SB Nation - Beno Udrih

Recap: Kings 96, Bucks 95

Frank Madden — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:31:40 -0000

It took him a couple quarters, but Thompson eventually found ways up, over, and around the Bucks' defense.

My Saturday started in Copenhagen, Denmark about 25 hours ago; in fact, I woke up just in time (about 4 am Danish time) to follow the last minute of the Bucks' 85-82 loss to the Cavs on the hotel wifi. Terrific start to a day. So if I seem a bit incoherent and annoyed that my Saturday is also ending with a last-second Bucks' loss--and one that I got to witness in person at the BC--forgive me. It's not often I get two Bucks losses in one day.

The highlight shows will of course focus on the hype-friendly matchup between the rookies, which is easy given Tyreke Evans (9/19 fg, seven rebs, three assists, six turnovers) scored the final two of his 24 points on a lovely stutter-step layup past Andrew Bogut with just 0.9 seconds left. Brandon Jennings mostly kept his end of the bargain as well, scoring 15 (4/11 fg) with nine assists, six boards and just one turnover. The good also included four clutch free throws in the final minute and a heads-up dish to Ersan Ilyasova for a layup to give the Bucks a 95-94 lead. Evans had the last laugh, however, and Jennings missed his last seven from the field as the Bucks' big names shot blanks down the stretch. Hey, sound familiar? Considering Michael Redd's latest clunker (1/6 fg, three points) and Andrew Bogut's awful second half (1/10 fg), it's in some ways amazing the Bucks kept it as close as they did--until you consider that the Kings also came into this game an awe-inspiring 1-11 on the road.

The Bucks led 53-49 at the half, as Evans scored 17 (albeit on 15 shots) while Bogut contributed 12/4/4 for the Bucks. A night after his 5/21 performance in Cleveland, Jennings looked patient and content to get other guys involved early on, as he didn't take a shot until the three minute mark of the second quarter. But he buried that first triple and added another jumper to round out a solid first half: seven points (2/2 fg), five assists, and three rebounds. Ilyasova (14/10) already had his double-double midway through the third, but foul trouble made him an observer for most of the second half.

The Bucks led by as many as seven in the third, but the Kings were far more composed than their road record would have suggested. After Evans carried the offensive load in the first half, Jason Thompson took over in the second, scoring 17 of his 22 in the period to go with 10 boards. The Kings seemed oddly shy to give him the ball in the first half with Andrew Bogut guarding him, but he showed the full repertoire of inside/out stuff in the second, including seven points in the final three minutes. One of those was a questionable three-point play that cut the Bucks lead from four to one, as Thompson hooked Bogut making a move along the baseline, but instead got the foul and continuation on Bogut. Not to whine though, because the Bucks overall didn't get the short end of the refereeing stick. They even got a charge called on Evans for wiping out Bogut on a play that looked eerily similar to the Kobe call on Wednesday. Also not to be forgotten is Beno Udrih (6/11 fg, 16 pts), who killed the Bucks with mid-range jumpers off P&R in the second and third quarters.

In any case, the game came down to making plays in crunch time, and as per usual the Bucks didn't make them as often as their opponents. These recaps are starting to write themselves in that sense. The Bucks had seven offensive rebounds in the final five minutes, but all that meant was they were working hard and missing everything. Bogut bricked a pair of freebies with 42 seconds left and the Bucks down one, only for Jennings to retrieve the second miss and start another possession that saw Jennings miss a reverse layup in traffic, Bogut miss two tip-ins, and Jennings grab another rebound and draw the foul.

As he's done so often--and unlike everyone else on the team--Jennings didn't miss with the game on the line, but the Bucks couldn't stop the Kings, either. After Evans penetrated, Thompson dropped a tough hook over Bogut on the right side of the lane to make it 94-93 Kings with 11 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds Jennings nearly had his inbound pass to Andrew Bogut stolen at midcourt, but he scooped up the loose ball, and with two Kings out of the play he found Ilyasova wide open under the basket for the easy two with five seconds left.

It turned out to be too much time. Evans ran P&R from the left with Thompson, and Mbah a Moute unwisely went over the screen, leaving Evans one-on-one with a backpedaling Bogut. That was all she wrote, as Evans smoothly went left and finished with his right off the glass. Bogut had a last-second heave from the baseline that could have won it, but you kind of knew the Bucks didn't have any more tricks up their sleeve.

Three Bucks

Carlos Delfino. It seems like Delfino's usual MO has been hot starts and anonymous finishes, but the Argentine reversed it tonight in a major way. The Bucks were leading 70-65 when Skiles subbed out Bogut and Jennings with two minutes left in the third, and it was Delfino who kept the Bucks' afloat for the next 12 minutes or so. First he scooped a driving layin to finish the Bucks' third quarter scoring, then led the way with three triples and 11 points in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter. He also took on the task of defending Evans for much of that period, yielding only in the final minute to Mbah a Moute.

Luc Mbah a Moute. Mbah a Moute's last contributions were missing a free throw with three minutes remaining and getting rubbed out on the P&R that led to Evans' game-winner, but that shouldn't overshadow what was another solid game from the Prince. It was particularly true on the offensive end, where LRMaM made all five of his shots including a corner triple.

Brandon Jennings. It was another solid game with plenty of ups and downs for Jennings. On the down side, he got smoked by Evans on a couple drives in the third quarter, which is becoming all too common for a small guy blessed with his quickness. With Beno Udrih getting major minutes down the stretch Jennings didn't face off directly against Evans

Three Numbers.

19. By my count, Bogut (7), Redd (5) and Jennings (7) combined to miss their 19 shots from the field. Yeah, not cool. Bogut didn't make a shot in the last 22 minutes and bricked his last five free throws, going 1/10 from the field i the second half after a solid 5/10, 13 point first half. Jennings at least made his free throws (6/6), but went strangely cold in the third quarter after making his first four shots from the field.

13. It wouldn't be the numbers section without some allusion to the Bucks' terrible free throw differential, so here's your daily dose: the Bucks made just 13/20 from the line compared to the Kings' 22/29. Same sh**, different day.

