Rudy Fernandez Back Door Reverse Alley-Oop Dunk

Kevin Martin didn't have the only impressive dunk of the night. Rudy Fernandez goes backdoor on the Kings and hooks up with Sergio Rodriguez for an alley-oop reverse dunk. Spanish Air Flight #5 takes off.

Kings Lose to Blazers 112-98

It's been a while the last time I went to a game, but I couldn't pass it up when it was right on my 20th birthday. It was a game of highs and lows as the Kings took on the Portland Trail Blazers for the last time in the pre-season.

1ST QUARTER

My first look at Greg Oden. A 7'0, 285 pound manbeast that you have to see to believe. He won the opening tip against Spencer Hawes. The Blazers got off to a hot 9-2 run led by Steve Blake's 5 points. The Kings had a sluggish start when Hawes picked up 3 fouls and committed 2 TOs in less than 6 minutes to bring soon to be suspended Brad Miller into the game. LaMarcus Aldridge was impressive from the start, scoring 8 points in the period. Kevin Martin, who would be the star of the night got an alley-oop lay-up from the starting point guard Bobby Brown.

The Kings tried to get their rythym going with John Salmons and Mikki Moore scoring 4 points each and Bobby Jackson hit a buzzer beating lay-up at the end of the quarter, but after review it was no basket as the Blazers led 27-19.

2ND QUARTER

The Blazers took off again Channing Frye and Rudy Fernandez hitting two straight 3-pointers. Kenny Thomas looks like he'll be getting regular rotation minutes with the regular season nearing. He scored his only 4 points in the quarter. Martin had the highlight of the night crossing over Fernandez and dunking over Oden and Aldridge sending excitement around the whole arena. Fernandez would go on to make two straight 3-pointers later in the quarter, but the Kings were making a run, trailing 57-50 at the half.

3RD QUARTER

Martin would be on fire. He scored 13 of his 27 total points that he had up to that point. Through 5 games this pre-season he's shooting a scorching 60.9% from the field. Aldridge was hot too as he put up 8 of his 23 points. The Kings were down by as much as 11 points and were within 2 points of the Blazers, they failed to capitalize as the Blazers led 80-76, and it stayed that way.

4TH QUARTER

The Blazers took off running when Fernandez got a alley-oop reverse dunk from Sergio Rodriguez, and it was all downhill for the Kings after that. The Kings came within 3 points but the Blazers went on a 27-12 run to close out the game as the Kings dropped to 1-7 in a 112-98 loss while Portland closed out their pre-season 3-2. Salmons was the only help to the Martin with 27 points.

HIGHlLIGHTS

Team High=*

Game High=**

(R)= Rookie

KINGS

Martin: 34 pts** (10-13 FG), 2 stl, blk, 4 TOs*

Salmons: 27 pts (10-18 FG), 5 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl*, 2 TOs

(R) Jason Thompson: 6 pts, 6 reb, (4 off.)

Moore: 6 pts, 6 reb, stl

(R) Brown: 8 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, stl, 2 TOs

BLAZERS

Aldridge: 24 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl**, blk

Brandon Roy: 21 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, stl, 2 TO

(R) Oden: 13 pts, 9 reb** (6 off.**), 3 ast, stl, 2 blk, 5 TOs**

(R) Fernandez: 16 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, stl, blk, 2 TOs

Even without starting point guard Beno Udrih and 6th man Francisco Garcia due to injury, it was a pretty bad loss for the Kings because they had the chance to win. The same problems have been plaguing the Kings for two years now. Defending the perimeter, rebounding and assist-to-turnover ratio. The Blazers let loose with wide open three pointers shooting 12-25 from behind the arc. They outrebounded the Kings 41-29 and the Kings had 14 assists and 20 turnovers.

Sacramento will have trouble getting 35 wins this season if they don't change their habits. The run game was not there last night, which could have been a game changer. Every time the Kings gave-up the ball to another player, they just tried to penetrate. They also have no one underneath the basket to try to get an offensive rebound almost every time. They're going to disappoint fans who watch them every night playing like that every night. Until they learn how to play defense, fans have to remember they're still in rebuilding mode.

Rookies Make Marks Around the NBA

Some of these rookies have been impressive already. Only four days into the pre-season. The Blazers, especially Rudy Fernandez, have made the most noise.

Blazers' Rudy Fernandez, Greg Oden & Jerryd Bayless

The Blazers have the most talented rookie nucleus than any other team. Fernandez stole the show in the 2nd half of the first game with 6 points and 5 assists, including a back door alley-oop dunk and an alley oop reverse lay-up high off the glass. Even though he shined playing 36 minutes in his second game, his night ended earlier than expected when he sprained his ankle. He finished with 15 points with 3 three pointers, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals in his first start.

