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In the rookie game

For the first time in six years NBA All-Star Weekend will have a touch of Sacramento.
Rookies Tyreke Evans and Omri Casspi were selected for the 2010 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam February 12 in Dallas.

The game that's features first-year players against second-year players has its rosters of nine players voted on by league assistant coaches. The lead assistants from the All Star coaching staffs will coach the teams.

The selection of the Evans and Casspi are a surprise to no one. Evans is the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year, averaging 20.8 points. Casspi has been a revelation among late first-round picks, averaging 12.2 points.

Jason Thompson appeared to be a lock for the sophomore squad about a month ago. But his production has tailed off as the Kings have struggled.

Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller were the last Kings to participate in All-Star Weekend when both were on the Western Conference All-Star team and Stojakovic finished second in the 3-Point Shootout.

Poor Thompson...but he really has struggled in the last month.

Thread title is misleading! I knew what you meant tho!

How did Thompson not make it, even with these last month struggles?!

Lightning Strike wrote:How did Thompson not make it, even with these last month struggles?!

We don't have a big publicity machine behind us. Our guys always have to earn it.and that's fine by me...

It is dissapointing about Thompson, but he has been so up and down I'm not surprised.

Yeah, I would say that I hope it motivates JT, but I don't think his problem is a lack of motivation.

But good to hear about Omri and Tyreke, even though it was pretty much expected. The rookie team's only hope though is that this game is completely nuts and up and down--which it has been in recent years, so they have hope. But if the Sophomore team ever decides to slow it down and use their bigs, they should dominate the rooks.

Good to see us getting some love, but Thompson should have been on there....

Congrats Tyreke and Omri!

I think the Kings are badly in need of this break, and I hope JT takes this break as an opportunity to pull the tampon out of his butt.

This is the stuff Thompson has had to deal with in the last game.

In the 1st half he missed all 6 shots (3 were on one play where he tried to tip in a ball 3 times) then he was pulled.

In the 2nd half he hit his only shots on 2 very tough jumpers (one was a solid back to the basket move) then was pulled for the rest of the game.

Right now when he does wrong he gets pulled when he does right he gets pulled.....

Thompson had 6 rebounds in 15mins which would have been an 15 rebound game for him in 36 minutes and had even just started to heat up shooting. It is a myth that the guy brings nothing if he struggles offensively. The team was .500 with Thompson and Hawes starting this year and way below .500 when Thompson is on the bench.

It is unfortunate that our own announcers are contributing mightily to the whole perception of other people around the league by running mouth EVERY BROADCAST and during the afternoon show about how JT bitches to the refs too much.

NEWSFLASH GRANT:

EVERY top NBA player and all the others bitch to the refs. Corey Maggette was t'ed up the other night because he said one too many thing to Dan whathisname - the pretty easygoing older black ref because he was frustrated that he waas having the worst shooting game of his life.

I just think that we need to stop contributing to the building of a bad rep here. JT plays energetically, tough and physical, adn usually has it taken to him in the same manner. that's part of the NBA post game. As he matures and gets more solid bodied, he will no longer need to make stupid holds and will start getting more fouls called FOR him when the guys trying to guard him grab and hold. It's pretty much the same thing that Tyreke is seeing right now. He would be averaging 5-7 more ppg and have much better FG% and Asst/TO numbers if he was getting the star level calls that he will start seeing in the next couple of years.

I don't blame JT for bitching at the refs. He has a target on his back.

so....Paul is out for the all-star game. Who gets added to the West squad? Evans perhaps as PG? Its certainly a possibility. Although, Ellis has a higher chance if they add another guard.

darkadun wrote:so....Paul is out for the all-star game. Who gets added to the West squad? Evans perhaps as PG? Its certainly a possibility. Although, Ellis has a higher chance if they add another guard.

There is zero chance Evans makes it over Chauncey Billups.

Isn't Roy injured? So what happens if both CP3 and Roy miss the game? Billups and Ellis/Evans?