1-8. That's the Bucks' record in games decided by three points or less. Unlucky? Just bad at finishing games? I'll take the easy route and say a combo of both, but either way it's killing them in the won-loss column. History says that close games require more luck than skill, and that even good teams don't win a high percentage of close games over the long haul (they win the blowouts, natch). Still, the fact that the Bucks lack a guy who can a) both draw fouls and make free throws and b) create quality shots for himself reliably means that they'll probably be worse than average. Not quite as bad as they've been, but still not good. We've seen flashes of Jennings being a go-to guy late in games and so far he's had ice-water in his veins at the stripe, but he's not the guy yet.

~~Three~~ Two Good

Rookies. Sure, they've got growing up to do, but Evans and Jennings are damn good for a pair of 20-year old rookies. I've seen very little of Evans since the season started, but in Vegas he looked like a thrifty man's Dwyane Wade (all the slithery slashing and body control, less of the rim-endangering explosiveness) and it was pretty much the same deal tonight. Lots of turnovers and few assists, but he's really not a ballhog and his line would have been even more impressive if he didn't miss so many contested layups.

As for Jennings, he seemed to be in "play like a true PG" mode tonight, which worked reasonably well. Defense could have been better and he still doesn't make shots around the hoop, but you already knew that.

Meeks. I'm grasping at straws here, but it's not like I have that much to choose from. Meeks' minutes would seem to be gone now that Redd is back, but he got an extended look in the second quarter--guarding Evans no less--and held his own with five points, two steals, and two assists. He didn't get a look in the second half, but Meeks' +9 rating was the best of any player on either team.

Three Bad

Skiles. I don't generally call out coaches since, well, they know the game and their players infinitely better than I do. And let's be honest, Skiles isn't exactly Vinny Del Negro. Still, there were a few things that made me scratch my head on this one.

For one, Redd played 15 straight mostly awful minutes from the end of the third until late in the fourth. Why? Don't ask me--the way LRMaM was playing it didn't make sense for him to be sacrificing minutes for the old man. Heck, Bell, Ridnour or Meeks would have been better choices at that point.

Second, why did Jennings inbound twice in the final minute? I guess I can understand him inbounding with 11 seconds left since he can get it right back. But his pass was deflected and almost stolen (fortunately he recovered to both get the ball and find Ilyasova for the layup), so maybe we should take that as a sign that the little guy may not have been the best option. Moreover, with 0.9 seconds left I would have thought Jennings' ability to make tough shots would make him an obvious option as a shooter, but instead he was again summoned to make the pass, this time throwing a tough entry pass Bogut not surprisingly couldn't turn into a miracle. I vote we cut Elson and bring back Toni Kukoc (tall + great passer = great inbounder) purely as a late-game inbounding specialist.

Lastly, I would have dared Evans to shoot a jumper on the last play by having Mbah a Moute go under the screen rather than chase around. I'm assuming Mbah a Moute went over the screen on direction from the Bucks' coaches, though in fairness Evans didn't always kill them on that strategy earlier in the game. But do the math--Evans is a 59% shooter around the rim and 45% from 16-23 feet. Bogut might have been hoping to force Evans to hesitate by backpedaling, but give credit to the rookie for making such a decisive move.

Bogut's ability to put a ball in the basket. Ignore the shooting numbers and there'd be nothing to dislike about Bogut's line: 13 boards, five assists, one turnover and three blocks. Include the shooting numbers and...well, not so much. Bogut continues to struggle from the field (6/20) and the line (3/8)--the latter being expected at this point while the former is a more recent phenomenon.

Part of the issue tonight was the Kings doing a good job getting bodies in Bogut's way--Spencer Hawes' length bothered Bogut on two misses to start the game, and even though Bogut began to bully Hawes and co. for much of the rest of the half, they were mostly denying him the deep position where he's so dangerous. They showed the double teams on a number of occasions as well, and while Bogut managed to take care of the ball better than usual tonight, he sometimes seemed to be rushing shots just to get them off.

Michael Redd's ability to do anything. The silver lining from the Laker game was the hope that the old Mike Redd wasn't too far away--or that the new one wouldn't be that much worse than the old one. But in two games since Redd has again looked out of sorts. He started the game fairly judicious about his shot selection, but with Skiles playing him for extended periods with the second unit things fell apart more quickly. On paper, the idea of Redd going to work while Bogut/Jennings rest is a nice one, but thus far it's only reiterated why Redd shouldn't be starting.

Game 26 Recap: Blazers 95, Kings 88

Dave — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:43:18 -0000

More photos » by Greg Wahl-Stephens - AP

Cue the M.C. Hammer song.

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A win! And a fairly nicely fought one too! Good news for the Blazers right now. The bad news is that it feels so good to win at home against the Kings, but what they hey. Beggars can't be choosers. And it was a nice win.

The game started out with a really nice offensive run keyed by Brandon Roy. Portland was setting screens on everything--two, three in every set--and players were running off of them on and off the ball. Roy looked sharp every time he came off of a pick, which confounded the Sacramento defense. With at least half an eye on him the Kings let Joel Przybilla and Martell Webster slip. Often that's a good bet but Joel slipped through for a couple of dunks and Martell hit a three and assisted on another to Brandon. Smackety-smackety and the Kings are down 9 before the halfway mark of the first quarter passed by. It was a textbook example of what the Portland offense looks like when it's running right. Everybody moved, everybody was ready to score, nobody held the ball, the team was almost unselfish to a fault, a high percentage of shots went in which made Sacramento stick close to their men which spaced the floor for penetration which in turn set up even more open jumpers. It was fluid, flexible, and fun.

The Kings, meanwhile, ran their offense through Andres Nocioni and Donte Green. They're nice enough players, but that has to be considered a victory for the Portland defense which was also working pretty hard, especially in the middle.

Then, as has been the story frequently this year, Portland got a little comfortable with the lead. They started shooting jumpers first, thinking of other plans later. Predictably misses ensued. When Joel Przybilla went to the bench for a rest the defense also lost its anchor. Beno Udrih and Ime Udoka connected on a couple shots each and the lead evaporated leaving the teams knotted at 23 after one.

