Kings VS Raptors: Toronto Needs Valanciunas Back

The Kings and the Raptors went head to head on December 20th. The Kings came out of Toronto with the win and it is clear that the Raptors are struggling. Why are they struggling though? The main reason is because both Valanciunas and Carroll are out of the starting line-up due to injuries. Let's jump into the game.

The Kings Dominated On Offense
This Sacramento Kings team couldn't miss the other night. Maybe this had something to do with Carroll out, but the Kings still shot 52.6% from the field as well as shooting 42.9% from 3-point range. Of course, this isn't that surprising since the Kings are 5th in field goal percentage and also 5th in 3-point percentage. It also isn't surprising that the Raptors only shot 37.2% from the field and 27.6% from the 3-point line knowing that they are 21st in field goal percentage and 17th in 3-point percentage.

Kyle Lowry Had a Short Night
Lowry really struggled in this game, and he never got to go on a hot streak considering the fact that he was ejected in the 4th quarter. When he argued with a call, the ref gave him a tech. Lowry continued to argue and was thrown out of the game with another tech. The Raptors were only down by 7 at that point.

Bismack Is No Jonas
While Biyombo had 13 rebounds in the game, rebounding is about the only thing that he did. He shot 0-7 from the field and had 2 points off of free throws. He didn't have an assist or a steal. He only had 1 block defensively. They need Jonas. Bismack just doesn't have the offensive caliber that Jonas has on the floor. The Kings had 52 points in the paint and Jonas would have cut that down. Biyombo can rebound and that is about it.

The Kings Of Tempo
There were tons of fast break points for this Kings team and the Raptors couldn't stop it. The thing is, when you have DeMarcus Cousins getting 5 fastbreak points in a game, then your guy are not getting back. Everybody on the Kings were getting out and running in transition and the Raptor were not getting back.

Rajon Rondo Is a Beast
He was the reason why they won this game. He had 19 points along with 13 assists. This kid had 12 points in the paint. 12. He was getting to the rim and finishing on Lowry. He was getting his teammates involved and getting high percentage shots in the paint and Lowry couldn't guard him. Rondo is showing that he deserves to be a starting point guard. Without him, I don't think that the Kings win this game.

Other Points

• DeMar DeRozan lead the way for the Raptors with 28 points. He also added 7 rebounds.
• All 5 of the Kings starters had over 10 points. The team really moved the ball well as they had 26 assists.
• Omri Caspi had a double-double, 15 point and 11 rebounds. He has proved to be a great asset for the team. Expect him to keep up his production.
• The Raptors were short-handed and only played 3 guys off the bench, even after Lowry was ejected. Hopefully they can get Carroll and Jonas back soon, because they don't have much of a bench without them.

As you can see, the Raptors are suffering in some areas without Carroll and Jonas. Hopefully they can get them back soon. Hope you guys liked the post. See you next time on NBA Inside The Play Nation. 

NBA Inside The Player Of The Week (Nov. 10-16)

DeMarcus Cousins is the NBA Inside The Player Of The Week, and this is the first of his career with many more to come. What earned him this award? Let's take a look, Inside the player of the week.

The Kings have won all 3 of their games this week, one of them being against Andre Drummond and the Pistons. In those 3 games, Cousins has averaged 36.3 Points, 10.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks. He has been the main reason for their success this past week.

Cousins had a major bounce back after the week before when he had a bad game against the Spurs, and reportedly cussed out Coach George Karl in the locker room after the game. Cousins took it personally to make things right with the team, and you could tell from his bounce back performance this week.

One major factor in Cousins being player of the week was his 3 point shooting. This week he shot 60% from beyond the arc. And it wasn't like he shot 5 threes this last week. He shot 9-15 on three point attempts this week. He played shot really well.

Something really impressive that we don't see from Cousins that much, was him limiting his turnovers. He only averaged 2.7 turnovers this week. While it is a small sample size, it is still strange to see knowing that Cousins hasn't been so careful in the past with handling the basketball. Last season he was 2nd in turnovers and the year before he was 5th in turnovers. So only averaging 2.7 turnovers this week is a big accomplishment for D-Marc.

