piksi
Hall of Famer
Kings just can't get 3 in the row as they passed up a golden opportunity against a mediocre at best Pacers team. So winning streak is snapped and the record dropped to 14-21 which is tied for the 9th worst in the league. Kings are 10-9 at home and 2-1 on 4 game home stand going on 2-2 as the Mavs are coming to town. After this game - Kings will play 6/7 on the road and that might get ugly. At least after that sequence - there won't be any talk about playoffs. Also it is expected that at some point during the stretch Kings might be at full strength which is vital for the upcoming trade season which will hopefully be busy.
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So after the Mavs game Kings will have a though stretch with 6 pf 7 games on the road. Actually, those are two 3 games road trips split by a home game against the Nets. In the first trip we pay visits to Toronto, Detroit and Indiana and we would be lucky to win one game. After the Nets game we are staying in the west and visiting Clippers, Jazz and Sonics and that will be very interesting because all games are winnable. Other problem with this stretch is the fact that there are 3 sets of back to back games. After this is over - we will know much more about where we are and where we are going.
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Finally a real test for Kings resilience. We haven't had an opponent like this in 2008. Since the Suns we played 6 games with teams who aren't better than mediocrity of the NBA. We went 3-3 which is good considering our injury problems and we were all satisfied about our ability to compete night in and night out. Well, against the Mavs - we will know where we are because they are very good and they are playing well and winning. Those kind of games we have to play our best to be able to compete and if we play like the Pacers game we will lose by 20+ .
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Nice to see Kevin back. I wasn't even aware that he missed 17 games already which was half of the games that Kings played. He played as I have expected. He was fresh, hungry and very motivated playing well on adrenalin until he got a bit tired down the stretch. He was the guy we need back the guy who is supposed to be a part of the future unless and offer comes that can't be refused. Without him - we lose by 30 last night. I am not going to argue that he is the best or most efficient Kings player or whatever. He is the part that fits in every equation of the Kings presence and near future. The game didn't change much with his return. If the rest of the team played on the level that they played in the previous games - Kevin would have been a difference which would have won us a game. He needs to get his starting job back and we need to close this book. Welcome back Kevin !
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Small ball - I don't like, at least not with the roster we have. Mostly because Spencer and Justin won't get to play and we are supposed to develop them. We have bunch of combo guards that can play PF as successful as Mikki Moore but that isn't the point here. While Brad has been rebounding much better as of late - having him being the only legit big man on the floor is scary. I am not much for Ron and John playing PFs not even mentioning Cisco. I guess we need trades badly for many reasons.
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Turnovers - no one is as good as us. We can do it often, we can do it a lot and we can do it in various ways. We can pass it out of bounds or straight to the opponent. We travel well, we "overstep the boundaries", we camp in the lane and we get offensive fouls too. We can do it early and late in the game. We can do it in series, right after steals, before and after steals. We are perfectly capable of killing the momentum that has already been dead for a while. That is Your Kings 2008. Take it or leave it.
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Pacers didn't give it to us as the Grizzlies. They tried hard but we didn't want to take it. We just didn't play well and didn't deserve it. Except for Kevin who was great in his return and Cisco - other guys just had either quiet or bad nights. 17 assists to 23 turnovers is pretty bad. We shot well and rebounded well but the turnovers just killed us. The effort was there, we played hard but with our narrow margin of error - it wasn't enough.
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AWARD TIME
TDM went to Travis Diener who now has new career highs in points FGAs and 3pt made.
LW-VC went to JO - who was our 3rd best player bringing us in the game time and time again
RA&1 award went to Rush who sucked big time also
SAR Methuselah award went to Jamal Tinsley and the only good thing that happend to him last night - no one was shot at.
JHA went to Brad Miller for his first half performance.
WTF moment of the game - out of 23 TOs - just pick one.
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Mavs are next and since we bounced them in the 03/04 playoffs we have lost all but 2 games against them - some of them badly. We lost one early in the season by a blowout. They are good and they are playing solid. We should be able to come out lose as an underdog and give them a fight. Knicks beat pistons by 25 tonight holding them to 65 pts. Anything is possible. Well we won't hold them to 65 but if we can take care of the ball - we will have a chance.
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Kevin - hopefully back as a starter
Salmons - the flu caught up with him and he struggled all nigh. Might have injured his leg too.
Cisco - what can You say ?
Mikki - been useless as of late. Might foul out again.
Brad - take care of the ball
Beno - if You could only pass to Your teammate
QD - young Cisco
Jones - keep it simple
Justin & Hawes - need to play
KT - turninh into a MVP candidate.
Coach T - glue their hands or something and cancel the travel plans please !
