Category: Sacramento Kings

by Charlie O. Mallonee

No Westbrook. No Durant. Beating the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road – no problem. Except there was a problem. It is the NBA Western Conference where winning on the road is one of the toughest feats for a team to pull off. The Kings were not able to make it happen on Sunday as they lost to the Thunder 101-93 in OKC.

The Kings came out of the gate slowly. The Thunder packed the paint and used their zone defense to tie up Cousins and Gay down low. They dared the Kings to make it happen with outside shots. The Kings were not able to hit shots from the wings and went into halftime down to the Thunder 52-39.

The Kings played the first half like they had an easy win in hand versus the injury plagued Thunder. OKC came out with determination and made the Kings pay for their lack of intensity.

After the intermission, the Kings continued to fall back. Sacramento was down by 17 points before they began to turn things around.

The Kings starting five stayed on the floor for almost the entire third period and outscored the Thunder 26-15 in the quarter. Down by just two points, Sacramento had put themselves in a position to possibly win the game. The only problem for the Kings was the starting five were gassed and needed rest.

The Kings second unit was not strong on offense in the game, and they were even weaker on defense. Sacramento gave up 34 points to the Thunder in the fourth quarter which made it virtually impossible for them to win the game.

Sacramento shot 45.0-percent (36 for 80) from the field. They shot a very poor 25.0-percent (6 for 24) from beyond the 3-point arc. The Kings also hurt themselves from the free throw line. First, they went to the line just 22 times in the game versus the 30-plus opportunities they had created for themselves in their previous games. Secondly, the Kings shot a terrible 68.2-percent (15 for 22) from the stripe. They had been an 82.0-percent free throw shooting team before the game on Sunday.

The Kings were also out-rebounded by the Thunder 40 to 37. Sacramento had been averaging 49.2 rebounds per game before the OKC game.

The Sacramento bench provided only 24 points in the contest. The Thunder second unit scored 40 points in the game.

The one bright spot for the Kings was the assist to turnover ratio. They recorded 23 assists against just 10 turnovers.

Rudy Gay led the Kings in scoring with 23 points to go with 10 rebounds. DeMarcus Cousins’ streak of double-doubles was broken but he did score 16 points. Ben McLemore was much improved scoring 16 points including four 3-point baskets. Darren Collison added 12 points, five rebounds and seven assists for Sacramento.

After the game, Head Coach Michael Malone said his bench must play stronger in order to win on the road. Malone also noted the Thunder packed the paint and waited for the Kings to respond with outside shots which did not happen. Malone felt the Thunder took advantage of the Kings lack of defense in the fourth quarter.

The Kings are off on Monday and will return to action on Tuesday against the very tough Mavericks in Dallas.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have posted their best start to a season since 1999 by going 5-1 to kick off the 2014-15 NBA campaign. The Kings won their fifth game of the season on Friday night in Phoenix downing the Suns 114-112 in double overtime. The victory was the fifth consecutive win for Sacramento.

The Kings win in double overtime is more amazing when you know that they played both extra periods with DeMarcus Cousins on the bench with six personal fouls. Cousins fouled out of the game with 34 seconds to play in regulation.

Carl Landry, Darren Collison, Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay stepped up in overtime to lead the Kings to the win. A turnaround jump shot by Gay with 1:07 left to play in the second overtime gave the Kings the lead and ultimately the win.

Gay had struggled throughout the contest shooting just five for 22 and scoring only 11 points. After the game, Kings Head Coach Michael Malone revealed that Gay had fought through illness to play 47 minutes and hit that winning basket.

The Kings gave up 36 points to the Suns in the first quarter as Phoenix shot over 60-percent from the field. Down by nine points after one quarter it looked like it would be a long night for Sacramento. The Kings held the Suns to just 22 points in the second quarter, 30 points in the third and just 11 points in the fourth quarter. The game really became about the Kings defense.

Sacramento ultimately held the Suns to just 42.9-percent (42 for 98) shooting from the field. Phoenix shot 32.3-percent (10 for 31) form 3-point land. The Kings outrebounded the Suns 60-42.

The Kings shot 42.9-percent (39 for 91) for field goals. They shot just 18.8-percent (3 for 16) from beyond the 3-point line. Sacramento went to the free throw line 39 times and converted 33 (84.6-percent) of those opportunities.

One stat that will make Michael Malone smile is assists to turnover ratio. The Kings had 16 assists and just 15 turnovers.

Another area that showed marked improvement was the play of the shooting guards. Ben McLemore (15 points) and Nik Stauskas (nine points) gave their team the best production of the season from the two guard position. Malone made note of their play in his post-game remarks.