The second period continued the way the first had ended. Portland got 4 free throws and a layup in the quarter but every other score was a jump shot. Meanwhile Przybilla started the period on the bench then came in and collected two quick fouls and had to sit again. The Kings' second unit began attacking from everywhere. They penetrated, pushed, stroked shots, shared the ball. The Blazers weren't rotating crisply or getting back in numbers. All of a sudden they're staring down the wrong end of a 31-20 period and the crowd is moaning.

Let's talk about those rotations for a minute. People wonder sometimes why this is so hard to get. A guy needs help, another guy goes to help him, a third guy is supposed to pick up for that second guy, and so on. But that third-guy position is darn tricky. Sometimes you have to pick up the open man immediately. Sometimes you have to shade over and watch how the play develops. Sometimes leaving your own man at all is more dangerous than helping and it's really more someone else's responsibility to cover. It's really easy to make the wrong decision. Sometimes if the opposing team is good enough there is no definitive right answer except for the original guy not getting beat in the first place. Any way you go, though, it requires that you keep watching your man while also being aware of what is happening in at least two other places on the court, processing all of that information quickly and acting.

On occasion we've watched the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch at home. It's the one about the crab fishermen in Alaska...a documentary/reality series following life on the crab boats during the winter season. The most interesting part of the show for the producers, and often for the audience, is the struggles of the greenhorns on the deck. The camera never gives them a break, catching every slip-up, chew-out, and frustrated moment. In the process a couple things become clear. The greenhorns aren't bad guys, nor even substandard workers most times. Their great limitation is that they are only able to do one task at a time because they only see the job in front of them and not how it relates to the whole. An experienced deckhand does his own job but is also able to see what else needs to be done and efficiently slide over to pitch in and keep the whole show running smoothly. That's why the old salts are infinitely more valuable even if they and the rookies do a single task at roughly the same level of competence. The second thing that's clear is that it takes multiple seasons for a greenhorn to develop that kind of vision and confidence. Learning six individual tasks is one thing. Learning how they all fit together and timing the need and your participation in each is quite another. Apparently it takes years to become a full-share deckhand on those boats.

That's fairly similar to what's going on with the Blazers defense most nights, particularly when you have weaker defenders at the point of attack and less experienced guys (which in some ways still includes most of the roster when you figure the primary focus of many of them has been offense) in the help positions. You usually get one good rotation from Portland. You don't always get two. And you don't always get people recovering to the correct place at the right time. It feels like the enemy just has to show a strong thrust to our front ranks to make us react and then they have our flank exposed. They sure seemed to in that second period.

Back to the game...

The third quarter saw a couple of significant developments. First, Joel Przybilla remained in the game. Second, the Blazers fed the offense through LaMarcus Aldridge. LaMarcus ate the Kings' lunch for the first half of the period, scoring 10 of the 15 the Blazers put up before the 6:00 mark. Once again the bold attack opened up opportunities on the perimeter which Martell Webster and Brandon Roy happily took advantage of. The Kings, meanwhile, reverted to their Nocioni-Greene offense. The Blazers encouraged this by steadfastly refusing to let them run. Bingo-Bango-Boinko, the lead is erased and we have a ballgame.

And from the time the score got close around the midway point of the third it really was a good game. The Kings suddenly remembered that they had Tyreke Evans on their side and that we weren't very good at containing penetration. The Blazers started hustling both ways, scrapping for loose balls, and putting up decent shots. The Kings drew first blood at the end of the third when Evans put the Blazers back on their heels. Portland came back by repeating their first-quarter screen-pass offense with some penetration by Brandon Roy thrown in. Evans kept fighting and corralled the heretofore-quiet Jason Thompson into the fight. Portland responded with Aldridge and Roy, then Jerryd Bayless started driving and drawing fouls, exposing the Kings' weakness on defense they way they had exposed ours. In the end three beat two. Sacramento couldn't keep up on the foul line and they never strung together enough shots to make the difference. 95-88, Blazers win. Energy, unselfishness, and a little know-how about breaking down a sub-standard defense carried the day.

Click through for Individual Observations, Jersey Contest links, and other notes.

Individual Observations

Brandon Roy wasn't just the main scorer in this game, he was truly the main catalyst. He gave the Kings fits to the tune of 10-20 shooting and 25 points. But the bigger stat was his 10 assists. He used his influence to get his friends involved, particularly the big men early in each half. That doubled his effectiveness at least. He had 5 turnovers to go with those assists so it's not like the game was completely polished, but it was a Brandon you'd love to see every night. Of equal note: his teammates were ready to make this Brandon look good. They weren't standing. They converted the shots he gave them.

LaMarcus Aldridge matched Roy's 25, dominating the second half as we described. He kept Jason Thompson occupied which helped divert his attention from his strengths. Thompson had 1 offensive rebound on the night. Aldridge had 5. Having to protect the glass against LaMarcus and Joel kept the Kings from getting into their offense as quickly as they'd like.

I loved Joel Przybilla's game tonight. He led the defense in shutting off penetration, set the tone in taking charges (which the team did frequently tonight), grabbed 10 rebounds, and his 2 dunks off of feeds in the first period made the Kings a little leery instead of taking him for granted. He didn't force a thing. He just looked good.

Jerryd Bayless was the star off the bench with 14 points, 8-10 free throws, 3-6 from the field, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and even a block. This defense was made for him and he took advantage, making his bones in the fourth quarter when the coaching staff showed confidence in him by leaving him in until the game was done. He also played some nice defense down the stretch.

Martell Webster had a workman-like game. He kept the floor wide open by hitting a couple threes and came away with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. When Martell is getting assists you know the offense is working.

Andre Miller did not have a good night. He had the usual defensive troubles but he also shot 2-10 from the field for 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 29 minutes. He wasn't in synch with the offense. He was actually duplicating Jerryd's secondary-scorer role but he wasn't scoring.

Steve Blake got 24 minutes and blended in, hitting a couple shots (including a three) to keep the defense honest. 5 points, 2 assists, no big mistakes or awkward moments.

Juwan Howard hit all three of his shots for 6 points but he's no Przybilla on defense. The thing I like best about Juwan, something the other guys could learn from, is that his offense is so compact. You watch him and when it's time to shoot he doesn't mess around with the ball or the dribble or anything. He just takes the shot.

