The James Ham Show – Are the Sacramento Kings Back?
There a point where we tell Kenny that he didn’t actually play in the game you saw me in the tunnel James stop playing with me that dream and Trent you know what I’m saying we was getting hyped up and I was in a linebacker huddle too I saw you on the
Sidewalk walking on the side you’re listening to DLo and KC on kfm West Sacramento 98.5 FM KX qd2 Sacramento ESPN 1320 always live on the free Odyssey app live on 1320 TV and live with our man James ham of The Insider all Kings Insider of course Kings take
On some version of the Memphis Grizzlies coming up here uh in a couple hours we’ll get to that game and whoever the hell is on the floor for them but let’s start with this James Kings of 1 three straight Saturday was a real like starter heavy game we’re seeing these
Just top tier performances from Harrison Barnes Kevin herder continuing this little run he’s going on what is going what happened why has there been such a Vibe shift with this team uh in recent games yeah it’s definitely a strange one so we talked about it earlier Kyle and I and like
Look we get to the 41 game Mark and the Kings have a three-day weekend which is weird I’m not quite sure why they had a three weekend right then uh right at the Midway point in the season and I kind of feel like the way that the first half of
The Season went was very much focused on developing Keegan Murray and and really almost to I don’t want to say to the detriment of the other of some of the other players but it was just a plan like in order for this team to be great
Down the road they’re going to need k Murray to continue to take these gigantic leaps there will come a time when you know it’s okay for Harrison Barnes to average 10 points a game and for Kevin herder to take a step back but that’s not now you know that’s that’s
Years down the road if if at all for herder I mean just depends on how long he’s part of the the starting five but what I kind of the feeling I got from this first half was that the focus so much became on you know your two center
Pieces which are fox and and sabonis but also like trying to get Keegan Murray to take these leaps and by the the time we get halfway through the season I think he did he’s he’s taken a lot of huge steps forward but at the same time I kind of feel like Herer and
Barnes quietly just sunk away and since they weren’t any focal point or they they weren’t part of like the grand scheme that is the Kings development offense they just again became lesser and lesser of what they thought they were supposed to be doing they thought that they were supposed to take a step
Back that they were supposed to allow this thing to happen but I think you know it’s one thing to to like sacrifice a little bit of yourself it’s a whole other thing to Lose Yourself and and I think that that’s what they did they both did and you know Malik monk we can
Just throw him in here because Malik monk doesn’t care he doesn’t abide by any rules he is the wild card he is chaos when it comes to the Sacramento Kings he’s this this his his own entity and so that’s why I feel like he wasn’t affected by what was happening but the
Other two guys were and slowly Kevin herder woke up and then out of nowhere it’s like okay we probably should unleash Harrison Barnes and to go from two shots in one game to 20 in the next and then 24 in the game after that it just doesn’t make any sense but
It does if you look at it happened exactly after the Midway point in the season where it’s like okay like look we gave this to half half the season of development time now it’s time to go like put the pedal to the medal now it’s
Time to go win and we need you guys to be more of who you have been in the past and forget everything that we’ve been doing in the second in the first half and now I think the hope is that you have Keegan Murray developed further and
Then these other two can start playing to their ility and next thing you know the Kings start to magically look like they did last year with just a better player in Keegan Murray so one of the things that we’re trying to figure out here James is
Like we and I guess we’ll never really know like you did a great job of breaking it down but like how does this even happen is it a conversation is it a one-on-one conversation is it the team is it a team players only meeting like it feels like some type of air was
Cleared over that that time when they were off and I is it that simple or is it literally just rest or did Harrison and ke and uh Kevin herder come up with these things on their own I’m still trying to figure out how we got to this
Point because it looks like a completely different team completely different team no I totally agree with you’re saying but I will tell you that if you go back and look at the front half of the season so many of the plays that herder was running the DH was off the top screen
From uh from sabonis so many of those went to Keegan Murray in the first half and and a lot of the plays that Keegan Murray basically Harrison Barn is playing the role of Keegan Murray all Kean Murray did last season for the most part is stand in the corner right and
Wait for the the Open Wide Open shot now he built some confidence up as the season went on and started you know bringing his game out more towards the top of the key and like we had some instances but realistically this is kind of who Keegan was last year is what
Harrison has been doing and I think Harrison just took the role too seriously like the the role of being a good vet who has to sacrifice and it just you know again it doesn’t happen in one game or two games it happens over the the course of a month and sometimes
Two and then by the time we get to game 41 he had become such a shell of himself on the court on the offensive end that you know maybe maybe that three days they did have like a big conversation but it’s not something that we’ve talked that we’ve heard about like there is
