Kings Take One Step Back, Lose 115-102 to Heat
by Tom Ziller on Dec 7, 2009 3:52 AM PST
in Recaps
Email
PrintThe Kings and Heat as currently performing are basically equals. (This is without Kevin Martin.) The Heat are fifth in the East, the Kings 10th in the West. That's a fact no amount of improbability can change. But then, how did the Kings lose by 13, never getting closer than six points in the second half?
Well, one stretch in the second quarter really undid Sacramento. And unfortunately, it came with the team's best (healthy) players on the court.
Just after the six-minute mark in the second quarter, the Kings trailed by seven. Tyreke Evans (who had another monster box score -- 30 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 3 steals, 2 tov) entered the game for Jon Brockman, joining Beno Udrih, Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes and Donte Greene.
Over the next eight possessions, the Kings scored ... two points. In nine possessions during that span, Miami scored ... 14. The Kings had three turnovers in the stretch, and shot 0-5 from the floor, 2-4 from line. Miami shot 5-8 from the floor (including two threes) and 2-2 from the line ... and had zero turnovers. Just a brutal stretch of play in which Dwyane Wade dictated the game on both ends.
The Kings and Heat basically played even the other 43-1/2 minutes -- Miami was +1, but the last minute of the game featuring your usual desperation madness. You can see this as a bad thing: the Kings had basically 25 minutes to go on a similar run of their own, or to make up all that lost ground at home, and didn't. But in the spirit of continual positivity, think of it this way: this wasn't so much a 13-point loss as it was a really really crappy 4-1/2 minutes of basketball bookended by a decent performance on the back end to two games in two nights.
The Kings won the rebound war, both according to the TV version (34-33 in raw totals) and by percentages (85 percent on the defensive glass, 30 percent on the offensive glass ... both solid). The turnovers were too frequent, and not just in that second quarter stretch. Who was the worst culprit? The amazing Sergio Rodriguez, who didn't so much return back to Earth as he crashed violently into the middle of a prairie, and not so much like Superman did but more like a race of dumb aliens who for some reason think the method of winning a basketball game is passing the ball to as many courtside spectators as possible. Just some brutal, brutal (not brutale!) turnovers there from Sergio. Five in 12 minutes.
Omri Casspi was smoking off the bench (not literally, his hand was figuratively smoking due to high heat), hitting all four threes, including a spectacular fading three at the buzzer ending the third quarter. The bench was actually perfect from beyond the arc (Beno Udrih hit two of his own), but the starting five went 2-16 from downtown, led (in a bad way) by Andres Nocioni (1-7), who refused to say die, unless you look at it realisitically, in which case Nocioni said "Die!" to the Kings offense. When he's on, he can really put these Martin-less, Garcia-less Kings on another dimension offensively. But when he's not, he has no filter in his head, and he begins shooting even more frequently than usual, which is weird, because when most non-stars aren't htting shots, they let someone else take them and find other ways to contribute. El Chapu did indeed have good energy, and hit the boards well (two offensive, four defensive in 30 minutes). But Nocioni isn't deadeye enough to shoot himself into a game. Ray Allen, Martin, Steve Nash, Rashard Lewis can do that. Nocioni can't.
Evans is now averaging 19.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Over his last 10 games, he's at 23.1/5.6/5.4 on damn near 50 percent shooting. Unbelievable.
59 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Hehehe. I love you, man.
You’re the wild Noce fan in me that I constantly dose with realism, just for me to keep things in perspective.
But hey, when Noce is hot, I think the others have no problem finding him (see Phoenix game). And when he not hot, others still find him (see Miami game). It’s up to Noce to recognize if he should still be shooting 3’s or going inside or passing it off to a teammate playing better.
There can only be one Noce!
If you are going to go down
go down swinging!!
I didn't get to see the game?
Why so few minutes for JT? He seemed to avoid fould trouble.
Also, any comments on Donte’s performance. Offensively, he looks like he did ok.
JT was in foul trouble the whole game
he just didn’t get any the last couple of minutes.
Professional Hyperbole Slayer
Donte was solid. He drove to basket a lot, sometimes under control, sometimes not.
But from my perspective he had a solid game.
