SB Nation - Sean May

Kings Hold Off Nets 109-96

Ziller — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:38:10 -0000

More photos » by Steve Yeater - AP

When Lawrence Frank went to the Hack-a-Jew strategy, intentionally putting Omri Casspi on the free throw line late in the fourth quarter with the winless Nets down by three possessions, I knew this game had ended.

It was spooky until then, with New Jersey quickly erasing Sacramento's 17-point halftime lead to get the game within two possessions in the third quarter. The Nets hung around, allowing the Kings a few spurts but always answering. It was just as nerve-wracking as that Parcheesi game I mentioned Friday. Basketball is a crazy game (cliche!), and when you get into a close game, it doesn't matter what your record is. Anything can happen.

But Frank, still coaching his ass off, decided to put the game in Casspi's hands. Omri has shot three-pointers about as well as free throws. But when Frank put him on the line, Casspi nailed 3-4 and ended that strategy quickly. And, oddly, though Omri has had his struggles from the stripe, I had a great feeling about each of those shots. There's something about Omri, some burgeoning swagger that leaks out in grimaces and chest pounds, but still somehow feels like it's being kept in check by an invisible lid. All this spirit we see from Casspi, and it's just the surface. This well runs deep.

The first quarter was a rather brilliant span of basketball for Sacramento, resulting in a 33-20 lead. The Kings defended well, holding N.J. to those 20 points over 25 possessions. A key was keeping the Nets off the offensive boards -- the Kings gave up two N.J. offensive rebounds in 14 opportunities in the first. That was the biggest difference between the first and the third, where New Jersey tallied nine offensive rebounds in 17 opportunities -- just a ridiculous number. One other second half problem was that the Kings didn't grab a single offensive rebound in the third or fourth quarters, a shocking finish given how good the Kings have been on the offensive glass this season. (Jason Thompson didn't have a single offensive rebound all game. Only Spencer Hawes -- with two -- had more than one among all Kings. Josh Boone had five, Chris Douglas-Roberts had three.)

Speaking of Douglas-Roberts: he's the reason Donte Greene received only six minutes in the second half. Greene didn't play poorly -- he's just not quick enough to guard two-guards like CD-R, and that seemed like a real problem with this particular starting line-up once Devin Harris warmed up his engine. (Harris was awful in the first half, great in the third, OK in the fourth.) Tyreke Evans (another great game, with 21 points on 18 shooting possessions, and eight rebounds) had trouble staying in front of the lightning quick Harris on a few consecutive possessions, and with Lopez demanding attention in the paint, CD-R was able to go one-on-one with The Show, and CD-R won. That resulted in a second half full of two- and three-PG line-ups. Thankfully, both Beno Udrih (21 on 12) and Sergio Rodriguez (six points, three assists, one turnover) played well. In the paint, Kenny Thomas eventually got his shot (after Sean May stunk up the joint in relief of the sore Hawes) at Lopez, and K-9 did fantastic work.

None of that good work matters, of course, if Omri misses a couple free throws to validate Frank's strategy. But the kid has swag, and it showed.

Why Tyreke Evans and the Kings Have Been More Successful

Ziller — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:55:58 -0000

by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

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Already the hyenas invade. I have noticed a sincere uptick in "Tyreke Evans is not a point guard!" talk since Kevin Martin got injured, Beno Udrih got inserted into the starting line-up, and the Kings have gone on a 3-0 string. I actually received a thoughtful email from a reader a few days ago stating that the Kings should trade Martin because "Evans clearly is not a point guard."

The assertion is that Evans's success has come with the switch to off-guard, which hasn't actually happened: Evans is handling the ball as much as he did with Martin on the court, if not more. Paul Westphal has instituted a duty-sharing system which had even Ime Udoka bringing the ball up as a shooting guard -- this is Ime Udoka, whose greatest successes have come as a Battier-like small forward and undersized power forward.

The Kings have been more successful for the last 10 days or so, definitely. But it has less to do with the Evans/Udrih backcourt than it does the addition of Andres Nocioni and Spencer Hawes to the starting line-up.

