It’s so nice to see exciting Kings basketball again. Last year was so painful to watch.

You gotta love ‘Reke. I personally think he could be the next Dwayne Wade.
You gotta love JT. The man is developing like a freak and is gonna have double doubles based on offensive rebounds alone.
You gotta love Beno…just cause he doesn’t play like shit anymore.
You gotta love Noc and how he takes the ball to the rim all the time.
You gotta love Donte for finally figuring out he has what it takes to be a star.
You gotta love Omri and his wonderful stroke from 3.
And you gotta love the role players like Udoka, Brockness and k9, who are doing their jobs this year.

GO KINGS!

Now I wouldn’t mind if that number is slightly lower (around 20 shots). When he gets back he’ll still be one of the biggest scoring threats, but there is something to balanced scoring. I’m not quite sure what is involved mentally when a team loses their best player, but whatever that “something” is I would hate for it to be lost when Kev gets back.

I do agree that the rotation change is one of the culprits to why they are playing better. Would they have been playing just as good if Martin never got hurt? Obviously we’ll never know for sure, but there is something that could be said about players psycholgically playing more intense because of losing there “go to” guy.

I don’t mean to over analyze the situation, and whatever the reason they’re fun to watch. It is interesting to think about the mental aspects of what makes a team good, though.

PW said, in the post game interview, that JT is getting all the rebounds and you clearly show that isn’t quite accurate. Everybody was great on the glass. Also, having everybody contribute to the scoring is nice to see. Those low post moves of JT are really getting there…

One of the interesting aspects of the game that seems to have escaped the analysis I have read is about JT fouling. PW said that he is figuring out how to stay in the game. The number of fouls have gone down, but a lot of that is because of Evans defense. Opposing guards used to blow by and get to the paint way too easy. I think that it still happens with Beno way too often, but it is nice to see these other, less mentioned, improvements due to Evans.

Hawes also mentioned, during his interview, that he has lost confidence in his shot. This really sucks, cause he can score way better than he is doing. I guess may point is that this team has some ways to go to improve and get even better than they are now.

I am thinking my projected number of wins is not high enough. I think I had 27-29. Martin and Garcia comes back, Spencer finally finds his shot, and it should be much better.

has already exceeded my expectations. I figured they’d be a young team learning a new system with some growing pains …. but man, they’ve impressed me. I don’t care that they won’t make the playoffs this year, it’s going to be a fun year if they keep this up …. and after last year, that’s all I ask for!

He doesnt need to dominate the shots. When’s he’s out, the team relies more on each other and you see what happens. Everyone is focused, scoring, playing D. We become a fun team to watch. When he’s in, things slow down, he constantly looks to get fouled, other players get tired of running around knowing they wont get the pass. The team breaks down.
Could the same chemistry happen with Kevin in game? Sure, if he suddenly decided to start passing and adding a few more assists to his stats—as well as playing tougher D and getting his frame through/around screens, etc. Reke and Kevin seem capable of the same big points every night, except Reke’s slashing breaks down entire defenses, then kicks out, or finds someone cutting to the basket. Reke’s D wreaks havoc.
Martin’s slashing typically involves him using his speed to jump into an opposing player and fling the ball up. And he is getting better at steals, but thats still a risky proposition.

To a much lesser extent of course. That team was headed for the playoffs anyway and (i believe) Webber went down much later in the season then Kevin did. But I do think there is something to be said about playing without your best player. Everyone else kind of stops drifting through the games, focuses more and definitely plays better team ball. As a rule of thumb at least.

If PW can get the young guys to play this hard when Kevin gets back, this team is going to ruin someones playoff plans.

These guys are young but they can be taught. Ariza had all his steals in the first half.

I totally don’t expect us to keep winning like this, or at this clip, but I am absolutely loving the effort, the heart, the physical and mental toughness, the defense and rebounding, and the overall attitude.

One thing that was said in passing last night in the post-game, I think by Grant, is that these guys want to be known for being tough and scrappy. We have never had that mindset here. Never.

Lots of credit to Westphal. He seems to be so positive and he’s teaching all the time (like at the end of the half when he yelled "I said 5 seconds, not 12!). Credit also to GP for drafting guys who could and would change the culture of the team because they’re competitors and will not quit. I think everyone has bought in.

I’m thrilled that we are now a team who may not win a lot of games, but will scrap and hustle and fight every night.

