Archive for the 'Kings' Category

Pistons host Kings

Published by Kevin Sawyer on January 2, 2009 in Guest Writer, Kings and Previews. 272 Comments
The Kings are in town, which means Pistons fans have an excuse to check out Tom Ziller and Co. at Sactown Royalty. (Wait, Kings fans are drooling over Boozer, too?) As usual, many thanks to Kevin for the preview. The ball tips at 8 PM on FSN — leave your thoughts in the comments. — MW

Kings: 8-24 (2-13 road)
Margin: -9.5 ppg (-13.5 road)
Last 10: 2-8 (margin -13.5)

Pistons: 19-11 (11-5 home)
Margin: +0.9 ppg (+2.3 home)
Last 10: 8-2 (margin +4.2)

Oppo research:

The 8-24 record doesn’t really do justice to how poor this Kings squad really is. The team needed 17 points from Kevin Martin (just returned from injury) to beat a short-handed Clippers squad by two at home. At present, this is the worst team in the league.

That said, Kevin Martin is precisely the sort of player who gives the Piston defense fits, and we didn’t exactly light up the Kings when they were without Martin. Jason Thompson, Beno Udrih and Spencer Hawes all had nice games, even though none of them has played particularly well this season.

Hawes is out with an abdominal strain, which is a boon given that the Pistons are likely to be down two (Wallace and Dyess) in the front court. Without Hawes, and with Martin likely returning to the starting lineup, the Kings are unlikely to go big. But then, Brad Miller is unlikely to go 2-16.

The Drama:

I’ve got nothin’…

Keys for Detroit:

Go to the zone: The Kings are an awful perimeter team, so there is absolutely no reason to let Martin get into the lane. Expect to see some zone, plenty of Spellcheck, and a lot of wide open three point looks.

Keep contact to a minimum: The Kings are solid free throw shooters up and down their lineup. Ticky-tack fouls on their bigs are going to cost us points. This should be an interesting test for Amir, who could potentially see 30+ minutes tonight.

Take it to the hoop: The Kings are foul prone, slow on defense, and can’t defend the perimeter. Iverson and Stuckey should not hesitate to feed the Kings a stead diet of drive and dish. If those two on their game, this will be over early.

Question of the game:

Can’t we just have a good old-fashioned blowout? With a Western Conference swing on the horizon, including a cross country trip to Los Angeles for a Sunday matinee, it would be nice to get the starters some rest. The Pistons have only one victory of 15 or more this season. They had 26 such contests last year.

AI finally wins as a Piston

Published by Matt Watson on November 12, 2008 in Games and Kings. 64 Comments

The first two games of the AI Era didn’t exactly impress, so when the Pistons opened last night’s game by falling behind 14-2 early in the first, I expected the worst. As it turns out, my pessimism was completely unjustified: the Pistons actually clawed their way back to a tie by halftime before pulling away for good in the fourth quarter.

Who said Allen Iverson can’t fit into Detroit’s system? He led both teams with 30 points and nine assists. With Rodney Stuckey still in Michigan, Iverson spent all of two and a half minutes on the bench (all in the first half) yet still had enough left in the tank in the fourth to score nine points, grab three boards and collect both of his steals. A lot of guys played well down the stretch, but none so in the final frame than AI. In case the first two games left you confused, this was the type of performance that convinced Joe Dumars to pull the trigger.

But if we’re going to heap praise on Iverson for his big game, Tayshaun Prince deserves an extra helping, himself. Prince finished with 26 points and 11 boards, and through seven games he’s averaging 18.7 points and 7.7 boards, both of which would represent career-high marks by a wide margin were he able to maintain that production all season. With over 90% of the season left to play, it’s silly to overreact about a nice start, especially since Prince has teased us over a series of games in the past before reverting back to his career norms. Is there any reason to think this time will be any different?

Call me a sucker, but I think there might be. With Billups gone, Prince is being asked to step up as a playmaker and, presumably, fill a void in the locker room. And to steal a point made last night by George Blaha and Greg Kelser, perhaps spending his summer winning a gold medal with the Redeem Team made him realize he has star potential no matter the opponent and can be more than just a reliable glue guy.

