Here We Stayed: A Sacramento Kings Dynasty 2k14

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NBA News:

Ben McLemore awarded Rookie of the Month

Ben McLemore was awarded the rookie of the month and some people have been a bit skeptic about, as he hasn't put up the most gaudy stats, but he's accepted his role, and played within the offense. While he won't blow you away every game, he is becoming one of the more balanced rookies in the league. McLemore is averaging 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1 steal, and .4 blocks a game. McLemore was known for his sweet shooting stroke coming out of college but in a defense that features a more traditional post game or a fast transition defense he hasn't had the chance to showcase his shooting just yet, but he can throw down a pretty nasty dunk. The strange thing about McLemore is that he is only averaging .447 from the floor, but beyond the arc he is managing .464, the sample size is small so we'll see what happens at the end of the year, oh and he's already one of the best free throw shooters in the league shooting .929 from the charity stripe. After the last game McLemore received an invitation to be the starting shooting guard over Victor Oladipo for the Rising Stars challenge.

A fresh start?

It's been reported that Austin Rivers, the Pelican's forgotten second lottery pick who had a historically bad rookie year has been traded to the Denver Nuggets for Randy Foye and a second round pick. After losing Igoudala the Denver Nuggets have fallen from grace, once seen as one of the more exciting teams in the West the Nuggets have been derailed by injuries and lack of star power. They're hoping that a young prospect like Rivers can help kick start their rebuilding process.

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Kings use balance to beat Celtics 101-89

Sacramento Kings (9-12) at Boston Celtics (11-8)
Feb 12, 2014 1 2 3 4 Final Sacramento 21 17 42 21 101 Boston 23 28 14 24 89 Top Performers Sacramento Kings Carl Landry: 16 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl Derrick Williams: 15 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast Boston Celtics Rajon Rondo: 28 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl Jordan Crawford: 14 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast	Team Stats Comparison SAC BOS FG Made-Att 38-70 30-62 3PT Made-Att 8-15 5-17 FT Made-Att 17-18 24-28 Rebounds 28 34 Assists 18 24 Turnovers 6 12 Steals 6 4 Blocks 4 3
Sacramento Kings STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Isaiah Thomas 35 4-14 2-4 5-5 0 8 2 0 3 14 Ben McLemore 31 4-7 3-5 2-2 3 3 0 0 0 13 Derrick Williams 35 6-8 2-2 1-1 3 5 0 0 0 15 Carl Landry 34 7-11 0-0 3-3 7 0 2 0 0 46 Demarcus Cousins 32 6-8 0-0 2-2 10 0 0 1 1 14 BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS Ray McCallum 14 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 Marcus Thornton 17 1-5 1-3 0-0 0 0 1 1 1 3 Rudy Gay 22 6-11 0-1 2-2 1 1 0 1 1 14 Quincy Acy 6 1-1 0-0 1-1 2 0 0 0 0 3 Jason Thompson 17 3-3 0-0 2-2 2 0 0 0 0 8
Boston Celtics STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT REB AST STL BLK TO PTS

The Kings get their second win in a row after losing seven straight and this time it was the Celtics who felt the Kings wrath. The Kings won this game using teamwork and balance, and used Rondo as a distraction to win the game. How did they use Rondo you might ask? Well they let him score. You might think that was the dumbest thing you've ever heard, but you'd be wrong. This game saw Isaiah Thomas vs Rondo as the main points of focus. The plan was to make Rondo make plays by himself, and not allow him to do the thing he does best, pass. Rondo was limited to 3 assist on the night, and he came into this game averaging 10. Without anyone else to lean on Rondo was forced to do the all the scoring by himself and he wasn't able to shoulder the load.

The Kings had all five starters in double digit points, and Rudy Gay even chipped in a solid 14 points off the bench. The Kings not only spread the ball around, but their starters were efficient with their shots, and knocked the shot down when the had the opportunity, every starter sans Isaiah Thomas shot over fifty percent from the floor. After the game we caught up to Kings coach Mike Malone who for once had a smile on his face, when asked about his teams performance he responded with, "Man it's just great to have the team working like a well oiled machine like that. I feel like the Spurs... aha i all serious it was nice to know that some of the others can step up when their name is called, and it's nice to have a winning streak. It's not all smiles and cheers though, we've got to get ready to play a healthy Brooklyn next week so that's what our minds are at right now."

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Boogie turning the corner?





Here's a nice article written by @kfippin of Sactownroyalty about the development of Cousins this season

The holidays can be a tough time for many families who already struggle to make ends meet. Every kid deserves to receive a gift on Christmas, but sadly that's not always the reality for many local area children. But last night, Christmas got a little bit more magical when Santa Cuz came to town!

On December 2nd, 100 underprivileged children from Stanford Settlement Neighborhood Center, Oak Park Preparatory Academy, the Del Paso Heights community and other organizations were treated to a shopping spree at Walmart courtesy of Boogie Claus! And he truly looked like he was having a blast doing it. This is the Cousins we've grown to love at StR. He's as hilarious and good hearted as he is misunderstood.

Big Cuz showed he's no Grinch and put smiles on the faces of a lot of kids. This isn't the first time Cousins has been spotted giving back to the community and I doubt it will be the last. Nice work Boogie!

[BlackAndGoldVandal]

Great story about Cousins.

Also, that's a really smart gameplan for how to handle Rondo. Keep it up dude!

[Noestar]

Quote: Originally Posted by BlackAndGoldVandal

Great story about Cousins. Also, that's a really smart gameplan for how to handle Rondo. Keep it up dude!

Yeah i just thought it would be interesting to put a real story about Cousins!

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McLemore shows out at Rising Stats games, wins MVP



The Kings touted rookie showed what all the hype was about as he earned MVP honors at the BBVA Rising Stars challenge. McLemore was by far the best rookie on the court and may have even been the best player out there which is saying a lot considering some of the big names that were out there like Damien Lillard and Anthony Davis. Team Shaq beat team Chuck again this year, this time it was another blow out by twenty points. McLemore was on a team that started Damien Lillard, Anthony Davis, Otto Porter and Cody Zeller. The opposing team consisted of Trey Burke, Bradley Beal, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Thomas Robinson and Anthony Drummond.

Bradley Beal drew the assignment of guarding Ben McLemore, and let's just say it wasn't too pretty. McLemore showcased all of his arsenal with 29 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and one steal. He played a total of thirty six minutes in the game today and drew some questions towards the Kings. When asked why the Kings don't features him more in the offense Ben responded with, "Well it's different in a game like this obviously because we get to do things that we wouldn't normally, I took shots in this game that I would have never taken in a real game. During the regular season I get to play against some of the best in the NBA, and here some of the guys are just learning. I'm not saying I don't want a bigger part ya know? But I'm just happy that I'm out here and I'm sure that Coach bringing me long slowly so I'm happy. Shoutout to Sactown from M16! Thank you all the fans that came!"

[INeedMoney]

Following. Looking good so far.

[Noestar]

Quote: Originally Posted by INeedMoney

Following. Looking good so far.

Thanks man! I haven't commented on your Suns association yet but know you've got a follower in me!