***
Tonight won't be the first time Tyreke Evans goes up against Jason Kidd.
Evans said he worked out in New Jersey with Kidd when Evans was still in high school. He doesn't remember exactly if it was before his junior or senior year, but meeting Kidd made an impression on Evans.
"I was bigger than him," Evans said. "I was younger but I wasn't as strong as I am now. But I was taller than him but he was stronger than me. He's a hard worker. He was in the pool, had the rope pulling him, still training hard."
During the conversation Evans sounded more like a veteran as he offered his take on Kidd's play. He said Kidd's, "not as good as he used to be but he's still a veteran, he still knows how to play the game and run a team." Evans also called Kidd a "great player."
Evans even offered a take on Kidd's game that made him sound like he's been playing against Kidd for years.
"He worked on his shooting," Evans said. "He's improved a lot on his three-point shooting. I think he shot almost 45 percent (actually 40.6 percent) last season. I had a good time working out with him and I learned a lot."
Evans should get plenty of chances to go against Kidd, especially when Jason Terry is in the game. Unlike most teams, Kidd is a point guard has the size to go against Evans.
Evans usually finds himself defended by shooting guards or small forwards. If Evans scores 20 points, it will be his sixth-straight game doing so.
The longest such streak by a rookie in team in recent team history is by Lionel Simmons recorded seven straight 20-point games during the 1990-91 season (Feb. 12 - 27, 1991).
--Jason Jones
That word was uttered again this week when former Kings forward Chris Webber was interviewed by Colin Cowherd on his nationally syndicated ESPN Radio morning show.
"If anybody's has been in that position and made the choice to stay in a cowtown, it was me," Webber said Tuesday.
The answer came in response to Cowherd's question about LeBron James' future and whether James should leave Cleveland or go to Miami or New York next season when he is a free agent.
"Many times it has been brought back up to me, what if I had gone to LA. Many times it has been brought back up to me what if I had gone to a place that was bigger...", said Webber, now an NBATV analyst.
Here is a link to the interview.
Now, before you jump all over Webber, the comment "cow town" can be taken out of context here. Cowherd loves to make fun of smaller markets and had called Sacramento a cowtown elsewhere in the broadcast. Cowherd is fun to listen to (he's broadcast daily on 1320 KCTC), but he also is brutally honest.
-Bill Bradley
]]>"He practiced some. We held him out after a while. I think the nature of that injury is you don't want to overdo it and get bumped again. But I'd say he's a little more likely to play next game than he was last game but he's probably questionable to doubtful."
That's the only injury of note before the team leaves for Dallas tomorrow.
I'll have more later on that game as Westphal makes his return to Dallas. He spent last season as the executive vice president of basketball operations for the Mavericks and was an assistant coach for the 2007-08 season.
--Jason Jones
Salmons, who was traded to the Bulls in February, had 23 points to lead the Bulls to a 101-87 win over the Kings at Arco Arena.
Donte' Greene led the Kings with a career-high 24 points. Tyreke Evans added 20 points for the Kings, who had their winning streak ended at four games.
--Jason Jones
Luol Deng found eight points in the third quarter to keep the Bulls' offense rolling and Chicago ahead of the Kings, 86-71 heading into the fourth quarter.
Deng has 12 points but the offensive star for Chicago continues to be John Salmons, who leads all scorers with 20 points. He had nine in the third.
Donte' Greene leads the Kings with 19 points but the Kings are shooting 44 percent thus far while the Bulls are up to 52 percent.
The Kings hurt themselves with seven turnovers in the third and have 16 for the game that have led to 24 points for the Bulls.
--Jason Jones
The Bulls offense picked up in the second quarter and Chicago took a 61-47 lead into halftime.
Jannero Pargo's 12 points of the bench lead the Bulls. Former Kings John Salmons (11 points) and Brad Miller (nine points) have also looked good in their return to Arco Arena.
