Gasol's 26 points lead Bulls over KIngs, 104-86

The Bulls handled a team it should have beat at the United Center on some home cookin' and hot shooting.

Chicago came home after a two week 6 game road trip to play the Sacramento Kings and defeated them as three Bulls hit more than 20 points, 104-86.  Pau Gasol continued his All-Star season with his 13th straight double-double, two off franchise leader, Michael Jordan who had 15 in the '88-89 season. Gasol's 34 double-doubles lead the League. The Bulls had a breakout game from 2nd year G-F Tony Snell who scored a career high 24 points on 9 for 11 shooting, including 4 of 6 long distance shots. Derrick Rose had a hot shooting night as well, scoring 23 points on 10 for 17 attempts.  Chicago shot 51.5% for the game, one of the best outings of the season.

Forward Mike Dunleavy returned to action and was rusty after missing over a month of not playing.  Jimmy Butler aggravated a right shoulder strain and did not play in the second half. His status is not known for Thursday's game in Cleveland.

The Bulls (33-20) showed signs of the kind of offense this team can generate. The team had 26 assists and won convincingly despite being out-rebounded 45-33. Chicago won the turnover margin with a +6 for the game (13-7).  The Bulls went on a 23-8 run in the third quarter that broke open the game.

Chicago moved the ball well and found the open man who made his shot. Gasol, Snell, and Rose nearly shot 70% for the game, and when you are that hot, it usually translates to a win.

Butler's injury might prevent him from playing against Cleveland. It is hoped he could play in his first All-Star game appearance this Sunday in NYC.

The Kings (18-33) were lead by Rudy Gay's 24 points. DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points in the game.

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5 Potential Busts of 2014 NBA Draft

The 2014 NBA Draft was one of the more loaded drafts in recent memory. There were franchise changing players at the top, with plenty of strong players following right behind. While there are plenty of good players in the draft, there undoubtedly will be some that fall short of expectations. Here are some potential busts from the 2014 NBA Draft.

Aaron Gordon, Forward, Arizona: Gordon is as athletic as they come in this class, but that is about all that he has going for him currently. Like so many of the players who grew up playing AAU basketball, Gordon does not have a true position, being labeled a tweener at small forward and power forward.

Associated Press

Gordon was a top-prospect in this draft, and he falls into the bust category more because of where he was drafted and selected before. It was the first surprise of the draft that he was taken ahead of Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, Dante Exum and Noah Vonleh. When you are selected ahead of players expected to excel at the level those are, you better bring your A game.

Gordon has some ways to go on both ends of the court, and is joining a team he will have every opportunity to showcase himself. The Magic though are currently loaded at the forward positions, so Gordon will have to prove himself worthy of the minutes as he will be facing plenty of competition.

Nik Stauskas, Shooting Guard, Michigan: This pick for bust has less to do with the player, and more to do with the team he was selected by. Stauskas is joining a team that is in flux with its roster, trying to figure out who is in their long term plans and who to move on to. Not to mention the Sacramento Kings first round pick from 2013 is a shooting guard in Ben McLemore.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Stauskas can score the ball offensively, but he may not have a good chance to do it with the Kings. Getting lost in the shuffle is something Stauskas should be very worried about as players such as Rudy Gay and Travis Outlaw will be playing minutes at the same position as Stauskas in addition to McLemore. The track record the Kings have with first round picks make Stauskas a candidate to be a bust.

Tyler Ennis, Point Guard, Syracuse: Ennis is a bust candidate because he does not fit the mold of where the NBA is heading at the position. He is a smart player, but it is hard to imagine him being able to consistently stick with the super-athletes that are filling up the point guard position now.

Mark Konezny - USA TODAY Sports

He is also not a strong shooter, something teams need from their point guards. Last season at Syracuse Ennis shot only 41 percent from the field and 35 percent from the three point line. Those are numbers he must improve upon at the NBA-level to have any success; NBA teams cannot afford to have a player that offers nothing offensively on the court, especially when your defense is as in question as Ennis’ is.

