This isn't a normal recap I usually do since I'm focusing on the whole pre-season as well. Just a heads-up.
THE GAME
Pre-season or not, any time you score 25 points and grab 16 rebounds over Yao Ming, that's impressive. Twenty-year-old Kings center Spencer Hawes did that. Prediction: I got him making the Sophomore team on all-star weekend.
The Kings showed their potential of how they can play early on in the second quarter and early on in the third quarter. How good were they playing? 6'1, 35-year-old Bobby Jackson was shutting down 6'8, 29-year-old Tracy McGrady. Most of the team was doing good without injured players Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia.
They forced T-Mac to make 14 points on 14 shots. Hawes grabbed 6 offensive rebounds. Rookie power forward Jason Thompson finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds in 23 minutes. Bobby Brown, although he had a horrible shooting night, finished with 6:1 assist-turnover ratio for the night. Unfortunately, after outscoring the Rockets 35-21 in the second quarter, they couldn't finish the job, again. Despited being tied at 80 at the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Kings were outscored 57-37 in the second half. Capping off a (1-7) pre-season.
PRE-SEASON RECAP
The only pre-season win that they had was a 94-85 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, where Brown put on his best Mike Bibby imitation by scoring 12 points in the 4th quarter. Hawes came off the bench for 21 points and 7 rebounds and showcased a barrage of post moves and shooting with range. Before that, they were embarassed by the Blazers. The night ended on a better note when Donté Greene scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the 4th quarter.
Thompson scored a game high 15 points and got 7 rebounds in a 94-89 loss to the Lakers. Kevin Martin dropped 29 points in 21 minutes on 9-11 (near 82%) shooting before the bench gave up a 116-112 loss to the Clippers. There was nothing good about giving up 29 points to Gerald Green losing 124-109 to the Mavs. John Salmons finally woke up and dropped 27 points. with K-Mart's 34 in a 112-98 loss to the Blazers. K-Mart did drop a huge dunk on Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge. Then, last night. Ron Artest made his first trip back to ARCO Arena since being traded, and won. That, however, was overshadowed by Hawes' monster game over Yao Ming.
The thing every Kings fan is relieved about, it's only pre-season and the games don't count. Still, the same things continue to haunt the Kings. Rebounding, defense and assist-turnover ratio. They'll also start the season with injuries and a 5-game suspesion for Brad Miller. Udrih's hip is hurt, but he should be ready for the season opener at Minnesota on Wednesday. Garcia should be out for 1-3 more weeks, but he says he'll try to play in the opener. After a great summer league, Quincy Douby, who will most likely not have his option picked up, missed all of the pre-season. Shelden Williams won't have his option picked up also.
Martin was the most impressive King. For the first six games he played in limited minutes he averaged over 20 PPG on 60.9% shooting, making him the best offensive player in the pre-season. He was also more agressive, more vocal, he had intensity that no one has ever seen before. He's playing angry. Mikki Moore really has to watch his back this season. Hawes can grab the starting PF spot easy being the leading rebounder. Not to mention, Thompson not only scored the same amount of points, but also outrebounded Moore and had less turnovers.
Projected Regular Season Rotation
Bold = Significant Minutes
Center: Brad Miller, Spencer Hawes
Power Forward: Mikki Moore, Jason Thompson, Shelden Williams, Kenny Thomas
Small Forward: John Salmons, Francisco Garcia, Donté Greene
Shooting Guard: Kevin Martin, Quincy Douby
Point Guard: Beno Udrih, Bobby Jackson, Bobby Brown
Whatever the Kings saw wrong in the pre-season they better improve in that area right now, because starting the next game, they count. No one's counting out the Heat (1-5) or the Cavs (2-5), so there's still hope for Kings fans yet.
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