Here We Stayed: A Sacramento Kings Dynasty 2k14

[Noestar]

Kings Tanking? Kings drop fifth straight game in 100-89 loss to Spurs

San Antonio Spurs (12-4) at Sacramento Kings (7-10)
Jan 18, 2014 1 2 3 4 Final San Antonio 23 20 29 28 100 Sacramento 30 15 20 24 89 Top Performers San Antonio Spurs Manu Ginobili: 24 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl Tim Duncan: 22 pts, 9 reb, 1 stl Sacramento Kings Demarcus Cousins: 28 pts, 12 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk Isaiah Thomas: 13 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast	Team Stats Comparison SAS SAC FG Made-Att 36-73 33-72 3PT Made-Att 8-20 7-23 FT Made-Att 20-24 16-18 Rebounds 43 38 Assists 20 16 Turnovers 11 14 Steals 12 6 Blocks 2 6
San Antonio Spurs STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS
Sacramento Kings STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Isaiah Thomas 33 3-10 3-6 4-4 3 3 0 0 4 13 Ben McLemore 33 3-6 2-3 0-0 7 4 3 0 2 8 Derrick Williams 33 4-15 1-7 0-0 2 2 0 2 0 11 Carl Landry 30 3-5 0-0 0-1 7 0 0 0 1 6 Demarcus Cousins 37 10-19 8-9 0-0 12 1 0 1 4 28 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Ray McCallum 16 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 1 0 1 2 Marcus Thornton 16 2-6 0-3 4-4 1 0 1 2 0 8 Rudy Gay 21 4-7 1-3 0-0 2 3 1 0 1 9 Quincy Acy 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Jason Thompson 19 2-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0 1 4

After a great start that made the Kings look like playoff contenders to some the Kings have dropped 7 of their past ten games, tonight's loss to the Spurs marks their fifth straight loss, the highest in the league at the moment. The Spurs were methodical in their dismantling of the Kings, they looked like they were out to show that a good game plan and good ball movement can beat an athletic fast break team a any day of the week. The Spurs big three combined for 64 points, and ran the pick and roll to death, after the game we caught up with a disgruntled Mike Malone who had this to say about the Spurs, "Well we got our asses kicked, the final score wasn't even close to an indicator to how the game was. We'll be using this game tape all year just to show the younger guys that good fundamentals is always going to trump over flashy dunks and passes. Well I don't want to rant too much, so I'm going to head to the locker room."

The bright spot of the game had to be Demarcus Cousins who put up 28 points on 19 shots, along with 12 rebounds. Tiago Splitter who some say is a rising big in this league look flustered all game, and got a technical after shoving Cousins when he dunked on him. Cousins might have provoked him, but some good news is that he hasn't been ejected from a game this year! Also for the first time in his career he is averaging over 50% from the field, which may not sound that impressive, but his coach has taken notice of his efficiency. Cousins was asked what he could have done to help the team win game in which he responded, "I could have made more shots. Nah, I had like a million turnovers, I know I'm not the only one but those have been killin us the past couple games, it sucks. But I think that it's just a chemistry thing, and we'll mesh sooner or later, we'll see. Boogie out."

We have an exclusive interview with GM Noe Estrella, and if the Kings are taking. We will post it after the Golden State game.

[Noestar]

Steph Curry's buzzer beater spoils Cousins big night in Warriors 99-98 win over Kings

Sacramento Kings (7-11) at Golden State Warriors ()
Feb 2, 2014 1 2 3 4 Final Sacramento 24 24 19 31 98 Golden State 24 24 22 29 99 Top Performers Sacramento Kings Klay Thompson: 23 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl David Lee: 18 pts, 12 reb, 1 ast Golden State Warriors Demarcus Cousins: 34 pts, 18 reb, 2 stl Isaiah Thomas: 16 pts, 5 ast, 1 reb, 1 stl	Team Stats Comparison SAC GSW FG Made-Att 38-77 39-74 3PT Made-Att 5-16 8-21 FT Made-Att 21-24 13-17 Rebounds 39 40 Assists 14 24 Turnovers 8 10 Steals 6 3 Blocks 3 1
Sacramento Kings STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Isaiah Thomas 33 6-13 1-3 3-3 1 5 1 0 1 16 Ben McLemore 37 5-12 1-4 2-2 1 2 0 1 2 13 Derrick Williams 35 1-6 0-2 0-0 2 2 2 1 1 2 Carl Landry 32 0-6 0-1 2-2 8 0 0 0 0 2 Demarcus Cousins 34 12-19 0-0 10-12 18 0 2 0 1 34 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Ray McCallum 12 2-3 1-1 0-0 1 1 0 1 1 5 Marcus Thornton 16 3-5 2-4 1-1 1 2 0 0 0 9 Rudy Gay 19 7-12 0-1 0-0 4 1 1 0 0 14 Quincy Acy 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 1 0 0 0 0 Jason Thompson 18 0-1 0-0 3-4 3 0 0 0 0 3
Golden State Warriors STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS

