Kingsfans.com Official Gameday Thread
Game 50
Sacramento Kings at Boston Celtics
By Stephen Tetsu, also a finalist for the role as Lex Luthor in the new Superman MovieGame 50
Sacramento Kings at Boston Celtics
Kyle Lowry trying to demonstrate with his mouth how much the refs sucked
Well that certainly was something.
While not exactly close for the first three quarters, the Kings showdown with the vastly improved Toronto Raptors never reached the point of feeling like a blowout, which made our latest fourth quarter meltdown all the more expected.
Led by the stationary three-point shooting prowess of Steve Novak and uncalled fouling expertise of Jonas Valanciunas (seriously, the dude was like a bowling ball in the fourth quarter), the Raptors mounted a furious comeback until a well timed bad call by the refs sealed the victory for the Kings in front of the new commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver, who Jerry thankfully didn't call a "Dukie" on live television.
None of our players really had all that amazing a game. Eager to burn his old team, Rudy got off to a rough start but soon settled in, eventually hitting that star stride that we're beginning to feel familiar with until the fourth quarter, during which he began to press again and struggle against a Raptors defense that suddenly got really physical in crutch time. Meanwhile Cuz had a relatively quiet game, which means he dropped a casual 25/10/4 on a clearly outmatched Raptors frontline. But he still was clearly recovering from his injury and never really dominated for a stretch like we've seen in the past. Even the coach had an off game, inexplicably going with a Keith Smart-ian line-up for the majority of the fourth quarter.
But despite all the warts, it's another victory, another welcome step on the ladder back to relevancy. And now we hit the road again. Someone pack the snacks.
The View from the Other Side: Dinosaur Edition
All comments ripped straight from RaptorsForum.com
9:53 This has to be a beat down. We need to start suffocating lesser opponents.
9:55 Mehh, this is far from an easy game. They have quite a bit of talent and In the East they'd be a playoff team imo.
9:59 This should be a really tough game to win, with Rudy looking to obliterate us, DeMarcus being on fire this season, and Lowry not being 100% having to chase IT around screens all night.9:55 Mehh, this is far from an easy game. They have quite a bit of talent and In the East they'd be a playoff team imo.
The key to this game will be the 1st quarter, as DeMarcus really looks to get his game off early, and I think it would be in our best interest to double the post to not only prevent the quick start, but to keep JV out of foul trouble. There's no way Hayes can guard DeMarcus, he did a good job on Aldridge, but Aldridge is more of a finesse player, whereas DMC has really learned how to score in any scenario this season, and I think not only his size, but his quickness will kill Hayes if matched up for a long period of time.
We should put Demar on Rudy, just for kicks, and let them battle all night. May the best chucker win! (I kid, sorta)
10:31 You really think JV will do a better job than the experienced, stronger Hayes?
I think not.
To me its a no brainer that Hayes gets the first opportunity to defend DMC. They are both stronger bulkier big men and this matchup could potentially work in our favour. Don't forget Hayes went up against DeMarcus everyday in practice for a while so he knows his go to moves and spots a lot better than Jonas. Maybe Chuck can use his knowledge and veteran savvy to get under the skin of a younger easily irritable Demarcus.
I hope JV doesn't get bullied like he did last year.
10:42 I'm nervous for this one. I have a feeling Rudy is going to torch us and Cousins is going to dominate the paint. I'm actually predicting a blowout the other way around, unfortunately. I hope I am wrong though.I think not.
To me its a no brainer that Hayes gets the first opportunity to defend DMC. They are both stronger bulkier big men and this matchup could potentially work in our favour. Don't forget Hayes went up against DeMarcus everyday in practice for a while so he knows his go to moves and spots a lot better than Jonas. Maybe Chuck can use his knowledge and veteran savvy to get under the skin of a younger easily irritable Demarcus.
I hope JV doesn't get bullied like he did last year.
11:39 I'm not afraid of Gay, I don't think he will be looking for revenge. What happened with gay this season was very odd, at least to me. Gay was made to look like a super selfish guy, which is not something he had a reputation of. A bit of chucker, yes - but nothing close to what he did in nov/dec here. It's almost like he his worst tendencies were encouraged. Still, I think he truly got along with our guys and trading him was mostly for financial/tanking reasons. Plus, he's in a better situation in SAC.