My biggest problem with Prince in the past has always been his tendency to fade into the background and defer to his teammates, but he’s really taken Curry’s team-wide mandate to be aggressive to heart. From the Freep’s Vince Ellis:

“For us to be successful, he (Prince) has threes he has to defend who are really good and really aggressive,” Curry said. “We want him to be able to go back at them, as well.

“We want that mind-set to be developed for Tay the whole year. So when we do get into a series against those elite threes in the league, he can push them, as well.”

Maybe he won’t continue topping 20 on a nightly basis, but there’s reason to think it’ll be more than the once-or-twice-monthly occurrence we’ve seen from him in the past. And if that’s the case, maybe Curry’s All-Star prediction will come true.

I mentioned Will Bynum in the previous post, but I’ll reiterate: good things happen when he’s on the court. I’m literally amazed at how well he’s able to knife his way through the lane, and his disruptive defense hasn’t been bad either. This isn’t the case of “aw, look at the tiny guy keep up! let’s subconsciously overrate his contributions” praise, either — the numbers bear out what my eyes are seeing: he’s posted an impressive 20.0 PER through his first four games. That’ll almost certainly decline with a more legitimate sample size, but it’s on Curry to let Bynum keep dancing until he turns into a pumpkin. From the same Freep article as above:

“Regardless of the team, he can find a way to get into that paint,” Curry said. “He probably runs the mid pick-and-roll as well as anyone. He’s a very strong finisher. He’s been ready every time we’ve called upon him.”

Rip Hamilton had another off night but finished on a high note: after missing his first eight shots (that’s 16 bricks in a row, dating back to the New Jersey game), he went 4-8 from the field the rest of the night. I’m going to give him a pass, especially considering he finished with 17 points, thanks largely to going 8-8 from the stripe. His track record is far too consistent to think he won’t can’t work his kinks out.

Speaking of Curry, he deserves credit for sticking to his guns and refusing to let the Kings dictate his rotations. Sacramento essentially started three centers (Brad Miller, Mikki Moore and Jason Thompson) and a fourth (Spencer Hawes) saw significant action. Most coaches would see a trio of seven-footers on the court and panic, but Curry stuck with his handy three-guard lineup with Tay at the four. Let’s be honest, Bynum and AI are barely six-feet-tall in shoes, but they were both in the backcourt in crunch time against a pack of roaming giants — that just doesn’t happen. From the Detroit News’ Chris McCosky:

By going to a small lineup, featuring Bynum, Iverson and either Afflalo or Richard Hamilton, Curry also forced the Kings to alter their attack. They had been killing the Pistons with pick-and-roll plays. Once the Pistons went small, Kings coach Reggie Theus decided to abandon the pick-and-roll for straight post-ups.

“We felt better about defending the post-ups than the pick and rolls,” Curry said. “This one worked out in our favor.”

Had it backfired, Curry would have been roasted, so he deserves a little credit for making an interesting decision that paid off.

Pistons 100, Kings 92 box score / NBA.com
Game Flow / PopcornMachine.net
Game Thread / DBB

Stuckey-less Pistons are in Sacramento

Published by Matt Watson on November 11, 2008 in Kings and Previews. 307 Comments

As of this afternoon, Rodney Stuckey still hadn’t joined the Pistons in Sacramento. There’s no word on the results of whatever tests Stuckey underwent following Sunday’s unexplained bout of dizziness, but Michael Curry is holding out hope that the second-year guard will join the team at some point during the Pistons’ four-game swing out west.

But hey, even without Stuckey, the Kings shouldn’t pose too much of a threat, especially when you consider they’ll be without leading-scorer Kevin Martin for the next week or so … right? Actually, I’m not too sure. The Pistons lost both of their games against the Kings last year, and over the last 12 years they’ve won at Arco Arena exactly once.

Past performance is not an indicator of future results, sure, but the Kings are tougher than their 3-5 record suggests. Even without Martin, they have an intriguing front court of Brad Miller, Spencer Hawes and rookie Jason Thompson, not to mention a couple of underrated wings in John Salmons, whom I’ve been watching ever since I profiled him last January, and Beno Udrih, who’s grown exponentially since being routinely abused by the Pistons in the 2005 NBA Finals.