Dante Cunningham got 2 points and 2 boards in 6 minutes.

Final Thoughts

24 assists on 36 made shots with only 11 turnovers is going to win you a lot of games. But the stat of the night was Sacramento with 2--count them...2--fast break points to their credit. Nice.

Boxscore

Read the reaction at SactownRoyalty.

Here's your Jersey Contest Scoreboard. You can enter the form for the Phoenix game here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Game 26 Preview: Kings vs. Blazers

Dave — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:00:35 -0000

by Bill Haber - AP

Not the best defensive strategy...

View full size photo »

Game Time: 7:00 P.M. TV: KGW

Well, well, well...look who's making a game go of it this season. The Sacramento Kings mosey into town with a 10-12 record, third in their division and within spitting distance of .500. Unfortunately they face a Blazers team also within spitting distance of .500 from the other direction. The saliva may come from spit-takes, rage, or just a drunken stupor from trying to drown your woes, but the spit is flying in Portland nevertheless. It's never, ever good for a team that is not meeting expectations to face a team that is meeting them and more. But that's what Portland faces tonight.

Sacramento's wins have come in clumps this season. They lost 4 of 5 to start the year, rattled off 4 straight wins, followed that up with 4 straight losses, then won 4 again and lost 4 again for good measure. Unfortunately for the Blazers they won against Minnesota the other night, which would make this Win #2 of 4 for them if the pattern holds. The Kings have had a couple of quality wins (Utah, Houston) but not many. The question, as always, is whether Portland is a quality team. I'll drink my coffee while you discuss.

The Kings love to shoot and they love to score. Their 47.8% shooting clip ranks them 5^th in the league. They're also 4^th in the league in three-point shooting at 38.1%. It's easier to list the guys on their team who can't fill it up: Sean May, Ime Udoka, Desmond Mason, Kenny Thomas, Jon Brockman. Not coincidentally I just mentioned 5 of the 6 lowest players on the rotation totem pole. That means all of the guys you're going to actually see you have to defend. Five guys on the floor, all the time.

This isn't unusual for a Sacramento squad, but they're doing a couple of things to bolster their overall game this season. First they're scoring a lot of those points in the paint, and this despite having a decidedly perimeter-oriented center in Spencer Hawes. You can thank a couple of things. First, they fast-break fairly well. Second, say hello to Jason Thompson. The guy's already had 7 games of 20 points or more this year. He's shooting over 50%, drawing 5 fouls per game, nabbing 9 rebounds a night including an amazing 3.6 offensive boards...what's not to like?

And he's not even the biggest story on the Kings this year. That honor belongs to rookie point guard Tyreke Evans who in the absence of super-scorer Kevin Martin is averaging a cool 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists for the season. Take that, Brandon Jennings! He also draws fouls and he's a fair pickpocket besides.

After those two the roster gets more familiar. Point guard Beno Udrih still loves him some scoring. But this year because of all of the attention being drawn elsewhere he's averaging an incredible 55% from the field. Forward Andres Nocioni still has the green light from the three-point arc and still hits them. Spencer Hawes will face you up for the jumper and helps Thompson corral those offensive boards. Donte Green is filling in for Martin at shooting guard but is sporadic in his production. The last two names in the regular rotation have Blazer connections. Rookie small forward Omri Casspi, rumored to be on Portland's short draft list, is shooting 52% from the field, 49% from the arc, and has scored in double figures in 9 of the last 10 games he's played. And then our old friend Sergio Rodriguez haunts the Sacramento roster. He's only gotten steady playing time in the last three weeks or so but he responded with games of 16, 15, and famously 24 against the Hornets at the end of last month. Both his shooting and three-point percentages are stellar so far and he's managing to drop a few dimes in his 17-ish minutes per game.

Despite the offensive success Sacramento still faces a familiar bugaboo. They defend like a wet Kleenex. And I guarantee you the Kleenex people are angry about that reference. They allow the same marvelous 47%+ field goal clip that they shoot. Only Minnesota and New Jersey allow more fast break points per game. Their defensive efficiency is below the dreaded Golden State line. Only Memphis allows more points in the paint. As a result they score 105 and give up 105. They can't outrun their shortcomings nor can they shoot them dead. They're forced to rely on getting more good shots than their opponents. As mentioned above that's often directly related to how good the opponent is with the possible addition of how hard the opponent plays. The question, as always, is whether Portland will play hard tonight. I'll drink my coffee while you discuss.

In all seriousness this could be a bad matchup for the Blazers. The Kings play their entire available roster and run with them. The Blazers have 9 players healthy and generally prefer to walk. Portland has trouble defending 2 guys, let alone 5 at a time. The possibilities off of a single screen are staggering, especially when you consider one of their big men can shoot. They've got an aggressive point guard. They've got multiple people who have to be guarded on the perimeter. That's a lot for the Blazers to keep up with.

On the other hand the Blazers need a win tonight like Frosty needs a freezer. In case it slipped your mind it's Phoenix on Thursday then on the road for four against Orlando, Miami, Dallas, and San Antonio, then back for Denver and Philadelphia, whom the Blazers never seem to play well. Carrying three straight losses into that Phoenix game would be sad. And the month could go from sad to pathetic really quickly. Looking up at the Kings in the standings was not on Portland's to-do list for 2010. But the dawn of the new year could see exactly that if the Blazers aren't careful.

Keys to the Game

Where to start?

1. No matter what else happens the Blazers have to score. They probably need to do it by driving the lane as well. Getting into a jump-shooting contest with the Kings is a bad idea, especially with half a roster. They'll foul if you drive. Eventually they'll let you score if you drive. Just drive once in a while, please?

2. If you're looking to take points away from them the easiest places to start are the most basic: get back in transition, take away their offensive boards. LaMarcus Aldridge will almost certainly be watching Spencer Hawes tonight but he needs to remember that even though Hawes likes the jumper he will also go for offensive rebounds. Your job isn't over when the ball goes up.

