|
BasslineSpin.com January 7, 2007 Tonight
(last night—as I blog at 3:34 am) the Kings lost to Portland at ARCO. It was
a bad overtime loss with missed free throws dooming Sacramento. Brandon Roy was fantastic, and Zach Randolph was a load as well. The Kings did not
suit-up Justin Williams although
I think he could have helped on the boards. ...Watched some college hoops on
Saturday afternoon and wifey and I discussed the Kings tanking games to get a
shot at Kevin Durant (Texas)
or Greg Oden (Ohio
State). Joakim Noah should
be in there somewhere too. Hopefully
Sac does their scouting well this year. ... Geoff Petrie has been absent from the last two
Kings games. Maybe he is out looking for the apple of his eyes. ...The Warriors waived Anthony Roberson. I think someone should nab him off
waivers. ...Oregon held court in a win over UCLA who was previously unbeaten.
I then watched Texas win at Colorado. Durant was spectacular! ...Richard Roby is pretty much the whole team for
Colorado. He is a quality junior guard that will be drafted when he decides
he wants to be a pro. ...Finally I caught the tail end of Georgia Tech at
Clemson. The finish was wild with the lead changing three times in the last
30 seconds. I have always been a fan of GT coach Paul Hewitt.
...At ARCO, can I get a little less of the AC/DC and hard metal rock
music to hype the crowd? Also, Kings hype-man Big Mike says. “In 29 other cities it is just a game”. L.A.
has two teams, so actually—it is 28 other cities. ...How about an Air Slamson stuffed animal in the Kings team
store? January 6, 2007 ...On
the heels of the Kings loss to the Lakers in overtime Thursday night at ARCO
Arena, it is time for my annual ‘basketball IS a game of inches’ routine. In
Sacramento’s case the inches included not just the obvious missed free throws
but also the unwillingness to hustle to foul late in overtime. I could go on
to include Kevin Martin’s lack
of movement without the ball, and Francisco Garcia’s poor
shot selection, that led to an L. Most disturbing to me was the Kings not
fouling quickly when they were down three, 126-123, with 23 seconds remaining
in OT. Looking defeated the Kings wasted ten seconds before Mike Bibby fouled Smush Parker. IT WAS A ONE POSESSION GAME with 23
seconds left! Sure as cat poop - Parker misses one of two free throws, and
Bibby hits a big three that only took two seconds off the clock. Sac is down only one now with eleven seconds
to go. Suddenly they have urgency to foul and they do it with less than one
second coming off the clock. With ten seconds left in OT Kobe Bryant hit one of two free throws and Kenny Thomas grabbed the miss. The Kings called
timeout with nine seconds left to set up their failed last play. They should have had another ten seconds to
work with but their laziness and lack of fight with 23 seconds remaining in
OT (when they wasted the time in not fouling) bit them. Corliss Williamson missed a rushed driving lay-up with
five seconds to go and that was the ballgame. ...I am a fan of Kevin Martin
but if he is going to be anything more than just a ’nice scorer’ in the
NBA—he needs to have more confidence in his own game. He all but conceded his
match up with Kobe in the first half Thursday night. Martin looked like he
was feeling sorry for himself. Maybe he was just having a bad day - as we all
do. Something was up be cause in my
book—Kevin wasn’t right. He is usually money from the line but he missed five
of 14 shots. ...On the Lakers side - playing without Kwame Brown makes them a better team. Seriously.
It means more floor time for Andrew Bynum and Rony Turiaf. Both players are more efficient
than Kwame. Bynum in particular is going to be a monster in the NBA. He has
size, smarts, and skills. He blocks shots, he rebounds, and he dunks anything
close to the hoop. ...Bryant is so good it is silly. Just as you felt certain
that Michael Jordan would
find a way to win - you feel the same about Kobe. There isn’t a shot he
cannot make. He sets up teammates, and he defends the whole game. ...The two
teams combined to attempt 47 free throws in the second quarter alone. That
was an ARCO Arena record. ...Around the NBA - you should be buying stock in Gilbert Arenas, Al Jefferson, The
Dallas Mavericks, Carlos Delfino, Trevor Ariza, Mo Williams, and Mike Miller—just to name a few. January 3, 2007 ...I
am smiling today because I heard Jason Ross report
on KHTK that the Kings are looking at brining back Justin Williams—who they cut late in training camp.
I liked Justin Williams as a first round pick in last year’s draft but he
went un-picked. He then played very well on the Kings Summer League team, and
again in the preseason. Lately, Justin Williams has been leading the NBDL in
rebounding at over 12 per game. He is #2 in total D-League blocked shots (3
per game), and he also scores 12 points per contest. He can help Sacramento
with weak side defense, and on-the-ball around the basket. He will be the
Kings best rebounder outside of Kenny Thomas. ...Another D-League cat I liked
- Kelenna Azubuike, was
signed by the Warriors. ...The Kings play the Lakers tomorrow at ARCO—which
is always fun. Sacramento (the city) loves to show out for this ‘rivalry’.
You can bet that you will see the regular season ticket holders for a L.A. at
Sac contest. Kobe fans will come with their Bryant #24 jerseys, and Kings
rooters will predictably bring cowbells in honor of Phil Jackson. Charles Barkley, who
some Kings fans think hates Sacramento, will be at ARCO working as a TNT
analyst. ...Not too often I disagree
with a color guy doing a college game but I thought Mike Montgomery was just WRONG for criticizing Cal’s Ryan Anderson for trying to put a ball back in, on
the offensive glass, with 17 seconds to play and a three point lead. If
Anderson makes that play—the game is probably over—with Cal up 5 points. He
was fouled but no call came resulting in a missed shot, and rebound for
Stanford. Stanford called a T-O and then proceeded to go for three rather
than two with all that time left. They
missed a bad forced shot and Cal rebounded the ball and was fouled. Game
over. ...I am loving three freshman in the NCAA. Greg Oden (Ohio State), Kevin Durant (Texas), and Daequan Cook (Ohio State). ...NBA rookies that can
play can slide under the radar before the All-Star weekend showcase. One such
case is Chicago’s Thabo Sefolosha. ...Mike Miller is tearing it up in Memphis now that
the Grizz are running and shooting without looking over their shoulders. |