3rd quarter started a bit flat for the Kings while the Wiz turned it up a notch out scoring the Kings 22-15 in the quarter. Also the hobnobbing started catching up with old acquaintances and watching the parade past Artest and his kids one row in front. Randy Brown was there, down in the corner in a white Kings golf shirt, just like the other assistance coaches. Could not confirm but suspicions are he is now on staff. Key word is "suspicions".
Continuing to impress was the hustle and banging of Justin Williams, the really good ballhandling by Douby, and his baseline penetrations, the offensive game of Hawes and a bit better rebounding, the PG skills by Shakur bringing up the ball whenever he was in, and the shooting-scoring of Donta Smith who had 9 of his 15 in the 4th quarter. And Cisco set a Cox arena record for floor burns at somewhere between 8 and 20 with one requiring an injury time-out (he favored his left wrist for a bit then went back in and promptly hit a 3!!).
Shakur is the mystery boy tho'. Can't figure his game out. Watching from 2 rows up behind Kings bench, he just seemed invisible except when bringing the ball up court and did that really well. For example, in 22 min of playing time he had 4 pts on 1 of 2 from field and 2 FT plus 4 reb, 5 ast (team high!!), 2 steals and only 1 TO.
Donta Smith was another suprise of sorts. He played a year or two with the Hawks but is a free agent I think now. He is 6-7 and his 215 lb is quite solid. A very NBA body for a 1 or 2 and has a great mid-range and 3pt shot. Shot 4 of 8 from field and was 6/6 FT resulting from his penetrations.
Hawes is Hawes. His nearly 31 min was a mixed bag today. 4 of 16 shooting for 8 pts but many of those tips and closer in shots challanged heavily plus 6 reb (all defensive), 5 fouls and 4 TO's. He still needs to settle down some more and realize the rebounding abilities of Williams and Watkins.
Darryl Watkins, our partially guaranteed signee last week, was impressive in his 14-1/2 minutes altering more than a few shots and really banging in the middle. True 6-11 and a solid 258/260.
Pooh Jeter. Lots of hustle, really good ball handler, dished 3 ast with only 1 TO in only 12+ minutes. But he is not 5-11 (personal opinion only from watching him vs. Bryan Chase the Wiz 5-9 summer league guard).
The 4th Quarter was a barn burner for the Kings as they outscored the Wiz 23-8 to win going away 75-64. Cisco had 21 pts on 6 of 10 shooting but was 4 of 6 from 3 range!!! Like a true SF, had no rebs but 6 TOs (game high) from again trying to do too much on his own, mostly penetrating when there was no where to go.
Then there was JWill or should I say Big JWill, 10 reb, 11 pts, 2 blks (had 4-5 more it looked like) in 27 min.
The Kings led in Fast Break points 12/9 and in points in the paint 28/24. Not significant but fast breaks are not normally a thing of beauty in summer league. But for 80% of those Cisco was directly involved. That boy can get up and down the court but was hitting the deck so often you could hear the inhales everywhere.
In summary, our two BIGS, JWill/Hawes had 16 reb, 19 pt, 3 blocks and 10 fouls. Stats I liked and they earned.
I'll try to get a few pictures up in a bit but have to go downstairs to lubricate my throat after all this online cheering.
Besides the Hooters bar is very educational
