Hi guys! After a long break, finishing off my degree and graduating the Kings are back! Unfortunately their crappy form continued tonight against the Bobcats (4-17). The Kings seem to have bad luck against bottom-of-the-league teams, not even Marion's 7 blocks could lift Sacramento who trailed the Bobcats all game long and were beaten down in overtime. The Bobcats were more entertaining too, especially player of the game Emeka Okafor who connected on a number of dunks.
Tonight's game was important not to lose though, the Kings only have 4 games left against tough opposition (Blazers, Cavs, Spurs and Grizzlies). The pressure is truely on to see whether Sacramento can make the playoffs. [ Skill Level: Superstar ] - [Quarter Length: 9 mins ] - [ Kings Boxscore ] - [ Bobcats Boxscore ]
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The playoff bound Memphis Grizzlies have made some changes to their lineup tonight since their 6th spot in the West has been secured. As usual Pau Gasol starts at centre, but the Grizzlies have moved their usual starting Power Forward, Shane Battier, to Small Forward and Brian Cardinal starts his fifth game this season at PF. With Battier at SF, Eddie Jones is relegated to the bench for the first time this season, and after a long and troublesome injury, Damon Stoudamire will play in only his fifth game so far this sesaon at PG.
Sacramento are one of the four teams below Memphis who are scrapping it out to gain the 7th and 8th remaining places in the Western Conference. The Warriors (12-13), Clippers (12-13) and Sonics (12-14) all surround the Kings in the table and Shing Williams' side will be hoping to rebound from their devastating loss versus the Bobcats last week.
SACRAMENTO KINGS (12-13)
C - Brad Miller (14.5ppg, 11.3rpg, 1.3apg, 0.6spg, 1.5bpg)
PF - Shawn Marion (27.6ppg, 13.1rpg, 1.3apg, 0.9spg, 2.4bpg)
SF - Corliss Williamson (4.5ppg, 2.7rpg, 2.0apg, 0.8spg, 0.0bpg)
SG - Kevin Martin (3.4ppg, 1.0rpg, 2.2apg, 0.5spg, 0.1bpg)
PG - Mike Bibby (20.9ppg, 2.8rpg, 8.2apg, 2.3spg, 0.1bpg)
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (16-11)
C - Pau Gasol (23.1ppg, 12.2rpg, 3.1apg, 1.2spg, 1.9bpg)
PF - Brian Cardinal (1.8ppg, 1.8rpg, 0.4apg, 0.6spg, 0.3bpg)
SF - Shane Battier (14.9ppg, 8.6rpg, 1.3apg, 2.1spg, 1.1bpg)
SG - Mike Miller (9.3ppg, 4.2rpg, 3.0apg, 1.1spg, 0.3bpg)
Around the League on Monday the 10th of April: The Playoff picture is taking shape in the East: Six teams have confirmed their places in the post-season. The leaders are Detroit (22-7) and Philadelphia (20-8), whilst Miami (18-10), Cleveland (17-9), New Jersey (16-10) and Boston (16-11) are all secured but fighting for heirarchy amongst themselves. Credit must go to Boston, who have secured their last few games without the injured Paul Pierce. Indiana, Milwaukee, New York and Orlando are fighting for the 7th and 8th places, though Chicago still has an outside chance.
In the West, the scene is not so polarized and only Phoenix (23-3), Dallas (17-10) and Houston (17-10) have secured playoff births, whilst San Antonio (14-9) closes in on the two other Texan, SouthWest teams followed closely by Memphis (see status above). As explained above, Golden State, Sacramento, the Clippers and Sonics are all scrapping for the 7th and 8th spots in the West, though it is still the case that not a single team in the Western Conference is guaranteed exclusion from the playoffs... yet. Denver's (8-16) slide into obscurity continues, with 3 losses in a row.
Confirmation has been receieved that the following teams have missed the playoffs: Toronto, Atlanta, Washington and Charlotte.
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Shit ... too bad you broke ya finger. What I say bout James Jones. That kid is sick. Haha. Good numbers despite the loss. I guess Gasol was too much for you. Good luck next game.
My finger is still broken (duh! hehe), so there will be little analysis again. Tonight's game is very important for both teams, a loss for Portland will put them on level ground (12-15) with their division rivals the Seattle Sonics and therefore they would miss the playoffs. Sacramento are fighting for their survival now as well.
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS (12-14)
C - Theo Ratliff (15.1ppg, 9.2rpg, 0.4apg, 0.8spg, 2.2bpg)
PG - Sebastian Telfair (18.6ppg, 3.3rpg, 7.7apg, 2.2spg, 0.5bpg)
SACRAMENTO KINGS (12-14)
C - Brad Miller (14.8ppg, 11.3rpg, 1.2apg, 0.7spg, 1.5bpg)
PF - Shawn Marion (27.3ppg, 13.0rpg, 1.4apg, 0.9spg, 2.4bpg)
SF - James Jones (8.1ppg, 2.7rpg, 1.6apg, 0.6spg, 0.0bpg)
SG - Raja Bell (9.3ppg, 2.4rpg, 2.5apg, 1.1spg, 0.1bpg)
PG - Mike Bibby (20.9ppg, 2.7rpg, 8.3apg, 2.3spg, 0.1bpg)
Around the League on Friday the 14th of April: Last week's win by the Grizzlies (17-11) over the Kings ensured a playoff birth for Memphis, they are the 4th team in the West to secure their off-season along with PHX, DAL and HOU.
Sorry to hear about your finger..man that sucks...especially if it's the finger to shoot...
It looks like you're wrapping up your season here though, perhaps you can rest it up before the playoffs start..
Please remember to send me your pstat file at the end of the season so I can figure out your proficiency score again!
It hurts to type but I'm going to do it anyway! Because in this game the Kings were robbed! Voshon Lenard held the ball up with 10 seconds remaining, missed his 3pt attempt and then ran into the key and beat Marion and Miller to grab a rebound and then passed out to Telfair who hit to make it 95-92. The Kings then called a time-out and Marion hit another 3 on the buzzer but the referee didn't allow the shot to count (see highlights video)! Sacramento have lost three games in a row now in the lead up to the playoffs and are now struggling with a (12-15) record with only two games remaining aganist the playoff-bound Cavaliers and Spurs!
After close overtime losses to the Bobcats and Grizzlies, and now today's devastating loss versus the Blazers, Sacramento's morale is at an all time low just when they need it to be on a high against the Cavs and Spurs before the end of the regular season!
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