Kings @ Bucks, 3/05/14, 5 PM PST, 8 PM EST

[Tetsujin]

Kingsfans.com Official Gameday Thread
Game 61
Sacramento Kings at the Milwaukee Bucks
"Buck-ing Bad"​

By Stephen Tetsu, They Just Don't Make Terrible Potato Chip Flavors Like They Used To

Rudy's eyes are always fun to watch.​

I'm half-convinced Kenny Natt is still coaching in the NBA under a different name. And that name is Monty Williams.

I'm not quite sure when I reached this conclusion. Probably somewhere around the time when, early in the first quarter, he set up a play in which Anthony Davis rolled off a couple of screens for a sideways perimeter shot with the shot clock expiring. Don't get me wrong, Davis is one hell of a player but there's absolutely no reason a play like that should be happening.

I was half-tempted to included his starting Reke at the three as another example of his bad Natt-itude but in true Kings fashion, Tyreke lit up our perimeter defense in typical anyone-with-a-pulse-who-plays-against-our-frontline fashion to the tune of a near triple double and 3-4 from three point land (putting things in context, my chances of sleeping with Kate Upton were probably higher than Tyreke hitting 3-4 from three since the dude has somehow managed to take his already bad shooting form and make it worse).

Meanwhile, Eric Gordon continues to start at shooting guard for the Pelicans, mainly because the Pelicans front office seems to be on a constant Four-Loco bender ("SPEND MORE MONEY! SPEND MORE MONEY!"). Aside from lucking into the number one pick and Anthony Davis, the Pelicans rebuilding plan seems to have mostly consisted of throwing buckets of money at any guard they possibly could (Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Anthony Morrow, Brian Roberts, Austin Rivers) with absolutely no regard for how all the pieces would fit together (in other words, the Geoff Petrie plan circa 2006-2012). One can argue that the Ryan Anderson signing was a good move but it loses its luster a bit when you realize that he plays the same position as their franchise player (who is still skinnier than Larry Sanders's dog... too soon?).

Meanwhile their depth at the three-spot is the super underachiever Al-Farouq Aminu and a broomstick with an afro taped to its end. Things don't really get all that better at the five, where Jason Smith (or, as I like to call him, Not Aaron Gray) "held down" the fort until the injury bug bit him yet again, leaving them with Alexis Ajinca (the first woman to play in the NBA) and Greg Stiemsma as their prime movers and shakers in the big man department. Their one promising young center, Jeff Withey, has the potential to be a good shot blocking big but, much like Anthony Davis, is too thin to fight the big boys of the NBA and isn't blessed with the Brow's natural talent.

And, of course, they're coached by Monty Williams.

In other words, maybe life isn't so bad after all.

Reggie Evans wants all the balls. ALL OF THEM​

Small Sample Size Theater
Jimmer's per-36 numbers for Chicago: 24 ppg, 12 rpg.

See? Jimmer's proven us all wrong. Not only should we have never cut him, we should have started him at PF.

On a side note, those jerseys are horrible. Thank God our team isn't good enough to have to wear sleeves.

The View From the Other Side

Tonight's Game

I tried finding a highlight of the Bucks doing something good but this is the best I could get.
​

Today we face the Bucks, a team currently vying for the inauspicious title of one of the worst teams to ever play out an NBA season. I could write about them but honestly why bother? They're pretty bad.

Their roster is not entirely without salvageable pieces. Giannis Antetokounmpo is apparently the second coming according to a lot of people in their fan base. John Henson is a good shot blocker and floor stretcher and also not a crazy person. Larry Sanders is a good shot blocker but is a crazy person (and injured). After that, you've got a lot of guards and anonymous big men. Oh, and Larry Drew is still doing the coaching thing.

We aren't exactly road warriors but if there ever was a game to win on the road, it would be this one. That said, our perimeter defense is still bad enough that Ramon Sessions is probably going to drop 40 on us as we get blown out of the water.

Larry Sanders is NOT amused.
​

 

[Bricklayer]

you want a Bucks highlight? Here's a Bucks highlight that pretty much sums up their season.

OJ Mayo playing defense:

 

[HndsmCelt]

you want a Bucks highlight? Here's a Bucks highlight that pretty much sums up their season.

OJ Mayo playing defense:

Ouch! I guess you have to earn that #1 pick

 

[Capt. Factorial]

you want a Bucks highlight? Here's a Bucks highlight that pretty much sums up their season.

OJ Mayo playing defense:

So you're saying we're going to win tonight.

 

[LPKingsFan]

Yeah, Anthony Davis is skinny, but what stood out to me at Monday's game was how much skinnier Ajinca's legs were. Like skinnier than Keon Clark skinny.

 

[Tetsujin]

Yeah, Anthony Davis is skinny, but what stood out to me at Monday's game was how much skinnier Ajinca's legs were. Like skinnier than Keon Clark skinny.

What stuck with me about Ajinca was his really odd neck tattoo that distracted me from just about anything else whenever the camera was focused on him.

 

[The_Jamal]

Not sure how long I'll be able to last in this 0ne. Curious about all the Giannis hype, but other than that, this has all the makings of a total snooze fest.

