SB Nation User Blog: HighTops

Thoughts on the Kings vs Bulls game

HighTops — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:19:41 -0000

Disclaimer: I'm headed out and won't be able to post to TZ's Game Preview Post as usual. So, I thought I'd comment here.

With the help of my shrink, I’m finally over the Minny game. He told me everyone has a bad day once in a while, and that I shouldn’t let it keep me bedridden and depressed. So with that advise and a 6 pack of beer, “I’m feeling much better now”.

Chicago had the benefit of playing 8 or their 10 games in December at Home. They lost both their road games and managed to split the 8 home games. Of those wins only the last game against ATL was against a quality opponent. (GSW, NYN, DET were the other wins) So, even though they won their last 2 games, Chicago has been colder than a midnight walk in January down Lake Shore Dr. For December they’re shooting 42% Field, 28% 3PT, and scoring 90.3 PPG.

In the last few games they’ve started Brad Miller at PF where he is shooting 42% Field, 13% 3’s (1-8), with 5.5 rebounds and 8.3ppg. Rose is even worse at 3pt shooting, hitting only 1 of 9 in December. So, among the starters if you can cover Deng and Salmons (35% from 3), Chicago has almost no 3pt shooting. The only player that has consistently produced is Luol Deng. In the last game against ATL, Deng out scored and out rebound Miller & Noah together.

Other than Rose (19.2ppg) & Salmons (12.8ppg), the only player who has picked up his game of late is Taj Gibson. Gibson is shooting 54%, with 7.8 rebounds 1.2 blocks, and 10.6 ppg. Gibson & Noah are almost sure bets to score double doubles.

So, how are the Kings going to win this game? Let’s look at how we lost the last CHI game in Sac.. It was Tyreke’s 10th game as a pro. CHI packed into the paint and denied Tyreke any penetration. Evans ended up 8-19, 0-4 from 3, and only 4 trips to the FT line. The trio of Noah, Miller & Gibson held JT & Spencer to 15pts and 13 rebounds totaled. There was almost no ball movement, and the Kings committed 21 turnovers. But, worst of all the Bulls bench out scored the Kings bench 31 to 15, mostly thru the shooting of Pargo.

Well, Tyreke has had 16 more games to learn how to deal the teams packing the paint. Omri is starting now and should put up more than the 4pt he had in the last game. And, even though the starting backcourt of Beno & Tyreke didn’t work out in the last Bulls game, after how they finished the Bucks game, we might see them start again. Of the ten starting lineups that PW has put on the floor this season, the Beno, Tyreke, Noc, JT & Hawes line up is the most successful (4-2 or 67% winning percentage). While the line up of Tyreke, Greene, Noc, JT & Hawes is 4-5 or a 45% winning percentage. And, with Beno starting I look for them to reduce their turnovers.

I look at the last Bulls game as another off night, in the same vein as the Mem & Minny games. And, not soon to be repeated. JT & Hawes will step up their games, and offset the play Chicago’s bigs. In the last game the rebounding was 41 apiece with the Kings +1 on the offensive boards. I predict that the Bulls shooters will be as cold as the reception that John McCain would receive at a Chicago Democratic fundraiser. But, most of all the Kings will stifle Deng. Without him Chicago can’t win. Whoever PW starts at SF, be it Noc, Omri, or Green, will need to stay on Deng. No help coming from Dengs’ man. The only time they should be further than 5 ft away from him is when they go to the locker room at half time. Noc knows the Bulls and I expect him to have a good game and come out of his shooting slump.

Tyreke is a god, so I don’t care who PW starts in the backcourt with him. Whether it’s Donte or Omri or Beno, it doesn’t matter; they will crush Rose & Salmons. As in the Bucks game it’s more important who finishes the game than who starts the game, so I’m up with whichever line up PW comes up with for this game.

Well, that one was the beer talking. I do care. I like Beno’s defense against Jennings and think he can defend Rose. Tyreke on Salmons might be a tougher matchup for the rookie, but I’d like to see the defensive battle. And, as always, I’d rather see Donte using his length & quickness defending the PF and scoring closer to the rim, than trying to stay in front of quick SG and playing offense out at the top of the arc. Besides Miller & Gibson are more jump shooters than low post players. Miller takes 68% of his shots from outside & Gibson takes 60% of his from outside.

But, the lineup of Noc, JT, Hawes, Casspi and Evans worked last game and I think PW will go with that one again. With Beno coming off the bench at the PG, and Donte playing some PF or helping out defending Deng.

The Kings come home with their first winning road trip in over a year. I’m calling this Kings by 9, 102 to 93. Go Kings.

With or without Oden, Portland is a pretty damn good team.

HighTops — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:34:12 -0000

This is in no way an attempt to replace TZ's excellent game Previews. I've been posting some of my thoughts in those excellent Previews, but my comments seem to be getting longer & longer, and seemed inappropriate for comments. So, here are my thoughts about the Portland game.

With a record of 14-11, they are better at home (8-4), but they’re only slightly worst than .500 on the road (6-7). Since Oden got hurt in the Hou game, which they won at home, they are 1-3 on the road. But, it took MIL 2 OT’s to beat them, or else they would have been .500 on the road without Oden.

If there is any weakness in their record, it might be whom they have beaten. I’m not one to devaluate any win in the NBA, but here’s the facts for your examination. The Trailblazers only have 4 wins against upper echelon teams. They lost to ATL twice, Cle, Den, Mia, Utah, went 2-1 against Hou, and beat SA & OKC. That’s 4-7 against other playoff teams.

Who did they beat to get to 14 wins? Besides the 4 already mentioned, POR beat MIN 3 times, split with MEM, beat NJN, IND, NOH, CHA, DET, & CHI. That’s 10 wins against sub .500 teams. Plus they lost to NYN, GSW, MEM and MIL

So they have a 36% winning percentage against playoff caliber teams. And, a 71% winning percentage against sub .500 percentage teams. Unfortunately, the Kings fall into the latter category. So, winning 67% of their home games and 71% of their games against teams comparable to the Kings, it wouldn’t seem that we are favored to get our 2nd road victory.

But, don’t give up hope. Players win ball games not statistics. So, lets look at the players. As I mentioned earlier, Portland lost Oden 5 games ago. With Oden they were 12-8 or a .600 winning percentage. Without Oden they are 2-3, or .400 winning percentage. But, if they could have pulled out the double OT game at MIL they would have still been .600.

Before Oden’s injury the team shot 45% FG%, 35% 3P%, 11 ORB, 42 TRB, & 96 ppg

Since Oden’s injury the team shot 43% FG%, 34% 3P%, 11 ORB, 42 TRB, & 96 ppg

What’s happened is that Przybilla has stepped up and rebounded exceptionally well. Also, Roy, Aldridge, & Miller have picked up their scoring. Roy is taking almost 25 FGA’s per game, and Aldridge & Miller have upped their attempts to 15 per game. It looks like Portland might be able to continue without Oden, without skipping a beat.

It comes down to the match ups. Spencer never matched up well against Oden, but I believe he should be able to hold his own against Przybilla on the boards, as should JT against Aldridge. And, Beno is shooting as well as Blake did against us last year. It’s really going to come down to one thing. How do we defend Roy & Aldridge?

The big question is ‘Will PW start Donte at the 2?’ Most of the 2’s Donte’s had to defend weren’t of the caliber of Brandon Roy. There’s no way Donte is quick enough to stay in front of Roy & if he plays off him Roy is good enough to shot over him. Of course the match up most people want is Tyreke on Roy. The only problem is that Roy has 3 years of experience over Tyreke, and that might be enough to win the battle. And, I’m not sure that Beno can win the battle at PG against Blake, Miller & Bayless. My biggest hope is that Sergio punishes Portland for giving up on him, but my biggest fear is that he will try too hard and fail miserably.

Aldridge is another problem. Aldridge does most of his offensive damage away from the basket, shooting jumpers on 64% of his shots. But when he does score inside he has an eFG% of 61%. My gut tells me that JT isn’t the one to defend Aldridge away from the basket. I just see foul trouble written all over this match up.