The starting line-up featuring Sean May and Desmond Mason was bad. According to 82games.com, over 31 minutes the Evans-Martin-Mason-May-Thompson line-up was a -19. Awful. Conversely, over 31 minutes the Evans-Martin-Nocioni-Thompson-Hawes line-up was a +1, which is pretty damn good (considering the age of that unit). Evans is the point guard in both line-ups (which happen to be the two most frequently used line-ups so far this season -- a Martin-less line-up will soon overtake them). The contrast is in the small forward and center, and when you look at the total individual production of Mason and May when compared to Nocioni and Hawes, it's easy to see why the Kings are better off now.

Of course, if success is more attributable to the additions of Nocioni and Hawes than the addition of Udrih, then the Udrih-Evans-Nocioni-Thompson-Hawes line-up will have performed worse than the best Martin line-up, right? Right: the current starting five is a -3 over 30 minutes of play. Evans-Martin has been better than Udrih-Evans, which tells me that a) Kevin Martin is better than Beno Udrih, which is obviously noncontroversial, and b) if Evans is so much more comfortable as a two-guard, the difference is not enough to make up for the fact that Martin is so superior to any non-Evans Kings point guard.

So that's where we are, or rather where we will be come January, when Martin returns. The best Kings backcourt features Evans as a point guard. If you don't believe he can do it, you will likely have January, February, March and April to convince everyone else. In the meantime, I suggest you pay attention to just how much Evans continues to run the offense, and how good he can be in that role.

Preview: Kings at Hornets

Exhibit G — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:00:33 -0000

Before we get to the preview for your Sacramento Kings versus the New Orleans Hornets, I think I must first make an important public service announcement regarding the season opener:

We've been through one game. It did not go how we had hoped it might. But it was one game. This game is the second game. After this, we have 80 more. You'd think we be able to handle a loss a little better after we all endured last season, but apparently we still need to talk a few folks away from the edge.

Let me say that this will still be a long season for us as fans of this franchise. We'll enjoy the highs, we'll look for silver linings in our losses. Just remember that we cannot live and die with each win or loss. All signs point to the idea that we will experience more losses than wins this season. Look for small victories where we can.

Along those lines, was anybody not a little bit inspired with the way Casspi played last night? Look for those little things. Those are the aspects of the game that we can enjoy, even in tough losses.

All that being said, yesterday's recap thread was incredible. Great discussion all around. Kudos to everyone. That's the sort of thing that makes me proud to be a member of this site.

Now, on to the preview of tonight's game.

Opening Thought

This should be a compelling match-up. Both teams are on pace to end the season 0-82. But after this game, one team will be on pace to go 41-41. I'm no mathematician, but that seems like a sweet deal.

Thoughts I Stole From Section214

Section was once again kind enough to leave his notepad out on his desk. Ya'll know how much I enjoy stealing things, so here it goes...

Tonight's coaching match-up will be a showdown between what is and what might have been. Byron Scott's name was bantered about during this summer's coaching search. Considering he was still under contract to New Orleans at the time, you've got to imagine that his seat might be feeling a bit warm if they end up 0-82. Scott should hope they end up on pace for 41-41.

Former King Peja Stojakovic is now coming off the bench for the Hornets. As Section noted, this is a bench that scored only 20 points and collected only 9 rebounds in 95 minutes against the Spurs. For all the criticism that has been heaped upon Geoff Petrie in regards to overpaying players, I think we should recognize that Petrie successfully unloaded Peja, got assets in return, and didn't overpay.

Speaking of which, interesting to note that Peja is joined on the Hornets by former Kings Darius Songalia, Ike Diogu and Bobby Brown. Ah, memories.

Section214's match-up to watch: Spencer Hawes vs. Julian Wright. Although we probably won't see them face off head to head, recall that Wright was on the board when the Kings drafted Hawes. Take a gander, see what we might have ended up with instead, and make of it what you will.

Tyreke Evans' debut was less than stellar. Whatever the cause, a match-up against Chris Paul is a less than ideal second test. CP3 will make Evans look bad at various points throughout the game. Try to recall the context when lambasting our rookie. If Bobby Brown makes Evans look horrible, you may throw the context in my face as you lambast the rookie.