"Thou must give props" - Ice_9ine
by tomroadrunner on Dec 7, 2009 7:54 AM PST up reply actions
When Donte decides he's going to the hole
he can get a lot of velocity behind him. He doesn’t seem totally in control of it yet.
not totally in control
I agree, but better than last years no control version. I’m sure he must make those moves in practice, but in games he’s still looking for the confidence to go smoothly. Still, he had a very good game, he was one of the 3 or 4 guys who did.
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
by lietothegirls on Dec 7, 2009 8:50 AM PST up reply actions
a la GWallace?
When Wallace was stuck behind CWebb in rotation, he was so Natting excited to get into the game that he seemed to be on a sugar high. The Show has been able to get time with the injuries this season , and has started to harness the energy (albeit only from time to time).
Kings - 2011/2012 Champions
by SkylineFanatic on Dec 8, 2009 9:16 AM PST up reply actions
Hawes
with a grand total of 3 rebounds. That many can bounce right into his hands. He’s not even trying.
Hawes looked absolutely terrible last night in every facet of the game.
by chri5 on Dec 7, 2009 8:53 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
Well
Rebounding was bad.
Offensively, other than missed FTs, I actually thought he played well. He was posting and cutting very well, but for whatever reason was not getting any passes. I thought they missed him wide open or with a big size advantage close to the hoop multiple times last night. My friend who is a Lakers fan, was noticing the same things. Hawes also had a couple of very nice passes to Green for assists.
Agreed
Spencer’s offense was fine. He moved the ball well. Our guards consistently ignore or don’t see JT and Spencer wide open under the basket early in positions. Spencer especially establishes very good position early in positions and is lucky to ever see the ball. Generally, when he or JT get the ball in the paint, it’s an after thought – that is our guards are done pounding the ball and going 1 on 4.
I don’t care how gaudy Tyreke and the other guards numbers are, their tendency to pound the ball and insist on 1 on 1 play is hurting our offensive cohesivenesss. To be successful, this team MUST share the ball consistently and often. How many times did Evans pound the ball and go to the basket last night when it was 1 on 3 or even 1 on 4? Now his talent and strength are going to allow him to score points, so his numbers are going to be there. That doesn’t mean, however, that it helps our offense. And I think any of us who have played organized basketball know who annoying it is to have one or two guys that refuse to share the ball. It puts everybody in the mindset of “I better shoot it if I get it cuz I might not see it again any time soon.” This team needs to get back to sharing the ball and a more balanced offensive attack. In the end, our guard will still score more because they are our most talented offensive players. But everybody needs to be involved.
by Kusian on Dec 7, 2009 9:49 AM PST up reply actions 6 recs
Rec'd
I had posted the same about the one on one play (actually I posted “one on whatever”) and I was lambasted for it. I guess now it’s ok to make that observation.
I call it
the top of the hey crossover dance.
Dusty, you can be the great -great godfather
of the “top of the hey crossover dance” movement. Me likey.
"I make love to pressure" - Stephen Jackson
Nope
Still not Ok
"I hate all sports as rabidly as a person who likes sports hates common sense."
-H.L. Mencken
I like ball movement too
but when Miami is playing so hard to get into passing lanes, better spacing and some backdoor cutting are the answers. The better spacing is to allow for the guys capable of 1-on-1 play, the best opportunity to do so. If the 1-on-1 is what the defense is willing to concede, then its what we should take.
Professional Hyperbole Slayer
The kids were playing with effort
but not confidence or conviction with a couple of exceptions. Miami or their own lack of just making shots and stopping shots cut their confidence early.
I don’t remember when JT played a less confident game while not in foul trouble.
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
by lietothegirls on Dec 7, 2009 10:52 AM PST up reply actions
I think,
Beno and Tyreke may have lost confidence in Spencer. His play this year has been sporadic in terms of his shot. I was surprised when I saw his field goal percentage at 47% as I thought it was much lower.
I agree with your point though. Reke, Beno and especially Nocioni need to look to the pass in the paint a lot more.
by nothingbutnet on Dec 7, 2009 10:54 AM PST up reply actions
Spencer is shooting better inside than outside
50% of Spencers shots are from inside & 50% are jumpers. His eFG% on his inside shots (close,dunks & tips) is 63%. While he’s shooting 38% on his jumpers.
I don’t believe it’s about confidence in Spencer or JT. It’s about the ability to make a decent entry pass. And, how about the fact that the Kings can’t or hardly every run a decent pick & roll. Where the screener gets the ball, with an easy path to the basket.