If PW starts Donte and the 2, and Donte can hold Roy to 25 pts or less, then we have a chance. But, my best guess is that Roy kills us, and goes off for 40. Plus I think we’re going to need Donte to help at the 4. Unlike in the Minny game where Brockman & Thomas could defend in the paint, they won’t be much help defending away from the basket.

I’d start Beno, Tyreke (sg), Noc, Donte, & JT. If Tyreke gets into foul trouble I’d move him back to PG, and use a rotation of Omri & Udoka to defend Roy. If we could compete on the boards with that line up, I’d stay with a 3 big rotation of JT, Donte & Spencer as much as I could.

But, PW likes to reward players for past performances and effort, so I see the same line up as last game returning, Tyreke, Donte, Noc, JT & Spencer. I think we’ll keep it close, but foul trouble, and big time scoring from Roy and Aldridge will win the game for POR.

Plus the Blazer’s bench may be better than ours.

I see it going 98-90 Blazers with the Blazers winning the rebound battle. But, if somehow Tyreke can offset or neutralize Roy, the winning streak continues.

GO KINGS.

Have the Kings improved since the start of the season?

HighTops — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:29:00 -0000

Disclaimer: Post was written before the Minny game.

The Kings have played 21 games, or ¼ of the season. So, I decided to try and find out if we’re getting any better. So here are some facts. I compared how we fared against our opponents in several categories during the 1st 10 games of the season and the last 10 games.

First 10 games Last 10 games Improvement?

Wins 5-5 4-6 No

2nd Chance PTs 6-4 6-4 Tie

Steals 6-4 4-5 No

Rebounds 5-3-2ties 5-5 Tie

Fast Break PTs 1-9 4-6 Yes

Pts in Paint 4-6 6-3 Yes

FG% > 45% 4-6 9-1 Yes

FG% > 50% 0-10 6-4 Yes

TO’s 4-6 2-8 No

So, we improved in Fast Break Pts (offensively & defensively), Pts in the Paint, FG% greater than 45% & greater than 50%. Even though we didn’t improve in 2nd Chance Pts or Rebounding, both categories have been a positive throughout the season.

So using 2nd Chance PTs, Pts in the Paint, TO’s & FG%, we can see that our offense has gotten better and more efficient as the season progressed. Defensively, our Steals are down, and although our Fast Break Pts are improving it’s still a negative. Offensively the greatest area in need of improvement is TO’s. Defensively the greatest need in defending the Fast Break.

One promising area, that a lot of people were concerned about is rebounding. Rebounding seems to be a positive this year. We have out rebounded our opponents 10 to 8 with 3 ties through 21 games. And, more importantly we have had more 2nd chance pts than our opponents 13 to 8. Who needs a sticking 3rd big?

Scoring by Quarter: Which quarters did the Kings win? The numbers represent the number of games the Kings won that quarter, followed by the number of games won by our opponents, and the third number is a tie.

1st Qt 2nd Qt 3rd Qt 4th Qt

First 10 games 2-7-1 6-3-1 5-4-1 4-5-1

Last 10 games 2-7-1 6-4 7-3 8-2

Total 4-14-2 12-7-1 12-7-1 12-7-1

So, based on the chart the Kings got outscored in the 1st quarter 14 to 4 games this season. And,

all season long we have dominated the 2nd & 3rd quarters. But, in the last 10 games we have been extremely strong in the 3rd & 4th quarters. Specifically, improving our scoring in the 4th quarter from a negative 4-5-1 to a dominant 8-2 in the last 10 games.

Some interesting stats from the Kings game day notes:

The Kings are 7-0 when leading at the half

The Kings are 1-10 when losing at the half

The Kings are 9-4 when leading going into the 4th

The Kings are 0-8 when trailing going into the 4th

Over the last 10 games the Kings have won the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarter. But, they really haven’t figured out how to get off to a good start. If they can make up the 1st quarter deficit in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, they seem to be figuring out how to finish even if the wins aren’t coming, yet.

