by Charlie O. Mallonee
Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins has been suspended for one game without pay by the NBA. Cousins was disciplined for using his forearm to hit Atlanta’s Al Horford in the head in the first of quarter of last night’s game.
Cousins will serve his suspension tonight and will be unavailable for the Kings game versus Miami.
Cousins is averaging 27.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game for the Kings this season.
by Charlie O. Mallonee
DeMarcus Cousins has had quite a week. He returned to lineup last Monday and was involved in a post-game tirade after a frustrating loss to the Spurs. On Tuesday, Cousins was present for a “kumbaya” meeting with the Kings management, coaching staff and players. Cousins then led his team to victories over the Pistons, Nets and Raptors.
Sunday news leaked that Cousins had committed to paying for the funeral of a local high school football player who shot and killed on Friday night prior to his game.
Now, the Kings big man has been rewarded with being named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week. This is the third time in his career that he has received the award.
Cousins led the Kings to a 3-1 record for the week. Over those four games, he averaged 32.5 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.5 blocked shots in 36.5-minutes of playing time. Cousins recorded three double-doubles (points/rebounds) in three of the four contests.
On Friday night, Cousins scored 40 points including 19 straight points in the third quarter. He literally put his team on his back and led to them a much needed win.
Cousins missed four games with a strained Achilles tendon. The Kings lost all four of the games without Cousins in the lineup.
The Kings begin a five-game road trip on Wednesday in Atlanta.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings won their second consecutive game squeaking by the Brooklyn Nets 111-109 on Friday night. It was a game that literally hung in the balance with 1.1 seconds remaining in the game as the Nets in-bounded the ball in the front court down by just two points. Rajon Rondo was able to steal the in-bounds pass and run out the clock for the Kings.
The Kings suffered from poor shooting and lackadaisical defense in the first half. Sacramento shot just 23.3-percent from the floor in the first quarter and just 35.3-percent for the first half. They allowed the Nets to shoot 51.1-percent from the field and score 60 points in the half. Brooklyn led by as many as 15 points while the Kings never had the lead.
The Kings used back-to-back-to-back 3-point baskets to close within six points, 60-54 after 24 minutes of play.
Sacramento came out in the third period unable to pick up where they had left off in the first half. They fell behind by as many as nine points and it appeared that overcoming the Nets might not be possible on this night. DeMarcus Cousins thought differently. The Kings big man, who been shooting poorly all game, shot 8-for-11 including two 3-pointers and three free throws to score 21 points in the quarter. Sacramento took its first lead of the game with 2:17 to play in the third. The Kings took an 85-82 lead to the final period.
The Kings built up a lead of as many as nine points in the fourth quarter on the offense provided by Cousins, Rondo, Belinelli and McLemore. Brooklyn rode the 10-point scoring barrage of Joe Johnson to keep the game close and the result in question right down to the final buzzer.
The Kings (3-7) defeated the Nets (1-8) 111-109.
Kings
DeMarcus Cousins was leading scorer putting up 40 points. He also added 13 rebounds to make it a double-double game. Cousins had a remarkable game considering he shot 1-for-10 from the floor and scored just 10 points in the first half. He did foul out of the game with 43.6-seconds to play.
Even though he was not the Kings leading scorer, Rajon Rondo was the Kings’ star of the game. The point guard recorded his third triple-double of the season scoring 23 points, dishing out 14 assists and pulling down 10 rebounds. There were several times in the first half when Rondo was the only offense the Kings had on the floor. Had it not been for Rondo’s extraordinary efforts in the first half, the Kings would not have been in the position to win the game at the end.
Ben McLemore had a coming out party versus the Nets. He came off the bench in the second quarter and played 24:57 in the game. McLemore scored 15 points shooting 5-for-8 from the floor and hitting on 3 of 4 3-point opportunities. It was without a doubt McLemore’s best game of the young season.
Marco Belinelli had another strong game for Sacramento. He made good on 5 of 14 field goal attempts and made two, well timed 3-point baskets. Belinelli finished with 14 points.
The Kings had to play this game without Rudy Gay – who had his best game of the season on Wednesday – because of the stomach flu. George Karl was quick to point out the energy that was brought to the game by Ben McLemore and Quincy Acy as key to helping the team play and win without Gay.
