[Game] Kings v. Magic - 3/13/17 - 7:30PT/10:30ET

[VF21]

There are 16 games left in the season for the Kings. Another season of turmoil and drama, but at least there's reason to grasp on to a thin thread of hope.

It's no secret to anyone who hasn't been locked in a cave somewhere that I didn't like the Cousins trade. But, as time passes, I have to admit that it's nice to watch a game without always worrying about the drama. It's nice to see Skal and Buddy and WCS out there playing their hearts out without any kind of intrigue. About the most controversial aspect of any of them is Buddy's hair - which, IMHO, looks like a crazed Chia Pet.



Did you know? The Orlando Magic's mascot is Stuff the Magic Dragon.

Other random facts:
The Orlando Magic have been part of the NBA since the expansion of 1989. Their first year in the league they compiled a record of 18–64. Their roster included Reggie Theus, Scott Skiles, Terry Catledge, Sam Vincent, Otis Smith, and Jerry Reynolds (not our Jerry!).

The Magic's biggest claim to fame thus far in their history had to be the drafting of Shaquille O'Neal in 1992. O'Neal left Orlando in 1996 and joined the Lakers as a free agent.

If you read the history of the Magic, their franchise has gone through a couple of complete dismantlings and some significant rebuilds, none of which has afforded them the success they hoped for. They had Dwight Howard until he demanded and received a trade.

Their record thus far this year is 24-43.

#GoKings

 

[The Hammer]

One, MAYBE two more wins the rest of the year.

On the other hand, they might just lose out and end the year on a 24 game losing streak.

 

[andjel]

Crytical stretch of the next two games.
We accomplished bottom 6, and if we manage to lose the next two games we will reach bottom 5.
Now when the easy part of the schedule is over, Philly and Phoenix will have to put a very strong effort to stop us from being a bottom 3 by the end of the month.
Go draft!

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

... It's no secret to anyone who hasn't been locked in a cave somewhere that I didn't like the Cousins trade. But, as time passes, I have to admit that it's nice to watch a game without always worrying about the drama...

It's also got to be nice to watch a Kings game without having to deal with the stress of wondering whether the team is going to win or not.

 

[VF21]

It's also got to be nice to watch a Kings game without having to deal with the stress of wondering whether the team is going to win or not.

I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. YMMV but I'd like to think it's possible to win without drama. Teams seem to find a way to do it all the time.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Sure they do. How's that working out for the Kings? How has it worked out, historically? We're not laboring under the impression that this is the first drama-free period of the Sacramento Kings' history, are we?

IIRC, in the one seven-year period in which the Sacramento Kings weren't losers, there wasn't exactly a shortage of drama.

 

[Kingsfan23]

I expect to win about 3 more games this year, and I think this will be one. Play the young players, including Papa

 

[upinsmoke]

Sure they do. How's that working out for the Kings? How has it worked out, historically? We're not laboring under the impression that this is the first drama-free period of the Sacramento Kings' history, are we?

IIRC, in the one seven-year period in which the Sacramento Kings weren't losers, there wasn't exactly a shortage of drama.

What are you referring to?

 

[Glenn]

What are you referring to?

Whenever you put together 12-15 personalities with a coach, there is drama. It's just on a different level when you are winning. If there is no drama, Grant Napear will create it.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

@upinsmoke, what do you mean, what am I referring to? Are we revising history to pretend that Chris Webber wasn't a polarizing player as a King, now?

 

[Glenn]

@upinsmoke, what do you mean, what am I referring to? Are we revising history to pretend that Chris Webber wasn't a polarizing player as a King, now?

Yes, of course.

 

[upinsmoke]

@upinsmoke, what do you mean, what am I referring to? Are we revising history to pretend that Chris Webber wasn't a polarizing player as a King, now?

Not nearly as much as DMC not even close.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

How much of that was a function of the W-L record, though? For that matter, how much of that was a function of that era preceding the Social Media era? There's a gang of Hall of Famers who would be thought of entirely differently, if social media and the 24-hour news cycle had existed during their careers.

 

[upinsmoke]

How much of that was a function of the W-L record, though? For that matter, how much of that was a function of that era preceding the Social Media era? There's a gang of Hall of Famers who would be thought of entirely differently, if social media and the 24-hour news cycle had existed during their careers.