My analysis is that the Kings need to slow down the pace in the 1st quarter, to limit TO’s, limit possessions, work on getting higher percentage shots, and get back on defense to limit easy fast break points. Thereby, limiting the deficit that they are going to have to make up in the 2nd & 3rd quarters. The offense is definitely improving but the defense needs some work.

So, the answer to the question, “have the Kings improved since the start of the season?” is an emphatic Yes, even if the wins don’t show it yet. Let’s hope the defense starts to come around as effectively as the offense has.

Refs & the Integrity of the Game

HighTops — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:52:02 -0000

I love NBA basketball, and I can’t get enough of it. But, what I have had enough of is the unfair ways that refs call the games. Now, I’m not going to go into the illegal sports betting issues that have appeared in the news in recent years. I’m more concerned about the big market teams & stars getting preferential treatment from the Refs. Although I’m not totally discounting the possibility of gambling being involved in some NBA games.

Let’s talk about the San Antonio Spurs game, and Tim Duncan in particular. While watching the game, I counted no less then 5 illegal screens being set by Duncan. These aren’t small or highly debatable infractions, nor were they off to the side where the Refs might have missed them. In fact, they were within a few feet of the ball carrier and in one case 5 ft from the Ref.

In one instance, Duncan walked over between Parker and the defender, put his chest right into the defender and continued walking forward pushing he defender backwards. Parker then had a

uncontested 3pt shot and made it. Late in the 4th quarter when the game was still undecided (I believe we were down by 3 to 5pts), Parker cut between Duncan and the baseline. As Beno followed, Duncan stepped his left foot out into Beno’s path. And, as Beno tried to get around Duncan, Tim threw his left hip out and almost knocked Beno out of bounds. All this time the Ref is no more than 10 ft away, and watching the play. I’d list more of Timmy’s indiscretions but I think you get my drift.

Duncan wasn’t the only Spur who got a pass from the Refs. There’s the time when Beno made a nice defensive play on Parker as Tony tried to cut into the lane. Parker ended up traveling, but the Refs called Beno for blocking, even though he hardly touched him. But, later when Tyreke tried to make the same move on Genobili, Tyreke got called for the charge. One of my favorite moves was by McDyess. It came on a Duncan missed FT and cost the Kings 3 pts. As Duncan shot the ball, JT stepped toward the basket from the right side of the lane. McDyess stepped in behind JT and using his chest (not his hand, which were up) he pushed JT completely under the net. McDyess got the rebound from the exact spot in which JT had been standing. All tolled the infractions I described here cost the Kings in excess of 11pts. And presumably more since Duncan would have fouled out if all of his had been called.

As frustrating as this unfairness is “What can we do?” As a fan of the Kings, I’m not going to boycott the team. Which would only hurt my team, and unless the league folded, would have no affect at all on the refs. Certainly, David Stern isn’t going to do anything. His denial that there ever was a gambling problem shows he’s not ready to step up and take action. So, what recourse so we have?

I think I finally came up with a plan. Let Congress deal with it. I know your thinking “How’s Congress going to legislate how the Refs intrepid the rules. And, even if they could, we all know that half the time when Congress gets involved they make it worse. No, what I’m thinking is that Congress should step-in and recognize the high potential for Refs to fix basketball games. And, therefore to protect us, Congress should outlaw Legalized Gaming on Sporting Events. Can you imagine the outcry from Casino’s & the Mob. Even if the law never gets passed, the morning that Stern wakes up with a horse head next to him in bed, the problem would be fixed.

So, Kings fans, call your Congressmen. Tell him you have a gambling addiction, and if he doesn’t do something to clean up Sports Betting, you’re going to lose your house, your wife, and your job. Your going to have to go on welfare, you won’t be able to make any more donations to the (enter Congressmen’s party here) Party. And, that you’ll be so distraught that you won’t be able to vote for him in the next election.

Don’t live with the fact that your team is going to get shafted by the Refs, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Call your Congressman today.

PS. No horses were hurt during the creation of this post. Nor do I condone such actions.

Does Tyreke need to play 36+ mpg?