3. The real problem here is that Portland needs to defend a good perimeter scorer, a good low scorer, plus guys who can drain threes around them. That screams straight man-to-man but the Blazers are spotty and prefer to throw zones and switches in there. An occasional zone might change things up but those switches on picks are going to be a killer. Remember Hawes can shoot. If you can figure out how to solve this issue with the current roster you're a better person than I. But the Blazers are going to have to do something to avoid being picked into oblivion.

4. Whatever happens, keep the energy up. Pursuant to that, I hope the crowd is into it tonight.

Final Thoughts

For the first time in a long time I don't have a great gauge on the Blazers right now. I'm not saying I can predict every game correctly but I usually have a decent feel for what kind of game it's going to be. Lately it's been a grab-bag. That's not comfortable for me and I can't imagine it's comfortable for the players involved either. Despite the offensive prowess this is a team against whom you can start dictating some things. That might be a good idea tonight.

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Enter tonight's Jersey Contest here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Heat Check

section214 — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:21:09 -0000

Hey, how you doin'?

As recently as a couple of months ago, our confidence in Beno Udrih was less than overwhelming. He was inducted into the MLE hall of shame. He was untradeable, a waste of someone else’s minutes, an albatross.

Today? Amongst point guards logging 30 minutes per game or more, Beno Udrih ranks 11^th in PER, in between Brandon Jennings and Gilbert Arenas (Tyreke Evans currently sits at #7). Udrih sports a true shooting percentage of better than 58% (that is Kevin Martin territory), and his assist to turnover ratio is 2.3 to 1. And Udrih has done this coming off the bench, where he had rarely been productive prior to now.

The question is, how far has Udrih come in two months? Has he graduated from untradeable (as in, no one will take him) to untradeable (as in, we don’t want to part with this guy)?

To help answer this, I have developed this simple test – a proposed trade. It is important to note that this is probably not a viable trade, but I threw this together quickly, and the purpose of this trade is more to set a baseline in our minds as to how we feel about Beno these days.

The Blazers are struggling, and the popular thought these days is that they need a "Mo Williams" type of guard to play in the backcourt with Brandon Roy. In a way, that is Beno. Now I’m not directly comparing Udrih’s talents to that of the Cleveland all-star, but Udrih has proven that he can be productive in the backcourt with or without the ball, and he can produce as a 1 or a 2. He and Roy would be similar to an Evans/Udrih backcourt. So…

Udrih to Portland for Blake, Dante Cunningham, Patty Mills. I would have done Udrih for Blake straight up, but it doesn’t work from a salary standpoint. The Kings would have to turn around and waive Sean May to be at 15 players.

Note to all Portland fans – this trade was not completely conceptualized with you in mind. This is put together as a semi-plausible scenario so that I can get a reading on how much Udrih’s value has moved in the minds of Kings fans. This does not solve your Andre Miller problem, but Pritchard is a genius and can deal him to someone else. Also, if you have not seen Udrih play this year, you will rightfully believe that this is one of the stupidest trades ever proposed. Last year, Blake > Udrih. But aliens have come down and inhabited Beno Udrih, and it does not appear that they are going to be vacating the vessel anytime soon.

Under this semi-plausible(?) setup, the Blazers get their running mate for Roy at a reasonable (albeit lengthy) price. The Kings get expiring for the most part (I think that Cunningham might be guaranteed $800k next year). Should the Kings then manage to deal Nocioni for expiring, they would go into next year’s free agency period with a payroll of $29 million (not including whatever it might take to re-sign Sergio Rodriguez).

So, would you now trade Beno Udrih for expiring contract? Do you think that it is possible to trade Udrih for expiring contract? Or is a backcourt rotation of Evans/Martin/Udrih too tasty to mess with? You could also entertain the notion of dealing Martin, but I don’t think that you can get fair value for him today.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You have to make the deal now. You can’t wait for the trade deadline or for Martin and/or Garcia to come back. The trade will hurt the Kings in the short term, as a prime time contributor is dealt for Steve Blake, who would likely settle in behind Evans, Greene, and Rodriguez in the guard rotation in the short term, eventually winding up near the end of the bench (or in street clothes) once Martin and Garcia return. Just for comparison, Blake does have a nice 2.5 to 1 assist to turnover ratio, but his true shooting percentage is a woeful 49%.

What say ye regarding Beno Udrih?

Poll

Trade Beno Udrih?

Don't Blame the Argentine: Hornets 96, Kings 94

Ziller — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:39:10 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

16 days ago: Sacramento Kings forward Andres Nocioni (5) rubs his head after missing a free throw in the closing seconds against New Orleans Hornets in an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. The Hornets defeated the Kings 96-94. Nocioni missed two free throws that would have tied the game. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)

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Anyone who faults Andres Nocioni for that missed free throw, the one which at 96-94 Hornets with 1.1 seconds left effectively ended the game, should remember who pulled in the offensive rebound which preceded the final, fatal attempts.

Since 2002 I have rued discussion of choking, or some lack of innate resolve these Kings supposedly had. That epic Game 7 in 2002 is memorably painful for many reasons, but the worst of which remain the airballs. Peja. Doug. Whooooosh. Stojakovic took on an unfair rap, as if he had never missed a shot against a great defense before! And for someone to argue that Doug Christie, in 2002, couldn't handle pressure ... that accuser either has no clue about Doug Christie, or has bought into the well-spread, cliche conventional wisdom about athletic competition.

As it goes with Nocioni, one of the least quivering players in the league. Like so many of his current teammates, El Chapu backs down from no challenge, and certainly a vital free throw in December isn't going to render his spine a strand of angel hair pasta. Nocioni just happens to be a non-elite free throw shooter. Even the excellent miss some. No one has ever shot 100 percent from the line, right? Everyone misses some. (Or if you're Justin Williams, you miss most.) Some misses happen in the middle of the second quarter, some happen to come at a critical juncture. There's no magical method to hitting the critical ones that isn't used in the second quarter. You think if players, if Nocioni had a special spell he could use for important free throws he wouldn't use it all 48 minutes? It's foolish, really, to think there exists choke artists in the NBA, and that Nocioni would be one of them.