I'm not sure what point your trying to make with the social media angle. With cwebb here we did alot of winning and should have been champs in 2002*.

 

[Glenn]

I'm not sure what point your trying to make with the social media angle. With cwebb here we did alot of winning and should have been champs in 2002*.

CWebb was a drama queen. Ask Michigan what they think of his character. The discussion is not about W/L records, is it? The social media makes everything, fact or fiction imminently available to all fans. Mayhem is more likely with an active social media. It was not like that before.

 

[upinsmoke]

CWebb was a drama queen. Ask Michigan what they think of his character. The discussion is not about W/L records, is it? The social media makes everything, fact or fiction imminently available to all fans. Mayhem is more likely with an active social media. It was not like that before.

Yes he was but imo not in the same ball park as DMC.

 

[Glenn]

It's also got to be nice to watch a Kings game without having to deal with the stress of wondering whether the team is going to win or not.

For me that is true and it is also fun to watch the team without worrying if Boogie would explode. I didn't fully realize how he impacted my enjoyment until he left. I love Boogie. I wanted us to be more patient but if he was going to turn a corner, the corner wasn't in sight. I feel sorry for him, that's for sure. We have never had a player so devoted to Sacramento. This phony crap (my opinion) is that his present behavior is not sincere.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

@upinsmoke - I thought that my point was obvious; I apologize that it was not.

The point is that social media has a way of magnifying (and, depending on whom you ask, perhaps even exaggerating) flaws, that was non-existent forty years ago, thirty years ago... even fifteen years ago. A ****load of great players were bastards, and it never got out how big of bastards they were, because there wasn't an industry dedicated to examining their every foible with an electron microscope twenty-four hours a day. The point is that a lot of great players would be remembered much differently, if they had played their careers under the same conditions that today's players do.

DeMarcus Cousins isn't the first really talented player to whine about bad calls, he isn't the first really talented player to not get back on defense after a bad call. He's not the first one to pout on the court, or pout on the bench. He's not the first one to yell at the refs, or at the fans, or at his teammates. ****, he's not even the only one in the league right now. But, he's the most visible, in part, because he's never played on a winning team. There definitely appears to be some level of belief in the minds of many sports fans that, if you're not winning, you don't have the "right" to complain, or have a bad attitude, or feel like you're getting jobbed. A belief that you don't have the "right" to behave like Cousins does, if you're not winning. I mean, that's why people write "think pieces" and long blog posts about Cousins, and not Draymond Green and Chris Paul and Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard and DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook, right? Because you "get" to be an ***hole if you win; those are the "rules," right?

And your argument about how the Kings were winning proves my point: those years were not "drama free," and Webber was absolutely polarizing. But, that's not how people choose to remember it, because winning.

 

[King Baller]

@upinsmoke - I thought that my point was obvious; I apologize that it was not.

The point is that social media has a way of magnifying (and, depending on whom you ask, perhaps even exaggerating) flaws, that was non-existent forty years ago, thirty years ago... even fifteen years ago. A ****load of great players were bastards, and it never got out how big of bastards they were, because there wasn't an industry dedicated to examining their every foible with an electron microscope twenty-four hours a day. The point is that a lot of great players would be remembered much differently, if they had played their careers under the same conditions that today's players do.

DeMarcus Cousins isn't the first really talented player to whine about bad calls, he isn't the first really talented player to not get back on defense after a bad call. He's not the first one to pout on the court, or pout on the bench. He's not the first one to yell at the refs, or at the fans, or at his teammates. ****, he's not even the only one in the league right now. But, he's the most visible, in part, because he's never played on a winning team. There definitely appears to be some level of belief in the minds of many sports fans that, if you're not winning, you don't have the "right" to complain, or have a bad attitude, or feel like you're getting jobbed. A belief that you don't have the "right" to behave like Cousins does, if you're not winning. I mean, that's why people write "think pieces" and long blog posts about Cousins, and not Draymond Green and Chris Paul and Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard and DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook, right? Because you "get" to be an ***hole if you win; those are the "rules," right?

And your argument about how the Kings were winning proves my point: those years were not "drama free," and Webber was absolutely polarizing. But, that's not how people choose to remember it, because winning.

