~//The Kings\\~ Season 06-07 (3-0)

[skam]

having only recently discovered these forums i decided to drop some info about my stellar kings team. here's what i got so far:

staff:

trainer: l. jacobs (b)
coach: d. bennet (a-/c-/d-); r. hawk (d/d/c-)
scout: d.mckey (c/d/c)
season settings:

season length: 82 games
quarter length: 4 minutes
sim quarter length: 10 minutes
playoff length: 7-7-7-7
simulation injuries: yes (no point really, as i never simulate)
fantasy draft: no
simulation type: intervention
salary cap: $50m
difficulty: all-star/superstar

lineup:
c-b. miller (77)
pf-s. abdur-rahim (76)
sf-p. stojakovic (79)
sg-m. sumner* (83)
pg-m. bibby (82)

bench:
c-z. rebraca (65)
sf-b. simmons (73)
sf-b. robinson (62)
sg-f. garcia (63)
pg- t. karenga* (65)
pg-y. tabuse (61)
sg-v. hewitt* (60)

despite having a team with a rating around 79-81, i managed to haul us up to a 70-12 record, #1 in the league, and 4-1, 4-2, 4-1, and 4-3 records against the grizzlies, suns, rockets and pistons respectively in the playoffs to take the title.
m. bibby was the playoff and all-star mvp (was just pipped by yao as season mvp) and missed out on being three-point champion by one point. sumner was rookie of the year, despite missing 10 weeks on a back injury, and around 2 thirds through the season i decided to switch the difficulty up.
Here's hoping for a more challenging second season, which i will document in blow-by-blow details on these forums.

other notes:
hoping to trade away my starting pf, reef, as he doesn't fit into my plan at all. could do with a defensive stopper, so i'm keeping my eyes peeled. i'm considering taking on ron-ron artest and kicking peja up to the power forward position (or point forward position, as nowitzki plays it).
might drop simmons too, he's useful, but costs too much to use as a bench player, and isn't good enough to warrant as a starter; also, his abilities will give me some bargaining power in the trade market.
tabuse is really doing nothing on this team, and karenga is already looking a better fit for my squad because of his extra muscle, so he'll probably be dropped too.
since my defensive specialist funderburke and my clutch shooter reggie miller both retired at the end of last season, their services will need to be replaced.
managed to stay below the salary cap, but that doesn't mean much when everyone else is way above it.
even considering the possibility of moving my 6'8" sg, sumner, to the sf position and putting a zippy scorer like ray allen in instead.
(*denotes a create-a-player or draft pick from season 2 onwards)

my first game will be against the decided low-rated new jersey nets, whom i will be looking to beat comfortably due to my superior bench play, as along with golden state, they are one of the few teams that can control my back-court combo of bibby and sumner.
well, with full, behind-the-scenes player/staff interviews, insights and predictions, let's see if the sacramento kings can make the next step in the road to a league champion dynasty...

[Lakers08]

Good Luck!

[KIG1]

Nice writing man

Make sure to keep it up when doing your dyansty.

[skam]

player focus: peja stojakovic

the sharpshooting sensation from serbia&montenegro, peja is a three-time all-star and twice three-point champion.
standing at 6'10", he is renowned and feared throughout the league for his ability to receive the pass running from the basket, turn and bury the shot from 20'+ in one movement. his size means he can also fill in at the pf position, although his lack of muscle means it isn't a great idea to put him there as a permanent fixture.
he is also an ice-cold free throw shooter, and the go-to man in the clutch when the other team are snapping at your heels and tying everyone up.
kings magazine spoke to him about the start of a new season and how it felt to get his first championship ring.

kings magazine: peja, it was an amazing season last year for the self-professed best looking man in basketball, and it must have been tense in the locker room before game 7 against the pistons, what was the atmosphere like?

peja: well... it was strange, we actually felt kinda calm. we knew that everything depended on the performance tonight, but we also knew that no one had expected us to do so well this season. before last season started, everyone was saying that the pistons were going to get it back, or the spurs could repeat, but no one thought we would get any further than the first couple of playoff rounds, if we made the playoffs. our season was a success before game 7 had started, but to win was incredible.

kings: it was almost an anti-climax in the end, to get to game seven of the finals and then win by such a large margin. do you think the kings can repeat this season?

