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The Kings PreSeason Report
By C. Sawyer
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Oct 12, 2005, 16:57
GETTING STARTED – THE NORTHWEST DIVISION
Preseason has begun… and although it doesn’t look like a good start it’s still too early to lose hope. The Sacramento Kings had their first match-up against the Dallas Mavericks in Sacramento, in a word – blah. The Kings, at least the starters, played with no energy, it was as if they carried the pre-season camp attitude into the game. There’s not much to critique since it was all pretty sloppy. From offense to defense the Kings have a lot to work on before their next game on Friday against the Clippers. Maybe this will be a reality check for them.
One bad pre-season game does not a season make, and once they become comfortable together they should be a contender.
(Here's the rest of the article)
The Denver Nuggets could be one of the deeper teams this season and with a full year led by George Karl they should be playoff bound. With Carmelo Anthony and Andre Miller, Denver will give the Kings one of their bigger challenges on both offense and defense. The Nuggets may be one of the teams that can outplay the Kings at their own game. The Kings square off against Denver with the first two games very early in the season. At this early point in the season the Kings may still be in the working stages of developing their game plan while Denver is a veteran team used to playing with each other, with the only primary new player being Earl Watson. Their third game is at Denver on April 15, it could be a crucial game for both teams. These should be three exciting games.
It doesn’t seem like the Minnesota Timberwolves did much over the summer to mend their woes unless their struggles are to be blamed on Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. Will this “improved team” under new head coach Dwane Casey be able to get back to playoff form – it is hard to see how. Other than Kevin Garnett, Minnesota does not have the caliber of players to get them past the top teams. Minnesota can challenge the Kings when it comes to controlling the ball and as long as KG stays involved, but the Kings should really win at least two of the three.
The Portland Trailblazers are similar to Minnesota in that they lost more than they added and through that they may be hoping to be better, but they look like a team in the midst of rebuilding. Losing Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Damon Stoudamire, Nick Van Exel, and Derek Anderson does not make them better but it may be the beginning of developing a new core to build from. Portland will rely heavily on Zach Randolph but they will need Sebastian Telfair to step up if they want to have any chance of a winning record. For the Kings, the biggest challenge will be containing Randolph with a tag team of Abdur-Rahim and Kenny Thomas but they should be able to get the job done and with rookie Martell Webster in the starting line-up plus a lack of solid depth on the bench the Kings biggest un-doings will probably come from within.
The Kings have a score to settle with the Seattle Sonics and although Seattle may be without keys Antonio Daniels, Jerome James and coach Nate McMillan, they still have Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, and Luke Ridnour should not be overlooked either. With new coach Bob Weiss they could still be a playoff contender but their surprise season of last year will be a challenge to repeat. The Kings face off against them three times, twice in Seattle. Winning all three games would really be a challenge but the Kings should get at least two if they want to reclaim a sense of pride.
Greg Ostertag is back with the Utah Jazz and that should be a better fit for him than Sacramento ever was, although he did provide some entertainment, he just didn’t provide much else. Against the Kings, Utah’s best bet is to post up Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer, slow the pace down and play scrappy defense – the usual. The Kings play Utah four times, they have the talent to win but the Jazz have the strength and determination to frustrate Sacramento. It’s up to the Kings to make sure they don’t get too frustrated to win.
Kings v. the Northwest Division: 10-6
Next and finally, the Pacific Division
Agree, disagree –let me know your thoughts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Kings PreSeason Report
By C. Sawyer
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Oct 12, 2005, 16:57
GETTING STARTED – THE NORTHWEST DIVISION
Preseason has begun… and although it doesn’t look like a good start it’s still too early to lose hope. The Sacramento Kings had their first match-up against the Dallas Mavericks in Sacramento, in a word – blah. The Kings, at least the starters, played with no energy, it was as if they carried the pre-season camp attitude into the game. There’s not much to critique since it was all pretty sloppy. From offense to defense the Kings have a lot to work on before their next game on Friday against the Clippers. Maybe this will be a reality check for them.
One bad pre-season game does not a season make, and once they become comfortable together they should be a contender.
(Here's the rest of the article)
The Denver Nuggets could be one of the deeper teams this season and with a full year led by George Karl they should be playoff bound. With Carmelo Anthony and Andre Miller, Denver will give the Kings one of their bigger challenges on both offense and defense. The Nuggets may be one of the teams that can outplay the Kings at their own game. The Kings square off against Denver with the first two games very early in the season. At this early point in the season the Kings may still be in the working stages of developing their game plan while Denver is a veteran team used to playing with each other, with the only primary new player being Earl Watson. Their third game is at Denver on April 15, it could be a crucial game for both teams. These should be three exciting games.
It doesn’t seem like the Minnesota Timberwolves did much over the summer to mend their woes unless their struggles are to be blamed on Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. Will this “improved team” under new head coach Dwane Casey be able to get back to playoff form – it is hard to see how. Other than Kevin Garnett, Minnesota does not have the caliber of players to get them past the top teams. Minnesota can challenge the Kings when it comes to controlling the ball and as long as KG stays involved, but the Kings should really win at least two of the three.
The Portland Trailblazers are similar to Minnesota in that they lost more than they added and through that they may be hoping to be better, but they look like a team in the midst of rebuilding. Losing Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Damon Stoudamire, Nick Van Exel, and Derek Anderson does not make them better but it may be the beginning of developing a new core to build from. Portland will rely heavily on Zach Randolph but they will need Sebastian Telfair to step up if they want to have any chance of a winning record. For the Kings, the biggest challenge will be containing Randolph with a tag team of Abdur-Rahim and Kenny Thomas but they should be able to get the job done and with rookie Martell Webster in the starting line-up plus a lack of solid depth on the bench the Kings biggest un-doings will probably come from within.
The Kings have a score to settle with the Seattle Sonics and although Seattle may be without keys Antonio Daniels, Jerome James and coach Nate McMillan, they still have Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, and Luke Ridnour should not be overlooked either. With new coach Bob Weiss they could still be a playoff contender but their surprise season of last year will be a challenge to repeat. The Kings face off against them three times, twice in Seattle. Winning all three games would really be a challenge but the Kings should get at least two if they want to reclaim a sense of pride.
Greg Ostertag is back with the Utah Jazz and that should be a better fit for him than Sacramento ever was, although he did provide some entertainment, he just didn’t provide much else. Against the Kings, Utah’s best bet is to post up Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer, slow the pace down and play scrappy defense – the usual. The Kings play Utah four times, they have the talent to win but the Jazz have the strength and determination to frustrate Sacramento. It’s up to the Kings to make sure they don’t get too frustrated to win.
Kings v. the Northwest Division: 10-6
Next and finally, the Pacific Division
Agree, disagree –let me know your thoughts.
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