Ennis also falls onto this list because of how things are looking with the Phoenix Suns. The Suns signed Isaiah Thomas from the Kings in free agency, further pushing Ennis down the depth chart. They already have breakout player Goran Dragic on the team, and are in contract negotiations with Eric Bledsoe to bring him back as well. Ennis could very well be the fourth string point guard heading into the season, firmly placing him on the bench with the bust label.

Josh Huestis, Power Forward, Stanford: It is not Huestis’ fault that he was selected in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder, but like all other players he needs to be judged by his draft selection, and he has bust written all over him. Huestis is known more for his rebounding and defense, something that is not always appreciated when it comes to evaluating draft prospects.

David Butler II - USA TODAY Sports

Huestis was also not expected to be in the mix as a first round pick, so expectations are automatically heightened for him. Getting selected to a team like the Thunder gives you time to develop your skills, but there are a slew of players ahead of Huestis currently on the roster, and playing time will be hard to come by. He also has to contend with fellow first round draft pick Mitch McGary

Huestis has a long road ahead of him to crack the rotation and get minutes with the Thunder this season. He is destined for a spot in the D-League this upcoming year.

Bruno Caboclo, Small Forward, Brazil: There is not much known about Caboclo other than he is the Brazilian Kevin Durant. ESPN international scout Fran Fraschilla also said that he was two years away from being two years away, meaning Caboclo is nowhere near ready to contribute to the Toronto Raptors.

Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency

Caboclo it has been said will be a part of the NBA roster, but it is hard to imagine him giving much positive to the Raptors. He is an extremely raw basketball player, and could be stapled to the Raptors bench for many seasons to come. Like Huestis, it is not Caboclo’s fault that he was selected where he was, but he will be judged with where he was selected.

The Raptors would have been better off getting another wing such as Rodney Hood, Jordan Adams or P.J. Hairston, all three of which were selected after Caboclo.

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Knicks Have Solid Bounce Back Effort to Defeat Kings

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Wednesday, March 26^th, 2014

New York Knicks vs. Sacramento Kings

Post Game Recap

Kelly L. Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Knicks made it a lot more difficult than it had to be Wednesday night, but they were still able to pull out a much needed victory over the Sacramento Kings by the score of 107-99. The Knicks and Kings have a history of roller coaster games in Sacramento and tonight was no different. The Knicks led by as many as 24 points but the Kings were able to get it as close as three in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless it was a nice, and necessary, bounce back win as the win puts the Knicks three back in the loss column and two in the standings with 10 to play. The Knicks will continue their west coast trip Friday with a visit to the Phoenix Suns.

Player of the Game: J.R. Smith

Smith was huge for the Knicks tonight, as he caught fire right from the beginning and never slowed down. Smith tied the Knicks franchise record for three-pointers made in a game, draining nine of his 12 attempts from deep en route to 29 points. Smith made timely basket after timely basket in the fourth quarter for the Knicks to help them bring home the victory. When the Kings cut the lead to six with about 9:30 remaining Smith nailed a three pointer to get the lead back to nine. After they got it to four with about seven minutes remaining Smith knocked down yet another three. Finally, with just over four minutes remaining and the Kings on another run knocking the Knicks lead to just two, Smith knocked down his ninth and final three of the game to put the Knicks up five. Smith was very vocal after the Los Angeles Lakers game last night, and he came up big time for the Knicks, backing up everything he said. He also added four rebounds, four assists and a block to round out his stat line.

Erza Shaw/Getty Images

Match-up of the Game Recap:

The center match-up highlighted before the game was dominated tonight by DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins was unstoppable tonight as the Knicks had little answer to slowing him down. With Tyson Chandler dealing with foul trouble Cousins had his way offensively, dominating in the paint and showing off an impressive jump shot. Cousins finished the game with a monster stat line of 32 points, 15 rebounds, a season-high eight assists, two steals and two blocks. Chandler was hampered with foul trouble, but still managed to put up a respectable line with 10 points, eight rebounds and one block in only 29 minutes.