peja: of course i think we can, it's if we do that will make the difference. funderburke and reggie (miller) were key players in our team last season, it's going to be a challenge compensating for their performance, but we're up to it.

kings: max sumner's injury was a bombshell last season, sidelining him for more than 2 months, including the all-star break. who do you think were the key factors in patching up the gaps left by his absence, and if he had been well, what do you think his impact would have been on the rookie-sophomore game?

peja: i think that fran (garcia) and mike (bibby) were the key factors. mike hit a few game winners in close games towards the end of january which really lifted us, and fran really stepped up when he was asked to.
if max had been fit for the all-star break? i think he would have made the all-star game, even if he wasn't a starter. i'd love to see him in the dunk contest, because he really shows off in practice. also, he's worked a lot on his defense in the last few months, using his height to get a few blocks- you probably noticed that when he blocked tayshaun prince-i think three times-in game 7 of the finals(you bet we did- ed). he really can do it all.

kings: well, everything except free throws and three pointers... peja, thank you.

peja: no problem.

[skam]

((thanks guys.))

[skam]

game preview: kings vs nets (29/10/06)

the new jersey nets, despite topping their division last season, were dropped in only five games by eventual runners-up detroit in the second round.

the team has come under much criticism for having a strong starting lineup, especially their backcourt of carter and kidd, but no depth to their bench.

preferring a fastbreak style of play, they regularly find themselves appearing the the week's top ten plays, with half-court alley-oops and the like.

despite losing their opening game this season, the nets will be optimistic about this fixture. sounds crazy, they're playing at the ARCO arena against the reigning champions, but this is the nba-nothing is ever cut in black and white like that.

for starters, the kings' strength lies in their backcourt of sumner and bibby, but so does the nets'. their alternative scorer, stojakovic, will have jefferson to contend with, meaning that the pressure will be placed on brad miller to beat down krstic early on and assume dominance in the paint from the get go.

couple these offensive troubles with the kings' shaky looking bench (damaged by the retirements of clutch player reggie miller and defensive stopper lawrence funderburke), and the nets could come away with a win.

key factor: although its going to be a complex game, with so much talent in the backcourt, it's going to be a battle for dominance in the post-whoever wins that should take the game.

[Donatello]

((thanks guys.))

I smell a roleplayer! (If I'm wrong, just ignore that)

Great write-ups, and welcome to the NLSC!

[skam]

roleplayer... lol... yeah.

thank you for the friendly welcome, i'll be looking to spiff up my profile etc. soon with some graphics and a splash of colour.

enjoy the dynasty...

skam.

[skam]

coming off their first championship season in over 50 years, the kings were set with an apparently simple task: beat the low-ranked new jersey nets at the arco arena.

the tip-off swung the kings' way, and the already unbalanced nets team suffered some massive setbacks early on, vince carter benched after two quick fouls, and jason kidd leaving the court with an arm injury just one minute into the game.
taking full advantage, the kings stormed ahead, using their now far superior backcourt to cause more mayhem driving into the paint. the 6'8" shooting guard max sumner bagged 12 of the kings points in the first quarter, which finished 24-19.
the second quarter was a similar story, jason kidd returned to play, but looked much quieter now. luckily the nets' reserve point guard, planinic, had filled in well, and it had not become a blowout. sumner added another 8 points to put the kings up 47-36 at the half.
then, the turnaround looked to have begun. carter turned on the magic, scoring some amazing driving dunks over the unsuspecting rebraca and abdur-rahim, while foul troubles for the kings meant that the lineup had to be altered as both stojakovic and shareef were sent to the bench with 3 personal fouls apiece. sumner was sent to play the "4" position, while simmons and garcia took over at 3 and 2 respectively. new jersey made an impressive charge in the third, but surprise baskets from simmons, tabuse and an inspired five minutes' play by karenga held the visitors off.
sumner was player of the game and top scorer with 30pts on 12/19 shooting, and bibby added a double double (12pts, 10ast).
karenga made an impact off of the bench with 5 assists, and jason kidd was held to only 3 points.
in truth, the only new jersey player who turned up at all was collins, who finished with 10 points and 3 blocks in an otherwise totally kings' dominated 77-67 victory.
other notable statistics included the kings shooting 7/10 from three point land and new jersey's abysmal charity stripe shooting, hitting only 14 of 23 free throws.

next game: kings vs bucks, 30 october.

