[Game] Kings v. Hawks 11/05/13 Game Thread

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#1
KingsFans.com Gameday 2013-2014 Edition
Game 4
Sacramento Kings v. Atlanta Hawks


By Stephen Tetsu, Kingsfans.com Contributing Non-Piksi

That was ugly and not the cute kind of ugly but the “you’re going to be leaving the bar alone no matter how good your game is” kind of ugly. To tell you the truth, I kinda zoned out sometime around the point where it started to look like we’d make a run only to have the Warriors come back and pants us.

Well, at least we can at least come out of the night knowing that our jerseys look better than the slop the Warriors were (hopefully) forced to wear. Seriously, I enjoy wearing short sleeves as much as the next guy but there are places they should not be. One such location is the hardwood.

I’m writing about the jerseys because the game itself was galdang hard to watch. A night after exerting themselves against a potential top three team, our players were spent and the Warriors were out to redeem themselves after a loss against the same team.

Rotations were off, it looked like someone spiked the Gatorade with Ambien, Demarcus Cousins had no answer for Andrew Bogut. Summarily, it looked like 2012 all over again.

As such, the sooner we stop talking about this atrocity, the better. Observations will accordingly be shorter than usual.

Stat Watch 2013
John Salmons is shooting .227% on the season on over seven attempts per game. Add in his tendency to overdribble and his general lack of size or athleticism at this point in his career and it’s no small wonder we’ve had our struggles.

Observations
  • We may have lost but we also may have lost against two of the best teams in the NBA. Both the Clippers and the Warriors have thus far taken the league by storm with a blitz of three pointers and multi-guard line-ups. All this despite both teams having strong talent in their starting frontcourt.

  • The ever-polarizing Jimmer Fredette made his season debut in the closing minutes of Saturday’s debacle and was adequate if not unspectacular which was sadly an improvement on the play of Marcus Thornton on the night. Then again, I’m pretty sure this was against the guys at the end of the Warriors bench and a couple dudes Marc Jackson pulled out of the stands to give his guys a rest.

  • Patrick Patterson must really not want to start because he has done just about as much as the starting power forward of the team as I have, which is to say, nothing.

  • If ⅗ of our starting lineup continue to fail to get anything done, it’s going to be a long season.
The View From the Other Side
No comments from the Warriors fansites today because it would be too painful. Barring another blowout loss, it will return after today’s game.

Other Coverage
Grade thread: http://kingsfans.com/threads/grades-v-warriors-11-02-2013.54075/
Jimmer grade thread: http://kingsfans.com/threads/jimmer-grades-vs-warriors-11-02-2013-or-jimmermaniacs-unite.54086

Stephen’s First Week of the Season Awards
It’s super early in the season. Most teams have only played 1/40th of their season. But it’s not too early to make snap judgements. Thus, I present to you my league-wide awards based exclusively on how the first week of the season has gone. Hey, that sounds completely reasonable, right?

Big Man of the Year Award: Spencer Hawes
Boasting a blistering statline of 15.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 3 apg, 1.3 bpg (numbers significantly lowered by a poor showing against the Warriors on Monday) with a shooting percentage of 50 percent from beyond the arc (which we all know is Spencer’s favorite place to be) the Sixers big man has served as the Robin to Michael Carter-Williams’s Batman during his teams surprising start. Surely, Spencer will continue to dominate through the entire season. Plus he’s sporting a lazy person beard so at the very least he has that going for him. Spencer for president.

Defensive Player of the Year: Ricky Rubio
Rickey’s averaging 4 steals per game, which is obviously going to continue over the course of an 82 game season. Actual defensive capabilities be damned, this man is going to win this thing.

My First Week of the Year Postseason Finals Prediction: Sixers vs. the Suns
The series goes to seven games with MCW posting triple doubles in all of them. The Series ultimately ends with Miles Plumlee, whoever the hell that is, scoring a putback dunk with 2 seconds left to win the series for the Suns. Philadelphia fans riot in the streets. Meanwhile, both teams GMs suffer nervous breakdowns as a result of their failed plays for Wiggins. Dionte Christmas is named Finals MVP simply because his name is awesome.


Stay tuned for further First Week of the Season End of the Year award analysis. Next time around: Not-Rookie of the Year


Awards Time
Normal awards time is taking sometime off because I’m still so demoralized by Saturday night.
WTF Moment of the Game: The entire game :(

Tonight’s Game

Tonight brings a showdown with the mighty, mighty Atlanta Hawks, who, having lost Josh Smith to free agency, come in led by Al Horford and Jeff Teague. Sporting the same record as us, I feel fairly safe in saying that the Hawks are not as good as the Clippers or Warriors.

That said, the Hawks do boast a strong collection of complementary pieces, thus far in the season headed by Kyle Korver, who has converted a ridiculous ⅔rds of his three point shots through three games.

