Nov

28

Sacramento’s Learning Curve Is A Work In Progress

Posted by Gregory Dix under NBA Analysis 

As I have stated before I’m a big proponent of Sacramento. Last night however they showed youth. They allowed a CBA team calling themselves the New Jersey Nets to make it a contest. Paul Westphal first had to turn to Sean May and when that experiment failed they brought in Kenny Thomas. Kenny was able to settle things down with some clutch rebounding and a few buckets.

His stat line doesn’t seem impressive – 16 min, 2 rebs, 1 stl, and 7 pts. In pro ball it isn’t always about the stats. He was able to slow the pace of the game and bring a steady calm to the ship that was taking on water in the third quarter. The Nets were able to cut the deficit to 6 points TWICE in the 3rd. Considering the Kings had a 22 point lead this turn of events made Sacramento fans shutter. The Nets knew this was their best chance to get a win on the west coast. They came with fire in the second half. There is no excuse for Sacramento to whither like they did under the Nets pitiful back court pressure.

One hopes this is just an example of a young team playing down to the talent in front of them. This is not uncommon with teams that are just beginning to find success. Jason Thompson showed grit after being leveled by a cheap flagrant foul courtesy of Brook Lopez. Thompson has showed flashes of brilliance in this young NBA season as a 4. In this game the difference makers were Beno Udrih (5 assts, 21 pts, 33 min) and Omri Cassippi (18 pts, 31 min). The trio of Beno, Omri, and Kenny was enough to pull the Kings through a moment of uncertainty in the crucial third quarter.

Tyreke Evans is the real deal. He will be a nice NBA player for the years to come. In this game however he showed his youth with 4 TO and only 3 assists. Tyreke has to improve on his ball control. I saw the Nets take 2 balls away when the ball was in bounded. He can’t be so lax while bringing the ball up court. I’m not picking on my boy because I truly love watching him play I just see room for improvement. Evans offensively had a good game with 21 points I just would like to see more care as he brings the ball up court. Ball control and defense win games. Larry Brown taught me that with the 2001 Sixers.

Let’s hope the Kings learn from this experience and come with intensity all 4 quarters Sunday night. The Hornets are without Chris Paul but they have been playing well since the head coaching change. I want to see the Kings win this game and get back to .500. The next 5 games in the schedule are winnable with 3 at home – New Orleans, Indiana, Phoenix, Miami, and New Orleans. I see them faltering against Phoenix and Miami but should beat New Orleans twice and Indiana. This would continue the trend of .500 ball and give them the opportunity to believe in the young talent at hand.


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