[Srbija]

Good writing, make sure you keep it up in your next update.

Peja Stojakovic

[skam]

Good writing, make sure you keep it up in your next update.

Peja Stojakovic

yeah, peja rules. sucks that we had to lose him for ron artest- whom i always used to hate- but he isn't throwing any temper tantrums, and he's the only player in the l (besides maybe bruce bowen) who can lock down kobe for a whole game, and as much as i dislike artest as a person- i hate kobe more .

[skam]

game preview: kings vs bucks (30/10/06)

milwaukee had a rough ride last season. despite getting some good performances from rookie andrew bogut, who claimed eastern rookie of the month honours from november-thru-april, they simply didn't have the experience or talent last season.

with this season currently looking equally grim from the outset, they'll be hard pushed to take this win at the arco arena.

meanwhile, with the kings showing more and more depth as young guns tony karenga and max sumner shake the opposition up, as well as solid performances from miller, bibby and stojakovic in their season opener, they'll be confident about tonight.

coach rick adelman, however, is likely to be telling his young, energetic team to calm down, because they'll need to be at full fitness when phoenix visit on november 1st, and the last thing the kings need now is another plague of injuries to get their campaign started.

key factor: the bucks should concentrate on slowing down the pace of the game. if the kings start scoring early, it's likely that the game will be over by the third quarter. with good defense, low scores and a lot of luck, milwaukee have a chance to try and take the crowd out of the game and slug out a win.

[skam]

it was another rough night for the milwaukee bucks as a fresh and dangerous sacramento kings team exploded into action. despite an early injury to specialist shooter and bench 2 guard francisco garcia, and a small push by the bucks to close the first quarter, the kings went back to the locker room four points up.

the bucks didn't just take it lying down however, as the kings took this opportunity to get some play from their reserves and allow starters sumner and bibby to take extended rest periods.

another run to close the half meant the game was all tied up at 44-44 going into the break.

for a while going into the second half it looked like the bucks could threaten the kings' lead, but despite getting within a point of their opponents at times, they simply could not take the lead, and were forced to start tying players up with 25 seconds left, while they were down by 5., something that rarely works against a kings team that contains some of the best free throw shooters in the league.

in the end the kings won, 87-76, sumner taking player of the game honours once more with a 22pt performance on 7/8 shooting, including hitting 8/9 free throws.

mike bibby also made an important contribution, falling two assists short of a double-double.

as for the bucks, rookie guard williams was their saving grace, working hard for his 18 points, while their usual scoring force michael redd added 14. andrew bogut had, by his standards, an off night, and didn't really seem to have much presence in the post, picking up several quick fouls as he tried to stop the explosive sumner on his drives into the paint.

next game: kings vs phoenix (1/11/06)

[skam]

game preview: kings vs phoenix
the last time these two met was game six of the western conference semifinals, when the kings embarrassed phoenix on their own court, taking the series.

it was almost cruel that these two teams had to play each other so early, phoenix having the second best record in the league, yet consigned to fourth seed in the playoffs, as they were stuck in the same division as the first place kings.

but, such is the way the nba goes, and now a very different phoenix team will attempt to stop the kings winning their third straight game.

at the end of last season, the suns had a hard time holding onto players, and despite maintaining nash, marion and stoudemire, they lost a lot of depth from their bench, including the surprisingly notable absence of kurt thomas and the scoring power provided by all-star candidate joe johnson.

the kings should be able to relate to this kind of problem, having maintained their own first team, but dropped several roleplayers, including darius songaila, not to mention the retirement of clutch shooter reggie miller and big man funderburke.

overall, however, the general concensus seems to be that as bad as the kings have it, the suns were hurt a lot more in the off-season. many critics are saying that if phoenix ever had a shot at the title, it was last year, so unless mike d'antoni can really work the trade scene and bring in the help that amare, steve and shawn need, they may find their playoff ranking slipping even further down this time around.

in terms of tonight's game, phoenix will be looking to do as much damage as possible with their starters, then slowing it right down to minimize the kings' chances of staging a comeback. interestingly, phoenix are one of the few teams that can still win if they get drawn into a scoring competition with sacramento, having an offensive force to match anyone in the league.

key factor: the suns will have to ensure that sacramento don't assume early dominance, while the kings will be looking to get ahead and play a slow game while stoudemire and marion are on the court, waiting until the major talent is off the floor before jumping ahead.
if both teams play hard, this is going to be a high scoring game decided by who wins the clutch battle at the end of the game.

