SB Nation - Omri Casspi

Kings Lose Game of the Century, If the Century is the 1300s

Ziller — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:27:28 -0000

More photos » by Ann Heisenfelt - AP

You see, because in the 1300s, things basically sucked, what with the Black Death and all, so I figure there wasn't much time for basketball, so the games were bottled disaster, much like Friday's loss in Minnesota. At least with most Kings losses this season there has been entertainment value -- like the final Lord of the Rings film, you can be aggravated at the ending (a Hobbit tickle fight?! what the Frodo!) but still have enjoyed those three hours of your life. Not this game. This game was like paying $6 to see Phantom Menace in the theater: it blew, you're never getting that time back, and it actually helped ruin that which came before it (the Washington win, in our example; the New Hope trilogy in the malformed analogy). I'll never look at you the same way, George Lucas!

Just a brutal, brutal affair. In some losses, the Kings have had multiple runs at the lead -- like a half dozen, in the case of the second Spurs defeat. The Kings had negative two runs Friday night. I don't know how that happened, but it did. Tyreke Evans had his worst game in ages (despite eight assists, would have been more if the team had shot better than 43 percent from the field), Donte Greene didn't score a point in 18 minutes, Kenny Thomas didn't score a point in 20 minutes, Spencer Hawes had zero defensive rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench, the team shot 4-27 from three against a dreadful defensive club, and the team gave up 112 points in 106 possessions to the league's third worst offensive oufit. BRUTAL.

You want a bright side, beyond Omri Casspi (another brilliant scoring effort)? As this Sam Amick video attests to, Kevin Martin is shooting again ... and he's even dribbling with his left hand.

Holy talent infusion, Batman!

Preview: Kings at Wolves

Ziller — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:00:26 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

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THE OPPONENT

Remember the Timberwolves, who last Saturday fell in defeat at the boots of the Kings at ARCO. The Wolves have four victories, including one this week against Utah. Minnesota's four wins (in 26 games, whoo) have come against the Nets, the Nuggets and the Jazz twice. The Wolves have the worst point differential in the league, have the third worst shooting clip in the league, the second worst offense overall and the 24th ranked defense. The Wolves suck.

THE KEY BATTLE

Al Jefferson and Kevin Love vs. Jason Thompson and ... Andres Nocioni? No word as of press time on whether Spencer Hawes will get his starting position back. Facing a Scantron and No. 2 pencil, I would scribble the 'B' bubble, assuming 'B' is associated with 'no.' Hawes had a solid spell in relief on Wednesday, but Spencer's bad outing against Minnesota on Saturday was surely part of the eventual post-Blazers benching.

(And please do not believe Paul Westphal's spin regarding the Wizards match-up. It's been discussed insightfully by others here on StR, but seriously. He got benched. He got benched.)

There are pros and cons, to me, in benching Hawes against teams like the Wolves. First of all, one of the few strengths of Minnesota is its offensive rebounding, between Jefferson and Love. We saw Jefferson own the offensive glass early in Saturday's game. He ended up with five offensive caroms, and Love had four. Benching Hawes, no matter how disappointing he has been on the boards this season, doesn't help when Omri Casspi is the replacement. Omri is a great rebounder at his position ... which is not power forward or center. We saw Nocioni play power forward in Hawes's stead Wednesday; if Hawes sits for Omri, that'd be the case again, with Thompson marking Jefferson (and risking foul trouble) and Noc handling Love. But Noc isn't a PF-level defensive rebounder, either. You open yourself up for exploitation on the offensive glass, something we saw executed perfectly early on by Washington.

Of course, adding Omri to the Evans-Greene-Nocioni-Thompson group makes the offense wail. Casspi is a perfect match for Evans and Thompson, just perfect. So what do you do? If it were my choice, I'd either start Hawes and keep all five Kings back to help rebound (you can score on Minnesota in the halfcourt) or I'd start Kenny Thomas and Omri (the latter in place of Noc), match K-9 up against Jefferson, let Thompson take Love ... and sub in Hawes the second Jefferson sits (or as soon as Thompson picks up his second foul, whichever happens first). Ryan Hollins is a good offensive rebounder, but less of a threat to do anything with the ball and an absolute sieve on the other end.

I have a feeling we'll get Omri in the starting five with Nocioni, which means we'll get a shoot-out, which is probably best for all viewers.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Reggie Theus will arrange for Sam Amick to be forced to sit next to Minnesota's most slovenly, smelly man.

