A number of people tend to disagree with me that Evans is struggling due to a lack of commitment. A number of people tend to think that it's more adjusting from a bad role that Westphal assigned Tyreke (which is understandable) and a new role that is entirely different from Keith Smart.

I tend to think that's it not entirely different from one coach to another when the reality of Tyreke's success or failure as a Sacramento Kings player would depend on the very balance that Keith Smart talks about in Jason Jones' piece for the Bee yesterday:

"You've got to be selfless to do it because, one, I didn't say this is how you score; this is how you get somebody else the ball," Smart said. "So I'm telling a guy who averages 20 and can have a huge night any night when his driving game is good to step back and give up that portion to get somebody else involved."

In otherwords? Read the game kid. Pay more attention. This shit ain't just about you. Earlier in the piece:

"My vision was I would look to score first, and then I'd kick out," Evans said. "Sometimes he tells me I get in the habit of thinking pass first and I'm not aggressive. I've just got to be aggressive."

His vision? Tyreke's vision? I'd make a joke about what vision, but the idea that Tyreke Evans knew how to be more successful at the NBA level than any head coach, including Paul Westphal, is problematic. That's a problem when you don't understand that portion of the game, and don't understand why a head coach, regardless of whether you get along from a personal standpoint, would want you to shed that kind of mindset.

Oh, but it doesn't stop there. Depending on how you feel about John Salmons (not happy with the performance but I don't despise him the way some Kings fans clearly do), this definitely won't make you happy. Here's a newsflash: Part of NBA stardom is creating mismatches, and when you move Tyreke to the SF spot you take those mismatches away. It's that simple.

From Jones' blog piece:

"He can't play the three," Smart said after Sunday's practice. "That guy was born with a basketball in his hand - got to keep that thing in his hand. I've tried that one time and that doesn't work so I'm not going to go back to that one because he's not a small forward." There are other reasons why Evans wouldn't make the best small forward on a regular basis. Listed at 6-foot-6, Evans would struggle defending a lot of small forwards that are stronger than him. That would potentially keep Evans in foul trouble.

I've said it here so many times that I'm getting nauseous saying it again, but hey that's the life of a poor NBA blogger.

Tyreke Evans path in the NBA will depend on how he is able to balance the difference between faciliation as a lead G and the scoring that comes natural to Reke. Without that balance, without mastering that balance, Tyreke's value drops down. Whether it's at SF, whether it's off the ball, or whether it's simply a toned down version, it's all going to have the same impact. Tyreke Evans is the best talent on the Kings roster, and has to play like that for the Kings to be successful. The sooner you figure that out, the sooner you will understand why I'm absolutely ridiculously hardcore about the little mental mistakes Tyreke makes routinely that absolutely destroy any semblance of an opportunity at consistent winning basketball. That is, after all, the goal yes?

******

Just as an FYI, I'm not writing a game thread (what is the point if if there is only a once in a blue moon comment, and if I do not have the time or willingness?) because I have too much other things to do right now. If you have not read why Keith Smart likes Oakland, I suggest you do. Otherwise, more Tyreke Evans hatred starting at 7:30pm tonight. One little snippet before moving on from Jones piece about Smart:

"(Nelson) said you run it and do it how you would do it if you were the head coach," Smart said. "By the time I got a chance to be a head coach, I had already had so much NBA experience."

Oh, and I've been pretty impressed with Jones' coverage of what is rapidly becoming a top to bottom dysfuncational franchise. If you have not read (one of the very few most likely), this is what I said about a potential Geoff Petrie departure in the Sactown Royalty thread:

I don't care if Geoff Petrie gets fired but without the Maloofs leaving as owners it makes no difference as far as whether you replace GM’s. In part because it would just mean the Maloofs would hold on for as long and as hard as possible as owners regardless of whether the Kings stay in Sacramento or not.

Whatever the case may be, Geoff Petrie is not infallible. He no longer can survive all his mistakes as a GM/Prez of BBall Ops (whatever) and deserves to be fired. But if this whole firing bit is a way to justify moving the franchise (without knowing the upcoming terms of an arena), or just a way to pacify an understandably angry fanbase it makes no sense.

I think the Maloofs will find that few people in Sacramento believe in them anymore Geoff Petrie or no. Which, again, comes back to the arena issue any way you slice it. And, I suspect, how much juice and will the NBA has in A) coughing up any money for a new arena and B) how much pull the Maloofs have in not coughing up any said dough for a new arena along with the NBA’s share.