Tangent ended. A heartrending loss for the Kings, who really deserve another road win. They continue to play with their balls out (figuratively), giving every opponent every ounce of effort they've got. Jason Thompson is the rare NBA complainant who doesn't scream when called for a questionable foul because of some perceived injustice: he complains because he knows he must now leave the game. I don't know, maybe that's the same reason Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace gets techs, because they really don't want to sit on the bench. It seems implausible, but maybe that's the case. With J.T., I know that's the case. It kills him to be on the bench during the final moments, when he could be in the paint, playing defense, running the break, looking for paths to the rim.

That's evident all over the roster. Sergio Rodriguez made a couple of miscues again, but it's not because he's trying to get on SportsCenter. It's because he's anxious to get an easy hoop for his teammates on every possession. A matter underdiscussed in discourse about the "unselfishness" of pass-first players is that they basically take on complete risk for the play. If Sergio goes backdoor to Ime Udoka, but Ime doesn't cut, well then it's Sergio's fault, because he shouldn't have made the pass without proper communication. If Ime does cut and the Kings get two, the credit is shared. With Sergio, it's not completely about a clever passer sharing his gifts with cutting wings and lurking big men. It's about risk assumption. I think that's why his turnover numbers spike: because of the type of work he does, when he fails, it must go horribly, horribly wrong. He's like William Tell, in that sense.

One NBA trope that has always bothered me was the idea that your best player had to take every game-on-the-line possession. You'll remember the whole LeBron saga of 2006, when The Chosen One drove the lane on the Cavaliers' final deficit possession of a playoff game against the Pistons ... and he passed off to a lesser teammate, who had an open three due to the defense LeBron drew. James wasn't exactly castigated for the decision -- he had his defenders -- but it drew a ton of discussion, with the central thrust that the greatest players don't pass. They want the ball. They want the fate of the game to carry their mark, their DNA. I never really bought that this was smart. Studies have shown that efficiency on these plays goes way, way down -- because the offense becomes predictable (high screen for LeBron) and the defenses can key in (collapse the lane). I always figured that if you have Kobe and Pau, maybe run a post play for Pau. He's good, too.

But when Tyreke Evans drove the lane in the final Sacramento possession, I think I understood. I don't really believe in basketball mystics all that much (see my first point in this post) and I don't think the NBA's superstars have a different blood type than the hoi polloi. Superstars are just really super star players. As such, if the defense aims to make the superstar weak at the expense of putting a lesser player in super position to score, then the lesser player with the super position ought to be called upon. But having the type of dominant player we have in Reke might have changed my thinking, at least in these boom-boom cases, where there hasn't been a time-out. Coming down the floor, do you rely on your best player in perhaps tougher-than-usual circumstances, or do you rely on your B-list? I mean, if the Kings gave the ball to Beno, given the way Evans had been getting to the rim, I might have been apopletic. And Beno played great! Even with share-happy teams, the NBA is such an individualist sport. When one player can affect as much as LeBron, Wade, Howard, Paul or Evans can, you're foolish not to let them try to affect the game in the final moments. Without Kevin Martin in action, the Kings did not have a better option than Evans driving the lane. He did, he nearly got the winning basket, and Nocioni got the offensive rebound and a chance to tie the game. That last possession didn't work out, but it went well, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

And if I may, in closing: Spencer Hawes played really well. His defense was active and smart. His offense was fine. I will take that Spencer Hawes seven days a week.

On Kevin Martin, and Why It's Foolish To Buy Him a Train Ticket

Ziller — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:45:59 -0000

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

There's Kevin Martin, playing keep-away again! (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

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It has been discussed in the Asinine Trade thread already, but I think Marc Stein's ESPN.com Weekend Dime piece on "what the scouts say" deserves further discourse. Mostly because it's stupid to a nearly ridiculous level. Stein, of course, is fantastic, one of my favorites and the best national NBA reporter (competing with Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski). This is not an attack on Stein, or on ESPN. This is one Western Conference scout, and what he thinks about the Kings' backcourt situation, and how (so, so, so very) wrong he is.

Point 1: "Martin takes the ball out of Tyreke Evans' hands and Beno Udrih's hands."

Martin played with Evans and Udrih for five games this season. These also happened to be the first five games of Evans's NBA career, which you would know and take into account, if you knew Evans is a rookie, which one can assume this scout knows, but about which we can't be certain, given the points which follow.

Of these five games that Martin played with Evans and Udrih, Evans was injured for 1-1/2 games, Martin had a broken wrist for 1-1/2 games, Udrih didn't play in one game due to coach's decision, and three of the games were on the road. Just so we're clear on the observable data here.

Point 2: "Now they have Tyreke and Beno attacking the other team's worst defenders ..."

Tyreke and Beno are guards. Kevin Martin is a guard. If you replace, say, Beno/Tyreke with Tyreke/Kevin, logic would dictate that Tyreke and Beno would now be attacking the other team's worst defenders. I mean, how on Earth does this make sense? Are opponents all stashing a Secret Defender Weapon X on their bench, keeping it out of use because Kevin Martin is injured? If Tyreke and Beno are currently attacking bad defenders, I assume Kevin will be afforded those same defenders.

If the assertion is that Tyreke and Beno attack whereas Kevin does not, well then I'd like to point out that while Beno has now drawn enough fouls to get himself 24 FTAs in 17 games this season, Martin has had two games in each he attempted at least that many, and on this season has attempted more than twice as many (49) as Beno despite playing in only five games.

Point 3: " ... they've loaded up the floor with shooters ..."

Andres Nocioni became a starter in the final game before Martin's absence began. In fact, Desmond Mason was replaced on the roster by Ime Udoka (who I guess you could call a shooter, I suppose, maybe) before Martin's MRI. Beno can be considered a shooter, yes, but was added (temporarily) to the starting line-up because he was playing out of his mind and because he was clearly (at that point) the team's third best guard. Donte Greene shot 32 percent from the field last season, and has been put in the starting five first due to an Udrih injury and now for defensive reasons, primarily. Omri Casspi is a shooter, yes, but it hardly seems like the Kings used the No. 23 pick on him for a spot in that coveted "Tyreke-Beno Strategic Plan for Sacramento's Renewal." If you think Spencer Hawes is in the starting line-up over Sean May because of shooting, well, then we're done here. Move along.

