Kings-Knicks PBP for Dec. 13

[VF21]

Greetings, fellow Kings fans!

It's been awfully hard to get into the Christmas season up here with mild temperatures and blue skies. But now, it's definitely looking like winter outside, with the temperature already in the mid-20s and it's not even 7 p.m. yet. We had a dusting of snow last night but are supposed to get a significant amount from the storm heading our way right now. That's more like December in Plumas Forest.

I'd like to wish everyone all the joys of the holiday season. Merry Christmas, Joyous Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukah, Blessed Solstice or whatever else it is that you choose to celebrate.

Tonight's game could be pretty interesting. Is there still energy left in the tank for Salmons, Garcia and the rest of the crew? Can Jason, Spencer, Donte and Little Bobby continue to give us reason to hope for the future?

Heart and hustle, energy and effort - those are the things I want to see. I'd like to see an arena full of enthusiastic Kings fans, but I know between the economy and the team's record this probably isn't going to happen on a regular basis, so I just hope the Kings fans who are there make it loud!

Now, a brief commercial message:

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I've got a fresh pot of coffee brewing and lots of firewood, so I'm in good shape. Now if the weather cooperates and I don't have to go outside to brush snow off the satellite dish, I'll be a very happy camper.

Let's get ready for some Kings basketball!!!

GO KINGS!

 

[VF21]

Starting lineups:

Kings - Udrih, Garcia, Salmons, Hawes and Miller

Knicks - Robinson, Duhon, Chandler, Harrington and Lee

Jason Richardson will not play. He has "flu-like symptoms."

 

[VF21]

Getting ready for the tip...

Horrible toss, nice tip by Miller to Garcia.

NOTE: It's Quentin Richardson who will not play for the Knicks.



Salmons miss, Lee called for loose ball foul when Miller hustles for the rebound. Kings will inbound.

Salmons pass to Miller forces him oob. Not quite sure way. Knicks inbound.

Robinson for two.

2-0 NYK

11;06 left

Garcia jumper from the stripe for two.

2-2

 

[VF21]

Harrington for three.

5-2 NYK

Garcia to Hawes, half-hook won't go. Lee with the board.

Harrington off the glass for two more.

7-2 NYK

Pretty sparse crowd in Arco tonight... Udrih to Miller, inside to Hawes and back out, over to Salmons in the corner.

SALMONS FOR THREE!

7-5 NYK

Chandler jumper way off; Salmons rebound.

Lay-up in and out, Miller rebound and back out to Salmons who doesn't miss the second time.

7-7

 

[VF21]

9;16 left

Duhon running lay-up for two.

9-7 NYK

Miller pullup jumper is short; NYK rebound. Ball oob off Kings. NYK inbounds and gets three from the corner.

12-7 NYK

Garcia miss; Chandler rebound.

Lee up and under for two.

14-7 NYK

8;15 left

Miller off the Hawes screen for two.

14-9 NYK

Udrih with the steal and the breakaway two.

14-11 NYK

 

[VF21]

Harrington for long two.

16-11 NYK

Salmons three in and out; NYK rebound.

Chandler miss but Lee putback is good.

18-11 NYK

Hawes to Udrih for two.

18-13 NYK

6;49 left

Robinson miss; Duhon rebound. Harrington over Hawes for two more.

20-13 NYK

 

[VF21]

Garcia to Salmons, out to Udrih, and then to Miller who goes inside and gets two off the glass.

20-15 NYK

Robinson bounce off the rim and the glass for two.

22-15 NYK

5;30 left

Hawes inside, misses the bucket but gets his own rebound. Foul called on NYK.

Time out and commercial break.

Hawes to the line when they come back...

 

[VF21]

And the first "report" from the CSR says absolutely nothing of relevance, other than the fact we don't know when Martin will be back and that he's continuing to rehab the ankle. Lord, I detest her...



Tim Thomas in for NYK, and he gets a three.

25-15 NYK

Kings miss; Thomas rebound.

NYK loses the ball oob; Kings inbound.

There is, thus far, very little flow to this game at all. We do not match up well with the Knicks and it just feels as though there's no excitement in Arco at all...

Ball knocked oob, collides with a spectator and his beer. They wipe off the ball and Kings inbound. Miss, NYK rebound.

And three more by the Knicks. This just sucks...

28-15 NYK

Oh, crapola.

Another Kings turnover and three more by the Knicks.

Reggie calls time out and the 27 people in Arco couldn't care less...

31-15 NYK

 

[VF21]

3;29 left

Brown, Greene and Thompson in for the Kings.

Donte gets two.

31-17 NYK

Oh look. Two more by NYK...

33-17 NYK

...sigh...

John Salmons tries to split the Knicks defense, runs into two defenders and loses the ball. And, at the other end, the Knicks head to the stripe after a bucket and a desperation +1 foul.

36-17 NYK

Thompson to the line on foul by Tim Thomas.

 

[VF21]

Jason continues to have difficulty cashing in from the line as he misses the first but makes the second.

36-18 NYK

2;21 left

NYK long miss but Lee cleans it up, gets the bucket and heads to the line on another +1.

And he makes it, because NYK is pretty much going to get 3 points one way or another every time they come down the court.

39-18 NYK

Kings do nothing, NYK has the ball back...

Lee misses but gets the putback bucket. This is embarrassing...and more than a little pathetic.

41-18 NYK

1;27 left

Kings almost turn it over but Donte able to save it and kick it out to Salmons.

SALMONS FOR THREE!

41-21 NYK

 

[VF21]

Two more for the Knicks - and the fans start to voice their displeasure.

43-21 NYK

Knicks bench is standing up, laughing and cheering. They're having a great time.