Cousins recorded another double-double scoring 25 points and grabbing 18 rebounds in 34 minutes on the floor. Cousins did not score his first points until the 7:57 mark in the second quarter.

Darren Collison put up 16 points while Carl Landry added 12 points off the bench.

Eric Bledsoe led the Suns in scoring with 23 points and his backcourt mate Goran Dragic added 22 points.

This game also was the first meeting between Sacramento and former King guard Isaiah Thomas. The meeting turned out to be a non-event as Thomas scored just three points in his 17 minutes of playing time.

The Kings left Phoenix for Oklahoma City where they have a game with the Thunder on Sunday night.

By Shawn Whelchel

The Sacramento Kings continued their dominant play against Western division opponents as they fought to a 110-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets Monday night.

In a tightly contested and physical matchup, the Kings came up with clutch baskets late in the fourth quarter to sink the Nuggets for their second straight road victory in as many day. Darren Collison led the attack for Sacramento, scoring 21 points while adding four rebounds and six assists to his line. Collison was sent to the line twice in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, sinking three of four to prevent any late comeback by Denver.

Sacramento worked through poor shooting in the first quarter to finish the game shooting a respectable 42-percent from the field on the night. The Kings were also aided by the sloppy play of Denver, who committed 35 fouls while giving up 40-points to Sacramento from the line.

Despite the freebies, the game remained tied with just 3:18 left in regulation. But a driving layup by Ray McCallum gave Sacramento the advantage, and they wouldn’t relinquish their position.  The Nuggets refused to go quietly however, pulling to within just two points of Sacramento with 25-seconds left on the clock, but clutch free throws from Rudy Gay and Collison played spoiler to any comeback plans from Denver.

The win secured the Kings third straight victory over a tough Western division opponent, advancing their record to 3-1 on the year, their best start to a regular season since the 2010-11 season. While their record is impressive, so is the quality of opponent that they have downed over their three-game span, defeating heavyweights such as the Portland Trailblazers and Los Angeles Clippers in the process.

The Nuggets will get a chance to exact their revenge on Wednesday though, as the teams square off for their second straight game in Sacramento, with tip off at 7:00 p.m.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings won their first game of the year on Halloween defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 103 – 94. The Kings rode a 40 point performance from Rudy Gay along with playing solid defense and taking care of the basketball to their first win of the 2014-15 season.

Gay shot 13 for 19 from the field including three 3-pointers. He went 11 for 13 from the free throw line. Gay did not try to dominate the game. The game just kept coming to him and he answered the call. It was truly an unselfish 40 point performance that included eight rebounds, one assist and one steal in 36 minutes of playing time.

Kings point guard Darren Collison also had a strong game. He scored 17 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, posted eight assists and added three steals in the game. Collison went 5 for 6 from the free throw line.

DeMarcus Cousins recorded 17 points in the Kings victory. Cousins shot just 6 for 16 from the field but went 5 for 6 from the charity stripe. He also recorded nine rebounds in just 31 minutes of playing time. Cousins picked up his fourth personal foul midway through the third quarter and spent the rest of that quarter along with part of the fourth period on the bench.

The Kings shot .420 (34-81) from the field. They hit on 4 of 10 attempts (.400) from beyond the 3-point line. Sacramento really helped themselves at the free throw line hitting on 31 of 35 attempts (.886) from the stripe.

The key to the victory was the way the Kings took care of the basketball. After turning the ball over 27 times versus Golden State, the Kings turned the ball over just 10 times against the Trail Blazers. Those turnovers resulted in just 12 points for Portland. Kings coach Michael Malone was very pleased with the way his team protected the ball.

Sacramento also played solid defense versus Portland. The Kings held the Trail Blazers to just .410 (34-83) shooting from the field. The Blazers hit on just 9 of 26 3-point tries. Portland went to the free throw line just 19 times in the game.

The Kings out-rebounded the Trail Blazers 49 – 38.

The Trail Blazers were led by LaMarcus Aldridge who scored 22 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Damien Lillard posted 20 points to go with seven rebounds and two assists.

After the game, Kings head coach Michael Malone was very excited about his team’s strong effort on defense. He was also very happy about the way the team played unselfish basketball. “Oh, what a great game. I thought our guys played unbelievable tonight on both sides of the ball.”

Rudy Gay said, “I just wanted to be aggressive – for the most part I hadn’t really had a good game this season, preseason or in the season. So I just wanted to make sure this one was.”

Malone said, “The way he (Gay) played tonight, not just on the court but in the huddles, the positive leadership, stressing the ball movement, all the things we’ve been talking about; it’s great when you start hearing the players hold each other accountable.”