Point 4: " ... and they've taken one of their weakest defenders off the floor."

I don't want to fault this particular scout for obviously not having paid attention to Martin's defense through five games this year -- Martin has a reputation for poor defense that has been backed up by numbers and observation for about two years now. We know he improved this year (markedly) but you can't very well expect every scout to know that. It's fine. The problem is in failing to realize that the player which replaced Martin in this scout's apple-y eyes is among the worst defenders in the league, or at least was last year. That line-up also led Evans being used to guard shooting guards (because Beno can't), which hurts the team's defense. That's a big reason Beno is back out of the starting five.

Point 5: "Sometimes in the past they worked so hard to find [Martin] that three other guys ended up sitting and watching."

This is just too laughable for words, really, and I feel a bit silly for even responding to it, so I'll keep it short: do you remember the Artest-Bibby-Martin era? In which Martin was the only 20-point scorer ... even though he was third on the team in FGAs per game? Or how about every other season Martin has been a starter, in which the only player to score 20+ points a game on as few FGAs as Martin uses has been Amar'e Stoudemire? Have you ever noticed how Martin usually creates most of his own attempts, which would by definition diminish the lead to find him on offense, since he can just get the ball out on the perimeter and attack from there? Also, there's the matter that his supporting cast completely sucked on offense last season. In case you forgot.

Point 6: "If they put him on the floor with Tyreke and Beno, other teams are going to take advantage of them when they do it. Maybe they try to trade him."

Other words of wisdom from this Western Conference scout:

"If Brad Pitt flies a wax hang glider to Jupiter, his head is going to explode due to atmospheric pressure. Maybe he sells his beach house in Fiji."

"If Darvin Ham eats turkey for dinner, he'll be a walking contradicition. Maybe he picks up his dry-cleaning tomorrow."

"If Tiger Woods teams up with Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, stars of Twilight: New Moon, to sell Balloon Boy merchandise in between Girls Gone Wild and ExTenz infomercials, other celebrities will raid Larry King's refrigerator. Maybe they build snowmen in El Dorado Hills."

I, for one, would prefer:

a) Brad Pitt to either not try to fly a wax hang glider to Jupiter, or if he does to take precautions against atmospheric pressure.

b) Darvin Ham eat whatever he like for dinner, and to PICK UP HIS CODDAMN DRY-CLEANING TODAY OR ELSE.

c) Tiger Woods play golf, Bella Swan and Edward Cullen to stay off my early A.M. must-see TV schedule, Balloon Boy to practice hard because he too can become a world class badminton star and celebrities to shut the ufck out of Larry King's damned refrigerator, it smells terrible I said TERRIBLE anyway you dreadful vultures.

and d) for the Kings to not make a decision on the future of the Sacramento backcourt until they can get more than, you know, 0.5 completely healthy games in as a unit. I am positive this is what will happen, though I can't speak for Brad, Darvin, Tiger, Bella, Edward, Balloon Boy or the celebrity vultures.

***

In conclusion, Western Conference Scout should stop talking for a while. Maybe sit a few plays out.

(And booyah! Ended with a timely movie quote! TZ. IS. ON. FIRE.)

Kings Take One Step Back, Lose 115-102 to Heat

Ziller — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:52:07 -0000

More photos » by Steve Yeater - AP

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The Kings and Heat as currently performing are basically equals. (This is without Kevin Martin.) The Heat are fifth in the East, the Kings 10th in the West. That's a fact no amount of improbability can change. But then, how did the Kings lose by 13, never getting closer than six points in the second half?

Well, one stretch in the second quarter really undid Sacramento. And unfortunately, it came with the team's best (healthy) players on the court.

Just after the six-minute mark in the second quarter, the Kings trailed by seven. Tyreke Evans (who had another monster box score -- 30 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 3 steals, 2 tov) entered the game for Jon Brockman, joining Beno Udrih, Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes and Donte Greene.

Over the next eight possessions, the Kings scored ... two points. In nine possessions during that span, Miami scored ... 14. The Kings had three turnovers in the stretch, and shot 0-5 from the floor, 2-4 from line. Miami shot 5-8 from the floor (including two threes) and 2-2 from the line ... and had zero turnovers. Just a brutal stretch of play in which Dwyane Wade dictated the game on both ends.

The Kings and Heat basically played even the other 43-1/2 minutes -- Miami was +1, but the last minute of the game featuring your usual desperation madness. You can see this as a bad thing: the Kings had basically 25 minutes to go on a similar run of their own, or to make up all that lost ground at home, and didn't. But in the spirit of continual positivity, think of it this way: this wasn't so much a 13-point loss as it was a really really crappy 4-1/2 minutes of basketball bookended by a decent performance on the back end to two games in two nights.

The Kings won the rebound war, both according to the TV version (34-33 in raw totals) and by percentages (85 percent on the defensive glass, 30 percent on the offensive glass ... both solid). The turnovers were too frequent, and not just in that second quarter stretch. Who was the worst culprit? The amazing Sergio Rodriguez, who didn't so much return back to Earth as he crashed violently into the middle of a prairie, and not so much like Superman did but more like a race of dumb aliens who for some reason think the method of winning a basketball game is passing the ball to as many courtside spectators as possible. Just some brutal, brutal (not brutale!) turnovers there from Sergio. Five in 12 minutes.

Omri Casspi was smoking off the bench (not literally, his hand was figuratively smoking due to high heat), hitting all four threes, including a spectacular fading three at the buzzer ending the third quarter. The bench was actually perfect from beyond the arc (Beno Udrih hit two of his own), but the starting five went 2-16 from downtown, led (in a bad way) by Andres Nocioni (1-7), who refused to say die, unless you look at it realisitically, in which case Nocioni said "Die!" to the Kings offense. When he's on, he can really put these Martin-less, Garcia-less Kings on another dimension offensively. But when he's not, he has no filter in his head, and he begins shooting even more frequently than usual, which is weird, because when most non-stars aren't htting shots, they let someone else take them and find other ways to contribute. El Chapu did indeed have good energy, and hit the boards well (two offensive, four defensive in 30 minutes). But Nocioni isn't deadeye enough to shoot himself into a game. Ray Allen, Martin, Steve Nash, Rashard Lewis can do that. Nocioni can't.

