Tag: NBA

Warriors rally to win their first game of the season as they down New Orleans Pelicans 128-120

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) blocks a shot by New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (11) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Friday, Oct. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

by Jerry Feitelberg

New Orleans- The Golden State Warriors had their hands full with the spirited New Orleans Pelicans Friday night in the Crescent City. The Dubs rallied from a fifteen-point deficit halfway in the second quarter and looked like the champs that they are as they won 128-120

The Pelicans, without question, outplayed the Warriors in the first quarter. They shredded the vaunted Warrior defense as they scored at will and poured in thirty-nine points to lead 39-26. The Pelicans increased the lead to 57-42 halfway through the second quarter before the sleep-walking Warriors woke up and exerted themselves. The Warriors went on a 19-7 run to end the first half and trailed by three 64-61.

The Warriors surge carrier over into the third quarter. As they have done so many times last year, they owned the third quarter and went on a 26-7 run and finished the third quarter with an eight-point advantage. The Pelicans kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter, but Golden State refused to wilt. Each time scored thirty points in the final stanza, and the Warriors finished the night with the win.

Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant paced the Warriors to victory. Klay led the team with thirty-one points. Steph followed with twenty-eight, seven assists, and three board. Kevin Durant added twenty-two points, seven rebounds, and a career-high six blocks. Draymond Green pitched in with ten points, eight assists, and five rebounds.  The two big men for the Pelicans, Anthony Davis, and DeMarcus Cousins, each scored thirty-five points. Davis had seventeen boards and Cousins pulled down fourteen. Other Pelicans in double figures were Jrue Holiday, Jordan Crawford, and former Warrior Ian Clark. Clark finished the night with thirteen points.

Game Stats- The Warriors shot 52.2% from the floor and knocked down eighteen three-point shots in forty attempts. They also recorded thirty-one assists. The Warriors defense came through with five steals and eight blocks.

After the game, Steve Kerr remarked that Klay Thompson “was on his game right away.” Klay did not start well last year, but his performance has been stellar so far this year. Kerr said this about the defense:’ I thought we had a much better defensive stretch than we ever had in the Houston game.”

The Warriors play the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday night in Memphis. Game time is at 5 pm.

Kings post first win of 2017-18 on the road Friday night beating Dallas 93-88

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

Dal Hill
George Hill was the Kings scoring leader with 21 points Photo: USA Today Sports

Sacramento won the game because they played with intensity

Nothing may illustrate that point more than the sequence that took place with 34.1-seconds left to play in the game and the Kings leading 89-86. Zach Randolph missed a 16-foot fadeaway jump shot. Buddy Hield made a hustle rebound under the basket to keep the possession alive for Sacramento. George Hill ultimately hit a 17-foot jumper that for all intensive purposes sealed the win for the Kings.

This was a game of runs

In the second quarter, the Mavs went on a 12-0 run to go up 38-26 and it looked like Kings were going to be in real trouble on the road before halftime. The Kings woke up and went on to outscore the Mavericks 20-8 in the final 5:22 of the period. George Hill was the leader with help from Z-Bo, Cauley-Stein and Buddy Hield.

Sacramento came back to floor ready to go after halftime. They won the 3rd quarter by posting 25 points to just 14 for Dallas. Buddy Hield led the scoring barrage with eight points while Hill added seven points and Randolph put up six. The Kings went into the 4th quarter with a 71-60 lead.

Another run started immediately at the beginning of the final quarter. Unfortunately for the Kings, it was the Mavericks who went on an 11-0 run to take a 72-71 lead with 9:38 to go in the game. Dirk Nowitzki — yes the old guy — and J.J. Barea were the players who fueled the run for Dallas.

The Kings retook the lead when Skal Labissiere hit a 19-foot jumper (assist Fox) at 8:46 to make it a 73-72 game. The Kings would never relinquish the lead again in the contest. They did not have an easy time in those final minutes but they played them with a lead.