NUMERIC PREDICTION

Kings by 6.

DETAILS

5 PM tip-off. Comcast SportsNet and KHTK 1140 AM. Just one game thread tonight, plus the post-gamer (7:45) and the recap (eventually).

Tyreke Evans, You Are a Maniac

Ziller — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:26:04 -0000

If I hadn't watched it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. That entire final sequence, that is. The what-the-Frahm! turnover on the sideline inbounds play that gave Caron Butler the ballin the open court. The loose ball foul on Tyreke Evans that let the Wizards get within one point. And, of course, the brilliant steal in isolation -- plus the two sunk free throws -- which iced the game.

That felt really good.

Evans was, of course, a maniac in only the positive sense (except for that foul -- hard to fault him for it). The urgent drives to the rim, the blocked shots (two!), the transition passes, the steal ... there was one stretch in which Evans was clearly ineffective, there in that second half, when he took two long jumpers and couldn't get the team offense organized. But that's a small slice of spoiled pie compared to all the rest.

And, ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention to the 6'9 forward out of Israel, number 18, Omri Casspi. 22 points, five rebounds, a steal and a block. And yes, he is a fan favorite.

Jason Thompson (17/13/2) and Andres Nocioni (20/6) also played well, with J.T. doing massive damage in the first half. The Spencer Hawes benching (Hawes finally got into the game late in the third quarter, and played eight total minutes) will be discussed more before Friday's game in Minnesota, and suffice it to say that it didn't a) fix the Kings' interior defense, or b) fix the Kings' defensive rebounding. Hawes happened to be a +9 in the game, though the awful Wizards bench surely has something to do with that.

I watched the ESPN feed in the second half, resolving to see what Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy could say about Tyreke and Omri. Jackson was smitten, and JVG (sarcastic as ever) had great things to say about Omri, especially after a lefty drive through the heart of Wizards defense. The crew took the Kings seriously -- it wasn't some patronizing "oh wow, look at the Kings go!" banter but REAL respect. Of course, it's the players who demand that. But it was good to see they earned it this quickly, both in the decision to air the game and in the actual game discourse.

I have feeling that ESPN will be getting the Kings back on national TV in seasons to come.

Game 26 Preview: Kings vs. Blazers

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

by Bill Haber - AP

Not the best defensive strategy...

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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.

Say hello to SactownRoyalty

Enter tonight's Jersey Contest here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Sacramento's Sucking Defensive Void: What's the Problem?

Ziller — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Steve Yeater - AP

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With eyes coated glassy from gimlets of joy here in points west, there remains one striking, sucking void in the burgeoning success of the Sacramento Kings: the defense remains absolutely awful. The world's worst a year ago, the Kings defense again ranks among the dregs of the league. The real problem for armchair analysts like me is that there is no easy answer.

The team's shooting defense sucks. The team doesn't create many turnovers. The team can't rebound regularly on the defensive end. The team fouls too much.

In every aspect of defense, the Kings are worse than par. Sacramento has stayed afloat (or exceeded expectations, more like it) based on a booming offense which has rung bells from McKinley to Kilimanjaro. (Well, it's currently 7th in the league. Without all but five games of Kevin Martin. I heard at least some decorative plates rattle.) The defense has attempted to again sink this team, like a malformed anchor of youthful blindness or community distraction. (Optimists, still here, will grasp for the former.)

Rebounding is easy to diagnose: our defensive rebounders suck. Jason Thompson has improved on that end, and in total is a fine, fine rebounder. He could do well to boost his defensive rebounding more, but he's not so much a problem as a concern. Spencer Hawes is a concern, absolutely. His defensive rebounding (21 percent last year, less than 18 percent now) is abysmal -- Mikki Moore level, in fact. This isn't blame so much as observation: Hawes has devolved as a rebounder, and he was subpar for his position and size already. Now he's atrocious. Moving on out of reach of the cyanide, Andres Nocioni has been a sink, of sorts -- his 9 percent overall rebounding rate is Salmonsesque (not good) and below the sinewy, frantic Omri Casspi (nearly 10 percent). Donte Greene has not been rebounding well, either. Kenny Thomas and Jon Brockman are champions, thank you.