The Kings really aren't that great defensively, but without Cousins, they aren't great offensively either. When he is on the court, the Kings have a 105.7 offensive rating, and when he is off the court, they only have a 96.8 offensive rating. Think of it this way, if they didn't have Cousins, the Kings would be ranked 30th in offense and 25th in defense, so it is a good thing they have Cousins. Let's face it, if the Kings didn't have Cousins, they probably wouldn't have won that many games this week, if any.

Chicago Bulls Should Trade for Rudy Gay

"Rudy Gay Kings" by Mike - Flickr: (2013-12-21) Kings at Magic 21. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons.

Rudy Gay is an offensive beast on a team that can't win. I'm pretty sure that Rudy wants to win. Everybody hates losing, unless you are Carmelo Anthony, but he just likes money. And we all know that Carmelo still doesn't prefer to lose, he just doesn't mind it. But Rudy has been on a losing team for a long time now. In fact, the only time Rudy Gay went to the playoffs, it was back in the 2011-2012 season and the Memphis Grizzlies lost in the first round. So my assumption is that Rudy Gay would probably love to be traded to the best scenario where he can win, and in my mind, that place is Chicago.

Mike Dunleavy has been sidelined for 8-10 weeks with a back injury, and now the Chicago Bulls need a starting SF. Who would be better to fill that role than none other than Rudy Gay. To me Rudy would fit perfectly in this role and would help the Bulls be a championship team. If they had him, their offense would have so many options, something that they struggled with last year. Imagine the lineup:

PG: Derrick Rose (starter), Aaron Brooks (bench)
SG: Jimmy Butler (starter), Kirk Hinrich (bench)

SF: Rudy Gay (starter), Doug McDermott (bench)
PF: Pau Gasol (starter), Nikola Mirotic (bench)
C: Koakim Noah (starter), Cameron Bairstow (bench)

Pretty good right. Now you are probably thinking, "Who will they trade for Rudy Gay?" Now this is the part where I tell you, The Sacramento Kings are pretty much giving players away. (ex. Nik Stauskas). But they won't just give away Rudy Gay. And the Bulls have to be smart about this. The Bulls have not that many players on huge contracts. And Rudy Gay really isn't on a big contract. They would be able to afford him easily. And here is the trade.

Bulls trade: Tony Snell, Mike Dunleavy, Taj Gibson, E'Twaun Moore, and a 1st round draft pick

Kings Trade: Rudy Gay, Kosta Kufos

C'mon, this is a great trade. The Bulls haven't really been able to put together Tony Snell, and I think the Kings would love to have him. These guys would be great for the Kings to look through. And Kosta Kufos would be great down low for the Bulls as he is known for his solid defense.

I really think that this would be a great trade for both the Kings and the Bulls. The Kings know they won't win this season, so why not bring in some people to develop. The Bulls offense would improve a lot with Gay in the mix. Imagine how much stress it would take off Rose, Butler, and aging Gasol. This would really help them gather some wins and help them reach the finals.

Will Coach Popovich be Able to Make a Player out of Jimmer Fredette?

"Jimmer Fredette Kings" by Mike - Flickr: (2013-12-21) Kings at Magic 33. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Jimmer Fredette is going into his sixth NBA season with the San Antonio Spurs. In the 2011 draft, he went 10th and was picked by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was later traded to the Sacramento Kings. His rookie season was an okay season with the Sacramento Kings. He averaged a good 7.6 PPG, 1.8 APG, and shot 36.1% from the 3 point line. While Fredette looked like he was on track, his second season was about the same as the first. Jimmer shot about 41% from the 3 point line in his second season, while shooting over 150 three pointers. Jimmer still only averaged about 7 PPG though. His 3rd season with the Kings, he only averaged 5.9 PPG. He did however shoot 49.3% from the 3 point line but he only shot 73 threes. While his offense wasn't improving, his defensive rating was an average of 108.25 out of those three seasons! After the Kings saw no improvement in Jimmer's offense and seeing that he couldn't play defense, they traded him.

