This is the way that decent / good teams play: get fat off the weak teams, especially at home, and fight against the elite teams. To say that I am happy with the Kings's start would be an understatement. The Kings approached the Nets in much the same way that a playoff team considers their opponent in a series, the other team can not, will not win. And for that, the Kings got a little fatter over Thanksgiving weekend, and I got a little more thankful.
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That doesn't suggest that we have no more work to do, and that we are a playoff contender all of a sudden. No, no, no. We all watched the third quarter, mortified that we would relive the Clippers streak of 1999 (we fell to the Clippers after they had lost 17 in a row). Fortunately, we have a competent coaching staff, and a timeout and a few good drawn up plays lifted the team out of its funk. The exceptional play of Beno, KT, Casspi and Rodriguez off the bench deserves a rousing applause.
What caused the slip? I think it was mental, halftime came and everybody cooled off. It may have been laziness induced by the ease with which our dominance came in the first half, it may have just been players stiffening up, hard to say. If you pull that stunt against anyone but the Nets you will go from 22 up to 10 down in that same amount of time. The Kings have been playing banged up, a consequence of playing the scrappy, tough style that we're all growing to love, and that slowed Hawes and Thompson. I hope they can loosen up for the Hornets, we're gonna need them.
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Awards:
TDM: Brook Lopez, that dude's a beast. (Douglas-Roberts nets a close second).
LW-VC: Courtney Lee. 3 mins. No impact.
JHA: Sean May. Dude, don't get in the game and help the other team. Not very professional.
SAR-Methuselah: Trenton Hassel. Because he's thirty
. No, really it's because I've seen him play alot better.
RA&1: Look! The originator of the award gets the award! Congrats Rafer!
WTF Moment of the game: Sean May rotates into the cutter on the perimeter, bowling over his guy and the other team's guy, and just stands there holding the ball looking dumbfounded. Way to go guy. Excellent play.
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Next up: New Orleans.
Good news: No Chris Paul.
Bad News: Darren Collison and David West have stepped up their games to compensate. Collison outplayed Brandon Jennings to help lift the Hornets past the Bucks the other day. David West put up a 27 - 10 line in the same game. Of course, the Bucks have no front line to speak of, so we can take that with a grain of salt.
The Hornets have won 4 of their last five games. Is it the Ewing Effect (That mysterious phenomenon that induces teams to become better when their star player is languishing on the bench)? Perhaps, but the Kings match up well with the Hornets, and I expect an entertaining game at the least, a resounding win at best. Evans, Greene and Udrih should be able to pick apart the N.O. back court with ease. If Hawes and Thompson are still ailing, the team may struggle against Okafor and David West.
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Kings 104
Hornets 97
Pts: Evans 23, West 19
Rebounds: Casspi/Thompson tie for 7, Okafor 11
Assts: Udrih 5, Collison 6
Blocks: Hawes 3, Okafor 1
Should be an entertaining game, both teams are roughly in the same boat with key players injured and nearly identical records. Both are improving their offenses and playing with energy. Tune in, chill out, enjoy.
GO KINGS!
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That doesn't suggest that we have no more work to do, and that we are a playoff contender all of a sudden. No, no, no. We all watched the third quarter, mortified that we would relive the Clippers streak of 1999 (we fell to the Clippers after they had lost 17 in a row). Fortunately, we have a competent coaching staff, and a timeout and a few good drawn up plays lifted the team out of its funk. The exceptional play of Beno, KT, Casspi and Rodriguez off the bench deserves a rousing applause.
What caused the slip? I think it was mental, halftime came and everybody cooled off. It may have been laziness induced by the ease with which our dominance came in the first half, it may have just been players stiffening up, hard to say. If you pull that stunt against anyone but the Nets you will go from 22 up to 10 down in that same amount of time. The Kings have been playing banged up, a consequence of playing the scrappy, tough style that we're all growing to love, and that slowed Hawes and Thompson. I hope they can loosen up for the Hornets, we're gonna need them.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Awards:
TDM: Brook Lopez, that dude's a beast. (Douglas-Roberts nets a close second).
LW-VC: Courtney Lee. 3 mins. No impact.
JHA: Sean May. Dude, don't get in the game and help the other team. Not very professional.
SAR-Methuselah: Trenton Hassel. Because he's thirty
. No, really it's because I've seen him play alot better.RA&1: Look! The originator of the award gets the award! Congrats Rafer!
WTF Moment of the game: Sean May rotates into the cutter on the perimeter, bowling over his guy and the other team's guy, and just stands there holding the ball looking dumbfounded. Way to go guy. Excellent play.
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Next up: New Orleans.
Good news: No Chris Paul.
Bad News: Darren Collison and David West have stepped up their games to compensate. Collison outplayed Brandon Jennings to help lift the Hornets past the Bucks the other day. David West put up a 27 - 10 line in the same game. Of course, the Bucks have no front line to speak of, so we can take that with a grain of salt.
The Hornets have won 4 of their last five games. Is it the Ewing Effect (That mysterious phenomenon that induces teams to become better when their star player is languishing on the bench)? Perhaps, but the Kings match up well with the Hornets, and I expect an entertaining game at the least, a resounding win at best. Evans, Greene and Udrih should be able to pick apart the N.O. back court with ease. If Hawes and Thompson are still ailing, the team may struggle against Okafor and David West.
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Kings 104
Hornets 97
Pts: Evans 23, West 19
Rebounds: Casspi/Thompson tie for 7, Okafor 11
Assts: Udrih 5, Collison 6
Blocks: Hawes 3, Okafor 1
Should be an entertaining game, both teams are roughly in the same boat with key players injured and nearly identical records. Both are improving their offenses and playing with energy. Tune in, chill out, enjoy.
GO KINGS!
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