-Positives

Carmelo Anthony put up a solid effort tonight to help get the Knicks a victory. Anthony finished the game with a game-high 36 points on 12-21 from the field, knocking down 5-8 from three point range and all seven of his free throw attempts. Anthony added five rebounds in the process, to go along with two assists, one steal and one block. Anthony had a monster third quarter, scoring 12 points to make sure the Knicks did not have a repeat of the last two games to start the second half.

Seemingly every game this season the Knicks have been at a disadvantage at the point guard position, but tonight they caught a break with Isaiah Thomas being injured, and they were able to take advantage. Rookie and second round pick Ray McCallum got the start for the Kings tonight and the Knicks were able to rattle him early on. He got it going a bit in the second half, but it was too little too late for the Kings. On the other hand, Raymond Felton put together a strong game, handing out 10 assists with zero turnovers and pulling down seven rebounds.

The Knicks got much better results from their bench tonight. They were still outscored by the Kings bench, but they got positive contributions from the players who came into the game. Pablo Prigioni delivered seven assists in 16 minutes, while Iman Shumpert provided some solid defense and Tim Hardaway Jr. provided a dagger basket on the last possession. Cole Aldrich should also be applauded for being ready to play once Amar’e Stoudemire and Chandler got into foul trouble.

Erza Shaw/Getty Images

-Negative

While the Knicks were able to pull the victory out tonight, they made it much more difficult than it had to be. Once again this team lacked the killer instinct to put away a team, as the Kings bounced back from a 24-point deficit they faced halfway through the third quarter. If not for the sharp shooting of Smith and timely baskets from players like Anthony and Hardaway Jr. this would have once again been an embarrassing and disaster of a loss for the Knicks.

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W2W4: New York Knicks vs. Sacramento Kings; March 26th, 2014

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Wednesday, March 26^th, 2014

New York Knicks vs. Sacramento Kings

Pre-Game News and Notes

The New York Knicks will look to bounce back from possibly their most embarrassing performance of the season Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings tonight. The Knicks were handled with ease by the Los Angeles Lakers, and will look to get back on track with only 11 games remaining on the season and their playoff hopes on life support. The Knicks will have revenge on their mind tonight as well to help add fuel to the fire, as the Kings won the first meeting this season at Madison Square Garden. Here are some keys to the game tonight.

Match-Up of the Game: Tyson Chandler vs. DeMarcus Cousins

cowbellkingdom.com

Chandler was non-existent in the game Tuesday night and will have to step his game up against the Kings and Cousins or else he will get embarrassed. Cousins is one of, if not the most, talented center in the NBA. He leads the Kings in points, rebounds, steals and blocks on the season, showing how great he is on both ends of the court. In the first match-up this season Cousins went for 19 points and 14 rebounds, even though he was unable to finish the game because of injury. Chandler had a strong game as well, going for 17 and 11. Cousins is prone to fouling, so if the Knicks can get Chandler involved in the offense through the pick-and-roll it could frustrate Cousins and get him in foul trouble.

-Player News and Notes

It may have looked like some players were injured last night with how they played, but the Knicks will have the same players at their disposal to use tonight. Iman Shumpert had been battling a virus but was able to suit up last night and should be out there again tonight.

For the Kings, Quincy Acy could return tonight after missing the last two games with an ankle injury. Starting point guard Isaiah Thomas is questionable with a right quad contusion after not practicing Tuesday. Thomas has been dealing with sprained ligaments in his shooting wrist, and it has been hinted that head coach Mike Malone may look to start resting Thomas.

-Give Effort

Last night the Knicks looked defeated, playing frighteningly poor against quite possibly the worst Lakers team in franchise history. The Knicks embarrassed themselves with the loss Tuesday and made an appearance in the playoffs extremely unlikely. The Knicks need to come out with more effort tonight or the Kings will run them off the court. The Knicks already suffered a loss to the Kings this season, so it would be common sense to think they will try, but as we have seen throughout the season nothing is certain with this Knicks team.

-Small Forward Battle

This could have easily been the match-up of the game as well, as Carmelo Anthony will be facing off against Rudy Gay. Both players are dynamic scorers and will be matched up together throughout the night. Anthony started slow last night, missing his first six shots, but he finished the game making his next 10-15 and ending with 29 points. He needs to get off to a better start tonight as the Knicks go only as far as Anthony will take them.

Gay is a talented scorer and has looked much better as a second option behind Cousins on the Kings than as the go-to guy. Gay can knock down jumpers and is athletic enough to get to the rim, qualities that can give above average defenders fits. The match-up between the two small forwards will be worth keeping an eye on as well as the center match-up.

-Bench Play

With J.R. Smith and Amar’e Stoudemire being inserted into the starting lineup, the bench has been unable to pickup the slack. Tim Hardaway Jr. has become the go-to option off the bench and teams are focusing on him more defensively, making his life difficult on the offensive end. Where the real problem arises is defensively for the Knicks bench. Hardaway Jr. has become a player opponents gameplan to attack; when he is in the game whoever he is guarding is getting the ball. The bench has become a weak point for the Knicks, and it was never more evident than when they were unable to hold onto a 15 point lead against the Philadelphia 76ers in the fourth quarter last weekend.

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Nets Get Back to Over .500 Against Kings

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

March 9^th, 2014

Sacramento Kings vs Brooklyn Nets Post Game Recap

Final Score: Kings 89 Nets 104

The Brooklyn Nets were able to bounce back on Sunday night against the Kings after a tough loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday night. The Nets victory on Sunday put them back over .500 at (31-30), which makes them four games behind the Toronto Raptors in the Atlantic Division.

Player of the Game: Marcus Thornton

The main player involved in the trade between the Nets and Kings before the deadline was Marcus Thornton, and on Sunday night he torched his former team. Thornton scored a team-high 27 points on 11 for 15 shooting, which included him shooting five of eight from three-point range after a tough shooting game in Boston. Thornton also had the highest +/- of any player going +22, as he was instant offense of the bench for Brooklyn.

espn.go.com

Positives:

Joe Johnson came through with a nice game for Brooklyn, as he was the leading scorer in Brooklyn's starting lineup, and saved them in the third quarter after the Kings were making a run with 11 points in the quarter. Johnson finished with 18 points on seven for 12 shooting with five assists, and two steals. Deron Williams also played well for Brooklyn, as he did a good job setting up his teams with seven assists, and was effective scoring with 10 points on four for eight shooting in the lopsided game. Williams also did a good job on defense chasing around the speedy Isaiah Thomas, as Thomas had a bad game, shooting three for 14 from the field with seven turnovers.

Along with the great game from Marcus Thornton, the Nets got pretty good play from their bench in the victory. Alan Anderson played well in 24 minutes of play, as he scored 10 points on four for 10 shooting, with three three-pointers and four rebounds. Mirza Teletovic also played well scoring nine points with four rebounds, and three assists. Teletovic also had quite the underhanded scoop in the second quarter on a post move.

Negatives:

The Kings duo of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay was very good in the loss, as they combined for 48 points. Cousins was the games leading scorer with 28 points on 13 for 19 shooting with 20 rebounds, as he was an absolute monster in the paint, as his 20 rebounds were just seven less than Nets as a whole team. Gay was also very good despite having to leave for part of the game with a sprained ankle after landing on the foot of Shaun Livingston on a three-point attempt. Gay finished with 20 points on nine for 18 shooting in 32 minutes.

Brooklyn came into Sunday's game without Kevin Garnett, who has been dealing with back spasms, and the injury bug hit the Nets again during the win. Just a minute into the game Paul Pierce was forced to leave the game with a shoulder injury to his right arm where he has been dealing with a stinger that forced him to miss time in the game in Boston. Later in the game Andrei Kirilenko sprained his ankle and had to leave, so the Nets may very well be playing in one of their biggest games of the season on Monday without three rotation players.