Seth Curry did play in the game after missing the previous two contests with a sprained ankle. He handled the point guard position for just over four minutes giving Rondo some much needed rest. Curry did not.
Darren Collison (left hamstring strain) did not dress.
The Kings shot 42.6-percent (40-for-94) from the floor. They connected on 11 of 27 3-point attempts (40.7-percent). Sacramento went 20-for-26 from the free throw line.
Sacramento out-rebounded the Nets 50-44. They turned the ball over 14 times yielding 19 points off those mistakes. They recorded 11 steals and three blocked shots.
The Kings allowed Brooklyn to shoot 47.2-percent (42-for-89) from the field and 38.1-percent (8-for-21) from 3-point range.
Nets
Brooklyn had a balanced attack versus Sacramento as four of their five starters finished in double figures. Jarrett Jack led the Nets scoring with 21 points. Jack made it a double-double game as he handed out 12 assists.
Brook Lopez – who battled Cousins all night long – also recorded a double-double scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
Thaddeus Young posted 16 points and Joe Johnson added 14 points of his own. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 15 points off the bench.
The Nets recorded 24 assists and 15 turnovers. The Kings scored 16 points off those turnovers.
What they said after the game
“Thank you to Quincy Acy and Ben McLemore, (who) brought the energy to the table (that was) well needed in our pick and roll defense in the second half. Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) was unbelievable offensively and it’s a great win, (a) good win for us,” said Kings head coach George Karl after the game.
DeMarcus Cousins commented on his third quarter turnaround, “Caron (Butler) talked to me. Told me to stay aggressive and shots were going to fall. That’s what I did and luckily they fell.”
“Had a good first half, made some runs in the second,” said Nets center Brook Lopez. “Cousins played well. Great job in the second half and he got off. That’s why I think that definitely cost us.”
“It’s tough,” added Brooklyn guard Jarrett Jack. “I thought it was a game that we had control of for the majority (of the game). We weren’t able to stop the runs that they made in the second half.”
Up next
The Kings return to action on Sunday night when they host the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors. The Toronto game will be the last home game for the Kings until November 27.
The Nets return to Brooklyn where they will host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.
by Michael Martinez
picture credit Google Images
SACRAMENTO- On a night where the Kings celebrated women in sports, especially with Becky Hammon and Nancy Lieberman being the first opposing women coaches in NBA history to square off, the Kings looked to end their losing woes. Against one of the deepest teams in the NBA, the Kings knew they would have their hands full. While the Sacramento Kings continue to search for a way to stop their opponents on the defensive end, the San Antonio Spurs capitalized with offensive runs. As the Kings stuck around with the Spurs for the first 3 quarters, they collapsed on every end of the floor in the 4th, even with All Star Demarcus Cousins back in the lineup. Every ounce of hope the Kings had prior to the 4th quarter, was quickly lost when the Spurs outscored, out hustled and out played the Kings in all aspects of the game. The Spurs handed the Kings their 6th straight loss at Sleep Train Arena, defeating the Kings 106-88.
The Kings got their offense going in the 1st with a nice fast break push where Rudy Gay assisted Demarcus Cousins for a big jam. The 1st quarter was more about defense and the team’s willingness to hustle and put forth their best effort. The Kings held the Spurs to a shooting percentage of 37.5% from the field, 9-24. The Kings made sure to pressure the Spurs’ ball handlers at all times and kept a hand in their face. The team also did well crashing the glass, finishing the quarter with 15 rebounds. Most importantly, the Kings pushed the ball and had 14 points in the paint. As they pushed the ball around the perimeter, the team did a good job of getting the ball close to the hoop for easy looks. Cousins struggled early on, but finished the quarter with 8 points, shooting 3-8 from the field, adding 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Rajon Rondo matched Cousins with 8 points as well, shooting 4-4 from the field. Rondo’s jumper looked solid in the first quarter, which was important with Darren Collison inactive. Rondo played the whole quarter and with his efforts, the Kings held a lead over the Spurs 24-23 to end the 1st.