Jimmer was traded to the Bulls where he played only 8 games. Tom Thibodeau, the head coach of the Bulls at the time, was a defensive coach and couldn't work with Fredette. Jimmer averaged only 4 PPG and shot only 36% with the Bulls.

The Pelicans decided to give Jimmer a chance, signing him to a 1 year deal. Jimmer had his worst season yet. With the Pelicans, he averaged 3.6 PPG, 1.2 APG, and only shot 18% from the 3 point line! Even though he shot horrible, he did however, improve his defense a little bit. It wasn't much, and it still wasn't good, but he did lower it to 104.9. The Pelicans saw that they didn't want Fredette and didn't bother to sign him.

"Popovich cross armed - Cropped-2" by Popovich_cross_armed_-_Cropped.JPG: Zereshk derivative work: Edgars2007 (talk) - This file was derived from: Popovich cross armed - Cropped.JPG: . Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Jimmer was signed to a 1-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs this summer. The question for everyone is will Coach Gregg Popovich be able to get Jimmer to become a better player. Jimmer has not been able to improve and people are hoping that he will be able to get better with the Spurs this season. The only problem facing Jimmer, is that 3 people from the Spurs are going to get cut. Jimmer having experience, could be able to make the team, but it will be tough. He is going to have to play extra hard if he is going to be able to make it.

Even if Jimmer makes the team, he won't get much time and he might not even play at all. Take a look at the bench depth at the guard positions.

PG- Tony Parker (starter), Patty Mills (bench)
SG- Danny Green (starter), Manu Ginobili (bench), Ray McCollum (Res.), Jonathan Simmons (Res.)

As you can see, with 7 guards on the team, Jimmer might not get any playing time at all.

Coach Popovich might be able to make Fredette a team player. If he can do that, Jimmer would have a spot in the NBA as a great bench player of even a starter. Fredette has to realize though that this could very well be his last chance in the NBA. Whether the Spurs play him, or send him to the D-league, he has to play his best. Coach Popovich has to help him and show him his defensive tips. And with last year's defensive player of the year, Kawhi Leonard, he might be able to really help Fredette with defense. With the Spurs being a team that gets everyone involved in their offense, this would be a great place for Jimmer to start over at. That is, if he can make the team.

Thanks for the season

The teams that are done and will not enter the playoffs are the Hornets, Pistons, Magic, 76ers, Knicks, Suns, Jazz, Nuggets, Kings, Lakers, Wolves

More will be decided tonight. I want to give a shout out to the best plays from these teams.

Hornets: Kemba's multiple buzzer beaters this season.

Kemba was probably the most clutch guy this season. He hit multiple shots to win and tie the game. Gotta love Kemba. Good bye Hornets. We will miss those close games.

Pistons: Reggie Jackson Trade. Ever since Reggie Jackson came to this team, it has been great. I will admit. I miss Singler, but you have to love what Jackson has done. Ever since he came to the Pistons, he has averaged 17.4 PPG, 35% from 3pt, and 9.1 APG. Just throwing this out, those are numbers that John Wall is pretty much averaging. Bye Pistons, we will miss Jackson's new numbers.

Orlando Magic: Elfrid Payton's hair. Wait! That was an April Fools Day joke! He sure fooled NBA article writer Lang Whitaker. Good Bye Orlando Magic. We will miss all the jokes and laughs you have given us.

Philadelphia 76ers: We will miss the stats you have given me. You ranked 1st in steals and second in blocks. You also ranked 1st in turnovers though. Still, thanks for the stats. But really, don't trade off anymore of your players for future draft picks. It gets a little old. We will miss you 76ers. We will miss your crazy defensive stats you gave us.

New York Knicks: Knicks winning against the Hawks. That was pretty good. You have put up some fights. Not to mention your fans are probably booing you for lessening your chances at the #1 draft pick. Still, you had some great games. Most bad, but there were some good ones. And thanks for finally taking Lou Amundson out of the starting line-up. We will miss you New York Knicks. For your wild win over the Hawks.