Next up for the Nets will be one of the biggest games of the season against the Raptors on Monday night in Brooklyn.

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Knicks Fall in Overtime to Western Conference Cellar-Dwelling Kings

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Wednesday, February 12^th, 2014

Sacramento Kings vs. New York Knicks

Post Game Recap

The Knicks will be heading into the All-Star break with a lot of negativity surrounding the team after a 106-101 overtime loss to the Kings Wednesday night. The Kings have the worst record in the Western Conference and had lost seven in a row on the road, including last night by 10 points in Cleveland, but were unfazed coming into Madison Square Garden. These are the kind of losses that can result in people losing jobs and players being moved. This could very well be the last time we see Mike Woodson on the sidelines as the Knicks coach and some players wearing a Knicks jersey. By this time next week and into Thursday there is a good chance this team will look much different. The Knicks will start their All-Star break now and will be back on the court Tuesday in Memphis to start off a four game in five nights stretch that will take place in four different cities. If this isn’t rock bottom for the Knicks they are definitely close.

Jim McIsaac

Player of the Game: Amar’e Stoudemire

Tonight Stoudemire turned back the block and the Knicks needed every bit of it. Stoudemire played 37 minutes, scoring 20 points on 10-15 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. He also had one assist and two blocks on the night. Stoudemire was the only Knick with the knack in the fourth quarter as he picked up all the scoring slack being left behind by Carmelo Anthony, who didn’t score in the fourth quarter or overtime. Stoudemire is by far the most efficient scorer the Knicks have yet for some reason he is not relied upon on by Mike Woodson unless there is a necessity to use Stoudemire, such as injuries like there was tonight.

Match up of the Game Recap:

Tyson Chandler and DeMarcus Cousins did not disappoint tonight as both came to play. The only problem was that Cousins was unable to make it through the full game. He did his damage even with only getting 33 minutes, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Chandler was not far behind, scoring 17 points and pulling down 11 rebounds of his own. It was a hard fought match up between the two, but it seemed like a blessing in disguise for the Kings when Cousins went down; on the night they were -17 with him on the court.

-Positives

Anthony’s first quarter. He was on fire out of the gate, scoring 17 points in the first quarter. He knocked down his last seven shots of the quarter, finishing 7-9 from the field for the quarter. The Kings threw a number of people at Anthony to slow him down but none were able to do the job. The only player able to stop Anthony was himself and Woodson; will be touched on later on.

Jeremy Tyler received only 11 minutes but he once again made the most of them. He did not score tonight but he had five rebounds in his time on the court. The Knicks actually out rebounded the Kings tonight, a surprise given how strong of a rebounding team the Kings are, ranking 13^th in the NBA in rebounding per game compared to 26^th for the Knicks.

-Negatives

Anthony the final three quarters of the game did not help the Knicks out too much. After a scorching first quarter he finished the game 12-28, going 5-19 after the first quarter. He missed his final six shots and didn’t score in overtime when the Knicks needed him most as he continued his troubling trend of shooting worse as the game went on. He also played 48 minutes in the game, something that could play into why he struggled so much in the second half as he became fatigued.

Jim O'Connor/USA TODAY Sports

The shooting guard play was bad for the Knicks tonight. What made it worse, Iman Shumpert was having a good game before he was forced to leave with a hip pointer in the third quarter after knocking down a three pointer. With no J.R. Smith tonight the onus fell on Tim Hardaway Jr. and he did not step up tonight. He finished with a poor shooting night, going 3-12 overall and 1-6 from the three point line. He was unable to also stay in front of whoever he was guarding as the Kings picked him out and went at him whenever they had the chance.

