The King's Gambit

["The Veal"]

Rudy Gay Stars In 106-89 Win Over Lakers

October 30th, 2015

The city of Sacramento couldn't have asked for a better start to the Kings' new year. After an impressive win over the Clippers, the next Los Angeles team, the notorious Lakers, stopped by to try and halt a winning streak before it got started. That did not work, as Rudy Gay and company made quick work of the Lakers, leading the entire game.

This one was a bit more expected. The blowout of the Clippers, a definite contender, was a shock to many, but beating the Lakers, a more evenly matched team, was something many saw coming. From top to bottom though, the two teams were quite evenly matched throughout, despite the Kings holding edge the entire time. No one stat stands out, apart from the shooting percentages which saw the Kings finish shooting 52%, the Lakers 45%. That point a bit mute, as Los Angeles shot 81% from the charity stripe, Sacramento just 63%.

The key to the Lakers loss had to do with a total lack of a playmaker. Six players managed to escape single digits but none got above 14 points, meaning points were difficult to come by. The Kings on the other hand, had Rudy Gay, who tallied up 32 points off 11-15 shooting. The keen-eyed shooter also added 9 FT's to his score. A quiet night from Cousins led to Cauley-Stein to come out and land a solid 15 and 10, while Marco Belinelli contributed a solid 16 points.

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[studbucket]

That was definitely a quiet night from Cousins. It looks like Brandon Bass kept getting fouled?

["The Veal"]

Quote: Originally Posted by studbucket

That was definitely a quiet night from Cousins. It looks like Brandon Bass kept getting fouled?

Yup, and that happens a lot more than just this game, specifically Cousins fouling out. I made adjustments to it as of now and turned it all into a tongue-in-cheek story arc that you'll see later haha

["The Veal"]

Kings Pounce On Clippers Again, Open Season 3-0

October 31st, 2015

If one victory wasn't enough, let's down em' twice. That's the mentality of a King right there, and tonight's game showed just that. The season opener, one that saw the Clippers get demolished by 29, wasn't just a fluke, as the Kings competed vigilantly against the playoff contenders, beating them convincingly, 111-98. The Kings, whose expectations were closer to the inverse of this start, have to be feeling great, remaining as just one of five teams still undefeated.

This time, as was the case in these two teams' last match-up, the three's controlled the game. Now, the Clippers shot better than their abysmal 15% in last game's outing, ending up 6/19 here, good enough for 32%. Not great for a team with ranged weapons. What is great is the Kings 50% from deep, downing 14 of 28. That single-handedly sealed the game, and it wasn't just one player either, six different Kings nailed at least two three's. Quality stuff all around.

While the deciding factor was the long ball you can't deny the help from elsewhere, namely Sacramento's bench, which put down an outstanding 46 points, more than double that of the Clippers. The trio of Omri Casspi, Darren Collison, and Kosta Koufos combined for an impressive 38 points, proving that Aiden Anderson's team has some hidden depth. Essential in a game like today's. Why, you ask? Well, two starters, Willie Cauley-Stein and Rajon Rondo, combined for a mere six points.

The tag team duo of Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins started and finished the game strong, the former gathering a nice stat line of 27, 7, and 5, while the latter competed with 24, 5, and 5. And as was the case in the Kings' win over the Lakers, the opposing team once again failed to find a consistent scorer. Chris Paul led the Clips, finishing with a solid 18, 5, and 10, but no one else was able to muster up any impressive numbers. Their bonafide X-factor, Jamal Crawford, only put in four points, shooting just 1 for 8 from the field.

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["The Veal"]

Around The League

Injury Report

Orlando Magic | Ersan Ilyasova | Pulled Left Calf Muscle | 4-6 Weeks
Dallas Mavericks | Chandlers Parsons | Twisted Left Knee | 1-2 Weeks
Dallas Mavericks | J.J. Barea | Pulled Lower Back Muscle | 1-2 Weeks

Transaction Report

Brooklyn Nets | Signed Larry Sanders | C - 6'11" | OVR 76 | 1 year / $4.97 mil

Top 5 Performances

Boston Celtics | Isaiah Thomas | 35 Pts, 7 Asts, 6 Stls | W 108-90
Detroit Pistons | Andre Drummond | 18 Pts, 24 Rebs | L 89-73
Cleveland Cavaliers | LeBron James | 32 Pts, 6 Rebs, 10 Asts | W 103-74
Phoenix Suns | Eric Bledsoe | 23 Pts, 9 Rebs, 14 Asts | W 124-109
Golden State Warriors | Steph Curry | 30 Pts, 10 Rebs, 6 Asts, 4 Stls | W 126-96

["The Veal"]

Are The Kings...Good?

November 1st, 2015

There comes a day when every reporter must eat crow and admit their false proclamations about the decisions of the Sacramento Kings this offseason. That time has not come yet. Three games can easily be a fluke, but with the way this team is playing, utterly destroying an arguably top five team twice isn't something to ignore. It's equal parts nothing to get excited over either, as there's still 79 games left. But hey, the ride so far has been something to ogle at. So, what is it exactly that's making this Kings team so good in the first week?