Just when it looked like the Kings were about to break their losing streak, fate decided it would have have none of that. Stephen Curry, who Isaiah Thomas had shut down for a large part of the game hit a buzzer beater to lift the Warriors over the Kings as time expired. Carl Landry also sprained his ankle so will be replaced by Jason Thompson in the line up. This puts Kings at a six game losing streak, and in a rough spot, do they try and make a playoff push or do they try and get one of the stars in this loaded draft class? Later today we'll have an exclusive interview with Noe Estrella who will be answering all and any questions about the Kings.

Demarcus Cousins easily had his best game of the season as he finished the game with 34 points and 18 rebounds. Cousins has really stepped it up this year, and though the stats show that he's having a down year, they don't tell the whole story. Cousins, for the first time in his career is averaging over 50% shooting, and his shot selection is getting better and better. Couple that together with his reduced fouls and he's looking great this season. Cousins shot 10-19 on the night, as well as forced both Andrew Bogut and David Lee out of the game when they fouled out, this is the Cousins we want to see.

[BlackAndGoldVandal]

Ouch, Curry's just too clutch.

[Noestar]

Kings Media Day: GM Interview

Media: Mr.Estrella, I'm sure that you've been a little disappointed by your team of late, it looks like since you made the trade for Rudy Gay your team has not been the same. What do you think the problem is, and how will you go about solving it?

Estrella: Well, to be honest I think it's issues with chemistry. We've added about 4 new players to our team, and we lost five guys who weren't only important to the team, but to the players too, some of those guys were their friends.

Media: Yeah but I'm sure they need to understand that this team is a business, and that things like this happen, and may happen to them one day. Speaking of business, is there any particular reason that Rudy Gay is coming off the bench? I mean I'm all for strategy, but you don't trade for a 17 million dollar player for him to come off the bench, and he's playing better than Derrick Williams, what's the catch?

Estrella: Hey I'm the GM, I'm not going to tell the coach I decided to hire how to run his team, I've just got to give him the pieces and hope that he succeeds. I have talked to Coach Malone and he believes that Gay coming off the bench is in the teams best interests, he's a volume scorer and needs to ball to be effective. On the first tean offense you have McLemore, Thomas and Cousins handling the ball, and Williams and Landry are good enough off the ball for this team to bring Rudy off the bench.

Media: Well I think that he's good enough to start, and if you don't want him I'm sure some team would be grateful to take him off your hands. There have been rumors that you might trade him, is their any truth to that?

Estrella Well I was going to save that until the offseason but yes, we are looking to trade Gay. He's having the best season of his career, and is shooting efficiently enough that he can be the go to guy for a lot of teams. We're looking to get a top 15 pick and we believe that the way he is playing warrants it, we've already had a few calls. With the youth here we won't be making a playoff push too soon, but we'll get there.

Media: He has been playing great, and that was even before he was traded so I'd say you guys got a steal in that trade if you can flip him for a top fifteen pick. Seeing as you guys are pretty middle of the road this year, are you still trying to make a playoff push? We know that if you finish higher than twelvth in the lottery you lose your pick to the Cavaliers. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, are you tanking?

Estrella Haha well that was rather blunt. I'd love to be able to keep my first round pick in my first year as a General Manager for this team. I'm not saying we're tanking but I don't think this personal has what it takes to make a deep playoff run. We're not actively trying to lose games, that would be ridiculous, and immoral. But I'm going to let his young roster and rookie coach play their season out.