After a great 1st quarter, the Kings hoped to bring the same defensive effort to the 2nd quarter. Both teams started off slow, but Rondo quickly helped the Kings out with his passing ability. Rondo has great vision and he did a nice job of seeing Marco Belinelli coming off screens and anticipating when he would be open. The combination of the two helped the Kings score early on, but when Belinelli started missing the mark, the offense slowed down big time. As the offense slowed, the defensive end began to allow the Spurs to score and the Spurs went on an 8-0 run in the middle of the 2nd. Ben McLemore ended the run by driving to the hoop and scoring on a lay-up. The big blow to the Kings was their defense, allowing the Spurs to shoot 57.1% from the field in the 2nd. The Kings did not do enough to get to the paint and stop the Spurs in the paint. Rondo, who played the entire first half, finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Bellineli finished the half with 10 points, 4-7 from the field, 2-2 from behind the arc, with all points coming in the 2nd quarter. Cousins picked up a technical foul towards the end of the quarter and the Kings sloppy 2nd quarter, 5 turnovers, put them down 49-43 to end the first half.
After a disappointing 2nd quarter, the Kings looked to stay close with the Spurs. Gay started the quarter off strong, making all 6 of his points in the first 5 minutes. The Kings did a good job of scoring, but after tying the game at 55, the defense fell apart. Once the score was tied up, the Spurs went on an 11-0 run. The Kings defense was playing poorly, but once Kawhi Leonard came out of the game, the Kings began to find a bit of a rhythm. The Kings went on a 10-3 run late in the 3rd with Cousins getting to the foul line often. Cousins put up 13 points in the 3rd, going 9-12 from the free throw line. He shot 2-6 from the field and added 5 rebounds and 1 assist. To end the quarter, the Kings pushed the ball, playing to their up-tempo offense and were only down 72-69 to end the 3rd.
The Kings looked to make a stand and tried to pull out a win against the Spurs only down by 3. However, for the Kings, they allowed their opponents to score with ease. The Spurs began to pour it on when they went on a 22-0 run. Patty Mills contributed to this run by not only putting up 7 points while adding 6 assists in the 4th alone. Mills finished with 8 assists and 9 points. Omri Casspi was the little offense the Kings had, scoring 9 points on 4-6 shooting with 2 rebounds. All of the Kings star players, Gay, Rondo and Cousins did not do much on either end to help the Kings. With the Kings down, fans began to leave with 6:31 remaining in the game, as they were tired of watching the Kings get outrebounded and out hustled. The Kings’ players began to play selfishly and when the ball movement died down, the Kings did as well. The 4th quarter was the difference in the game as the Kings never found any moment on either end of the court, losing 106-88.
When asked about the 4th quarter, Coach George Karl said “Bad offense, creates bad defense.”
The Kings’ poor shot selection created easy opportunities for the Spurs to score.
In his first game back, Cousins was out of sync with his mid range jumper. Typically Cousins is money from mid range, but being a little rusty he shot 5-20 from the field. Cousins did a good job of getting contact at the rim and shot 11-15 from the charity stripe. Rondo played all 48 minutes and after a good scoring first quarter, he finished with the same 8 points and totaling 6 rebounds and 12 assists. The Kings shot 40.5% from the field for the game and 36.8% from behind the arc. The team was out played in the 4th quarter and hopefully the Kings can find a quick solution.
The solution might not be that easy though, as the Kings seem to have some issues in the locker room. Cousins told reporters that their would be a players only meeting and said “Just to make it clear, I believe in every single person in this room. We just got to stick together.”
Cousins reiterated this idea throughout the post game interview and it will be interesting to see if the Kings can figure it out at tomorrow’s practice.
I asked Gay if the difficultly of their schedule has played a factor in their 6 game losing streak.
“Not having a rhythm completely, and then playing against playoff teams, it doesn’t help,” said Gay.
The Kings will once again be tested by a good team as they take on the Pistons at home this Wednesday. The Kings will need to find an answer on the defensive end of the floor as newly crowned player of the week, Andre Drummond, looks to continue his domination.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
Sacramento – No DeMarcus Cousins, no defense and too much James Harden equaled a loss for the Kings on Friday night. The Houston Rockets – sans Dwight Howard – defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-110 at Sleep Train Arena.
The Kings announced before the game that DeMarcus Cousins’ strained Achilles tendon would prevent him from playing against Houston and would keep him on the bench versus the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. It is very tough for a team to end a losing streak when your best player is on the bench in street clothes.
The Rockets roared out of the gate building up a 21-6 lead on the Kings in the first quarter. Sacramento’s starters were unable to score or stop Houston from scoring. It appeared that it would be a Rockets runaway, but the Kings bench had a different idea.
