Prediction Contest Leaderboard page (This will not update until next Tuesday)

Below are a series of prediction questions for tonight’s game. At the end of the week, whoever comes up with the most correct/closest predictions gets crowned “Nostradumbass of the Week” in the weekly Good, Bad and Ugly post. The first four questions will be asked every game, while the 5th will change each game.

Point value for predictions are listed next to the questions. If you believe that more than one player will lead a category, you can vote for multiple players, and this is worth double points if you are correct, but zero if you are wrong. Alternately, if you only guess one player when multiple players are tied, you get zero points.

All submissions must be input before tip-off. Any submissions after tip-off will not count. You are allowed only one submission and may not change unless specifically stated.

Questions:

1. Who do you think will win the game, and what will the final score be? (1 point for guessing winner. 2 points for guessing winner and correct score of one team. 5 points for guessing winner and exact score)

2. Who will be the game’s leading scorer? (1 point for guessing scorer, 2 points for guessing exact points scored)

3. Who will be the game’s leading rebounder? (1 point for guessing rebounder, 2 points for guessing exact rebounds)

4. Who will be the game’s leading assist man? (1 point for guessing assist man, 2 points for guessing exact assists)

5. Jimmer beat out Kemba Walker for Collegiate Player of the Year. Isaiah Thomas also came out in the same draft and probably had a better rookie year than either of them. Predict the combined three pointers made, assists and field goals made for these point guards. (1 point for each correct guess, 5 points for getting all correct)

Have fun and good luck!

Back on March 6, 2012, the Sacramento City Council approved a plan to fund a portion of a new downtown arena that’d keep the Kings in the Capital City for at least a few more decades by a historic 7-2 vote. Then the Maloofs killed the deal because, you know, Maloofs be Maloofing.

Now that there’s a chance that a Sacramento-based group could buy the Kings from the Maloofs, there’s a strong likelihood that the City Council will have to revisit that decision and vote again. But fear not: chances are it would have little trouble passing.

The two votes against the arena deal in March were Sandy Sheedy and Kevin McCarty. Sheedy didn’t run for re-election, and was replaced by Kevin Johnson ally Allen Warren. So one of the nays is now a likely aye. McCarty remains in office; note that his nay vote was a relatively surprise, and a change from the Maloofs to good, solvent owners could change his mind. (Potentially.)

Steve Hansen replaced Rob Fong on the council; Fong was a strong advocate of the arena deal, and Hansen, as an ally of KJ, is expected to be the same. There are a couple of councilmembers who voted with the majority last time but either aren’t friendly to KJ or were on the fence about the arena project — Bonnie Pannell and Darrell Fong. But the ayes could lose those two votes this time and still be clear. It’d take surprising defection, like Pannell, Fong, Warren and Hansen, to flip the script. That’s almost assuredly not going to happen. (And frankly, I’m not sure McCarty, who is ambitious, wants to be part of a coalition that kills a viable arena plan. Voting against a measure that’s obviously going to pass is a lot different in terms of optics than being the most notable voting member of the opposition.)

As for timing, I’d expect the Council to take up a plan sometime in March or very early April. While KJ is on the hook to come up with an ownership group by March 1, the city’s real case isn’t going to be made until April 18 or 19 in New York City. So that period between the finalization of the proposed ownership group and the presentation to the Board of Governors will be important to get ducks into rows, including the arena. (This is also why I think the Downtown Plaza plan probably isn’t viable — the turnaround is too tight.)

The Kings were awful in Memphis, but have a shot at a road win on Saturday in Charlotte.

The Sacramento Kings weren’t able to put together any semblance of a good offensive game on Friday in a loss in Memphis, but will have a quick chance to reverse that on Saturday with a visit to the Charlotte Bobcats. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Pacific and will be broadcast on Comcast SportsNet California and 1140 AM. (What, NBA TV didn’t want to pick this one up?)

The Kings are currently the third worst team in the West at 15-25. Sacramento has the league’s third worst road record at 3-15; the victims have been the Blazers, Cavaliers and Raptors. The Bobcats, meanwhile, are the third worst team in the East at 10-29; that also gets them the honor of being the third worst team in the NBA. (Yep, the league’s three worst teams are in the East.) Charlotte is only 5-15 at home this season, and has lost seven of 10 overall.

We’ll have fan predictions soon, a game thread at 4 and a recap to follow the game. For Bobcats info, visit Rufus On Fire.

