Kings vs Warriors (Preseason) Oct. 7, 2013 @ 7:30 PST - Happy Birthday Vivek!

[spudfan]

Ahhhhh, yes! The first Kings preseason game of the season! I am excited I can finally get away from baseball and football as my true passion is the Kings. The game will take place at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, CA.

I don't think the lineup for the Kings has been released yet, but here is what the Warriors did vs the Lakers (loss by 9) on Saturday. Should give you a good preview of what to expect from them.

SACRAMENTO KINGS 2013-14 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER
15 - DeMarcus Cousins (C) 6-foot-11, 270 pounds | 08/13/1990 | Kentucky/USA | 3 yrs
7 - Jimmer Fredette (G) 6-foot-2, 195 pounds | 02/25/1989 | Brigham Young/USA | 2 yrs
42 - Chuck Hayes (F) 6-foot-6, 250 pounds | 06/11/1983 | Kentucky/USA | 8 yrs
0 - DeQuan Jones (F) 6-foot-8, 230 pounds | 06/20/1990 | Miami (Fla.)/USA | 1 yrs
24 - Carl Landry (F) 6-foot-9, 248 pounds | 09/19/1983 | Purdue/USA | 6 yrs
20 - Trent Lockett (G) 6-foot-5, 210 pounds | 12/10/1990 | Marquette/USA | R
33 - Luc Mbah a Moute (F) 6-foot-8, 230 pounds | 09/09/1986 | UCLA/Cameroon | 5 yrs
3 - Ray McCallum (G) 6-foot-3, 190 pounds | 06/12/1991 | Detroit/USA | R
16 - Ben McLemore (G) 6-foot-5, 195 pounds | 02/11/1993 | Kansas/USA | R
55 - Hamady Ndiaye (C) 7-foot, 235 pounds | 01/12/1987 | Rutgers/Senegal | 2 yrs
25 - Travis Outlaw (F) 6-foot-9, 207 pounds | 09/18/1984 | Starkville HS (MS)/USA | 10 yrs
9 - Patrick Patterson (F) 6-foot-9, 235 pounds | 03/14/1989 | Kentucky/USA | 3 yrs
5 - John Salmons (F-G) 6-foot-6, 207 pounds | 12/12/1979 | Miami (Fla.)/USA | 11 yrs
22 - Isaiah Thomas (G) 5-foot-9, 185 pounds | 02/07/1989 | Washington/USA | 2 yrs
34 - Jason Thompson (F-C) 6-foot-11, 250 pounds | 07/21/1986 | Rider/USA | 5 yrs
23 - Marcus Thornton (G) 6-foot-4, 205 pounds | 06/05/1987 | Louisiana State/USA | 4 yrs
10 - Greivis Vasquez (G) 6-foot-6, 211 pounds | 01/16/1987 | Maryland/Venezuela | 3 yrs

 

[jaysoonii]

Via GS FB Page, Sacramento Starting Lineup:
John Salmons, Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Thornton & Isaiah Thomas

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Excited to get a look at the new unit

 

[spudfan]

Via GS FB Page, Sacramento Starting Lineup:
John Salmons, Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Thornton & Isaiah Thomas

Nice! I wonder if IT is starting because Vasquez is still recovering or if they battled it out in training camp and we have our starter picked. Not sure how I feel about Thornton starting over Ben.

 

[PurpleHaze]

For those of you w/o NBA-TV and call by GSW broadcast team little heads up on other option. KHTK-1140 AM has Kings radio call with Grant Napear doing play-by-play tonight. Napear to interview Coach Malone and G. Vasquez at around 7:15-7:25. Right now on radio Kayte, The High Flyer and Jason Ross in pre-game chat.

 

[spudfan]

Also interesting to see Salmons will start over Luc. I like that JT is starting over PPat, 2pat Patrick, etc =P

 

[Bricklayer]

Excited to get a look at the new unit

New unit? That's the exact same old unit except swapping out Reke for Thornton

 

[spudfan]

What are you all hoping to see tonight? For me I hope we see some good team oriented offense with good ball movement. No hero ball please. If IT is going to be the starter I would like to see him shoot less and set up the rest of the team more.

If we could show better on screens and not leave guys hanging as often as last year I would be ecstatic.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

Here we go, guys. I'm excited.

The starting lineup makes sense for now. Thomas has apparently had a good camp and GV isn't 100% just yet.

I keep going back and forth on JT as the starter just because of how much the bench unit needs him, but I'm OK with it. I like MT over Ben because he's a much better player right now. I'd prefer LRMAM over Salmons, but with options at SF limited I'm sure we'll see a lot of both of them.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

Unless Ben has drastically improved since summer league he isn't even close to the player Marcus Thornton is.