The Sacramento second unit led by Darren Collison with assistance from Willie Cauley-Stein, Omri Casspi and Ben McLemore put together a nice run to put the Kings within striking distance. The Kings trailed 29-23 after the first period.
The Kings continued to play small ball and took the lead 37-35 for the first and only time in the game with 7:23 left to play in the first half. James Harden caught fire scoring 17 points in the quarter and Houston took a 61-50 lead to the locker room at the half.
The Rockets went on a 10-3 run to open the third quarter and it appeared that game might get out of hand. George Karl went to his bench and they responded by making defensive stops while scoring points. Sacramento went on an 11-0 run that included a dramatic 3-point basket by Darren Collison to keep the Kings in the game trailing Houston by seven – 85 to 78 – heading to the final period.
The Kings continued to make baskets and cut the Houston lead to one point when Seth Curry hit a 3-point bucket with 10:02 to play. The Rockets then went on a run that allowed them to take a 100-89 lead with 6:53 remaining. Sacramento’s second unit continued to work hard but in the end, they could not overcome the hard charging Houston offense led by Harden. The Rockets won the game by six points, 116-110.
Kings
Sacramento shot below their season average hitting on 40 of 93 field goals for a .430 percentage. The Kings went 9-for-28 (.321) from 3-point land. One of the positive notes was the free throw shooting. They converted 21 of 29 free throw opportunities for a .724 average. The team has been averaging just .640 from the charity stripe.
The Sacramento bench was the story in the game a they scored 70 points. Darren Collison and Omri Casspi each scored 22 off the bench. Ben McLemore had a strong night for the second unit scoring 11 points, grabbing four rebounds, recording four assists and adding three steals. Seth Curry scored eight points while Willie Cauley-Stein added seven points and nine rebounds.
Rudy Gay led the Kings starters with 15 points. Rajon Rondo scored 12 points, pulled down eight rebounds and handed out five assists.
Sacramento committed 15 turnovers while recording 26 assists. Houston out-rebounded the Kings 49-43.
Houston
This game was all about the play of James Harden and some devastating 3-point shooting for the Rockets. Harden posted a double-double scoring 43 points and hauling down 13 rebounds in 41 minutes of playing time.
Trevor Ariza scored 18 points going 4-for-8 from long distance. Former King Marcus Thornton went 4-for-10 from beyond the 3-point line scoring 16 points. Ty Lawson and Clint Capela scored 13 points each.
As a team, Houston shot .488 from the floor, .417 from beyond the 3-point arc and .778 from the free throw line. The Rockets dished out 23 assists and turned the ball over 21 times. Houston’s bench added just 13 points.
Dwight Howard was held out of the game to rest his back. He is expected to play in the Rockets next game versus the Clippers.
What they had to say after the game
“All you can ask of your team when your team is struggling … and a lot of our offense was pretty good but we didn’t make shots to reward them,” said Kings head coach George Karl. “Their bench came in and got juiced, played the game at a high level for an extended period of time. The hole we dug, and we ran out of gas.”
“The nightmare when you play Houston is you have defend layups and threes. First half we did a good job covering threes and didn’t cover the layups. Second half we covered the layup and didn’t cover the three’” added Karl.
Up next
The Kings will have no time to lick their wounds as they must turnaround and face the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. The Warriors (6-0) have yet to lose this season.
Houston travels to Los Angeles to face the Clippers tomorrow night. Dwight Howard is expected to play for the Rockets.
by Michael Martinez
picture credit Google Images
SACRAMENTO- After a mediocre performance at home the night before, the Kings looked to pick up the slack from last night. The defense needed improvement and so did the offense. The offense did improve, but the defense was even more horrendous than the night before. With Demarcus Cousins out for the second consecutive game, the Kings hoped to fill his void with Rudy Gay and Rajon Rondo, but neither player truly stepped up. With some many open looks and letting the Suns shoot the ball at a high percentage, the Kings lost to the Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena, 118-97, never once holding the lead.
