Do we call the loss to Phoenix an eye opening loss? The Kings played their collective butts off and proved they can play with the big boys. But I despise consolation prizes and moral victories. I smelled the win, I wanted the win, and by not doing the little things the Kings were denied the win:
- Slow to rotate to the perimeter, died in a hail of threes in the fourth.
- Stupid fouls early on limited floor time for Tyreke and Thompson.
- Kings shot 69% from the charity stripe.
- Flutter and Missed Buckets looked like they were bouncing balls off of a sealed up basket all night.
In spite of these shortcomings the Kings scrapped, rebounded well, hit most of the hail mary's they threw up, and held it close deep into the fourth quarter. Had any one of the above mentioned things not occurred, I would be dreaming up comparisons of the Kings to the 07-08 Celtics (J/K
).
Demonstrating their brilliance, the coaching staff also managed playing time very well. No one played more than 32 minutes. Thank goodness, because we got the Heat on the second night of a back to back.
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Did you all notice a sort of swagger coming from the Kings? A sort of "I don't give a **** who you are, we're gonna beat you" vibe coming from them. I mean sure, it fluctuated, but I was amazed. Especially with Tyreke, Beno, and Nocioni. It was like watching playoff tempered veterans go out there to get a win they knew should rightfully be theirs. Keep it up, that's what we want to see: "I don't give a ****." Excellent dogma. Several posters noted the attitude, and VF21 became giddy for the first time in years watching the game. Is there a better indicator of approval? If the Kings bring it up against everyone they play, Arco should be near capacity around February. If we bring it and win against the Lakers, Magic, or Cavs I expect a mini streak of near sellouts sooner. Improved attitude and competitive play, excellent way to get the fan base involved.
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Awards:
TDM - Frye. Just, yuck.
LW-VC - Hard to decide between Dragic and Lopez. We'll go with Lopez. I always expect more from him, the way that he's hyped. Dragic served his primary function at least. That is: to fill up space on the floor while Nash recharges his batteries.
JHA - Donte's on a roll. Pick it up son, soon we'll be throwing you in trade scenarios. (already guilty)
RA&1 - Can we give this to our own guy? Rodriguez deserves it. But I think if we have to give it to a Sun, I would pick... ugh, I can't decide. I just withhold this award. Does anybody remember a Sun hurting their team by being too flashy?
SAR /Methuselah - Nobody looked old out there. Oh, how I wish it would have been Grant Hill's.
WTF moment of the game Can't not give it to Kenny Thomas for grabbing 18 rebounds. Even Amare gave him props on that one. As far as specific plays go:
- Sergio volleys a pass to the baseline on a break -Jason Kidd style- only it gets deflected out of bounds because the intended receiver was covered so well that a cornerback could have taken notes. It was ugly.
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A moment please, out of respect for Jermaine O'neal and his family.
...
Terrible thing, losing a family member. O'neal will not be in the lineup tonight.
So we get to watch a Jamaal Magloire (the only player who posted a "-" +/- during the Heat's narrow loss to the Lakers) / Spencer Hawes matchup. Should be perfect for a bounce back performance. Of course, Hawes did just get showed up by Channing Frye (the softest center in the league, and the only one with a name "softer" than Spencer, oddly), so we just kind of have to hold our breath here. I don't think Jason will have a problem with Beasley, JT has too much pride. Dwyane Wade will show Evans how to be a superstar, hope he takes notes. And we should be pretty even at PG and SF, with a little bit of an advantage at SF even. Should be a good game, both teams are hovering right around .500, but they arrived there in totally different fashion. The Heat started the season on a roll, going 7-2, but dropped 7 of their last 10. The Kings have displayed the streaky tendencies of a growing team adjusting to new players, new coaches, and being taken semi-seriously again: lose 3, win 4, lose 3, win4, with the odd loss or win peppered in for flavor.
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Kings 109 Heat 98
Pts: Thompson 24, Wade 35
Rebounds: Thomas 13 (Yeah, I said it), Beasley 11
Assists: Evans 7, Chalmers 6
Blocks: Donte 2, Magloire 2
Hopefully we can get about 13,000 in the arena tonight. I would gladly spend 50 bucks to watch Wade and Evans match up against one another, even from the upper bowl. Too bad my discretionary income is not really mine, but my wife's. And because of Christmas she does not approve. Ah well, C'est la Vie. At least I get to go to a game in January.