 

[Bosnian Diehard]

I am hoping to see some effort by Cousins on defense/leadership shown by him, good teamwork on offense, and some decent playing time for new faces.

 

[spudfan]

New unit? That's the exact same old unit except swapping out Reke for Thornton

What are your feelings on having Thornton start over McLemore? I think it is safe to say Thornton is better than McLemore at this point in time but for a preseason game, I feel that having the player who you are gaga over would make more sense as the starter. The organization has said we are thinking long term and trying to change the culture of the team, playing Ben seems to fit that mindset better than playing Thornton in my eyes (short term advantage).

 

[spudfan]

Unless Ben has drastically improved since summer league he isn't even close to the player Marcus Thornton is.

Agreed. Would you rather have Thornton start over Ben though?

 

[PurpleHaze]

Vasquez says the foot feels much better after 4 months of rehab and no B-ball - getting it all re-started in training camp. Says he won't play in this game but Kings are ready and eager to compete tonight.

 

[jaysoonii]

MT produces better as a starter then coming off the bench in the past.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

Agreed. Would you rather have Thornton start over Ben though?

Absolutely. If Thornton is given the minutes he's going to have a monster season, especially if GV is the starting point guard. Plenty of shots for him.

Not only will that increase Thornton's trade value but the team will win more games, and yes, this is a season where we should win as many games as we can. If Ben proves he can play by the trading deadline, then you move Thornton for an asset or two, but I haven't seen anything from Ben to suggest he's even close to ready.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Mike Malone said he is going to use a different starting lineup for every pre season game and hasnt decided on who will start for the opener yet

 

[jcwkings]

I just want to see effort on defense and more ball movement and less isolation play on offense. Also to just want to see how the rooks look playing with/against actual NBA players.

 

[spudfan]

Mike Malone said he is going to use a different starting lineup for every pre season game and hasnt decided on who will start for the opener yet

This gives me flashbacks to Smart. I will try my best not to unleash all the feelings that he created in my post though

 

[jcwkings]

What are your feelings on having Thornton start over McLemore? I think it is safe to say Thornton is better than McLemore at this point in time but for a preseason game, I feel that having the player who you are gaga over would make more sense as the starter. The organization has said we are thinking long term and trying to change the culture of the team, playing Ben seems to fit that mindset better than playing Thornton in my eyes (short term advantage).

I think its important for McLemore to sit in at the start and see how a legit 20 ppg scorer plays at this level. Thornton was probably amongst the biggest victims of the no structure, iso heavy game we have played the last few years, his minutes last year were erratic to say the least. He should definetly get a big run here early, for the first time he is the clear best option at starting SG on this team, barring McLemore exploding.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Mike Malone said he is going to use a different starting lineup for every pre season game and hasnt decided on who will start for the opener yet

Exactly. Malone just said that these 7 preseason games will be about evaluating talent, seeing what pieces work best in certain situations. Says final 2 preseason games will probably be most indicative to what starting lineup will be to open regular season.

 

[Bricklayer]

Agreed. Would you rather have Thornton start over Ben though?

From what we saw in summer Thornton is twice the NBA player Mac is at this point. I suppose it depends if you are going to intentionally tank it or not, but to throw out a blatantly unre4ady rook to scuttle the entire team, in a season where you're try to rebuild a fanbase and culture...no rush. If he gets it together we can talk, but you know what? Marcus Thornton can average 20ppg in this league and isn't exactly decrepit. There is no guarantee McLemore will ever do that even once. You just don't know.

 

[Bosnian Diehard]

Getting hyped! Let's go KINGS!

 

[annihilator_33]

I'm ready....Kings basketball is here!!!!!!

 

[rainmaker]

New season.

Go time.

 

[cuad]

First play: JT Post up. Sure feels like K-Smart.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Do i actually see movement without the ball and screens on offense? this can't be the Kings

 

[cuad]

COUSINS GOT A BLOCK OMG, and now a charge. we got a defensive monster.

 

[annihilator_33]

Nice block by Cousins

 

[rainmaker]

From what we saw in summer Thornton is twice the NBA player Mac is at this point. I suppose it depends if you are going to intentionally tank it or not, but to throw out a blatantly unre4ady rook to scuttle the entire team, in a season where you're try to rebuild a fanbase and culture...no rush. If he gets it together we can talk, but you know what? Marcus Thornton can average 20ppg in this league and isn't exactly decrepit. There is no guarantee McLemore will ever do that even once. You just don't know.

Yes, but another factor is defense. MT is pretty poor and it wouldn't be surprising to see MLM pass him up on that end by Christmas or the AS break. If he does that, unless he's really struggling on offense, case can be made to plug MLM into the lineup to improve team defense, especially if MT gets lit up the way he has previously combined with our defensive issues at PG.

We'll have a better idea a month from now though, obviously.