Kings lose to a "scab" EC team?!?!

[Laker Fan]

How do the mighty Kings lose to one of the WORST teams in the NBA when they played them AT FULL STRENGTH (Bobby Jackson doesn't count) on one days rest? How could this be happening? It must be the conspiracy gods manipulating it so LA can catch them before the season is over! It's either that or sometimes good teams lose to bad teams, wow, what a concept!

Lamar Odom kicked their tails tonight, he ate them alive on the boards and they dominated inside, and I do mean DOMINATED. Webber, his 22 points aside, (6 from the charity stripe) looked positively lost out there tonight and, I might add, the Kings played a much slower paced game than you normally see them play. Miami torched them on the break and ran their legs clean off, I thought that was Sacramento's gig?

I guess maybe because a .419 ball club from the east that still actually has a chance to make the playoffs (a .419 club!!!!) this doesn't count as losing to a scab team does it?

All kidding aside, it just proves that no one is invincible and sometimes the farmboy slays the dragon, just like LA's loss to Atlanta.

[westkoast]

just like LA's loss to Atlanta.

No the Laker loss was worse....At least Miami has Jones and Odom.  Plus Atlanta has no answer for Shaq.

[WayOutWest]

just like LA's loss to Atlanta.

No the Laker loss was worse....At least Miami has Jones and Odom.  Plus Atlanta has no answer for Shaq.

Agreed, Miami is trying to win they are not selling off all their assests in the hopes of playing in the FA market like the Hawks.

[Laker Fan]

What, are you guys switching sides now? Whether Miami wants to win or not is not the point. Miami is 26-36, 10 games under .500, so bloody what they want to make the playoffs! When you are still in the hunt for the 7th seed (not even the 8th) with numbers in the junior conference it makes you a quality team?! An offense that ranks 28th in the league drops 102 on the Kings and it's not the same?

I'm quite sure what's left of Atlanta's TEAM, wants the win as well, not the front office that is in the middle of a fire sale. Sorry boys, whether Atlanta is playing for a post season spot or not, the players want to win when they hit the floor, but they absolutely suck, just like Miami absolutely sucks, and they both rose and punked teams they don't even belong on the same court with. Miami fighting for the postseason, and actually being the current 7th seed win a record like theirs qualifies them as scabs, pure and simple. No excuse for Sacramento to lose to them, none whatsoever.

[westkoast]

What, are you guys switching sides now? Whether Miami wants to win or not is not the point. Miami is 26-36, 10 games under .500, so bloody what they want to make the playoffs! When you are still in the hunt for the 7th seed (not even the 8th) with numbers in the junior conference it makes you a quality team?! An offense that ranks 28th in the league drops 102 on the Kings and it's not the same?

I'm quite sure what's left of Atlanta's TEAM, wants the win as well, not the front office that is in the middle of a fire sale. Sorry boys, whether Atlanta is playing for a post season spot or not, the players want to win when they hit the floor, but they absolutely suck, just like Miami absolutely sucks, and they both rose and punked teams they don't even belong on the same court with. Miami fighting for the postseason, and actually being the current 7th seed win a record like theirs qualifies them as scabs, pure and simple. No excuse for Sacramento to lose to them, none whatsoever.

Switching sides or being truthfull?  Atlanta was like 19 and 30 something when the Lakers faced them the other night.  Same situation except the Hawks have less talent.  Especially at the 5.  The difference is the Lakers can play better defense than the Kings.  PLUS the heats are the better of the two on the offensive end.  They let the Hawks drop 94!!  Im more suprised to see the Lakers give up 94 points to the Hawks than to see the Kings give up 100+ to the heat.  