In 20 minutes, Oden posted 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists and blocks each for a nearly sold out Rose Garden, who witnessed a 110-81 blowout of the Kings. His second game against the Warriors, 14 points and 9 boards (5 offensive) in the loss. Bayless put up 5 points and 3 rebounds and assists each his first game. Starting in the place of Sergio Rodriguez the next game, he had 13 points and 2 rebounds, but struggled as a point guard with no assists and 5 TOs.

Heat's Michael Beasley & Mario Chalmers

Beasley had an impressive 3rd quarter against the Pistons, scoring 13 of his 16 points in the loss. He also grabbed 6 boards in 21 minutes off the bench. Chalmers came off the bench and didn't do as well. He put up 4 points, 3 rebounds and assists each, 2 steals and 4 TOs in 24 minutes off the bench.

Kings' Donté Greene & Jason Thompson

Even with the massacre they took that was the Blazers, Greene was one of the few bright spots for the Kings. He scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the final 4:31 left in the game and grabbed 2 boards. JT showcased his quickness and put up 6 points, 4 rebounds and a block. Unfortunately, he also fouled out.

Grizzlies' O.J. Mayo & Marc Gasol

Mayo did a solid job in his 30 minutes, putting up 14 points, 3 rebounds and a steal. He did have 4 TOs though. His second game against the Wizards, not so good with 7 points, 2 rebounds and a steal in 31 minutes. You can't blame Marc when his first game in the NBA is against Yao Ming. He put up 5 points, 2 rebounds and assists each and a block. His second game against Etan Thomas, he had 10 points, 9 rebounds and a block.

T'Wolves' Kevin Love

He didn't start in front of scoreless Mark Madsen, but he should have. Love had 13 points on 6-10 shooting and 5 rebounds in 23 minutes of play. His second game off the bench, 10 points, 5 boards, an assist and a block in 28 minutes. Expect him to start by the regular season.

Celtics' Bill Walker

In limited minutes, Walker did an excellent job. 11 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds.

Bucks' Luc Richard Mbah a Moute & Joe Alexander

That's a long name. In his first game he had 9 points, 2 rebounds and assists each, a steal and only one foul in 26 minutes of play. In his first start against the Pistons, he had 4 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 5 TOs in 43 minutes. Lottery pick Alexander hasn't even stepped onto the court yet.

Wizards' JaVale McGee

McGee did a decent job in his first game with 7 points in his first game against the Mavs, but he went for 20 points in his second. With Antawn Jamison's injury, his playing time could increase.

Magic's Courtney Lee

He didn't do much his first game. In the second game against the Bobcats, he had 9 points 4 rebounds and a steal on the night in a blowout win over the Bobcats.

Pacers' Roy Hibbert

Hibbert did good in 14 minutes of play with 6 points and 2 boards. He also got hit with a flagrant foul in the 105-71 loss to the Hornets.

Cavs' J.J. Hickson

He had a good debut with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in 22 minutes. A solid start.

Thunder's Russell Westbrook

Westbrook had an okay debut with 13 points, 3 rebounds and assists each, but also had 5 TOs.

Warriors' Anthony Randolph

Randolph put up some good numbers. Six points and rebounds each along with 2 steals in 18 minutes. He also had 4 TOs. It got worse for him in his second game. He scored nothing in 10 minutes of play, getting only 3 rebounds 2 assists and a steal.

Raptors' Roko Ukic

The point guard made his debut against the Knicks after coming overseas. He had 7 points, 2 assists, a rebound and a steal.

Sixers' Marreese Speights

Speights played well in the Las Vegas Summer League. This game, he had 8 points, 2 boards and a steal in 19 minutes, but he also had 3 TOs.

Suns' Robin Lopez

Lopez didn't do well against the Hawks. He fouled out in 16 minutes, finishing with 5 points, a rebound and 2 TOs.

We'll see the best rookies of the year at the rookie game during All-Star Weekend in Phoenix this year. The starting line-up for the rookies look like it'll include at least Fernandez, Oden, Beasley and Mayo. In the second half of the season, who knows who could break out? It should be an exciting season watching to see which rookies shine.

Heat, Blazers, T'Wolves Could Sign Livingston

After a what could be a career-ending injury,

can Shaun Livingston work his way back into the NBA?

Former Los Angeles Clippers' point guard Shaun Livingston has narrowed his choice to 3 teams according to Yahoo! Sports. The Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves. Adrian Wojnarowski, who wrote the exclusive article, spoke to two league sources that said that the Blazers are the "favorites" to sign him after he worked out in Portland. Livngston also had private workouts at Tim Grover’s Attack Athletics facility in Chicago, where Minnesota executives Jim Stack, Fred Hoiberg and coach Randy Wittman observed him.

Livingston suffered what might be a career-ending knee injury in the 2006-07 season, and he hasn't played a game since. Since then, the Clippers renounced his rights and he's been looking for a team.

