[Game] Kings vs. Suns, 12/26/2020, 7PM PST, 10PM EST

How many Fox given?


  • Total voters
    46
Status
Not open for further replies.

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#1
3EF5AEEF-4FD7-4FD3-8A5D-6FE4C2C4F566.jpeg

So I was out on a first date the other night and when the night was over at it was time to say goodnight and everything and do the customary kiss thing as people normally tend to do when things are not a total disaster, I was hit by a new crippling wave of paralyzing think-iness. Do I take off my mask and kiss her? Do I hug her? If I do kiss her does this mean I need to go back into quarantine for a couple of weeks on the off chance she’s infected?

I say all of this not as some sort of weird lamebrag flex that I’m dating during a global pandemic but rather to say that I am as equally confused about how to feel about this Kings win over the Nuggets as I was about how to share a medium amount of affection without potentially passing on a deadly disease. By all normal standards, I should just take the W and be happy with it (the Kings win, not the romantic one) BUT this is the Kings in their unending quest to finally reached the promised land after thirteen years of pure suckage (my dating analogy peters out somewhere around here) and in pure Kings fashion, in this long term pursuit of finally being relevant again, every surprise win can be seen as an unwelcome step back in the pursuit of getting a top pick in this year’s strong draft class. That’s right, the Kings can’t just win anymore.

”But Stephen, one win won’t hurt,” you saw while scrolling through this thread while on the toilet or watching Wonder Woman on HBO Max.

Sure, but it doesn’t necessarily help. For years, I have been against the general idea of the tanking for a high pick idea. This year, now that I have finally decided to relax and embrace the tank, the Kings decided to up and win an opening night against a good team for the first time in what feels like forever. Not only did they win but they looked good doing it!

Fox made a star play with the game winning block. Buddy made a game wining hustle tip in. Tyrese Haliburton somehow looked even better than he did in the preseason. Marvin played a healthy amount of minutes for the first time since he broke his hand in last year’s season opener. Hell, Hassan Whiteside even looked good playing surprise crunchtime minutes against the Nuggets. By all means, this was the young core players of the team leading the Kings to a victory. This should be a win. Full stop.

And yet... the visions of Cade Cunningham in a Kings jersey just won’t go away.

***
Awards Time!

Tony Delk Memorial Award - Cory Joseph. I know! The first awards of the season and I’m already doing something weird liking giving the random bench explosion award to a guy on the Kings. But that first quarter stretch in which CoJo was randomly the best guy on the floor for both teams won the Kings the game and thus the trophy is his.

Luke Walton Vacuum Cleaner Award - Jamal Murray. Hero of the NBA Bubble, zero of NBA tipoff week. The dude was simply invisible for most of the game despite somehow fouling out of the game in limited minutes. Normally this award goes to dudes who just suck and Jamal went beyond that and just didn’t exist.

Mikki Moore Award - Harrison Barnes. Harrison had a great game but when you miss an emphatic tomahawk game winning breakaway dunk for the overtime win when a simple layup would have probably sufficed, you wind up in the Mikki Moore rankings.

WTF Moment of the Game - Lots of ref moments would suffice but the refs reviewing a relatively innocuous ball that looked like it was off the Kings that wound up being a clear foul by Hassan on Jokic and it still winding up Kings ball rather than a Nuggets ball as originally called probably stands out the most. For the first time ever, the Kings seem to have benefitted from bad reffing. Huzzah!

***
Merry Christmas! Tonight Slamson Claus brings us a matchup against the quickly revamped Phoenix Suns, who, fresh off an undefeated bubble campaign, now sport CP3, Jae Crowder, and the expectations that come with trading young assets for an elder (point) god.

They started off the season by beating the Mavs on national TV but I’m not so sure how much of that was the Suns being good and how much of that was just the Mavs having no one capable of doing anything on a consistent basis aside from Luka. Devin Booker started off hot but then pretty much decided to take the rest of the game off and Ayton didn’t look awesome in his season debut. Chris Paul also didn’t look spectacular in his first game as a Sun but his OKC season started off the same way so it’s probably too early to call him washed. Also they passed on Haliburton to draft a back up center so there’s that.