HighTops — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:33:29 -0000

It's more than likely that the Kings finish November with a 7 & 9 record. December will be the start of the tougher part of the schedule. We play 15 games against teams with an average winning percentage of .462. Only 2 teams have a percentage below the Kings .385, although we do play the TWolfs (.071) twice. Seven of the fifteen games are against Eastern Conference Team, and we were only 1 & 29 against Eastern Conference teams last year. If were very lucky, maybe we finish December with a 12 & 19 record. As good as our season has started, we still look to be below 30 wins this year. .

We lost Cisco to a freak accident, we lost Martin to another injury, and our depth at every position except SF & PG is weak. It’s going to take time for PW to instill his offensive & defensive philosophies, to the point where they come naturally to our young roster. Additionally, in only 12 games, Tyreke has injured his ankle and his hand.

So, I’m beginning to wonder if Tyreke needs to play 36+ MPG. Currently with Cisco & Martin out, PW doesn’t have a better option. The fact that he played Donte at the 2 when Tyreke was out, kind of proves that. In fact, PW has played 4 forwards and a guard on more than one occasion.

Certainly, extended minute would help in Tyreke’s efforts to win ROY. But, from a win/lose standpoint how many more wins can we expect from those extended minutes. Would his development be inhibited if he only played say 28 to 30 mpg? Maybe, not being the focal point of the offense, might take some of the pressure off Tyreke, and allow him to ease into his new role more comfortably.

Tyreke is putting up some exceptional numbers already. 19 points, 4.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds, & 1.4 steals per game as a rookie. And, his 3 turnovers aren’t that far out of line considering his minutes, how much he’s asked to handle the ball, and his penetrating style of offense. Although some of his entry passes are purely rookie. If there are any shortcomings it’s in assists, but not unexpected considering his inexperience at the PG position.

I’d like to see Tyreke avoid further injury, and to have the weight of the teams success taken off his back. I’d like to see him eased into the PG position. I’d like to see him given time to work on his jump shot, and not feel like he has to attack the basket to carry the team. In short, I’d like to protect Tyreke and use his rookie season to develop his game, and not burn him out.

Until Martin returns, I’d like to see Tyreke split his minutes evenly between PG & SG. So, he can spend half his time running the team working on his passing and playmaking. Then when he’s at SG he can attack the basket like he does now and work on his outside shooting. I would like to see how well he can shoot when he’s set up and not having to create his own shot.

I would play Tyreke 18mpg at PG and 18mpg at SG

I would play Sergio 30mpg at PG

And I would play Beno 18 mpg at SG with Tyreke, and 12mpg at SG with Sergio

When Martin returns I’d play Tyreke 27-30mpg mostly at PG. And, backup Tyreke & Martin with a combo of Sergio, Beno, & Cisco.

I know this goes against the FO’s stand that Tyreke is their PG. But, if the reduced minutes and pressure to perform helps him ease into the PG position and avoid further injury, then we should do it. The added benefit of getting a better understanding of where we stand as far as backup PG, can’t be ignored. While the difference in win/lose percentage over the next 6 weeks, will have a negligible effect on our season total.

If Tyreke is the centerpiece of our future, and I think he is, then we need to take our time in developing him and protecting him.

Spencer & Donte Suck

HighTops — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:31:23 -0000

Being a fan and being a critic isn’t the same thing. Critics tell you how good or mostly how bad something is. Fans always like their team. They may not always agree on the direction a teams going but they always hope the results are good. They may not like the performance of a player, and at times might critique the players’ performance, but they want the player to improve and be successful. Fans look for the positives while accepting the negatives.

We’ve had a lot of posts recently, which I find too critical and totally unsupportive. Let me try to explain why.

Tyreke Evans is the player he was in college. The player he has been training to be his entire life. The Kings aren’t asking him to do something that his body type, athleticism, or skill level would keep him from being successful at performing. He is what he is, and he’s asked to be that person.

Spence Hawes and Donte Greene are also the players they have always been. Spencer was never a brusier. He wasn’t projected to be a shot blocker, or a beast in the post. He was a tall thin kid with advanced low post skill for an 18 yr old with a nice 3pt shot. Donte was a tall, athletic shooter, who never learned defense, took too many 3’s and didn’t have a good handle.