The Knicks defense again was mind boggling, as they double-teamed mindlessly leaving shooters open throughout the game. Tonight it was New York native Jimmer Fredette. Fredette scored 24 points, going 9-14 overall and 6-8 from deep; when I say deep I mean deep as Fredette was knocking down jumpers feet behind the three point line. The embarrassing part about this is that Fredette has barely been able to crack the Kings rotation recently as he hadn’t even scored 24 points in the month of February combined.

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W2W4: Sacramento Kings vs. New York Knicks; February 12th, 2014

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Wednesday, February 12^th, 2014

Sacramento Kings vs. New York Knicks

Pre-Game News and Notes

The Knicks and Kings will be tipping off Wednesday night for the last time before the All-Star break and ending what has been disappointing first halves for each team. The Knicks came into the season with high expectations after making it into the second round of the playoffs last season. The Kings came into the season with a new coach and outlook and made moves all throughout the first season to try improving their team, but they look to be heading for the lottery for an eighth season in a row. This is an important game for the Knicks as the hot seat for Mike Woodson is on fire and after the All-Star break the schedule is not easy as they will play four games in four different cities in five nights. Here are some things to look for in the game tonight.

-Player News and Notes

Kenyon Martin will be out of the lineup again for the Knicks, meaning more playing time for Amar’e Stoudemire and Jeremy Tyler again. The two have played extremely well recently with the extended minutes and are two of the brighter spots currently on the Knicks.

For the Kings, starting point guard Isaiah Thomas is dealing with and playing through a sprained wrist so it is something to keep an eye on. You would think that would help the Knicks slow down the undersized yet dynamic point guard, but you wouldn’t have known from the stats he has put up in the games since that was announced.

Rob Carr/Getty Images

-Opposite of Road Warriors

The Kings, who are one of eight teams currently with a worse record in the NBA than the Knicks, struggle mightily on the road. The Knicks need to take advantage and take them out of the game early on from the start. The Kings are on a seven game losing streak on the road and shooting only 41 percent from the field over that time. This is a game the Knicks need and should win.

A big problem over that span is Rudy Gay, who has struggled since returning from his Achilles injury. He has scored only 19 points on 6-23 shooting in his two games back. Gay also struggled in his last appearance at Madison Square Garden, going 4-21 from the field last February as a member of the Toronto Raptors.

-Melo Bounce Back

The Knicks were ultimately done in Sunday afternoon against the Thunder because of an uncharacteristic scoring output from Carmelo Anthony, who shot 5-19 for only 15 points. The Knicks will need more out of their leading man to top upper echelon teams such as the Thunder and even the lower tiered teams like the Kings. Anthony had been on fire before facing off against the Thunder and will look to get back on track tonight.

The fourth quarter is the point to keep an eye on Anthony. He is playing heavy minutes this season, leading the NBA at 38.6 per game. This could be having an effect on him down the stretch of games, as he struggles shooting in the fourth quarter with a career low 36.7 percent. He is 0-8 in his last two fourth quarters; both losses to top Western Conference teams in the Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers. 

-Man behind the Mask

J.R. Smith suffered a small fracture in his left cheek bone Sunday afternoon when he fell and was kneed in the face by Kevin Durant. He was able to return to that game but looked like a boxer who had just gone a few rounds. Smith will not let that keep him off the court, as he has been fitted for a mask and is expected to suit up Wednesday night.

Smith, like many of his teammates, struggled to shoot the ball Sunday as Anthony faltered the rest of the team followed suit. But like Anthony, Smith had been playing some of the best basketball of the season prior to that, averaging 18.2 points per game on 46 percent shooting in his last 11 contests. He will also look to get back on track against a soft Kings defense that surrenders 103.6 points per game.

**Update: J.R. Smith will actually not be playing tonight. The mask he was supposed to wear came in late and he was uncomfortable playing with it so he will be out tonight. Tim Hardaway Jr. is expected to see an increase in minutes and Iman Shumpert will be more relied upon as well.**

Match up of the Game: Tyson Chandler vs. DeMarcus Cousins

Chandler will have his hands full tonight with Cousins, quite possibly the best overall Center in the NBA and easily the most talented offensively. Cousins is the main cog in the Kings plans and they go as he goes, evident from the 0-9 record they have in games he did not play in or finish. On the season he is averaging 22.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.6 steals per game, all above his career averages and career highs at this point.