Inside, Atlanta is led by the two-time All-Star Al Horford, a natural power forward who has been stuck at center in Atlanta for the last half-decade because his team can’t be bothered to pick up anyone taller than 6’9” on their roster. While not among the splashiest of players in the league, Horford is a solid big man and certainly the best defender in the post for the Hawks, though considering the other big men on his team, that’s not saying much.

These other big men? Atlanta’s marquee free agent signing for the season in former Utah Jazz tweener forward Paul Millsap and ancient relic Elton Brand, both men barely standing 6’8” and not necessarily known for their ability to shut down dudes in the post. If there ever was a night for the team to force feed the ball to Cuz down low, it would be tonight. If Horford gets in any form of foul trouble, the Hawks are in for a looooooong night.

Their SF and SG are probably going to outplay our starters but you already knew that.

On the PG front, the Hawks are led by former-Kingsfans.com favorite Jeff Teague and the man many have pegged as the next Rajon Rondo in Dennis Schroeder. Up against our tandem of Vasquez and IT, this could be an interesting matchup to watch.

Matchups
Demarcus versus short old people: Now’s Boogie’s time to shine.
Our starters not named Demarcus versus not sucking: This is the NBA, guys. Time to produce.
Malone versus a nervous breakdown: If our effort is lackluster once again, things could get ugly.
Empty seats versus Kings fans: Will Kings fans be able fill them in respectable numbers?

Predictions and Closure
The homer in me says win and I’m going to trust it on this one. The Kings prevail 95-88 behind another strong night from Boogie.

If any of you are not going to the game but want to, plenty of tickets are available. Why not buy one and show our men in purple some love on a Tuesday night?

Go Kings.
 
K

KingMilz

Guest
#2
Hawks got Pero Ancic I watched him play Euroleague as well hes a legit 6'11 big dude kind of like Byron Mullens just a much better shooter/smarter player but I doubt he will do anything to contain Cousins when they put him in since he's bad athlete and never been known for D. As far as the SF/SG battle go if Salmons/Outlaw have a decent game (big if) we could match the Hawks wings since they got Korver ( who wll no doubt get plenty of open 3's) and Carroll who is just a hustle type without much else.

The Hawks are 0-2 on the road so far, my only concern for this game is two things

1). The speed/atheltic ability/penetraton of the Hawks guards in Teague/German Rondo, they will break down the defense at will
2). The Hawks throw everything @ Cousins defense at the start of the game by trying to use Horfords/Milsaps speed against him and attack him or keep making mid range jumpers which both are extremely good at. This game will be a good test for Cousins defense.

I really think at home and with Atlanta not having much depth or defense if we play at a level of the first two games should be a win. The Hawks will play Teague/German Rondo together a lot I wonder if we will counter that with Vasquez/IT?
 
#3
DeMarre Carroll is a guy whose enormous work ethic elevated his game beyond what his talent able to deliver. He was known as the "Junkyard Dog" during his college days at Mizzou, and he's carried that through to his NBA career. He's a hustle guy who has stayed in the league by doing the dirty work, collecting rebounds and fighting for loose balls. He's a strong "character guy" with a lot of heart, which doesn't have a lot of relevance for this game to Kings fans but is something we Mizzou types always loved him for. :)

I look for the Kings to win, but do hope Korver gets up a lot of points for the sake of my fantasy basketball team!
 
#4
Kings strategy for this one. Get all 5 starters to play up to their normal capabilities. If the bench doesn't give it away we've got it made.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#5
I have a difficult time arguing a win on this one. Teague and Schroeder are super quick. And Teague is rather tall and super quick. I can see Vasquez losing the Teague matchup 8 out of 10 times. And with Schroeder and IT, the main thing IT has going for him is Schroeder is a rookie, so I'd hope for turnover rookieitis from Schroeder. If Atlanta plays Teague and Schroeder at the same time, no way do I go with Vasquez and IT. I have to go with IT/McLemore. It's the closest you're going to get to matching up athletically with those guys. And who exactly is going to guard Horver coming off screens? Thornton? I'll believe it when I see it. Horton and Cousins is mostly a wash, with the edge given to Cousins. Milsap is better than any 4 the Kings have been shown to have so far. It would be a very good time for PPat to show up. Maybe we finally don't lose at the three position. That's a positive.
 
#6
I have a difficult time arguing a win on this one. Teague and Schroeder are super quick. And Teague is rather tall and super quick. I can see Vasquez losing the Teague matchup 8 out of 10 times. And with Schroeder and IT, the main thing IT has going for him is Schroeder is a rookie, so I'd hope for turnover rookieitis from Schroeder. If Atlanta plays Teague and Schroeder at the same time, no way do I go with Vasquez and IT. I have to go with IT/McLemore. It's the closest you're going to get to matching up athletically with those guys. And who exactly is going to guard Horver coming off screens? Thornton? I'll believe it when I see it. Horton and Cousins is mostly a wash, with the edge given to Cousins. Milsap is better than any 4 the Kings have been shown to have so far. It would be a very good time for PPat to show up. Maybe we finally don't lose at the three position. That's a positive.
Auto-correct?! :p
 
C

Cold

Guest
#7
This game is built for Landry. Wish he was playing.