In the preview for the season opener I mentioned that the frontcourt for the Thunder would be kinder to the Kings than most match-ups this season. I don't think the statement was wrong, I think it just shows us the state of our current frontcourt. It is...less than good. Facing Emeke Okafor and David West will probably demonstrate this to us again.

The Kings lack of frontcourt depth is rivaled by the Hornets, who bring Songalia and Hilton Armstrong off the bench. Our best hope is that Okafor and West, the untalented defenders that they are, resort to a hack-a-Sean-May defense early and often.

Diogu could also potentially come off the bench, but since this is the second game of the season and not the last 2 games of the season, we should be ok.

For Your Added Entertainment

Mr. Section214 also devised a fun game for your viewing pleasure. He suggests picking when you believe the following events happen. I also believe that this could be a hell of a drinking game if you don't particularly feel like being conscious for the second half.

Pick the time in the game that the following will happen –

Sean May gets his first rebound of the season.

Tyreke Evans shoots a layup.

Tyreke Evans makes a layup.

Jason Thompson gets called for his first foul.

Jason Thompson actually commits his first foul.

Spencer Hawes enters the game.

Spencer Hawes pisses off someone within the game thread.

Kevin Martin draws his first foul.

Andres Nocioni draws his first blood.

We make our first basket.

We call our first timeout.

Emeka Okafor and David West are officially inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.

Omri Casspi and James Posey square off.

Mario Elie and Byron Scott square off.

The Details, in Which I'm Told The Devil Is In

Game is at 5:05 PM PDT. Televised coverage on Comcast Sports Net. Go Kings!

Official Sactown Royalty Kings 2009-10 Preview

Ziller — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

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Team Name: Sacramento Kings

Last Year’s Record: No comment.

Key Losses: Rashad McCant's bubbly personality, Ike Diogu's bubbly personality, Calvin Booth's rubber band ball, Francisco Garcia's right forearm.

Key Additions: Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, Jon Brockman, Kevin Martin's health, Paul Westphal, Sergio!.

Big Additions: Sean May.

1. What significant moves were made during the off-season? The Kings went cheap and young, building through the draft with Tyreke Evans (No. 4), Omri Casspi (No. 23) and Jon Brockman (No. 38). The Kings also added Sean May on a one-year deal, and Sergio Rodriguez (by trading down from No. 31 to No. 38). The Kings should see a big upgrade on the sidelines, having hired Paul Westphal to replace Reggy Nattheus.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths? This will be an offensive-minded team, with Kevin Martin and Evans leading the way. Drawing fouls should be a major part of the Sacramento offense, given that the team was 5th in free throw rate last season and that Evans is a much better slasher than Beno Udrih. The team also looks to be solid on the offensive glass, and there's a chance the team is a top-10 shooting squad. No defensive category but perhaps opponent turnover rate is expected to be very good.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses? The team's most reliable post scorer is probably the rookie point guard. Post defense, defensive rebounding, perimeter defense, turnovers, opponent free throw rate and team shooting are all moderate to major concerns. This team needs massive frontcourt improvement, or a new frontcourt starter. We're hoping for the former. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes are each pretty good and promising, but betting on two dudes to become stud starters is a risky proposition.

4. What are the goals for this team? Goal No. 1: do not lose 65 games again. Goal No. 2: No one get seriously hurt, OK? Goal No. 3: Don't lose any home games by 48 points. Goal No. 4: Beat L.A. Goal No. 5: Get Evans the R.O.Y. Goal No. 6: Get Martin to the All-Star Game. Goal No. 7: Playoffs!

5. Omri Casspi vs. Donte Greene, who ya got? Omri blistered through preseason, and could very well have started the regular season opener. (I have no idea, as I'm writing this preview from 1867.) Greene, meanwhile, struggled to earn Westphal's trust. Greene is bigger and more athletic, whereas Casspi has an incredible motor and better basketball IQ. There's no telling where these two will end up in five years, but it's going to be exciting to watch the race.