The Sacramento Kings weren’t able to put together any semblance of a good offensive game on Friday in a loss in Memphis, but will have a quick chance to reverse that on Saturday with a visit to the Charlotte Bobcats. The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Pacific and will be broadcast on Comcast SportsNet California and 1140 AM. (What, NBA TV didn’t want to pick this one up?)

The Kings are currently the third worst team in the West at 15-25. Sacramento has the league’s third worst road record at 3-15; the victims have been the Blazers, Cavaliers and Raptors. The Bobcats, meanwhile, are the third worst team in the East at 10-29; that also gets them the honor of being the third worst team in the NBA. (Yep, the league’s three worst teams are in the East.) Charlotte is only 5-15 at home this season, and has lost seven of 10 overall.

We’ll have fan predictions soon, a game thread at 4 and a recap to follow the game. For Bobcats info, visit Rufus On Fire.

Here’s the good news: the Sacramento Kings held the Memphis Grizzlies to 85 points in 88 possessions, and DeMarcus Cousins scored 22 points on 22 shooting possessions and added 12 rebounds, two steals and a block.

The bad news: every damn thing else as Sacramento lost 85-69 in a relative snoozer.

The Kings were just awful on offense, shooting 34 percent as a team with 17 turnovers. The offensive efficiency came out to 0.78 points per possession, which is pretty gross. The Kings hit two of 10 three-pointers and only three of the 13 players who made an appearance shot 50 percent. (No one shot better than 50 percent.) The starting backcourt (Tyreke Evans and Isaiah Thomas) shot 7-22. Their opponents Mike Conley and Tony Allen 13-27. Cousins was the only King in double figures; all five Grizzly starters scored 10 or more. The Kings had all of nine assists on their 29 made field goals.

The Kings scored just 14 points in the first quarter, 30 in the first half and 47 through three quarters. (Yes, 47 points going into the fourth.) But Memphis was bad enough on offense that victory was (remotely) conceivably until the back end of the fourth quarter.

The Kings roll out to Charlotte to face the Bobcats on Saturday. Memphis is a far better defensively (and overall) than the Bobcats, so hopefully the offense thaws substantially.

The Sacramento Kings closed out their homestand in exciting fashion, coming back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to win 95-94. DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans and John Salmons had 21 points each, and they all had big moments down the stretch. Washington was led by rookie Bradley Beal, who scored 26 points and was the latest Kings opponent to shoot incredibly from three, going 6-7. John Wall had 14 points, 10 assists and 3 steals in his first game in Sacramento, but his floater at the buzzer to try to win the game fell short. He also missed two huge free throws in a row with 30 seconds left.

The Kings got behind by as much as 11 points in the 2nd quarter and then spent the rest of the game clawing their way back. In the 4th quarter though, they rode the back of Cousins. Cousins scored 9 of his points in the 4th quarter and managed to stay in despite playing with 5 fouls for a large portion of it. With the Kings down 91-86 with 2:38 left, Cousins scored 5 straight points by attacking the basket and on the next possession, drew attention and kicked out to John Salmons in the corner for a three to tie it at 94-94. In addition to his 21 points, he finished with 16 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Washington managed to steal the ball from Cousins on his next trip and John Wall had the opportunity to make it a two point game with 30 seconds left after Jimmer Fredette was charged with a blocking foul in transition. Wall, a career 77.9% free throw shooter, missed two straight, and I can’t help but wonder if the good ol’ sixth man, which was cheering their butts off, had anything to do with it.

After the timeout, Sacramento essentially drew up an isolation play for Tyreke Evans, with a high screen from DeMarcus Cousins. Evans managed to get into the lane where he was tripped by Nene Hilario on his shot attempt. Evans made the first free throw but badly botched the second, so much so that Grant and Jerry were speculating on whether he was trying to miss it on purpose (UPDATE: After the game, Evans said it was not intentional, the ball just slipped out of his hands). Whatever the case, the Wizards got the ball with about 10 seconds left and a chance to win the game.

The Wizards went to Bradley Beal, who has been extremely clutch for them in recent weeks, but Chuck Hayes came out and played some phenomenal defense on him, and Beal’s shot was too strong. The shot hit the back rim and sailed back over the outstretched arms of both Cousins and Nene and went back to John Wall, who didn’t have much time to do anything and had to throw up a desperation floater at the buzzer. The shot was well short, and the Kings came away with the win.