Donte' Greene has 14 points to lead the Kings and Sergio Rodriguez addes seven points in six minutes off the bench. Tyreke Evans has eight points on three of 10 shooting.
--Jason Jones
The maturation of Donte' Greene's game continues to yield positive results.
Greene started his first game of the season and ended the first quarter with 11 points, but the Kings trail the Chicago Bulls, 27-23, at Arco Arena.
Greene started in place of Andres Nocioni (right hip pointer). The Kings missed for of five three pointers to start the game.
Former King John Salmons leads the Bulls with eight points.
--Jason Jones
And while a league source confirmed the Kings and Philadelphia have discussed a deal involving Thomas and Dalembert, the deal appears to be dead for the foreseeable future largely because of the Kings' lukewarm interest in the eight-year veteran who has two years and a combined $24.9 million left on his contract. Yet if it's up to Marc Cornstein, the talks won't stay quiet for long.
Dalembert's agent, who is clearly on the lookout for a better situation for his client, said Tuesday that his client would be a good fit for the Kings.
"I think it would be a good fit if he was here," said Cornstein, who also represents Kings point guard Beno Udrih and is in Sacramento today. "He can run the floor well, and this is a young running team. He can block shots, he can rebound. Those are his strengths. Those are the things he brings, and I think the skill set that he brings are things that the Kings can use. If he were to get here, I think he'd be a very good fit."
A Boston Globe report said the Celtics have no interest in Kings small forward Andres Nocioni, as was reported by ESPN. - Sam Amick
]]>Follow Sam and fellow hoops scribe Jason Jones on Twitter - sam_amick and jejones_sacbee.
***
The Kings' chances of extending their winning streak to five and continuing to protect the home floor have taken a hit - square on the right hip of Andres Nocioni.
The Kings small forward said at this morning's shoot-a-round that he's unlikely to play against his old team tonight. I've been told that second-year small forward Donte' Greene will likely get the nod. And while Greene is certainly in the best stretch of his young career, Nocioni had been playing very well too.
A Nocioni absence would certainly take away one of tonight's bigger storylines, but there are more. Former Kings Brad Miller and John Salmons make their first visit back to Arco since being traded to the Bulls in February. Miller said it has been a busy trip already, as he caught up with old Kings colleagues last night and even signed the final papers on the sale of his Sacramento-area home. He stayed there last night, just to make the most of that final mortgage payment.
As for tonight, Miller said he's less worried about how the game will go than he is the prospect of using the outdated and less-than-luxurious showers in the visiting locker room afterward. He also talked about his night out with third-year center Spencer Hawes and his new friend.
The Bulls may have an identical record as the Kings (5-4), but they surely feel as if they should be at least 6-3 after a last-second apparent game-winning shot by Miller against Denver was called off by the officials on Nov. 11.
Otherwise, second-year point guard Derrick Rose isn't playing very well at all just yet for the Bulls. He'll matchup against Kings rookie Tyreke Evans as the University of Memphis products see who's the best former Tiger on this night. Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro would love for Salmons to start hitting a few shots to open things up for Rose, as Salmons is shooting just 31.7 percent from the field so far this season. - Sam Amick
]]>***
Forward Andres Nocioni was limited to non-contact drills in today's practice because of right hip pointer. He's officially listed as questionable for tomorrow night's game against Chicago.
Nocioni spent more than four seasons with the Bulls before being traded to Sacramento last season so I'd expect Nocioni to play if he continues to improve.
Kings coach Paul Westphal was coy about who might start in place of Nocioni is he's not able to play.
One possibility is Omri Casspi. The rookie said he's "100 percent" and ready to play after dealing with a sprained left ankle.
One thing the Kings would like to see from Casspi is for his free throw shooting in practice to carry over into games.
When Casspi made just one of three last week against Oklahoma City, Casspi joked he might want to shoot free throws from behind the three-point line.
Casspi has made 47.4 percent (nine of 19) of his three pointers but only 20 percent (three of 15) of his free throws.
The day before the Oklahoma City game, Casspi made 50 straight free throws in practice.
*One thing that doesn't come across on the court is Casspi's sense of humor.
That was on display again today when a reporter asked Casspi, the first Israeli-born player in NBA history, his thoughts on Thanksgiving.
"Not my holiday," Casspi said with a laugh.
--Jason Jones
***
The Kings have shown a style of play during their four-game winning streak that's hard not to admire.
The effort of the Kings is already winning over the coaching staff. The wins are important, but there's a pleasure the staff has in watching young players begin to understand what's being asked of them and doing it in a game.
"That's really one of the main reasons our staff is here," said Kings coach Paul Westphal after today's practice.. "I look at Coach (Pete) Carril. When he sees them really moving the ball or diving on the floor or just laying it on the line he almost gets a little tear in his eye. And I'm not being melodramatic. Coaches love to see effort and teamwork. And I think fans do too."
One reason the Kings have to play like that is because it will take a lot more victories before this team can be viewed as anything more than an afterthought when it comes to playoff contention or even having a winning record.
Oklahoma City and Los Angeles Clippers are teams considered worthy of being discusses as on the brink of getting into the playoffs.
"I think we pretty much still are the underdogs every time we play," Westphal said. "And I don't think that can ever change the way we approach the game. The only way we'll play well is to work as hard as we possibly can and we'll live with the results."
*Rookie forward Omri Casspi practiced on his sprained left ankle. If the ankle will keep him out of Tuesday's game against Chicago will depend on how the ankle responds to today's practice.
--Jason Jones
Follow Sam and fellow hoops scribe Jason Jones on Twitter - sam_amick and jejones_sacbee.
***
Nice time to revisit the Byron Scott storyline, huh?
I've got to admit it works out pretty well on this end. It's interesting stuff and a chance to elaborate and expand on his situation in New Orleans and how it related to the Kings over the summer. Meanwhile, the Kings are playing so well under Paul Westphal that you won't find many folks in town who wish they would've bought Scott out of his deal and brought him to Sacramento at the moment. This story was a tad more sensitive in the summer.
But make no mistake, as his agent of 24 years, Brian McInerney, made clear, Scott's interest was real. And the driving force was the fact that they knew long ago that Scott wouldn't be in New Orleans past this season. We wrote in the summer about how Scott had interest that was never reciprocated, but below is more background on what led to the chasm between Scott and the Hornets' ownership family (owner George Shinn, his brother-in-law/team president Hugh Weber and vice president/Shinn's son, Chad).
It had everything to do with the price at which the Hornets' success came. Specifically, it was the fact that his latest two-year extension ($5.5 million per season) came largely because he had a buyout for the 2008-09 season in his deal that they wish he never had, and bonuses totaling nearly $1 million in the season prior that - hypothetically - could have paid for just about all of the said buyout if he chose to walk. Can you say leverage, everyone? And resentment, too, perhaps.
Be sure to read the story first, as the below quotes are simply the ones not included in the piece in the paper...
]]> MCINERNEY"After the Coach of the Year season (2007-08) and the 56 wins, the Hornets wanted to negotiate a new contract. They offered four years, and he elected to take two because he was unsure of the direction the team was going to go - not only personnel wise but also geographically. This is a team that obviously by an act of God had relocated from New Orleans to Oklahoma then back down to New Orleans, and then there were discussions of how many tickets you had to sell to stay in New Orleans. Maybe they'd go to Kansas City, maybe they'd build a new practice facility, maybe they wouldn't. I think the feeling was the two years...contrary to what the rumor was, it was a coincidence that (Lakers coach) Phil Jackson's contract was up at the same time. That wasn't it. That was a coincidence. People like to talk about it, and that's really premature because I don't think Phil Jackson is ever retiring. This was a situation where there was a lot of internal confusion as to what the culture of the team was going to be.
On how they saw this coming a long time ago...