The 6'7 Livingston has attracted the attention of at least one other team, the Golden State Warriors. They scheduled a workout for Livingston weeks before thier intended starting point guard, Monta Ellis, severely sprained his ankle. Right now, it looks like that the Warriors are not in the running.

The Heat were interested in Livingston earlier in the summer after losing Jason Williams to the Clippers, leaving them with rookie Mario Chalmers, Chris Quinn and Marcus Banks. They're superstar shooting guard, Dwyane Wade, doesn't like to play point guard. It's a good thing too because he's averaged 3.89 turnovers per game his career. Depending on how Livingston plays if he signs with the team, he could be a major upgrade from all three point guards, playing with Wade, #2 overall pick Michael Beasley and Shawn Marion.

The Heat, however, are concerned about his knee and might sign Matt Walsh, according to the Miami Herald.

The Blazers were another team that were possibly looking for a point guard, with rumors saying that they were looking for Chicago Bulls' point guard Kirk Hinrich and the Memphis Grizzlies' Mike Conley. Now the Blazers are considered as the frontrunners for Livingston and it is believed that they want to look at his medical records, according to The Oregonian. The Blazers would be a great spot for Livingston to land if healthy. He could run the floor with the young team of all-star Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge and Travis Outlaw. Livingston is only 23 years old.

They already have a full roster after signing Luke Jackson, but Sergio Rodreguiez is a possibility to cut from the team because he only makes $874 K this season with one year left. He only averaged 2.5 PPG and 1.7 APG.

Last but not least, the Timberwolves. They're a team stacked with guards like Mike Miller, Rashad McCants, Randy Foye and Sebastian Telfair, not to mention young talent in Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer and Kevin Love. The article said the the T'Wolves are "sold on the workout and want to sign him." They have one spot left on their roster and he'll most likely back-up Telfair.

So this week, Livingston could sign with one of these three teams, where his comeback officially begins.

Shareef Considering Retirement, Coaching Career

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, second from the right, says he'll decide if he'll participate in the

Sacramneto Kings' training camp after coming home from a trip South Africa for the NBA.

(From left to right) Milwaukee Bucks' Charlie Bell, San Antonio Spurs' Matt Bonner,
Abdur- Rahim,and Washington Wizards' Caron Butler.

The last time Sacramento Kings' power forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim was heard from before going on the NBA's Basketball Without Borders trip to South Africa, he was practicing with their summer league team in Las Vegas. At the time, he was not doing well. Now that he's home, retirement looks more of a possibility than ever for the 31 year old.

Shareef is due $12.8 million over the next 2 seasons and has an early-termination option in 2009. The Kings, however have insurance on him so they won't have to pay him anything unless he plays for another team. According to Amick, he and the Kings have discussed the possibility of him becoming their big man coach.

The Kings were supposedly looking for a big man coach over the summer to develop the young bigs like sophomore center Spencer Hawes, rookie power forward Jason Thompson and third year power forward Shelden Williams. A good coach would do them well, and Shareef, a former All-Star in 2000, might be a good fit for them. He was one of the best power forwards in the NBA the first 8 years of his career. Right now, the playing part of his NBA career seems to be over.

Shareef was drafted #3 by the Vancouver Grizzlies where he played his best for 5 years, setting franchise records with 23 PPG in 1999 and 10.1 RPG in 2000. He was the by far the best player the Grizzlies franchise has ever had. He also won a gold medal for the men's USA Basketball Team in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

The Grizzlies traded him for to the Atlanta Hawks rookie Pau Gasol in 2001 where he played for two and a half seasons before getting traded for Rasheed Wallace, who only played one game for the Hawks before getting traded to the Detroit Pistons. Portland was the only place Shareef wore a different number than #3. He wore #33 there.

After 2 years in Portland, and not one playoff appearance with any team, Shareef was to be signed-and-traded to New Jersey for a first round pick, which Portland planned to trade for the Phoenix Suns' Leandro Barbosa. He failed the physical, putting the trade on hold, but he decided to go into free agency, signing with the Kings.

During his time in Sacramento, he broke his jaw and had it wired shut. Expected to be out for a significant amount of time, he came back early and played, with his jaw wired shut. He made his first and only playoff appearance against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round. Although they tied the series after being down 2-0, the Kings lost the series 4-2. In the 06-07 season, Shareef averaged career lows of 9.9 PPG and 5 RPG missing the playoffs. The next season, two knee surgeries limited him to 6 games out of the whole year.

If his career is over, he would have missed the playoffs 11 out of 12 seasons. Even so, his resumé includes a gold medal, an All-Star appearance, and 1996-97 NBA All-Rookie First Team. In college, he was the first freshman to win the PAC 10 Player of the Year Award at California. Not to mention, his extensive involvement in the community that extends from Sacramento, to New Orleans, to Atlanta and now, Africa.