Other Notes:

• Tyreke Evans had a near triple-double to go with his 21 points, with 8 rebounds and 8 assists, as well as three steals. He also hit another three pointer, bringing his season percentage to 35.2% (on 34 attempts).
• Jimmer Fredette was Sacramento’s best Point Guard tonight, scoring 12 points in 21 minutes. He’s also been playing better defense lately (to my eyes).
• Keith Smart seems to be tightening his rotations a lot lately. Chuck Hayes and Jimmer were the only bench players to play double digit minutes, with Brooks and Thornton being the next highest with 8 minutes each.
• Bradley Beal had a rough start to the season but has been coming along nicely. I came away very impressed with him. Along with Wall, the Wizards have a great backcourt to build around for the future.

For the opposing perspective, visit Bullets Forever

Prediction Contest Leaderboard page

Winners of the last Prediction Contest with 2 points each: Doors Open, mjalmighty, AngryTree, DustinHefner, and rickyflip

Below are a series of prediction questions for tonight’s game. At the end of the week, whoever comes up with the most correct/closest predictions gets crowned “Nostradumbass of the Week” in the weekly Good, Bad and Ugly post. The first four questions will be asked every game, while the 5th will change each game.

Point value for predictions are listed next to the questions. If you believe that more than one player will lead a category, you can vote for multiple players, and this is worth double points if you are correct, but zero if you are wrong. Alternately, if you only guess one player when multiple players are tied, you get zero points.

All submissions must be input before tip-off. Any submissions after tip-off will not count. You are allowed only one submission and may not change unless specifically stated.

Questions:

1. Who do you think will win the game, and what will the final score be? (1 point for guessing winner. 2 points for guessing winner and correct score of one team. 5 points for guessing winner and exact score)

2. Who will be the game’s leading scorer? (1 point for guessing scorer, 2 points for guessing exact points scored)

3. Who will be the game’s leading rebounder? (1 point for guessing rebounder, 2 points for guessing exact rebounds)

4. Who will be the game’s leading assist man? (1 point for guessing assist man, 2 points for guessing exact assists)

5. Despite this being his 3rd year in the league, John Wall has yet to play in Sacramento due to various injuries. That changes tonight. Predict his Points, Assists and Steals (1 point for each correct guess, 5 points for guessing all correct)

Have fun and good luck!

The resurgent Wizards have John Wall back, and visit Sacramento to face the Kings.

This is the second “highly winnable” game of the Sacramento Kings’ current five-game homestand. The Kings followed through to win that first one on Monday, and now the Washington Wizards visit on Wednesday. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Pacific on Comcast SportsNet California and 1140 AM.

The Wizards come in with the East’s worst record, but have won three straight, including two since John Wall made his season debut on Saturday. (Amazing what a strong point guard can do, no?) Washington will be looking to take advantage of an inconsistent, porous Kings team that seriously might be a little distracted right now.

The Wizards are much better on defense than offense, so keeping Wall and company in check on the scoreboard and finding ways to score efficiently through some combination of shooting and pounding the paint will be key. The best way to beat the Wizards, in my estimation, is to limit their points scored, because the Kings’ own offensive success should mean that Sacramento can get toward or over 100 points in a normally paced game.

We’ll have fan predictions soon, a game thread at 7 and a recap to follow.

This is the second “highly winnable” game of the Sacramento Kings’ current five-game homestand. The Kings followed through to win that first one on Monday, and now the Washington Wizards visit on Wednesday. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Pacific on Comcast SportsNet California and 1140 AM.

The Wizards come in with the East’s worst record, but have won three straight, including two since John Wall made his season debut on Saturday. (Amazing what a strong point guard can do, no?) Washington will be looking to take advantage of an inconsistent, porous Kings team that seriously might be a little distracted right now.

The Wizards are much better on defense than offense, so keeping Wall and company in check on the scoreboard and finding ways to score efficiently through some combination of shooting and pounding the paint will be key. The best way to beat the Wizards, in my estimation, is to limit their points scored, because the Kings’ own offensive success should mean that Sacramento can get toward or over 100 points in a normally paced game.

We’ll have fan predictions soon, a game thread at 7 and a recap to follow.

A lot of StRians have seen the open letter from Sonicsgate producers Adam Brown and Jason Reid to Sacramento Kings fans that Grantland published on Tuesday. And there has been a lot of anger about it. I like Adam and Jason and the vast majority of Seattle SuperSonics fans I’ve come across in my years blogging about basketball. I want them to understand why so many Sacramentans are upset about what they wrote and upset at Seattle fans in general. So …

***

An Open Letter To Seattle SuperSonics Fans From A Sacramento Kings Fan Who Has Heretofore Not Produced A Documentary Yet Is Quite Serious About Preventing Relocation Of His Favorite Team

Hi.