Moore in for the Kings. Kings miss; Lee rebound.

32 seconds left.

Kings get the ball, but only because Nate Robinson traveled.

Heart and hustle, energy and effort - I've seen NONE of that from the Kings thus far.

Brown jumper goes in and out; Moore tries for the board but NYK gets it. Pass upcourt but Robinson shot doesn't fall at the buzzer.

End of the first quarter.

43-21 NYK

If there's any mercy in the universe, the power will go out in Arco and they'll have to call the game.

 

[VF21]

This is not a good game; this is not a decent game. This is just painful. I cannot put my finger on any one thing. It doesn't look like the players aren't trying so much as they honestly do not look like the same team we've watched the past two games. There is no focus, there is no attempt whatsoever to "guard" the outside shooters. I put it in quotes because I think it's actually a foreign phrase to the guys playing in the white jerseys tonight.

And NYK starts the second quarter with a totally uncontested layup...

45-21 NYK

Brown, Jackson, Garcia, Moore and Thompson for the Kings.

Knicks with two freaking more points.

47-21 NYK

Another Kings miss; Robinson miss. Moore rebound.

Grant is saying the exact same thing I've already said - there is no energy, no hustle, no focus, no nothing...

Chandler misses inside, possibly because he was much more open than he thought possible.

Finally, Bobby Brown goes all the way and Kings have two more points.

47-23 NYK

 

[VF21]

NYK ball. They turn the ball over on an unforced error and Kings have the ball back, with no apparent idea what to do with it. They kick out to Brown, who misses from the corner, and NYK has the ball back again.

Harrington actually misses a three and Garcia has the ball. He drives inside and hands it off to Brown to finish it for two.

47-25 NYK

8;46 left

Jefferies misses the dunk, and Jackson is on the break. He kicks back out to Brown, who drives inside, pass to Thompson at the elbow who misses. NYK with another rebound.

Harrington inside, bodying up against Moore. They battle and Moore is called for the foul.

Time out and commercial break.

Harrington will get two more from the stripe when they return, barring unforseen circumstances such as a direct meteor hit on the arena that distracts his shot. Naismith knows nothing the Kings could do would deter him.

And yes, fellow Kings fans, that's more than a little sarcasm and disgust in my "voice."

 

[VF21]

51-25 NYK

I've seen first graders play better fundamental basketball than what I'm seeing tonight. It wouldn't be so obvious if we hadn't seen the Kings play good basketball against the Lakers. Or is it the Lakers just aren't that good and the Knicks are????

...sigh...

6;47 left

I am virtually speechless. I am by nature generally a positive person but there is NOTHING positive about tonight's on-court performance. And I do not blame Reggie for this fiasco. He's not the one out there missing everything in sight and totally failing to do anything remotely resembling defense. He's tried every single combination possible.

55-27 NYK

Oops. Make that 56-27 NYK as Harrington gets another +1 to fall.

 

[VF21]

5;03 left

Garcia has started to play and it's now

56-33 NYK

D'Antoni calls time out.

 

[VF21]

David Lee runs over Garcia and gets two more. He's one rebound away from a double-double with 4;25 left in the second quarter.

58-33 NYK

Sound system playing the prompt for the "de-fense" chant but the 127 or so Kings fans left in the building refuse to participate...

60-35 NYK

Well, one good thing...the Knicks most likely won't break 100 before half-time.

...sigh...

 

[VF21]

63-37 NYK

2;44 left

Harrington misses a three, but no problem. He'll head to the stripe and earn them from there as he was fouled as he took the shot.

Time out...and I'm still hoping for the power outage.

 

[VF21]

There is something so fundamentally wrong tonight that it's almost impossible to define if you're not watching it...

I just wish it was over.

It appears as though the lower level of Arco is filling up. I suspect the ushers have gone home, allowing anyone who wants to a chance to sit up close and personal.

Jackson, Williams, Hawes, Udrih and Greene on the court for the Kings. The only players I know we won't see out there are Kevin and Kenny, neither of whom suited up...

Harrington actually missed two of three from the stripe.

64-37 NYK

The Knicks must be getting tired. They've made so many outside shots they're now starting to miss them. But since the Kings cannot buy a basket, it doesn't make any difference.

And just as I say that, Williams is able to get two.

64-39 NYK

And Jerry Reynolds tries to find something positive to say, but stops when the Knicks convert yet another three.

67-39 NYK

I cannot wait to see Brickie's grades tonight, unless of course he's already gouged his eyes out with swizzle sticks.

 

[VF21]

69-45 NYK

End of the first half.

wow...just wow.

I am without words to adequately describe what I've seen this first half. I do know one thing, though. I cannot even pretend to do the second half. Life is too short.

 

[Entity]

I am guessing it is hard to do the PBP with a game like this.

 

[VF21]

In all honesty, it really is. There isn't any one thing you can point to as being wrong. And it's not that the players are obviously not trying. There are moments of heart and hustle, but for the most part this just looks like a team that is has become used to losing. Udrih has tried; Garcia has tried. Jason has tried but without much success and Spencer looks shell-shocked. It's just ugly.

Could it be the team's way of quitting on the coach? Possible, but they aren't even doing a good job of that if that's the objective.

I think I'm possibly most upset by the actions of the Knicks bench and the lack of any kind of response by the Kings.

If I could say one thing to the team, it would be:

SHOW SOME FREAKING PRIDE!!!

 

[VF21]

If they dare show the CSR with another ridiculously stupid "interview," I'm going to actively encourage a mass email campaign to ship her out along with Theus.

and Harrington has another three...

72-45 NYK

Good grief.