Shareef was and still is a great ambassador for the NBA. His contributions on and off the court touched millions of people. He will not be forgotten.

Blazers Offer Travis Outlaw to Bulls

RUMOR:

The Portland Trailblazers are desperately looking for a point guard according to rumorpress.net, and have offered the long and athletic Travis Outlaw to the Memphis Grizzlies for Mike Conley, according to the Memphis Edge, part of The Commercial Appeal daily newspaper in Memphis picked up by USA Today. Now they may be offering him to the Chicago Bulls. The deal also includes Joel Przybilla from the Blazers for Kirk Hinrich, someone the Bulls haven't been ready to trade despite a poor season. The Bulls have also said that they won't make any moves until they figure out what to do with Ben Gordon. Gordon also has the last say on where he wants to go.

ANALYSIS:

Trading Hinrich for Outlaw is a bad deal for both teams. Trading for Gordon would be a better deal for both teams but wouldn't get the Blazers a point guard. Both deals, however, leave the Blazers shorthanded at small forward. Even if the Blazers have Brandon Roy running the floor, it looks like that the Blazers are just looking for a pure point guard and feel that Steve Blake and Sergio Rodreguiez aren't enough.

If Gordon was traded to the Bulls, a rookie from the Blazers, Jerryd Bayless or Rudy Fernandez, would have to be offered in the deal. A rotation of Roy and Gordon would be dangerous. After trading Outlaw, Martell Webster would remain the starter but Luke Jackson hasn't been able to perform at the NBA level consistenly. That would be a glaring weakness for the Blazers. They could look for free agency options like 25 year old Kirk Snyder.

If for some reason the Bulls did give up Hinrich for Outlaw, they'd leave the 2008 #1 overall pick Derrick Rose without any help for a back-up, and free agency doesn't offer anything close to Hinrich. They lost Chris Duhon to the New York Knicks and Hinrich is their only hope if they want to contend for the playoffs. So he's out of the picture unless they can get a point guard equal in value and talent in return.

The potential deal between the Bulls and Blazers shouldn't go through because both teams can't get what they're looking for. My guess is it won't happen because it leaves too many voids for both teams.

Kings Beat Blazers for 3-1 Season Series, 103-86

KINGS' BRAD MILLER HEADBAND NIGHT (NO PHOTOSHOP)

The Kings owe this win to Beno Udrih's 1st quarter and John Salmons' huge 2nd half. Otherwise this game could have been a bigger struggle. Up by as much as 20 points in the 2nd quarter, the Kings almost blew their huge lead when the Blazers came within 4 points. Even though it looked tough, the Kings eventually pulled off their 3rd straight win against Portland to take the season series 3-1.

Before I get to the game, let me get to where the headbands come in. Most of the Kings wore headbands in honor of Brad Miller, who's out for the rest of the season. He was thought to have a lower leg strain when he blew a wide open dunk against the Clippers, which I saw when I was there. It turned out to be a stress fracture, and he had a bone chip in his elbow. Miller had successful surgery the day before to remove the bone chip.

Kevin Martin, who normally doesn't wear a headband, was the first to volunteer to wear one. "Kevin was the first to say he would wear it and everyone else jumped on after that,'' said Salmons, who always wears one. "I was thinking if you miss a couple of shots don't blame the headband on me.''

Even Kings' coach Reggie Theus had a little fun with it, even though he didn't wear one. “Cisco was asking me why I left him on the bench for so long in the first half," Theus said with a smile. "It was because I didn’t recognize him."

He also left a hint that what I call "Headband Night" might come back. “We’d have to have a lot more wins for me to do that," Theus said laughing.

Beno Udrih had other plans with the headband(s). "I never wear it before so I'm not going to do that,'' he said afterward in the locker room. "Look, I have three headbands in my locker because they kept throwing them at me, saying 'come on wear one, wear one. I support Brad, but I’ve never worn one before and I don’t have a bald head like the other guys.''

In fact, earlier in the season, Miller stopped wearing his headband and had some of the best games of his career. The only other King not to wear a headband was Shelden Williams. The last time I remember a whole team wore headbands was the Phoenix Suns this season during Heritage Week against Seattle. They were losing to the Sonics, so they took them off and won the game. All except D.J. Strawberry.

1ST QUARTER

The Blazers got of to a 4-0 start, but Udrih helped the 8-6 lead, making 6 staight points. After that, it was all Sacramento. Martin had a dunk to push the momentum the Kings way while Udrih went 5-5 from the field for 10 points and sparked a 12-2 run. He didn't make a shot after the quarter ended and finished with 11 points on 5-8 shooting. Rookie center Spencer Hawes was making his shots with 6 points early in his 4th career start. Enter Francisco Garcia in place of Shelden Williams. The first thing Cisco does is dish out an alley-oop to K-Mart. At the end of an exciting quarter, the Kings led 29-18.