Projected Finish: 25-57.

Game 1 Pre-Game: Sacramento At Oklahoma City

Zorgon — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:48:09 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

A lot of this went on last week.

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(This also counts as an Open Thread, so post your thoughts on the game here.)

Back story: The Thunder and Kings are kicking off their seasons on the not-so-glamorous second day. The Kings are infamous for cutting expenses and being universally predicted to finish in the dungeon of the West. Aside from Kevin Martin, this team is a collection of forgotten role players, featuring everybody from Sean May to Andres Nocioni to Desmond Mason to Beno Udrih. But, there's one thing one shouldn't put past the Kings: They know how to score. Don't be surprised if this game goes into the 110s or higher.

Thunder fans should be worried about this game, because the Kings absolutely destroyed our starting lineup in the Pre-Season. It could have been due to lack of effort on our part or just a one-in-a-million game for them, but this team might have our kryptonite. They have a bunch of quick and athletic forwards and guards who can sink jumpers from all over the floor, and if we find ourselves in a offensive drought, they'll be the team to capitalize on that fact.

This game will serve as the benchmark of our season. Do we want to start off with a losing record to a team with no hope of the playoffs, or do we want to start off on top? I'll tell you one thing: Playoff teams don't have many losses to the Kings.

Below: Player Match-ups, Game Prediction

Match-ups:

Center- Nenad Krstic vs. Spencer Hawes

I'd give this match-up to Spencer Hawes. He's younger, more athletic, and will easily slip by Krstic for eay points in the post. He won't shut down Krstic defensively, but his offensive game will be so good that I'd call this matchup a win for him.

Power Forward- Jeff Green vs. Jason Thompson

Jeff Green has the clear upper hand here. Thompson had decent stats last year, but he'll be no match defensively for Jeff Green, and barring a total collapse, Jeff Green will beat him in every area of the stat sheet.

Small Forward- Kevin Durant vs. Andres Nocioni

Nocioni is solid, but he's no match for future All-Star Kevin Durant. They'll both put up big numbers, but Kevin Durant's will be bigger.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Kevin Martin

Considering who the starting Shooting Guard is facing, I'd say Thabo gets the start here. Nevertheless, the best defender in the world couldn't shot down Kevin Martin. This guy will be driving to the hole all day, getting to the line all day, and popping in three pointers all-day. He might have 4 or 5 turnovers due to Thabo's hard-nosed defense, but he'll still have a huge day. And if we break in Harden against this guy, I'd expect a field day. So I'd recommend playing Weaver in spurts here, just for the defense, and breaking in Harden against the Pistons or Blazers. their shooting guards are still good, but they're on the main focus of the teams offense. Regardless, this matchup is going to be a big win for Kevin Martin.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Tyreke Evans

The Kings have a couple of over-hyped PGs in Evans an Udrih. In reality, both of them are pretty bad when compared to Russell Westbrook. I'd expect Westbrook to have a Triple-Double tonight (thanks to all of the offense) and have less turnovers than usual against a rookie point guard in his first real NBA game.

Battle of the Benches

On the Thunder's side of things, I'd expect the younger forwards like Ibaka and White to have a big night against the Kings, and the more immobile big men to have pretty dreadful nights. The Kings have Desmond Mason who will provide hustle off the bench, a decent backup PG in Udrih, and some big men who can rebound in Kenny Thomas and Sean May. Still, the team is pretty short-handed as a whole, so the Thunder can take advantage when the Kings starters are on the bench.

Coaching and Intangibles

It's Opening Night; need I say more? We'll have a huge crowd advantage. Some of the crowd might defect to Desmond Mason at times, but overall, the intangibles are in our favour, especially since the Kings are starting a rookie point guard.

Bottom Line

The Thunder would do best by trying to control the pace of the game, taking care of the ball, and avoiding bad shots. If they can just play ball control all-night long, we can wrap up a victory here. Just stay cool and don't get sloppy. The pre-season is over, this is where the real teams can win.

Prediction

Thunder 112, Kings 108

A close game, but a win is a win.