[KIG1]

Good writing man your putting a lot of work into this

Maybe add a picture or two and it makes it look really good. Welcome to the forums as well.

[skam]

i would, but i'm playing this on xbox, not pc.

skam

[skam]

if there are two teams to watch this season, they're probably the two that played at the arco tonight.

the suns put on a clinic in terms of keeping their cool in the face of the wall of sound that emanated from the thunderous crowd, but the kings surfed that wave and used it to their advantage.

from the outset, it was obvious that neither team would lie down, and for every punch that sacramento threw, phoenix countered with their own.

the first quarter finished with the kings ahead by one.

going into the second quarter, it seemed that phoenix had suffered a minor setback, as nash, stoudemire and marion sat out the beginning- a coaching error leaving them all exhausted at once. their replacements struggled through the next few minutes, while the kings opened up an 8 point lead. the timing swung back in the suns favour, though, as bibby and stojakovic were sidelined, miller came into foul trouble and the onus was on sumner and abdur-rahim to hold the fort while a refreshed marion, nash and stoudemire reentered the game.

suddenly everything switched direction and nash hit a three to cap a 10-2 run into the half. the teams went into the break with 40 points apiece.

in the third, the game was just as tight as both teams rotated perfectly, bibby racking up his ninth assist of the game with 20 seconds left in the quarter. miller and sumner took advantage of bibby's unselfishness to send themselves into double-digit points.

as they went into the fourth, however, rick adelman knew what he had to do. laying on a full-court press and playing his top defensive team, including switching sumner to a forward position to exploit his recently discovered blocking prowess.

phoenix fell straight into the trap as they were confounded by the steely stopping power of the rearranged kings lineup.

then, the true nature of the strategy became apparent- with less than one minute left, the kings held a four point advantage, and fielded their top free throw shooters, including the sometimes risky choice of removing sumner in exchange for his sharpshooting understudy garcia.

the strategy paid off, however, as the suns began tying up their men and sending them to the line. bibby drained four free throws, and garcia dropped two as well, leaving the kings with a ten point lead as steve nash drained a three point bomb that was deemed to be just after the buzzer and not counted.

in the end, the kings won the game by ten, bibby claiming player of the game honours with his fantastic assist work and clutch free throw shooting, while sumner dropped a game high 32 points.

[skam]

one of the biggest surprises in the nba last season, sumner's signing to the kings was not without controversy. not originally included in the draft, there was much argument as to whether the kings, lakers, hawks or hornets had the rights to him when he became contractually available just before the opening game of the season.

he was born in manchester, england, and only the second player to receive a high-school education in the uk and go on to play in the nba. the first player to do this was hall of famer john amaechi, who opened the amaechi basketball centre in manchester, where, ironically, sumner received much of his training.

he was quickly ruled out of playing for l.a. or new orleans, and the kings settled the debate with atlanta as part of a trade that sent bonzi wells over to the east, and so sumner begin his nba career in sacramento.

the departure of bonzi wells before he had even played a game for the kings was a decision attacked by quite a few professionals, but the rookie found fans in a couple of old stars from the championship winning chicago bulls. steve kerr and dennis rodman, who had seen sumner play whilst in the uk prior to his celebrity big brother appearance, backed his abilities and claimed that he could make an impact before the end of the season- and he didn't disappoint in november. the first month of the season resulted in the kings being catapulted to the top of the league with max finding his feet quickly and scooping western rookie of the month honours, but it all seemed so unimportant on that fateful day in december.

the kings were ahead by six points in the third quarter away to the timberwolves when sumner made a clear drive to the hoop, seemingly clear to score. he jumped, seemingly ready to dunk, when both kevin garnett and rashad mccants went to stop him. sumner was obviously in pain, and that was before he landed hard on his back, and had to be stretchered off.

the kings went on to lose the game, one of the twelve that they dropped over the course of the season, and sumner was ruled out for ten weeks, a recovery time that ruled the young star out of the all star weekend. as a player who was expected to play in the rookie game, dunk contest and all-star game, this was devastating news for the team and the fans. an obviously troubled rick adelman said at a press conference: "this is a really unfortunate time, and a massive disappointment for all of us. we're very concerned about max's health, and although we wish him a speedy recovery, we will not be playing him until we can guarantee he is fully fit. it would be irresponsible of me, as a coach, to pressure such a young talent and risk his future in such a way."