Money, money, money. The Maloofs don’t got it, and they desperately want to retain ownership. This is the only play they have left, and in that respect given Petrie’s recent performance (hands tied or not) is not good enough to merit a real reason to keep Petrie. In some ways this might be the best thing that ever happens in the effort to keep the Kings in Sacramento. With no reason to keep the Kings in Sacramento, the pretense is over for the Maloofs. The jig will drop, and their ownership reign/terror on Sacramento will be over one way or another. Some finality to this whole clusterfuck of a situation is one pleasing bi-product that hopefully will come out of all this. Because if we don’t get a resolution soon, I’m thinking with all the negative energy from all comers the franchise may just implode in one of those ball of fires only John Carpenter could concoct.

I'll keep it simple why I won't write about that extensively. I've alrea-dy mentioned what I think of Geoff Petrie, and is it any secret I don't care for the Maloofs and would jettison them for a bag of Doritos quicker than you could say fat boy in a convenience store.

At this point, and I'll keep maintaining this about Tyreke Evans, is that a dysfunctional culture is only part of the franchise issue. Yet, many other franchises have had successful on court products because of players while dysfunctional from ownership on down in the management side of things.

I don't expect Tyreke Evans to rise above all the problems of this franchise, but not progressing as a player (which he has not done regardless of what Keith Smart says) is not acceptable. Jogging back in transition, getting lost on screens, not helping others defensively, not recognizing where to move the ball to get an effective shot, not having a diverse enough offensive arsenal to handle all the different looks NBA defenses use on players like Tyreke, and simply the energy and effort level vacillitates like a trignometric sin graph. That's not acceptable. Go hard. Go hard all the time. Anything less is simply never okay. And I won't give in to that regardless of numbers (the Utah game had as much to do with the matchup than anything) or what is being said publicly. Tyreke needs to grow up if this franchise, regardless of dysfunctional culture or no, is to move forward with even what modest NBA success looks like. That's all this is really about at the end of the day.

I tend to listen to things, and let things percolate. Am I still frustrated by Tyreke Evans and his, or what I see it as anyway, limiting and clownball level of play? Yes. But that's a lot of what last night's tweets and post was about.

That doesn't mean I think Keith Smart is an idiot, or what he's saying is necessarily right in his post-game interviews. I get Smart is in an impossible position, that if Smart is lucky, will end up with Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins backing him enough to the point where Smart can continue to push at them to grow as players.

If you haven't seen the presser of Smart's last night, I thought it was interesting (also entertaining but that's only the political side of it) from a number of vantages. Smart contradicted himself, IMO, when he said that the guys were running plays that we want run, and then noted Tyreke Evans took a couple of quick shots that weren't advised. Maybe I'm not understanding the distinction though on that one.

I did find the "we need to study the scouting reports" bit by Hayes and Smart from today's Bee by Jason Jones frustrating.

This quote I found particularly interesting:

"As we went through our personnel (Saturday) morning, Chuck's sitting on the side and really helping communicate what certain players can do, and that's what you need from a veteran on a young ballclub," Smart said.

Also, this is what Hayes is quoted as in Jones' story:

As Hayes put it, good teams "prepare well," and that is something he wants his teammates to learn.

"I had some great vets," Hayes said. "And I had some superstars like Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. I've been with stars in their prime and I've been with stars past their primes and just being professionals, so I get it."

Finally, there is a tremendous piece by James Ham at Cowbell Kingdom that illustrates the questions around Tyreke really remain. Here is a good portion of the piece:

Something is still wrong. Coach Westphal was the first to pay the price for the Kings struggles. Certainly Westphal had faults. For one, Westphal did not believe that all players should be handled with the same approach. While DeMarcus Cousins constantly received what can only be deemed tough love, Evans was instead nurtured, maybe even coddled. Neither approach seemed to have the desired effect.

There are only so many ways I can crap on Tyreke Evans for being a lackluster clownball Washington Generals like player. This has, among other things, gotten old. The problem is that like most things is that this history keeps repeating itself. What drives me absolutely crazy about Tyreke is the simple fact that he can run plays, doesn't at critical stretches, and makes rudimentary errors that HS'ers get scolded for.

What galls me more than anything is the missed layup Tyreke had with about 2:45 remaining in the 4th qtr. That was a perfect opportunity for a left hand, and a perfect opportunity wasted. The goaltending call on Paul Millsap with 30 seconds remaining was another lucky incident. What gets me, and what is driving my anger, is that Tyreke shows he can run an offense and actually get the team into plays. What he doesn't show is the commitment to do it for 48 minutes. That's unacceptable, and as long as that continues I will continue to be absolutely one sided unfair. I will kill him for ridiculous lazy lapses like the CJ Miles layup wit 1:49 remaining. There was no call for that whatsoever. The Kings were down 3 points at the time, and Miles walks into the paint nearly uncontested for a layup. You can't point fingers at someone like Jimmer Fredette and then play porous defense on critical possessions against the Jazz's 6th or 7th best player. That's Tyreke Evans in a nutshell. Did I mention the guy had 31 points (12-20 floor, 7-7 line), 9 assists, 6 rebounds (4 offensive though), 2 steals and a block tonight?. Also 4 turnovers including a ridiculous offensive turnover down the stretch of the 4th qtr. That's Tyreke Evans in a nutshell. Excellent numbers wrapped with enough moments to make even the most vigorous and/or aggressive of mental midgets jealous.