Plus, win or lose, we’ll get to read about the game from Sactown Royalty’s Tom Ziller, one of the best basketball writers in the blogosphere existence. The ball tips at 10 PM on FSN — join the rest of your fellow Piston-loving night owls by leaving your thoughts in the comments.

P.S. Rasheed Wallace is a toaster. Order the Free Darko book.

Pistons host suddenly healthy Kings

Published by Matt Watson on January 18, 2008 in Kings and Previews. 39 Comments

The Pistons host the Kings tonight (8pm, FSN), and I’m sure the story of the night in some circles will be the return of Ron Artest. Personally, I’m a little bored with that angle — he’s already been back here, remember? — but at least it’ll make for a lively player introductions. The Kings are just 15-22 this year, but the Pistons have the misfortune of facing them just as they get healthy: Artest, Mike Bibby and Kevin Martin have all returned in recent games after missing a lot of time with injury.

If you want the opposing perspective on the game, be sure to check out Sactown Royalty, one of the best team blogs in the NBA ’sphere. I’ll be at the game for HOOPSWORLD filing my pre-game, halftime and post-game observations, and as always, leave your thoughts in the comments.

Pistons gain even though they lose

Published by Matt Watson on November 19, 2007 in From the news, Games, Kings and Lakers. 14 Comments

The Pistons obviously had a chance to win against both the Lakers and the Kings, but I’m not too torn up about the outcome. Why? As a lot of you pointed out in the game comments, it’s November, the Pistons are short-handed and the bench is seeing action.

It’s tough to keep one game in perspective between tip-off and the final whistle, but after the fact it’s kind of nice to look back at the box score and realize, “hey, we learned something new.”

What did we learn this weekend? We learned that Cheikh Samb is far more useful than anyone expected this soon. Here’s a highlight reel I found on YouTube of Samb, Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell:

From Chris McCosky of the Detroit News:

“His growth as a player, both physically and mentally, has been nothing short of astronomical,” Saunders said. “He’s really progressed as far as understanding what we’re trying to do and his grasp of the game. You know, this is a guy who’s only been playing a couple of years, so he has no bad habits. Everything he’s being taught, it’s nothing but good habits.”

Does this mean that Samb won’t be going to the D-League just yet? From Krista Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press:

“I think we’ve talked a little bit, and I think we’ll hold off for now,” Saunders said. “There’s no question we can throw him in the game. He has a presence. … You’re not afraid to put someone like that on the floor.”

I like the decision. If Samb falls out of the rotation, then giving him 30 minutes a game down at Fort Wayne is probably the best thing for everyone involved, but if he’s able to contribute even five minutes a game for the Pistons, I think it’s worth letting him stay. Why? Because there are residual benefits for keeping him around, including giving him a chance to work directly with the team’s coaching staff, letting him practice against NBA-caliber teammates and monitoring his diet/exercise habits to pack a few more pounds on his frame.

But he’s for real. Like Saunders said, he has a presence in the paint, since anyone driving the lane has to keep one eye trained on him. Paired together with another leaper like Johnson, the results can be comical, as the video above proves. Yes, they both need to work on their timing (if they both go for the block, no one is ready for the rebound …), but that’s what playing time is for, to learn how to get better.

As for Johnson, it’s a little difficult to grade his performance this weekend considering the team ran few (if any) plays for him. In the last two games, he’s combined for 33 minutes, 10 rebounds, four blocks and a steal … and just one shot from the field. In time, maybe that will be something to be concerned about, but considering he’s been playing early in the game with some of the starters, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Plus, his plus/minus rating was +9 and +6 on Friday and Sunday, respectively — anytime a player is in the black during a loss means they were doing something right (or at least, not doing too many things wrong), even if they weren’t the ones putting the ball in the bucket.

Pistons finish road trip in Sacramento

Published by Matt Watson on November 18, 2007 in Kings and Previews. 70 Comments

According to A. Sherrod Blakely, Chauncey Billups will return, but Antonio McDyess will not. You know what that means, right?

That means Jason Maxiell will be in the starting lineup for the third straight game. It also likely means a few minutes for Cheikh Samb who has altered the thinking of the Pistons as far as how much he will play this season.