it was a sentiment echoed around the nba. grant hill spoke of sumner in a live tv debate, and explained that he had contacted both the kings training staff and max himself, urging them to let him take as long as he needed to recover.

the kings survived, however, despite dropping three games straight at the end of january, and when sumner returned, just three days before the trade deadline, he made an immediate impact against the golden state warriors. he only played ten minutes, but he had not lost his shine, scoring fourteen points and picking up two rebounds and a block to help his team to the win.

he had obviously returned with a vengeance, and despite missing three months' worth of western rookie rankings (of which martell webster took two and deron williams took one) he grabbed awards for march and april, taking the rookie of the year accolade for the '05-'06 season and a rookie first team place.

we asked him about his first season in the nba and his prospects for the future.

kings: hi, max, it's great to finally get an interview- you are busy, aren't you?

max: yeah, it's pretty hectic. some days i'll be in training, others i'll be dragged round interviews and shoots for this or that.

kings: it was quite an amazing season for you last year. could you tell us what were the high and low points for you?

max: ooh, pretty easy one that. obviously the lowest points were directly after my back injury, when it was still fresh and painful, and lots of people were arguing about how long it would take to heal. some people started saying that i should never have been signed in the first place, that hurt quite a lot. i spent a lot of my time whilst i was injured back in the uk. my old physicians and sports rehab guys were there, and they've dealt with my injuries since i was nine. they're really good and i credit them with my full, healthy return.
as for the high point of my season... that would be taking player of the game awards in game 7 of the finals. getting that ring, it was just a symbol of how hard rick (adelman), mike (bibby) and all the other guys had worked.

kings: so, not winning rookie of the year then?

max: don't get me wrong, i felt so honoured to receive that award, but really it was all about the team. my only regret is that i've got it too early in my career. i hope i'll appreciate it just as much the next time i win it. (laughs).

kings: not "if" you win it, then?

max: oh no, i'm definitely going to win another ring. it's just a question of when.

kings: how about your future? what are your goals?

max: well, i'd really like to play in the rookie-sophomore game this year, and i'd love to get picked for the all-star game at some point. also, i'm gunning after another championship ring.

kings: not interested in mvp awards? dunk contests?

max: well, if i got picked for the dunk contest, that would be fantastic- but i think there are a lot of players out there who can dunk better than me. jason richardson, josh smith, andre iguodala, they're the guys who should be in the dunk contest. even our own point guard, toni karenga, can dunk better than me- and he's not a big guy!

kings: lastly, you're quite outspoken when it comes to your opinions of other nba players. who are your idols and who don't you have any love for?

max: my idols... they're the usual ones: larry bird, jordan, russell. more modern, though, lebron james just makes me stare when he plays. i had to guard him for a while in one of our games last season- it's impossible. all you can do is hope he has an off night and try to stop the rest of the team. i'm a big gilbert arenas fan too, that guy is all hear. it just sucks that i'm unlikely to ever play on a team with either of them unless i move to an eastern conference team- and that's not happening any time soon.
players i dislike are... well, kobe bryant, greg ostertag, stephon marbury...

kings: whoa, slow down, that's a good start. why kobe?

max: he has a bad attitude. he complains about being hated, but he does nothing to improve his image, he lives off that bad-boy style, so he should stop complaining. he was really difficult when i blocked him in a game last year, too. he was complaining to the official about it being a foul. they hadn't given it, so just leave it- get on with the game.
greg ostertag is just too angry without being positively aggressive. he needs to just play the game. aggression is good, but he's just dirty. same with karl malone- i might get attacked for speaking against him, but he was a dangerous, vicious player. that's not the kind of play we need in this league.
stephon marbury is just not a team player. he can go find the and1 bus if he wants to play streetball. i'd rather have someone who can contain that kind of attitude. i have a lot of respect for rafer alston, he knows when to go to work and stop showing off.

kings: good to see you, opinionated as ever. thanks, max.

max: thank you, thanks to the fans, here's to another season- another championship ring!

[skam]

((bloody hell... didn't expect it to be that long...))

[KIG1]

Good interview for your dynasty.

[skam]

((cheers. I've actually played the next game, but need to find the notes for it...))