 

[The_Jamal]

Random thought. Ray McCallum is starting to play some nice basketball:

Last 3 games-

24 MPG
8 PPG
4 APG
2.3 RPG

9/25 FGA for 36%
4/7 3pt FGA for 57%

FG% is blah, but hey. Can't be perfect for a 2nd round pick

 

[LPKingsFan]

Random thought. Ray McCallum is starting to play some nice basketball:

Last 3 games-

24 MPG
8 PPG
4 APG
2.3 RPG

9/25 FGA for 36%
4/7 3pt FGA for 57%

FG% is blah, but hey. Can't be perfect for a 2nd round pick

Really liked what I saw from him on Monday. He runs the offense methodically, but well. There were a couple times he looked a little too tentative and where he was open and should have shot instead of looking to pass/dribble, but that will come with time, I imagine. And I was worried he'd get taken advantage of defensively guarding 2's when he was paired with IT for a while, but he seemed to hold his own for the most part.

 

[Gilles]

Ray is a bit trigger happy with his mid range pullup and sometimes can't decide, what to do, when he gets deep inside, looking as if he got "wow, I got all the way to the basket, didn't see this coming, what should I do?" swirling in his head, but he should look like a work in progress given, that he played mostly garbage minutes, until lately.

 

[gunks]

It would be nice if Ray makes IT expendable. Hopefully he continues to improve.

Not that I'm an IT hater (or Fanboy), I just dont want us overpaying him in FA. I dont think our FO wants to do that either.

 

[Bricklayer]

Random thought. Ray McCallum is starting to play some nice basketball:

Last 3 games-

24 MPG
8 PPG
4 APG
2.3 RPG

9/25 FGA for 36%
4/7 3pt FGA for 57%

FG% is blah, but hey. Can't be perfect for a 2nd round pick

I agree with the sentiment, but don't think it really shows in the numbers particularly. Those are pretty blah numbers, but I think the obvious thing setting him apart is that he actually contributes on both sides of the ball. So no he's nothing special, but he gives off more of a solid vibe than all of our various defenseless chuckers have even when he's not scoring.

Right now of all of our roleplayers, if you said which ones would I keep/do I think would fit in with a tougher more defensive oriented crew of roleplayers next year, it would be Evans, Acy, McCallum and possibly JT, even though I suspect he's a goner. That's not a group with much talent, but they all have been providing dirty work production. Williams, Landry and McLemore are a more talented group, and Williams/McLemore have some synergy were they playing together more as our athletic open court duo. But none of those three fit the dirty work meme like the first 4 do. Gray, Outlaw and Johnson probably aren't back either way of course.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Among seeing young Ray get more minutes, i am also excited to see the Greek Freak on Milwaukee. The kid is literally a freak, i think he could really be special in this league. He has already grown an inch and a half since being drafted last year


also a note on Monty Williams; I can't believe it took him this long to put Tyreke in the starting lineup. He is tearing it up, almost had another triple double last night in LA

 

[Hadlowe]

This looks like a trap game to me. The Bucks have been playing better since the trade with Charlotte. The Kings are certainly a more talented team, but I wouldn't be shocked if the Bucks made this one competitive.

 

[King Baller]

you want a Bucks highlight? Here's a Bucks highlight that pretty much sums up their season.

OJ Mayo playing defense:

Hey! his man was not involved in the play. Maybe shoelace tying is an effective technique

 

[VF21]

Grant Napear takes idiot to a whole new level in his pre-game interview with Ray McCallum. "Well," Grant fawns, "you have to be happy that you only have one turnover..."

"Don't jinx me!" Ray replies.

So, for future reference, if Ray has trouble holding onto the ball tonight the blame should be laid entirely at the feet of Howdy Doody.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Ray is such a well spoken young man.

1 turnover in his last 50 minutes played is outstanding!

 

[KingMilz]

Did the bucks Commentator just imply that Isaiah Thomas is Isiah Thomas (Pistons) son?

 

[The_Jamal]

What's with the JT post-ups?

 

[Glenn]

Did the bucks Commentator just imply that Isaiah Thomas is Isiah Thomas (Pistons) son?

As one of many who didn't and couldn't hear it, you tell us.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

What's with the JT post-ups?

Madness, that's what. Three straight looks to Thompson? Really?

 

[The_Jamal]

3 JT post-ups in 1 min.

Like... what.

 

[KingMilz]

As one of many who didn't and couldn't hear it, you tell us.

He said his dad has good genes, was IT's dad a baller?

 

[VF21]

Did the bucks Commentator just imply that Isaiah Thomas is Isiah Thomas (Pistons) son?

If so, it wouldn't be the first time. I may fault Grant and Jerry a lot, but Jerry generally knows the relationship status (if any) of players with the same last name.

 

[The_Jamal]

4.

It's not like we have 3 20 PPG scorers or anything

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Running an inside/out with Thompson and Cousins is a waste of both Cousins and Thompson.

 

[VF21]

He said his dad has good genes, was IT's dad a baller?

From Wikipedia:

Isaiah Thomas was named after former Detroit Pistons All-Star point guard Isiah Thomas when his father, James, bet his friend that his favorite team, the Los Angeles Lakers, would defeat the Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals (which the Pistons won in a surprising four-game sweep). Even though the younger Thomas ended up being born months before the Finals took place, James had already warmed to the name. However, the boy's mother, Tina Baldtrip, insisted on spelling it 'Isaiah', as she desired a biblical name.[12][13] Because of his namesake's unpopularity among New York Knicks fans after unsuccessfully serving as head coach and team executive, the fans boo Isaiah Thomas whenever he plays in Madison Square Garden.[14] According to the younger Thomas, people often confuse Isiah Thomas as his father; regardless, Isiah Thomas has become a mentor for the younger Thomas.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Kings look like a team that knows they're playing the worst team in the league. Just going through the motions

 

[The_Jamal]

CMon Cuz. Run back on D. Even Zaza can hit a wide-open 10 footer

 

[VF21]

Is there a lemon clause in the NBA for players who are continually injured?