For now, I'll just settle in front of my TV for what should be a good game of basketball.
GO KINGS!!
- Slow to rotate to the perimeter, died in a hail of threes in the fourth.
- Stupid fouls early on limited floor time for Tyreke and Thompson.
- Kings shot 69% from the charity stripe.
- Flutter and Missed Buckets looked like they were bouncing balls off of a sealed up basket all night.
In spite of these shortcomings the Kings scrapped, rebounded well, hit most of the hail mary's they threw up, and held it close deep into the fourth quarter. Had any one of the above mentioned things not occurred, I would be dreaming up comparisons of the Kings to the 07-08 Celtics (J/K
).Demonstrating their brilliance, the coaching staff also managed playing time very well. No one played more than 32 minutes. Thank goodness, because we got the Heat on the second night of a back to back.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you all notice a sort of swagger coming from the Kings? A sort of "I don't give a **** who you are, we're gonna beat you" vibe coming from them. I mean sure, it fluctuated, but I was amazed. Especially with Tyreke, Beno, and Nocioni. It was like watching playoff tempered veterans go out there to get a win they knew should rightfully be theirs. Keep it up, that's what we want to see: "I don't give a ****." Excellent dogma. Several posters noted the attitude, and VF21 became giddy for the first time in years watching the game. Is there a better indicator of approval? If the Kings bring it up against everyone they play, Arco should be near capacity around February. If we bring it and win against the Lakers, Magic, or Cavs I expect a mini streak of near sellouts sooner. Improved attitude and competitive play, excellent way to get the fan base involved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Awards:
TDM - Frye. Just, yuck.
LW-VC - Hard to decide between Dragic and Lopez. We'll go with Lopez. I always expect more from him, the way that he's hyped. Dragic served his primary function at least. That is: to fill up space on the floor while Nash recharges his batteries.
JHA - Donte's on a roll. Pick it up son, soon we'll be throwing you in trade scenarios. (already guilty)
RA&1 - Can we give this to our own guy? Rodriguez deserves it. But I think if we have to give it to a Sun, I would pick... ugh, I can't decide. I just withhold this award. Does anybody remember a Sun hurting their team by being too flashy?
SAR /Methuselah -
Nobody looked old out there. Oh, how I wish it would have been Grant Hill's.WTF moment of the game Can't not give it to Kenny Thomas for grabbing 18 rebounds. Even Amare gave him props on that one. As far as specific plays go:
- Sergio volleys a pass to the baseline on a break -Jason Kidd style- only it gets deflected out of bounds because the intended receiver was covered so well that a cornerback could have taken notes. It was ugly.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A moment please, out of respect for Jermaine O'neal and his family.
...
Terrible thing, losing a family member. O'neal will not be in the lineup tonight.
So we get to watch a Jamaal Magloire (the only player who posted a "-" +/- during the Heat's narrow loss to the Lakers) / Spencer Hawes matchup. Should be perfect for a bounce back performance. Of course, Hawes did just get showed up by Channing Frye (the softest center in the league, and the only one with a name "softer" than Spencer, oddly), so we just kind of have to hold our breath here. I don't think Jason will have a problem with Beasley, JT has too much pride. Dwyane Wade will show Evans how to be a superstar, hope he takes notes. And we should be pretty even at PG and SF, with a little bit of an advantage at SF even. Should be a good game, both teams are hovering right around .500, but they arrived there in totally different fashion. The Heat started the season on a roll, going 7-2, but dropped 7 of their last 10. The Kings have displayed the streaky tendencies of a growing team adjusting to new players, new coaches, and being taken semi-seriously again: lose 3, win 4, lose 3, win4, with the odd loss or win peppered in for flavor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kings 109 Heat 98
Pts: Thompson 24, Wade 35
Rebounds: Thomas 13 (Yeah, I said it), Beasley 11
Assists: Evans 7, Chalmers 6
Blocks: Donte 2, Magloire 2
Hopefully we can get about 13,000 in the arena tonight. I would gladly spend 50 bucks to watch Wade and Evans match up against one another, even from the upper bowl. Too bad my discretionary income is not really mine, but my wife's. And because of Christmas she does not approve. Ah well, C'est la Vie. At least I get to go to a game in January.
For now, I'll just settle in front of my TV for what should be a good game of basketball.
GO KINGS!!
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