He was expected to spend most of his time with the team’s D-League affiliate in Ft. Wayne, Ind. But it sounds like Pistons coach Flip Saunders has other plans for the 7-foot-1 rookie.

“His growth, as far as a player, both physically and mentally, has been short of astronomical,” Saunders said.

Should be a fun one. Kevin Martin doesn’t get much press on this side of the country, but he’s a superstar in the making — containing (or at least slowing) him will be key. As usual, leave your thoughts in the comments.

Pistons dethrone Kings

Published by Matt Watson on January 22, 2007 in Games and Kings. 2 Comments

If Friday’s double-OT win over the Timberwolves was ugly, Saturday’s blowout against the Kings was absolutely beautiful. Only one starter played more than 30 minutes as the Pistons jumped out to an early lead and rarely let up. Have the Pistons lost their defensive identity? Well, the regained it for a couple of 12 minute stretches, holding the Kings to just 12 points in the first quarter and 15 in the third. All in all, Sactown Royalty declared it the Kings’ worst game of the season. Nice job, fellas.

Saturday’s game did feature the return the much-anticipated return of Ron Artest, which turned out to be a big downer if you were expecting some kind fireworks. Natalie from Need4Sheed attended the game and noted that it took longer to get inside with added security and metal detectors — good move by the Pistons, in that regard, though it’s worth noting the weapon of choice that started the last brawl was a cup bought from a Pistons concession stand.

In any case, Artest did do his part to get the fans into the game, sporting an attention-grabbing mohawk and doing a little pregame taunting. From the AP:

Ron Artest played imaginary catch with “friends” in the stands, making gestures like he was tossing a ball underhanded in different directions before his first game at The Palace since the brawl.

The fans simply responded with boos and jeers.

“Tossing a ball”? Is it me or is the AP writer a little slow? I didn’t see it, but I’m willing to wager he was pretending to toss a cup.

I didn’t see anyone mention it in print, but it certainly appeared that Artest did more than just pretend to throw things — the Pistons telecast replayed video of the Kings being introduced, and George Blaha pointed out how Artest took his gum out of his mouth and chucked it into the stands. There was no ambiguity about it: either he did it or pretended to do it — the camera angle was too close to see if anything left his hand, but he definitely took the gum out of his mouth and made the throwing motion. [Update: Need 4 Sheed has the gum-throwing video]

As for the actual game, Artest wasn’t exactly a non-factor but he certainly didn’t do enough to keep this close. He scored 14 on 6-14 shooting with six boards, four assists and four turnovers. He was booed every time he touched the ball, which appeared to egg him on into making some bad decisions. Or maybe that’s just how he plays.

Chris Webber continues to get more comfortable. He recorded his first double-double (11 points, 10 boards) and dished out a couple of assists — not to mention a couple of passes his teammates didn’t expect and turned over. It’s almost painful watching him lumber up and down the court, but I still think he makes up for it once the Pistons are in their half-court offense. I finally realized what he reminds me of: the old, fat guy at the neighborhood court who can’t run, can’t jump and certainly lacks the foot speed to stay in front of a quick ball-handler … but give him the ball and watch him hit hook shots and find his cutting teammates. He keeps the offense moving despite being one of the slowest guys on the court.

As for the rest of the team, check the box score. The only other truly notable performance was by Antonio McDyess, who shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field to finish with 12 points and eight boards in 24 minutes. After shooting .381 in November and .440 in December, McD is shooting .558 so far this month. Yeah, I think the slump is over. It’s good timing, too, as Joe Dumars recently told McDyess that he’s not trying to trade him. That’s not to say he’s untouchable (no one is in this league), but it’s certainly good news for McDyess, who knows one of his front-court teammates will be moved in the coming weeks.

Pistons 91, Kings 74 box score [NBA.com]
Solid week restores McDyess’ confidence [Detroit News]
So… the Detroit Game? Worst Ever this Year! [Sactown Royalty]

Preview:
He’s baaaack!

He’s baaaack!

Published by Matt Watson on January 20, 2007 in Kings and Previews. 6 Comments

Ron Artest

No time for a proper preview, but get ready for Ron Artest’s first appearance at the Palace since he went nuts back in 2004. Ball tips at 7:30, no word if the Kings are rolling Ron-Ron onto the court Hannibal Lector style. Expect the bench to see heavy action, especially after the starters logged heavy minutes in last night’s double OT win.

