Minnesota (12-48) at Sacramento (27-34)

[Calinks]

Good game fellas. I really like this game thread. It's the most comprehensive game thread I have seen. K-Mart is a beast.

[theGreatRC]

Yeah, that a-rod dude is a beast at making game threads.

[Ballings7]

I basically watched the Spurs tonight, already decided I would anyway because that was the more meaningful game coming in.

When I was watching the 1st qtr and up to the 2nd, I didn't like the way the game was going. Saw it still wasn't good when checking up on it.

So didn't get to see Kevin's 48, definitely impressive, but it means less because of the loss. Which is a shame.

Another horrible loss. I'd guess rebounding and interior defense did us in once again.

[SacKingZZZ]

No, not really either. The TWolves were freaking HOT from midrange. At one point every single shot seemed to be going in.

[Ballings7]

I don't think the Hawes/Williams front court duo should be judged based on how they perform at the end of this season. They need a lot more time practicing and playing together before they can be expected to be a real "duo".

Agree. On paper they actually make quite the complimentary duo in fact. More time is needed for sure and hopefully that will be plentiful in the coming months/years.

Agreed, guys. As well as natural improvement to their games.

[Ballings7]

Chris Richard had a nice lil' game for himself . He's going to be another one of those solid helper big men in this league.

No, not really either. The TWolves were freaking HOT from midrange. At one point every single shot seemed to be going in.

Ah, alright then.

Though Craig Smith couldn't miss with 18 pts on 8-9 FG.

[Sac Fan in Clipper town]

Effort levels not there. Play some kids, there's nothing left to play for this season. Fans want to see the future also.

[KingInExile]

Theus sent a message tonight and it was well deserved. The young guys got more experience and that is what we need to be focusing on people! There is no miracle comeback this year. It's going to be a long summer and this franchise needs to get a look at all the young players it's stacked up for the last couple of years.

The only message Theus sent last night was that if you are not playing well, you won't be paying at the end of the game...simple as that. Miller was playing like crap all game while Spencer and Williams were making the most of the time they had on the floor. Simple choice to go with the guys who are working. Although Salmons played well early, he was starting to make dumb decisions towards the end. Simple decision to yank a guy who is showing signs of being a liability for someone else.

Don't read more into this coaching decision than is actually there. His decision had more to do with who was producing last night and less to do with "development opportunity". It just so happened that the young bigs were the ones producing.

On a similar note, Jerry made an excellent point during the game last night with respect to playing time distribution. A bunch of you are screaming "play the young guys, they need all the opportunity to develop". Well that conflicts with a critical need of Petrie's right now, which is to carefully evaluate the vets on the team so he can make some decisions on who will stay and who will go this summer. And since he will most likely be shopping some of those vets this summer, he needs to make sure he continues to showcase them to potential trading partners. I'm pretty sure Petrie is secure with the young guys he has; he has a good idea about their potential and he knows what the coaching staff will do to develop them. It's not so easy with the vets, though.

[KingInExile]

Gomes will have a monster night against us.

17pts on 8-17 shooting, 7 boards, 2 assists and a steal. Maybe not a "monster" night, but certainly one of his better performances of the last several weeks.

[kandiking]

good game, i imagine you just want to see what your young players can do, of all the teams i can see your team benefitting the most from tanking, because there's such a buildup of teams within 4 games of you in the east, and they all want to win. BTW hawes will be solid.

[ICMTM]

I didn't say the Kings are better without Artest. I said Martin is better without Artest. There's a big difference between those 2 statements.

Then Martin needs to learn how to play with others.

[KF10]

-= original quote snipped =-



Then Martin needs to learn how to play with others.

To be fair, Martin is starting to show promise in his playmaking skills...He shows that he could play through the flow of the offense and make other players better....Even though, it doesnt really show in the stats but it is there....

[ICMTM]

Define promise...

[KingInExile]

Define promise...

If the posts were available, I would say go back a few years and read all old post regarding Peja and his "potential" for the definition of "promise". As time goes by I see so many similarities between the two in the "potential" each have had at this stage of their career.

[ICMTM]

As long as we recognize how it ended with Peja I buy that!

[KF10]

Define promise...

I truly believe that Martin will develop his playmaking skills. He is still young and eager to know...As evident, Martin has a good to great court awareness...There is no denying about that...Even his scouting report before entering the NBA it says that he has a great court awareness for a SG... Eh, either way, I will not be surprised that in his prime he averages around 4/5 assists per game...I see Martin just a level below of a superstar in his prime...That's pretty damn good... Eh, that's my view of Martin....

[BMiller52]

-= original quote snipped =-


If the posts were available, I would say go back a few years and read all old post regarding Peja and his "potential" for the definition of "promise". As time goes by I see so many similarities between the two in the "potential" each have had at this stage of their career.

Peja never showed the aggressiveness Kevin showed last night, and he whined a lot. Kevin doesn't whine. He's also had more clutch plays in his 2-3 years of actually playing than Peja had in his 7. I think he'll work on his ball handling this summer, and if he does IMO that could put him on the next level right below superstar. Sort of where TMac is right now IMO.

[sackings916]

-= original quote snipped =-



I truly believe that Martin will develop his playmaking skills. He is still young and eager to know...As evident, Martin has a good to great court awareness...There is no denying about that...Even his scouting report before entering the NBA it says that he has a great court awareness for a SG... Eh, either way, I will not be surprised that in his prime he averages around 4/5 assists per game...I see Martin just a level below of a superstar in his prime...That's pretty damn good... Eh, that's my view of Martin....

There's some things you can't teach. You can't turn a scorer into a playmaker. I think Kmarts playmaking can get slightly better, but I think him averaging 5 assists a game is a stretch. He may not even get to Artest's level, who is putting up 4 a game.

[KF10]

-= original quote snipped =-



There's some things you can't teach. You can't turn a scorer into a playmaker. I think Kmarts playmaking can get slightly better, but I think him averaging 5 assists a game is a stretch. He may not even get to Artest's level, who is putting up 4 a game.

Why makes you say that? I know he wont be a great playmaker but he is capable of putting around 4/5 assists during his prime...Artest is averaging 4ish assists because he causes mismatches in the post and the opposing team double (or even triple team him) thus our shooters are open...When Martin gets better on his ball handling and develops some sort of turnaround jumper, opposing teams will see Martin as a HUGE threat moreso as Artest...Again, he still has a great court awareness as a SG. (Even his college scouting report says that and etc...).

[SacKingZZZ]

-= original quote snipped =-


The only message Theus sent last night was that if you are not playing well, you won't be paying at the end of the game...simple as that. Miller was playing like crap all game while Spencer and Williams were making the most of the time they had on the floor. Simple choice to go with the guys who are working. Although Salmons played well early, he was starting to make dumb decisions towards the end. Simple decision to yank a guy who is showing signs of being a liability for someone else.

Don't read more into this coaching decision than is actually there. His decision had more to do with who was producing last night and less to do with "development opportunity". It just so happened that the young bigs were the ones producing.

On a similar note, Jerry made an excellent point during the game last night with respect to playing time distribution. A bunch of you are screaming "play the young guys, they need all the opportunity to develop". Well that conflicts with a critical need of Petrie's right now, which is to carefully evaluate the vets on the team so he can make some decisions on who will stay and who will go this summer. And since he will most likely be shopping some of those vets this summer, he needs to make sure he continues to showcase them to potential trading partners. I'm pretty sure Petrie is secure with the young guys he has; he has a good idea about their potential and he knows what the coaching staff will do to develop them. It's not so easy with the vets, though.

The tone of his post game was a little bit more harsh than that if my ears were hearing correctly.

If that decision can't be made now then it never will be. 2 years is plenty long enough.