2ND QUARTER

You can tell the Blazers are in trouble when Raef LaFrentz steps out on the court. He's played 7 games before, since the beginning of March. Quincy Douby came out with his headband and made 2 straight 3 pointers. Maybe he should keep his headband on. Not only that, Cisco made one right after that. It's gotta be the headbands. That started a 17-4 going into the quarter, putting the Kings up 42-22. K-Mart had another big dunk off of Hawes' high post passing. Despite everything was going well for the Kings, the Blazers went on an 11-4 run to close out the quarter, trailing 51-41.

3RD QUARTER

Kings fans were starting to get concerned. That 11-4 run turned into a 17-6 run spilling into the 2nd half. LaMarcus Aldridge was starting to light up the Kings and led the team to trail 57-53. He had 12 points in the quarter. In comes NBA TV's favorite bench player John Salmons, who actually started in place of the injured Ron Artest. Nicknamed "Super-Sub" by one of the broadcasters there, Salmons scored 10 points in the quarter to help revive the Kings and keep them out of trouble by scoring and playing great defense. Thanks to Salmons, the Kings led with a comfortable 78-62 score.

4TH QUARTER

The Kings got some bad news when K-Mart left to the locker room. He had a strained knee and wouldn't play for the rest of the night. With their leading scorer out for the game, Hawes, Douby, Salmons, Garcia, Moore and their headbands would have to fend off the Blazers looking to stay above .500. They alreday closed in on them once, they wouldn't let them do it again.

Douby would start where he left off by scoring the first basket. Travis Outlaw would answer back with two straight jumpers. After 2 minutes of either team scoring, Channing Frye broke through with a jumper of his own. After that, Salmons took over. He scored 7 straight points, including gettting fouled on 2 drives and making both shots and free throws. Garcia made 6 straight points after that and after a Mikki Moore jump shot, Douby capped it off with a 3 pointer. Josh McRoberts appeared at the end, but the Kings run away with a victory 103-86.

HIGHLIGHTS

* = Team High

** = Game High

KINGS

Salmons: 18 pts*, 6 reb, 4 ast*, 2 stl* (all pts in 2nd half)

Martin: 16 pts, 7 reb*, 3 ast, blk*, stl (DNP 4th qtr, knee strain)

Hawes: 15 pts, 7 reb*, 3 ast, stl

Garcia: 16 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, stl (bench)

Douby: 13 pts, 2 reb, 2 stl* (bench)

Moore: 10 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, blk*

Udrih: 11 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast (1st start since back injury)

Williams: 4 pts, 7 reb*, blk*, ast (bench)

BLAZERS

Aldridge: 24 pts**, 15 reb** (5 off.**) 3 blk**, 3 stl**

Frye: 15 pts, 14 reb, ast

Outlaw: 18 pts, 2 reb, ast (bench)

Jarret Jack: 10 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast** (bench)

Brandon Roy: 12 pts, 4 ast, 2 stl, reb

Blake: 2 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, blk, stl

LaFrentz: 2 pts, 2 reb, blk (bench)

Sergio Rodriguez: 2 pts, ast (bench)

McRoberts: 0 pts, 2 reb, 2 min (bench)

Von Wafer: 1 pt, 1 reb, 2 min (bench)

It's a great win for the Kings as spoilers. They might have spoiled Portland's chance to finish with a winning record. Eight players played and all but Williams finished in double figures in scoring, but he had a team high in rebounds. It's unknown if Martin will be ready for tongiht's game against the New Orleans Hornets, the second night of a home back-to-back. The Hornets just came of to the Lakers and it'll be a road back-to-back for them The Kings are already short-handed with Miller out and Artest questionable every game for the rest of the season. They played well without them in the 4th quarter, and they played well with the whole team last time against the Hornets.

The thing I like about this win is that the Kings used balance. No player stood out for the rest with the exception of Salmons scoring all 18 points in the 2nd half. In the end, no one player really stands out, like what the Pistons did all year. Their leading scorer, Rip Hamilton, averages only 17 PPG. It's balance that can help a team win games.

For the Blazers, the 17point loss to the Kings goes right up with the 21 point loss at San Antonio, 20 point loss at New Orleans and their 17 point loss in Denver. The Kings gave the Blazers their worst home loss at the time, beating them by 11 points Feb. 19. The Suns came in March 4th and beat the Blazers at home by 13 points. They're 39-40 and under .500 for the first time since Dec. 14. The Blazers haven't had a winning record in 5 years and play against the Mavs tonight on the road-home back-to-back. Roy, who didn't take a shot in the first half said, "I want to have a winning record, if we get above .500 it's more for your own pride."

