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Ok, guys, use this time off to relax, rest up, and
ice down those injuries in suitable containers.
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KINGS TAKE A WIN INTO LONG 6 DAY BREAK

Feistyfan

I was coming back from a little jaunt to Reno today with the family (Boomtown actually) and was able to start picking up the game from a few minutes into the 3rd quarter. Sounds like the Kings got it together for the second half and really put the Bucks away. The Buck, to their credit, kept it close - and they were hurting without a couple of key players - but this is a team we lost to twice last year.. so I'm sure the Kings wanted to win it and win it well.

Bobby Jackson appears to have done an outstanding job replacing Bibby tonight. I've had my doubts as to whether he could sustain himself as the starting PG, but tonight he took one chunk of that wall away - at least for me. He's consistently good off the bench, with the occasional clunker performance, but he really stepped up tonight.

Vlade gave a good showing, and Chris finally warmed up to give us the Triple Double. Peja, 29 with 7 treys? Dang.. wish I could shoot that with a good knee. Webber also gave us some "high post center" minutes tonight, and he did very well with the pass execution. Scoring, assisting.. really impressive.

Nice way to go into this week long hiatus. 7 wins and counting - and the remarkable home record continues.

Reno Lady

Webber had a triple-double, first one of the season. It's a good thing this was the last game for the Kings for a week-I don't think they'd have enough guys left to play another one! Bibby, Vlade, Peja, Pollard...and Webb's not 100% yet either. They need this week to recuperate and re-engergize, especially after tonight. Great win by the Kings though; broke the hold the Bucks seemed to have on them - and in a big way.

Also, Webber and Peja again had a huge night between them. NBA is touting the performance of Shaq & Kobe tonight with 55 points for the 2 of them, but Webber and Peja had 57 tonight and 60 last night....I'd say they deserve some props too. In addition, the scoring for the Kings was fairly balanced once more, the only starter not hitting double digits was Vlade, which tells me his knee was probably bothering him.

I really enjoy waking up the morning after a good win - and last night's was a good one! Puts a smile on my face first thing......of course my cats could care less if I'm smiling or not as long as I feed them!

I was so upset that Fox blacked the game out - or at least that's what I was told at the Peppermill....they couldn't get it on the nbalp on 724 either JB - double darn! I'm thinking of e-mailing or calling them today, and maybe e-mailing the Kings too.

Nice comments from Karl on the Kings play last night....it's still kind of weird to get respect from so many after so long with virtually none, but hey!....everyone should get a turn right?

Will be glad to have Phoenix out of our hair by this time next week; still have 2 more games with the Wolves, the Spurs, & the Mavs though. Wouldn't it be great if the Kings could sweep the Spurs and go 3/1 over the other two? Of course, then we have the Lakers - won't see them again until March.

Maybe poor ol' Shaq's big toe will be bothering him again....but no, I want the Kings to beat the Lakers full strength so there are no excuses.

Bonsy

The first quarter, the Kings defense was weak. The Bucks helped by shooting 75% of their open shots. And they had a ton of open shots.

Ray Allen was being Ray Allen. Christie said in the post-game interview that he had to "figure out how to play Ray" during the game. He started out defending the way he normally defends other players and saw that wouldn't work at all on Ray. The best thing about Allen is his ability to be "cocked and ready to shoot" when he comes off the screen. I've heard people talk about Allen's extremely quick release before and he certainly has that. Christie said he just couldn't get to him quick enough.

So he decided instead to just live in his shirt. Doug started sticking so close on defense that he carried that over when he was defending Michael Redd. Redd was so frustrated after a minute or two of that he just shoved Doug hard off of him. Tweet! Offensive foul on Redd! ROTFL!!

Ray fought hard for his shots in the 2nd half. Bobby Jackson was on him some also, and made Ray work. Jerry Reynolds said something funny (I listened to my tape after I got home) and he said that Ray Allen is the BEST shooting guard that Doug ever has to defend. A slight to Kobe perhaps?

I think holding Allen under 30 points when he was the only go-to guy on that team is doing a tremendous job.

Buzz after the show kept commenting that Sam Cassell being out was not a fair representation of playing the Bucks. Maybe. But Alston had some huge play. The guy is very fast, has a strong and quick drive to the hoop, and can make his shots. Cassell is largely just a spot up shooter. A killer one at times, but I think Alston brought more diversity to the game last night and worked our defense as much as Cassell ever would have.

Bobby Jackson played very, very well. I was worried after what I thought was a weak performance by him in Phoenix, but he came up huge last night. I usually worry that Bobby will take too many shots, not run the offense. But he did fine last night, mostly taking shots that he was left to take.

Actually, almost every guy on that floor waited to get their shot, and if it wasn't there, they passed the ball. That gave us 29 assists in that game. George Karl's talk about our passing wasn't just fluff. He saw it, too.