Another day, another potential blowout (30+ baby!!! Gotta go for the gusto...), and well, more crap play from the 2 franchise cornerstones. Not only that, but we'll get to hear (if you are not in the Sacramento region) all about how DeMarcus Cousins got Paul Westphal fired and how the Kings might not move if Kevin Johnson doesn't pull off the miracle on 7th street. Blah blah blah. I don't blame you if you are tired of these storylines, but that's the way it is.

As far as the 2 teams, Utah played last night in Dallas while the Kings were sitting in Salt Lake City waiting for them in their 5 star luxury hotel. So that's something. Utah hung with Dallas for about 3 1/2 quarters and imploded down the stretch. (We've heard this story before.) Will they be upset or ready? Nobody played more than 33 minutes with only the venerable Paul Millsap playing over 30 minutes.

The Kings ORtg is 96.8 points (27th of 30) per 100 possessions and the DRtg is 109.8 points(29th of 30) per 100 possessions.

The Jazz ORtg is 104.6 points (10th of 30) per 100 possessions and the DRtg is 103.6 points (21st of 30) per 100 possessions.

An interesting point that should be taken into consideration: The Kings have had the toughest schedule so far of any team in the season. Playing Utah tonight won't make that quest of improvement any easier.

My hope for tonight is to see a whole quarter of solid professional play from Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins. I don't think it will happen, but I'm hoping to be surprised. Or some such.

I've been trying to avoid this all day as I have other more pressing things to do (study for 2 tests in calculus and chemistry mainly). Yet, here I am writing this anyway. Some things are just what they are, and one of the unfortunate doomed fates I seem to hold as a human being is a Kings fan.

What pisses me off more than anything is that this team can't get consistent production from either Evans or Cousins. Cousins may be a great rebounder numbers wise, but the Kings are the worst rebounding team by DRB%. Exactly how much effect can one board man have? Well, it'd be one thing if the Kings were a middle of the pack Defensive Rebounding team with Cousins grabbing so many boards. But being in the very bottom? What does that say with so many plus rebounders on the roster? It's not like DRB% is based on total numbers of caroms you get; it's simply the percentage of caroms you take off the rim that are available.

Evans is just as bad. Evans leads the Kings with total Assists at 86 (which more than double the next guy--Isaiah Thomas--at 41), yet, how many times do the Kings really have quality ball movement with Evans as the primary playmaker? How many NBA level plays are being run?

Defense? Oh my, I don't even know where to go there. Evans jogs back in transition, and to hear him point fingers at Jimmer Fredette let alone else during today's practice sessions was one of the funnier things I've heard in awhile.

Cousins? The only player worse in transition than Cousins is Tyreke Evans, and that's no mean feat. There might not be a bigger unprofessional duo in the entire NBA if you consider that Andray Blatche,JaVale "Pierre" McGee and Nick Young are not really considered centerpieces.

Read the title, and, I can already see the thought going through your mind with "uh oh" to which I can reply," Hakuna Matuta brotha!" (Or sista. But I'm not sure there were sista's in Lion King.... At any rate...) The question about the parking in Sacramento is: How valuable is the parking now, how valuable is the parking likely to be in the future as the current setup (without an arena), and how valuable would those parking spaces be if a new arena was placed using different funding mechanisms?

Let's deal with the 3rd part first. On January 21st, Evan Weiner of Examiner.com wrote a pretty predictable piece that pretty much sums up the anti-arena sentiment to a tee.

The real question: Is how much money over the 50 year period (or whatever time frame Sacramento would be leasing these parking spots for) would the city of Sacramento be giving up by taking an up front payment instead of waiting out the long term and collecting these payments for themselves.

Here's the best question that a lot of anti-arena people haven't considered: How does payment of the debt on those parking spaces/garages cut into the annual profit of these parking spaces? If it does cut into the revenue, how many services would this diminish because the debt first and foremost would have to be serviced? Additionally, because this is how debt works, how much interest would you accrue doing it this way?

In otherwords, does the long term debt and interest pay off the real difference in having these parking spaces 50 years? What if the revenue (Weiner says it's 24 million annually) diminishes over time due to decreasing population 1), due to lack of employment because most private employers find Sacramento an uninviting business environment full of bedroom community ninny's 2), or simply due to nature of the beast3)?

Those are the 2 important questions that anti-arena people simply cannot answer because it leads them down the uncertain path of "Why are you against a new arena in the 1st place?"