Not only Roy was cold, James Jones went 0-6 and didn't tally a point. Roy didn't even have to deal with Artest killing him on the floor, but still played a below average game.

The Kings had a great win, and look to take the top seeded Hornets, who are 1/2 a game ahead of the Lakers.

Best of the West

These are the best players in the Western Conference, AKA The Wild Wild West. The West boasts 2 MVP canidates in Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul. When it comes to who's MVP, it might come down to who's in first place at the end of the year.

Below are the All Division teams for the Pacific, Northwest and Southwest divisions. Each has the best player at each position at the top, followed by the 7-man bench. The stat line is the following: points per game-rebounds per game-assists per game. Some might have steals per game or blocks per game, or in Andrei Kirilenko's situation, both.

After you see the division teams, see who are the best players in the conference at the end.

All Pacific Division Team

KOBE BRYANT

C- Pau Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies-Los Angeles Lakers) 18.8-7.7-3.7, 1.9 BPG (Season)
PF- Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns) 25.2-9.3-1.4-2.14 BPG
SF- Ron Artest (Sacramento Kings) 20.5-5.7-3.5-2.32 SPG
SG- Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)28.6-6.4-5.4
PG- Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns) 17.4-3.4-11.2
Baron Davis (Golden State Warriors) 21.9-4.6-7.6-2.39 SPG
Chris Kaman (Los Angeles Clippers) 15.7-12.7-1.9-2.77 BPG
Corey Maggette (Los Angeles Clippers)22.2-5.6-2.7
Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers) 14.2-10.5-3.6
Stephen Jackson (Golden State Warriors) 20.1-4.5-4.1
Kevin Martin (Sacramento Kings) 23.7-4.4-2.1
Monta Ellis (Golden State Warriors) 20.1-4.9-3.7

All Northwest Division Team

CARMELO ANTHONY

C- Marcus Camby (Denver Nuggets) 9.3-13.3-3.3-3.65 BPG
PF- Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz) 21.6-10.6-2.8
SF- Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) 25.9-7.5-3.5
SG- Allen Iverson (Denver Nuggets) 26.3-2.9-7.2
PG- Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) 19.2-3-10.5
Al Jefferson (Minnesota Timberwolves) 20.9-11.2-1.4
Andrei Kirilenko (Utah Jazz) 11.1-4.8-4.1-1.16-1.52
Brandon Roy (Portland Trailblazers) 19.3-4.9-5.7
LaMarcus Aldridge (Potland Trailblazers) 17.7-7.4-1.6
Kevin Durant (Seattle Supersonics) 20-4.2-2.3
Mehmet Okur (Utah Jazz) 14.4-7.4-2
Nick Collison (Seattle Supersonics) 9.7-9.2-1.5

All Southwest Division Team

CHRIS PAUL

C- Yao Ming (Houston Rockets) 22-10.8-2.3-2 BPG
PF- Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs) 19.5-11.5-2.9-2 BPG

SF- Josh Howard (Dallas Mavericks) 20.3-7.1-2.2
SG- Tracy McGrady (Houston Rockets) 21.9-5.2-5.8
PG- Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) 21.5-4-11.5-2.7 SPG
Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks) 23.6-8.7-3.5
David West (New Orleans Hornets) 20.4-9-2.3
Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs) 19.8-4.5-4.8
Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets-Dallas Mavericks) 9.8-6.4-9.6-2.46 SPG
Tyson Chandler (New Orleans Hornets)11.8-11.9-1.1
Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs) 18.3-3.2-5.8
Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies) 20.2-6.1-1.9

All Western Conference Team

C- Yao Ming (Houston Rockets)
PF- Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns)
SF- Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
SG- Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
PG- Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets)
Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns)
Baron Davis (Golden State Warriors)
Chris Kaman (Los Angeles Clippers)
Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz)
Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks

Tracy McGrady (Houston Rockets)

Rookie of the Western Conference

SG- Kevin Durant (Seattle Supersonics) 20-4.2-2.3

Best Defensive Player

C- Marcus Camby (Denver Nuggets) 9.3-13.3-3.3-3.65 BPG

Most Improved Player

C- Chris Kaman (Los Angeles Clippers)

Last Season: 10.1-7.8-1.1-1.5 BPG

This Season: 15.7-12.7-1.9-2.77 BPG

Kings Douse Blazers 96-85, Calling out Odom

After coming off a huge victory against the Lakers, the Kings don't miss a beat by controlling the Blazers in a wire-to-wire win against a cold Blazers squad. They absolutely couldn't keep up with the Kings' all-around team play for the whole game despite getting as close as 7 points behind them. They were bringing in "L.A. energy" that they used to beat the Lakers with to beat the Blazers. A lot of fans wanted the Kings to take complete control of the game by blowing out the Blazers as they were down as many by 17 points. And at the very bottom, I'm calling out Lamar Odom for calling the Kings a high school team.