If lowry is healthy, I'm not too concerned with isaiah either. However, cousins scares me to death, chuck will have to have a good game tomorrow for us to have a chance at stopping him. I just hope kyle is close to 100%, otherwise isaiah will eat him and vasquez alive ...
Very excited to watch this game, ross against gay will be worth the price of admission alone. Not that I'm planning to attend ..
8:20 Hopefully Lowry is ready to go ... we will need him big time tonight. Thomas is the type of guard that can cause havoc on our defense ... Lots of Zone Defense may be a good idea tonight.
We have 4 guys from SAC ... this won't be a blow out for SAC, but it will certainly be a tough match both ways.
TH banging up Cousins will be needed ... Defense from our starting 5 is critical. Our second unit should hold up well tonight.
8:21 I really want to see;
1. Gay tries to hero ball, becomes the black hole that he is where all passes come to die, and chucks up at a 35% rate like the player he was here.
2. Acy has a great game.
3. Salmons shoves it right down their throat.
4. GV sees as little of the floor as possible.
10:40 This game isn't going to be close unless DC and Gay play 48 minutes. Our bench will win this for us and their lack of will lose it, My prediction is opposite score of Jeffs.
11:04 It would be smart to get Cousins off his game. Give him the Dunleavy.
11:09 What a terrible name for an arena. "Sleep Train".
11:22 Telling you, we're getting beat tonight. Might be by double digits
11:24 Somebody has to rebound... wtf.
11:28 They have no depth, chill! we will be fine
11:46 If GV can't defend jimmer and keep him in front of him, thats pathetic.
11:49 Oh my god!!!
This game is over folks!!!! This is pathetic
11:50 Someone forgot to remind Sac they're horrible.
11:54 They're not as bad as their record, and they're motivated tonight at home. That and we're 2-12 in Sac all time. We never win there
12:00 cousins leads the league in fouls drawn. conspiracy imo.12:02 Maybe Rudy is just Kryptonite to the Raptors
12:10 It seems like Demar isn't trying that hard, hes taking this game lightly because its his first time playing against his role model Rudy.
12:10 So Raptors are playing like pretrade Raptors and Rudy is playing like pre trade Rudy
12:11 Ok so the rebounds are absolutely ridiculous at this point. We are being exposed for being a terrible defensive rebounding team.
12:36 well apparently casey said Raptors are only doing "light practices this week" and next for guys to prepare for the all star weekend and to rest up?
12:38 time to watch clippers/heat, this game is toast
12:39 DD said the reason why they play well on the road was because "there's no pressure" I think they're feeling the pressure tonight
12:51 not one big with more then 4 rebounds.......we need Bargnani out there to grab some boards.
Lowry has as many boards as Amir tonight....what a disgrace
1:00 Derozan flop/tech. Didn't think his All-Star selection would go to his head this quickly.
1:09 No comeback tonight folks.
This is going to be our first blowout loss this season (after the rudy trade) since both Spurs blowout losses in December.
1:14 Tonight, LAL and Charlotte - 3 games which should've been wins. This team has to get more serious. If you want to be the king of the 2nd tier in the East you have to notch up wins against "inferior" opponents.
1:18 six minutes.. within 11.. hmm
1:19 I'm willing to bet one testicle that the Raptors will not win this game.
1:24 what the hell is happening??
1:27 JV needs to hit the gym.
imagine JV with dwight's size
and take ross with him
1:30 I don't think I've ever seen Cousins be so buddy buddy with an opposing player hahaha
1:33 well deserved loss
1:38 i HAVE NEVER SEEN A WORSE CALL IN MY LIFE
1:38 WTF?????? REFS ARE RIGGED
1:40 Are we going to get another apology from the NBA tomorrow?
1:42 SAC went to the line 48 times????? WTF???
1:42 Worst officiated game of the year.
But it doesn't he the raps played like poop!