As for the KMart thing, Tyreke and KMart have both said repeatedly that they are excited to play with each other, that they respect each other’s game and can do great things in the back court. Why on earth would anyone think now that anything has changed? When KMart comes back, we’ll be that much more competitive, because we’ll pick up the scoring that right now we sometimes struggle with.

Sat in Section 104 last night with my son after the 200-mile trek. A great game for our Kings.

I was amazed that the radio shows coming and going didn’t have more Kings coverage. Why are they talking about the 49ers, the fight and LeBron’s stupid No. 23 stunt when the Kings are playing? And then they wonder why folks aren’t showing up for the games.

The crowd was decent sized, maybe about half full, and they made a lot of noise. I can definitely see the crowds picking up a bit in the future.

Udoka is climbing my rankings for sure. Love the effort, the decisions and best of all, the results for the team when he is on the floor.

JT gave another great performance, and I thought Spencer did a great job of playing through his shooting woes and contributing on the glass and on defense.

Tyreke is impressive to watch in person. Udrih shot lights out, and Nocioni was scrapping all night.

Donte seemed to struggle and make some bonehead plays, and Westphal responded by limiting his minutes. Casspi wasn’t as bad, but he still didn’t play a lot. Brockman was huge. The bench really helped our typical strong second quarter that led to the big halfttime lead.

Westphal was masterful with his substitutions. The guys sitting behind me kept mumbling, “What’s with all these wierd lineups?” When they closed out the second quarter with an 11-point lead, I turned and said, “THAT’s why they play the wierd lineups.”

I think we dodged a bullet with Chase Budinger having an off-night. He got a lot of good looks and certainly isn’t shy about shooting, but they just weren’t falling.

Scola was tough all night, although we seemed to do a better job on him as the game wore on. Ariza was a tough cover all night and lit up Tyreke early.

One thing I see and that also jumped off the page at 82games is our weak transition defense, particularly after made baskets. I think 82 games showed opponents are shooting more than 60% when they shoot in the first 10 minutes of the clock. It seems we’re still patting ourselves on the back for the last basket, and Beno in particular is not getting the help he needs on those plays. Definitely an area where we can improve.

Last year I went to three games at Arco, all losses and all pretty much devoid of effort and hope. This was totally different. I love the intensity, the defense, the rebounding, the passing.

Carmichael Dave took a couple of calls on the “Are we better without Kevin?” question, so I guess I should weigh in. I think Kevin is jinxed a bit and the improvement in his game has coincided with the dramatic demise of the Kings, so it’s easy to link the two. It’s easy to say we’re 1-4 with him this season, 4-0 without. Naturally that misses some of the lineup change nuances, but I do know this: the onus is on Kevin to fit in when he comes back, not the other way around.

I bought $10 tickets for the Denver game Dec. 28 and the Phoenix game Feb. 5. Naturally they added a $2.50 “facility” fee per ticket. That’s better than the $20 total for $10 tickets bought through Ticketmaster, but it’s still bogus. If it’s really a $12.50 ticket, just say so.

and so does Cisco, because we have a new leader in T-Rek. Last two years, Cisco and K-Mart were expected to lead, but were incapable because of the level of their play, and by virtue of their position. T-Rek is a natural leader by virtue of his position, early aptitude for clutch plays, quiet confidence, commitment to defense endears himself to teammates, and his quality and style of play with team first, stats second. This is quickly becoming T-Rek’s team. That has ripple effect for every player on the roster.

Nothing wrong with changing your game. MJ did it, player not be named did it, LeBron has done it. Once you have proven you can score points at will, like K-Mart has, the next challenge is to score points within the context of the team operating at highest level of efficiency possible. This means contributing where contributions are most needed: playing defense, getting loose balls, finding open teammates for easy looks, acting as offensive decoy on occasion to promote team harmony. Not as glamorous as 20 points in a quarter, but does K-Mart want to win, or lead league in scoring?

When Cisco and K-Mart are asked to come off the bench, initially, and this is what I expect PW will ask, no problem. I see no real issues incorporating these two back into the line-up. Potential challenge, yes. Problem, no. The first reason is PW. He will manage minutes, egos, and play calls to make best use of line-ups and talent. The second reason is K-Mart and Cisco have suffered long enough with the losses. There are no C-Webb or Ron-Ron egos in this equation. Stats are secondary. It is time to win.

We won last night with next to zero from Donte and Omri. Hawes was bad. Again. We beat a respectable opponent, in a game where I thought we controlled mostly from start to finish. Like the Ziller said, this was not a fluke win.

All is well in Kings Land. (Except the attendance). The Bulls are next victim.