Here We Stay

Growing up in the Sacramento area, the Kings have been a big part of my life, and definitely the reason I've been hooked on the NBA ever since.  My fandom started with Mitch Richmond, in his final years with the Kings, and grew exponentially as the Kings became contenders on the shoulders of Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and co.  I became a different type of fan when the Kings began to falter once more, one hoping for a better beginning and looking to get back to the top.

All that would be naught though if the Sacramento Kings don't have a plan for a new arena within the next year or two.  The latest plan fell through a few months ago, and the NBA itself has seemingly given up hope on a new situation, although Mayor Kevin Johnson and the Maloofs haven't ... yet.  I don't want what happened to Seattle to happen to Sacramento.  I don't know what I would do if the Kings moved.  As such, I don't feel that its right for us as fans to simply sit and wait out the situation.

Along with other Kings fans, we have founded a group called Here We Stay (in counter to the Kings current motto, Here We Rise).  A call to action and a mission statement are after the jump.  I know this is a general NBA blog, and I try to keep my Kings fandom out of it as much as possible, but this cause is too near and dear to me to let go.

If you're interested in simply following updates or showing support, follow Here We Stay on Twitter, or "Like" the Here We Stay page on Facebook.

Kings 116, Golden State 97: Game Recap

As I did for both Phoenix and Clippers fans, I'm going to do a recap of the preseason game yesterday from a Warriors perspective.  It's a shame that so many of these games aren't televised anymore.  I will give Warriors fans this though, a fair amount of them traveled all the way to ARCO to watch their Dubs play.  If you're interested in my Kings recap, its here.

The Warriors are still going to get out there and run with the best of them.  Keith Smart hasn't changed that.  Everyone in that lineup (other than maybe Biedrins or their other centers) has the ability to score in different ways and pass the ball.  During the times when they were flowing, particularly in the fast break, it was beautiful to watch.  The Warriors were also seemingly committed to playing defense surprisingly, and they were led in this regard (also surprising to me) by Monta Ellis.  Ellis and the rest of the Warriors did a great job at forcing turnovers, and collapsing the D, especially on Tyreke Evans.  The entire Warriors team did a great job at playing the passing lanes too.  You will not be able to throw a lazy pass or have a loose dribble around these guys, or they'll take advantage of it quickly.

The Warriors did have a couple problems though, and it mainly involved interior defense and perimeter shooting.  The Warriors definitely had an off-night from range, or this game might have gone a little differently. The Warriors had a lot more success in the mid-range.  As for interior defense, the Warriors couldn't handle the Kings big combo of DeMarcus Cousins and Carl Landry.  They did a good job collapsing when Tyreke drove, but Carl Landry kept beating David Lee with the same move, and DeMarcus was just way too powerful for any of the Warriors bigs, although Biedrins started off playing nice D on him with an early block. The Warriors had difficulty rebounding the ball as well, and once the bench came in, the offense got sloppy as well.

Still there was a lot to like about the game from the Warriors perspective, and after the jump I'll have player evaluations.

Clippers 120, Kings 88: Game Recap

Just like I did for Phoenix fans on Tuesday, I'm going to do a recap of the Kings-Clippers game for Clippers fans.  If you want my take on the Kings side of things (it was not good, let me tell you), head on over to Sactown Royalty and read it here.

I'd first off like to point out that the Clippers played a great game.  They clearly wanted this game more than the Kings did, they played much tougher D, applying full court pressure for a lot of the game, and on offense they moved the ball very well, reading the Kings defense like an instruction manual.  On rebounds and loose balls, they went after it.  There were several plays when Kings guys would either poke the ball away, or try to get an offensive board, but the Clippers never gave up on the play and usually got the ball back.  This was especially true of Blake Griffin.

And holy mother of God, Blake Griffin was a beast.  More on him and the other players after the jump.

Kings 109, Suns 95: Game Recap

I had the privilege of attending the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns preseason game as a media member yesterday.  Due to the game not being televised, a lot of fans can't get a good idea of how their players performed other than from the Box Score.  My Kings-centric recap can be found here on Sactown Royalty, detailing how they performed in the game and how each player was.

As a courtesy to all the great Phoenix Suns fans out there and at the suggestion of Alex Laugan from Bright Side of the Sun, I'll try to provide a recap of how Phoenix and their players did last night, since there was no way to watch the game other than by being there.  More after the jump.

2010-11 Season Previews: Sacramento Kings

Deface this. I dare you.

The NBA season is fast upon us, so its time for the Pick and Scroll to begin previewing each team.  We're going to go in order from worst record to best.  We've now reached my hometown and favorite team, the Sacramento Kings.


2009-10 Record: 25-57
Additions: DeMarcus Cousins (Draft), Hassan Whiteside (Draft), Samuel Dalembert (Trade), Darnell Jackson (Trade), Pooh Jeter (FA), Antoine Wright (FA), Donald Sloan (FA)
Subtractions: Spencer Hawes, Andres Nocioni, Sean May, Ime Udoka, Dominic McGuire, Jon Brockman

Unsung Heroes: Pacific Division

Players are often described as being "overrated" or "underrated".  In the NBA, this often translates to overrated players being players that are good, but vastly overpaid for their abilities, or who get more media exposure than some other players, while underrated often means a player who is making a pittance for his current production (funnily enough, underrated players tend to become labeled overrated when they get new, bigger contracts).

I do think there are some underrated players though, players that aren't as widely known for their roles on their team, who don't often get mentioned for their contributions but are indeed integral parts of their team.

Today is the last day of this series, and after the jump, we finish off on the West Coast with the Pacific Division.

David Kahn Wants to be Like Glory Day Kings?

So tonight I watched the Sacramento Kings play the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Las Vegas Summer League.  During the 2nd quarter, the announcers (Matt Winer and Chris Webber, an all-time great King) had Minnesota GM David Kahn on to explain his thought process on what he's trying to do with his team, since nobody else on this planet can seem to figure it out (the best explanation is that David Kahn was sent from the future in order to prevent a 2012 apocalypse from the Timberwolves being so good.  I would like to claim credit for this but I read it on Twitter here.)  Kahn told Webber that he was trying to model his team after the old Sacramento Kings and create an up-tempo system where everyone loves to pass.

Well David, if this really is your plan, you're doing it horribly wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong.