Preview: Kings at Spurs
by Ziller on Dec 9, 2009 12:00 PM PST
69 comments
THE OPPONENT
The Spurs are far better than .500, despite the record. I could try to explain what's gone wrong, but Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell can do it from a tighter perspective, much more eloquently.
[T]hrough 18 games, those horses have come up lame. Rather than getting a lift from the supporting cast, Tim Duncan is playing with MVP-efficiency and barely keeping the Spurs at a half-respectable .500. If the Spurs recover from their start of sputter and stall, Tim Duncan ought to be placed at the center of the MVP conversation. He’s threatening a career season, at least in terms of efficiency. And it’s all lost on a 9-9 start.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that no one else is playing well. Matt Bonner is a having a career year; DeJuan Blair is occasionally sensational. Tony Parker is not dominating, but playing competent basketball. I get all that, and I could further qualify. It’s just that the supporting cast taken as a whole is providing more drag than momentum-gathering boost. Tim Duncan is all dragster, and the team is mostly parachute.
Richard Jefferson has certainly been disappointing, and Manu Ginobili has seemingly been on-and-off, hot-and-cold. For the Kings' sake, given that our defense isn't bright and the Spurs' defense continues to be, let's hope Jefferson disappoints and Ginobili is more cold than warm.
THE KEY BATTLE
Tony Parker vs. Tyreke Evans. Reke struggled to defend the pick-and-roll against the Spurs last time around, with Parker slicing to the rim at will. Now granted, Parker does this against most teams. But if the Kings want to compete, Parker can't own the driving lines. He's going to have to work.
On the other end, it's a two-fold challenge in attacking San Antonio's defense: win the favorable size mismatches (particularly Evans-Parker) and overachieve in the problem spots (Andres Nocioni against the tough-inside, anti-three team defense, Jason Thompson vs Tim Duncan). Evans is the biggest key here, both in terms of punishing Parker without getting denied by Duncan and friends, and in terms of setting up Thompson, Spencer Hawes and others with easy attempts.
INTERESTING SIDESHOW
Let's play Inane Arguments, hosted by Grant Napear! His tirades against
a) Paul Westphal for protesting the shot clock violation when the Kings inbounded with 1 second on the clock, and
b) Jason Thompson for protesting his fifth foul, which came when he pulled Darius Songaila's jersey on defense
were inane. Everyone, including Westphal, who, you know, has been around the league a while, knows that there could be less than a second left. Westphal was indicating he thought the New Orleans scorekeeper jobbed the Kings by starting the shot clock just a touch before the ball was touched. This is a pretty classic home court advantage type move. If you read Westphal's lips, he says "Nice timekeeper!" or something like that. He is indicating that he believes the shot clock was started early. Not that the Kings deserve a full second because the clock read 1. You idiot.
Regarding Thompson, Napear kept on about how obvious a foul it was, and how Thompson should have shut up about it and play smarter defense. Of course, Thompson was protesting the fact that he was assaulted repeatedly at the other end, with nary a whistle to help him out. You can see him motion to the refs that he had been beaten about the head by the Hornets defense, and how he deserved to get some calls if the refs insisted on calling Nancy garbarge like the jersey yank. Thompson wasn't saying, "I didn't pull his jersey!" He was saying, "They are beating me about the head and whatnot, how bout a whistle, chum?"
And missing those things isn't terrible. It's the attitude that he, Grant, is the smartest person in the world that grates.
BOLD PROCLAMATION
Matt Bonner takes more three-pointers than Spencer Hawes.
NUMERIC PREDICTION
Spurs by ... never mind. I am not a jinx.
DETAILS
The tip-off, again, is at 5 o'clock. Game thread then, with the second game thread at 6 and the post-game thread at 7:45. Recap someday.
0 recs |
69 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
Per Jason Jones Tweet
Casspi (back) is probable for tonight’s game at San Antonio
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
Why is it your bold predictions tend to usually come true?
