The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Week 21

Go ahead and smile JT.  You've earned it.

Well the week wasn't as good as I had expected, but hey, we blew out the T-wolves right?

The Good:

1. StR Night II: The Peachquel

Even with the Kings loss, and not being able to do the X-over pre-game show, it was still a good time out with some of the best Kings fans out there.  To those I met for the first time: Vfettke, who isn't nearly as abrasive in person as he is on PASPN, Exhibit G, who has a mean handshake, Bluejohn, the nicest guy there, Glass Cleaner and his dad, sporting their wonderful Peachquel shirts early before the game, Mr. and Mrs. High Tops, who I didn't get to talk to as much as I wanted, and last but not least, section214's imaginary friend that he bought a seat for.  And to those I met before: edm7, who says his comeback powers only work when we're down by 30+, AnotherStupidSN, who has a funny story about being Vlade's cigarette fetcher, section214, who has a great idea for next year's StR Nights, MustangMBS, a good seatmate, Mr. and Mrs. BTE, bringers of beer and finally Andy Sims, who I was not surprised to see wearing a Pollard jersey.  I look forward to next years festivities, and hopefully we can take over ARCO.  I'll be getting the group picture in a few days hopefully, and I'll post it as soon as we get it.  By the way, the look on Grant's face when we yelled Peaches the first time... Priceless.

2. Tyreke Evans

See Player of the Week

3. Spencer Hawes

Spencer is getting less minutes than he was getting last year, but he's putting up similar numbers per-minute, if not slightly more.  Against Milwaukee, we caught glimpses of the Spencer we would love to see on a consistent basis.  When he gets some fire and his shots falling, he tends to work harder on the defensive end as well.  He's not very good at making decisions when he gets the ball in the post and is hit by a double team though, and the Bucks figured that out and caused him to turn the ball over a few times.  I really hope Spencer spends a lot of time on his game this year in the offseason.

4. JT off the bench

TZ has a post up about this, but I think it bears repeating.  JT's energy is great off the bench.  I'm for this 100%.  JT never projected to be an All-Star, but he could end up being a valuable 6th man for us with his rebounding, hustle, and energy.  And that's not to say that he can't end up back in the starting lineup at some point, but hopefully playing with the bench will allow him to calm down a bit and be more patient first.

5. Omri

I thought Omri played well in the limited minutes he got this week, especially against the Lakers and T-Wolves.  His shot was falling again and I think the rest he's been getting has been good for him.  He's definitely going to have to work on his conditioning this coming off-season and hopefully he'll be able to train with Coach Thorpe once again. 

6. Wabeno Udrih

Wabeno showed up in the 2nd half of the Milwaukee game after having disappeared for a week.  But other than missing a game winning shot at the end of regulation, Wabeno was playing pretty fantastic, getting his mid-range jumper consistently, finding his teammates, and pickpocketing the opponent.  Pretty swell game for Wabeno.

7. Ime Udoka

What a great guy.  If you watched the Bucks game you know what I mean.  He was playing solid defense, grabbing boards like a big man (led both teams in rebounding with 13) and had a couple steals.  I would be a little surprised if the Kings didn't at least offer Ime a contract for next year.  He's just one of those guys you like to see on your team.

The Bad:

1. Tyreke's injury

I'm glad it isn't as serious as it could've been with the broken jaw, but a concussion is still nothing to be laughed off.  Get well soon Reke, but don't come back until your ready.

2. Cisco

Cisco took a definite step back this week in terms of shooting, going 2-12 (16.6%) from 3, and 8-24 (33.3%) overall.  With Tyreke likely out at least two games, possibly more, Cisco likely is going to get the start next to Beno and hopefully he'll get his shooting stroke back, because we're going to need it.

3. Beno Udrih

Now before he transformed to Wabeno in the 2nd half of the Milwaukee game, Beno was playing the worst he has this season.  His shot wasn't falling, he was making stupid mistakes, it just wasn't good at all.  Luckily for us, this hasn't been the case most of the season, and Wabeno came back to play too.  Hopefully Wabeno stays with us for the rest of the year, especially with Reke out for a little bit.

4. Noc's shooting whenever he touches the darn ball

Noc played spurts of good minutes this week, but he ended up reverting to shooting way too much quite a few times.  It's getting tiresome.