Vlade was wonderful, and rested much of the 2nd half. He wasn't needed since the Bucks were mostly playing very small. I think they had Ham defending Webber at times, which is when Webber was given isolation in the low-post. A miss-match for sure. Irvin Johnson was invisible when he was in the game.

Karl made some extremely positive comments about our "passing big men" after the game. Saying that there are no others like them in the game. I also picked that up as a criticism aimed at his own big men who just weren't useful at all.

John114AAA

The Kings appear to be on a roll after after losing 4 in a row on the road by big margins. I believe that it is a combination of things that has created this string, including, playing 6 of the 7 games at home, Webber getting healthier and stronger each game, Peja learning to play through pain and tough defensive pressure, and key performances by bench. We will not know until the end of this month just how much of this has to do with home court since 4 of the Kings' next 5 games are at home. Then, starting January 22, the Kings play at Portland, a home and home with Utah and then at Seattle. I think we will know lots more about this team at the end of this month.

I was at the game last night and was very concerned in the first quarter. The Bucks came out hot, smokin' and hit over 70 percent of their shots, while the Kings were at 30 percent and struggling in every phase of the game. Then Vlade took over on the boards and Christie took over on defense and the rest, as they say, is history. Peja started matching Allen with the most unbelievable array of shots. He hit a couple of those stab, spin, fade away jump shots from deep that can be so demoralizing to the other team's defense. Then Webber started taking over in the paint and the game was basically over halfway into the third quarter.

With each team coming off back to backs on the road, you could clearly see the impact of the home crowd in feeding energy to the Kings. Given that the Bucks have dominated the Kings for the past several years, it was a great win, another measuring stick for the season. We were lucky to have a week off after the game because that allowed the coach to play the strters for extended minutes. Basically, it was a 6 man rotation with Hedo getting 24 minutes and Cleaves and Funderburke making just cameo appearances in the 2nd quarter.

It is so much fun to be a Kings' fan right now. Some one asked me last night why I was so happy about a lopsided win against an injury riddled opponent. All I could do was smile and jokingly remind them of of our suffering during so many bad seasons for the Kings, many of which's win total has now been exceeded by January 7th.

HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR and GO KINGS....GO KINGS.... rest up and get healthy and let's destroy the Suns next Sunday.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Jeff

Why did people boo Webber? Seems to me it must be because they weren't happy with his play. I assume he was booed (or mumbled at, depending on who is reporting) to make a point. Well, he heard those who booed, i.e. point made.

Now, the guy says he is putting it behind him, but that he won't forget.

To me, it is like those who booed scolded him. Well, when you scold someone, do you want them to forget that they got scolded?

So, if it was right to scold him for his play with the boos, then you don't want him to forget the scolding do you? And if it was wrong to scold him for his play, is it fair to expect him to just forget about it?

So, basically, what's the big deal?

In my opinion his comments are just a mole hill, not a mountain.

TheBigO

With Vlade out of the game (and at least a few times a game with Vlade in) Webber was consistently isolated at the high post. The ball is passed in to him, the passer cuts towards the basket, and if the pass isn't there - fades to one baseline or the other. This has the effect of giving Webber a one on one opportunity from his favorite spot on the floor.

The only requirement for setting up a jump shot is that you create a little space for it. Mitch Richmond was a master at this. Peja does it in a different way (jab steps and step backs vs Mitch's pullups and subtle pushoffs) My whole game is predicated on it. But Webber doesn't know how to create space for his shot.

And he shouldn't be expected to. He's a PF, not a guard. But what Webber often does is dribble through his legs and shoot (a move that accomplishes nothing except perhaps as part of a rhythm) or he drives, pushes off with his left and then shoots.

Problem is he's not subtle like Mitch and is getting called for using his off arm more and more.

And Webber RARELY takes jumpers in what I would call the flow of the game. He almost never catches and shoots. He holds the ball for far too long before finally launching. Any shooter will tell you this is actually harder than just squaring up and launching right away. To me DC, Bibby and Peja shoot in the flow of the game more often. Peja often goes one on one (Hido does it the most) before shooting but all three are very good at setting up, waiting for the pass and shooting when the pass comes to them.

This is what I want to see from Webber. RA should specifically run plays for Webber to shoot as I mentioned. But him holding the ball for 3, 4, or even 5 seconds before ultimately making a move and shooting is NOT good for the team offense.

But like I said this is a minor complaint. As long as CWebb continues to play a balanced game I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. This type of play bothered me most in the Suns series last year where Webb's shot wasn't going and he didn't go inside or attack the rim either.

In the back of my mind I'm not worried about today's game or tommorrows, but rather playoff games where uncontested 15 footers don't exist. I don't think Webber should stop shooting by any means - its a great weapon for him - I just think that RA needs to reconsider how he gets him his shots.

Chachi639

Mark Cuban

You know, I used to hate this guy. What's not to hate? He makes a zillion bucks by cashing out at just the right time on his internet startup, basically retires, and goes around the country watching his very own basketball team. Who, me, jealous?

