Okay. Let's try this once more with feeling.
So last time my half completed attempt at writing a full-on game thread ended with the Kings suffering their worst lost of the post-ASB Good Kings era and me nursing a hangover. Will this attempt go any better?
AWARDS TIME
Tony Delk Memorial Award - Hassan Chop. Really the only guy who really qualified for the award was Mario Hezonja but I had another award in mind for him so I had to give it to Hassan, who in true Hassan fashion, had a double double (good) while protecting the rim (great!) but also had the basketball IQ of a hollowed out potato left out to rot in the sun.
Luke Walton Vacuum Cleaner Award - Damian Lillard. For seemingly the first time in forever, notorious Kings-killer Dame Lillard was a complete non-factor, missing shot after shot and failing to contribute much on either end of the court. But he did get in that rap feud with Marvin over the summer so there's that.
Mikki Moore Award - CJ McCollum.
Alex Len is a legit 7 foot, 260 pounder. CJ is not. Any fight between them would have probably ended poorly for the guard.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim Award - Carmelo Anthony. Just retire already. It's okay. You have my permission.
Stan Van Gundy Almost-King of the Night- Mario Hezonja, who scored at will in one stretch and generally didn't look like a waste of space which is good for him because he's been refusing Vlade's attempts to throw money at him for the past couple of stretches now and his play this year has been bad enough that Vlade might not be able to bail him out this year.
WTF Moment of the Night - Trevor Ariza eliminates the future of Harry Giles' bloodline and Harry gets called for the foul.
MATCH UPS
The Raptors are one of the two best teams in the east and have remained surprisingly good after Kawhi ditched them in the offseason. Nick Nurse is a good coach and they're a deep team. That said, the eternal optimist in me says we've got a chance.
De'Aaron versus Kyle Lowry: Lowry is a guy who's been doing it at a high level in this league for a good while whereas De'Aaron appears to have just taken that next step from excellent prospect to actual basketball star. If De'Aaron wins this matchup we stand a good chance at winning.
Siakam versus Harry Giles, Richaun Holmes, Nemanja Bjelica, Your Mom, Harrison Barnes: Speaking of guys that have made the leap, Siakam has become a legit star in his own right and it's going to take a group effort to hold him in check.
Luke Walton versus Bad Rotations: He's gotten better at it since the start of the season but there are still times where Walton's substitution patterns/ odd devotion to weird player combos that don't work can get really frustrating. If he can keep guys fresh and producing though, things are looking up.
The Kings versus Fatigue: Back-to-backs are always tough even if the first game involved you thrashing the other team from buzzer to buzzer and causing their fanbase to cry into their kombucha home-brews over their fading playoff hopes. Thankfully, the only King who played huge minutes was Harrison Barnes and he's running on "wants-to-shave-his-beard" power so he should be ready to go. Then again, if we somehow pull far enough ahead, hopefully fatigue won't be a huge issue.
PREDICTION
Kings 127, Raptors 122
It's gonna be a hot one but just like the ocean under the moon the Kings have got the kind of game that can be so smooth but they've got to give us their heart, make it real, or let's forget about the playoffs.
De'Aaron goes for a smooth 27 points, 8 assists, and three or four wow plays. Alex Len tries to fight Marc Gasol before halftime.
So last time my half completed attempt at writing a full-on game thread ended with the Kings suffering their worst lost of the post-ASB Good Kings era and me nursing a hangover. Will this attempt go any better?
AWARDS TIME
Tony Delk Memorial Award - Hassan Chop. Really the only guy who really qualified for the award was Mario Hezonja but I had another award in mind for him so I had to give it to Hassan, who in true Hassan fashion, had a double double (good) while protecting the rim (great!) but also had the basketball IQ of a hollowed out potato left out to rot in the sun.
Luke Walton Vacuum Cleaner Award - Damian Lillard. For seemingly the first time in forever, notorious Kings-killer Dame Lillard was a complete non-factor, missing shot after shot and failing to contribute much on either end of the court. But he did get in that rap feud with Marvin over the summer so there's that.
Mikki Moore Award - CJ McCollum.
Alex Len is a legit 7 foot, 260 pounder. CJ is not. Any fight between them would have probably ended poorly for the guard.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim Award - Carmelo Anthony. Just retire already. It's okay. You have my permission.
Stan Van Gundy Almost-King of the Night- Mario Hezonja, who scored at will in one stretch and generally didn't look like a waste of space which is good for him because he's been refusing Vlade's attempts to throw money at him for the past couple of stretches now and his play this year has been bad enough that Vlade might not be able to bail him out this year.
WTF Moment of the Night - Trevor Ariza eliminates the future of Harry Giles' bloodline and Harry gets called for the foul.
MATCH UPS
The Raptors are one of the two best teams in the east and have remained surprisingly good after Kawhi ditched them in the offseason. Nick Nurse is a good coach and they're a deep team. That said, the eternal optimist in me says we've got a chance.
De'Aaron versus Kyle Lowry: Lowry is a guy who's been doing it at a high level in this league for a good while whereas De'Aaron appears to have just taken that next step from excellent prospect to actual basketball star. If De'Aaron wins this matchup we stand a good chance at winning.
Siakam versus Harry Giles, Richaun Holmes, Nemanja Bjelica, Your Mom, Harrison Barnes: Speaking of guys that have made the leap, Siakam has become a legit star in his own right and it's going to take a group effort to hold him in check.
Luke Walton versus Bad Rotations: He's gotten better at it since the start of the season but there are still times where Walton's substitution patterns/ odd devotion to weird player combos that don't work can get really frustrating. If he can keep guys fresh and producing though, things are looking up.
The Kings versus Fatigue: Back-to-backs are always tough even if the first game involved you thrashing the other team from buzzer to buzzer and causing their fanbase to cry into their kombucha home-brews over their fading playoff hopes. Thankfully, the only King who played huge minutes was Harrison Barnes and he's running on "wants-to-shave-his-beard" power so he should be ready to go. Then again, if we somehow pull far enough ahead, hopefully fatigue won't be a huge issue.
PREDICTION
Kings 127, Raptors 122
It's gonna be a hot one but just like the ocean under the moon the Kings have got the kind of game that can be so smooth but they've got to give us their heart, make it real, or let's forget about the playoffs.
De'Aaron goes for a smooth 27 points, 8 assists, and three or four wow plays. Alex Len tries to fight Marc Gasol before halftime.
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