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Mavs are best in the West at 26-11 but only 9-8 on the road where the last win was a give away by Clippers - who else. Mavs are on t 7 game winning streak and they have won 14 of their last 17 games. They might not be in the spotlight but they are as good as usual. And as usual - we don't like them at all starting with the MVP Irk and then all the way down to our "friends' Hassell and George. TDM will go to Barea. In case You forgot what he did to us - I won't remind You. LW-VC will go to Jones. Other awards will be given on both side. I expect a close game in which we will probably give it away at the end but it will be a fun ride.
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So after the Mavs game Kings will have a though stretch with 6 pf 7 games on the road. Actually, those are two 3 games road trips split by a home game against the Nets. In the first trip we pay visits to Toronto, Detroit and Indiana and we would be lucky to win one game. After the Nets game we are staying in the west and visiting Clippers, Jazz and Sonics and that will be very interesting because all games are winnable. Other problem with this stretch is the fact that there are 3 sets of back to back games. After this is over - we will know much more about where we are and where we are going.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally a real test for Kings resilience. We haven't had an opponent like this in 2008. Since the Suns we played 6 games with teams who aren't better than mediocrity of the NBA. We went 3-3 which is good considering our injury problems and we were all satisfied about our ability to compete night in and night out. Well, against the Mavs - we will know where we are because they are very good and they are playing well and winning. Those kind of games we have to play our best to be able to compete and if we play like the Pacers game we will lose by 20+ .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nice to see Kevin back. I wasn't even aware that he missed 17 games already which was half of the games that Kings played. He played as I have expected. He was fresh, hungry and very motivated playing well on adrenalin until he got a bit tired down the stretch. He was the guy we need back the guy who is supposed to be a part of the future unless and offer comes that can't be refused. Without him - we lose by 30 last night. I am not going to argue that he is the best or most efficient Kings player or whatever. He is the part that fits in every equation of the Kings presence and near future. The game didn't change much with his return. If the rest of the team played on the level that they played in the previous games - Kevin would have been a difference which would have won us a game. He needs to get his starting job back and we need to close this book. Welcome back Kevin !
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Small ball - I don't like, at least not with the roster we have. Mostly because Spencer and Justin won't get to play and we are supposed to develop them. We have bunch of combo guards that can play PF as successful as Mikki Moore but that isn't the point here. While Brad has been rebounding much better as of late - having him being the only legit big man on the floor is scary. I am not much for Ron and John playing PFs not even mentioning Cisco. I guess we need trades badly for many reasons.
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Turnovers - no one is as good as us. We can do it often, we can do it a lot and we can do it in various ways. We can pass it out of bounds or straight to the opponent. We travel well, we "overstep the boundaries", we camp in the lane and we get offensive fouls too. We can do it early and late in the game. We can do it in series, right after steals, before and after steals. We are perfectly capable of killing the momentum that has already been dead for a while. That is Your Kings 2008. Take it or leave it.
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Pacers didn't give it to us as the Grizzlies. They tried hard but we didn't want to take it. We just didn't play well and didn't deserve it. Except for Kevin who was great in his return and Cisco - other guys just had either quiet or bad nights. 17 assists to 23 turnovers is pretty bad. We shot well and rebounded well but the turnovers just killed us. The effort was there, we played hard but with our narrow margin of error - it wasn't enough.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
AWARD TIME
TDM went to Travis Diener who now has new career highs in points FGAs and 3pt made.
LW-VC went to JO - who was our 3rd best player bringing us in the game time and time again
RA&1 award went to Rush who sucked big time also
SAR Methuselah award went to Jamal Tinsley and the only good thing that happend to him last night - no one was shot at.
JHA went to Brad Miller for his first half performance.
WTF moment of the game - out of 23 TOs - just pick one.
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Mavs are next and since we bounced them in the 03/04 playoffs we have lost all but 2 games against them - some of them badly. We lost one early in the season by a blowout. They are good and they are playing solid. We should be able to come out lose as an underdog and give them a fight. Knicks beat pistons by 25 tonight holding them to 65 pts. Anything is possible. Well we won't hold them to 65 but if we can take care of the ball - we will have a chance.
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Kevin - hopefully back as a starter
Salmons - the flu caught up with him and he struggled all nigh. Might have injured his leg too.
Cisco - what can You say ?
Mikki - been useless as of late. Might foul out again.
Brad - take care of the ball
Beno - if You could only pass to Your teammate
QD - young Cisco
Jones - keep it simple
Justin & Hawes - need to play
KT - turninh into a MVP candidate.
Coach T - glue their hands or something and cancel the travel plans please !
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mavs are best in the West at 26-11 but only 9-8 on the road where the last win was a give away by Clippers - who else. Mavs are on t 7 game winning streak and they have won 14 of their last 17 games. They might not be in the spotlight but they are as good as usual. And as usual - we don't like them at all starting with the MVP Irk and then all the way down to our "friends' Hassell and George. TDM will go to Barea. In case You forgot what he did to us - I won't remind You. LW-VC will go to Jones. Other awards will be given on both side. I expect a close game in which we will probably give it away at the end but it will be a fun ride.
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