DC/Landry inside against Horford/Milsap is big advantage to us as DC is longer than Hor and Landry is longer than Millsap.

I'm calling it 98-92 Kings. This is the rebound game.
 
#10
Horford is one of my favorite non-Kings players. The guy is just so damn good at doing everything on the basketball court. He's easily one of the more underrated players in the game. A big key will be Cousins bringing his defense pants tonight and not committing stupid fouls. This Hawks team is built around extremely efficient offensive talent. So we'll need to stay home on shooters and look to force them into tough shots.
 
#11
Love me some schroder. One of the guys I liked at a potential 7. Kid has the tools, though might take him a little longer to get used to the game over here
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#13
This game is built for Landry. Wish he was playing.

DC/Landry inside against Horford/Milsap is big advantage to us as DC is longer than Hor and Landry is longer than Millsap.

I'm calling it 98-92 Kings. This is the rebound game.
This Landry fascination is odd. I know he had a good year in Golden State, but he's a journeyman, and very much a clear cut poor man's Milsap.



In any case, here is the key to this game: Cousins has to come to play, have his head on straight, and stay out of foul trouble. The rest of the team has to get its head on straight too, focus on defense (Grevis, I'm talking about you on Teague!) and getting the ball to Big Cuz again and again and again. The Hawks still have no big weapon to beat you with. Defend them hard, and beat them up inside with Cuz.
 
C

Cold

Guest
#14
This Landry fascination is odd. I know he had a good year in Golden State, but he's a journeyman, and very much a clear cut poor man's Milsap.
.
His best years weren't with GS. His single best year was with Charlotte. His stint with Houston was also FAR better than his stint with GS.

I agree that he's a role player. But a good one that contributes. I never said he was a star or anything like that.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#15
His best years weren't with GS. His single best year was with Charlotte. His stint with Houston was also FAR better than his stint with GS.
Which is to then say he hasn't actually had any good years in any major sense. Just a bunch of mediocre ones. Some scoring punch off the bench. less impact the longer you play him.
 
C

Cold

Guest
#16
Which is to then say he hasn't actually had any good years in any major sense. Just a bunch of mediocre ones. Some scoring punch off the bench. less impact the longer you play him.
What impact are we getting out of our forwards this season?
 
#17
What impact are we getting out of our forwards this season?
PPat has been very bad but JT (when he isn't turning it over) has actually been fairly effective. Rebounding well, blocking shots and hustling. He brings different things than Landry but he's been useful.
 
#18
This is the type of game that separates whether we are going to be mediocre or bad this season.. The Hawks are 1-2 and barely lost to a mediocre lakers team in LA
 
C

Cold

Guest
#20
Indeed. That doesn't suddenly spike Landry up to the level of feared weapon people game plan around however. Just underlines our middling scrum.
Wait and see. I'm not as big a Landry fan as you think I am. He's not one of my favorite players or anything like that. I do, however, believe Malone knows how to hide Landry on defense and will maximize his contribution on offense. Don't forget Landry had a very good year in New Orleans when Malone was quarterbacking the defense. He then had another good year when Malone was in GS. I think he will surprise you. Malone did a pretty good job hiding Lee on defense. We know Lee is the worst big man defender in the NBA.
 
#21
The Kings could get some confidence built over the next three games with the Hawks and Portland twice. Curious to see how they come out tonight and attack.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#22
Wait and see. I'm not as big a Landry fan as you think I am. He's not one of my favorite players or anything like that. I do, however, believe Malone knows how to hide Landry on defense and will maximize his contribution on offense. Don't forget Landry had a very good year in New Orleans when Malone was quarterbacking the defense. He then had another good year when Malone was in GS. I think he will surprise you. Malone did a pretty good job hiding Lee on defense. We know Lee is the worst big man defender in the NBA.
It's a tough sell trying to get Kings Fans to believe that we're going to be surprised by a player we've already seen. Speaking just for myself, I ain't buying.
 
#23
It's gonna be fun to watch the lineups Malone throws out there tonight. Salmons should be #1 to the bench. I hope to see the Prince healthy enough for more minutes.
 
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Glenn

Hall of Famer
#25
I wish PPat could shoot as well as he speaks. He HAS to hit from the outside to help Cuz and to let us have a non-shooter like Mbah a Moute on the court.
 
#27
I'm expecting a good effort tonight to say the least. If we don't get one you'd have to at least start questioning Malones ability to get through to this current roster. And that wouldn't be me blaming Malone necessarily. It would be a bad look for the players.