Chandler will need to be on top of his game tonight for the Knicks to pull out the victory. He has struggled at times this season, seeming to lack the emotion and toughness that the Knicks expected from him game in and game out as their defensive anchor. Tonight his defense on Cousins will be important but the Knicks would be smart to get him a little involved offensively. Cousins is foul prone and if they allow Chandler to go at him a little with occasional post ups or constant coverage in the pick-and-roll they could frustrate him and take the Kings most important player out of the game completely.

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Kings Release New Renderings of Future Arena

Written by Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Today marks a pretty monumental time for the Sacramento Kings, as they released their first renderings for the new arena they will call home starting in the 2016-2017 season. The Kings were as close as any franchise to being relocated to Seattle as recently as last season as a Seattle-based group made a strong bid to buy the team from the Maloof brothers last year.

Finalizing a plan to get a new arena with new Kings Owner Vivek Ranadive was as important as any to keeping the team from re-locating outside of California. The purchasing of the land, known as Downtown Plaza, for the new arena was finalized last week and construction is expected to start this summer. The sum for which Ranadive and his group paid for the land plot was unknown.

Ranadive was quoted in a press release saying, “When we bought the Sacramento Kings, we committed to the NBA and to the people of Sacramento that we wouldn’t just build a new arena, but that we’d build a world-class entertainment venue, an arena truly for the 21^st century. Today is another major step forward in that effort.” Ranadive later said in the video, “It is going to be cashless, ticket-less, an experience like none other. It is NBA 3.0.”

The building of the arena will be taking place on the site of an old mall, giving people a visualization of the size of the place this is going. The most intriguing part of the new renderings is the sheer mass of the atrium and entrance. There is a 7,500 foot grand entrance that will be made completely out of glass and can open up horizontally. 17,000 people can fit inside but as President Chris Granger says in the video, they can be joined by a whole city because of a 50x100 foot window that overlooks the lower bowl where the court is from the outside.

Photo Courtesy of the Sacramento Kings

The arena interior will be designed by AECOM and will have similarities to the home courts of the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers because of a massive video board that will hang down at mid-court. There will be nice views inside the stadium as clean, open concourses will deliver views of the court and number of suites that will be in the arena.

This new stadium has been long in making, as talks have been taking place for the better part of the decade to get a new arena. The current arena, Sleep Train Arena, is aging and was opened in 1988 outside the downtown area. The work put into the new $448 million dollar arena plan was extensive, as meetings were held over the past six months brainstorming different ideas. There were even 20,000 public responses from a survey that the Kings released to the public. The city of Sacramento is on the hook for $258 million of the projected cost, as the Kings will cover the remaining $190 million.

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The Rudy Effect

Written By Clevis Murray 

Rudy Gay has become one of the most talented Small Forwards in the NBA after being originally drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2006 with the 8th overall pick and immediately being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies along with Stromile Swift for one of the best defenders in the NBA at the time in Shane Battier. Gay was off to a great start in Memphis and maintained great health but failed helping the Grizzlies reach the playoffs in his first four seasons without any major health issues.

Gay was off to a great start during the 2010-2011 season with hopes of making the playoffs for the first time still in mind. On February 15th, 2011 Rudy suffered a left shoulder subluxation which would end his season and perhaps his best as a pro averaging 19.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 47% from the field & 40% from the 3-point line.  With their franchise player going down it was fair to guess the Grizzlies would not make the playoffs.  Surprisingly, the Memphis Grizzlies did in fact advance to the playoffs for the first time in five seasons with a 46-36 record.  The Grizzlies opponent in the 1st round were the 4x NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs led by All-Time great Tim Duncan. The Grizzlies would eventually win the series in six games becoming only the second team in NBA history to defeat a #1 seed in a best-of-seven series thanks to the emergence of Zach Randolph, Memphis would eventually lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games but proved they did not need Rudy Gay to be successful.

