It's been awhile since the Kings could be called anything other than awful. Over the past three years, it's been hard to ever call the Kings "plucky" or "feisty" or even "mediocre." The team has just been abjectly bad. Bad with vets, bad with kids. Bad, through and through.

Now, for today, this team is average. Average! Perfectly average! Never, I imagine, has a fan base been so perfectly pleased to be average for a day (or three).

This game in particular had loss written all over it, based on recent history. As in a few recent losses, the Kings failed to execute down the stretch, relying on defense (guh) and opportunistic plays to finish it off. And it worked! Other than the fouls, Sacramento played solid defense in the final few minutes (including the potentially game-tying inbounds play). And the opportunistic plays came -- namely, the Omri Casspi transition dunk and a key team offensive rebound late.

Overall, despite big numbers for Jason Thompson (23 and 14) and Tyreke Evans (20-8-8), the Kings won a slopfest, an ugly 48 minutes of miscues and failed execution. The teams combined for 22 steals; maybe five were earned. Most came from messy ballhandling, dumb passes or ridiculous shot attempts. But as a fan -- a Kings fan -- that definitely doesn't do a thing to dampen the excitement.

This may not last, but I plan on enjoying it in the meantime. Let's go Kings.

Go Kings.

by Steve Yeater - AP

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Don't ask me questions about him. Ask me questions about someone who is going to be a factor in NBA Live 2012.

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(Reference for the non-nerds.)

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What a complete game for the Kings. You knew Sacramento had the advantage on the glass and in the paint, and that Tyreke Evans had a huge size advantage on the perimeter. But the Warriors are deep with talent (Anthony Morrow and C.J. Watson are legit, and Anthony Randolph shouldn't be third-string anywhere) and the roster is filled with good scorers (Corey Maggette, Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Stephen Curry). Let's be honest: without Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia, no win is decreed.

But by the half, this one felt nailed shut. The Kings took an 11-point lead into the break, but it felt like 20+. And it really came from the bench all night long -- from Omri Casspi's threes (he hit three straight in the first quarter, 4-6 overall ... and he added 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals) and Donte Greene's best pro game (17 points, five rebounds, one turnover, one unbelievable sideline alley-oop to Jason Thompson at the buzzer).

Tyreke Evans was again brilliant (23 points on 18 shot attempts, eight rebounds, two assists, zero turnovers, two steals -- sat the entire fourth quarter). At some point, it's going to feel pedestrian, watching Evans destroy opponents on both ends. I think the last few years have been rough enough that we won't take 'Reke for granted in the near future, but damn. With the performances by Greene, Casspi and Wabeno Udrih, it's easy to overlook how dominant Evans was in the first half (especially the second quarter).

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