teams battled on the boards. Boston kept chipping away at the Kings lead and tied the game at 89 all on a Tyler Zeller four foot shot. Zeller, who was fouled, converted the three point play giving the Celtics the lead for the first since the first quarter.

A Cousins put back gave the lead back to the Kings who would never trail again. Sacramento opened up a lead of as many as 10 points. They settled for an eight point victory 109-101.

DeMarcus Cousins was the Kings leading scorer with 31 points. He recorded another double-double by adding 15 rebounds. Rudy Gay put up 28 points for Sacramento. Derrick Williams scored 11, Ben McLemore 10 and Ray McCallum scored eight points to go with four assists.

The newest King, Andre Miller, scored eight points, dished four assists and added some veteran presence when needed on the floor.

Sacramento shot 48.2-percent (40 for 83) from the field and hit eight of 23 (36.4-percent) 3-Pointers. The Kings went 21 for 26 (80.8-percent) from the free throw line. They out-rebounded the Celtics 57 to 40.

The one glaring area for the Kings was turnovers. Sacramento turned the ball over 24 times and that resulted in 38 points for Boston. It’s not often you turn the ball over 24 times and come away with a win.

The turnovers came in part from the new uptempo style of play and extra passing that Kings used in the game. The turnovers will come down as they grow more accustomed to their new style.

After the game Head Coach George Karl said, “We got to get back defensively better sometimes.There’s a lot of things we’ll have to get better at. But it’s a win, I’m happy with the way we won it.”

The Celtics were led in scoring by Avery Bradley’s 28 points. Tyler Zeller added 22 points, Marcus Smart 16 and Brandon Bass 13.

Boston shot 40.0-percent (40 for 100) from the field went six for 22 (27.3-percent) from beyond the 3-Point line. The Celtics big downfall came at the free throw line where they went 15 for 26 (57.7-percent). Boston turned the ball over just 11 times.

The Kings are now 19-34 for the season and 12-17 at home. Sacramento plays the Clippers in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Boston’s record falls to 20-32 overall and 8-17 on the road. The Celtics play the Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday.

There’s a Stockton in Sacramento

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

STOCKTON

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have signed guard David Stockton of the Reno Bighorns to a 10-day contract. Stockton is the son of NBA Hall of Fame player John Stockton.

Stockton is 5-11 and weights 165. He was averaging 16.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 2.4 steals and 27.5 minutes per game for Reno. He is a 46.0-percent field goal shooter who shoots 36.4-percent from 3-Point range. Stockton shoots 80.6-percent from the free throw line. He was fourth in assists and second in steals per game in the D-League.

Stockton played his college ball at Gonzaga. He went undrafted out of college. Stockton was selected in the third round of the D-League draft by the Maine Red Claws. He was traded on draft night to the Reno Bighorns.

Stockton will be available tonight versus the Boston Celtics.

The Kings roster is now full at 15 players.

Andre Miller to Kings for Ramon Sessions

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Andre-Miller-Wizards

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have traded point guard Ramon Sessions the Washington Wizards in exchange for point/shooting guard Andre Miller. The trade was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The trade reunites Miller with his former coach George Karl. Miller played for Karl in Denver. Their player – coach relationship is described as close.

Miller, who 38 years old, is in his 16th season in the NBA. He was in his second season with the Wizards.

Miller has seen action in 51 games this season coming off the bench. He has been primarily used at point guard. Miller is averaging 3.6 points per game in 12 plus minutes of average playing time. He is shooting 54.2 percent from the field. Miller is not a 3-point shooting threat.

The 28 year old Sessions was averaging 5.4 points per game in just a little over 17 minutes of average playing time for Sacramento.

Why the trade? First, Miller has an expiring contract which gives the Kings some flexibility in the off-season. Secondly, having someone who has played for Karl may help the Kings players to better understand their new coach. Finally, Miller can be a mentor to talented second year point guard Ray McCallum.

George Karl meets the press

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

gk-press-web777

by Charlie O. Mallonee

George Karl met the press as the Head Coach of the Sacramento Kings for the first time on Tuesday. There were the usual “we are glad he is here” statements from Pete D’Alessandro. Karl gave the usual how great it is to be in a great market like Sacramento lines. Then, George Karl got down to business.

Karl’s main emphasis was on the number 30. The Kings have 30 games left to play this season and Karl wants those 30 games to count. He not only knew the number of games left to play – he knew that he had 22 practices remaining for the season. It became very clear that Karl knows situation in Sacramento and is ready to get to work to change it.

Karl also made it known that he understands what his new team has been through this season. He said he knew this team had been through “basketball hell” since the Malone firing in December. Karl demonstrated that he knows his team needs direction and stability.

Karl also made clear his feelings about DeMarcus Cousins. He made several references to Cousins being the best player on the team. He said that Cousins is not just a great big man. Karl said Cousins is a great basketball player. He went on to say that Cousins may be the best passer on the team. That could be a preview of the offense running through Cousins as a point of emphasis.

When asked about possible trades with the trade deadline on Thursday, Karl said, “You are always looking to get better.” The crafty veteran coach would not say anymore than that on the subject.

Karl indicated he planned to keep the current coaching staff together for the rest of the season. He mentioned he had some ideas on how to mold the staff for next year.

Karl was clear that he was ready to get back into the gym. He sounded excited to working as a coach again.

Karl gave another clue as to what fans should be looking for from his team. He said the one thing he learned at ESPN was that we over analyze the game of basketball. Karl said it is a simple game – find the open man and take the shot. It sounds like the “K.I.S.S.” principle will be in play as the Kings get back to work.

Karl’s first game with his new team will be on Friday in Sacramento versus the Boston Celtics. In the meantime, George Karl and his team have some work to do.