As usual, leave your game thoughts in the comments.

Pistons bow to Kings

Published by Matt Watson on November 9, 2006 in Games and Kings. 9 Comments

While previewing Wednesday’s game against the Kings, I said:

The Kings just lost starting center Brad Miller for the next 4-6 weeks, which means extra time for the undersized Kenny Thomas, former Wolverine Maurice Taylor and maybe even former Piston Corliss Williamson. With any luck, Detroit’s big men will take advantage down low, but it’s also a big blow to Sacramento’s offense.

Chauncey Billups reacts to a technical foulWell, there was no luck, as Detroit’s starting frontcourt combined for exactly eight points on 4-of-23 shooting. Tayshaun Prince had six and Nazr Mohammed had just two. Wait, you say, that’s only two players. I must have forgotten about Rasheed Wallace, right? Sadly, no; Rasheed failed to score in 36 minutes, going 0-9 from the field.

Considering Detroit failed to exploit Sacramento’s glaring weakness in the middle, it wasn’t a huge surprise to see them lose this game 99-86. No, the biggest surprise after watching the first quarter was that Detroit somehow finished the game with more than 50 points. Quite literally, no one was hitting anything in the early going: the Pistons had just four points more than nine minutes into the game and finished the first quarter with just 11, including eight from Rip Hamilton. Continue reading ‘Pistons bow to Kings’

Pistons roll into Sactown

Published by Matt Watson on November 8, 2006 in Kings and Previews. 10 Comments

Chicago's Ben Wallace and Sacramento's Ron ArtestPistons @ Kings, 10:30 on ESPN. Sleep is overrated, drink more coffee tomorrow. The crib-sheet:

Subplots: It’s easy to bill this one as Artest-Pistons II — it’s the first time Ron Artest has faced the Pistons since instigating the infamous Malice at the Palace in November 2004. But honestly, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal anymore, especially considering he’s already kissed and made up with Ben Wallace last weekend.

For me, this is Pistons-Patton II. Who? Surely you remember: Leland Patton, the Kings director of event presentation, thought it would be funny to put together an extremely negative video montage of Detroit for the pre-game show featuring, among other things, abandoned buildings and burned out cars.

Talk about a bad day at work: the decision cost his employer a $30,000 fine by the NBA, not to mention the cost of full-page advertisements in the Detroit News and Free Press apologizing for the video.

Personally, I don’t really hold a grudge — just picturing poor Leland turn red and avert his eyes every time he passes Kings owners Gavin and Joe Maloof in the hallway is enough for me. But still, it’s the first time since that game since the Pistons have played in Arco Arena, so it deserves to be mentioned.

Coaching connection: From the Sacramento Bee via Full-Court Press…

The Kings’ coach and Pistons’ coach go back in ways few within the NBA can claim. Musselman, in fact, hired Saunders as his CBA coach when he was the general manager of the Rapid City (S.D.) Thrillers in 1988. But after Saunders was fired one season later and Musselman took over the head-coaching position, the two faced off twice in the CBA Finals, with Saunders winning both series with his Lacrosse (Wis.) Catbirds.

Injuries: Detroit is close to getting Dale Davis back from a hamstring injury, but the moment Davis comes into the game in the second quarter instead of Jason Maxiell is the moment I throw my remote through my television set. The Kings just lost starting center Brad Miller for the next 4-6 weeks, which means extra time for the undersized Kenny Thomas, former Wolverine Maurice Taylor and maybe even former Piston Corliss Williamson. With any luck, Detroit’s big men will take advantage down low, but it’s also a big blow to Sacramento’s offense.

What are they saying? Former NBA coach Kevin Loughery commentates that the Pistons should have the edge, while Sactown Royalty offers us this pre-game haiku:

Welcome to town, Sheed.
Given Stern’s “no-sass” ruling,
I think you’ll be hushed.

What to watch for: Can Chauncey bust out of his shooting slump? Will Rip continue driving the lane? Will Rasheed’s head explode if he picks up his fifth tech in five games?

We’ll see you in the comments for pre-/in-/post-game talk.