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
pretty good odds on that one!
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 9, 2009 1:42 PM PST up reply actions
Maybe I was better off with Bob Licht and Gil McGregor last night
Wait a minute. no such thing.
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
Ever Burns..............Ever Burns
"I make love to pressure" - Stephen Jackson
Spurs have not lost to a team that was not a playoff team last year except for once
And that team was the Thunder, who will be a playoff team this year. It’s going to take 48 minutes of our game and 48 minutes of a poor game for San Antonio for us to win this one. I see us losing by 15+ but I hope I’m wrong.
Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.
JT needs to study Duncan
on how to play defense without fouling. Absurd 2.6 PF a game for Duncan over his career, with some absolutely ridiculous defensive rating numbers. Best PF of all time in my book.
Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.
True, but...
Do you think any of this has to do with preferential treatment as a “star player”? I’m not even putting emphasis on Donaghy’s recent quotes, but I have observed over time that basketball stars like MJ, Kobe, Duncan, etc are not likely to have calls go against them.
by nobodyinparticular on Dec 9, 2009 1:40 PM PST up reply actions
No, he stays long and wide
does cheat his arms down some but – very good at altering shots.
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 9, 2009 1:44 PM PST up reply actions
Just an excellent fundamental defender.
One of the best, ever.
For what it’s worth, his rookie season when he wouldn’t presumably be getting “star calls” (Well, maybe he would, he was an All Star), he averaged fouls 2.1 per game
by unfair weather on Dec 9, 2009 2:05 PM PST up reply actions
Absolutely...
Duncan never gets the ‘cheap’ stuff called against him…and he’s a bigger whiner than Thompson, Hawes and MILLER combined.
Yes.
The best PF of all time is a Virgin Islander. Now if only Raja Bell can step his game up just a little bit, he can overtake Jordan.
GREENE! You’ve been superfluously apostrophe’d! - andy sims
As opposed to AC Green,
who was the best virgin PF of all time.
SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!
9-9
Just doesn’t seem right for a Spurs team with this much talent. Hopefully the under-achievement continues.
Never forget: I am a complete idiot
San Antonio losses:
@ Utah, v. Den, v. Bos, v. Utah, @ Dal, v. OKC, @ Por, @ Utah, @ Chi
San Antonio Wins:
v. NO, v. Sac, v. Tor, v. Dal, v. Was, v. Mil, v. GS, @ Hou, v. Phi
They’ve had a pretty rough schedule. Much tougher than ours to be sure.
Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.
True ! They had to play Sac
we haven’t
by ElRonToro on Dec 9, 2009 1:30 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
you tell 'em ElRon
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 9, 2009 1:45 PM PST up reply actions
I think if we play like last night
Hit our FTs and a good share of our 3s
(add a little casspi)
We’ve got a shot.
As for JT, regardless of the truth, he needs to be better with the officials if he wants to start getting calls – especially on the road.
So imitate the action of the tiger!.
Lend the eye a terrible aspect
- and teach them how to war!
Henry V iii
I think that is true in any game
We took damned good care of the ball. We keep doing that, hit FTs and 3s, JT stays on the floor, and we lockdown a bit better on D then we win more games all around.
That's the cool thing
This team is close and whatever is missing has nothing to do with talent (at least to take the next step). It’s all about playing a bit smarter and reducing the ‘young player’ mistakes. That by itslef will happen with development and time.
Now to take one more step (probably playoffs) we are going to need some more development and a bit more talent.
Let’s take it step by step…
Godfather of the "nice ass" movement.... the future begins now...
Exactly
This team has had more talent than many give it credit for and is just a few pieces away from being much better.. Low post talent really is what we need. JT and Spence are developing fast though and we might need less if JT keeps showing such development.
I honestly think that the coaching staff is doing amazing. Just about every player is showing either growth or improvement on the floor, minus a few lapses here and there.
