Tag: Sacramento Kings

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Multiple news outlets are reporting the Sacramento Kings have signed interim head coach Tyrone Corbin through the end of the 2014-15 season.

The signing of Corbin should bring some much needed stability to a franchise that has been spiraling out of control since the firing of Michael Malone on December 15th.

The Kings dismissed Malone over style of play. The management would like the team to play an offense similar to the one used by the San Antonio Spurs. As the Kings have stepped up the tempo, their defense has become almost non-existent.

The players now know that Corbin will be in charge for the rest of the season. This should help the team focus on what Corbin is trying to teach them to execute in games.

It is also a chance for Corbin to audition his skills in order to be considered for the head coaching job on a permanent basis. Corbin has experience as a head coach with the Utah Jazz.

The signing also allows the Kings to take their time in deciding who should coach the team long term. The decision on who should be the coach as the team moves to the new arena is an important one for the Kings management.

For now, Tyrone Corbin is the man who will patrol the sidelines and call the shots for Kings as they try to salvage their season.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings hung on in overtime to defeat the New York Knicks 135-129 on Saturday night. For the Knicks, it was their seventh loss in a row.

The key to Kings (13-17) victory was the return of DeMarcus Cousins to the lineup. Cousins missed the Phoenix game with the flu. Against the Knicks, Cousins scored 39 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked two shots. He put up those numbers despite having to spend nine minutes of the third quarter and three minutes of the fourth on the bench due to four personal fouls.

Rudy Gay also had a big night for Sacramento. Gay recorded 29 points, two rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots while being tasked with defending Carmelo Anthony for the entire game.

Darren Collison had another strong performance for the Kings. Collison recorded a double-double scoring 27 points and distributing 10 assists. He shot nine of 10 from the field while going three for three from beyond the 3-point arc.

Carmelo Anthony paced the Knicks (5-27) with 36 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and one steal. Tim Hardaway Jr. put up 19 points with 11 of those points coming in the fourth quarter.

Shane Larkin and Samuel Dalembert performed well coming off the bench. Larkin scored 14 while Dalembert put 11 to go with four blocked shots.

The Kings came out in the first quarter ready to play. Sacramento built a 15 point lead near the end of the quarter. Cousins and Gay scored 15 points each to give the Kings a 38-27 lead after the first period.

The Knicks came back to life in the second quarter led by Anthony’s nine points. Shane Larkin played the entire quarter and added six points. New York was 10 of 20 from the field while going 10 for 11 from the free throw line. The Knicks outscored the Kings 31-29 in the second. At halftime, Sacramento led New York 67-58.

The third quarter proved to be a draw as both teams scored 22 points each. Rudy Gay led the Kings with eight points while DeMarcus Cousins was on the bench with four personal fouls. Anthony and Larkin led the Knicks with six point apiece. At the end of three quarters, the Kings were clinging to an 89-80 lead.

In the fourth quarter, New York began to take advantage of the Kings missed shots by grabbing rebounds and setting up the fast break. The Knicks scored 14 fastbreak points to just four for the Kings. New York also worked the boards for second chance points scoring 10 with the extra opportunities. The Knicks outscored the Kings 37-28 in the fourth to tie the game. A Tim Hardaway fastbreak lay-up tied the game at 117 all to force the overtime period.

The Kings scored first in overtime on a Cousins lay-up. The teams traded baskets and were tied at 124 when Jose Calderon hit a six foot jump shot to give the Knicks their first lead of the night at 126-124. Cousins hit two free throws to tie the game at 126 all. The Kings went on a 9-0 run that allowed them to win the game 135-129.

After the game, Kings head coach Tyrone Corbin said, ‘”It was a very much needed win. Even though it wasn’t the prettiest basketball, we’ll take the win.”

Knicks head coach Derek Fisher analyzed the game by saying, “Well of course. First and foremost is the effort. I thought that they remained committed to each other as teammates no matter what the circumstances were. They just kept fighting out there.Most nights you have to have that in order to give yourself a chance to win and we had that tonight. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”

The Kings now hit the road for a four game road trip. Sacramento will play in Brooklyn on Monday.