Turnovers fit into the team defense conceit we'll discuss more later, and fouls split time between there (later) and this easy-to-grasp statement: Jason Thompson has really got to calm down on the fouls. Brockman and Thomas actually foul more frequently than J.T., and The Show actually isn't far behind, but as Thompson plays so many minutes (necessarily, because he is awesome) his matter most. It's not fair, but the cover of Good Housekeeping ain't free, Holmes.

Shooting defense. A riddle wrapped in prosciutto. Rancid prosciutto bartered from the Slovenian black market, in our example. (Apologies, underground meat salesmen of Celje. I mean no offense. I simply take the simplest path to WTF I can find, and today that route crossed your unfortunately, smelly bridge.) Shooting defense is really tricky to unfurl, even at the team level. On an individual basis, yes, guh, muy difficulto. But at the team level, it's still tricky.

Shooting defense, to me, can be broken off into two branches: shot distribution and actual shot defense. In other words, what locations do your opponents shoot from, and how well do they hit them?

Hoopdata.com has made serious strides in public availability of this sort of data this season. Truly fantastic, in my book, which is the one you're reading. I can give you the last page right now, if you're the type who reads that. But first,

SPOILER ALERT

The Kings' opponent shot distribution ranks 15th; that is, if opponents shot league average against the Kings in every shot zone, the Kings would have the 15th ranked shooting defense. But the Kings have the 22nd ranked shooting defense, because the Kings defense actually underperforms from average; that is, the Kings let opponents shot better than they ought to.

END SPOILER ALERT

First, shot distribution. Do opponents get lots of so-called easy shots -- near the rim, threes -- against the Kings?

Sacramento is middle-of-the-pack in the frequency of opponent attempts at the rim ... a bit surprising really. (We'll come back to interior defense in a moment.) No team gives up more non-layup/dunk shots inside the paint than the Kings, though. The Kings allow the sixth lowest rate of "midrange" 10-15 foot shots, and the 10th lowest rate of long twos. (Long twos are the worst shot in basketball, by category. More specifically, long twos by Chris Duhon are the worst shot in basketball.) The Kings give up the 7th lowest rate of threes, which is a positive.

So, essentially, Kings opponents end up taking a lot of short jumpers, compared to the league at large.

But when those opponent do get to the rim, well. Damn.

The Kings have the second-worst shot defense at the rim. There's that bad interior defense peeking out. (Out of where, well, this is a family blog, let's just move on.) This can potentially be attributed to having the league's fourth-worst block rate, and also, anecdotally, not being terribly good in transition.

Moving out, the Kings actually defend short jumpers (5-10 feet) really well, like, "third best in the league" well. From 10-15 feet, Kings opponents don't hit too much, with Sacramento having the league's eighth best shot defense from there. The Kings rank 27th in shot defense from 16-23 feet (ick), but know that 16-23 foot jump shot shooting percentages tend to vacillate wildly. (Proof: Tyreke Evans is shooting 48 percent from there this year. If that lasts, I'll eat Truck Robinson's sweatband.)

The Kings don't give up a ton of three-point attempts, but they do give up a ton of makes, with the 9th-worst shot defense from beyond the arc. Opponents shot 36.5 percent from three against Sacramento, which is the equivalent of shooting 54.7 percent from two. It's not nearly as bad as last year (where opponents actually shot better than 40 percent from downtown, if you can believe it). But it's still not good.

So there you have it. The Kings have an average opponent shot distribution, but let them make way too many attempts near the rim and from behind the arc.

Now, the big question ... whoooooooo? I can't pretend to know that answer, though I will put on the record that 82games.com reports that opponent guards and centers haven't shot too terribly well against the Kings this season, but forwards have. Small forward has been the most sour defensive spot, by this source. Andres Nocioni and Omri Casspi account for 67 percent of the team's minutes at the position. It's hard to figure this with any certainty (without more data, like game-by-game, possession-by-possession data), especially considering that Paul Westphal uses such varied line-ups and Jim Eyen has installed a couple of zone schemes the team turns to often enough. It's really impossible to lay any blame on the shooting defense on any one, two or three players given the info I have. I think we can recuse the center (Hawes, who has played 56 percent of the team's center minutes, and against whom centers are shooting far worse than they have against other Kings with minutes at the position, namely Thompson), but no one else at this point. (Guard penetration affects shooting percentages across the board -- we can't blame Nocioni if a guard gets past Evans or Udrih and forces rotations which leave Nocioni's man with airspace.)