I’m afraid we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.

You see, we are fighting desperately to ensure that what happened to the lovely basketball fanatics of Seattle does not happen to the lovely basketball fanatics of Sacramento.

The news about the Maloofs potentially selling the Sacramento Kings to Seattle’s saviors broke a week ago. Last Wednesday. Down here, we’re all going to remember that day, just like y’all up there will remember the day in July 2006 when word broke that Howard Schultz sold the Sonics to some Oklahomans. You remember that, right? And you remember when Clay Bennett’s arena talks with the state broke down, right? You remember how utterly crushing that was? How it felt like some money mongers were ripping your still-beating basketball-loving green-and-gold heart right through your ribcage? That’s how it felt for us. Except our hearts are purple and black and occasionally powder blue.

For us, that was a freaking week ago. One week.

You’ve got to understand that right now we don’t see the word Seattle and think about the cruelty of the Sonics’ relocation, which we all declared was cruel back in 2007 and 2008. (Yep, that’s an open letter to the Maloofs in April 2008 requesting they vote against the Sonics relocation. The Maloofs voted in favor of it. Open letters, everybody!) We see the word Seattle and we see what y’all saw (and still see, I reckon) when you see the words Oklahoma City. You’ll say you have nothing against the fine people of interior Oklahoma, and maybe that’s even an honest statement for most of you. But there’s still something guttural about the words, about the immediate connotations. Oklahoma City. Still gives you the willies, yeah?

Five years later, right?

We’ve been dealing with the word Seattle for one week. One week. Pardon the willies. We’re having trouble looking past that guttural reaction and remembering that the Puget Sound is a wondrous place populated by kind people and wildlife we share common bonds with.

So when we read things like …

As of this writing, a new local ownership group has emerged to try to keep the Kings in Sacramento. We know how it feels to have last-minute efforts to save your team come up just short at the buzzer. We write this with the hope that Kings fans can learn from what Sonics fans have gone through in our fight for basketball.

… you’ve gotta understand, friends, that we’re really not trying to hear that. Because we’re still fighting. Because that buzzer hasn’t sounded. Because we have beaten buzzers in the recent past and plan to do so again. Because we think we have learned from Seattle and are using those lessons — lessons already imparted by folks including the producers of Sonicsgate well before this open letter — to keep our team.

So yeah, we’re not really trying to hear that. And then that next subheading?

A Blueprint for How to Get a Team Back in Your City

Bruh.

…

Man.

…

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Naw. We’re not really trying to hear that.

We have a team.

We’re trying to write

A Blueprint for How to Prevent a Team from Leaving Your City

We will upload it to the City of Seattle when completed, if it pleases you.

***

Look, friends in Seattle, this is not fan vs. fan. It hasn’t been, it shouldn’t be and it can’t be. This piece of your open letter, Adam and Jason, was just perfect:

If the fate of sports fans is subject only to a roll of the dice based on which billionaire owns their favorite pro teams, it may seem silly to pour our hearts and dollars into fighting for its survival. But we are basketball fanatics because we love the beauty of the game and the way it has brought our communities together for decades.

That’s how we feel right now. The Sacramento Kings are not something that Sacramentans are willing to give up. We love being a part of the world’s most beautiful game played at its highest level. We cherish the way it has brought our community together since 1985. We’re not willing to give that up.

So I urge you to be sensitive to our fight. For the love of Shammgod, please do not write about our story as if the final words have been written. Because I assure you friends, they have not. If you disagree, the Anaheim Royals have a blog right over there you can visit. For real. It’s right there.

Don’t get hurt by thinking you have your team back. Respect that our story is unresolved. Respect that we’re still working on that blueprint, that we’re not laying down our sledgehammers or putting away our hard hats. It’s not Story Time On The Magic Carpet for us. It’s Save Our F–king Team Time.

If you’d like to join a drive that seeks a solution that resolves with NBA teams in both of our cities, I encourage you to ask your fellow Sonics fans to sign the Here We Stay petition that pushes the league to keep the Kings in Sacramento under new owners and awards the very deserving Emerald City with an expansion club immediately.

With all sincerity, honestly,

Th. Ziller
Sacramento Kings Fan