Tyreke gets about one pick & roll with Hawes from the top of the circle every game. But, I can’t remember when JT scored off a pick & roll. And, Beno only knows how to shot a midrange jumper off the pick & roll. He almost never make the entry pass into the screener.
Besides Spencer had 14 FGA’s against the Suns where he had to go against Amare & Frye. I can’t see why they wouldn’t try more than 4 against Miami, who started a 6’9" center. I think it’s about experience and recognition on the parts of the PG’s.
"If you don't have anything good to say, LIE" - Mom
They try I think
but they don’t set it up efficiently/quickly
They telegraph it and it gets defended. I’d have to look again but I think its the bigs that give it away a lot of the time.
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
by lietothegirls on Dec 7, 2009 1:30 PM PST up reply actions
Big men aren't handling passes well
It seems like our front court just isn’t ready for the passes, or they have too much mustard for them to collect cleanly. By the time they do, the d is set. Sir Gio and Beno have responded by basically handing off the passes once inside, if they can get in.
I have liked seeing the quick touch passes, but only when they work
Kings - 2011/2012 Champions
by SkylineFanatic on Dec 8, 2009 9:24 AM PST up reply actions
Sometimes it's simple
Our offense was just fine last night despite Noc chucking.
Our D was atrocious. Both watching the game and looking at the stats. We let the Heat shoot 58% from the field. You simply aren’t going to win many basketball games doing that. That will happen with young teams. I mean out of 240 possible game minutes, we had 179 given to players 23 or younger. And 125 (over half) to players 21 and younger.
Also, our free throw shooting was terrible. Statistically, we shot 62.5% from the FT line, while yielding an extra 7 points to the Heat there despite shooting one extra FT. Anecdotally, we had a couple of runs killed due to missed FTs. As well as Casspi shot last night, his two missed FTs during our 4th quarter run were very, very costly.
Its Obvious what happened
Kevin Martin’s ugly-ass suit caused:
An Argentinean Astigmatism
A Pennsylvanian panic
A Spanish Tragedy
A Limbaugh relapse
Every time they tried to regroup on the bench
IT was there, burning their eyes, confusing their souls.
Gabrielle Union caused:
A Seattle Swoon
Grown men to make desperate passes
Although they put it up – it wouldn’t go down
Man after man had their opportunities, with the line clear and the goal in sight and unguarded
But proved awkward under her queenly gaze.
They even tried to gift her the game ball, throwing it into the stands on several occasions – but the painful vision of Kevin Martin’s suit caused even those offerings to be deflected from her awesome presence.
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
Reflecting on the game
The team looked tired. The energy and intensity was not as high and they did not seem able to pick up the tempo of the game without turning over the ball. Mostly Sergio’s fault there.
The Kings have done a really good job in most games of getting the ball to the hot shooter(s). They didn’t do that as well last night.
Donte’ and Tyreke had a good inside game going and it is no wonder. They are both way bigger and stronger. I think that those mismatches worked, but Beno and Omri should have been shooting a lot more 3s. Noc shouldn’t have touched the ball much.
I was really surprised at just how good the Heat have become on the defense. I had no idea they were stepping it up that much. We definitely were the worst defensive team last night.
I don't know
6 of Omri and Beno’s 15 shots were 3s. They pretty much played within their games very well.
When 3/5th of your starters have sub-par games or worse, and one of your key bench guys (Sergio) pours gasoline on the fire – its going to be a tough night.
That said, I’d have liked to see both get more floor time to see if they could have turned things around a bit more.
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
by lietothegirls on Dec 7, 2009 9:45 AM PST up reply actions
Omri started the game
with one of the worst chucks of the season, that if Donte had done so would have spawned 50 posts of derision. When he came in in the 3rd quarter, Omri, was much more under control and played really well.
Professional Hyperbole Slayer
Donte missed a 3 ball by 2 feet
I don’t see any criticism here for that.
They’re both young, but Casspi just always adds positives, even with the occasional rookie play. This belongs on Kfan in K thread but Casspi is just more reliable at this point to make consistant positive contributions.
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
by lietothegirls on Dec 7, 2009 10:49 AM PST up reply actions
bad misses don't bug me
bad decisions do, and I don’t remember the Donte shot you are referring to, but Omri made one horrendous decision early.
You are right though, Omri is more reliable at this point, on offense especially, though using reliable for either of them right now is questionable.