Top Performers

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Zach “Z-Bo” Randolph made his presence known in Dallas Photo: USA Today Sports

Sacramento

  • George Hill was the man again on Saturday night with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. He shot 9-for-12 from the floor and was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line.
  • Zach Randolph got the start at center in Dallas after having to miss the home opener due to oral surgery. Z-Bo showed off his toughness on both ends of the court as he scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Three of those rebounds came on offense — think second chance point opportunities.
  • Buddy Hield recorded 13 points and 6 rebounds but it was that one offensive rebound with under a minute to go in the game that was really clutch. He did not have a great shooting night going 4-for-11 from the floor (1-for-6 for 3’s). Hield was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He also dished out 3 assists.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein or maybe we should call him “Mr. Double-Double”. He scored 10 points and hauled in 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double game.
  • “The Fox” was hot again on Friday night. How about 10 assists in the game coming off the bench? He scored 9 points, had 6 rebounds and 1 steal in 26-minutes on the floor.
  • Other contributors: Labissiere 8 points + 5 rebounds, Temple 8 points + 6 rebounds,  Vince Carter 6 points, Koufos 3 points + 5 rebounds and Justin Jackson 2 points + 4 rebounds.

Dallas

  • Top scorer for his team and the game — Harrison Barnes 24 points on 8-for-18 shooting.
  • Yogi Ferrell hit some key baskets to keep his team in the contest and finished with 14 points.
  • Dorian Finney-Smith scored 14 points coming off the bench and was a big factor late in the game.
  • J.J. Barea — who started at point guard because Dennis Smith, Jr. was held out due to swelling in a knee — scored 9 points and distributed 10 assists.
  • Dirk Nowitzki — first vice president of AARP — played 29-minutes scoring 10 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. He really is my hero.

Team Stats

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Mr. Double-Double Willie Cauley-Stein Photo: USA Today Sports

Kings

  • SAC shot 42.5-percent from the field (37-for-87)
  • They hit 10-of-23 from 3-point range. That is 43.5-percent shooting. Joerger has to pleased with that.
  • The Kings made 9-of-13 free throw attempts. They had only 10 attempts versus Houston. The 13 on Friday was an improvement but that total needs to get up into the 20s.
  • Kings out-rebounded the Mavs 57-36. More importantly, they owned the offensive glass 16-7.
  • The team had 20 assists and 14 turnovers giving up 14 points off those TOVs.
  • Second Chance Points Kings 14 vs Mavericks 6

Dallas

  • The Mavericks shot 41.3-percent from the field (31-for-75)
  • They were 11-for-33 (33.3-percent) from beyond the arc
  • Dallas went to the FT line 21 times and converted 15 of those attempts
  • The Mavs posted 19 assists while turning the ball over 12 times (6 points for Kings)

Both teams play Saturday night on the road

Sacramento

The Kings (1-1) head north and will play at a “Mile High” in Denver when they will face the 0-1 Nuggets. This will be the first road back-to-back set for the Kings rookies. Denver is 0-1 this season. Game time is 6 p.m. PDT.

Dallas

The 0-2 Mavericks will head south to face the 2-0 Houston Rockets in their home opener. They will not have to see Chris Paul who will be out 2-4 weeks due to his knee injury.

Kings Press Row Podcast: Post-Mortem on loss to Rockets in season opener

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hosts Charlie O. Mallonee and Jordan Chapin

Fox to hoop
Fox was fearless in driving the lane against the Rockets on Wednesday night

  • Kings showed great effort versus the Rockets on Wednesday night

  • This was a classic battle between a Tier 1 team and a Tier 3 team

  • Willie Cauley-Stein silenced many of his detractors

  • The Kentucky connection came up big for the Kings in the opener – Cauley-Stein, Labissiere and Fox made a major impact in the game

  • Buddy Hield was a major player for SAC in the game

  • George Hill showed why the front office wanted him on the roster to provide a veteran presence on the floor

  • The Kings play their first game on the road Friday night in Dallas – this will be a Tier 3 vs Tier 3 game. Both teams will be in the 2018 Draft Lottery

  • It will be a chance to see Dennis Smith who many media reporters feel has the inside track on becoming Rookie of the Year

Join us for out next Kings Press Row Podcast next Tuesday only on SportsRadioService.com.