Some some sort of you know whatever Malik monk joked around after uh the game last week that like oh yeah yeah you know it’s it you know we we practice three hours a day or something trying to get this right and I’m not quite sure if if there was like a full-fledged like
Coming to Jesus moment with this team where they’re like hey we’re just not good enough right now but what I do know is that they’ve redistributed some of the opportunity and that’s a good thing because Harrison Barnes is still a ball player and Kevin herder can really help
This team if if he’s given the proper incentive and for me some players a proper incentive is to is to give them more shots is to give them more opportunity to do what they are best at because then they start rewarding you by giving you some of the
Other things that you need from them um you know Kevin herder over the last you know maybe two weeks rebound numbers are up assist numbers are up he’s blocking shots he’s getting steals like his engagement in the game has completely changed and I think part of it was Kevin
Got it in his own head early in the season but I think the other part is you just keep telling these guys like look you can’t just be a three-point shooter on this team you have to do more and I think it finally clicked with him and
Then now we’re starting to see a click with Harrison I think it’s it’s interesting that you know Harrison Barnes starts scoring and Nick thing you know he starts rebounding you know we’re looking at a player who is at like one two three rebounds a game for a good
Portion of the Season all a sudden he’s got a four in there he’s got a six in there you’re like okay wait a sec he is taking these strides forward so I think it’s a really interesting way that this season is played out but I want to see what the end
Product is what do you look like at you know what do you look like game 60 what do you look like at game 82 what do you look like in the playoffs and I think all of this is building up to that this team can’t progress unless they get
Keegan Murray to progress greatly and again the last two games he’s defensive player of the game that it just doesn’t happen overnight right that that a lot of work that was put into that kid and a lot of work that he’s done to get better and that’s part of the development of of
A young player especially a top four pick James are they literally like grooming Keegan Murray into the player that they want him to be on the defensive end like was this was this a big part of what he was in college was this a big part of why they drafted him
Or is this something that they started to see last year and thought you know with the right work we could turn this kid into the the defending you know three and D for lack of a better term Wing that we have desperately wanted in this organization for a decade in some
Change yeah you know what like look I think I had someone tell me last year that that both of the Murray twins they they looked at as very very young bodies like they had they were late bloomers and there was a lot of molding you could do with him
Physically I don’t think anyone thought like coming out of college if you thought he was going to be a plus plus Defender I I think you’re you’re crazy like watching him in college watching the role that he had I I told you guys when they drafted him the two things
That won’t translate most likely are his shot blocking and his rebounding he’s not going to average eight and a half boards a game he can average six or seven but he’s not GNA average eight and a half a game and and he’s not going to be anywhere near 1.8 blocks per game and
What we saw in in during this off season is that he worked on his body so much that in a lot of ways he looks like a different player out there he moves differently he he’s even made the point that you know he he personally believes
That he’s just a much better athlete and I I don’t want to say that no one saw that coming but it’s very rare that a player just becomes a better athlete but you can see it you can see it on the court it plays out I mean he’s out there
Defending LCA donic and sure Luca dropped 73 the night before and probably you know has some tendonitis in his wrist and his elbow from shooting too much but he still like he got in the way he he defended him without fouling out uh you know he kept him at I don’t know
What it was 26 points 28 points um he took a lot of shots to get that too yeah and when a player scores 73 one night and barely clears a 100 uh combined between that night and the next night I think he did a pretty good job I mean
Look at his shooting percentages and and again if Kyrie’s not there the only way they’re going to beat you is for him to go crazy so anyway like yeah I I think this is like how you set your franchise up you spend a lot of time developing I
Think spending time with dearn Fox all summer having him you know defend Fox is one of the most difficult things in the league um but now you see how it translates you see that he’s able to defend a variety of Defenders when he came into the league like he was more
Four than he was three right and now he can defend defend ones and twos and that’s just not something that I think any of us thought he could do uh certainly not me um but now I look at him okay I don’t know if you’re gonna be
An all League defender but you certainly can be a plus Defender and you certainly can be a first or second best defender on a team which I think he already is but it sure would help if they had like a true just pure Defender guy that would
Take some of the stress off of him and the other guys but like the progress is is happening we’re seeing it I mean he’s gone from 12 points a game as a rookie I know everyone’s so excited about his rookie heason he averaged 12 points a game like that’s really not all that
