What a great week for us.  I don't think anyone could have predicted how good we've been playing, especially without Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia.  We end the week at 5-4 and in 6th place in the West.  So lets take a look at what happened.

The Good:

1. 3-0! > .500 BABY!

Unbelievable.  We come off a nice win in Utah and defend our home floor against the Warriors, Thunder and Rockets.  I don't know if this success will be sustainable, but I'm really hoping it is.  We might actually not be talking about the draft till about March now!

2. Improving on closing out teams in the 4th quarter.

The Kings have been doing a much better job of keeping control of the game.  In both the New Orleans and Atlanta games, the Kings could have won, if only they had executed better in the 4th.  Even in the Utah game, Utah almost came back and won during a huge 4th quarter run.  But this week, especially against Oklahoma City and Houston, the Kings managed to keep control of the game and pull out the victory, something last years team was seemingly incapable of, leading a lot of close, heartbreaking losses.

3. Jason "Destroyer of Worlds" Thompson

I love JT.  And he's been stepping it up big time this season and especially without K-Mart.  He is missing some easy shots, but he'll get those to go in eventually.  And its scary to think of what will happen when those start to drop.  He's also quickly becoming one of the best offensive rebounders in the league, something the Kings have never really had.  The best part of his improvement is his improving defense and being able to stay in the game without fouling.  His highest fouling game this week came against Oklahoma City, when he had 5 fouls in almost 40 minutes, but that was a very badly refereed game, and there were a lot of people in foul trouble on both sides.  Also, JT continues his double-double streak, which now sits at 5 in a row and 5 for the season.  Fun coincidence of the week (H/T to Kfan): JT had 17 double-doubles last year.  He has 5 this year. Kings won 17 games last year, 5 this year so far.  Keep it up JT.

4. Paul Westphal's coaching

Paul Westphal had two things he wanted the Kings to improve upon when he got hired: 3-point defense and rebounding.  This week the Kings held opponents to 32.3% from 3 (20-62) and outrebounded them 157-105 by an average margin of 17.33.  That is huge.  Our defense has been better as well, as we held teams to an average of 101.6 points and 43.9% from the field.  I think a lot of this has to do with having a coach who knows what he's doing.  Vive Westphalia.

5.  The Kings backcourt of Evans/Udrih

Tyreke and Beno have been playing very well together, they can both handle the ball and complement each other very nicely.  Beno has even been showing glimpses of trying on the defensive end.  Both Beno and Tyreke have also come through in big situations in crunch time.  I don't think we win against Oklahoma City or Houston without them playing the way they have been.

6. Donte Greene, Rotation player

Donte has definitely come into his own early in the season, and he contributed meaningfully in both the Golden State and OKC games, and had a career night against the Dubs.  He didn't play much in Houston, but I'm not too worried about it, Westphal doesn't really have a set rotation and goes with matchups instead.  I think we'll see a lot more of Donte as the year goes on, and hopefully its just as good as what we saw early this week.

7. Omri Casspi's double-double

Omri played an awesome game against the Warriors: 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.  I have been very surprised with how ready he's been to make a difference on this team. I thought at the beginning of the season it would take him at least a couple of years before he'd be performing like he has been.  Another fantastic late first-round pick by Mr. Petrie.

8.  Andres Nocioni's defense against Kevin Durant

Yes, Kevin Durant scored 37.  But most of it came when Noc was on the bench or guarding someone else.  Durant might have scored 50 if Noc didn't play him so well.  Durant had a horrible shooting night, and I think that can be attributed to Noc.  Great job.

9. Ime Udoka

I <3 Ime.  He brings a lot to the team that we can't see.  I'm sort of glad we had to see how horrible Desmond Mason was in order to appreciate Ime even more.

10. Kenny Thomas

Kenny has been very effective when Coach puts him in.  He plays solid defense, and rebounds the ball very well.  He's doing pretty much what we had hoped Sean May would be able to do.  For about 8 million more dollars. Ah well.  At least he's sort of earning his keep now. Sort of.

11. K-9 for Okafor Trade Rumors.

I'm putting this under the good because it shows to me that the Kings are looking for more talent to put on this team, and I honestly think that if this trade does happen (its looking unlikely at the moment), the Kings could contend for the playoffs THIS year.  Petrie hasn't really done a trade for talent in a while (mostly been salary dumps as of late), but when he does do talent trades, good results usually happen (It's even working out with Artest for B-Jax, Donte and Omri).  I think we will do a trade for talent before the deadline, and its possible it could be a big move. In my opinion, Okafor is a big move.  And my opinion is that he would be better than anyone we would get in free agency.