Professional Hyperbole Slayer
They bug me
Especially when they are off-balanced brick that look like the old Donte’ is back. I remember that shot and almost shuddered. It was both a bad shot and a bad decision. Donte’ should NEVER shoot the 3 unless his feet are perfectly set. He definitely back slid on that part of this game a bit…
My reasoning
The 3-point shooting really killed us. Evans was 0 for three, Donte was 1 for 5, and Noc was 1 for 7.
Whereas we had Casspi and Beno hitting 100% of their 3s with 6 for 6 shooting. When guys are hitting 3s like that they need to keep shooting them.
13% three point shooting for Evans, Donte’, and Nocioni combined.
100% three point shooting Casspi and Beno…
If they had more minutes
they’d probably have shot more 3’s.
“go jack up some 3’s!” is probably not the coaching PW wants to give right now. Though it might have helped last night, he doesn’t want them thinking to go that mode every time their in trouble, they’re too young.
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
by lietothegirls on Dec 7, 2009 12:34 PM PST up reply actions
Hmm...
PW goes with who is hot. Seems like a natural to set up Beno and Casspi, or whomever, for shots that they are knocking down during a hot streak.
I don’t think the ‘jack up some 3’s’ message would have been it. It would have been more like, ‘OK guys Beno and Omri are hot, let’s run this to get them set up for open looks’ and so forth.
Right
He gets criticised sometimes for too many rotations but last night he should have ridden Beno and Casspi more. Only 19 minutes for Omri? Strange.
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
by lietothegirls on Dec 7, 2009 1:08 PM PST up reply actions
When the entire starting lineup shoots 2 of 16 from 3pt range.
I’m thinking that you have got to give the Miami defense some credit. They switched and played excellent help defense. They challenged almost every shot.
Sometimes it’s not about us, but about how much better the other guys played. I thought Miami played a better game on both ends of the court. We didn’t.
"If you don't have anything good to say, LIE" - Mom
If that was it then it would be fine
And that was part of it, but I think it is fair to say that Noc took wide open shots and missed repeatedly. Donte’ took two shots without having his feet set and Tyreke also has open shots, but missed.
I agree that they were playing much better defense and ours wasn’t as good, but missing wide open and uncontested 3s, which many were, is not about that.
Agreed. I think it's a little bit of both...
leaning towards Miami’s good D that night.
33 Wins. Yeah, I said it.
It's not a step back
This is a young team. They had to learn how to compete at home. They have to learn how to compete on the road. They are learning how to win at home right now. They will learn how to do it on the road. This loss was disappointing, I know. But it is part of the learning cycle for these kids. This team is really young. It is also MUCH improved over last year. Phoenix and Miami would have slaughtered us last year. I am a proud Kings fan. I am proud of these players. They never give up and they’re always trying.
it is a step back in the standings and a step back as a loss to a comparable team on the home floor
As well: (from Ziller)
this wasn’t so much a 13-point loss as it was a really really crappy 4-1/2 minutes of basketball bookended by a decent performance on the back end to two games in two nights.
a thinly sliced excrement sandwich on wonder bread still tastes like excrement. Was it a bad loss, no, not particularly, but the sour feculent taste can still remain.
and it took the effort of two superstars in Nash and Wade to secure wins. Hand to hand fighting and then someone brings a subautomatic. Game over. The good news is that the Kings are grooming their own All-Star in Tyreke Evans, this kid seems to show progress darn near every game.
by betweentheeyes on Dec 7, 2009 12:42 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Rec'd for some keen points.
it took the effort of two superstars in Nash and Wade to secure wins. Hand to hand fighting and then someone brings a subautomatic. Game over. The good news is that the Kings are grooming their own All-Star in Tyreke Evans, this kid seems to show progress darn near every game.
Agreed. It took two first ballot Hall of Famers to beat the Kings (plus a little bit of the Kings beating themselves). It was a joy to watch both of them operate in the 4th quarter to secure a W for their respective teams.
Also, so good to see All-Star and Tyreke Evans in the same sentence. ’Reke and Kev will be our own subautomatics…or perhaps a subautomatic and a bazooka. Progress indeed.
33 Wins. Yeah, I said it.
Why not more Casspi?
Seems like Casspi can do everything Noc can, but is better/more consistent on O. When Noc is off, like last night, why doesn’t PW replace him with Omri? Was it a D thing?