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I'll be in the Ford Center cheering the team on, but I'll be back to write a recap later tonight. Go Thunder!

Poll

Who's going to win tonight?

The Oklahoma City Thunder

61 votes

The Sacramento Kings

28 votes

89 votes | Poll has closed

Blazers Beat Kings 89-86 As Sergio Fails to Plunge a Dagger Into His Old Mates

Ziller — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:04:41 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

Sacramento Kings forward Kenny Thomas, right, is decked hard in the face by Portland Trail Blazers forward Juwan Howard during the third round of a hybrid boxing match-basketball game dubbed BattleBall in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009. The Trail Blazers beat the Kings 89-86 after a Steve Blake TKO of Sergio Rodriguez in the 12th. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

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I believe that it is worth questioning whether Sergio Rodriguez is truly devoted to the Sacramento Kings.

You have the opportunity to hang a bomb on your old captors, and you miss ... what kind of King are you? For those who have not read the recaps, a mini-run sparked by defense and Omri Casspi left the Kings behind three in the closing seconds. With a chance to send the game to overtime, Sergio clanked a three from the top of the key.

He clanked the shot, despite having just come into the game a few minutes prior and despite being a poor deep shooter. I mean, that just screams conspiracy, doesn't it?

The truth is out there.

Coverage Hub | Boxscore

It would appear my Tuesday comment that Sergio is definitely behind Beno Udrih on Paul Westphal's depth chart is correct, and Wednesday night's should have done nothing to change that: Beno had eight points on six shots, five assists and zero turnovers. That is "aw, yeah, we can trade Bibby" Beno. Vintage. (Yes, eight points and five assists actually qualifies as vintage Beno, after the abomination of the 2008-09 season. Sad, yes?)

And while Tyreke Evans's point guard-y numbers (four assists, six turnovers in 37 minutes) were rough, Evans did score well (14 points on 14 shooting possessions) and helped free up the spectacular Kevin Martin (a ridiculous 28 points on only 19 shooting possessions, a True Shooting of .737). For the record, it was the first of many times the starting backcourt will exceed 40 points in a game.

* SERIOUSLY, OMRI, you're making a case for more minutes here! You'd better watch out or you're going to have to spend your winter evenings playing NBA basketball instead of the much more relaxing "waving a towel" job. Omri was a +7 over 17 minutes on Wednesday, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting (1-of-2 from three) with one offensive rebound and one turnover. He had a sequence Sam Amick describes thusly:

Down 89-82 and using a zone late in the fourth quarter, Kings forward Sean May stripped Blazers center Greg Oden down low, Omri Casspi hit the floor for the loose ball and passed ahead for a Beno Udrih jumper that started the run. The frenetic play that delighted the announced Arco Arena crowd of 10,454 didn't stop there.

Portland's Andre Miller missed a contested jumper in the paint, with Jon Brockman gathering the ball and Casspi eventually finding himself alone for a dunk that cut the lead to three with 1:06 left.

Hitting the floor for a loose ball? Check. Pounding a breakaway dunk? Check. Mr. Casspi, according to my records, you're a lead-changing three away from completing your "Become an Instant Fan Favorite" boot camp.

* SERIOUSLY, KEVIN, in preseason? Harsh, dude! I wish I had been there to see how Portland guarded Martin so that I write an essay titled "Either the Blazers Don't Know How to Defend Kevin Martin, or Kevin Martin is Unguardable." It would get mad links!

* RAW PLUS-MINUS is problematic game-to-game, though it is the basis for a robust analysis when adjusted by someone smarter than me to account for teammates and opponents. But ... hmm ... just a cursory glance and well ...

Casspi: +6
Nocioni: -10

Obviously, I don't know the full story behind these figures. Even people at the game don't know the full story behind these figures -- you'd have to watch a game several times while taking copious line-up notes to know the full story behind single-game raw plus-minus numbers. But it bears mentioning that in no statistic is Nocioni (a grizzled vet) outperforming Casspi (a project player). It's just exhibition season, and maybe Nocioni is sleepwalking. But keep it in mind going forward.