"This wasn't an unexpected situation...He was hamstrung - last season that's kind of the way it was. Last season they were so beat up at the end of the season but yet unable to spend any money. When you're reading you're supposed to contend for the Western Conference...but look at Mark Cuban and the (Dallas) Mavericks, the money Houston's got and obviously the money the Lakers have. And when you can't give Jannero Pargo a million dollars (without losing him to Chicago in free agency last summer), you get a little frustrated. I think we'll all get to watch with interest as (new Hornets coach and GM) Jeff Bower tries to take this group of guys - we all wish him well; I know Byron does - but it's going to be challenge. They're still trying to get under the luxury (tax). It isn't just a problem with the New Orleans franchise, but really the small franchises.
"You don't want it to wind up being like a Yankees situation where you're going to have a handful of healthy teams. Then you'll have other teams with good markets but they're just not going to have that kind of money. Obviously the change and what has happened in New Orleans was foreseeable, unless there was an infusion of money.
On what's next for Scott and the relationship with Shinn...
"As far as Byron, he's grateful...I'm flying out tomorrow to New Orleans - he's playing golf. ESPN already wants to know if he wants to do something...As far as Byron is concerned, I'm concerned, anybody who has been around this for a long time, there are personal issues and business issues and they're not the same. - he hopes that George Shinn and his prostate cancer is a whole different matter. If Pat Riley and Byron Scott can be out on a dance floor together last summer, everything is possible (laughs). He's too old to be upset. He's fine. I just think that the chemistry was really beginning to fade.
"I see us going to see that new movie 2012 in the next few days, because he's got nothing else to do. I see, like in all matters, taking a step back and watching how the season progresses for a lot of teams. Of course he wants to be a head coach. That goes without saying. And sometimes the team that is going to offer the best opportunity you're not going to see in November. " - Sam Amick
]]>The deal would be ideal for the Hornets, as Thomas' expiring contract worth $8.7 million is just the kind of contract that would trim their enormous payroll. The question, of course, is whether the Kings see Okafor as a big man solution worth the five years and $62.5 million left on his deal.
The 6-foot-10, 255-pound center who was the second pick of the 2004 draft out of Connecticut has averaged 13.9 points and 10.6 rebounds in his six-season career. He spent his first four seasons in Charlotte before being traded to New Orleans in late July for Tyson Chandler.
No deal is imminent and this is merely a discussion between the two sides at this point. - Sam Amick
]]>Kings notesm By Ailene Voisin
There's obviously a legitimate buzz in the Arco Arena air with the Kings winning their fourth straight, but I'm opting for zzzs with the old postgame blog post. Read the above game story and notes to relive the experience, and then move on to see what everyone had to say afterward. The heavy lifting on this one comes from the Kings PR department folks who transcribed portions of these interviews. The team is being given a day off tomorrow, but I'll be back at work dissecting this one and assessing what it all means.
Head Coach Paul Westphal
"It's starting to get kind of loud in that building - I really like that. That was a very good team, a very tough veteran team. I thought we did so many good things defensively and on the boards particularly. We had way too many turnovers in the first half and kind of wasted some great shooting, but in the second half we cut our turnovers down and played the way you need to play to win NBA basketball games. So we put ourselves in a position to win. Then in the fourth quarter we only had two turnovers, outscored them and really showed some good togetherness out there. I was really pleased with the way we played."
On his team's ability to own the boards tonight:
"You have to give so much credit to Jason Thompson - he's the one getting all those boards and he's a hard man to keep off the boards. You can't expect to outrebound a team like that every night but it really is nice to have those kinds of stats in your team's favor. The way we've been doing it this year, we're turning into a pretty decent rebounding team."
When asked how they react when there are a lot of turnovers:
"We told them before the game to watch out for (Trevor) Ariza - he's got panther-like reflexes, he gets in the passing lanes and if you dribble near him he takes it from you. After he had five steals I think they believed us and they started watching out a little bit more for him. Yes, absolutely we try to fix things if we see that they aren't working and the players, to their credit, reacted - but it's not always easy."