We combine this coaching team with a bit more talent and we will take great strides forward.
Oh
This team is close and whatever is missing has nothing to do with talent
Dwight Howard would help some :)
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 9, 2009 3:13 PM PST up reply actions
Forgot my parenthesis lltg
at least to take the next step
And that next step to me is being consistently decent/good, with emphasis in consistent. For that I think we already have the players, especially when Speed and Cisco get back.
Now to take the next step, which to me would be playoffs, 6th-8th seed, we are definitely going to need to add more talent. No doubt about that
Godfather of the "nice ass" movement.... the future begins now...
Nah - just joking
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 9, 2009 5:28 PM PST up reply actions
Just for the record, the jersey tug was....
..foul #4 that one ref called a travel before being overruled that JT tugged his jersey.
Foul 5 was PHANTOM under the basket, as it shows JT not even TOUCHING Songaila(since when did Darius become a Basketball Jesus?)
Fould 6 was JT driving to the hoop with a cutting Songaila cutting him off from a perpendicular angle.
Come to look back on this, Songaila was easily NOH MVP last night as he singlehandedly fouled out Thompson by being the Basketball Jesus that he is.
Spurs down but not out
Other than Duncan, the Spurs aren’t playing all that well. Having lost the last 2 games to Denver 106 to 99, and Utah 104 to 101, we could be playing them at just the right time. But, Utah did have to play Brewer, Boozer, & Williams 42+ minutes to secure the win. And, Denver had to win FG%, ORB, DRB, STLs, & TO’s to pull off the victory.
While San Antonio’s offense isn’t hitting on all cylinders FG% 47% & 3P% 36%, their defense is still one of the best. And, one thing that should concern the Kings in particular is that the Spurs average 26 FTA’s per game and shot better than 75% form the FT line.
From 3pt range Bonner (5 attempts per game) & Finley (2 attempts per game) are the biggest threats, shooting 46% & 41% respectively.
The Kings have lost the last 4 games to the Spurs, and the loses at the A.T.& T. Center were by 16 & 19 pts. But, the Kings are angry after the 2 pt lose to the Hornets. And, if Tyreke’s head isn’t still ringing, they just might be up to challenging the Spurs. Plus the Kings aren’t the same team that they were when we lost our 3rd game of the year here.
First, our Bigs will play better. Spencer had 10 rebounds against Duncan in our last meeting coming off the bench. And, JT had 7 rebounds. May & Mason had 7 rebounds total in 36minutes, and Thomas is more than capable of matching their stats in half the minutes. Beno got limited minutes and only had 4 FGA’s. And, Tyreke had only 6pts on 9 FGA’s, while he deferred to Martins’ 29pts on 14 FGA’s.
One thing that hasn’t changed is Noc’s shooting. Noc went 1-7 from the field in the last Spurs game, and if he goes cold early, I expect PW might pull him in favor of Omri (assuming he’s back) or Udoka. With Keith Bogans starting at the 2 for the Spurs, anyone we start at the 2 should be an advantage. Bogans is shooting 40% from the field and less than 4ppg. And, at 6’5" & 215lbs, he doesn’t pose a problem even for Beno. I wish I could say the same about Richard Jefferson and Mano.
The big question for tonight’s game is "Is Tyreke able to defend Parker?". I think the answer is yes & no. Tyreke is more than capable of defending any PG in the league 1 on 1. The problem is pick & roll defense. I’m not sure he or JT have a good handle on defending the pick & roll. In the last game both left the screener and doubled Paul in the corner. Now it’s possible someone else was responsible for switching over on the screener, but no one did and Paul was able to pass out of the double, and West had a open 15ft jumper. There have been other instances in other games. JT failing to show, Tyreke going under instead of over, and multiple instances where both players left the screener who either took the open shot or drove uncontested to the rim. The point being that if we don’t improve in this area, having Tyreke defend Parker might not be an advantage at all.