5. Kings not getting Landry the ball enough

The Kings really aren't getting Carl the ball enough when he's in good position.  I guess a little bit of it could be lack of chemistry since they haven't been together all that long, but its definitely something that needs to be worked on next year if Landry's going to be a part of this teams future.

6. Inconsistency of the Show

Donté still continues to be an enigma, having one of the best games of his career against Minnesota, and then throwing in two stinkers against LA and the Bucks.  Donté continues to show some of the most promise on this team, and yet also is one of the most inconsistent.

The Ugly:

1. Sam Amick leaving the Bee

A sad, sad day for readers of the Sacramento Bee and followers of the Kings, who depended on Sam a lot for his insider info and quick release of said info to the fans.  But Sam is leaving for greener pastures over at Fanhouse, and I for one am glad for him and will continue to read his work over there.  Good luck Sam.

2. Perimeter Defense against the Bucks and the T-Wolves

We let the Bucks shoot 14-23 from 3, with quite a few of those being completely uncontested.  The T-Wolves, who notoriously have nobody on their team that can shoot (bit of an exaggeration, Ellington can shoot), shot 9-15 from 3.  That's two teams we let shoot above 60% from downtown this week.  That's unacceptable.

3. How many Lakers Fans were at the Kings game

I felt sick to my stomach when I heard MVP chants for Kobe Bryant in ARCO.  This is appalling to me, and probably to most of you.  We need to take ARCO back.  This is our house.

Player of the Week:

Tyreke Evans

23 PPG, .456 FG%, 8 APG, 8 RPG, 1.33 SPG

Even with a subpar performance against the Bucks on Friday, 'Reke still almost ended up averaging a triple double for the week.  This guy is amazing at what he does.  He's still pretty terrible playing off the ball (as evidenced by the Bucks game) but when a guy is this good as a rookie, stuff like that won't become a problem unless he doesn't show improvement over the next couple of years.  I've said it before, but I can't believe we have a guy this good, this young, in a Kings uniform.

Comment of the Week:

Imagine if they (Voisin and Peaches) hooked up?

holy crap that would be one dumb, ugly baby. he would look like this.

by BearKing on Mar 16, 2010 10:40 AM PDT up reply actions   13 recs

Highlight of the Week:

Caption Contest:

Link to Last Week's Picture

Last Week's Winner:jjham15

This is a Ball Head:

And this is Spencer Hawes sleeping next to a Dick Head:

Any questions?

Last Week's Runner-Up: Shizzo

Cisco is suffering from Noceitis – he tries and tries to pass the ball, but it just seems to stick to him.

This Week's Picture:

Lottery Projection and Profile of the Week:

Current Projected Lottery Position: T for 5th with Indiana and Detroit

Current Lottery Range: 4th - 9th

Draft Profile: Derrick Favors, 6'10, 246 lbs, Freshman, Georgia Tech

Perhaps the guy I most want to see in a Kings uniform next season, Favors is intriguing for many reasons.  He's a very athletic and fluid big man, which lets him take advantage of the bigger, quicker guys that try to guard him on the offensive end.  He's also very young for his draft class, and he'll only turn 19 in July.  I can already hear Grant Napear "This kids 19? Are you kidding me?!?"  Perhaps the best part about Favors however is that he has focused a lot of his game so far on the defensive end, excelling at both blocking shots and rebounding, things that the Kings definitely need in a big man.  Favors also has a great head on his shoulders, and would be an excellent second fiddle to Tyreke.  He doesn't need the ball very much, and would be able to defer leadership of the team, even though he could end up being the best player on it.   Offensively, he's not very polished, but he has shown some pretty good skills there in college and they definitely will improve with NBA coaching. I'm hoping the Kings get the #3 pick in the draft and take Favors, because he is just the guy the Kings need.

Next Week's Profile: Cole Aldrich

And Nostradumbass Prediction for Next Week:

@ Los Angeles Clippers 3/21 W (Kings will be without Reke but I think they'll rally behind Beno and Landry to win.)

v. Memphis 3/22 L (I think that Memphis is too physical inside with Gasol and Randolph and that they're post-scoring and rebounding will win out.)

@ New Jersey 3/24 W (Because you never bet for New Jersey.)

@ Boston 3/26 L (Boston might be on the start of a roll after that win last night in Dallas.)

Nostradumbass Record for the Season 39 - 30 (1 win ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks)