The Kings beat the Hornets


Hello, losing streak.

The Hornets bounced into Sacramento last night, and got their ass handed to them by the Kings. We went down big early, trailing by as much as 26 points in the second quarter. There was an attempt at something resembling a comeback but it fell well short. Final score was 103-112 ( recap | box ).

What I'm suggesting is that a cow could have played better help defense than some of our guys last night. Get it?

The loss to Golden State on Wednesday was excusable. They shot the lights out and they're pretty much unstoppable when they're hitting like that. But last night was a much different story. We just plain sucked.

On to some game notes…

  • First off, a thank you to Peja Stojakovic. His 25 points last night might have been the only thing which stopped me from sticking my head in the oven. He hit seven from deep, and really helped us make it some kind of game again with 11 points in the third. Of course, he did come up with an airball when we were down eight with two minutes left. An earlier knock to his shooting hand may or may not have had something to do with that. Regardless, Sacramento still loves him. We do, too.
  • Hey, David West. Congratulations on the All-Star nod and everything, but I'd rather you didn't celebrate by playing like a dog out there. Seriously dude, that was the worst game I've seen you play this season. 12 points, 4 rebounds, 5 turnovers in 45 minutes. But the numbers are just numbers. Where was the defensive effort? Granted, Ron Artest is a tough matchup for you, but your help D just did not exist last night. You looked lazy.
  • Tyson Chandler. I don't know how you ended up with 21 points and 9 rebounds, because you sucked out there, too. Don't let Artest take you in the post like that. You're seventeen feet taller than him. And I'm counting only two rebounds from you in the entire first half. Didn't you just get snubbed from the All-Star game? Where's the fire?
  • Chris Paul finished with 15 points and 19 assists, but again the numbers don't tell the whole story. I was waiting for him to take over this game in the second half and it never happened. Prime example of him just being too damn unselfish when the situation calls for him to get all Kobe on their asses. He had five turnovers too, getting the ball poked away from him a number of times on the break. Unusual.
  • Welcome back, Bobby Jackson. You sucked.
  • Somehow, our defensive rotation was even worse with Mo-Pete back in the lineup. The Kings hit 10-of-23 from deep, most of those being wide open looks. It was the interior that really killed us though. Sacto would swing it around, get us moving, and eventually drill a pass down the middle to Brad Miller or Mikki Moore under the basket. Tyson and David would be standing off to the side discussing the finer points of what-the-fuck-just-happened.
  • The refs made some, ahem, questionable calls in this one, most of which actually went our way. No foul on Artest at the end of the third? Off CP's foot late in the fourth but we get the ball back? Crazy fools.
  • Does anyone else stand in their living room until the Hornets score their first bucket? No? Just me then.
  • Interesting tactic by the Kings to double Paul hard on the pick and roll early on. It didn't work for them. They built up the big lead, but not on account of that. I think we actually ran more pick and rolls because they started with that trap. Chris loves getting doubled out high, because a million times out of ten he's gonna break loose and find the open man.
  • The Kings' John Salmons had 11 points off the bench last night. Sorry to hear that his wife is having pregnancy complications. Let's hope everything works out good for them.
  • Wrapping this one up from the other side: Sactown Royalty. I don't know what "the yips" are.

So after reeling off nine straight wins, getting a buzz going in New Orleans and earning respect around the League, the Hornets have now dropped consecutive games for the first time since mid-December. Great.

Next up we have the Utah Jazz on the road on Monday. They've been busy winning seven games in a row, and face the Gasolless Grizzlies in Memphis today. After that stop in Salt Lake City, we're in Phoenix to play the Suns on Wednesday. They don't suck. This rough ride could get much rougher.

Oh well. Time to go distract myself with some more Mardi Grasness. I can hear the parades rolling by already. Have been for a couple hours. Man, I love this town. Why do people live in other places? Other places are significantly less funky than right here.


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