12. The Donte Greene Show on Ustream

It was nice to see that the guys are hanging out and creating some nice chemistry together (the chemistry on-court between 'Reke and JT is becoming quite apparent).  StR also got a shout-out, and I found you could understand 'Reke better when he freestyles.  I propose all his interviews now come in freestyle form, if only for clarity.

The Bad:

1. Spencer Hawes

Spencer hasn't really been playing as well as we hoped he would this week at least.  He was decently effective in the Warriors and OKC games, but really stank it up against Houston.  He also hasn't hit a three-pointer yet all year, although he's taken 9 of them.  He also was a bit of a butterfingers this week, with 8 turnovers on the week compared to 4 assists.  His defense and rebounding have been pretty good though, its just his offense that has been lacking.  Hopefully he comes around.

2. Omri Casspi's free throw struggles.

Omri has not shot well at the line all season (only shooting 20%). It almost cost us the game against Oklahoma City when he clanked two free throws in the last minute.  I don't know why he's been having trouble at the line, especially since he's been shooting so well from the field (56% FG, 47% 3P), but its definitely something he needs to work on.

3. Sean May

Sean May did not play once this week.  I don't know if he's played himself out of the rotation, but it looks like it.  The Brock Ness Monster and K-9 seem to have taken his place.

The Ugly:

1. Kings 3-point shooting

The Kings might have been doing a good job at holding teams to a low 3P%, but they did an even worse job making them this week, shooting only 15-47 (31.9%).  And a lot of them have been wide open shots as well.  Its definitely something I expect to improve as the season goes along.

2. Handling the ball.

The Kings had 55 assists to 53 turnovers this week, a ratio of barely 1:1.  This desperately needs to improve, especially because most of them are silly mistakes.  I have to chalk it up to a young team still learning each others game, but its still a disconcerting stat.

3. Bill "Crying in the corner cause the Kings beat the Rockets" Ingram

Bill Ingram wrote this about the Kings over at Hoopsworld last week:

luis in el paso, texas:
hey bill: there is rumors going around that the rockets are gonna trade t-mac and jermaine taylor to the kings for k-mart, nocioni, and abdur rahim expiring contract but retired.. if true would you aproove this trade? your thoughts??
Bill Ingram:
That's because the Kings are talking about trading Kevin Martin. They talked about it last season before the deadline and I'm hearing it again. It helps stoke the flames of the rumor mill when you draft a guy who plays his position - and he averages 25 ppg when Martin is out (ok, that's just two games). The Kings would like to get out from under Martin's contract, and the Rockets would definitely listen if they called.

paul westphal in kings HQ:
Does Sacramento really need k.martin or can they trade him? does the starting lineup should be Evens, Udrich, Casspi, Thompson and Hawes? They can a good big man instead of him and they are hurting down low (may is not the answer).

Bill Ingram:
In talked to a couple of league execs about that situation, there is real doubt about Evans’ ability to play the 2 from a defensive standpoint. He can score, sure, but can he defend the plethora of All-Star twos in the NBA? I don’t think so . . .

Raheem in MPLS:
As a fan of the NBA, would you consider the Knicks as one of the worst teams ever?
Bill Ingram:
The Kings and the Knicks are fighting for that distinction, I think.

Hey Bill. 107-100. Eat it.

Player of the Week:

Beno Udrih

18.0 PPG, .575 FG%, .400 3P%, 4.3 APG, 3.3 RPG

Beno had a great week in Kevin's absence, but the real reason he's player of the week over JT and Tyreke (the other contenders), is that he's running the team very well, and hitting big shots during crunch time.  He's definitely earning that contract at this moment and turning me into a believer (that his poor performance last year was due to poor "coaching", if you could call it coaching).  Hopefully this can be sustained for the season.

Comment of the Week:

Most double-doubles in a season?

Sean May, at the Natomas In ’N Out.

by andy sims on Nov 13, 2009 7:43 PM PST reply actions   7 recs

Highlight of the Week:

Donte to JT lob at the end of 3rd quarter.

And Nostradumbass's predictions for next week:

v. Chicago 11/17 W

@ Dallas 11/20 L

@ Houston 11/21 W (I'm going against my better judgment here because I want Bill Ingram to cry some more)

Nostradumbass for the season (3-3)