Over the last 4 games, Donte has scored 5, 21,4, & 2 pts. And, although I can see where starting Donte might force the opposition to have their PG defend Tyreke, this one advantage might not out weight the disadvantages. And, the lack of scoring from the starting 2 has been a factor. I see no real disadvantage in starting Beno over Greene especially if Omri is unable to play. On defense Beno is more than capable of defending Bogans, leaving Tyreke to defend Parker. On offense, Beno is familiar with Parker and should be able to produce, while Bogans height should be no more a hindrance to Tyreke than Parkers speed.
It should be another exciting game, and if we can’t stay out of foul trouble, the game could come down to FT’s again. GO KINGS
"If you don't have anything good to say, LIE" - Mom
by HighTops on Dec 9, 2009 2:30 PM PST reply actions 3 recs
Excellent - thanks
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 9, 2009 3:16 PM PST up reply actions
Finley is out for the game by the way
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 9, 2009 3:17 PM PST up reply actions
Good news for us
Finley is a Kings killer.
Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.
Awesome comment!
Less comments, more fanposts! You make excellent observations, they deserve their own threads!
"Thou must give props" - Ice_9ine
by tomroadrunner on Dec 9, 2009 4:10 PM PST up reply actions
Btw
The Spurs game si at 5:30 not 5pm.
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
Gives me enough time to get home
Nice!
Godfather of the "nice ass" movement.... the future begins now...
Yep
Your presence is required in the game thread. It gives us good luck. And if it doesn’t I’m confiscating your illegal Green Card.
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
fake^
Not illegal.
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
Fake Green cards aren't illegal?
Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.
Not in the state of California
I mean, it really depends how good they look. Sometimes they are even better than the real ones. You should try it sometime
Godfather of the "nice ass" movement.... the future begins now...
You ever pick up chicks with it?
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
I figured you just yelled "Areba Areba"
Whoops.
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
Yeah thats what I thought too.
Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.
I guess Spanish fly
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 9, 2009 4:43 PM PST up reply actions
I tried that a couple times
but didn’t quite work so I went for the edgy strategy.
I’d be like, ‘hey, look I got fake documents,’ and they all fell for it. I live dangerously, what can I say
Godfather of the "nice ass" movement.... the future begins now...
If only he wasn't the Godfather of the "Nice Ass" movement
Then I might agree.
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
btw
NUMERIC PREDICTION
Spurs by … never mind. I am not a jinx
thank you
Just need to celebrate Tyreke
is officially a 20 5 and 5 guy with no rounding up. I now have to stop saying he is going to be a good player, he is a good player.
He is currently 6th highest guard in the West adding points rbs and assists (30.3) behind Kobe (38.3) Paul (36.1) Ellis (34) Williams (33.3) Nash (31), slighlty ahead of Roy (30).
Not Bad.
Ellis is averaging 4.6 turnovers a game as well
And has had two games with 9 and one with 11. He’s a good scorer, but he leaves a lot to be desired if you’re a Warriors fan. I think they need to trade him while he still has some value.
Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.
Ahem
NaPG is how you write this.
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
Be a good StR Republican
And follow the rest of us dammit.
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
yeah, hasn't Tyreke been out rebounding Hawes latey?
wait… that’s not a good thing
Let's hope
the Kings can shoot free throws better than 47%.
Great now they're going to shoot 50%.
Father of the "Natt this!" movement and Grandmaster of the "Never let AnotherStupidSN forget what a Sham-Wow is" Order.
I was thinking
they are shooting 729 for the year about .021 less than average. or a little over 2 misses more per 100. We average 26FT a game , so we are lsing about half a point a game on average.
against a team that shoots 80% we are giving up about 1.7 per game.
14 of 19 last night or + 5 pts
about 73% would (probably) have been a win.
Not that its news to anyone.
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 9, 2009 5:32 PM PST up reply actions
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.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 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.