[Noestar]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlackAndGoldVandal

Ouch, Curry's just too clutch.

I was a little disappointed to have to lose a game like that, but it's really exciting to see Cousins have such a dominant game like that.

[Noestar]

NBA 2014 Division Standings

NBA Standings - Updated: Feb 4, 2014
ATLANTIC	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Boston Celtics	10	5	0		4-1
Brooklyn Nets	10	7	1.0		6-2
New York Knicks	9	9	2.5		3-6
Toronto Raptors	8	8	2.5		2-3
Philidelphia 76ers	8	10	3.5		4-3
CENTRAL	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Chicago Bulls	12	2	0		5-1
Indiana Pacers	7	6	5.0		3-4
Cleveland Cavaliers	7	9	6.5		2-4
Detroit Pistons	5	10	8.0		2-5
Milwaukee Bucks	7	13	8.5		1-7
SOUTHEAST	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Miami Heat	13	4	0		6-1
Washington Wizards	15	8	1.0		8-3
Charlotte Bobcats	7	8	5.0		4-3
Atlanta Hawks	5	10	7.0		3-2
Orlando Magic	3	14	10.0		0-7
NORTHWEST	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Oklahoma Thunder	10	4	0		4-1
Portland Trail Blazers	12	7	0.5		6-3
Minnesota Timberwolves	9	8	2.5		3-4
Denver Nuggets	8	11	4.5		4-5
Utah Jazz	5	13	7.0		2-6
PACIFIC	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
Los Angeles Lakers	12	7	0		7-4
Los Angeles Clippers	6	8	3.5		4-5
Golden State Warriors	6	8	3.5		2-4
Sacramento Kings	7	11	4.5		4-6
Phoenix Suns	6	13	6.0		3-5
SOUTHWEST	W	L	GB	DIV	CONF
San Antonio Spurs	11	7	0		7-4
Houston Rockets	10	8	1.0		5-1
Dallas Mavericks	9	8	1.5		3-5
Memphis Grizzles	11	10	1.5		4-5
New Orleans Pelicans	8	11	3.5		4-4

Surprise Teams:

Boston Celtics: The Boston Celtics were supposed to be tanking this season, but halfway through the season have managed to stay on top of the Atlantic division. Brooklyn's "super team" has not panned out for them so far.

Chicago Bulls Everyone knew that the Bulls would get a boost by having Rose back, but no one envisioned them to be this good. They currently have the best Win/Loss record in the NBA, and barring injury have shown no signs of slowing down with Rose at the Helm.

Washington Wizards: The Washington Wizards have surprised everyone this year by going from the number three pick to legitimate playoff contenders. They have the most total wins in the NBA. It does help that their max contract guy, John Wall is playing out of his mind, he's gaining serious hype as the potential MVP.

Portland Trail Blazers: Last year the Blazers faded down the stretch with their lack of bench, but this year they're back and with a deep rotation they are looking like they're a lock for the playoffs. Thomas Robinson, the former Kings draft pick has come on strong for them, much to the malign of some Kings fans but it's always nice to see such a good guy succeed.

Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers look to be in control of a weak Pacific division. Since returning from his Achilles tear in December Kobe has taken it upon himself to drag the Lakers into the playoffs once again. Golden State was supposed to take the next step this year, but have not performed up to expectations.

[Noestar]

Knicks give Kings 7th straight loss in 99-95 beat down

New York Knicks (10-9) at Sacramento Kings (7-12)
Feb 10, 2014 1 2 3 4 Final New York 11 33 24 31 99 Sacramento 22 24 26 23 95 Top Performers New York Knicks Carmelo Anthony: 23 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk J.R. Smith: 21 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk Sacramento Kings Rudy Gay: 21 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk Demarcus Cousins: 18 pts, 8 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk	Team Stats Comparison NYK SAC FG Made-Att 33-71 36-79 3PT Made-Att 9-23 9-21 FT Made-Att 24-27 14-15 Rebounds 44 32 Assists 14 19 Turnovers 12 4 Steals 3 7 Blocks 5 8
New York Knicks STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS
Sacramento Kings STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Isaiah Thomas 34 7-18 3-5 2-2 2 2 0 0 1 19 Ben McLemore 32 4-7 1-2 2-2 2 4 0 0 0 11 Derrick Williams 36 4-7 1-3 0-0 4 2 1 1 1 9 Jason Thompson 34 0-1 0-0 0-0 4 0 2 2 1 0 Demarcus Cousins 40 7-18 0-0 4-4 8 1 2 2 0 18 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Ray McCallum 15 2-3 0-0 1-2 1 4 2 0 0 5 Marcus Thornton 17 3-9 1-4 3-3 1 2 0 0 1 10 Rudy Gay 26 8-14 3-6 2-2 5 2 0 2 0 21 Quincy Acy 7 1-2 0-1 0-0 4 2 0 0 0 2 Travis Outlaw 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0 1 0