There is truth in all of that Slim. Me being a Fan of DMC almost everyone I have ever spoke to about the Kings has brought up DMC's complaining and whining as their reason for not liking/watching the Kings. Now I always defended Boogie, saying I like a big mean player who could score 30 and grab 15 boards a game on my team. And you just wait until the Kings start winning. He will be everyone's favorites big mean player. besides that is just on the court. Off the court Boogie is a great guy always helping charities and underprivileged people. I still feel that way. But the trade happened.

Anyhow for me life is too short to keep gnashing my teeth about the trade. I can't bring myself to hate on Vlade or not support the Kings. Even if I don't like the way this all went down.

 

[King Baller]

@upinsmoke, what do you mean, what am I referring to? Are we revising history to pretend that Chris Webber wasn't a polarizing player as a King, now?

IMO CWebb was never as Polarizing as DMC.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Nothing wrong with having that opinion. A lot of people will agree with you. But, as us old heads remember, Webber was plenty polarizing.

 

[King Baller]

I think I am swayed from being a Fan of CWebb first as a Warrior Fan. I banished GSW, Nellie and the NBA from my life when CWebb was traded for Tom Gugliotta and a handful of magic beans AFTER leading them to the Playoffs in his Rookie year.. I had been a GSW Fan since i was a Kid and they won it all in 75 when I was a high school grad. But trading CWebb ended that period of fandom for me.

Then Geoff Petrie was hired in Sacto and I started paying attention to the NBA again. I'm going to stick with Fandom this time and see how it goes.

 

[pshn80]

Sure they do. How's that working out for the Kings? How has it worked out, historically? We're not laboring under the impression that this is the first drama-free period of the Sacramento Kings' history, are we?

IIRC, in the one seven-year period in which the Sacramento Kings weren't losers, there wasn't exactly a shortage of drama.

Long memory but to what end. Here we are in a different world and it's not half bad. Go Kings!

 

[peacelate]

Many people write blogs about their disdain for Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, and Draymond Green. Fans are pretty much tired of how the Clippers whine on every play along with their stooge Doc Rivers. Clippers are an absolutely hated team despite their success. Those articles are out there.

It's not that Cousins whines. Everybody whines. He just does it more frequently than others.

 

[ockingsfan]

Crytical stretch of the next two games.
We accomplished bottom 6, and if we manage to lose the next two games we will reach bottom 5.
Now when the easy part of the schedule is over, Philly and Phoenix will have to put a very strong effort to stop us from being a bottom 3 by the end of the month.
Go draft!

No real advantage to beat Philly in the lottery race, just saying!

 

[Tetsujin]

Yes he was but imo not in the same ball park as DMC.

You're right. Demarcus has never pled guilty to criminal contempt or gotten arrested by the cops for possession like C-Webb did during his playing days.

 

[Tetsujin]

Long memory but to what end. Here we are in a different world and it's not half bad. Go Kings!

You've got that right. When the Kings get bad, they don't stop at half bad, they go all the way to god awful bad.

 

[Tetsujin]

Also can we stop with the whole "character matters" thing when Ty Lawson is potentially at risk of jail time and still playing thirty minutes a game?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Long memory but to what end. Here we are in a different world and it's not half bad. Go Kings!

Did you just, "Why you gotta bring up old ****?" me?

 

[dude12]

Long memory but to what end. Here we are in a different world and it's not half bad. Go Kings!

When you lower your expectations or goals for the season, everything is 'not half-bad'. Fans have settled back in to the usual shtick of dreaming that each prospect has more upside than they actually have. Not saying that the young guys aren't going to be ok but none have the upside of an all-star type guy...this team is now missing probably 2 franchise players instead of 1. Put the roster with 2 high level guys and we might have something but I think every team could say that.

I think the more appropriate description of the team as far as fans go is apathy. Shiny new players who give hope because of the damn word "potential". wait til next year when we continue to lose at this pace for a whole year. Apathy and disinterest will set in. I blame the multiple FO's for not being able to stick to a long range plan.....like ever. How long do they give Joerger? 2 years and dump him because he can't win with a subpar roster...wouldn't put it past the ownership.