Tyreke Evans
On their plan coming into game
"We just came out there and had to run, we knew that they were a physical team. They have a couple of guys who have been on their team for a while now. The game plan was to just go in there, rebound and run our offense. We had to try to get as many stops as we could."
On his play
"I'm just playing; in the first couple of games I was thinking too much. Since I was the number four pick, I was under a lot of pressure, and I was not getting out there and playing. I went out there and did that tonight and now I feel comfortable."
On having the game in his hand when it's on the line
"It is my dream, growing up and being a kid, you see the clock winding down and you want to be the one to take the shot and make the crowd go crazy. I had my chance tonight and let it fly and it went in."
Jason Thompson
"It is exciting and we know that our guys are young. We have to make progress sometime and I think that it is better now than to have it later."
On their streak
"I don't think that we are surprised, we have to set goals to play well. The media is telling us that we are going to be at the bottom of the (Western Conference), maybe the bottom of the league. It is just more motivation for us. Maybe it is tougher for the teams who were predicted to play really well and don't. We didn't have any pressure coming in and we still don't."
On his goals for himself
"I set goals for last year and I set goals for this year. I am just going to keep with it. The stuff that I am doing and the stuff the team is doing is working. We just have to stick to it."
On staying out of foul trouble
"I am just watching film and getting advice from the coaches. They try to tell you the terminology of playing through fouls, but you can't play through fouls if you are in foul trouble. Why not make it easier and just not get stupid fouls. If I happen to get one early, I know to not be as aggressive. I just have to adjust to what they give me."
Rockets Head Coach Rick Adelman
On a disappointing first half
"They got it going and we gave up 63 (in the first half). You're not going to win in this league doing that on the road."
On trying to close the deficit
"Offensively, you have to be sure you get good plays. You can't rush things. You have to play together as five people. You get down the way we get down and then we can't make mistakes. Every possession is crucial."
On the Kings' strategy defensively
"It wasn't our offense. Put it all on defensive end because we didn't have any of it in the first half. You can't give up that kind of production from the other team and expect to win."
On the lackluster defense
"We were getting beat on penetration time after time. The concentration and the effort was not where it needed to be. The second half, we shored it up some. We are not going to win unless we come out with effort every night. We are not that good. Our guys have to understand that. I didn't like our effort the whole first half in a lot of areas."
On the Rockets having a similar make-up to the Kings
"They have some young talent and they played well tonight. They won three in a row and this gives them four straight wins. We knew ... we should have known it was going to be a tough game here."
Rockets Center Chuck Hayes
On how they fell behind in the second quarter
"The energy definitely wasn't there. We were blindsided by our own success on the offensive end, since we were able to score. The energy is not there and we are not playing any defense. Sooner or later, things are going to come back and backfire on us, and they did.
No, it was effort. Just the effort. The effort was there in the third quarter, you saw it. It just shows that if you dig yourself in a hole in the second quarter, it doesn't matter how hard you work in the third quarter, you still have to get out of that hole. Our effort for the rest of the game wasn't good enough."
]]>Tyreke Evans set an aggressive tone early, blowing past Trevor Ariza down the right side of the lane for a layup on the first possesion. The Kings held the tempo from there, hitting 13 of 25 shots (52 percent) while Evans had 12 points on five of six shooting. Their turnovers kept them from building an early lead, though, as they gave up seven to the Rockets' one. Ariza has 13 points for Houston, hitting five of eight.
SECOND QUARTER (Kings 63, Houston 52)
Count me among those who didn't see this coming, but the Kings are actually outmuscling the Rockets. Their 32-13 edge on the glass is the most obvious example of that, but you could point to the countless times Luis Scola has been knocked to the hardwood just the same.
Jason Thompson (14 points, nine rebounds) and Beno Udrih (16 points on six of eight shooting) picked up where Evans left off. Ariza "cooled" a bit (five second quarter points) and the Rockets went even colder as a collective unit (9 of 24 shooting in the second). The Kings had a bad finish, giving up a bonehead three-point play to Aaron Brooks near the end of the half that cut the lead to 11. Good start, though.
