LMM
Starter
http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Inside_Dish_New_York-127610-58.html
by Devin Blankenship--January 4, 2005
Kings @ New York
Don't Have To Wait...
Thirty-five years from now, I was prepared to tell my grandchildren how I saw the last Sacramento Kings’ victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in 1996 on TV. I was honestly prepared to never see Sacramento win there again, because over the last eight years, no matter the quality of either team, the Kings had proven that it was impossible for them to win in the house that Spike Lee built.
The year the Kings won 61 games? They lost in NY.
The year they won 59? They lost in NY.
It wouldn’t matter if the Kings had Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird in their primes in the starting lineup, they would be underdogs every time they played in the big city.
Whatever the reason, the Kings couldn’t seem to solve the puzzle that is New York, and I was fully prepared to accept that. I just sighed on Tuesday when Sacramento went up by 16 in the first half, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Even when Sacramento had a six-point lead with a minute to go, I just kept anticipating Stephon Marbury going Reggie Miller on the Kings and hitting a bunch of threes to win the game.
Now, if only the Kings could win in Atlanta later this week...I can die and say I'd seen it all.
Prime Time…
Maurice Evans couldn’t have picked a better time to score a career-high in points.
In the biggest media market in the country, not only did he play well offensively, he shut down Stephon Marbury in the fourth quarter and held the explosive point guard to one point. The performance will undoubtedly open some eyes in the NBA to Evans, who won’t be as anonymous as before.
In fact, the New York media have already started their campaign to have Evans sign as a free agent in New York, spreading rumors that he isn’t happy with the soul food in Sacramento (just kidding).
What is amazing how either Maurice or Kevin Martin have stepped in night in and night out since Bobby Jackson went down. The Kings bench doesn’t look so woeful all of a sudden.
Random Thoughts...
Greg Ostertag matches up perfectly with the Knicks, who have a lot of bigs. Tag finished the game with 10 rebounds and really was effective around the basket
I think Chris Webber could be 85 years old and in a wheelchair, and the New York media would still ask him if he would like to be traded to the Knicks. He gets asked the question whenever he comes to the Big Apple, including Tuesday after the game, going all the way back to when he first came to Sacramento. Half of the hoopla that occurred during Webber’s free-agent season was created by the New York media twisting every little thing Webb said.
<LI>Sacramento really needs to build on this momentum and carry it over to tomorrow’s game versus Toronto, which will be tough.
You can e-mail Devin Blankenship at fanmail@kingsbball.com
by Devin Blankenship--January 4, 2005
Kings @ New York
Don't Have To Wait...
Thirty-five years from now, I was prepared to tell my grandchildren how I saw the last Sacramento Kings’ victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in 1996 on TV. I was honestly prepared to never see Sacramento win there again, because over the last eight years, no matter the quality of either team, the Kings had proven that it was impossible for them to win in the house that Spike Lee built.
The year the Kings won 61 games? They lost in NY.
The year they won 59? They lost in NY.
It wouldn’t matter if the Kings had Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird in their primes in the starting lineup, they would be underdogs every time they played in the big city.
Whatever the reason, the Kings couldn’t seem to solve the puzzle that is New York, and I was fully prepared to accept that. I just sighed on Tuesday when Sacramento went up by 16 in the first half, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Even when Sacramento had a six-point lead with a minute to go, I just kept anticipating Stephon Marbury going Reggie Miller on the Kings and hitting a bunch of threes to win the game.
Now, if only the Kings could win in Atlanta later this week...I can die and say I'd seen it all.
Prime Time…
Maurice Evans couldn’t have picked a better time to score a career-high in points.
In the biggest media market in the country, not only did he play well offensively, he shut down Stephon Marbury in the fourth quarter and held the explosive point guard to one point. The performance will undoubtedly open some eyes in the NBA to Evans, who won’t be as anonymous as before.
In fact, the New York media have already started their campaign to have Evans sign as a free agent in New York, spreading rumors that he isn’t happy with the soul food in Sacramento (just kidding).
What is amazing how either Maurice or Kevin Martin have stepped in night in and night out since Bobby Jackson went down. The Kings bench doesn’t look so woeful all of a sudden.
Random Thoughts...
Greg Ostertag matches up perfectly with the Knicks, who have a lot of bigs. Tag finished the game with 10 rebounds and really was effective around the basket
I think Chris Webber could be 85 years old and in a wheelchair, and the New York media would still ask him if he would like to be traded to the Knicks. He gets asked the question whenever he comes to the Big Apple, including Tuesday after the game, going all the way back to when he first came to Sacramento. Half of the hoopla that occurred during Webber’s free-agent season was created by the New York media twisting every little thing Webb said.
<LI>Sacramento really needs to build on this momentum and carry it over to tomorrow’s game versus Toronto, which will be tough.
You can e-mail Devin Blankenship at fanmail@kingsbball.com