I have thrice begun a paragraph in which I blame a player thoughtfully given the information I have, but ... nope. Wouldn't do it. I can't say for sure, and I'd rather be silent than wrong.

Spurs Offense Explodes, Kings Fall 118-106

Ziller — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:00:05 -0000

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

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San Antonio is hardly known for its offense -- that's why management paid a premium for a new starting small forward, one Richard Jefferson. The former Net and Buck has always been a frequent scorer, and that's what the Spurs decided (correctly) they needed. And it paid off Wednesday night, with Jefferson torching the Kings defense to buoy a Spurs offense that ended up performing very well despite middling production from its big men.

Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili helped a ton, and the Spurs shot 8-9 on threes despite fairly decent perimeter defense. The issues with the Kings defense weren't gaping -- they had trouble stopping Parker's penetration (unsurprising, as few stop Parker) and didn't get back in transition in the first half. Basically, this was a phenomenal performance for the Spurs. That the Kings constantly put pressure on the home team in the second half, with run after run after "you know I'm not dead" run is a minor coup.

Jason Jones of The Bee notes just how young Paul Westphal went: the only King with at least three years of NBA experience to play more than 20 minutes was Beno Udrih. This was basically a bunch of college-age players against a team whose core has won three championships this decade, and whose star has four and happens to be the best power forward of all-time.

And the Kings fought. The 14-0 Spurs run in the second quarter should have killed them ... but the Kings stormed back. And so it happened three more times in the second half: the Spurs opened up the lead to 10+ ... and the Kings brought it back within three or four, even taking a brief 1-point lead at one point.

Omri Casspi was a beast with 20 points on 14 FGAs, with seven rebounds. Tyreke Evans wasn't terribly inefficient, his worst game of the four-game stretch. But he still 20/4/5 and four steals. So, you know, not bad, rook. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes combined to play Tim Duncan as well as you can ever expect, with Thompson showing good offensive touch in the second half after Hawes had opened up the game looking sharp. Donte Greene made some late-game miscues on offense, but brought every bit the energy the situation called for, ripping a rebound out of Matt Bonner's hands for a putback, and not taking no lip when the Red Rocket later attempted to return the favor.

I'll take "Encouraging Losses" for $500, Alex.

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

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

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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.

Kings Hold Off Nets 109-96

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

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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.

Kings Finish Winless Road Trip, Lose 116-105 in Memphis

Ziller — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:20:03 -0000

by Mark Weber - AP

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No moral victory in losing at Memphis, by double digits, in a game the Kings were never in from about the fourth quarter on. The team played an unfocused, sloppy game, refusing to put together even two-minute stretches on vibrant basketball. If the Kings play one quarter of ball the way they did in Dallas and Houston, it's a win. But they didn't, and that's four straight losses, and a 5-8 record.

Not to make an excuse -- there are no excuses for 21 turnovers against a team as defensively lethargic as the Grizzlies -- but you wouldn't look like a loon if you suggested Scott Foster had the over. Though Jason Thompson was ineffective on offense, his foul trouble killed the team's energy in the first half. He played only 27 minutes due to the fouls, and still had a game-high 10 rebounds. He can destroy Memphis, even though he's had two disappointing games against them this season. He's built to beat teams like this, and being sent to the bench with all those fouls prevented that. (I should note for posterity that Paul Westphal didn't needlessly sit J.T. to protect him -- Thompson was legitimately in foul trouble before Westphal took him.)

Spencer Hawes (4 points on 5 FGAs, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 turnovers in 25 minutes) was rather emblematic of the problems the Kings had. Hawes was called for two brutal three-second violations on offense, in situations where three-second violations was basically indefensible mistakes. Just as with the team as a whole, Hawes would have one good play (a block, a nice backdoor pass to Beno Udrih) and would follow it up with three or four bad possessions.

Tyreke Evans had solid numbers (28/4/4 with five turnovers) but never really had control of the game. Udrih initiated the offense much of the first half, and Evans's gravity ebbed and waned. I think it's reasonable to say he was the most talented player on the floor, but the Kings needed him to take over the game. And he didn't, until the match had been decided. Having a Wade/Roy type player means having a player to live and die by. Evans played so well that the Kings could have lived if he'd taken his proper role. But it didn't happen. He is 20 years old, of course, 13 games into his ~~pro~~ NBA career. There's time for growth.