1ST QUARTER

The Kings started off on Ron Artest's 6-2 run. He had 9 points in the quarter to go along with 3 steals, 2 from Steve Blake. Brad Miller hit his first 3 pointer and looks like he's back on track. Later on, the Kings went on a 10-5 run, started by John Salmon's reverse slam on Travis Outlaw. Outlaw came in later with a long dunk, but hanging on the rim will get you a technical. Then Channing Frye hit a half court shot before the buzzer sounded. The Kings went through their whole regular rotation in the quarter, and they had a 34-27 lead at the end.

2ND QUARTER

The benches were cleared out on both teams. It was Salmons, Shelden Williams, Quincy Douby, Spencer Hawes, and Francisco Garcia vs. Outlaw, Frye, Jarret Jack, Sergio Rodreguiez and James Jones. The Kings bench schooled the Blazers' bench with an 8-0 run and ended it as an 13-3 run. Those were the only 3 Blazers points for the first 5:50 of the quarter. In the whole quarter, they were 7-26 FG (26.9%) while the Kings were 10-24 FG (41.6%). Salmons had 7-11 points in the quarter too, something fans want to see more of when he comes off of the bench. Hawes had some great post moves on Joel Przybilla as the Kings led 58-44.

3RD QUARTER

This quarter wasn't great for either team. The Blazers shot 6-21 (28.5%) from the field while the Kings shot 3-16 (18.75%). They made more points (8) on free throws than field goals (6). Kevin Martin tried a huge dunk over Przybilla but missed and on the other side, Outlaw couldn't dunk over Brad Miller. There was a scary moment where Artest was running with Brandon Roy when Roy stepped on his foot and Artest crashed into a screen by LaMarcus Aldridge, which looked like he was leaning in. Artest turned his ankle and had a really bad fall, but he was OK. The Blazers went on an 8-0 run at one point but the Kings were all but ready to give up their lead, as they led 72-63.

4TH QUARTER

The Kings didn't want to fall behind as they started out with a quick 8-2 run. Beno Udrih led the way a with his signature spin move on Brandon Roy, something I haven't seen Roy do in a while. Because of his spin move, color commentator and Director of Personnel Jerry Reynolds nicknamed him the "Tasmanian Slovenian." The "Slovenian Devil" would sound better, but his nickname has got out nationally, and Udrih doesn't seem to mind. Portland answered back with another 8-0 run. The Kings held their ground for the rest of the game, and after a couple of dunks from Garcia and Artest in the second half of the quarter, the game was over, 96-85.

HIGHLIGHTS

*=Team High
**=Game High

KINGS

Artest: 22 pts, 6 stl (season high), 4 reb, 3 ast
Udrih: 14 pts, 8 reb (ties career high), 7 ast, 6 TO
Miller: 14 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, stl
Salmons: 11 pts, 2 reb, 2 blk, ast (bench)
Moore: 10 pts, 5 reb
Garcia: 5 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl, 2 ast (bench)
Martin: 6 pts, 2 reb (1 off.), ast, stl
Douby: 6 pts, 3 reb (bench)
Hawes: 6 pts, reb (bench)

BLAZERS

Roy: 21 pts, 9 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, blk, 5 TO
Aldridge: 20 pts, 6 reb, stl, blk
Przybilla: 4 pts, 10 reb, 3 blk
Outlaw: 13 pts. 5 reb, 2 blk, stl (bench)
Blake: 6 pts, 6 ast
Frye: 4 pts, 7 reb (bench)
Webster: 10 pts, 2 reb

The Kings' bench outscored the Blazers' bench 30-24. Although they were outrebounded, the Kings played great defense, causing 20 TOs (2 on shot clock violations) and staying in front of their man. Artest's 6 steals played a major role against this team which could have taken away a potential 12 points. The Tasmanian Slovenian was on his way to a quadruple double, the bad one. He had a 7:6 assist to TO ratio but he did tie a career high 8 boards. 28 first half points in the paint helped out a lot too. Everyone who stepped on the court contributed to the team. Eight Kings scored 6+ points.

Portland just didn't play well out there and performances like that say that the playoffs are not in this team's future, at least this year. The players just didn't play well. Roy was the bright spot, but none of the other players stepped up to try and win like last time in Portland, where Martell Webster and Outlaw were shooting the lights out, but still lost. At least they tried. It's been a long road trip for this team, but in the end it looked like they just flat out quit.

While the Blazers go home to play the T'Wolves tomorrow, the Kings will take on the Suns on the same day, fresh off of a win against the Warriors. The Suns have beaten the then hobbled Kings 3 times already before the new year began. This will be the only time the Kings will face Shaq this year, and he's avoided Sacramento all year. They saw Shawn Marion 5 times this year. The Kings are going in confident and bringing that L.A. energy that they used to beat the Lakers to take on the Suns, because if the Lakers can beat the Suns, and the Kings can beat the Lakers, then the Kings can beat the Suns.