Rudy Gay returned for the 2011-2012 season and played in a career-low 42 games. Despite the low number of games played by Gay, the Grizzlies earned the 4th seed in the Western Conference and a first round matchup with the new look Los Angeles Clippers but would lose in seven games. This was Rudy Gay's first and only trip to the playoffs in his young career and he struggled mightily from the field shooting 42% from the field and 21% from the 3-point line.  During the following season on January 30th 2013, Rudy Gay was traded to the Toronto Raptors in a three-team deal which also included the Detroit Pistons.  The Grizzlies traded their star for Tayshaun Prince who was called the "league's best perimeter defender" by Robert Pera in a salary dumping move which cleared up $37 million in committed salary, Gay was bound to be traded when Robert Pera took over as the Grizzlies owner on October 25, 2012 as he had made previous trades to clear up cap space.

With Rudy Gay now out of Memphis and in Toronto the Grizzlies surprisingly had their best season in franchise history and shocked the basketball community when they made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals but their season ended via a sweep by the San Antonio Spurs. The Grizzlies did improve their ball movement once Gay was traded as their assist rate increased 8.6%. Former teammate Tony Allen believed Memphis improved once Gay was traded saying

"Well, I just think we turned into the team that we were two years ago, without the guy that we traded."

Grizzlies Forward Zach Randolph agreed with Allen "I think we're a better team."

Memphis was 29-15 (.659) before the Gay trade & 27-11 (.711) after.

Rudy Gay had a very brief career with the Raptors which lasted only 51 games and he became known for banning stat sheets in the locker room. With advanced stats only becoming more popular we are now beginning to see that Rudy Gay is one of the worst players with a max level contract. While in Memphis he wasn't known for hurting his team but in Toronto it became more prevalent as he shoot 38% from the field.  The last time Rudy shot .500 or higher in a Raptors uniform was April 16th, 2013.  Gay averaged 2 assists per game while shooting the ball 19.3 times on average during games which hurt ball movement and the development of his teammates. 

On November 11th, 2013 Rudy went 11-37 from the field against the Rockets and finished with 29 points. LeBron James commented on Rudy's 37 shot game by saying "If you give me 37 shots in a game, I’d put up 60 easy" With his shooting woes Rudy was asked a question if he would come off the bench and responded

"Me? Would I ever come off the bench? No. I think this team needs me in the starting lineup. Maybe on a different team, maybe in the long run...But here? No."........The selfishness was evident. 

One should notice that players who love to shoot the ball come off the bench like J.R. Smith, Nate Robinson, Isaiah Thomas & Jamal Crawford. In a different era Rudy would've been known as a player trying to do everything he can to make his team win but in the analytical era it's the complete opposite.

On December 9th, 2013 Rudy Gay was traded to the Sacramento Kings in a salary dumping move by the Raptors due to his contract having two-years and $37.2M left on it and also Raptors GM Masai Ujiri getting the hint that the Rudy Gay & DeMar DeRozan combo wasn't meant to be and hurted the development of Jonas Valanciunas. Since the Rudy trade the Raptors are 10-4, 1st in the Atlantic, 4th in the Eastern Conference and were on a 5-game win streak entering Sunday before losing to the 2x defending NBA Champion Miami Heat. The Raptors offense has also increased by 3.3 per 100 possessions and as for the Kings, well they are still the Kings and are 4-7 since the trade.

With that being said, Rudy Gay is a tremendous NBA Small Forward but takes too many shots and isn't a willing to sacrifice for the team and is now gaining a reputation as being a cancer within various franchises.  With Memphis & Toronto improving dramatically since his departure from the team Gay's value around the league could be going down with Grantland writer Zach Lowe saying "I know GMs who say they wouldn't touch him now in free agency for the mid-level exception."

Keep in kind this is not a hate article about Rudy Gay but more of an observation, thanks for the read.

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