Much and then for him to take this leap to 16 I don’t think he’s done I think he’ll keep going I think he’ll be closer to 17 and a half or 18 by the end of the season and we’re seeing the the process of growing a young player while being on
A winning team and trying to achieve two goals at one time bringing a player along and having him fit into what you’re doing as you’re trying to be great so yeah really interesting to see how how the progress is going so far so um this is something that we were
Trying to figure out and what we thought might be best for this team moving forward the way Harrison’s playing now the way Kevin herder is playing now is this real is this something that Mony McNair can look at and say no we figure some things out we’ve readjusted roles
And all this other stuff and this is how these guys are probably going to play moving forward and we don’t need to make a deal or damn Daman just blinded me for a second this guy I’m I got distracted I’m just trying to do a radio show and I got blinded by
It the guy’s 14400 karat uh chain he’s got over there okay but you can check now got run it back you can see in the chat saw it too it just got crazy for a second nobody saw that run it back watch it you’ll see it
You’ll see it but uh is this the situation now where mon McNair’s like well maybe we just stand Pat because we got these guys on the same page now and we don’t necessarily need to make a big game changing deal yeah I don’t know it’s it’s going
To be the the most difficult decision like I’ll be honest I was looking through different trade options today and seeing if there is a way you can get a deal with them without including Harrison Barnes or Kevin herder and I didn’t think I’d be doing
That uh you know like two weeks ago but like things CH change quickly in the NBA and look Harrison Martins is a valuable player like we’ve talked about this so many times that like my personal belief was that you made him the fifth option uh of the starters and realistically the
Sixth option because you have Malik monk coming off the bench and getting so many opportunities and you know Harrison Barn still has a lot to give you can see the you know the shooting numbers hadn’t changed at all he’s still shooting 48% from the field shooting 41% from three
He just wasn’t getting the opportunity and I I guess you could say the more that you shoot sometimes your percentages come down but I’d also say that sometimes you need more shots just to get in Rhythm and I I I think it’s interesting the way that this has worked
Out but you kind of you kind of have to let this thing grow organically and see how it all like we have this is not the same team the same seven or eight players are playing but it’s just not the same team and that’s okay because
That’s that’s the NBA very rarely do you come back from an offseason even if you have the same group and see the exact same thing the next season and this is just like the twist and turns that we’ve seen this season take and like look I think it
Makes it really difficult ult for for Monty because once again he didn’t pull off the big trade two weeks ago and now you’re looking at a team that might find a rhythm you know what happens if this team rattles off six seven in a row and
That you don’t want to mess with that right or do you I mean this should always be about the long term and that’s why I think giving a longer leash to Keegan Murray early in the season it’s about it’s not about today it’s about today and tomorrow and the next day and
That’s how you have to think when you’re when you’re a GM or when you’re a head coach and that’s how you have to think when you’re building a program not just trying to put a team on the court that can win right now without any questions you you know real quick I
Think I think maybe I’m prisoner of the moment or whatever I don’t think I’m making a move now because I don’t know if there’s a guy out there worth I’ll put it to you like this if koosman’s on the table yes I make a move for kman
Um I’m still I’m I’m a little more bullish on LaVine than others I just got to see what that deal looks like a little bit I don’t think that’s real I got i’ well I’d have to see what the but outside of those two like I I don’t know
If there’s a deal out there that makes me say hey break this whole thing up or whatever so because of that I think I’d just kind of stand P because they’re also not awful as is they’re inconsistent or at least they have been this year but even with that
Inconsistency it finds them eight games over 500 and fifth in the west yeah it’s confusing because three games ago they were five games over 500 and 7 seed and everybody was really concerned and then four games before that they were nine games over 500 and everyone was celebrating because it
Looked like they’re right back on their path like look I don’t think we should like be a prisoner of the moment with this team like I think if anything this season has shown you that this team is consistently inconsistent and you need to figure out why that is and sometimes that means you
Need to change pieces and I don’t mean all the pieces but I certainly this has always been about building something for the future for you know a sustained playoff run six to eight year playoff run you don’t change your mind because three games into a you know the first 44
That the last three games all of a sudden you started playing really well you got to remember the same team that lost four in a row just a week ago and so until they prove that that’s not who they are and this is who they are and they show you that prolonged like
Stretch where you know they don’t have to win every game but they need to show you that you know they can win on this road CHP they can go 5- two or you know six- one uh that they can you know fight through some tough opponents that you
Didn’t think they could but I’m not ready to change like the long-term prognosis of this team because they have a three- game win streak in in January yeah it’s that don’t get too high don’t get too low on this team but I think one thing that we could watch
Over the course and really it’s a week from Thursday right the trade deadlines a week from Thursday that’s why I kind of chuckle because I don’t think you’re wrong but you’ve got a decision to make well what I mean is no yeah you you you
You do have yeah you do but I think you can base it on what what we’re seeing right now because we you know uh James Casey brought this question you a minute ago something we were talking about earlier is if you’re Mony McNair you’re this front office and you’re watching
What’s happening on the floor right now particularly with Harrison Barnes and you see the run that Kyle K that um Kevin herder is on knowing they they’ll probably be a little bit more up and down for for KY my God for Kevin herder during the
Season if you can ask your if you can answer the question like why is this happening why is this happening right now and you can point to a discussion a conversation a practice a meeting a moment and go well everything clicked for us in this moment during that
Stretch where we played one game in seven days if you’re mining McNair and you’re watching these games wondering why is this happening now then it’s proba then you’re probably not buying it you’re probably not buying what you’re seeing from Harrison Barnes or the the starters collectively but if
You can point to a specific moment and I’m with you in that I believe that they can be it a grand moment or just a quiet conversation before after practice during practice where everything seemed to click that I think could go a long way in determining what the Sacramento
Kings do over the next nine days 10 days whatever it is well I would say too I mean while Kevin made a lot more sense if I hadn’t said Kyle kosma three times when I was trying to say Kevin herder sorry James no no it’s okay yeah like I
Think the problem that you have is that players will will tell you who they are right you just have to watch you just have to wait for it you have to you have to keep a your memory in the right spot right you can’t just get all in and
Excited when you see something that’s great because what you have to know is that eventually you could get right back to the point where you were before like there is usually a regression to the mean there’s also a way that a player who has averaged 15 points a game a
Bunch of years in a row and who’s averaging 10.6 will eventually get back to 15 points a game Because unless he just went and got old out of nowhere or got put in a completely different situation than he’s used to that’s probably who he is he is that player
Until until his body says he’s not that player anymore right and so with why I say that is you know it doesn’t matter like how Cassis but it doesn’t matter that Harrison Barn just rattled off like you know 95 points or whatever it was 93 points over a handful of games
It doesn’t really because you still know who he is you still have an idea of his limitations you still know that he’s not long enough and athletic enough to defend both the three and the four at the at the level that you need him to so
He can still be part of your program but you still need that player and and I would say the same thing about Kevin hder it doesn’t matter how big of a hot streak Kevin herder gets on you have to remember the down the down swings that Kevin herder goes through and you know
We talk about you want to see this team become more consistent well just one player like in particular has to become more consistent in in Kevin herder like we saw what happened for the six week stretch last season same with Malik monk not just singling out Kevin herder here
Because Malik monk had the same exact thing last year uh but then we saw what Kevin herder looked like in the playoffs we saw what Kevin herder looked like in the first say 35 games of the Season like three games or five games or eight games of Kevin herder playing like he
Did for some little stretch that he did last season it shouldn’t really change your your mind unless he’s able to do it for like two years I now have a track record record of him having a downswing and knowing what that downswing looks like and knowing that there’s really
Very few things that you can do to get him out of that downswing and so like that’s that’s a problem you know you can’t forget what happened in the playoffs and then go back and look at his previous three playoff series and go oh okay that’s a trend that’s not
Something that happened and so like again it it’s it’s tough but like at a certain point if you’re going to be a team that continues to take take strides forward you have to be honest about what your team is and who your players are and you need to make sure that you know
You’re you’re not all in on dearon Fox averaging 31 points a game you can be all in on him averaging 27 or 25 25 he’s done a bunch a couple of times now he’s shown you that he can be that player where you know I think that’s the beauty
Of deonis sabonis you know exactly what you’re getting each and every night like there’s a big Sharpie pen that you get to pencil in for what you’re that you get to pen in you know you can even tattoo it in on what you’re going to get from your Center position but all of
These other players they still have vares yeah yeah that I mean to me like the empty calorie thing I I you know what like at what point because I know who said that like at what point does it your star player who who scored what 33 points or whatever dribble the ball out
Of bounds to end the game or dribble the gave the ball away to end the game at what point do you say that like it doesn’t matter how much Steph Curry averages he’s he’s a good player on a bad team or a great player on a bad team
Because to be honest with you that’s what he is at this point now I’m not saying that Steph Curry’s empty calories I just don’t believe that a guy who’s an all-nba player a guy who took a team to the playoffs for the first time in 16
