BULLS COACH DOESN'T EVEN WANT TO WATCH

JB

Well, um... not really worth a game breakdown.
But hey, Peja looks to be over the mini slump. Hedo hit some nice shots an Bobby appears to be hitting his too. Stupid TOs kept down a bit.
Can we start talking about the Laker game now?

Bulls TV announcer threw out this little bit of trivia:
"Kings are only shooting 37 percent on the road... um no, that's the Bulls shooting numbers."
Still other keen insight:
After Fizer hits a jumper, "Thats what he does"
Really? I would expect a little more.
Im sure Red Kerr and the other bozo are grousing right now about how the refs jobbed them. Yea, i might have only been a 25 point victory by the Kings.

Pondo

Was great for the team to get their act going after leading by only one point at the end of the first quarter. Then an usual thing happened, the Kings got it going in the 2nd quarter rather than being out scored. Now they lead by 15 points at the half. 3rd quarter was great as the Kings started pulling away while allowing the Bulls to only score 11 points. Great to see the lower end of the bench getting into the game, which the fans would hope would happen. They got to see Wallace, Flubber, do his thing. Would suggest Cleaves work on making better set up passes to Wallace as he is headed toward the basket for the dunk! Smith got into the game before the end of the 3rd quarter and got 2 rebounds. He carried that into the 4th quarter, good for him.
As I could not see the game I could not tell how Price played. It was great that the Kings did not look past the Bulls as it started to look like the first quarter. Also did not see the 3rd quarter let down that has scared the fans in previous games.

Great to see the Lakers lose their first game but feel that makes it harder for the Kings to beat them Sunday. "The great white father, Uncle Phil, will stir them up and get Kobe to score more than 18 points. "Kobe, you must score more or the cowtown players will win and we can't have that! Shaq, you need to knock down Vlade and Scot and other players going to the basket and don't worry, the refs will not call a foul on you!"
Go Kings!!!!!

Reno Lady

The Kings played 2 quarters of basketball pretty well, the 2nd and 3rd. The first? Ugh! I have no clue what they were thinking, or IF they were thinking in that first quarter; they seemed unfocused but rallied very well in the 2nd quarter and played very well in the 3rd. The bench guys did a pretty good job of keeping the margin against the Bulls at the same level it was when they took over. FREE THROWS! With the exception of Peja and Christie, everyone else needs to hoist up about 200 a day until they get the idea that they're supposed to make the majority of those shots at the line when no one is guarding them! I don't know what Vlade's average was last year but it had to have been better than this season so far. Bibby's shot at the line was bad last night as well. Let's hope that's something that improves a lot before tomorrow night's game.

The Lakers looked pretty tired out last night; kind of funny to hear Jackson offering that up as an excuse when he's said so often that traveling and back to backs aren't an excuse for losing. The fact is the Suns just flat out-played the Lakers last night, especially Hardaway, Marbury, and Gugliota, who played better than I've seen him play in a long time. Shaq acted like an overgrown baby a couple of times, once wrestling the ball away from one of the Suns after he had possession of it. A foul should have been called but instead the Lakers got a jump ball out of it. Kobe danced all over the floor a couple of times with no call.

SactoGreg

Decent game last night, but the reality is the Bulls suck! The only decent player they have is Ron Mercer. Other than that, they suck! Good job by the Kings for crushing this team. This clearly sends a message to the NBA that you don't come to Arco and expect to get anything else but a whippin'! Especially teams that are below .500!

Bench Mob Mama

I seem to remember waiting until at least the second half of the second half of the season last year for a 30 point blowout - we just couldn't seem to put it to those teams we should have handled easily. I take last night as a very good sign ... we are doing what we should be doing!

Kingsgurl: was that you I heard yelling "Go, Peja!"?

Next stop, Staples Center. Go Kings!

7-2...
Q

The Kings played remarkably poorly for the first quarter against the Bulls and then evidently woke up and mauled the opposition thereafter. I missed it because I fell asleep for the entire second half, because the head noise and pain was extra bad and I hadn't slept for about 3 days. But it was a welcome experience to look at the computer monitor and see the final score. 7-2, just like I wanted. Thanks Vlade, Peja, Hedo and Mike. And

hey all the talented scrubs got to play 8 to 13 minutes. So the starters and key bench players will be well rested for the upcoming Lakers game in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Suns were beating the previously unbeated Lakers in Arizona. Which is a good thing and a bad thing for the Kings. It is a good thing because it means that the Lakers will not finish 82-0 and by beating the Lakers on Sunday the Kings will capture first place in the Pacific. It is a bad thing because the Lakers will have a day's rest and have their legs back, be angry about taking the Suns too lightly, and will be home at the Staples center where the officials find ways to make sure Shaq and Kobe live up to their pressing clippings and let Fox and Horry mug visiting playings at will. You can bet the Lakers will be looking to take their frustrations out on the Kings. It is also bad that the crippled, sleeping Suns are whole and awake again. The Pacific Division just got even tougher.

Overall, this makes things even more interesting and the Kings have a fabulous opportunity to beat the oddsmakers and make a season defining statement early on by extending the Lakers losing streak to two games. The Kings CAN do it. Will they? Well, this is why we tune in, to find out. Even though Stern and the pundits have already defaulted the NBA title to the Lakers, it is still possible for the Kings to surprise everyone, but us, and steal it right from under them. A victory here would go a long way to bolster the Kings confidence and generate some magical momentum. Odds are they will not; which will make me all the happier when they do.

Also, has anybody noticed that 76ers lost five straight to open the season without Allen Iverson and have won all four games since he rejoined the team? AI=MVP on that team.

Memphis gets a shot at actually winning a game today. If not, they still have a shot to go 0-82; but I think they will manage to win a few more than zero prior to the All-Star game and then start winning at a surprising rate after that. They have lost Dickerson; so they are going to have to use ol' Anderson a bit more or go even younger than they are. They have to win sometime. Even the Bulls have won a game.

Anyway, back to the Kings...

It will be very interesting to see how Rick approaches the Lakers game. He will be guessing. So I hope he guesses right this time and the team is able to execute and stop turning the ball over so much. They have been turning the ball over more per game than they did all last year; so that has to change! Turning over the ball at the Staples Center is basketball suicide. And Peja has another golden opportunity to embarrass Fox, which I hope he does and gives the Lakers fits all game long. This will open up the game for the rest of the Kings. Vlade and Scot will be bruised and bloody by game's end, but could do well by boxing out on Shaq and keeping him away from his sweet spots close in. Blah, blah, blah. Personally, I would like to see Hedo light it up big and the Kings pull at a road win again the Lakers for a change. I hope the Kings play tenacious, swarming defense all game long and force Lakers turnovers, instead of the other way around. And someday I would like to see how well Gerald "Flubber" Wallace can do against Kobe. That said, tomorrow I would be thrilled with a Kings win, regardless how it happens (as long as there are no Kings injuries). Go Kings!