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STUFF
The Big O
The Kings recent play...
As
I just said, the Kings are getting the job
done. The fourth quarter vs LA and the 3rd
quarter against Portland were fun to watch.
But other than those 24 minutes, I've been
a bit concerned with the Kings overall play.
Their interior D was a joke early on against
the Blazers, and in both games (and in the
last couple preceeding them) their team
game has not resembled true Sacramento ball.
The ball movement hasn't been there. Too
many quick shots with nobody underneath
and one on one play have REQUIRED them to
play a stretch of outstanding ball to win
games. This team needs to move the ball
and cut crisply to START games. I hope they
begin with tonight's game.
The Spurs and Lakers... Two statement games
for the Lakers - two losses. Phil &
co. can't be very pleased about that. Bowen
gets away with a LOT b/c of his reputation
but he made Kobe work today. On the other
hand, Duncan didn't have a good shooting
game and the Spurs still won. Parker didn't
even have to score a ton today. It was primarily
San Antonio's half court D that did the
job. For me, today's game was a no-lose
situation. I always like seeing the Lakers
lose, but a win by them keeps the Spurs
further from the #1 seed and the Lakers
further from the #7.
Playoff Seedings... Walton was blathering
on today about how the championship caliber
team would want to go through ALL the best
teams, and the Kings may very well feel
that way. But for me as a fan, I would love
nothing more than for the Kings to finish
with a run and the Mavs to stumble, giving
Sacramento the #1 seed. It
would almost take a collapse by Dallas or
an undefeated run by the Kings for it to
happen at this point but it's still possible.
However, knowing that being number one means
that you would only face one out of the
Spurs, Lakers and Mavs is good motivation.
I think the Kings can beat all of them,
but isn't the point of winning the regular
season to be rewarded with the "easiest"
path to the finals? If
the Kings don't overtake the Mavs, I would
still like to see the 3-6 matchup be the
Spurs and Lakers. I think San Antonio takes
them in a seven game series. And the Kings
matchup better with the Spurs than the Lakers.
Then again, I think the Kings would take
the Lakers in a seven game series. The Lakers
aren't as good as they were last season,
and the Kings are better than they were.
Whatever
the final seedings, this year's playoffs
are going to be a lot of fun for a true
basketball fan.
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