The one area of concern for the Kings has to be the lack of production from the shooting guards in the game. Ben McLemore scored just seven points taking only five shots while Nik Stauskas was held scoreless in his 16 minutes of play. The Kings will need to find a way to get the shooting guards more involved in the offense.

The Kings are now 1-1 on the young season and now must ready themselves for their first road contest of the season. Sacramento will face the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center on Sunday at 12:30 PM.

by Jeff Hall

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings opened up the season against the Golden State Warriors at Sleep Train Arena and also broke ground for construction at the new new arena at the downtown plaza where it will be the future home of the Kings. The new arena is expected to open in the fall of 2016.

On opening night a lot of the Kings success against the Warriors will have to do with their head coach Mike Malone. The grow up part of it has to do with Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins is a solid player and we all know he’s an emotional player and its a matter or not if Cousins can’t control that emotion.

So far Cousins has done a great job so far he looks like a leader and it’s something that the Kings haven’t seen and he’s not under the old ownership of the Maloof family. With new owner Vivek Ranadive he won’t toloreate bad behavior and that’s not to say he would get rid of Cousins.

Cousins is solid and Ranadive and the Kings are looking forward to Cousins to produce. He’s defitnitely a superstar and definitely he’s an All-Star player. Were going to see a lot of Cousins this season and the Kings will really embrace him and his role for this year if they haven’t done it already. If Cousins can control his emotions particularly against NBA referees.

It comes down to Cousins and if he’s solid they’ll need him for the players and it’s going to come down to this guy. No matter how solid he is the Kings could make the playoffs this year. It’s important to Ranadive because he knows that Sacramento is not going to put up with a team that loses every year. The city will still support the team but it’s important that the team start winning some games.

It’s important to Ranadive and as long as the players respect this guy and they respect Malone and they do it might be a very good start against the Warriors to open the season. The Kings haven’t had a very good opportunity to to start this season at home. There’s a lot of Warriors fans who are in Sacramento as well and there are a lot of fans who are willing to go to Golden State.

These two teams present the highway 80 competition and it should be a good competition between these two teams and you saw a lot of Warriors fans in Sacramento. Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro and Malone expect the best out of his starting five including Rudy Gay whose at one forward and with Cousins their performing and taking on a lot of the load.

The Kings are also hoping that their second year guard Ben McLemore and Nicky Stauskas can grow and blend in with the veterans Jason Thompson, Reggie Evans, and Ramon Sessions. The Kngs are hoping that happens quickly and D’Alessandro and Malone are looking to see what kind of defense that these kids can play. You got Stauskas whose a former Michigan Wolverine player and he could do a lot on rebounding and helping the Kings capitalize on the turnover.

Jeff Hall covers the Sacramento Kings for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

photo credit: google image

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Before we give you the score of the Maccabi Haifa – Sacramento Kings game, let us give you a little -background on the team from Haifa, Israel.

Maccabi Haifa Basketball Club plays in the Israeli Super League. The team won the Super League Championship in 2012-13. Maccabi Haifa was the runner-up in last year’s Super League Championship.

Maccabi Haifa is owned by an American, Jeff Rosen. Under Rosen’s direction, the team has risen from the lower divisions and returned to prominence in the Super League Division. Maccabi has its own feeder team, the Miami Midnites, which plays in the ABA Summer League in the United States.

Maccabi Haifa has been playing NBA teams during the preseason since 2010. They have never won a contest versus a NBA opponent.

Maccabi Haifa is still looking for their first win versus a NBA team as they lost to the Sacramento Kings 91-59 on Saturday night. The Kings won every quarter in the contest.

Kings head coach Michael Malone has to be happy with the way his team played defense. The Kings held Maccabi Haifa to just .278 (22-79) shooting from the field. The most points the Kings allowed was 17 in the third quarter.

The Kings shot .450 (27-60) from the field. They shot .364 (4-11) from 3-point range.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings in scoring with 15 points in 26 minutes of play. Derrick Williams and Darren Collison each added 12 points apiece. Ramon Sessions scored 11 points while Nik Stauskas hit for 10 points.

Rudy Gay did not play due to an ankle injury that occurred in a team practice.

The Kings next preseason game will be on October 20^th in San Antonio versus the Spurs.

News from the Reno Bighorns

The Reno Bighorns, the Kings D-League affiliate, have named a new head coach. David Arseneault Jr. will be the head coach for the 2014-15 season.

Arseneault, who is just 28 years old, has been the associate head coach for Grinnell College for the last four seasons. His father is the head coach at Grinnell. Grinnell is a NCAA Division III school.

The Bighorns have also named Ben McDonald assistant coach. He was an assistant with the Erie Bayhawks last year. The team has promoted Scott Schroeder from assistant coach/video coordinator to Director of Basketball Operations.