KingsFans.com Official Game Thread
Game 7
Sacramento Kings at Oklahoma City Thunder
By Stephen Tetsu, Also on the Thunder's Injury Report with a Pulled Groin
Is it safe to exhale yet?
Thus far into the young season, we’ve seen the Kings win tight games, ugly games, and a blowout. And now, to add to that smorgasbord of victories, we can add a double overtime slugfest in which Demarcus Cousins fouled out at the end of the fourth quarter, Rudy Gay was sick with the stomach flu, Ben McLemore wound up being our most effective player in crunch time, and Wile E. Coyote caught the Roadrunner with absolutely no issues.
There’s really not much more I can say about Demarcus Cousins at this point because he’s quite simply better than anyone else out there on the court unless their name is Lebron James, Kevin Durant, or Anthony Davis. He’s simply in a league of his own now, a goddamn ten eyed spaghetti-haired spider monster that comes out at night and eats the neighborhood pets. I know that made absolutely no sense but it’s only because Boogie is indescribably good. I mean, the dude had an off night and dealt with horrid officiating and still wound up with a meager 25 points and 18 rebounds. ON AN OFF NIGHT.
Meanwhile, Rudy was apparently puking his guts out, though we couldn’t tell because he certainly played with a lot of them in the overtimes. Rudy’s simply one of those dudes who could suck for the entire game but you’d still want the ball in his hands with the game on the line. Like the Lebrons and Durants occupying his position, Rudy was born with the clutch gene and he displayed with a turnaround jumper to put the Kings in the lead for good.
I’ve honestly never heard an announcing crew in any sport **** as much on one guy over the course of a single game as the Suns crew did on Ben McLemore, which of course made Ben’s overtime takeover all the more satisfying. And really, when your team drafted Alex Len in the same draft, you really have no room to talk. If Ben’s problems are all mental then what does that make Alex Len and his inability to not foul anyone when he’s on the court? I’ve long considered Eddie Johnson a poo-eating dumb-guy and to see him get his comeuppance in the form of a Ben triple from the corner in crunchtime made my day even more enjoyable.
Elsewhere, the Isaiah Thomas revenge game wound up being rather anti-climactic, with IT's attention being drawn away by a death in the family and the two starting point guards for the Suns both playing like they were possessed by the soul of Kevin Johnson. In total, the guy played 17 minutes, barely scored, have four assists, and airballed a shot that would have won the game at the end of regulation.
But, overall, this game was a real roller coaster, the first three quarters being relatively dormant as the Suns asserted relative control of the game. If you have the game recorded and still haven't seen it, just skip ahead to the fourth and enjoy the ride, fully knowing the result. In the meantime, I'm still gonna need a few stiff drinks.
Awards Time
Tony Delk Memorial Award- Miles Plumlee, who is a solid big man but usually not 15 points, 16 rebound solid. Honorable mention goes to PJ Tucker, who had 16 off the bench.
Mikki Moore Award- Gerald Green has become a pretty good basketball player but he didn't really get to show it against the Kings, instead limiting himself to 6 points on two of six shooting from behind the arc. Way to make the most of those minutes, highflier.
Jason Hart Award- Is there any question who's winning this?
Mateen of the Game- Demarcus Cousins, who, after fouling out, made sure that his coach didn't earn a crucial technical that would have put the game in the hands of Phoenix. Good benchmanship, Boogie.
WTF Moment of the Game- Demarcus fouls out on an incredibly spotty offensive foul with the game on the line and we still win. So really, both overtimes.
The View From the Other Side
All posts taken from brightsideofthesun.com
So, yes. The IT Wars have already begun in Arizona.
Tonight’s Game
Nothing can kill your momentum like a perennial favorite to go to the NBA Finals. Kevin Durant is probably player 1b in any list of the best talents in the NBA today and Russell Westbrook is an explosive number two guy. A hard nosed defensive squad under Manteca native Scotty Brooks, this is going to be our biggest test yet.
Buckle up folks, this is going to be one hell of a ri-
Wait, what's that you're telling me? Durant and Westbrook are injured? Well, we still might have to deal with Perry Jon- Wait, he's out too? Well, who's on the Thunder then???
As of their last game against the Grizzlies (a game which they almost won, by the way), the Thunder were trotting out a Reggie Jackson/ Jeremy Lamb/ Lance Thomas/ Serge Ibaka/ Steven Adams lineup, which is a team missing two of the best players in the NBA and now starting a guy who only played five games as the Pelicans' third string SF last season as their small forward.
Essentially, the one position grouping relatively unaffected by the disasterous injury bug epidemic is the team's big men. Now his team's best player, Serge Ibaka has pretty much become an offense first player struggling to get one block a game. In his second year, Steven Adams is only meh but still better than Kendrick Perkins, who is pretty much big and nothing else. But considering how every other position on the team is pretty much down to its third or fourth option, the big men tree of the Thunder is relatively full.
Meanwhile, Reggie Jackson is still trying to prove he is a starter in the league, much to the chagrin of his teammates, who would rather play cohesive team ball than the junky heroball Jackson keeps attempting to steer the team to during games. Oh and Sebastian freaking Telfair is their current backup point guard, to further paint a picture of their dire situation.
But let's not pretend it'll be an east win. Oklahoma City has great fans and it's always been a tough place to win, even before the Thunder became good (i.e. when P.J. Carlissimo coached them). To beat them and extend the magical streak the Kings will have to show up and play tough. Feed the monster.
Match-ups
Thunder versus Injuries- Anymore and they'll just start pulling dudes out of the stands.
Demarcus versus anybody- Try to stop him, I dare you.
Ramon Sessions versus Ramon Sessions.
Final Thoughts and Prediction
Let's keep this streak going. Play the Thunder tough and strong, try to outlast them (they only have like seven players so it can be a war of attrition). I'm thinking a Kings win 101-98. Nothing will come easy for us.
Go Kings!
PS. This things are harder to write at three in the morning.