* SEAN MAY not only did not foul out in his 23 minutes, but he only picked up two fouls! Jason Thompson, however, did foul out. In 18 minutes, having offered up six points and five rebounds. Which is, I guess to say, that it's just Spencer Hawes who will wake up to nightmares of Greg Oden, but that Jason Thompson will also do so in the awful future. :-(

* DONTE GREENE, a DNP-CD in the team's second preseason game, a game in which

The Kings were on short rest
The starting center was out, leaving the starting power forward to play center
The fill-in starting center fouled out in 18 minutes
The starting small forward was out, leaving the back-up shooting guard to start in his place
The grizzled veteran combo forward was terrible for the second straight game

and D.G. still didn't get out of the hangar. Hmm.

* OTHER COVERAGE:

The Bee's Jason Jones has a Spencer Hawes ankle update.
The Bee's Ailene Voisin bemoans the state of replacement refs and the state of Jason Thompson's complaints.
Cowbell Kingdom has postgame quotes and the excellent line-up breakdown.
Jason Quick's Oregonian recap is (obviously) light on Kings material, but the stuff about Oden's development is pretty great, so long as you remember that the Blazers might be Western Civilization's best shot against the Lakers.
More post-game quotes from Kings.com.
Here's the NBA.com highlight reel.

Greg Oden, Blazers Squash Kings 98-86

Ziller — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:25:44 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

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One of these years, you're going to wake up in a strange bed in a strange room in a strange house next to a strange woman with strange eyes, and you're going to ask yourself, "How did I get here?" And then the strange woman is going to open her mouth to speak, but Greg Oden's voice is going to come out, and Greg Oden's voice is going to tell you to "shut up" and "go back to sleep."

And then you'll wake up. It was all a dream. Except the Greg Oden part, because he'll be in your nightmares, telling you to "shut up" and whatnot. And your name will be Spencer Hawes.

We joked last year about Oden's health and how he may never stay on the court long enough to dominate the Kings, but sheesh. He destroyed Hawes, so long as we trust the box score and every report out of Portland. Oden: 25 minutes, 18 points, nine rebounds, a +15 in the ledger. Hawes: 23 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, -14. The time has come, I fear.

Coverage Hub | Boxscore

It's not so much the destruction of Hawes I fear as the general idea that the Kings, when we become good, will have a potentially game-changing foil. While I'll certainly be rooting for the Blazers to knock off the Lakers this spring, I don't want the Blazers to become too good, lest they become a sort of Less Evil Lakers From the North. I'd prefer every young Western Conference team to be "above average" at best, thankyouverymuch. No dynasties!

But Oden -- not Andre Miller, not LaMarcus Aldridge; Oden -- is the one kid who can make the Blazers special. That was a glimpse of it. And that worries me.

Onto the thumbs!

* THUMBS UP to Omri Casspi, who had a sweet little game by the looks of it: nine points in nine minutes on perfect 4-4 shooting (1-1 from three), with two rebounds (one offensive) and no mistakes in the box score. Overmatched rookies ain't supposed to give stable performances, right? Omri was the best small forward in Kings purple last night, according to the box score. In fact, let's rank them thusly:

Omri Casspi
Francisco Garcia (33 min, 7 points on six shooting possessions, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, one turnover, one foul)
Donte Greene (eight min, 0 points on two shots, one of which was a three, one rebounds, two steals, one turnover)
Andres Nocioni (17 min, two points on eight shots, four rebounds, two assists, one block, four fouls)

* TYREKE EVANS got some shine in Sam Amick's gamer -- I (obviously) encourage a read. Here's a passage:

[Evans's] play continued to be predictable in all the right kinds of ways, with no one mistaking him for a pure point guard but nearly everyone recognizing the sheer impact he can have on a game.

"He looked like a veteran out there," Kings coach Paul Westphal said of the player taken fourth overall in the June draft out of Memphis. "He fit right in. For a first game on the road in a place like this against a team like this, there were a lot of good things to take away from it."