Years is an empty calry player to me what was the new one he’s Troy Murphy yeah yeah called him Troy Murphy yeah that’s it it’s just so disrespectful it is I mean it’s so disrespectful because you you have a team that that has an empty calary player and you know
You could say whatever like Steph Curry’s one of the greatest players of all time but man Andrew Wiggins all but like a two-month period of his entire career has been an empty calorie guy he has so like I I don’t know it’s it’s tough I I just I wish people wouldn’t
Use terms like that that are so disrespectful especially for a player who not only puts in the work but has shown a level of consistency that is incredible he finished seventh in MVP balloting last year and if it would like if you look at the NBA ladder right now
He’s seventh in their ranking for MVP like this is an exceptional player who posts a double double every single night and a triple double every second or third night like just don’t be disrespectful that’s what I I don’t get I mean you’re you’re talking about a really really good player on a really
Good team and H to me that it’s just a joke we got James All Fired Up I like it pissed off James ham we’ll talk the a lot of Kings fans are gonna be pissed off if the Kings lose tonight that injury report for the Memphis Grizzlies
In W is wild James is GNA give us a breakdown on who exactly the kings are playing tonight when D and Casey return here I’m being fist he’s very not we have no idea do who they’re playing tonight playing some sort of g-league team I think it’s Ste and KY brought to
You by Sky River Casino where we will be on Friday live live show watch party all the details coming up here on Sacramento sports leader ESPN 1320 get up for a second yeah that that gets under my skin like they’re empty calor players right there are some some players who
Just play for bad teams and put up stats on bad teams you know and to be honest with you that’s probably the concern you have about Kyle kosma right it’s like and and it’s a problem that a concern that I could even say that you know outside of maybe one
Season of his career you could say about Jeremy Grant like Jeremy Grant’s never put up good numbers on a winning team except for one year in in Denver I think so yeah it’s tough um well the thing that that I talk about with with guys like that all the time is
Like I mean like what what are you looking at damont sabonis as being if you’re saying um you know if you’re comparing him to Giannis and yage and saying like is he at topof thee line like franchise player that’s debatable and I could see where somebody doesn’t
Believe in that you know what I mean even whether you whether you agree or not if you think he is or you don’t think he is I can understand somebody who doesn’t believe he’s that I can get that but to say he’s not an Allstar or
He’s not one of the top you know 25 to 30 players in this league I mean that’s ridiculous that’s ridiculous at this point like he he’s absolutely verified and certified in those roles and they don’t even think he’s that yeah they can keep thinking that
You know I I don’t know I at the end of the at the end of the day you know he’s on a good team and he’s a big reason the team is good and he’s a centerpiece on the team like Fox is is the elite scorer but he’s the guy you’re
Running the ball through every possession so yeah Brian Cruz that’s that’s my concern is is um is kosma serious and you know I get he he signed back with Washington the summer he had options including to go to Sacramento and he chose to go back to that
Situation and that to me is like a gigantic red flag um but at the same time like he didn’t choose to go to a different bad team he went back to the bad team he knew and sometimes it’s hard to look you know see the forest through the trees
But also I think sometimes it’s um like you’re just looking at the opportunity and thinking that you can change things and all that like if he would have chosen a a worse team than the Kings and it wasn’t the team he was currently playing for where he was
Comfortable and he played for for a couple of years I could I would give him more you know like I I would be on him more for being totally unserious but I still think you know and let’s just be I shouldn’t I’m Not Gon to paint everybody
With a broad brush but this is what I believe you guys are only saying these things about kosma because of how he dresses and comes into the arena because Jeremy Grant did the same thing and nobody’s calling him an unserious player they were gonna be asked and he
Took the money and to stay in a bad situation but we don’t we don’t even know how he dressed so we don’t look at him as an unserious player long sweaters and has dyed hair and goes back to a bad team and we say he’s unserious but look Jeremy Grant also
Grew up there that’s like Dad his dad his dad played for Portland right so Harvey Grant played for Portland like like you could see why there’s a connection there and why he might want to go back and play for that crowd I get it wi either though he
Unserious about winning is he G goonna win in Portland I don’t care if he had a house in the Rose Garden remember though remember that he signed before they traded Damen Lillard and before Damen Lillard demanded that he would he was uh trade did De made his demand to be
Traded I agree with you be traded we all knew he was going to be gone yeah but it I think they were hoping to build the team around it coming back Jam coming back jams y’all can keep fighting if you want to no no fights oh yeah all right all
Right I’m just defending the honor of Kyle kosma well no I mean it’s part of the any any equation when you’re going out and trading for players you have to look at like you have to look at age you have to look at Contract you have to look at