No one is making an excuse for the Kings.......I think the Laker loss is worse.  Why would I ever make an excuse for the Kings anyways lol

[Voice in the Wilderness]

Do I sense discontent from the Purple & Gold nation?  Disturbances in the cosmic flow form La La Land?  Ah, desiring that the old "people who live in glasss houses" axiom be applied equally.  Of course that can not be the case as it would disturb the balance of the universe.   To maintain the proper cosmic equilibrium those that are in possession of a claim to dynasty status are subject to more slings and arrows than those whose sole claim to fame is showcasing a new bridesmaid outfit annually.  Even those in "temporary" possession of the crown do not rise in level to that of the dynasty claimants when it comes to receiving the verbal barbs of their fellow bball fanatics.

Let's maintain a peaceful equilibrium on all planes of existance here.  Just accept the poisonous jabs with the same level of dignity that you expect of those to whom you hurl venomous dialogue.  Although it is tough to accept it is the way of Mother Nature and she is not to be fooled.

[Guest_Randy]

Do I sense discontent from the Purple & Gold nation?  Disturbances in the cosmic flow form La La Land?  Ah, desiring that the old "people who live in glasss houses" axiom be applied equally.  Of course that can not be the case as it would disturb the balance of the universe.   To maintain the proper cosmic equilibrium those that are in possession of a claim to dynasty status are subject to more slings and arrows than those whose sole claim to fame is showcasing a new bridesmaid outfit annually.  Even those in "temporary" possession of the crown do not rise in level to that of the dynasty claimants when it comes to receiving the verbal barbs of their fellow bball fanatics.

Let's maintain a peaceful equilibrium on all planes of existance here.  Just accept the poisonous jabs with the same level of dignity that you expect of those to whom you hurl venomous dialogue.  Although it is tough to accept it is the way of Mother Nature and she is not to be fooled.

Let's maintain a peaceful equilibrium on all planes of existance here. Just accept the poisonous jabs with the same level of dignity that you expect of those to whom you hurl venomous dialogue. Although it is tough to accept it is the way of Mother Nature and she is not to be fooled.

I just want to know when Mother Nature took off her Lakers jersey -- she looked sooo good in it.  If she leaves it off, there will no more power in the force and the universe will begin to randomly disintegrate -- there's more at stake here, people, than Shaq, Kobe and PJ getting another ring and Malone and GP getting their first -- the very fabric of our existence rests on the NBA title this year.  Be afraid -- be very, very afraid.   :unsure:  

[Laker Fan]

The difference is the Lakers can play better defense than the Kings.  PLUS the heats are the better of the two on the offensive end.

Sorry WestKoast, but if you are going to make such claims, make sure you research them. Atlanta is the better offensive team, NOT Miami. Miami ranks 27th in the league in points scored, only Toronto and Houston are worse.

I don't disagree with you it is more surprising to see LA give up 94 to Atlanta, but let's not say there is a big difference here, there isn't. Sacramento lost to a team they should have beat the daylight out of, period.

[Randy]

Dan,

I have to agree with Westcoast one -- I don't think that Miami is loaded (VERY weak in the front court) but I think that Miami has several legit players:  

Look at it this way:

Miami:
  Butler, Odom, Jones, Wade

Atlanta:
  Jackson, Terry, Person, Przybilla

I think that Atlanta has a better (and deeper) frontcourt but with Miami that really isn't saying much -- however, Shaq was playing and their entire frontcourt shouldn't have been able to play against him at the same time.  I think Odom, Jones and Wade are solid players -- better than what Atlanta can put on the floor (although I do like Jackson -- why can't the Lakers pick him up?  Oh, that's right, he plays SG, lol).  Atlanta has pretty much purged their roster and their offense has gone down a great deal now that SAR has packed his bags for Portland.  I think a loss against Atlanta, IMO, is worse than a loss against Miami.  Although, I did notice that Wade was out that game -- IMO, it was pretty pathetic for both the Lakers AND the Kings.  

It was good to see the Lakers actually play a little DEFENSE today -- in the first three quarters they looked hopeless and helpless against the Nets -- then the Lakers started waking up and actually started playing some D.  Fox DOESN'T look good at this point -- I like Cook (okay, he needs to work on the defense), his shooting and rebounding are solid, love Rush's game, Fish looks slow in transition and Medvendenko, not even going there -- he at least works hard most of the time.  GP had a good game in the fourth -- so did Shaq.  I would REALLY like to see Shaq start becoming motivated on the defensive end of the court for the ENTIRE game -- that would be nice to see.  I hope that Malone comes back and challenges him like he was doing earlier in the season.

Did you hear Kobe?  People want to talk about AI but this guy has HEART!  Doesn't want to go on the IL and he wants to play through it -- wish Shaq was half the player Kobe is.

[westkoast]

The difference is the Lakers can play better defense than the Kings.  PLUS the heats are the better of the two on the offensive end.

Sorry WestKoast, but if you are going to make such claims, make sure you research them. Atlanta is the better offensive team, NOT Miami. Miami ranks 27th in the league in points scored, only Toronto and Houston are worse.

I don't disagree with you it is more surprising to see LA give up 94 to Atlanta, but let's not say there is a big difference here, there isn't. Sacramento lost to a team they should have beat the daylight out of, period.

I think that is a somewhat misleading stat especially towards the second half of the season.

Since the all-star break Miami has been the better team offensively.  Over the past 10 games they are ranked 5th in the league offensively.  While Atlanta is 18th in the league.  Miami has scored 100+ points 5 times this year and Atlanta twice.  Both teams have 3 players who score around 16-17 points a game and they both shoot a similar shoot %.  Jones, Wade, and Odom are better offensive players than the hawks big 3.

Odom being hurt and Rahim leaving the team also has an effect on those numbers from over the course of the whole season.   I don't always go by one set of stats.

[SPURSX3]

hey, we lost to atlanta for crying out loud....dont knock them because they lost to a trash team.  it happens.

[spursfan101]

Who cares, EVERYBODY lost to the scrubs this weekend!

[SPURSX3]

we didnt did we.........?


 

[spursfan101]

Championship teams don't falter x3.  Of course we didn't. And to answer the Laker fans questions of "well, how would YOU do if you lost Tim Duncan just like we lost Malone or Kobe", I think the Spurs bench has answered that question.

[JoMal]

I may be a bit late in coming into this discussion, but I have a great excuse. I have been in Sonoma County Wine Country the last three days and therefore removed from such trite things as watching any basketball games.

While I think Danny has some valid points about the Kings losing to the Heat, there also are some other issues to consider. For one, Sacramento has won like three times in twenty years in Miami. As they do in New York and typically in Atlanta, the Kings like to take these games off annually to make it look like they just can't beat certain teams in their home towns. Regardless of the records of these teams, the Kings enjoy rolling over for them so they can claim they had slow legs or the East Coast trip drains them or whatever. The Bottom line is that these teams always look forward to playing the Kings at home, so they play them extremely hard because they know the Kings will not.

BTW, the Heat started the season 5-15, so they have played .500 ball since then, which is pretty stellar for the Eastern Conference.

Webber is having some problems on defense. He looks tentative on his lateral movements and active forwards like Odom are taking him off the dribble with ease. On offense, he can still manage to score whenever he wants, but what the Kings need from Chris is rebounding and defense and he currently at least is not doing either as well as he did in the first game of his return. Adelman is watching this aspect of Webber's game more closely then anything else.

But the rest of the team has to scrap the "cutout" defense, where they stand around like cardboard cutouts while active teams like the Heat run through them like a dribbling drill.

Plus, the next time that Peja pursues a loose ball near him will be when Serbia becomes the 51st state of the Union. There is such a thing referred to as "boxing out for a rebound" and as far as I know, the NBA allows ALL players, including the Kings, to do this. Why nobody has ever instructed them of this novelty is beyond me, but the ball does not suddenly become electrofied once it hits the rim, so the Kings do not have to leap away from the ball after it does so. The Heat enjoyed a wonderful time around the King's allegedly defended basket, taking their time shooting and missing shots like it was a shoot around where the Kings players practically retrieved the misses and tossed them back to the Heat players for another chance.

At times, I have to wonder who is teaching the Kings players on what to do on defense?