And it really is just that, jealousy, strictly because if I had had that kind of luck I'd be doing basically the same sort of thing. (About luck: I'll admit that he probably worked pretty damn hard for a long time, too, but let's face it, he just happened to end up on the right side of a unique, lottery-winner type situation by selling broadcast.com when he did.)

I start to like his style a little bit when I hear about the "matching contribution" he's made to charities at the same time as paying his fines. It just makes me laugh. The guy is basically saying to the NBA, "Go ahead, fine me. You can't fine me enough to make it hurt: I'll throw the same amount out to some folks I care about, and trust me, they ain't you."

Put it in perspective. If he's still worth $2 billion, then a $500K fine is the same as a $50 fine to someone with $200,000. Hmmm.

Critic

The quote from the Japanese admiral about having attacked Pearl Harbor ("I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant") may apply here. IMO, the NBA just made it worth Mark Cuban's while to pay a small army of lawyers to sue the NBA over all the things he claims are wrong and throw in claims for damages that exceed the national debt -- starting with that fine. One less zero and he just writes a check out of petty cash and grins. This will annoy him. Can you say "anti-trust suit," boys and girls? There is a problem with smacking a guy that rich -- he can hit back and hard. I predict that he views THIS fine as a declaration of war and that he ups the ante by at least two decimal places, maybe 3 or 4. The NBA better get out their checkbooks; some of my brother and sister attorneys are about to get a LOT of money. The costs of defending that suit will far exceed $500k. Is this a great country or what! I don't think ANY major league has ever won when sued on anti-trust grounds. Has Al Davis ever lost when suing the NFL? They may have turned a "Maverick" into a "Demon." You go Mark! $500K is absurd and the NBA deserves what it's about to get. They should spend the money on training refs. IMO, there are too many refs who can't really do their jobs and the NBA doesn't do enough to enforce more consistency in the way games are called. I support refs by and large, and don't buy into ANY "conspiracy" theories, but incompetency is a bit too common for the NBA to go tossing around $500k fines to those who howl when hosed.

JB

You sure can beat the Lakers 4 out of 7. First of all, you change the tempo from the absolute crawl of Philip's team. Hit the boards as hard as they do and push the tempo. What Lakers fear more than anything is a team that can outscore them. Don't let tonight's score fool you. The last thing Phil wants to see is his 490 lb center running up and down the court all night. Take a quick look around the league and count the number of teams that any one of the starting 5 can go off on you for 20+ points. And you know you are going to give up 23-25 to 2 guys for sure. Then factor in that the others will toss in at least 10-15 each. And it doesn't stop there, the bench can run 2 guys on the court who can do pretty much the same damage.

There isn't another team capable of doing this. The Mavs and Spurs come close, but even they don't carry the firepower. Why does this matter?

Because the Lakers are not going to straight up defend the Kings. They will have to double and then scramble to cover. They can be pretty good doing this against many teams. When you have a Bruce Bowen or Shawn Bradley, that job is much easier. But consider who on the Kings is your leave them open guy - Christie? Check out the damage he has done over the past month and the task is getting harder to leave him open. Fox on Peja is also a big key. It's getting harder to shut Peja down. He is currently having trouble with physical and athletic guys like Bowen and Marion. Fox can be real physical, but when you get him chasing Peja, he reaches in too much and holds his jersey. Fox's job is much tougher this year.

This isn't as easy as I am making sound. Rebounding and playoff caliber defense is a must-have. The rebounding has been there most nights, but it must improve. Vlade must dedicate himself to boarding and not coasting. Webber must spend more time closer to the basket and get back in transition defense quicker. Peja needs to board more and let Doug and Mike break down court for the easy points. The Kings will not be a great man-on-man defense, but they can cause some problems playing solid team defense. Even Shaq can be slowed a bit. Keeping the tempo fast takes some of Shaq's energy and he doesn't get as good post up position. Make him turn into the middle of the lane and given the choice of putting the ball on the floor, he will likely pass rather than dribble and shoot. When the tempo is slow, he can see where the second defender is coming from and he gets deeper post position. This makes it more difficult to keep him from getting those dunks. The job isn't done yet, because you've left their spot up shooters open. Scramble quickly and stay tight on Fisher. Leave Fox semi open if you cant rotate because he can hurt you - but not kill you like Fisher can. Horry has to prove that he is hot before I would give him any attention. Well, that leaves Kobe. He is so damn hard to defend, but running a second defender at him is only an option if Shaq is on the bench. With Kobe, just try to keep him from driving to the basket. If you can funnel him to the wing areas, he is slightly less dangerous. If he gets into the middle, he can break down your defense.

As I said, easy to beat them. Seriously though, if any team can do it, the Kings have the best chance because the Kings can make them pay for the Lakers style of defense.