Kings 116, Wizards 91: Just What the Doctor Ordered

A much needed win (over a team we SHOULD beat).

Lets hope Pooh keeps up the good assist work and solid backup point play.
I can’t believe I actually watched that video for 4 mins. Yikes..

Kins Win, Everybody Dance!

If I were a betting man, after what I saw tonight, I would put my money on us making the playoffs! Reke is playing so much better now that he is trying to get his teammates involved and not trying to do it all on his own any more. Beno played amazing defense. I love how Demarcus is able to extend the D with his outside shot, and I honestly believe that we have the best coach in the league and what a bargain of a price we got him for!

What really stuck out to me was the questionable calls of the officiating crew. That’s everywhere but some of the calls definitely left you scratching your head.

I think what changed is how smoothly the offense ran tonight. This was largely due to the fact that the team caught fire especially JT and Wabeno caught fire. Also, it was noticeable that Tyreke wasn’t really himself. INot sure if it’s due to the injury, your guess is better than mine.

Also, the other thing this game showed was the curious case of Donte Greene. Donte had good drives to the basket and a great steal that led to a dunk. Not sure if he was playing around cause they were up by so much, but he had a couple shots that were questionable.

Overall, great performance, let’s build off of this. Bring on the heat.

1) I’m not sure how it came through the broadcast, and I’d be curious to hear other people’s impressions, but Arco didn’t seem to have the same energy as in previous games, despite the fact that the Kings were blowing out the opposition. Maybe because it was a weekday crowd, or because chanting “defense” loses meaning when up 25, but I thought it was interesting.

For the past few games I’ve noticed that parts of the crowd are starting to get fed up with ‘Reke- I’m hearing a lot of “pass the ball” and “do something,” which leads me to 2) I think there’s some dissatisfaction with ’Reke among the players as well.

In the first quarter I got the distinct impression that Beno was intentionally not passing to him on the break, even when he was in front of the play and with what appeared to me to be good position. An end of quarter play (1st or 2nd I think) had ‘Reke dribbling way beyond the 3-or line (in fact near half court) for a few seconds- Donté came halfway out to meet him and was shouting something and pointing at other players. Also, it doesn’t seem to me that DMC fights as hard for position when ’Reke has the ball.

Of course I could be reading way too much into this- Beno had it going early and may have thought he had the best play (pretty sure he converted each time), Donté could have been relaying a play or pointing something out in the defense, and though I love DMC I can admit that he doesn’t always seem to know what’s expected of him. Still made me wonder, however.

Pooh’s steal from Arenas and subsequent alley-opp to JT, was the absolute best play I’ve seen this year.

When Pooh is on the floor, everyone else is quicker, moves more, and seems to feed off his energy. And, the uptempo game he brings is something that JT and Omri really seem comfortable with and really excell at.

Beno seemed to be trying to redeem himself after the Clippers 1-10 outing, and went to the basket on every breakaway, and never looked to pass. But, once he got on a roll he opened up more. He still had problems staying with Hinrich, but at times he wasn’t getting great help from his teammates, off of what I consider illigal screens.

The short chippy shots that hadn’t been falling for JT, seem to be falling lately. He had a remarkable game, and I don’t want to diminish his acheivements, but he really wasn’t up against great talent in Seraphin & Booker. None the less, if he can continue to make those shots, he is going to win some games for us.

I think it’s time for DeMarcus to realize that he’s just not quick enough to take most charges. He needs to stay on his feet, try and alter the shot and rebound the misses. Getting called for a block and falling to the floor, isn’t working. I think all the blocking fouls were good calls. Also, Cousins needs to learn how to repost. He’s still attacking even if the defender has good position.

Enough has been said about Tyreke and his foot problems so I won’t. I thought the 2 early fouls he got defending Arenas, were bad plays on his part. But, I’m glad that he’s still working to contribute even with his deminished ablity to get to the rack and finish. I thought his jumper looked good, and he was getting the ball to the open man.

Luther is better at getting to the rim than he is shooting off the dribble. And, I think his real role is a defensive stopper late in quarter. I thought Cisco shot well but other than that I think he had a bad game. His defense was really bad, and anytime he got pressured with the ball, you just knew that Bad Cisco was going to show up.

We got a needed win and I got by coupon for free Jack in the Box tacos, so I went home happy. But, I’m not fooling myself, this was the Wizards without Wall or Blatche, and we haven’t turned the corner yet.

1) Beno is slightly a better playmaker than Tyreke is. So calling Tyreke terrible and then suggesting Beno lead instead doesn’t say much. That being said, Beno should still start ahead of Pooh though.

2) JT has been starting the last 6 games. (We’re 1-5 in those last 6.) I love starting JT, but let’s not freak out here.

3) I’m not sure how you determined that Jeter, Casspi, and Thompson are the “3 core team-oriented players.” What metric are you using to determine this? Aside from that, basketball is a team sport and everyone suffers when there is no playmaking or leadership, so yeah… (Not trying to dog you, just think there is some issues with this point.)

4) Running and gunning really is only possible when you have a PG to lead that play style, because to “run” you need a ball handler capable of making good, long passes and to “gun”, you need someone with the proper court vision to get the ball to the shooters.

Aside from your second point about JT, it’s pretty clear here that all things point to the need for a real PG.

There were also times I thought Beno played very nice defense (although that might’ve been because he was guarding Kirk Hinrich)

For the 3rd straight game, Pooh came in off the bench and got this team running and gunning. When he’s on the floor, this team becomes much more fun to watch. He has his problems defensively against taller and stronger players, but his quickness and speed also make him a tough matchup on the offensive end too. He can hit the jumper, take it inside, or find his open teammates. … Omri might be the player I’m most excited about potential-wise after Tyreke and DeMarcus. Its also clear how much he loves the up tempo style that Pooh brings onto the court, and I think together, he and Pooh have a chance to be a great sparkplug combo off the bench this year.

I think as much as having more of a true point guard, the important ingredient is the uptempo style. Guys like Omri really improve when we are on the run. And it is a lot more fun to watch than guys like Tyreke and Beno pounding the rock and slowing things down.

We’re probably still going to be a bad team this year, but I think Pooh’s emergence and the lift it gives other players gives us some hope for better things this season.

And it was against the Wizards, but they seemed a lot better without Dalembert. So far he hasn’t shown that he offers a lot more than the younger bigs on defense or the boards. Not enough to make up for the lack of offense.

But in his 93 minutes of play, Pooh leads the Kings in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, assists and fewest fouls per 36 minutes. He’s also near the bottom in field goal attempts per 36 minutes.

This probably can’t last, but I love what he brings to the team on the court so far.

but going forward as well. He is definitely a backup, but he brings a lot of positive factors to the floor.

pooh jeter and beno so now we need a shooter one that makes his shot most of the time.
great win.today i won’t be depressed.GO KINGS!!

must have celebrated too much, got a DUI last night, per KHTK Twitter, retweeted by Jason Jones.

(Where’s that Webber gif when you need it?) Still, if we pound it inside and pound it inside and pound it inside – it has a chance to be competitive.