Evans did 12 points in 24 minutes, hitting 5-of-11 on two-pointers, 0-of-2 from three, and 2-of-4 from the line. That's not terribly efficient (it is in fact quite inefficient -- Kevin Martin shot 2-for-10 from the floor and thanks to FTs and a made three ended up with a more efficient line) but he showed (by the numbers) he can get in the lane and mix it up. Two assists with only one turnover is coolbeans, too. Five rebounds, a steal and a block is huge. Five boards in 24 minutes -- that's 7.5 boards in 36 minutes. My heart palpitates.

We'll have to wait for November to really assess this team's rebounding. But holding the Blazers (who basically lapped the league in offensive rebounding last year -- they were so good) to six offensive rebounds in 34 opportunities (17.6%) is bigtime. None for LMA, only two for Oden and Joel Przybilla. Well done, sirs.

* IF WE'RE KEEPING SCORE on the point guard race,

Tyreke Evans will never come off the bench this season.
Beno Udrih (9 points on 7 shots) is ahead of Sergio Rodriguez (7 points on 8 shooting possessions, three turnovers to one assist).

* SEAN MAY fouled out in 13 minutes, 44 seconds. Last season's quickest foul-out was executed by Josh McRoberts, who earned six whistles in just ... 5 min, 24 seconds. (Wow. Just wow.) May has some hacking to do if he wants that record this season.

* JASON THOMPSON has gone without mention, but how about a cheer for him? He didn't foul out in 25 minutes (which, given the leaguewide whistle-happy nature of the replacement refs is impressive), he scored 12 points on 12 shooting possessions, 7 rebounds, only 1 turnover, 2 assists, a block ... hurray for JT. Nice work, I think. (You see, I couldn't see the game, so I have no idea how good his work actually was.)

* MORE COVERAGE:

Again, check out Amick's gamer.
Here's the Associated Press recap by Anne Peterson.
Jason Quick's gamer in The Oregonian -- heavy on the Blazers, obvs -- is a neat look into Portland's rotation questions.
Brian T. Smith of The Columbian has a good but weird quote from Sergio.
UPDATE: Zach Harper charted the line-ups at Cowbell Kingdom. The opening Evans/Martin/Garcia/May/Thompson line-up was a good +3, but the line-ups with Evans/Udrih/Martin didn't fare so well.

Dan Majerle Was a Starter, Y'all

Ziller — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:31:03 -0000

Paul Westphal to Sam Amick regarding Sean May starting over Spencer Hawes:

"A lot of times the most important players on the team, the guys that don't start, they might lead the team in minutes," [Westphal] said. "I had Dan Majerle one year (in Phoenix), and he led the team in minutes and never started a game. It's not who starts, it's who gets the minutes, who's effective and who finishes. That's the thing. I know people like to put extra importance on the starting lineup. But believe me, that's not as important as who gets the job done."

Westphal coached Majerle for three seasons in Phoenix. In the first year, 1992-93, Majerle did lead the team in total minutes (3,199) and minutes per game (39.0). But Majerle started all 82 games.

In 1993-94, Majerle led the Suns in minutes played (3,207) and minutes per game (40.1). But Majerle started 76 of 80 games.

In 1994-95, Majerle led the Suns in minutes player (3,091) and minutes per game (37.7). But Majerle did start 46 of 82 games. In the 46 starts, Majerle averaged 40 mpg. In the 36 bench appearances, Majerle averaged 34 mpg. Those 46 starts were enough to disqualify Majerle from sixth man of the year competition, and also to disqualify the statement "I had Dan Majerle one year, and he led the team in minutes and never started a game" from being true.

This is a very minor thing, and I'm not worked up about Hawes coming off the bench today or October 28. Westphal is accurate in his general sentiment: you can get plenty of minutes off the bench, and the late fourth quarter line-up is typically more indicative of team quality than the starting five. I agree on those counts. I have toyed with Kevin Martin off-the-bench before.

But that doesn't make Westphal's recollection any more accurate. Full-time bench players just don't lead their team in minutes. It's almost impossible, unless you have five really awful starters.