The Kings starting lineup added a couple of new members with Darren Collison and James Anderson. As the Kings have done a lot lately, they started the game down early as the Suns took a 9-2 lead with 9 minutes remaining. The Kings transition and perimeter defense looked poor from the start and was a trend throughout the game. Rondo had his hands full all night being asked to guard Eric Bledsoe who put up 10 points in the first quarter. The Kings kept allowing the Suns to get wide open looks although their defense started to improve towards the end of the 1st. On the offensive end of the court, the Kings did not do much with Rudy Gay having a rough night. Gay has been unable to fill the large hole the Kings are left, without All Star Demarcus Cousins. Kosta Koufos and Rondo were the only real offense in the 1st with a measly 4 points a piece. Phoenix took advantage of the Kings’ poor defense and shooting, 38.1% from the field, to take a 28-18 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.
With the Kings looking to turn things around, they started off the quarter with Omri Casspi missing 2 free throws. Missing free throws has become a trend for the Kings as of late who are the worst free throw shooting team in the league according to ESPN. The Kings were not careless with the ball, however their shot selection was poor and when driving to the hoop they were out of control. The Kings began to turn things around when they were able to attack the basket and get the ball in the paint to Koufos who put up 6 points in the 2nd quarter and shooting 5 for 6 with 6 rebounds at the end of the 1st half. Unfortunately, even with a little bit of better ball movement, the Kings could not stop the Suns on the defensive end. Most of the Suns players scored in the 2nd quarter to hold the lead, 49-40, at the end of the 1st half.
After a pretty effortless 1st half, the Kings came out with fire under their belts. James Anderson came out on fire as he hit 3 3 pointers quickly as the Kings went on a 15-6 run to start the 3rd quarter. The Kings did a good job of swinging the ball around the perimeter and pushing towards the hoop on fast breaks. The Kings almost matched their first quarter total of 18 points in less than 5 minutes and tied the game at 55 all. This caused the Suns to take a timeout and after the timeout, Phoenix never looked back. Brandon Knight, who had no points in the 1st half, came alive and found his stroke. Knight was 5-8 from the field, going 2-4 behind the arc, scoring 12 points in the 3rd alone. Koufos continued to help the Kings with his presence when he finished the 3rd with 14 points, yet the Kings could not find a way to get back in the game. The Suns went on a 26-14 run after the Kings tied the game. The score at the end of the quarter was 81-69, the Suns over the Kings.
If the Kings had any hopes of getting back into the ball game, they needed to step up their defense. Nonetheless, the Kings could not do so and the Suns shot 65.2% from the field in the 4th quarter and scored 37 points. Alex Len broke out big for the Suns as he scored 14 points in the fourth on 6-9 shooting. Len would finish the game with 16 points. Bledsoe had a game high of 19 points going 8-18 from the field and Knight finished with 17 points shooting 7-16. Even though the Kings left open way too many shooters and allowed easy finishes, Marco Bellineli did a good job of shooting the ball tonight. He scored 8 points in the fourth quarter, had 15 in the game on 6-11 shooting including 2-5 from beyond the arc. Koufos was the Kings best player tonight, finishing with 16 points going 8-11 from the field with 7 boards. Anderson finished the game with 15 points but on a poor 33% shooting percentage. The Kings finished the game shooting 47.6% from the field and 45.8% from downtown. The Suns held the lead the entire way by shooting 54.2% from the field and incredible 60.9% from 3 point range, giving them the victory over the Kings, 118-97.
As the Kings continue to play poorly, they really need to get effort from their big names, particularly Gay and Rondo. Without Cousins, the Kings seem to be lost and are not showing any reason why they should be a playoff contender. Hopefully for the Kings, Cousins will be able to play in their home game this Friday against the Rockets. The Kings will need to figure out how to stop shooters on the perimeter as James Harden comes to town, otherwise it is going to be another miserable night.
By Michael Martinez
picture credit Google Images
SACRAMENTO- Any team that has to play a playoff caliber team without their starting All Star center is going to struggle. Not only is it difficult to play without your only All Star, but when the team you are playing lost by 50 the night before, you know you could be in even more trouble. Without Demarcus Cousins, who is dealing with an achilles injury, the Kings looked lost and hopeless in many aspects. As nobody was able to step up to replace Cousins, the Kings ball movement was lifeless, the defense was filled with holes and the Grizzlies got an easy win at Sleep Train Arena, 103-89, boosting their morale after an embarrassing loss to the Warriors the night before.