Well, long story short, they're doing the opposite of whatever our Kings did last year. There's a slew of players behind DeMarcus Cousins who actually look like they can play basketball. The team is working in fluid motions, defense has been better in these three games than all of last year, and the offense has been more than capable, averaging 111 points, good for first in the league.

This all, as should be obvious by now, leads to one singular point; Aiden Anderson. The brand new head coach has proven, in an insanely short amount of time, that he knows and understands intangibles. And being that the season is so young, and these players don't truly know their coach yet, there's no hostility or drama ensuing. They're simply playing basketball that might, just might, make the Spurs proud. Seven years behind Mike Krzyzewski at Duke will do that for you.

But I must remind people, it's only three games. However, while some parts, namely the massive amount of three's dropping, may subside, the playstyle and on-court intricacies are something that should stick around throughout the year. If we continue winning, team chemistry and morale will improve, the trust in upper management will go up, and there's a good chance this team can find a groove and make a run. Each player given consistent minutes thus far has proven his worth.

We can't go without mentioning the spearhead behind this, Brickashaw Moss. By having trust in Anderson, largely because, as the rumor mill insists, he told him he's just as clueless as he is in their interview immediately before Moss signed him, the GM has shown that he's at least capable of making smart decisions. A wildcard may be his nickname, but underneath that shell, if we're lucky enough, we may find a man who's wits far surpass our expectations.

Then again, it's been three games. Calm down everyone, myself included.

["The Veal"]

A Bad Third Causes Kings To Drop First Loss Of Season

November 3rd, 2015

Sometimes the box score tells the whole tale. This time it was a lone single-digit number that threw a wrench in the Kings' chance to go 4-0. After maintaining a six-point lead going into the second half Sacramento came up limp, only scoring nine points in the entirety of the third quarter, allowing the Grizzlies to get back in, take a steady lead, and hold it till the end. The final score was 80-76. All in all, apart from a bad 12 minutes, this Kings team is on par with a Memphis team expected to reach the playoffs, and that's something to commend.

What prevented the game from being an all-out blowout, and really one the Kings should have converted on, was the Grizzlies poor shooting. Shooting a meager 35% from the field, including 12% from downtown, meant the Kings were never more than a few possessions away. And yes, you read that right, 12%, good enough for 2-16. This is becoming a recurring pattern for Sacramento opponents, whether thanks to luck or serious perimeter D, time will tell.

While the Kings may have been playing lockdown defense on the perimeter, gathering up the boards was another story, as the Grizzlies pulled down a total of 16 offensive rebounds. Normally you'd thank their two all-star bigs Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph for that, but really it was the whole team, with six players pulling down at least five rebounds. Z-Bo however, was the best, finishing with a solid 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds.

On the Sacramento side, the low final total could easily be attributed to playing a formidable team on D. Never known for their defense, the two L.A. teams provided an easy way for the Kings to escape and pull in triple-digit scores. Here however, they barely crack the 3/4th mark. While Cousins was busy handling two bigs down low, finishing with just 10 points but pulling in 13 rebounds, the bulk of the points came from the Kings two shooters. Gay ended up with 22, Belinelli 21. No one else scored above six.

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["The Veal"]

Sacramento Gets Back To Winning, Defeats Phoenix By 4

November 4th, 2015

Tonight's game was a back and forth, grind-it-out slog. Another game for the Kings under 90 points, that makes two straight, after averaging 111 in their first three. So while the offense has slowed down a bit, the defense is still holding down the fort, keeping opposing teams to just 87 points per game. This one was no different, with the Kings biggest lead being when the final buzzer sounded; four. 87-83 was all it took to defeat the Suns, a much-needed victory for the Kings to prove their early winning streak wasn't just a fluke.

More surprising than all of this is who came out to score tonight. No, not Cousins, or Gay, or Rondo, but Belinelli, who finished the game with 28 points, a game-high by nearly double. He was on fire, shooting 9-13 from the field, including 5-7 from deep and 5-6 from the stripe. It may just be one game, but the importance in seeing that Sacramento can score without the big three can't be understated.

Granted, the big three did show today, just not by putting the ball in the basket. Cousins finished with a solid 15 and 13, while Gay dropped 10, adding 13 rebounds as well. It was Rondo though, nearly reaching his self-attainable milestone, that being a triple-double, with a classic Rondo line of 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists.

Early on though, the Kings lost Willie Cauley-Stein to a strained left Achilles. He played four minutes before suffering the injury, and reports show that he'll be sidelined one to two weeks in the meantime. A hit to the team for sure, but this will also work as a great opportunity to see Kosta Koufos' talents filling in for him in the meantime.

Finally, as far as the Suns go, this is yet another defensive punching bag for the Kings to show off that no one man can go off against them. Bledsoe, the teams typical top-notch scorer, only managed to scavenge for 12 points. Four other players reached double digits, but none exceeded Brandon Knight's 13. That's a recipe for disaster if I've ever seen one. And hell, even Knight only shot 30% from the field, managing to make nearly half his points from the free throw line.

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