1:44 Blame the refs, but we deserve this loss anyway you slice it. Pathetic effort
1:44 Lowry taking 3 point shot and made it. King player jumping to block it. King player hit Lowry's legs. Refs called foul on Lowry for kicking his legs out to hit the King player, though it wasn't very obvious at best.
1:47 don't post much, but that officiating was something else. has a team ever purposely forfeited a game? i know there'd be repercussions but if i were Casey i would have taken my team and left after that lowry offensive foul call. lol
1:59 Got home from work,caught up on the game after starting at the beginning courtesy of PVR and the first live play I watch is the offensive foul call on the Lowry made 3 pointer,smh!
Great to see Novak come in and knock down a few shots,the Raptors could use his floor spreading abilities.
Love the comeback effort despite the loss,which didn't have a huge impact on the standings since the Wizards and Hawks both were defeated tonight.
2:00 Thomas 16 FTA
Raptors 24 FTA
Where amazing happens
2:06 What a weird game
we Outrebounded them, killed them in assists, outshot them by a mile (they only shot 39%), Out blocked them.
Basically, TO's/Dreb/Refs lost us this game.
2:30 I brought this up before, but how is it that Cousins picks up the ball after they score a basket, slams it against the passing under the rim then holds onto it some more....and doesn't get called for delay of game?
Have they stopped calling that? At the begining of the season, all you had to do is touch the ball and you'd get called...
11:30 Really? The refs screwed us over for the Kings? Don't think so. It was just a bad call. No conspiracy.
And the Raps playing like turd is what cost them the game.
2:16 As a Raptor fan, it's a defensive foul and 1. Taking off my Raptors hat; I would say a no-call, Lowry put his feet out into the space in front of him a little bit to draw contact. McLemore didn't jump at him, he was jumping in front of him.
Nobody played defense.
Derozan was horrible on defense, Ross was horrible, Patterson was horrible. Vazques starts off his game by giving Jimmer a wide open three. A whole bunch of lazyness in that first half.
Everybody had a few good possessions on the defensive end, but never at the same time. NObody had there head in it for the full game.
Tonight's Game
Capturing perhaps the single dopiest expression ever seen on a basketball court.
Another road trip! Fun times.
Thankfully, this time around, the Kings are starting off against the Boston Celtics rather than the Indiana Pacers. Were this three years ago, that would be a frightening prospect. This year? Not so much.
Having traded away the fading remnants of their initial Big Three and having missed Rajon Rondo for the majority of the season, these Celtics aren't your daddy's Celtics (unless your dad was raised when Antoine Walker was on the Celtics, in which case they are). A collection of young pieces (allegedly), an elderly Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, and a rusty Rajon Rondo, the Celtics are a team firmly in rebuilding mode and, as luck would have it, a team rumored to be in contact with us about a potential Rajon Rondo trade. Which of course makes this game important as not only another chance to extend our momentum but to also get an up-close and personal view of the recovering former All-Star.
The Celtics frontline isn't really anything to write home about. Brandon Bass and Jared Sullinger are both undersized scorer types who (a) won't stand a chance at guarding Cuz and (b) are almost as allergic to rebounding as Carl Landry in his first stint with us. Behind the two are Kris Humphries, who is kinda like JT if JT had once had an unfortunate relationship with a reality TV star, Vitor Faverani and Kelly Olynyk, two young guys who bring the energy and are probably the best defenders of the Celtics bigs. In other words, it's another chance for Demarcus to obliterate the opposition and for JT and Acy to snag boards and play solid defense.
Boston has a glut of players at the wing positions led by Jeff Green, a 3/4 tweener who has returned to his OKC success after suffering some health issues over the past several seasons. Additionally, the Celtics will start Avery Bradley, often held up as an example of one of the better young defenders in the league at the 2 unless his ankle still bothers him enough to sit him out.
Rondo is officially listed as questionable because of soreness in his knee. If he does play, it will be interesting to see at what percentage he goes. As Rondo is one of the best point guard defenders in the league, it will be key for IT to not force the issue and go full heroball at the first sign that Rondo is going to make him work for his points.
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