Pistons @ Kings (Final 100-85 Kings) The Kings are finally back from a long six game road trip for their first home game since the trade that sent Webber to the Sixers. Key Stats: The Kings come home winning only 4 of their last 10 games and only two of the six game road trip, while Bibby has been putting up great numbers and was Named Player of the Week. The real key stat however is not the wins losses or individual stats, but the stats that arent kept. In this case its practice time and the Kings have had next to none. This will be a key factor in todays game. Key Matchup This games key matchup is not really going to be between two players as much as it is anyone at the center. With Miller out for this game, the Kings front line players are going to have their hands full with the Pistons down low both on the offensive and defensive end and if they can not contain them defensively and push the tempo offensivly its going to be a rough game for the Kings. Pistons Keys to Winning: - Control the tempo. The Kings may not be the fastest team in the leage, but they can play an uptempo game. So long as the Pistons keep the tempo slow and set up their half court offense, the Kings will give them plenty of opportunity to win. - Perimiter D. The Kings have Bibby, Stojakovic and Evans for tonights lineup which means that you must pay attention to perimiter defense and not allow any of them to catch fire from three pt range. Kings Keys to Winning: - Defensive stops. This team must play a more solid defense in order to win. You can put all the points up you want, but if you cant stop the other team, you are still going to loose most of your games. - Rack up the assists. The Pistons have good defense inside and out. For the Kings to win, they are going to need to move the ball and look for the open shooter. - Be agressive. The Kings are going to have to get the Pistons into foul trouble early and take advantage of their excellent FT% X-factor New faces. without a lot of practice, who knows who is going to step up tonight. Any one of four or five players could step up for the Kings and make a huge impact. Prediction: Sacramento has a good chance to win this game, but they are going to have to work on ever posession and not take a single play off. But this is a very tired team who have not had many chances to practice and not much more even just playing together. This combined with Sacramento's penchant for fading late in games gives the Pistons a great chance to win this game. Pistons 109 Sacramento 100
Is anyone else as impressed as I am with the Kings play? They handled the Pistons in a remarkable fashion with defense and timely shooting. Good win for the Kings.
wow. now that was impressive. the quick start by the kings was not really unexpected, but it was great to see that they kept at it & didnt fade late in the game when the Pistons were scratching their way back into it.
I think this game was the best example of how the Webber trade has benefitted the Kings. Despite playing without their best big man, Brad Miller, the Kings held their own in the painted area. Skinner gave them so much energy inside getting his hands on loose balls, blocking shots, and causing chaos inside for the Wallaces. It also allowed Evans to grab a career high 9 rebounds, by taking away the Pistons' attention from him. This team should be very strong once Brad Miller and Mobley come back. The Kings were able to play physical and bang with the Pistons for the entire game. If Brian Skinner can ever learn how to use the pump fake he'll be a much better player. Having Thomas, Williamson, and Skinner also allows the Kings to play man on man defense and they become a more effective zone team as well. They actually mixed up their defense well today. Every time the Pistons missed the Kings used man on man defense, and everytime the Pistons scored they went to a zone. The Pistons never found a rhythm with the different looks they were getting and it hurt their perimeter attack with Billups and Hamilton only shooting a combined 9 for 25.
amen brother! along with the extra energy that was brought by the combo of Skinner, KT and Williamson was ball movement that I really had not expected them to be as good at moving the ball in this type of offense as they are right now (and that means both passing and catching). Granted, I never really got a good chance to watch them play a lot of minutes prior to the trade, but they are really melding into this offense. the next few weeks of the schedule are extreamly favorable to the Kings which will translate to an increase in practice time which is going to give them exactly the push they need heading into the last stretch of the season. I hope that they can continue the play they were showing tonight... if so the rest of the season will look pretty good.