Now, Spencer is being asked, at least by some of the more critical posters here to be a bruiser. To give up his long-range shot, and stay in the paint. And, even though he’s still young, inexperienced and under weight for even a PF, these same critics want him to battle in the paint with the likes of Shaq, Howard, Oden, Bynum, & every other oversized center in the league. Forget about the fact that his coach has said in interviews that the team wants him to play outside at times, to pull the opposing center away from the basket to open the lane. And, these same critics want Donte to give up his outside shot, drive more to the rim and spend more effort on defense.

Now I have no problem with fans wanting players to change their game. And, I agree with some of the ideas on what changes need to be made. But, the fact is that Spencer and Donte never were those type of players. To say they suck because they can’t perform like the way people think they should is ridiculous. It’s like buying a Red car and then saying you hate it because it isn’t Blue. Donte & Spencer are the players we though they were when we acquired them. And, to think that they can change overnight is also ridiculous. Not giving them the time to change isn’t being fair, and certainly isn’t being a fan.

Spencer played 25 games as our starting center at the end of last season, and had multiple 20 pt and double digit rebound games. I’ll be happy with anywhere near that type of performance. And, I have no problem waiting for him to get more experience under PW tutelage while he perfects his low post offense and defense. Donte has shown improved defense during VSL and preseason along with a concerted effort to make better shot selections and score at the rim. For a player making such a drastic change in his game, I’m more than happy with his progress. And, I expect that this progress will continue throughout his entire rookie contract with the Kings.

We are rebuilding through the draft, so none of the young players we've acquired are the players they will be some day. Everyone of them will get better. How much better, is anyones guess. But, GP has made very few mistakes in the draft. So, as a fan, I have high hopes for everyone of our young guys to reach their potential. A potential that will put them in the highest echelon of NBA players.

For those posters who would rather have Spencer and Donte fail, so that they can be proven right about how they suck, well that’s not being a fan. That’s being a critic. If you want to analysis a performance or make suggestion on how they can improve, please go ahead. We would all like to know how our team could get better. But, if your only purpose is to prove how smart you are by pointing out the rather obvious weakest player on the team, you’re failing miserably.

Our young guys will improve and the team will learn to work together. And, if the opportunity comes along to add a better player, I’m sure GP will do just that. But, until someone comes along to replace one of our guys, they will all have my support. And, I will try to find as many positives as I do negatives. Because that is what a fan does.

Last minute decision very costly

HighTops — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:01:16 -0000

This isn't about the game or about the team, but more about my experience at the game. So, if your not up to listening to a man whine or aren't interested in saving yourself money, don't read any further.

MrsTops planned to go shopping at Arden Fair saturday evening. My diabolical and ever scheming mind decided that I could make this work out to my benefit. I logged on to Kings.com and searched for ticket availablity. Ticket master showed plenty of $25 & $40 tickets aveilable. But, not being the wealthest retiree around, I decided not to play TicketMaster their surcharge and buy my tickets at the boxoffice.

So, I offered to accompany the Mrs shopping and split up the duties, so that we could finish in time to get to Arco in time to buy tickets and see the game. Well, the plan worked out brilliantly, as my plans so often do. All except for the buying cheap tickets at the box office was concerned.

At the box office, I politely asked for two $25 tickets, "Sorry sir, said the agent, none available". Well, that's ok said I. Give me your best $40 tickets. "Sorry sir, none available", said the agent again. Well, after spending 2 hours shopping, racing thru traffic, and paying $10 to park, I wasn't about to give up now. "What do you have?", I asked. "Well, I just had 2 $68 tickets pop up on my screen. You can have those if you act right away. Otherwise the only tickets available are in the $78 range. "

Now, I'm not one to argue with agents or lower management types. In fact, you can probably call my passive agressive. I'm also not a fool me once, fool me twice, kind of guy. Fool me once and your on my shit list forever. So, it wasn't surprising to MrsTops, that I pulled out my credit card and said "Give the the $68 tickets.