Game Notes: the Kings are now 8-10 at home and 3-1 in overtime games for the season … Cousins 39 points were a season high … Gay’s 29 points was his 18th 20 point or more game of the season …the Knicks are now 2-14 on the road.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Phoenix Suns (17-14) brought their “run and gun” basketball show to Sacramento on Friday night and went home with their fifth consecutive win beating the Kings 115-106.

The Suns are known for wanting to take the 3-point shot whenever possible. Against the Kings, they attempted 33 3-point shots and connected on 14 (42.4 percent). Everytime the Kings would make the score close, the Suns would hit a big 3-point basket and kill the Sacramento momentum.

Sacramento came into the game with a huge disadvantage because DeMarcus Cousins (Gastroenteritis), Ramon Sessions (low back strain) and Ryan Hollins (personal) were all unavailable to face Phoenix. The Kings knew they would need every player on the bench to step up and give their all to have any chance against a very talented and hot Suns team.

Phoenix had a four point lead (94-90) heading into the fourth quarter. Former King Isaiah Thomas became a “one man wrecking crew” leading the Suns with nine points in the final 12 minutes. The Suns built their largest lead of the night (15 points) with 5:12 to go in the game and then played ball control offense to use as much clock as possible to preserve the victory.

The Kings even tried using a three guard lineup in an attempt to close the gap on the Suns late in the fourth period. Darren Collison, Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum worked to get open in hopes of taking 3-point shots but were prevented from getting open looks from beyond the arc.

Phoenix shot 48.9 percent from the field (46-94) while shooting 42.4 percent (14-33) from 3-point land. The Suns went nine for 12 (75.0 percent) from the free throw line. Phoenix recorded 25 assists and 46 rebounds.

Marcus Morris led the Suns scoring with 20 points coming off the bench for Phoenix. Eric Bledsoe scored 18 points while Markieff Morris added 17. Goran Dragic scored 16 while Alex Len recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go with five blocked shots. Isaiah Thomas recorded 17 points coming off the bench against his former team.

The Kings were 41 for 93 (44.1 percent) from the field and were seven for 20 (35.0 percent) on 3-point attempts. Sacramento was 17 for 24 from the charity stripe. They had 48 rebounds and 18 assists.

Darren Collison was the Kings leading scorer with 19 points. Collison was four for seven on 3-point attempts and had two assists to go with three steals. Rudy Gay scored 16 to go with his five assists. Reggie Evans recorded a double-double (11 points, 16 rebounds) in his fill-in start for Cousins.

Derrick Williams scored 16 points off the bench including 11 in the first half to go with his perfect five for five field goal shooting. Ben McLemore (13), Carl Landry (12) and Omri Casspi (11) were all in double figures for Sacramento.

Speaking about Williams performance head coach Tyrone Corbin said, “I thought the energy he played with in the first half was good. He came in the second half, they made a run and the matchups didn’t match up as well for us in the second half. But he did a great job for us in the first half, had 16 (total) points.”

In analyzing the loss Corbin said, “Well you give up 25 fastbreak points, 19 second chance points. They made some shots; took 33 3-pointers and shot 42 percent from the 3-point line. Those were things we talked about before the game.started, keeping them out of our paint. The had too many opportunities to get in our paint, collapse out defense, and get open shots on the perimeter.”

The Kings have no time to relax and recover from the loss as they have to play the back-end of the home back-to-back games versus the New York Knicks on Saturday night.

Game notes: The Kings are now 12-17 overall and 7-10 at home … Sacramento and Phoenix have split the first two games of the series 1-1 … the Kings have scored 100 or more points in each of their last four games … the Kings have allowed their opponents to score 100 points or more in each of their last five games … Darren Collison has scored in double figures in each of his last four game.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Bee Newspaper and other area media outlets are reporting a lawsuit has been filed against the Sacramento Kings ownership group. Darius Anderson believes he should have been included in that ownership group.