Will the Kings win again this season? That's the question many fans are asking as the Kings lost their seventh straight, this time at the hands of the Knicks. The problem it seems is that by the the second half the Kings just seem gassed, the question is, is it because of the lack of bench? Or are the starters are out of shape? I'm going to go with the former, besides Rudy Gay the Kings have no one they can depend on scoring off the bench. Isaiah Thomas played that role beautifully, maybe they'll do some shopping for some nice role players this season.

The game started off in what looked what like was a blow out in the Kings favor, but being lazy and poor defense did them in. The Kings need an elite defender if they're going to even think about guarding the Lebrons, Durants and the Paul Georges of the league. Speaking of Durant, the Kings play the Thunder next game, and the chance that they might end their losing streak in Oklahoma is slim to none, but a guy can wish right? I'm sure the Kings will be happy with even a close game against one of the elite teams in the West, there's nowhere to go but up. There is one bright spot to this week though as Ben McLemore was selected as the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January! We'll have more on that story later.

[Noestar]

Kings snap streak, beat Thunder 112-93

Sacramento Kings (8-12) at Oklahoma City Thunder (10-5)
Feb 14, 2014 1 2 3 4 Final Sacramento 31 28 23 30 112 Oklahoma City 23 23 30 17 93 Top Performers Sacramento Kings Isaiah Thomas: 32 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl Rudy Gay: 22 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast Oklahoma City Thunder Jeremy Lamb: 19 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl Reggie Jackson: 16 pts, 1 ast	Team Stats Comparison SAC OKC FG Made-Att 41-78 34-71 3PT Made-Att 11-19 10-25 FT Made-Att 19-20 15-17 Rebounds 46 26 Assists 17 22 Turnovers 11 8 Steals 4 8 Blocks 4 4
Sacramento Kings STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Isaiah Thomas 32 9-18 2-2 12-12 3 4 1 0 3 32 Ben McLemore 25 4-5 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 1 2 10 Derrick Williams 25 5-7 3-4 0-0 6 5 0 1 2 13 Carl Landry 33 1-3 0-0 0- 6 0 1 0 0 2 Demarcus Cousins 32 9-14 0-0 2-2 13 0 0 0 1 20 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Ray McCallum 17 1-5 0-1 0-0 3 3 1 0 0 2 Marcus Thornton 24 2-6 2-5 1-2 2 2 0 0 0 7 Rudy Gay 25 8-16 2-5 4-4 9 2 0 0 0 22 Quincy Acy 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jason Thompson 24 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 3 0 2 2 4
Oklahoma City Thunder STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS

The Kings finally snap their seven game skid in a 112 rout of the Thunder, no you didn't read that wrong! Kevin Durant came into the game as the league's leading scorer averaging 32.2 points a game and left with 13, more than half of his season average. If that's not an accomplishment then I don't know what is, Durant is a machine. Westbrook the explosive point guard out of UCLA was also held in check as Isaiah Thomas managed to gain the upper hand by forcing Westbrook into foul trouble early in the game. Beating an elite team was just what the Kings needed in wake of their bad season.

Isaiah Thomas was a beast today scoring his season high of 31 points, and he would have gone for more if he didn't get pulled in the fourth in favor of the reserves. Thomas and Cousins have become deadly on the pick and roll, especially with Cousins starting to get his mid range shot down. Gay scored 15 of his 22 in the first quarter which allowed the Kings to jump out to an early lead, and they were able to keep it. The Kings move on to 8-12 with a game against the Celtics next week, and after that is All-Star Weekend.