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Sacramento Plays Poorly and Loses to Memphis… |
The Sacramento Kings are struggling to open the 2011-12 NBA season. Sacramento lost again on Tuesday January 3 to fall to 2-4 on the season. The team put together a solid first half before getting blown away in the second half and losing the game 113-96. Not even the return of DeMarcus Cousins helped in this game. Cousins came off the bench and played just 22 minutes. His poor shooting continued as he shot just one out of five from the field on his way to four points and eight rebounds. The starting unit accounted for only 36 out of 96 points in the game. No NBA team will win a game when they get performances like that from their starting five. The starting unit only made 13 out of 35 shots for just 37% shooting in the game. Sacramento is a young team and needs to get more consistent play out of their stars like Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton. The one bright spot is that this may have been a breakthrough game for rookie guard Jimmer Fredette. Fredette has struggled coming into this game and has not had an outstanding start to his rookie season. Fredette led the team in scoring and played the most minutes on the team in the loss to Memphis. Fredette made six out of 12 shots including four three pointers on his way to scoring a season high 17 points. Sacramento also saw a good game off the bench from rookie point guard Isaiah Thomas. Thomas has played very well early on and has earned more playing time off the bench. Thomas finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. One of the biggest problems the team is having early in the season has been their lack of assisted baskets in games. This directly translates to the stagnant offense that fans are watching in games. The team is not moving the ball well and the offense is struggling because of it. No player on the team has had a game with more than five assists through six games this season. Sacramento fans shouldn’t panic quite yet. Several of the teams losses have come against quality opponents so far this season. Sacramento needs to start playing better and more consistent basketball. Once they do, victories will come and the improvement will be evident. Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and a lifelong fan of the Sacramento Kings. He started going to Kings games at age six and has attended hundreds of games since. Follow him on twitter @kyler11. Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content. Leave any suggestions in the comment box. Posted in nba, Uncategorized | Comments Off
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Cousins demands trade from Sacramento Kings |
DeMarcus Cousins and the NBA‘s Sacramento Kings appear to be breaking up as the club told Cousins to stay home rather than attend what turned out to be a victory over New Orleans. Cousins, a center who was selected fifth overall in the 2010 NBA Draft, had asked to be traded and was not with the Kings when they defeated the Hornets 96-80 on Sunday, improving to 2-3. “DeMarcus Cousins has demanded to be traded,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said. “In the best interest of our team as we go forward, he has been directed by me, with the support of management, to stay home from the New Orleans game.” Westphal said he hopes the 21-year-old big man will rethink his position and join the Kings, with whom he averaged 13 points and 11.3 rebounds in four games. “I hope that DeMarcus has a change of heart and joins up with full reinstatement,” he said. “That’s really all up to him. This will give him the best chance to do that. “It’s something I think the team can use to band together which is the most important thing for a new team.” Cousins was suspended last February for starting a fight on an airplane with a teammate and had been fined over a dispute with a conditioning coach. Westphal indicated there was more behind-the-scenes trouble with Cousins. “Everything that happens on a team does not become known to the public,” said Westphal. “This is how it should be. However, when a player continually, aggressively, lets it be known that he is unwilling or unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team, it cannot be ignored indefinitely. “As coaches, we can only ask that our players do everything they can to improve themselves as individuals and teammates.” The Kings need all the improvement they can get. They have not won more than 25 games in any of the past three seasons and have not reached the NBA playoffs since 2006. Comment Below!. |
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Sacramento Kings Send Two Players to D-League:… |
The Sacramento Kings have sent two of their young players to the Reno Bighorns, their developmental league team. The team announced that rookie small forward Tyler Honeycutt and second year center Hassan Whiteside would leave Sacramento and join the D-League affiliate. Both players were drafted in the second round of the NBA draft and were chosen as developmental players. Now they’re getting the opportunity to do just that, develop their game and get the playing time they need to do so. This will be a good move for each player because they should learn more from actual game experience than sitting on the bench and watching. Whiteside is a seven-foot center who is in his second season and has seen very little playing time with Sacramento. I was hoping that Whiteside had developed enough in the offseason to be able to contribute minutes off the bench this year. Sacramento has just four big men on the roster and recently sent home center DeMarcus Cousins after asking for a trade. Sending Whiteside to the D-League must indicate that the situation with Cousins isn’t serious and he will return soon. Sadly, it also indicates that Whiteside hasn’t improved and is not ready to contribute at the NBA level. Honeycutt is only five games into his rookie season and was Sacramento’s first of two second round draft choices in the 2011 draft. The other player, point guard Isaiah Thomas, is on the roster and seeing playing time. The biggest difference between the two players is that Thomas had much more experience on the collegiate level and is more ready to play right now. Honeycutt is stuck behind John Salmons, Travis Outlaw, Donte Greene, and Francisco Garcia at his position. This means it is very unlikely he will see playing time this season unless Sacramento is blowing out an opponent or getting blown out. Fans shouldn’t look too much into players being assigned to the D-League. This will give each player an opportunity to receive more playing time and try to improve their game. Hopefully it helps the team longterm and each player benefits from their time in Reno. Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and a lifelong fan of the Sacramento Kings. He started going to Kings games at age six and has attended hundreds of games since. Follow him on twitter @kyler11. Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content. That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow. |
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Sacramento Kings Assign Honeycutt and Whiteside to… |
January 2, 2012 – NBA Development League (D-League)
 NEW YORK, Jan. 2, 2012 – The Sacramento Kings assigned forward TylerHoneycutt and center Hassan Whiteside to the Reno Bighorns, the Kings’ NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced today. The assignments mark the eighth and ninth time in the 2011-12 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate. It marks the first assignment for Honeycutt and second for Whiteside in his career. Honeycutt (6-8, 188) is a rookie this season after being selected out of Whiteside (7-0, 235) is in his second NBA season after a rookie season in • Discuss this story on the NBA Development League message board… • Washington Wizards Assign Hamady N’Diaye to Iowa Energy – Iowa Energy • Sacramento Kings Assign Honeycutt and Whiteside to Reno – D-League • Sacramento Kings Assign Honeycutt, Whiteside to Bighorns – Reno Bighorns The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff. Feel free to leave your comments below. |
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Sacramento Kings Assign Honeycutt, Whiteside to… |
January 2, 2012 – NBA Development League (D-League) Reno Bighorns
 RENO, NEV.- The Sacramento Kings have assigned rookie forward Tyler Honeycutt and second-year center Hassan Whiteside to the Reno Bighorns, their NBA D-League affiliate. This marks the first career assignment for Honeycutt and the second for Whiteside.
Honeycutt (6-8, 188 lbs.) was drafted by the Kings in the second round (35th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft. During two seasons at UCLA, he averaged 10.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 59 games. He played one game with the Kings during the regular season, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound in four minutes. In a preseason game against the Golden State Warriors, he scored six points in 19 minutes of action. Whiteside (7-0, 235) returns to the Bighorns after playing 14 games with the team last season. During his stint in Reno, he averaged 4.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.14 blocks per game. He was drafted by the Kings in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft out of Marshall. Fans can see Honeycutt and Whiteside in action as the Bighorns take on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, NBA D-League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks, on January 3rd at the Reno Events Center. Reno Bighorns season and group ticket packages are on sale today. Groups can experience one of the many Fan Experience Packages, including playing a game on the Bighorns court or performing a routine at halftime of a game. For more information call (775)853-8220 or visit RenoBighorns.com. • Discuss this story on the NBA Development League message board… • Washington Wizards Assign Hamady N’Diaye to Iowa Energy – Iowa Energy • Sacramento Kings Assign Honeycutt and Whiteside to Reno – D-League • Sacramento Kings Assign Honeycutt, Whiteside to Bighorns – Reno Bighorns The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff. Not much else going on in the NBA world today. |
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