For the Kings, the whole game was not a complete disaster as the 1st quarter went well. To start the 1st quarter, the Kings looked sluggish on the offensive and defensive end. They allowed the Grizzlies to take an early 7 point lead, but nevertheless the Kings came back swinging with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 2. The Kings began to put themselves in a better position with good ball movement and Rudy Gay’s hustle really helped as well. When Gay was asked to guard Zach Randolph, he used his length to his advantage on the defensive end and his speed on the offensive end as well. Gay put up 8 points in the first quarter by attacking the rim and getting good looks from the field. Marco Belinelli also helped the Kings by finishing the quarter with 8 points on 2 for 2 shooting behind the arc. The Kings began to cause Memphis to turn the ball over and by shooting 58.8% from the field the Kings finished the quarter with a 29-25 lead.
Entering the 2nd quarter with a 4 point lead over the Grizzlies, the Kings looked to continue scoring on the offensive end. However, the second quarter was absolutely atrocious for the Kings in many ways. Nobody on the team could hit the broad side of the barn with their shots, including free throws. Free throws aka free points were more of a kryptonite for the Kings who finished the half shooting 57.1% from the charity stripe. Their field goal percentage also dropped 20% as they finished the quarter shooting 37.5% from the field. Gay looked to continue to step up but his shot was completely out of sync. The ball movement was stagnant as the Kings had 0 assists in the 2nd quarter. Sloppy play and being out rebounded, 27 to 16, caused the Kings to be outscored. Without Demarcus Cousins and with Kosta Koufos in foul trouble, it was to be expected but this hurt the Kings. Luckily the Grizzlies did not play well either, except they had a couple big put back jams from Jaymychal Green and Courtney Lee, which were the only real highlights of the quarter. The Grizzlies finished the quarter with a fast break lay up at the buzzer to take a 50-40 lead as they outscored the Kings 25-11.
After an awful second quarter, the Kings hoped to come out of the locker room with a vengeance. Unfortunately for the home team, their defense looked even sloppier than the quarter before. The Grizzlies continuously got wide open shots and were able to get easy hoops close to the basket. Randolph came out strong and had 8 points in the quarter. He finished the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Although the Kings scored more than they did in the second quarter, thanks to Gay and Darren Collison, their field goal percentage dropped to 37% for the game. The ball movement that helped the Kings play well in the preseason became nonexistent in the 3rd quarter. A lot of selfish play put the Kings in a bad position even though they put up 27 points in the 3rd. As the Kings’ defense failed to improve, the Grizzlies led 83-67 to end the 3rd.
With the Kings down by 16 to start the 4th, Cousins sat with his teammates on the bench to try and encourage a come back. The come back was not meant to be, as nobody on the team could get enough offense going to cut the Grizzlies lead. Belinelli had a nice pass to Willie Cauley-Stein for a big dunk, but once Coach George Karl saw the lead was too much, the bench players came in. For the Grizzlies, Brendan Wright did a good job in the 4th quarter off the bench. Wright finished with 10 points on 4 for 5 shooting, adding 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Although the Kings outscored the Grizzlies, 22-20 in the 4th, they simply could not shoot the ball all night. They finished the game with a 39.2 shooting percentage and shot 60% from the free throw line.
The only bright spots for the Kings, more like dim spots, was the scoring of Collison and Gay. Collison finished the game with 18 points, but uncharacteristically only had 1 assist. Gay finished the game with 19 points, adding 5 rebounds and 3 assists. The Kings biggest problem was that there was very little ball movement. After 7 assists in the 1st quarter, they finished the game with only 17 assists. Without the team’s best scorer and rebounder, the Kings are going to need Rajon Rondo to create open shots and the Kings’ shooters are going to need to hit open shots and get better looks. The Kings will take on the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night, where hopefully they can improve in every aspect as Cousins will be sitting out once again.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
Sacramento – The circus came to town on Friday night in the form of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers might not see the Kings as their archrivals, but Kings fans see the purple and gold as an enemy that needs to conquered.
The Kings conquered the Lakers on Friday night 132-114 in a game that was not a close as the score would indicate. Sacramento dominated the game from the opening tip. The Lakers had only one lead in the game – 4 to2 at the 10:40 mark in the first quarter. Los Angeles never came close to a lead after that.
The Kings scored 40 points in the first quarter and 34 more in the second period. They held a 74-50 lead at halftime. The only question was how would the Kings respond coming out of halftime?
There was a bit of a letdown as the Lakers outscored the Kings 33-28 in the third and 31-30 in the fourth quarter. The Lakers tried to make a run in the fourth quarter but the game outcome was never in question.