Potential fit you also have to look at personality and how they might fit or how they might not whether a player would be happy in your city whether he wouldn’t you know these are all things that come into a larger puzzle that you have to figure out and I don’t think you
Know that’s kind of what we’re debating like some of these players you know kozma decided to go sign a for year deal to go back to Washington and maybe that’s where he wants to play for the next four years and Jeremy Grant like he has ties in Portland and that’s why he isn’t
Saying hey go ahead and get me out of here right now H so it’s all complex like it’s it’s not just as cut and dry as hopping on the trade machine very true uh we’re gonna be live out at Sky River Casino this Friday if you want to
Come through the show will be live from 12: to 4 then we’re going to hang around because there’s a game at 4:30 uh the Sacramento Tyrese might be back it looks like Tyrese and and and and uh Pascal SE could be on the other end of the floor for the first time for
The Sacramento Kings of course it didn’t matter the last time they lost anyways uh so they’re due for some Revenge uh this time in Indiana it was a different King different just a different King same exact guys yeah just a different team only a week ago too week and a half
Ago like 10 days ago totally different team you could make an argument that was the game that put us in the position we are in now because that was the game that ke nean Murray had 27 damont sabonis had 21 Kevin herder had 31 dearon Fox had 24 and Harrison had
Two he had two one and one he was one of two and since then he’s scored 90 some odd points in the last three games 66 out of North Carolina 66 what is it 68 or something man 68 just kind of half smiling to the you know giving guys are talking now doing
Post game talking to Shan Cunningham talking to the reporters just everything is fine everything is awesome of course Vibes could die quick tonight against whatever these Memphis Grizzlies are are are Marching out there but but James I pointed this out um earlier when we were
Talking about this and it does seem I I was the first one to say it here before every well not in the world but just on the show like I I said it first that this looks like a completely different team right so I I said that but you could make the
Argument aside from two or three games the game here or there they’ve been playing good basketball for almost like three weeks now and Philly and Indiana were yeah Philly and Indiana are the ones that stick out but and and then you lost against Milwaukee you lost against Phoenix but I
Thought you played good basketball so is is all of this kind of been overblown in your eyes have they been trending up for a while but maybe didn’t have the winds to go with it but now they’ve got the wins and it just feels a little
Different I don’t know if a while is the right answer uh because let’s be honest like Philly played Without embiid and you know Indiana played Without Tyrese halberton and they had like eight other players that were like part of a trade and couldn’t play so like those are very
Unserious losses you know where where you’re just looking around like how how could you let that happen like Philly sure Philly is still a good team but like it is really Tobias Harris that good of a player I mean throughout his career he’s been a solid NBA player but
He’s not an All-Star and you let him go out there and look you know like Paul George on steroids so I don’t know um it’s tough because I look at those losses the three losses in a row outside of the the Milwaukee I mean the uh the
Philly loss and to me those were really important losses they were losses in which you were trying to figure out again how to win games and win games in a serious fashion not win games by by 15 or 20 and you know you can look at the
League this year the league is weird like whatever is happening in the league I’m not sure but like every single night there are five or six teams that are scoring 130 points yeah and that’s just you know you look at the offensive ratings and again the Kings would be
Like last year’s you know offensive rating would be like seventh in the league right now and of course it was the record setting offensive rating but then you look at the defensive ratings and the defensive ratings across the board are just horrific there’s like a couple of teams playing defense in the
League and even the team that has played defense Minnesota they just got called out for losing to Charlotte by their head coach because they were unserious and just sat there and tricked off a game where one of their players scored 60 something was hunting hunting shots
So like I just think the league is weird and odd and what you have to do is when the league gets wonky and crazy like this you need to find a way to be like steady and just keep climbing and ignore everything else that’s happening and I’m
Hoping that that’s where the kings are right now but to be honest with you I I have no idea like any game could be a step back game you talked about what they’re going to face tonight like they have no idea like outside of jiren Jackson Jr which I think you can take
Him away or you can just dare him to try to beat you from the three-point line the rest of this team is just odd I mean they they started like a power forward at at point guard last game and and a small forward at shooting guard and then both of those
Players are either questionable or doubtful for tonight so like there is no RH or reason this team is a mess as far as uh Memphis you have no idea but the fact is if the Kings go in and just play Kings basketball and forget about everything else that you’re seeing on
The other side of the Court just be who you are you should beat this team by 50 this isn’t an NBA team right now like not to be disrespectful to some of these guys but like they’re either signed off the street or you know they’re two-way players or or something else and like