For the record, Omri Casspi got ejected from this one for ... objecting to Jamaal Tinsley holding onto his arm. Omri's two technical fouls were the first two for any Kings player this season. (And yes, Rasheed Wallace tallied five before any King received one.) It's also worth noting for posterity's sake that Donte Greene -- that Donte Greene, you're thinking of the right one -- fouled out in 19 energetic minutes. Two of those fouls were absolutely absurd by normal NBA standards, but par for this game, which a preseasonesque 54 personal fouls.

Jon Brockman deserved all the minutes he received (14) plus all of Hawes's. Sergio Rodriguez had 16/7 with only one turnover off the bench -- Udrih was ineffective for the first time in a few weeks, and I wouldn't be surprised if Rodriguez is in position to deliver Beno a shorter leash during the coming homestand.

Kevin Martin cannot get back soon enough.

Rudy Gay is the worst good player in the league.

Lover's Embrace: Memphis Grizzlies Blow Out Kings 116-105

djturtleface — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:47:10 -0000

More photos » by Mark Weber - AP

about 1 month ago: Sacramento Kings' Tyreke Evans, second from right, drives to the basket against Memphis Grizzlies', from left, Marc Gasol, of Spain; Sam Young; and Rudy Gay during the first half of an NBA basketball game game in Memphis, Tenn., Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Weber)

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Team cohesiveness hasn't been a strong suit of the Memphis Grizzlies since, well, ever. In the pre-playoff days, it never really seemed like anybody liked Pau. You can't just exclude the franchise player like he's the nerdy European. In the playoff days, people seemed to like Pau even less. Doesn't make sense, but it's true.

And since the post-Pau days, team morale and locker room togetherness has been piss poor. Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo openly feuded last season, something that received little press but was obviously apparent. Mike Conley couldn't exist with Kyle Lowry platooning, which is of course absurd. Darko ripped his freaking jersey off.

There was no reason to rip a jersey off tonight though. The Grizzlies moved the ball nicely. All the starters found shots. Rudy Gay looked like a franchise player, as he has the past few games. It's not like the Kings are exactly world-beaters, but they beat us last time, and this time we killed it.

When the national media claimed that adding Zach Randolph and Allen Iverson was going to blow up the solid young locker room, it was like, "What solid young locker room?" With Iverson out of the picture, however, a nice little bit of camaraderie is starting to appear.

The terrifying part is that Zach Randolph has been a part of it. Z-Bo has been saying the right things to the press. He has been sharing the ball. He hustles, at least as much as he can hustle. He cleans up Rudy and O.J.'s out-of-control messes. Over the past couple games, Randolph has constantly had his arms around Rudy and Marc's necks, and I don't think he's just tired from all that hustling.

Zach Randolph is acting like a veteran leader for this team, especially for Marc Gasol and Rudy Gay. Is it a surprise that those two are rocking with their backs to the basket? Yes. It is a surprise. I think I know the culprit. And I like it. That doesn't mean I want to see Rudy stop dunking or want Marc Gasol to start shooting that one handed post shot that should never, never freaking ever, go in -- but it is encouraging.

Rockness Monster: Rudy Gay is starting to play more like a franchise player every night. Not a championship team caliber star, mind you, but a franchise player. His game is becoming a lot like Carmelo Anthony's, but more Paul Pierce in terms of contribution. And yes, I think that he could have a very Pierce-like career.

U-Turn: Mike Conley played not so awful tonight. Also Marcus Williams came astonishingly close to a DNP-CD because Jamaal "Ashey Larry" Tinsley just straight rocked the fast break. He doesn't have his sea legs under him on defense yet, but knows how to move the ball up the court.

Bitter Limon: O.J. Mayo is terrible at defense almost all the time. I used to think he was good, but that's just not true. He lined up almost exclusively against Tyreke Evans tonight, and vice versa, and Reke Havok routinely blew past him for an easy bucket or to draw a foul on one of the bigs.

Sleeping With the Enemy: The Kings got a lot of ticky-tack fouls and violations, specifically travels and reach-in calls, early on. The Grizzlies got them too, but not until after it made some sense. Anyways, it clearly got in the Kings players' heads, which in turn diminished their efforts. Omri Casspi continued to look great, so did Tyreke, and Sergio Rodriguez looked decent too. But I didn't see the back-to-wall effort this team was supposed to show.