Preseason prognosticators predicted the Kings would finish three to five places ahead of the Lakers in the NBA Western Conference. After the game on Friday, you can see why those predictions are accurate. The Kings are an improved team while the Lakers are young and not very good at this point. The Lakers have potential, but it is going to be painful while that potential develops into a winning basketball team.
Kings
George Karl was unhappy with the Kings pace in the first quarter of the game with the Clippers. In his pregame press conference he made it clear that wanted his to play defense from the opening tip with the Lakers.
Karl even changed his starting lineup in order to achieve his goals. Rookie center Willie Cauley-Stein made his first NBA start on Friday night versus the Lakers. Karl said he liked the match ups with Cauley-Stein in the lineup.
Cauley-Stein did not let his coach down. The Kings newest big man played 30-plus minutes, scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had three blocked shots. He also took care of the ball making only two turnovers during his time on the floor.
Rajon Rondo had a breakout game for Sacramento. He scored 21 points and dished out eight assists in just 23 minutes of playing time. Rondo was very much the floor general the Kings want him to be on Friday.
DeMarcus Cousins put together another double-double night. He scored 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Cousins also had three assists and two blocked shots. He shot 11-for-14 from the free throw line.
Rudy Gay also had a big night for the Kings. He put up 19 points shooting 8-for-12 from the floor. Gay also had three assists and two steals.
The Kings second unit had a productive night as well. Darren Collison scored 14 points, Omri Casspi 12, Kosta Koufos 8 and Marco Belinelli six.
The Kings shot .515 (52-for-101) from the floor. That is not a typographical error. Sacramento took 101 shots in the game.
If there was a disappointment in the game, it was the Kings 3-point shooting. They shot just .273 (6-for-22) from beyond the 3-point line.
Sacramento was also an improved team from the free throw line. They were 22-for-30 (.733) from the stripe. The 30 attempts were a vast improvement over the mere 18 chances they had against the Clippers. The Kings were driving the ball to basket versus the Lakers.
The Kings exceeded George Karl’s goal for 25 assists per game by dishing out 26 assists.
The also took better care of the basketball cutting their turnovers down to just 14 and giving up just 10 points off those mistakes.
The Kings scored 80 points in the paint to just 38 for the Lakers. Just another example of the team’s complete domination of Los Angeles in the game.
Lakers
Guard Jordan Clarkson led the scoring for the Lakers with 22 points. He shot 10-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Nick Young was productive off the bench for Los Angeles putting up 17 points in his 21-plus minutes on the floor.
D’Angelo Russell – the Lakers number one draft pick – scored 13 points shooting 5-for-10 from the field. He also dished out two assists as he alternated with Clarkson at point guard.
Kobe Bryant played 22 minutes in the game putting up 13 points, recording three assists and hauling in four rebounds. Bryant moved into fifth place on the NBA’s all-time career list for the most field goals made, passing Shaquille O’Neal (11,330).
As a team, the Lakers shot .461 (41-for-89) for the game. They shot a very respectable .324 (11-for-34) from 3-point land.
Turnovers were a major problem for the Lakers. They gave up 30 points to the Kings off 19 turnovers.
The Lakers used all 13 of their active players in game Friday night. Metta World Peace and Larry Nance Jr. were inactive for the Lakers.
What they said after the game
“I think we challenged them to play defense,” said George Karl. “Our pressure took the offense away and forced them into a lot of jump shots. We ran into a different team in the second half. I wasn’t really happy with the defensive performance in the second half. Learning how to play 48 minutes fast is not always as easy as people think it is. I thought tonight they did a good job for the most part, there were some muddy moments where the ball got sticky and we got a little selfish.”
When asked if he had a good time in first start, Willie Cauley-Stein said, “Yeah, it was a great time. A lot of fun – definitely – a lot of fun. We were sharing the ball really well so that made it a lot more fun. Sharing the ball and not having ball stoppers – that is vital to us. If we want to be a good team, we’ve got to share the ball like that.”
Up next
The Kings play the Clippers in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Playing the very tough Clippers on the second night of back-to-back games will be no easy task. After the Saturday night game, the Kings will not face another Los Angeles team until January 2016.
The Lakers will return to action on Sunday night when they host the Dallas Mavericks at Staple’s Center.
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.
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.
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