Cauley-Stein to hoop
Cauley-Stein goes up for 2 of his 21 points

Kings fight to the final buzzer but come up short as Rockets win 105-100

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Cauley-Stein puts in a dunk to cut the Rockets lead to three points with seven seconds to go in the game

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Kings open the 2017-18 regular season with loss to the powerful Houston Rockets

The Sacramento Kings kicked off their new season before a sellout crowd of 17,583 at the Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night. Their opponent was the very powerful and talented Houston Rockets who started their season on Tuesday night with a last second win over the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors in Oakland.

The Kings hoped to take advantage of catching the Rockets on the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. They also received some good news when they learned that Chris Paul would not play due to ongoing problems with a knee contusion.

Sacramento (0-1) kept the game close through all four quarters. They even won the third quarter 24-23. The lead changed eight times in the game and the contest was tied four times. Houston’s largest lead was 11 points while the Kings biggest lead was six.

James Harden struggled through the first three quarters of the game appearing to be tired from effort that expended versus the Warriors on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for the Kings, Harden caught a second wind in the final period and scored 12 of his game-high 27 points over those last 12 minutes. That performance really made the difference for the Rockets (2-0).

Despite being down by 11 points with 5:13 remaining in the game the Kings did not give up and cut the Houston lead to just three points with 26-seconds to go in the contest. It was at that point this game took a left turn that the Kings would never recover from.

The Kings George Hill sank two free throws to make it a 98-95 game with Houston in the lead with 26-seconds remaining. On the inbounds play, Hill appeared to disrupt the possession by Eric Gordon who lost control allowing the ball to go out-of-bounds. The big crowd went wild but settled as a video replay was ordered.

What the crowd, the Kings bench and the majority of the media did not understand was the replay was not to determine if Gordon was the last player to touch the ball before it went out-of-bounds. The replay was to confirm a foul call that made on Hill by the referee on the far-side of the court. The replay center in Secaucus upheld the foul call and Gordon was sent to the charity stripe to shoot two shots.

Gordon hit both shots to give Houston a five-point lead with 26-seconds to play essentially sealing the win for the Rockets. The Kings gave it their best effort but came up short.

Kings head coach Dave Joerger addresses the call in a very subdued manner in part two of his video comments.

Dave Joerger was very proud of the effort his team gave against the talented Rockets

  • Sacramento shot 42-for-88 (47.7%) from the floor
  • The Kings shot 8-for-23 (34.8%) from 3-point land
  • The team went just 8-for-10 from the free throw line vs. 27-for-29 for the Rockets

Joerger was not happy about the foul call that was upheld by the video replay center

  • De’Aaron Fox 14 points (7-for-15 shooting), five assists, four rebounds, 23-minutes of playing time
  • Buddy Hield 19 points (8-for-17 shooting including three 3’s), five rebounds, four assists, one steal

Coach Joerger was pleased with the play of Willie Cauley-Stein

  • Cauley-Stein with the double-double: 21 points (game-high for SAC), 10-for-15 shooting, 10 rebounds (four offensive), three blocked shots

This was a Tier One vs a Tier Three game

  • Kings played without Zach Randolph who was sidelined by oral surgery
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic did not play because of a sprained right ankle

The Kentucky connection was very important to the Kings on Wednesday 

  • Skal Labissiere 12 points, 10 rebounds to post a double-double
  • Cauley-Stein, Labissiere and Fox = 47 points, 24 rebounds, seven assists

Up next for the Kings and Rockets

  • Sacramento heads out on the road and will face the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night
  • The Rockets will have their home opener on Saturday night when they host the Dallas Mavericks

Warriors hand Kings fourth consecutive preseason loss on Friday 117-106

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

Where was the TV broadcast?

Related image

Sports fans the story should be the game in Oakland and the loss by the Kings to the Warriors, but this reporter has to ask why was the game shown in the Bay Area and not in Sacramento and the Valley? Frankly this this reporter is still scratching his head trying to figure out why the rabid Kings fans were not able to watch their team take on the best team in the NBA even if it was a preseason game.