Another thing, I've been hearing a lot, saying that no one takes the Kings seriously. If the Lakers didn't take them seriously, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant wouldn't have had 40+ minutes in that game. Odom had the nerve to call the Kings Dominguez High School (#1 high school team in California). Where was your defense on Artest? I still haven't seen it for 2 games especially when Artest dunked on you. In fact I'm putting up lost flyers around Sacramento because that's where you lost it. Your radio announcers are scared because they think the Kings match-up to your team too well. So before you call out on a team who just beat you, make sure you show up to the game. See you in Sac. Peace.

Blazers Lose 5th Straight to Kings, 105-94

It was the Artest show in the 4th quarter as he scored half of his points there and shut down Brandon Roy. Shelden Williams had an impressive debut in limited minutes, Garcia scored 23 points off of a back injury, it was all good for the Kings. It was a physical game with a dash of technicals and boos to Artest, again. The Blazers surged to stay in the game, thanks to the bench from Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster who chipped in a combined 41 points. It was close game throughout, and each team went on runs to put on the pressure. In the end, in the words of coach Nate McMillan, "We just couldn't handle Artest."

1ST HALF

In the beginning, Channing Frye and Joel Przybilla went off of the Kings, dunking on them wide open in the lane. Portland was going crazy like the dunk contest spilled over into the Rose Garden. After the 1st quarter dunk fest, things started to heat up. It started to get competitive, with Francisco Garcia and Travis Outlaw in a shootout. Garcia finished with 12 points in the half while Outlaw had 10 points. Shelden Williams came on his Kings debut strong with solid defensive play in the las minute of the game which could give him more playing time. the score tied at 51 at the half.

Kevin Martin only had 2 points. Looks like he's due for another horrible night. Maybe not.

Brandon Roy had 9 points. He should finish around his average of 19.5 PPG. Maybe not.

2ND HALF

The Kings let their guard down for the first part of the 3rd quarter, allowing the Blazers to make the first 3 shots. The Kings answered back with a 13-4 run, helping them to a 70-65 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Let's look at the odds of the Kings winning. Since the Sacramento era of the Kings began in 1985, the Kings have a record of 15-70 at the Rose Garden. That's a 17.6% winning average at Portland. The odds aren't that good for them winning. But add Artest to the equation, and it changes.

Outlaw and Webtser exploded in the 4th quarter getting 23 points and 18 points respectively. But on the defensive end, nothing could go Portland's way as the Kings were getting almost every foul call they could. The Kings getting to the line ended in the Kings going 11/14. Martin exploded in the 2nd half to finish with 21 points, while Garcia continued his shootout to finish with 23 points. In the end, most of the credit goes to Artest for shutting down Roy in the 2nd half. Not only that, but he also got 12 of his 24 points in the 4th quarter as well. Portland self-destructed at the end when Webster fouled Martin and got a technical for exploding at the ref. No question he was fouled though. Thanks to a big 4th quarter, the Kings pulled out win #16 since 1985, and sent the Blazers to a 5th straight loss.

Highlights

Kings
Artest: 24 pts, 5 rbs, 5 ast, 3 stl (held Roy scoreless in 4th quarter)
Garcia: 23 pts (5/7 3pt), 6 reb (bench)
Martin: 21 pts (19 pts in 2nd half), 6 reb, 3 ast, stl
Brad Miller: 15 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, stl, blk
Williams: 3 pts, 3 reb (2 off.), blk in 5 minutes (bench)

Blazers
Outlaw: 23 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl (bench)
Webster: 18 pts, 3 reb, stl, blk (bench)
Roy: 11 pts (2 pts 2nd half), 8 reb, 6 ast
Jarret Jack: 9 pts, 11 ast
LaMarcus Aldridge: 12 pts, 5 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl, ast
Przybilla: 6 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk

The Kings are keeping their hopes up to go on a run like they did 2 years ago, when they had the 4th best record in the NBA after the All-Star Break. Artest, even though he's on the verge of being traded, backs it up by saying "We just don't want to be a rollover type of team, so we're making a push. We're not out until they say we're out.''

The Blazers, on the other hand, sound like their starting to get worried when Przybilla said, "We've got less than 30 games to go and we've got to get back on one of those streaks and get our confidence back.'' It was Portland's worst home loss of the season.

As the Blazers get reday to take on the Sonics after a day of rest, the Kings head back home to face former teammate Mike Bibby and the Atlanta Hawks tonight in an ironic, yet emotional homecoming. Bibby, however, was injured playing the Lakers last night, but he might play. If it's long term, it will hurt the Hawks' playoff run.