Anderson is described in the lawsuit as a businessman and political advisor. The lawsuit goes on to describe in detail Anderson’s involvement in keeping the Kings in Sacramento after the Maloof’s declared their intention to move the franchise.

Anderson worked with investor Ron Burkle to assemble an investor group. Burkle brought in Mark Mastrov. Mastrov was instrumental in bringing Vivek Ranadive into the potential ownership group. Both Mastrov and Ranadive were minority owners of the Golden State Warriors.

Burkle appeared to be the lead investor and would manage the purchase of the team. Burkle then suddenly dropped out of the group when it was revealed he owns a company that represents several NBA players.

That left Mastrov, Ranadive and Anderson, so thought Anderson. When the purchase was made final, Anderson was not included in the group. Anderson believes he should have been included and that is why he bringing suit.

Anderson is suing the Kings for compensatory damages, punitive damages and a share of ownership in the team.

The Sacramento Bee reported an official response from the Kings:

Kings spokeswoman Laura Braden called the suit disappointing and said Anderson has already made money from his effort. That occurred when Anderson and his partners sold Downtown Plaza, site of the new Kings arena, to the team last year for a $15 million profit.

“Mr. Anderson and his partners made a considerable profit on the final sale of … Downtown Plaza,” Braden said in a text message. “This is a frivolous lawsuit seeking even more money, and we feel confident it’ll be dismissed in short order.”

Sports Radio Service will continue to follow the story as it unfolds.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

There is not one easy answer to the question of why the Kings fired Head Coach Michael Malone on Sunday night. There are multiple reasons, but the question of timing looms large.

The fact is Michael Malone was not going to be the Kings coach long term. Malone was hired by owner Vivek Ranadive before he hired Pete D’Alessandro as General Manager. It is safe to say that Michael Malone would never have been hired if D’Alessandro had been a part of the hiring decision. That is not to say D’Alessandro does not think Malone is a talented coach, but it does say Malone is not D’Alessandro’s kind of coach.

D’Alessandro (and Ranadive) admire and aspire to build a team that mimics the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs style is sometimes referred to as “positionless basketball”. It is an uptempo style that uses multiple passes and strong outside shooting to decimate their opponents. When you see the Spurs play in person, it is tiring to watch because of the frenetic pace.

In his press conference on Monday, D’Alessandro cited “style of play” as the main reason Malone was dismissed. Malone is a defense first type of coach. He wanted a hard nosed defense to set the table for the offense. Malone’s offense was less than wide-opened. A major schism existed between the philosophies of D’Alessandro and Malone.

D’Alessandro is a data guy. The way he analyzes the success of his team is based on statistics. He is looking for his team to play within certain parameters that he believes will lead his team to success. D’Alessandro wants his team to run and believes any team can run.

Think Billy Beane and Sabermetrics. Rather than batting average, Beane looks for on-base percentage. Rather than setting up the sacrifice, Beane looks for the hitters to swing away based on the data that shows swinging is more productive.

Beane also looks to the system based on the data to be the stability for the team. To some degree, managers and coaches are less important and will be seen as successful as long as they work “the system”.

It appears that Michael Malone was not working “the system” based on D’Alessandro’s data points. It is also safe to say that he was never going to follow “the uptempo less defense oriented system” so, the firing was inevitable.

The curious thing about Malone’s dismissal is the timing. If the termination had happened in May, the philosophical differences reason and timing would have made more sense. Explaining a new coach was needed to install a new system would have been more easily accepted during the off-season. Frankly, it would have made more sense than 24 games into the season.

The next coach of the Kings will have a longer tenure than Malone as long as he works “the system” based on D’Alessandro’s data.

Who will that coach be? In his press session, D’Alessandro emphasized that the full weight of the organization was behind Tyrone Corbin and that he was excited to see what “Coach Ty” would do.

In the meantime, the rumor mill has George Karl being the next coach of the Kings. The names of Chis Mullin, Vinny Del Negro and even Don Nelson are also being tossed around. For now, Tyrone Corbin is the man in the “hot seat”.