UPDATE: A smart man suggested to me Westphal might be referring to Majerle's 1991-92 season, when Westphal was still an assistant to Cotton Fitzsimmons. That season, Majerle started 15 of 82 games, made the All-Star team, and finished third on the Suns in minutes played and minutes per game (behind Jeff Hornacek and Kevin Johnson). While it still doesn't match Westphal's theory perfectly, it does bolster his assertion that you can be primarily a bench player and play tons of minutes.

That said, as I said, this is not a big deal, and I won't be outraged if Hawes doesn't start on October 28, assuming Westphal sees merit in bringing him off the bench. And while I acknowledge there's a snarky tone to the post, I don't feel I'm being unduly harsh by doing a double-take on a surprising quote, finding out the quoted assertion is incorrect, and writing about it.

Kings Starting Line-up for Preseason Opener Announced

Ziller — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:58:47 -0000

The Bee's Sam Amick reports that Paul Westphal announced the starting five for Tuesday's exhibition opener against Portland: Tyreke Evans, Kevin Martin, Desmond Mason, Jason Thompson and Sean May. Apparently, the sore ankle of Spencer Hawes isn't game ready, and apparently the Mason-as-starter experiment has begun.

There have been no reports of a Beno Udrih injury. So, um, Tyreke Evans is starting from Day 1. At least in the preseason.

Daily Links 9/28

FLCeltsFan — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:56:14 -0000

Herald     Media Day
Expectations hard to assess for Jazz
NBA veteran Sean May shoots for redemption with Kings
A look at the key issues facing the Celtics entering training camp
Globe    Southeast Asian basketball league set for launch
Khloe Kardashian, Lakers' Lamar Odom get married
Wade looking for basketball season to bring relief
Cleveland throws party to welcome Shaq
Patriot Ledger    Health, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant potential roadblocks for 2009-10 Celtics

CelticsBlog     The Incredible Shrinking Big Baby
KG + Sheed On Court: It's Going To Get Loud
LOY's Place     Random Thoughts on Media Day
In the Books - Let Me Tell You a Story Part 7
The Real 2K Insider    2K10 Ratings Analysis: Is Rajon Rondo overrated?
Inside Hoops    NBA rumors - daily nba rumors
Celtics 17     Sunday Notes: Lee, KryptoNate, Rejoin the Knicks
Red's Army     Our long national nightmare is finally over
Celtics Circuit    Five Questions (more like 15) for Media Day
Celtics Hub   Internet Notes: Lester Hudson and Len Bias
A Word on Raja Bell
Examiner    NBA Season Preview: Q&A with Oakland Sports Examiner, Ray Yocke
NBA Season Preview: Q&A with Royce from the Daily Thunder
NBA Season Preview: Q&A with Milwaukee Bucks Examiner, Kris Gilson
Fernsten's Follies    The Boston Celtics' Six-Year Championship Window
Lex Nihil Novi    McHale on the '95 Draft: No Magics or Larrys
Parish Could Holdout All Season (83-84)
Marquis and Eddie Can Play the Game
Media Day is Here: Will Anyone from the Media do their Job?
Artest and Klohe Only Part of the Side Show
Banner 18   Almost there..
Hoopsworld    Boston Celtics 2009-2010 Preview
USA Today   $300K for Odom-Kardashian wedding photos?
News Herald    10 questions for the Cavaliers: LeBron's contract, Shaq are key subplots as camp starts
Mihai's Sports Blog   Top 50: Rajon Rondo, no. 27
Dimemag    Lamar Odom jumps the broom; Is LeBron James out for Team USA?
NBC Connecticut    XL Center Gets Celtic Pride for One Night XL Center Gets Celtic Pride for One Night
NBA.com    Preseason, training camps display new faces in new places
Hoops Doctor    NBA to Announce ‘Social Media Policy’
E Online    Khloe Kardashian & Lamar Odom Are Married!
ESPN    Delonte West will report to Cleveland Cavaliers' camp despite charges
Sporting News    Less of Jefferson A Good Thing For T-wolves
Orlando Sentinel       Paul Pierce says Celtics Big Dogs of the East
Bucks Diary    Dissecting the "no-superstar" World Champion Pistons