Loved the overall hustle of the team, but JT and Hawes are frustrating to watch when they don’t focus on the boards. Same for Green. Those three guys should all be pulling down 5 – 10 boards every game.
I don't know
- its a mystery to me why he only got 19 minutes.
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
by lietothegirls on Dec 7, 2009 1:07 PM PST up reply actions
I think Omri was 0-3 in the first half
may be why he didn’t play until late in the 3rd. Also Noc seemed to heat up a bit in the 3rd. May have also contributed to Omri’s late entry in the 2nd half.
Ball movement ... is like jogging for most people: They do it occasionally, and it makes them happy. Then they go back to not doing it. - Henry Abbott
by Kfan in Korea on Dec 7, 2009 4:23 PM PST up reply actions
On free throws
We all know Casspi has that same perimeter shot as S Marion, I haven’t seen him play in a while, but doesn’t Marion shoot his Fts from down low as well? or is that someone else I’m thinking of?
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBLlXddUGK8
Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.
Couldn't hurt to try it, he goes 81%
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
by lietothegirls on Dec 7, 2009 4:42 PM PST up reply actions
that is a really ugly free throw
I’m going to have to pay more attention to Omri’s mechanics but his free throw doesn’t remind me of Marion’s at all.
"I make love to pressure" - Stephen Jackson
It's a bird, it's a plane...
Funny, “Sergio, the Dumb Alien”. I wish Sergio would have some restraint when it comes to making his risky passes. You can’t get too flashy/fancy with a good veteran team. They know better and will make you pay for it. Good veteran teams don’t do that to each other (ie. Saturday night’s L*kers vs. Heat game) so I don’t think an up-and-coming team like Sacramento should allow someone like Sergio to play so loose. I’d rather see methodical offense than an exciting possession that ends up in a turnover.
Nice to see Omri have the hot hand again. I hope he regains his free throw confidence/mechanics or whatever the problem may be.
Agreed, Noc is no Ray-Ray or Rashard. He certainly never saw a shot he didn’t like in last night’s loss. I wish I didn’t erase the game already, but I don’t recall him driving as much as he usually does to score when his jump shot is off.
Overall, I saw a tired team that couldn’t compete with a veteran team that was pissed from losing the night before to a lucky last second 3 pointer. I was also impressed with Coach Spoelstra’s decisions and moves throughout the game. I thought putting the taller Dorell Wright on Tyreke was a stroke of genius. It’s so good to see people like D-Wade and Coach Spoelstra give the Kings and Tyreke nothing but compliments.
33 Wins. Yeah, I said it.
this strategy didn't work for Nate McMillan
I don’t think an up-and-coming team like Sacramento should allow someone like Sergio to play so loose
Sergio needs to grow into his game – he is a second year NBA player not a shrewd veteran – he needs PT to grow not castigation. Donté on the other hand has responded well to stifling.
by betweentheeyes on Dec 7, 2009 9:32 PM PST up reply actions
This is Sergio's 4th season bte
No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Oh, hes in the laegue two and Jayson Thomson and that Boggins dude on Milwokee, and Occur for the Jizz. Its a talented laegue.--Kfan in Korea
his first two didn't count
or maybe he just is what he is – a bit more like Jason Williams than just his nickname.
by betweentheeyes on Dec 8, 2009 12:22 AM PST up reply actions
I don't want to cut his playing time...
he just needs to tone down the risky plays…as in cutting down the ‘loose’ play (ie. careless alleyoop passes in front of a great defender like Ariza etc.). I’m sure it’s possible for the coaching staff to tell Serge to chill a little bit without messing with his confidence. Also I’m not sure how ‘loose’ equates to amount to minutes played.
McMillan just didn’t play him at all…unless sporadic 12-15 minutes a game is considered playing time (emphasis on sporadic).
33 Wins. Yeah, I said it.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Sactown Royalty
Related FanShots on Sactown Royalty
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Days of NBA Lives: Wherein Roy Hibbert tap-dances to Maine
- Grizzlies Valentine’s Day cards are the key to love
- Kevin Love would like the NBA to take the MLB’s approach on All-Star games
- Kobe Bryant fires a few hilarious salvos at Jeremy Lin
- Brandon Jennings states the obvious regarding his 2014 free agency, everyone goes nuts
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