The majority of Kings fans will not be able to see the Warriors play their beloved Kings in person this season. They would love to see their team in action against the NBA’s best anytime they have the opportunity to see it happen. So why did Bay Area fans have the opportunity to watch the game while Sacramento fans had to depend on the radio broadcast and internet feeds? There really is not a logical answer. One would think advertisers would have been thrilled to support a broadcast that featured the Kings versus the NBA’s  best.

The Kings held their own in this game

Sacramento trailed just 54-51 at halftime. They were still hanging in there trailing by just three – 84-81 at the end of three quarters. Ultimately, the Warriors were just too strong coming down the stretch as they outscored the Kings 33-25 in the final frame to take the game 117-106.

This game featured 12 lead changes and was tied seven times. The longest point run was a 7-0 run.

Top scorers

stockton layup

David Stockton – who was just added to the Kings roster – was their leading scorer with 23 points. Stephen Curry led the Warriors in scoring with 18 points in just a little over 18 minutes of playing time.

Top rebounders

skal gsw

The Warriors Jordan Bell was the leading rebounder in the game with 11. Skal Labissiere was the Kings top man off the glass grabbing eight rebounds.

Assists leaders

David Stockton of Sacramento was the games top assists leader with eight. Klay Thompson was the man for Golden State dishing out six dimes.

Team stats

The Warriors outrebounded the Kings 47-40. Golden State grabbed 21 offensive rebounds to Sacramento’s 13. The Kings controlled the defensive boards 27-26.

GSW dished 34 dimes to the Kings 27.

The Kings made six steals to the Warriors four thefts.

Golden State blocked four shots while Sacramento blocked just two shots.

The Kings turned the ball over 16 times while the Warriors turned it over just 12 times.

Overall shooting percentage: Kings 48.2-percent (41-for-85); Warriors 46.9-percent (46-for-98).

3-point shooting: Sacramento 10-for-22 45.5-percent; Golden State 15-for-33 45.5-percent.

Remember this was a preseason game

No matter how exciting this game was fans cannot forget this was a preseason game. It was in no way representative of what a regular season game between these two teams will be like. That is not to say the regular season games will not be competitive and exciting, but they will be different than the game on Friday night.

The countdown to the regular season is on

The regular season will begin on Wednesday when the Houston Rockets visit the Golden 1 Center to take on the Kings in game one of the 2017-18 season for Sacramento.

Golden State Warriors end preseason with a win as they outlast the Sacramento Kings 117-106

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Photo credit: GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Warriors evened their preseason record ar 2-2 as they beat the Sacramento Kings Friday night by a score of 117-106. The Warriors were without the service of Kevin Durant who stayed at home as he was not feeling well. Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala did not play as they were a bit banged up, and coach Steve Kerr did not want to see his stars aggravate their problems. Several of the players were still feeling the effects of jet lag. Kerr started Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Zaza Pachulia, Nick Young, and Jordan Bell. The Kings, who are rebuilding the team after sending DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans last season, started a lineup of players that are not yet well known. Coach Dave Joerger sent out Willie Cauley-Stein, Frank Mason, Skal Labissiere, Buddy Hield, and Justin Jackson to begin the game for Sacramento.

Steph Curry played the entire first quarter and about half of the second quarter. In his time in the game, he scored 18 points and made four 3-point shots. The other Splash Brother, Klay Thompson, knocked down 9 in his minutes in the first half. Neither Steph nor Klay played in the second half.

The Kings gave the Dubs all they could handle for the first three-quarters of the game. Neither team could grab a big lead. The Dubs led by 54-51 at the end of the first half. The Warriors and the Kings went back and forth in the third quarter, too. The Dubs offense was led by Nick Young. Young appeared to be more comfortable as he made five 3-point shots. Kerr said that Young”looked like himself” and that his performance was “very encouraging.”

Both teams used their young players in the fourth quarter. The Warriors behind the play of Patrick McCaw, Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, and Nick Young pulled away to win 117-109.

Game Notes- Jordan Bell finished the night with 10 points, 4 assists, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. Steve Kerr said this about Bell:”Jordan was great.” With all the talent that the Warriors have in the frontcourt, there is some concern that Bell may languish on the bench once the season starts. Kerr brushed aside the criticism by saying”Jordan will get his chance.”

