Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
A win! The Kings win!
If you had told me before the season that the Kings would have a chance at being .500 after 12 games in the season, I'd have called you a liar. And yet with a win over Portland, they can do just that, despite having, I kid you not, statistically the worst defense in NBA history. At the same time, the pace numbers have finally crept up and the Kings are somehow leading the league in free throws. In other words... progress?
Hopefully the defense rounds into shape. While I don't anticipate this particular team turning into the 2003 Pistons on that end this season, I still don't see them ending up historically awful on that end. And at the end of the day, a win is a win is a win.
So much for straight up tanking, eh?
Awards
Tony Delk Memorial - Doug McDermott. Much to my surprise McBuckets is only shooting .380 from three season, which was shocking, considering he seemingly hit whatever the hell shot he felt like taking on his way to a 21 point night. For all the talk about the new coaching staff utilizing his talents in a way that Nate McMillan didn't he's only averaging one whole point more than he did last season. That didn't matter as, for one night only, McBuckets took home the McDelk.
Jason Hart/Andres Nocioni - Nemanja Bjelica, who wound up completely out of Luke's rotation, which is hard to do when you're a vet unless you're Hassan Whiteside. Now I'm not advocating benching him forever because Bjeli is a useful player when he's got it going offensively but the team did look a bit smoother when the big man rotation stopped at Holmes/Bagley/Whiteside.
Cooper Manning Memorial Less Famous Family Member Award- The Holiday Brothers. There are three Holiday brothers currently playing in the NBA. Two of them are on the Pacers. One of them is an all-star. He is not on the Pacers. The two on the Pacers share a single starting spot on the Pacers. I am not lying. Sometimes the 6'6" Justin Holiday starts at small forward. Then when they want to go small, they start Aaron Holiday (6'0') as a third guard. While Jrue and Justin were both born in California and went to high school in California, Aaron was born in Louisiana but went to high school in California. This concludes my paragraph on the two lesser Holiday brothers.
Luke Walton Vacuum Cleaner Award - Luke Walton.
WTF Moment of the Game - Buddy strips Dipo in crunch time, the ball bounces off of Dipo's foot but the refs call it Indy ball. The call gets the replay review treatment, clearly showing the ball bounce off Oladipo's foot and between Buddy's legs. Refs keep it Indy ball anyways. What's the point of reviewing calls if you're just gonna get it wrong again anyways?
***
Tonight brings a rematch with the Blazers, who just beat the Raptors on the back of CJ McCollum having yet another huge game (and game winning shot).
Dame is currently listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury but knowing him, he's playing and dropping 50. Jusef Nurkic is also listed as questionable with a quad injury that I can only assume is somehow related to the time his freaking leg bone snapped in half in the middle of a game. Maybe if he's out, we get an extended Harry Giles III sighting. Then again, knowing Stotts, he'll probably play small instead.
The matchups remain largely unchanged from the game thread two games ago, although now De'Aaron is looking relatively healthy and Richaun is now back in the lineup and hitting 30-ft threes. Regardless, let's hope for a better showing from the Kings this time around.
Final Predictions: Portland 117, Kings 109
Tyrese has a big night. Richaun playing helps the Kings not get totally destroyed by straight-line drives. Hassan has a bunch of blocks all without his feet leaving the ground. The Kings still lose as Dame and CJ get hot to close the game.
Of course, maybe a test comes up positive and this game too winds up cancelled. Go Kings.
If you had told me before the season that the Kings would have a chance at being .500 after 12 games in the season, I'd have called you a liar. And yet with a win over Portland, they can do just that, despite having, I kid you not, statistically the worst defense in NBA history. At the same time, the pace numbers have finally crept up and the Kings are somehow leading the league in free throws. In other words... progress?
Hopefully the defense rounds into shape. While I don't anticipate this particular team turning into the 2003 Pistons on that end this season, I still don't see them ending up historically awful on that end. And at the end of the day, a win is a win is a win.
So much for straight up tanking, eh?
Awards
Tony Delk Memorial - Doug McDermott. Much to my surprise McBuckets is only shooting .380 from three season, which was shocking, considering he seemingly hit whatever the hell shot he felt like taking on his way to a 21 point night. For all the talk about the new coaching staff utilizing his talents in a way that Nate McMillan didn't he's only averaging one whole point more than he did last season. That didn't matter as, for one night only, McBuckets took home the McDelk.
Jason Hart/Andres Nocioni - Nemanja Bjelica, who wound up completely out of Luke's rotation, which is hard to do when you're a vet unless you're Hassan Whiteside. Now I'm not advocating benching him forever because Bjeli is a useful player when he's got it going offensively but the team did look a bit smoother when the big man rotation stopped at Holmes/Bagley/Whiteside.
Cooper Manning Memorial Less Famous Family Member Award- The Holiday Brothers. There are three Holiday brothers currently playing in the NBA. Two of them are on the Pacers. One of them is an all-star. He is not on the Pacers. The two on the Pacers share a single starting spot on the Pacers. I am not lying. Sometimes the 6'6" Justin Holiday starts at small forward. Then when they want to go small, they start Aaron Holiday (6'0') as a third guard. While Jrue and Justin were both born in California and went to high school in California, Aaron was born in Louisiana but went to high school in California. This concludes my paragraph on the two lesser Holiday brothers.
Luke Walton Vacuum Cleaner Award - Luke Walton.
WTF Moment of the Game - Buddy strips Dipo in crunch time, the ball bounces off of Dipo's foot but the refs call it Indy ball. The call gets the replay review treatment, clearly showing the ball bounce off Oladipo's foot and between Buddy's legs. Refs keep it Indy ball anyways. What's the point of reviewing calls if you're just gonna get it wrong again anyways?
***
Tonight brings a rematch with the Blazers, who just beat the Raptors on the back of CJ McCollum having yet another huge game (and game winning shot).
Dame is currently listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury but knowing him, he's playing and dropping 50. Jusef Nurkic is also listed as questionable with a quad injury that I can only assume is somehow related to the time his freaking leg bone snapped in half in the middle of a game. Maybe if he's out, we get an extended Harry Giles III sighting. Then again, knowing Stotts, he'll probably play small instead.
The matchups remain largely unchanged from the game thread two games ago, although now De'Aaron is looking relatively healthy and Richaun is now back in the lineup and hitting 30-ft threes. Regardless, let's hope for a better showing from the Kings this time around.
Final Predictions: Portland 117, Kings 109
Tyrese has a big night. Richaun playing helps the Kings not get totally destroyed by straight-line drives. Hassan has a bunch of blocks all without his feet leaving the ground. The Kings still lose as Dame and CJ get hot to close the game.
Of course, maybe a test comes up positive and this game too winds up cancelled. Go Kings.
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