Phoenix Suns: That Trade deadline wouldn't have been crazy without you. You traded off Miles Plumlee, Isaiah Thomas, and Goran Dragic and changed your team completely. Wow, this was one of the most interesting trade deadlines of all time, and we owe most of it to the Suns. Them and Sam Hinkie, who makes no sense at all. Why is he a GM?! We will miss you Suns. Thanks for the trades we will miss so much.

Utah Jazz: Thank you Jazz for upsetting a lot of teams and going to make a playoff run, even though you were already eliminated. You put all your effort but just could 't make it. I would also like to make a shout out to Gordon Hayward for leading his team and making the Cavs go home with a frown on their faces
We will miss the Jazz and that face LeBron had after Hayward made that shot.

Nuggets: I don't know that I will miss much from this team. Sure, Gallinari had 47 points, but that's the best that has happened. We will miss you Nuggets, I guess.

Kings: All three coaches. Let's face it, they will have a new coach next year. It's just what the Kings do. They love finding new coaches. C'mon they had three this year. I know that their arena isn't that good (more like horrible). But you can't tell me that it hasn't been fun seeing a variety of post-game conferences from a variety of coaches. We will miss you Kings. And all three of your coaches too.

Lakers: Steve Nash. He is gone. Never played a game for the Lakers this regular season. And now he is gone from our lives. Never got a ring. Just two MVP trophies. We will miss you Steve Nash. And so will the Starters. Good bye Lakers, and good bye Steve Nash.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The worst team had given us some great plays. And by great plays I mean Dunks. From Zach LaVine to Andrew Wiggins to Anthony Bennett, we have seen some great dunks.

Thanks Zach for the Dunk Comp.

Thanks you Wolves for the worst season and turning it into a dunk festival. We will miss you Wolves and we will miss the highlight dunks from you.

As the Regular season closes. These teams are done til next season. So I ask that everyone dedicates this moment to these teams and all they have brought. Whether it's Mo Williams 52 points or Payton's Triple-Double. They made the NBA season just that more special. Besides, without them, we would have no regular season. It would just be the playoffs and the playoff teams. We will miss all these teams, and we will miss the Regular season.

Another Sleeper Season at Sleep Train Arena

"Sleep Train Arena interior" by CLopez63 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sleep_Train_Arena_interior.jpg#/media/File:Sleep_Train_Arena_interior.jpg

If you have ever watched a Kings game at Sleep Train arena, it doesn't look that inviting. It probably looks like one of the most depressing arenas in the NBA. I will be watching a game at Oracle, Verizon, Target, Barclays, or Air Canada, and I think, I wish I were there. Then I watch a game at Sleep Train, and I will be thinking, wow, I would hate to be there. The truth is, I wouldn't hate it. I love watching games live. The last place I would go though, is Sleep Train arena. It just looks depressing. The place I would most likely go is Oracle, Air Canada, or Madison Square Garden. Those places actually look inviting. Who would wan to go to a place that is on the top 5 arenas that need an upgrade.

The depressing Sleep Train Arena actually sums up the Kings season. In fact, it sums up the last few seasons. They have one of the best small forwards, (Rudy Gay), and one of the best centers, (DeMarcus Cousins), yet they still can't make the playoffs. This season they have had 3 head coaches. Something tells me that there is something wrong with the team and staff if you have gone through 3 coaches.

This team had some Hot Sauce night for Nik Staustas, just to get people to come to the arena to see the games. I guess it was a good idea since many people came. I feel bad for this Kings team, I really do. They have so much talent. They just can't win. I think that it has something to do with the likability of DeMarcus Cousins. Why wasn't he originally voted in as an all-star? He was a great player averaging over 20 PPG. I think it has something to do with none of the coaches liking him. He is a great player, but I honestly can't stand the guy.

To sum it up, the kings have had another lost season as DeMarcus and Gay continue to get older and waste their youth on this team, just like Steve Nash did with the Suns for so many years. It's just been another season, where you could probably fall asleep at Sleep Train. I have one more question for anyone who is reading this. What kind of team gets a mattress company to sponsor their stadium. Only in Sacramento.