Kerr was pleased with”how well our young players played. He said it was “encouraging to see the team execute so well. It was all good stuff.”

The Kings young players stayed with the Warriors for most of the game. Guard David Stockton, son of Hall of Fame player John Stockton, tallied 23 points and had 8 assists. Malachi Richardson scored 15, Giorgis Papagiannis 13, JaKarr Sampson, 13, Frank Mason 10, Willie Cauley-Stein 10.

The Warriors made 15 3-point shots and recorded 34 assists. The defense was strong as they had 47 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 blocks. They committed just twelve turnovers, and that stat had to please Steve Kerr and the coaching staff.

The Warriors’ David West received an award from the NBA as he was recognized as the “Best Teammate.” Oracle Arena and the Warriors were recognized for having the “Best Home Court Advantage.”

The Warriors open the defense of their championship on Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets. It will be Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, KD, and company against Mike D’Antoni uptempo offense led by James Harden and former Los Angeles guard, Chris Paul. Game time at Oracle Arena will be at 7:30 pm. The Championship banner will be unfurled, and the Warriors will be receiving their championship rings.

Warriors kick it up a notch as they trounce the Timberwolves in Shanghai 142-110

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Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry gestures during the preseason NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. (AP Photo)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Shanghai, China- The Golden State Warriors won their first game of the preseason as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves by a score of 142-110. The Timberwolves scored early and often in the first quarter. The Wolves starting quintet of Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, and Taj Gibson torched the Dubs as the raced to an early 16-11 lead. The Wolves kept the pressure on as they could not be stopped by the Warriors defense. They led 35-31 with 1:44 left in the quarter and were able to increase the lead for the first twelve minutes of play to 44-36.

The Dubs kept pace with the Wolves in the second quarter. They were trailing by ten points when Steph Curry came back into the game. The Warriors were able to turn the game around, and they looked like the champions that they are. Steph and Klay led the offensive onslaught as they won the quarter 40-28 and led 76-72 at the half. The Dubs’ defense, fantastic last season, looked like they were back.

In the third quarter, Steph, Klay, and Kevin Durant wowed the 16,007 fans in attendance as they made several three-point shots and dominated play in the period. They outscored the Wolves 38-23 to put the game out of reach. Steph was done for the night, and he watched the game as he was sitting on the floor signing autographs for the fans.

The Warriors started Klay, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, David West, and KD in the fourth quarter. They increased the lead to twenty-six before being replaced by Omri Casspi, Patrick McCaw, and the rookie from the University of Oregon Jordan Bell. In the last six minutes of the game, Bell scored eleven points and blocked two shots. Bell’s play should get him some playing time when the season starts for real on October 17th.

Game Notes and Stats- Before the start of the game, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler each thanked the people of China for the terrific week the players experienced. The crowd enjoyed the show the teams put on, and it appeared the fans were a little bit louder when the Warriors had the ball. There was a stretch in the third quarter when the Dubs made five three-pointers in a row to blow the game wide open. The fans roared every time Steph lined up for a three and went ballistic when he made the shot.

Steph Curry was a man on a mission as he knocked down forty points and made at least six three-point shots. Klay Thompson knocked down twenty-eight, and KD had twenty-two. Draymond Green tallied eleven, and he blocked three shots.

Leading scorers for Minnesota were Andrew Wiggins with nineteen, Towns had sixteen, Jimmy Butler fifteen, Jeff Teague ten, Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad each had eleven. The Timberwolves finished the preseason with a 2-1 record. The next game they play will be the first game of the 2017-2018 season.

The Warriors are 1-2 and meet the Sacramento Kings on Friday, October 13th, at the Oracle Arena at 7:30 pm. This will be the final preseason game for the Dubs. They play the Houston Rockets in Oakland on October 17th.