As far as tickets go, Sec 202 ( right of center court upperdeck), row C, seat 3 & 4 aren't very bad. But, $167 ($137 for tickets, $10 parking & $20 food), for a spur of the moment decision, on a retiree's income is just not what I had in mind. I only went because I knew that they weren't sold out (preseason), Tickmaster was showing that $25 tickets were available, and the game wasn't televised. Plus I really like to watch GW vs Kings games because of all the scoring and excitement. And, by brother-in-law is a Warriors fan, so we have that rivalry going.

By the time we got to our seats my blood pressure was so high, my vision was blurry. And, as good as the seats were I was having trouble making out the numbers on the players backs. The play of the lineup starting the 2nd quarter didn't help my blood pressure any. So, it wasn't until almost the end of the 2nd quarter, that my vision cleared and I could relax and enjoy the game.

I don't know why it was that the boxoffice refused to sell me cheaper seats. There were obviously thousands of empty seats in the upper deck. Maybe it's something to do with the contract that they have with TicketMaster. Maybe, they just know that they have you there and can take advantage of the fact that you've already spent the gas money and parking fee, so they can charge you whatever they like.

So as I said, I'm a passive agressive type of guy. I will never again buy last minute tickets to Kings games. I've never bought ticket at the box office before. In the future if I do go to the box office, I will never purchase tickets more expensive than the tickets available at TicketMaster. If I hadn't already purchased one of their game packages, I'd probably be fighting with myself as to whether or not to go to any games at all this year. Shame on you Maloofs, you fooled me once and I won't give you the chance to do it to me again.

Don't feel too sorry for the Maloofs

HighTops — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:24:59 -0000

Don't feel too sorry for the Maloofs

According to ESPN the Kings may be receiving more than $10M in cash from the Leagues.

Now all 30 of those teams will have a $6.8 million shot in the arm. 23 of them will get an additional $2.9 million in luxury tax. And the lowest revenue teams will apparently be getting even more funds than that -- even as player salaries likely get cheaper.

CBA & Trade Experts I have a question?

HighTops — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:58:41 -0000

Went to ESPN's Trade Machine, and found that it showed the Kings with a Traded Player Exemption for about $3.5M which was some how associated with the Sheldon Williams trade. So, my question is 'how did that come about?'. And, what would be the best way to use it?

Also, after checking with the Coon's CBA site, I see where we have to consider the exemption as part of our salary, so it reduces our cap space for 09. Since it can't be combined with anything as part of a trade, and can't be used for a FA, does anybody have any ideas as to how GP could put it to good use.

The only thing that I could see was to take Songila off Washington hand in exchange for their pick. Far fetched I know, but I can't see how else it would be used.

Rubio negotiating a lower buyout

HighTops — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:46:43 -0000

Rubio negotiating a lower buyout

The news out of Spain last month was that Rubio's team DKV Joventut had unilaterally decided to double his salary on the year, from 80,000 Euro to 160,000. This is obviously an attempt to get his pay closer in line with what his value is to the team, as he's clearly their most important player. There's been some talk that Rubio's contract would not hold up in court if challenged, as a 6 million Euro buyout is obviously not proportionate to an 80,000 Euro contract. It's highly unlikely that it would get to that, though. According to David Carro, the Spanish partner of Rubio's NBA agent, Dan Fegan, who we spoke with here at the Copa del Rey, there is "still a chance that Rubio could find his way into this year's draft." Negotiations are reportedly underway to lower his buyout to more manageable proportions, possibly 3-4 million Euro. A solution could come as early as "this month" Carro told us, and in that case, Rubio would be able to afford getting out of his contract if he were to be "a top-3 pick" (which he very likely is), as long as he could pay off the buyout over the course of his rookie deal. Asked why Joventut would have any reason to even negotiate considering the leverage they hold in this situation, Carro responded that Rubio is the "image of the team" and that they "would not want to have a mad player." Obviously the door has yet to be completely closed on Ricky Rubio and this year's NBA draft, so we'll have to stay tuned.