Evans is now averaging 19.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Over his last 10 games, he's at 23.1/5.6/5.4 on damn near 50 percent shooting. Unbelievable.

Sacramento's Point Guards, 2008-09 vs 2009-10

Ziller — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:00:38 -0000

by Mark Weber - AP

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A quick survey of Sacramento's point guard play last season, in comparison (err, in contrast) with this year's play at the position. Remember that PER has 15 set as the league average.

2008-09
Beno Udrih, 12.3 PER
Bobby Jackson, 12.4 PER
Bobby Brown, 7.7 PER

2009-10
Tyreke Evans, 17.4 PER
Beno Udrih, 16.2 PER
Sergio Rodriguez, 18.3 PER

The head of the dragon does a lot to dictate where the body goes. Clearly, this year's version has been a huge improvement.

Kings Hold Off Nets 109-96

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

More photos » by Steve Yeater - AP

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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.

Preview: Nets at Kings

Ziller — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:00:20 -0000

by Matt Slocum - AP

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"No mas! No mas!"

THE OPPONENT

Holy crap. Where to start? OK, for one, I don't know if you have heard this, but the Nets have not won a game since, like, April. 0-15. Zero wins, fifteen freaking losses. No team is really that bad, though I remember the awful 1998-99 Clippers, the team that got it's first win against the Kings in Game No. 18 of a 50-game season. That team was this bad. The Nets, though, aren't. Injury has played such a massive role in this bad start. Everyone has that excuse -- even the Lakers and Cavs and Magic and Mavericks have dealt with missing players. But for the Nets, it has been exceptionally rough. Devin Harris is the motor of the team, and he just came back. (Tonight will be his first start since October.) Courtney Lee missed lots of time. Yi Jianlian -- I have no idea what's gone on with him. Chris Douglas-Roberts had the swine flu! Brook Lopez and Terrence Williams are the only two good players on that team that have been in action throughout, and one of them is an apositional rookie. ROUGH.

As I said, Harris is back, as is Lee. Harris-Lopez might be the best young inside-out combination in the league, with the possible exception of Roy-Oden, Rose-Noah and Gordon-Griffin. (We'll see on that last one, as well as Evans-Thompson or Evans-Hawes.) Harris should have some rust, I'd think, but adrenaline might counteract those limitations, and I wouldn't be surprised if he plays as hard as he ever has. If a well (hopefully) Beno Udrih is guarding him, let's hope our Slovenian can funnel him into help defense, because Harris is lightning quick and smart with the rock.

Lopez went for 32/14 in Portland. Aack!

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Brook Lopez	15	35.3	6.8	14.5	47.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.9	4.9	78.4	2.9	5.8	8.7	1.5	2.7	0.4	2.6	3.7	17.5
Chris Douglas-Roberts	12	35.5	6.3	13.5	46.3	0.3	1.3	25.0	4.1	4.7	87.5	1.4	3.7	5.1	1.7	1.9	1.1	0.4	1.9	16.9
Devin Harris	5	28.8	4.4	12.8	34.4	0.0	1.6	0.0	4.6	6.4	71.9	0.6	3.2	3.8	6.2	2.6	2.0	0.2	2.6	13.4
Terrence Williams	15	28.1	4.3	11.9	36.0	0.8	2.8	28.6	1.4	2.1	65.6	0.5	5.1	5.6	2.0	2.1	0.6	0.0	1.7	10.7
Rafer Alston	15	34.2	3.7	10.6	34.6	1.1	3.3	34.0	1.9	2.3	82.9	0.3	2.6	2.9	4.8	2.8	0.9	0.2	2.0	10.4
Yi Jianlian	4	29.5	3.3	8.0	40.6	0.0	0.3	0.0	3.3	3.8	86.7	1.3	6.3	7.5	0.5	2.3	0.5	1.3	3.0	9.8
Courtney Lee	8	30.9	3.0	9.8	30.8	0.4	2.1	17.6	3.4	3.9	87.1	0.6	1.6	2.3	1.8	1.0	2.4	0.5	2.0	9.8
Trenton Hassell	11	35.9	3.5	8.1	43.8	0.0	0.2	0.0	1.8	2.3	80.0	1.9	3.4	5.3	1.0	1.5	0.4	0.2	2.7	8.9
Bobby Simmons	13	19.7	2.1	5.9	35.1	0.9	3.2	28.6	0.6	0.6	100.0	0.4	2.8	3.2	0.6	1.0	0.4	0.2	2.6	5.7
Eduardo Najera	8	16.5	1.9	4.8	39.5	0.3	1.4	18.2	0.8	1.0	75.0	1.1	2.5	3.6	1.8	1.0	0.8	0.3	2.6	4.8
Josh Boone	15	17.9	1.9	4.1	46.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.9	38.5	2.0	3.7	5.7	0.6	1.0	0.5	0.6	2.0	4.2
Sean Williams	11	12.9	1.4	2.8	48.4	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.5	1.0	45.5	1.6	1.1	2.7	0.0	1.3	0.5	0.9	2.6	3.2
Jarvis Hayes	1	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	1.0	0.0

THE KEY BATTLE

Lopez vs. Spencer Hawes. Goofy lottery big white dude vs. goofy lottery big white dude. Lopez has certainly started his career off in more bombastic fashion, though obviously Hawes has been no slouch, and these two are effectively the same age. Hawes would do well to pull Lopez away from the rim to open up lanes for the slashers and elbow room for Jason Thompson. On the other end, expect early help, especially if Lopez is going strong in the post.

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

The crowd at ARCO is going to be really interesting. I mean, can anything good come of this game for Kings fans? I haven't been this nervous about a game since that time I played strip Parcheesi with Keira Knightley and Fran Drescher. Mix in the holiday weekend, the lack of a pre-game buffet and the anonymity of the opponent, and ... hmm.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Lawrence Frank is going to yell at someone. Not necessarily a Net.

NUMERIC PREDICTION

Kings by 13.

DETAILS

Game at 7. Game thread at 7. Post-game thread at 9:45. Recap at Boreal.