Warriors lose to the Timberwolves in China 111-97

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Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, center, reacts during a break at the basketball match of the 2017 NBA Global Games against Minnesota Timberwolves in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Shenzhen, China – The Golden State Warriors started well against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first of two games in China, The Warriors, who have a fantastic following in China, started well and had the lead after three-quarters of play. Coach Steve Kerr removed his starters in the third quarter, and the T-Wolves bench beat the Warriors bench to win 111-97. Preseason games don’t count, but the players want to do well as some of them are fighting for spots on the roster. The Warriors starters did well. The ran, the moved the ball, and they recorded a lot of assists in the early going. However, they made a lot of mistakes. Steph Curry had five fouls in 24 minutes of play. They were called for traveling violations, and they turned the ball over 19 times.

Coach Steve Kerr had this to say about the team’s performance:” We played well for about a quarter and a half and then started getting careless with the ball.” We got lazy.”

Kevin Durant led the team with twenty points. Curry scored fourteen. Klay Thompson made some shots in the first quarter, too. Rookie Jordan Bell played well, and Omri Casspi looked ready to contribute. Nick Young and Patrick McCaw were on the floor in the fourth quarter when the T-Wolves made their run to win the game.

The Warriors look to be loaded again as they defend their championship beginning on October 17th. The will have to make decisions regarding Damian Jones and Kevon Looney. Jones may make the team, but the same cannot be said for Looney.

The T-Wolves added Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson from the Chicago Bulls where their coach Tom Thibodeau used to work. The Wolves have two terrific players in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins and will be looking to improve as they aim to make the playoffs.

The teams meet Sunday in Shanghai before returning home for the final preseason game. The Warriors’  season starts on October 17th at Oracle Arena against the Houston Rockets.

 

Warriors play first preseason game Saturday night fall to the Denver Nuggets 108-102

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Photo credit: GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Golden State Warriors played the first of four preseason games Saturday night against the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena. The Dubs, preparing to defend their NBA championship, showed a lot of rust and the three-point shots did not fall. The Nuggets with their new addition of Paul Milsap leading the way beat the Dubs 108-102.

Coach Steve Kerr played his regular for about 20 minutes in the game. The Dubs wanted to give some of the players on the second and third units playing time.

The Warriors missed their first nine three-point shots and were 4-for-33 for the game. Draymond Green and Kevin Durant were each 0-for 5 and Steph was 1-for-7 in that department. Nick Young made the first three-pointer for Golden State late in the first half. The Dubs shot 40% from the field but had just seven assists which indicated that they didn’t have a lot of ball movement.

Denver shot 41% from the field in the first half. They made five three-pointers.

Warriors rookie Jordan Bell knocked down seven points in his first game as a Warrior.

Game Notes- Ben Wallace, winner of Defensive Player of the Year four times in his career, presented Draymond Green with the award.  Draymond, when he was a young man growing up in Saginaw, Michigan, idolized Wallace and he was totally surprised by Wallace’s appearance at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors fly to China on Sunday. They will play two games against the Minnesota Timberwolves there. The first game will be in Shenzen on October 5th and the second game will take place on October 8th in Shanghai.

SacKings Podcast: Ben Stram of FANRAG Sports grades the Kings 2017 NBA Draft

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by Charlie O Mallonee

nbadraftlogo

The 2017 NBA Draft is history and now it is time to evaluate how well each team did in the draft. The Kings turned three picks into four selections by trading the 10th pick to Portland in exchange for the number 15 and 20 selections. Was that a good move by the Kings?

NBA Draft expert Ben Stram of FANRAG Sports  breaks down the Kings selections and gives the team an overall grade for their choices.

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Did he like the selection of De’Aaron Fox at number five?

Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival
Point guard De’Aaron Fox is now a Sacramento King

What did Ben think of trading away Zach Collins for the 15th and 20th picks?

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Is Harry Giles worth the risk of dealing with his injury riddled past?

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Will Justin Jackson be an impact player?

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Justin Jackson the Kings #15 overall draft pick

How will Frank Mason III fit into the Kings youth movement?

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Kings second round selection Frank Mason

We also asked Ben who lives in the Chicago area about the impact of the Jimmy Butler trade to the T-Wolves?

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Ben also gives a grade to the 2017 NBA Draft as a whole.

If you are a Kings fan, this will be 18-minutes and 30-seconds well spent. Enjoy.