Instead of spending the 4 or so hours writing a massive hit piece (which is what I just spent 4 hours doing) on why I hate Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins so thoroughly and completely. I need a weeks break from those 2 shitheads. Both have destroyed my love for the Kings for the time being, and hopefully a week of school/watching real NBA teams compete and perform will recharge my batteries and accept those two. (Yes, I just used the "recharging my batteries" in describing my feelings towards watching my favorite team since I was a teenager. I feel I need to be locked away in a room with a straitjacket for about 10 years after watching those 2 go out and "play" NBA basketball.) I'm assuming I'll just go back to hating them both for eternity. Actually what I'm kind of hoping for is they both spontaneously combust and I'll never have to look at them again. The odds of this happening? Slim and none. Such is life.

Which then means there will be a lot posts that would explore the scintillating whirling dirvish option of: Would it be better of if we shot 6 grenades at Tyreke every time he starts a possession after 16 seconds on the shot clock? Or would it be better if we shot him with 2 grenades to teach him an object lesson? Maybe Tyreke can pound the ball with only 1 functional leg. Now I'm fascinated. Maybe even morbidly excited?

Would it be wise to shoot 6 rockets at DeMarcus Cousins every time he catches a ball at the elbow (which he should either shoot, or pass without taking a single dribble) and then proceeds to take 6 dribbles into the lane and try and score over 4 defenders so he can make himself look good. Or would only 1 rocket work for said object lesson? If DeMarcus loses his arm from said rocket, does that mean he's more likely to shoot one arm shots from the elbow or 4 defenders? NOW I'M FASCINATED. JUST RIVETED.

As you can see, these are the critical and important things that I feel Kings basketball is about these days. Because it's not like there is a professional basketball being played these days from the two players who matter more than everyone else in the entire franchise combined. See ya next Saturday.

I wish I could say I enjoyed this game (I didn't), but a victory is a victory nonetheless. I'm so sick and tired of this team 16 games into a shortened season where the deck was so one-sided in terms of being stacked against this group that it almost feels pointless to complain. But I'm going to go right ahead and do it anyway.

This team is a terrible group of players collectively. As individuals, if they were in AAU, they'd be spectacular and dominant. The only problem with AAU ball is that it's not real basketball by most NBA teams estimation. It's just simply glorified streetball with slightly more organization. Do the Kings know that? Not really. They are too young. That isn't an excuse though. That's not all of the explanation. Part of it is the Kings, starting with the pounding dribble maestro Tyreke Evans, dribbles and then makes the most obvious of moves towards the basket. Whether it's one of the patented ridiculously retarded spin moves by Tyreke (I really hate that), or the pump fake and drive into the lane by DeMarcus Cousins. This team simply displays it's ignorance in the most arrogant of ways. Sometimes, it's simply youth. But really, they can get away with it against some teams like the Spurs who are not chock full of athletes and if the Spurs have a night off like they experienced.

Well, another day, another dollar (for some) and another opportunity to export some of the worst looking statistically ugly the basketball world has ever seen. Tough choices you see.

Sacramento has an ORtg of 96.7 (28th of 30) and a DRtg of 108.0 (27th of 30). The Pace for the Kings is 93.4 (7th of 30) possessions per game.

San Antonio has an ORtg of 107.7 (4th of 30) and a DRtg of 103.9 (19th of 30). The Pace for the Spurs is 91.2 (18th of 30) possessions per game.

What do I expect? I'm just hoping everybody gets back in transition. This team has killed any and all expectations I have had simply due to their glorious and willful ineptitude (here's looking at you Tyreke!). The Spurs are 10-5 while the kings are 5-10. Am I expecting much? No, I never really was honestly. The Kings have always struggled in San Antonio and tonight wouldn't be a surprise that there is more of the same.

I'm going to keep this short because A) I'm sick and B) I don't feel the need to blather on.

• Tyreke Evans did some good things and bad things in this game, but the stuff that will stick out is his poor decisions shooting the ball. Again, Tyreke has not progressed offensively as a player (he did play fairly good defense tonight) in terms of offensively diversifying his game. It's not just the facilitation that Tyreke needs work on; it's simply the overall decision making and attitude.

 Baby Steps. 

• DeMarcus Cousins had a poor shooting night, some great offensive rebounds, a lucky (and awesome) gambling steal on Darren Collison, and 19 rebounds (12 offensive). Cousins at times made an impact, but he misses way too many easy layup's. At some point this simply has to change. Hopefully it's sooner than later.

 Baby Steps.

• Marcus Thornton had a rough shooting night. I have a feeling that with the compressed time schedule, we'll continue to see poor shooting percenages from nearly all involved. Thornton figures to be the one guy on the Kings affected the most.
• A semi-poor outing by John Salmons was certainly off-set by Francisco Garcia having his best game of the season shooting percentage be damned. Coming into the game Cisco had a 46.5 TS% and after tonight has a 49.6 TS%.

Baby Steps.