Can the Kings beat the Suns? Talent wise, it’s not as big a gap as you‘d assume. Will they beat them? Probably not. But who knows?
***
Starting fives:
Ayton vs. Holmes: Ayton has become a solid defender compared to when he first came into the league. On offense, with two ball dominators like CP3 and Booker around, he has yet to become “David Robinson but with a jumper” as predicted by some draft “experts”. Meanwhile Holmes can‘t seem to stop fouling enough to show us exactly how he fits into the Kings plans this year. Advantage: Ayton, but I wouldn’t expect us to see much of this matchup tonight.

Crowder vs. Bagley: Crowder is a super solid glue guy and it’s clear that the Grizzlies still miss him. Meanwhile, MBIII remains the Kings’ major wildcard. If Marvin gives the general defensive effort/hustle he gave against the Nuggets every night in addition to his inside scoring, he is an entire useful starting big. If he continues to build on it, thanking might not be a viable option this season. That said, defending Crowder, while still a challenge, is going to require a different skill set than trying to guard Jokic in the post. Advantage: Bagley

Bridges vs. Barnes: This may be the most interesting matchup of the night in that both guys are surprisingly similar in what they offer to their teams as 4th options who play solid defense and generally aren’t gonna complain about how things are going. If Barnes had to play Bridges one on one, Barnes has the clear size advantange so I guess he’d win but who knows. Advantage: Barnes, but by a slim margin.

Booker vs. Buddy: Whatever the over/under is on points scored between the two, I’d take the over. Buddy has played better defense this year but asking him to defend a playmaker of Booker’s caliber full time is probably a bit too much while on the other end, Booker’s probably not going to affect Buddy’s ability to hit threes on the move that much. Advantage: Book. I like Buddy but he’s not Booker.

Paul vs. Fox: This should be fun. When CP3 was young, he was the best defensive point guard in the league. Now that he’s old though, he might have significant issues keeping Fox in front of him on that end of the floor. On the other end, guarding CP3 for 30 minutes (if CP3 plays that much) is going to be a good test to see how De’Aaron has grown as a defender within Rex’s system and individually. Advantage: Wash. I think CP3 has gotten a little worse while De’Aaron has gotten better. Don’t hate.

Suns Bench vs. Kings Bench: This is one matchup that I think goes the Kings‘ way. Hassan is a useful third big who will force the Suns out to the perimeter (Which is probably where they’re at their best anyways). Bjeli is going to heat up eventually. CoJo isn’t useless and will probably play tight minutes in a close game as our best guards body defender. AND Tyrese is a stud who is probably immediately better than anyone the Suns have on their bench (sorry Cam Johnson). Cam Payne has looked nice after being out of the league for a bit but I’m not so sure he’s very good. Despite getting picked 10th by the Suns, Jalen Smith doesn’t look better than the guy they drafted him over.

Final Prediction: Suns 117, Kings 111
The Suns are solid and the Kings are still trying to figure out that Richard Holmes running plays from the top of the post isn’t a viable source of offense. But I think it’ll be a close game. Buddy drops 30. Marvin looks good. Tyrese makes Joe Johnson regret passing on him. We get a GRIII appearance. The tank is back on track.

But maybe a win wouldn’t completely suck.
 
Last edited:
#2
I think you guys have a really good chance tonight. Y’all seem to be a good 3pt shooting team and Suns have been giving up open looks since summer league, pre season and game 1. Thankfully Mavs were off against us but you guys have some shooters to make us pay. I think Buddy, in particular, will have a big game tonight.

Btw, even though I’m biased, I will still say that Bridges is a much better player than Barnes (your comparison on OP). He’s like a fan favorite and most of us like more than Ayton and probably 2nd favorite player after Book. He’s already a better defender than Barnes ever was and he actually has an underrated game offensively which he’s starting to show more of this season (at least thru preseason and game 1 he has).

Hope for a good game with no injuries either way. I think whoever loses tonight will win tomorrow. I don’t think either team is good enough to beat the other one twice in a row barring injuries/rest factors.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#3
I think you guys have a really good chance tonight. Y’all seem to be a good 3pt shooting team and Suns have been giving up open looks since summer league, pre season and game 1. Thankfully Mavs were off against us but you guys have some shooters to make us pay. I think Buddy, in particular, will have a big game tonight.

Btw, even though I’m biased, I will still say that Bridges is a much better player than Barnes (your comparison on OP). He’s like a fan favorite and most of us like more than Ayton and probably 2nd favorite player after Book. He’s already a better defender than Barnes ever was and he actually has an underrated game offensively which he’s starting to show more of this season (at least thru preseason and game 1 he has).

Hope for a good game with no injuries either way. I think whoever loses tonight will win tomorrow. I don’t think either team is good enough to beat the other one twice in a row barring injuries/rest factors.
Yeah. I mostly agree with you on the Bridges thing. I think the thing that mostly made me go with Barnes was the fact that he’ll probably spend most of the second half at PF against Crowder anyways.
 
#4
The spread is -3.5 in the Suns favor. I think the Kings cover and not only cover, but win.

I really like the Chris Paul pick up for the Suns. But Fox outplays him tonight. Run those old legs outta the gym, Fox.

Book destroys Buddy, like he has always done. Going to get 5 post up scoring possessions against Buddy in the paint. And Buddy will get pressured into three turnovers (minimum).

Bridges and Barnes? Slight advantage to Bridges, because he's the better two way player.

Bags destroys Crowder.

Ayton destroys Holmes. Whiteside starts and it's a push. Really don't understand why Holmes is starting over Whiteside.

X-factors Haliburton and Whiteside.
 
Last edited:

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
#5
So I was out on a first date the other night and when the night was over at it was time to say goodnight and everything and do the customary kiss thing as people normally tend to do when things are not a total disaster, I was hit by a new crippling wave of paralyzing think-iness. Do I take off my mask and kiss her? Do I hug her? If I do kiss her does this mean I need to go back into quarantine for a couple of weeks on the off chance she’s infected?
OK, I'm not asking for details, but after being married for 20 years I never really thought about dating during this COVID craziness. I know some idiots are running around without masks throwing fits in stores where they are asked to wear a mask and those on the opposite end of the spectrum have sheltered at home doing nothing but having groceries delivered to their door. What about the "normal" folks who mask up, limit gathering sizes during holidays, follow social distancing recommendations, etc., but still are human beings that do things like go on first dates, etc.? What is the protocol? Is there one?
 
#7
OK, I'm not asking for details, but after being married for 20 years I never really thought about dating during this COVID craziness. I know some idiots are running around without masks throwing fits in stores where they are asked to wear a mask and those on the opposite end of the spectrum have sheltered at home doing nothing but having groceries delivered to their door. What about the "normal" folks who mask up, limit gathering sizes during holidays, follow social distancing recommendations, etc., but still are human beings that do things like go on first dates, etc.? What is the protocol? Is there one?
I think tetsujin lives in Japan. I think there is much less of a stigma with wearing mask there and they are probably not in such crisis mode over there
 
#8
I’ve always been more of a build a contender or bust kinda guy but I’m starting to change my tune. This organization just needs to start making winning decisions. Hiring the agency for the gm search was a win. Building a legit front office was a win. Surrounding Luke with player developers and motivators was a win. Haliburton is a huge win.

I’m not holding my breath for a top five pick this year. Instead I’m putting my faith in Monte to find talent wherever we pick. Good players who impact winning can be found throughout the draft.

The west is stacked but if the kings are somehow in contention for the 8th seed you won’t find me complaining.
 
Last edited:

Warhawk

The cake is a lie.
Staff member
#9
I think tetsujin lives in Japan. I think there is much less of a stigma with wearing mask there and they are probably not in such crisis mode over there
Yes, he does. I follow some of the stuff he does there sometimes. I was just curious (in general) what folks think. :)
 
#10
I think you guys have a really good chance tonight. Y’all seem to be a good 3pt shooting team and Suns have been giving up open looks since summer league, pre season and game 1. Thankfully Mavs were off against us but you guys have some shooters to make us pay. I think Buddy, in particular, will have a big game tonight.

Btw, even though I’m biased, I will still say that Bridges is a much better player than Barnes (your comparison on OP). He’s like a fan favorite and most of us like more than Ayton and probably 2nd favorite player after Book. He’s already a better defender than Barnes ever was and he actually has an underrated game offensively which he’s starting to show more of this season (at least thru preseason and game 1 he has).

Hope for a good game with no injuries either way. I think whoever loses tonight will win tomorrow. I don’t think either team is good enough to beat the other one twice in a row barring injuries/rest factors.
The Kings can shoot but it depends heavily on the rotation as to how well on any given night. As a big team, which Walton seems determined to play as, both starting bigs aren't reliable. This will be an interesting showcase being the first battle of the season of Waltons bigs vs. another small baller.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
#11
I can’t wait until Holmes picks up 3 fouls in 2 minutes and we see Ayton vs Whiteside. Big boys battle.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say CoJo doesn’t have a repeat performance.

I hope Parker finds his way into even a few minutes.
 
#18

So I was out on a first date the other night and when the night was over at it was time to say goodnight and everything and do the customary kiss thing as people normally tend to do when things are not a total disaster, I was hit by a new crippling wave of paralyzing think-iness. Do I take off my mask and kiss her? Do I hug her? If I do kiss her does this mean I need to go back into quarantine for a couple of weeks on the off chance she’s infected?

I say all of this not as some sort of weird lamebrag flex that I’m dating during a global pandemic but rather to say that I am as equally confused about how to feel about this Kings win over the Nuggets as I was about how to share a medium amount of affection without potentially passing on a deadly disease. By all normal standards, I should just take the W and be happy with it (the Kings win, not the romantic one) BUT this is the Kings in their unending quest to finally reached the promised land after thirteen years of pure suckage (my dating analogy peters out somewhere around here) and in pure Kings fashion, in this long term pursuit of finally being relevant again, every surprise win can be seen as an unwelcome step back in the pursuit of getting a top pick in this year’s strong draft class. That’s right, the Kings can’t just win anymore.

”But Stephen, one win won’t hurt,” you saw while scrolling through this thread while on the toilet or watching Wonder Woman on HBO Max.

Sure, but it doesn’t necessarily help. For years, I have been against the general idea of the tanking for a high pick idea. This year, now that I have finally decided to relax and embrace the tank, the Kings decided to up and win an opening night against a good team for the first time in what feels like forever. Not only did they win but they looked good doing it!

Fox made a star play with the game winning block. Buddy made a game wining hustle tip in. Tyrese Haliburton somehow looked even better than he did in the preseason. Marvin played a healthy amount of minutes for the first time since he broke his hand in last year’s season opener. Hell, Hassan Whiteside even looked good playing surprise crunchtime minutes against the Nuggets. By all means, this was the young core players of the team leading the Kings to a victory. This should be a win. Full stop.

And yet... the visions of Cade Cunningham in a Kings jersey just won’t go away.

***
Awards Time!

Tony Delk Memorial Award - Cory Joseph. I know! The first awards of the season and I’m already doing something weird liking giving the random bench explosion award to a guy on the Kings. But that first quarter stretch in which CoJo was randomly the best guy on the floor for both teams won the Kings the game and thus the trophy is his.

Luke Walton Vacuum Cleaner Award - Jamal Murray. Hero of the NBA Bubble, zero of NBA tipoff week. The dude was simply invisible for most of the game despite somehow fouling out of the game in limited minutes. Normally this award goes to dudes who just suck and Jamal went beyond that and just didn’t exist.

Mikki Moore Award - Harrison Barnes. Harrison had a great game but when you miss an emphatic tomahawk game winning breakaway dunk for the overtime win when a simple layup would have probably sufficed, you wind up in the Mikki Moore rankings.

WTF Moment of the Game - Lots of ref moments would suffice but the refs reviewing a relatively innocuous ball that looked like it was off the Kings that wound up being a clear foul by Hassan on Jokic and it still winding up Kings ball rather than a Nuggets ball as originally called probably stands out the most. For the first time ever, the Kings seem to have benefitted from bad reffing. Huzzah!

***
Merry Christmas! Tonight Slamson Claus brings us a matchup against the quickly revamped Phoenix Suns, who, fresh off an undefeated bubble campaign, now sport CP3, Jae Crowder, and the expectations that come with trading young assets for an elder (point) god.

They started off the season by beating the Mavs on national TV but I’m not so sure how much of that was the Suns being good and how much of that was just the Mavs having no one capable of doing anything on a consistent basis aside from Luka. Devin Booker started off hot but then pretty much decided to take the rest of the game off and Ayton didn’t look awesome in his season debut. Chris Paul also didn’t look spectacular in his first game as a Sun but his OKC season started off the same way so it’s probably too early to call him washed. Also they passed on Haliburton to draft a back up center so there’s that.

Can the Kings beat the Suns? Talent wise, it’s not as big a gap as you‘d assume. Will they beat them? Probably not. But who knows?
***
Starting fives:
Ayton vs. Holmes: Ayton has become a solid defender compared to when he first came into the league. On offense, with two ball dominators like CP3 and Booker around, he has yet to become “David Robinson but with a jumper” as predicted by some draft “experts”. Meanwhile Holmes can‘t seem to stop fouling enough to show us exactly how he fits into the Kings plans this year. Advantage: Ayton, but I wouldn’t expect us to see much of this matchup tonight.

Crowder vs. Bagley: Crowder is a super solid glue guy and it’s clear that the Grizzlies still miss him. Meanwhile, MBIII remains the Kings’ major wildcard. If Marvin gives the general defensive effort/hustle he gave against the Nuggets every night in addition to his inside scoring, he is an entire useful starting big. If he continues to build on it, thanking might not be a viable option this season. That said, defending Crowder, while still a challenge, is going to require a different skill set than trying to guard Jokic in the post. Advantage: Bagley

Bridges vs. Barnes: This may be the most interesting matchup of the night in that both guys are surprisingly similar in what they offer to their teams as 4th options who play solid defense and generally aren’t gonna complain about how things are going. If Barnes had to play Bridges one on one, Barnes has the clear size advantange so I guess he’d win but who knows. Advantage: Barnes, but by a slim margin.

Booker vs. Buddy: Whatever the over/under is on points scored between the two, I’d take the over. Buddy has played better defense this year but asking him to defend a playmaker of Booker’s caliber full time is probably a bit too much while on the other end, Booker’s probably not going to affect Buddy’s ability to hit threes on the move that much. Advantage: Book. I like Buddy but he’s not Booker.

Paul vs. Fox: This should be fun. When CP3 was young, he was the best defensive point guard in the league. Now that he’s old though, he might have significant issues keeping Fox in front of him on that end of the floor. On the other end, guarding CP3 for 30 minutes (if CP3 plays that much) is going to be a good test to see how De’Aaron has grown as a defender within Rex’s system and individually. Advantage: Wash. I think CP3 has gotten a little worse while De’Aaron has gotten better. Don’t hate.

Suns Bench vs. Kings Bench: This is one matchup that I think goes the Kings‘ way. Hassan is a useful third big who will force the Suns out to the perimeter (Which is probably where they’re at their best anyways). Bjeli is going to heat up eventually. CoJo isn’t useless and will probably play tight minutes in a close game as our best guards body defender. AND Tyrese is a stud who is probably immediately better than anyone the Suns have on their bench (sorry Cam Johnson). Cam Payne has looked nice after being out of the league for a bit but I’m not so sure he’s very good. Despite getting picked 10th by the Suns, Jalen Smith doesn’t look better than the guy they drafted him over.

Final Prediction: Suns 117, Kings 111
The Suns are solid and the Kings are still trying to figure out that Richard Holmes running plays from the top of the post isn’t a viable source of offense. But I think it’ll be a close game. Buddy drops 30. Marvin looks good. Tyrese makes Joe Johnson regret passing on him. We get a GRIII appearance. The tank is back on track.

But maybe a win wouldn’t completely suck.
You're writing is really jazzing my gelato! Really sparking my spumoni! Really boosting my biscotti!

I expect a good game tonight and I expect a win. To help resolve your angsty dilemma about how to feel about that last game, may I suggest the following: dating at all during a pandemic is a massive win. Likewise, any Kings opener win, let along a buzzer beater, should automatically be an "A" game. Plenty of time later in the season to nit pick over details. I wish you all the best in love, life, and lasagna.

LLL
VB

p.s. - it was another lasagna night (for real)... so tonight is already a win for me. Kings I give you my energy!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.