NBA All-Star game: West defeats East in 3-point fest

Published on by rgstewardLeave a comment

By Robert Steward

NEW YORK CITY–

The NBA held its annual playground pick-up game, otherwise known as the All-Star game, tonight at Madison Square Garden, which has certainly seen its share of iconic moments. One can’t forget The New York Knicks’ Willis Reed hobbling onto the floor in the opening moments of game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals and hitting his first 2 shots in the early going to inspire his teammates to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers and crown the Knicks as NBA Champions. Other iconic moments have included the first Ali-Frazier fight in 1971, the so-called “Fight of the Century,” and when the New York Rangers won the NHL’s Stanley Cup in 1994. Tonight’s game will not be remembered as such.

In a game that featured a record total of 321 points between both teams, the West All-Stars defeated the East All-Stars, 163-158. Both squads were intent on making sure that no injuries occurred, as there was absolutely no defense played and no hard fouls committed by either side. But, as those who follow the NBA know, it is only an exhibition for the fans. Tonight’s contest resembled a glorified highlight reel shootaround. A 3-point contest ensued as both teams threw up an insane number of 3-point attempts. The West connected on 25 of 65 from long range, while the East was 23 of 68 from beyond the arc.

The Warriors’ Klay Thompson appeared to still be in a 3-point funk carryover from last night’s 3-point shooting contest, where he was trounced by teammate Stephen Curry in the finals. Thompson, in 20 minutes of playing time, threw up 11 shots, 9 of which were from 3-point range. He connected on exactly one trey and finished with 7 points. Meanwhile, Curry was a little better, making 6 of 16 from the floor, 3 of 10 on 3-pointers, for 15 points in 27 minutes of play. Sacramento Kings’ Center DeMarcus Cousins made the most of his 18 minutes of playing time, making 6 of 7 from the floor and finished with 14 points.

The West had more success in the early going, leading 47-36 after the first quarter. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook set an All-Star record for most points in the first half when he reached 25 with 7:24 still left in the half. Officiating the game with actual referees should be considered optional in future All-Star games, as the players resembled wax figures from Madame Tussauds when they were on defense. One of the game’s rare defensive highlights occurred for the East with 4:07 left in the first half as Toronto’s Kyle Lowry actually made a steal and then gave up the ball for a nice alley-oop to Washington’s John Wall to make it 73-63, in favor of the West. The East made a late 10-2 run at the end of the half to cut the West’s lead to 1, 83-82, at halftime. The 165 total points for both teams set a new All-Star record. A grand total of 2 fouls were called in the first half.

Another highlight play occurred at 8:11 in the third quarter as Lowry threw an underhand lob from way beyond the 3-point line to Cleveland’s LeBron James for a resounding reverse dunk to put the East in front, 93-91, following an 11-0 run by the East. But the lead was short-lived as Thompson hit his one and only 3-point shot 8 seconds later to regain the lead for the West, 94-93. Westbrook finished the quarter with a total of 33 points and both squads were tied at 122 entering the 4th quarter.

As the 4th quarter played on, more iconic moments at the Garden came to mind. There were great concerts played there, such as Elvis in 1972, Michael Jackson in 1984, and, of course, who could forget the 2001 concert in the wake of 9/11, which featured Billy Joel, Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Jay-Z? While Ariana Grande put on quite the halftime show, the layup drills and 3-point bonanza continued as the game drew to a close. Following a 3-pointer by Houston’s James Harden, the West lead, 161-153, with 1:23 left. The East made one last valiant effort as the hometown Knicks’ representative, Carmelo Anthony, nailed a trey to cut the West’s lead to 161-156 with 42 seconds left. Following a miss by the Clippers’ Chris Paul, the East proceeded to miss three straight 3-point shots until Chicago’s Pau Gasol put back a miss to make it 161-158 with 2.8 seconds left. Inexplicably, the East then fouled twice to give Westbrook one more chance to go to the free throw line. He sank both free throws for the final 2 points of the game.

Westbrook finished with 41 points, one shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s record, to earn the MVP of the game. Harden added 29 for the West squad, while Portland’s LaMarcus chipped in with 18, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range. The East All-Stars were led by James, who scored 30 on a game-high 32 minutes. Atlanta’s Kyle Korver came off the bench to score 21 on 7 of 13 from the floor, all but one shot coming from beyond the arc. Wall finished with 19 for the East. As far as being an entertaining game, well, let’s just say I’ve never heard the Garden that quiet for such an extravaganza.

 

Kings want the 2019 All-Star Weekend in Sacramento

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

ES

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have announced their intentions to make a bid to bring the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend to Sacramento. The event would the crowning achievement of opening the Entertainment and Sports Complex in downtown Sacramento.

The 2007 NBA All-Star Weekend was originally to be held in the Capital City but was moved by the Maloof family to Las Vegas to support their Palms Hotel and Casino business. It is believed that the Maloof’s hoped to use the weekend as a springboard to move the Kings to “Sin City”. That play did not work and the Maloofs now only own a small percentage of the Palms.

There is much to do, but the Kings, the City of Sacramento and our fans never shy away from hard work. Our downtown arena will serve as a global model of technology and sustainability, while showcasing Sacramento’s unique culture,”said Kings President Chris Granger.

The main problem for the Kings has been a lack of hotel rooms. The Sacramento City Planning Commission just “green lighted” the Kings 16 story hotel project to built next to the arena. By February 2019, it is believed that several other hotel projects will have been completed. Another possibility would be to bring cruise ships up the deep water channel and use them as temporary hotels as New York City did for the Superbowl.

The project would require a regional partnership but would also benefit the entire region. Some reports have the Napa area wine industry as major partner in the effort to bring the All-Star Weekend to Sacramento.