THIRD QUARTER (Kings 82, Houston 77)
Seventeen turnovers and counting for the Kings, who had better get that under control if they want to pull this one out. They have almost every area going for them, except for the officials in this quarter. The Rockets started the third on a 19-7 run, with Scola scoring eight on his own.
FOURTH QUARTER (Kings 109, Houston 100)
Kings win it on heart and confidence. Simple and cliche, but true. They've got a swagger that held out against one of the league's most disciplined and toughest teams. Thompson makes it five straight double-doubles, which doesn't truly reflect the nature of his stretch. He had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and that's been just about the outing every time out lately. Evans hits an absurd bank three-pointer late - after nearly falling to his knees when he outjuked himself - that symbolized this new day when the Kings are the ones getting big breaks late. More to come, but the 54 to 35 blowout on the boards was huge - as was the Rockets' inability to find a scorer not named Ariza. They shot 41.6 percent.
]]>Follow Sam and fellow hoops scribe Jason Jones on Twitter - sam_amick and jejones_sacbee.
***
I know, I know. The starving Kings fanbase doesn't want to put a lid on the excitement around here of late - just let the good times spill all over and worry about what's next later. Well the Houston Rockets are just hours away, and they represent a reality that will test the Kings in ways they haven't been while winning four of their last five games.
They are 5-3, making them a winning team at the moment and one that demands a collective effort defensively lest they pick you apart from spots one through five (or even one through eight). From here forward, though, a favorable Kings' schedule that is currently ranked 24th in strength of schedule (.466 winning percentage among opponents) doesn't get too much tougher. In chronological order...
Chicago (4-4), Dallas (5-3), Houston (5-3), Memphis (1-8), Knicks (1-8), New Jersey (0-8), New Orleans (3-6), Indiana (3-3).
Beating a good team would make it four in a row and gain the Kings major kudos from the NBA nation. From there they have a real opportunity to make some early noise.
For those not heading out to Arco Arena, the Kings have launched a new-age way of enjoying the game at home. Their in-game TV companion involves social media, statistics, video highlights and other goodies. To read more about it, click here.
READ WHILE YOU WAIT
From The Bee
Israeli fans pin hopes on Casspi, By Ailene Voisin
Kings Notes (Westphal impressed by Rockets), By Sam Amick
From the Houston Chronicle
Rockets know wounded Kings are dangerous, By Jeffrey Martin
TONIGHT'S GAME
HOUSTON (5-3) AT KINGS (4-4)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Arco Arena
TV: CSNCA.
Radio: KHTK (1140 AM).
Kings update: It's time to recall the forgotten part about the Kings' 2006-07 campaign: that team got off to a good start. After starting 8-5 under then-coach Eric Musselman, the Kings last had a winning record on Dec. 2, 2006 (8-7). Nearly three years later, they'll try to get above .500 again tonight.
Rockets update: If former Kings coach Rick Adelman can keep his team playing like this, he'll be a landslide Coach of the Year winner. With Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming out due to injury, the Rockets changed their lineup and their style and are one of the surprises of the early season so far.
Probable starters
KINGS
No. Player Pos.
19 Beno Udrih G
13 Tyreke Evans G
5 Andres Nocioni SF
34 Jason Thompson PF
31 Spencer Hawes C
ROCKETS
No. Player Pos.
0 Aaron Brooks PG
01 Trevor Ariza G
31 Shane Battier SF
4 Luis Scola PF
44 Chuck Hayes C
- Sam Amick
Follow Sam and fellow hoops scribe Jason Jones on Twitter - sam_amick and jejones_sacbee.
***
For those of you who missed it, we're going to start doing weekly Kings chats at 11 am (Pacific) on Thursdays. Sometimes it will be me on the chat, other times it will be Jason Jones or Ailene Voisin. Below is the first one this season. Feel free to hit the 'Replay' button if you care to see the discussion.