They might have two rational NBA players that play tonight that’s a team you have to just like you have to dominate them so badly that it doesn’t even matter that the game’s over in the third quarter in the first two or three minutes of the third quarter where you say nope we’re not
Going to let you make any run and it’s over but who shows up and who doesn’t that’s the question with this king’s team and you know if you don’t this team can bite you they barely lost last night by six points in Indiana but third game
Four nights back to second night of a back toback half of their players are out actually it’s more it’s 10 players are out they had to sign a guy off the street this afternoon just to get to eight that’s crazy that is am I’m bugging of the king’s
Last now four opponents been on the second night of a back-to-back maybe maybe Atlanta wasn’t golden state was yeah Dallas was yeah and now Memphis is Atlanta was I thought were they can’t remember where they played did they play probably would have been Golden State wouldn’t it I don’t know but they played
In Gold that was that was Golden State’s back toback that’s right yeah yeah that’s right yep yep maybe they weren’t on a back um well it’s it’s it’s I don’t know that doesn’t mean anything that’s just an interesting scheduling Quirk they gotta find a way to make that a
Negative for the Kings to say the NBA hates them give that’s fine give me a second I got find a way is they’re 18 and 26 are way better than I thought they would be at this point with the all well they got some of those wins with
Jaah yeah like they went on a like four they look like yeah they looked like a legit basketball team when John Morant returned um and then all the wheels fell off yeah and then it just it just got bad one of their losses with J was to
The Kings Kings beat him down in Memphis on New Year’s Eve yeah so they need to do more of the same here tonight uh back to New Year’s Eve that was a that was a Malik monk game dear Fox had 24 in that one you think I I speculated whether Deon maybe lost
His what was already kind of a sketchy All-Star nod um over that like tough stretch but he’s back to playing I have no idea when the coaches make these selections but I do know they will they will be announced on Thursday do you think one king gets named two kings get
Named Zero Kings get named what do you think happens on Thursday when the All-Star reserves are announced I think at least one but I also think there’s possibility for both so like the I think the balloting didn’t have to be in until today uh either today or yesterday um
For these players May so like I think that there’s a possibility that they get both because if if I’m looking at the top teams in the west right I could make the case that the Kings big two is as good or better than most of the other teams big twos like I
There’s no one you’re going to put in the All-Star Game along with um along with yic right and Anthony Edwards deserves to make the All-Star team but cat statistically really take him up against not only sabonis but Anthony Davis and like a bunch of other players and and I don’t think he’s there
Statistically uh we get to Anthony Davis LeBron James is already in the All-Star Game Anthony Davis is on a on a losing team or or team that’s not very good right now at the bottom of the Western Conference so my point is that like again Kyrie and Luca you can’t give it
To Kyrie because Kyrie has missed so many games it’s ridiculous uh Steph Curry’s gonna get in but you know like how many of these other players are just going to get like a free pass I think Kawhi Leonard gets in um but does Kawhi Leonard and Paul George get in so I
Think that the king’s tandem is really strong if you’re really looking like you got a guy who’s averaging 27 and a half a game and on paper that should get him either in the All-Star Game or really close to it and you could say oh well
Devon Booker didn’t get in last year and he you should make up for it this year well they already have the representation in KD and the kings are above Phoenix in the standings although it’s slightly above and I think raw stats wise Fox and and Booker are very
Similar so like I could make the case for both of them getting in I think if if I think one of them is going to get in and the other one’s not I was kind of weird because um like I would not have thought this before but I I think Fox
Gets in because I think the the voters you know they understand that they didn’t vote him in last year and he was an injury replacement and probably deserved to be there um but I also know that sabonis was a third team all-nba player and fox was a third Team all NBA
Player and they haven’t gotten worse they’ve gotten better and their team is the exact same as it was last year like the where they’re at and the standings exactly the same and after tonight there’s a good chance they’ll be one game ahead where they were last year so
I I think that there is a possibility they both get in uh Sky River Casino Friday February 2nd live show uh followed by watch party I bring that up because on that show we will have a discussion of some sort because the All-Star Reserve are announced February 1st so indeed we we
We’ll figure it out at that point we’ll either be celebrating two or one or complaining about none or one and de I think that you know people talk about book missing last year’s dearen was an add-on last year and it’s it’s it’s perfectly fine there’s nothing wrong
With that except for the fact he shouldn’t have been with all due respect to jiren Jackson Jr jiren Jackson Jr should have been the add-on and I felt like that was the coaches we’ve got to account for defense yeah okay explain what we’re seeing in the League this
Year if you guys are trying to well we’ve got to reward defense somewhere because none of you hoes are playing it well you know well well that goes to what James just said H Adrien Griffin got fired at 30 and 13 because his team said he wasn’t playing defense enough
Yeah but that but that that may go to what James was just talking about po possibly where they may look at somebody like Rudy goar and put him on there ahead of sabonis should they absolutely not but there’s just no buzz like I didn’t think there was Buzz for jiren
Jackson to see him in that was RKO out of nowhere nobody asked for that yeah that was a tough one um I mean sabonis clearly should be on there ahead of Rudy goar but you know sometimes these guys see the game different man he should be on there above Anthony
Davis but that’s that’s what we’re like they Gonna Keep Anthony Davis out of the All-Star Game probably not uh they probably should I mean just look at the record look at where they are in the standings and again you have representation like LeBron’s there why do you need to add another player well
Hey look and the elephant in the room we talked about it a little bit I’m not advocating for it but the elephant in the room Steph Curry shouldn’t make the All-Star team now he will and he’s Steph Curry the reason why he’s is because he’s Steph Curry he’s not having a
Better season Darren Fox I don’t think he is either but I think and 24 well yeah you’re probably right I don’t think he’s having better season than Ant-Man I don’t think he’s having a better season ant-man’s gonna make it then Booker that’s that’s the one I don’t I don’t
Care about Booker that’s that’s the one where you’re always just gonna hang me up but he’ll make it and he’s Steph Curry so I have no problem with it but Steph did have 46 the other night goodness gracious Booker had 63 I know they both
Lost but that’s not even what I went to look at I was like what did Anthony Davis do in that game yeah 29 and 13 torian Prince had zero they played almost two games zero well he only played 24 minutes in those games and Jared Vanderbilt very famously
Played in that one as he was the ey of Draymond Green’s Antics who say it again Draymond ain’t gonna make it Draymond beat the hell out of Anthony Davis just like I ain’t nothing to look at Draymond getting sup smacked the hell out of this dude so draymond’s new thing
Is I don’t know if you’ve caught this because he did it to Malik his new thing is to foul you hella hard and then patch your ass that’s his new thing that’s the way that’s what he does to hey I’m cool I’m a cool I just punched Anthony Davis
The guy who I share an agent with in the freaking face but I’m gonna Pat him on the ass and everything’s gonna be fine he did the same thing to Malik monk yeah he’s been he’s like like this like serly doing it thing yeah that’s what he’s
Doing good call that’s what he’s doing that’s I think they taught that in Anger Management that’s what it is the anger management aspat yep that anger management aspat that’s what it is a yeah yeah that’s what he’s doing that’s what he’s doing that I don’t know even the even Doris Burke was like
That’s a flagrant foul clear as day you can’t hit a player in the face beat the hell at that’s is hilarious you see him he’ll go he’ll swing like just clothesline you in the face and he Pats you on your ass like oh my bad bro and
It’s just we’re good no he doesn’t even say my bad I’ll just you know T foul foul the funny thing about that is he had the nerve the audacity to mock uh Jared vanderbel was like hey you need to look at that oh yeah yeah go look at
That like I did anything to him bro you beat the crap out of him I I cannot stand that human being he is the absolute worst he is an he’s he’s an the Golden State Warriors should be embarrassed like he’s an embarrassment to that basketball team you got Steph Curry
Trying to drag your sorry carcass to a respectable season and you got that jackass out there unbelievable oh man James who the hell are these guys on the Memphis Grizzlies man I don’t know I don’t know at all like we we went through the list
Today and Kyle and I and it’s like they have two of their top like 12 guys in minutes played so I so John Morant Desmond Bane Marcus Smart Luke Canard uh Z Williamson John conar Derek Rose Jaylen noell is no longer there um Jake laravia all those guys are are out
Bismack biombo was waved uh I think Kenny Lofton Jr was waved at some point so we’re going to get to see uh Vince Williams Jr the league just submitted a Grizzlies just submitted a we changed our mind about pism beon but can you send him back to Memphis for a night
That’s right uh Santi Alama will play uh zavier Tillman zavier Tilman yeah he’ll play uh jayen noell is on the Stockton Kings so he won’t be there uh Jacob Gillard uh will play uh Scotty Pippen Jr will play Greg Jackson the second uh confused J Scotty Pippen Jr has played three games this
Year just for those but go ahead well that and Greg Jackson uh the second um Gregory Jackson the second um not to be confused with Greg Jackson Senior which who knows who that is but I didn’t you know I wasn’t sure first thank you yeah like I mean none of these players have
Played so I mean there is a little bit of a danger and did you see did you say Gregory Jackson Jr he’s not even on their ESPN roster yeah GRE Gregory Jackson the second yeah he’s not on their roster he’s not on their ESPN roster I believe
He played last night um but again they just haven’t taken the time to add him to this what’s the what’s the team the g-league team the 66ers or the spirit of 66 or something orh Memphis hustle Memphis hustle yeah that’s that’s who the kings are going on going against Theon night no disrespect
It just is what it is they all play for the hustle so they better figure out a way is Shaquille Harrison playing tonight no I don’t think I don’t think he’s there anymore oh Shaquille Harrison sh kiding me Shaq Harrison one of the Harrison Brothers Shaq Harrison has played three games this year
Sir he’s averaged two minutes in those three games I just think it’s crazy that well you know last night they had John conar and David Rody as they starting back court and one of those guys again is a power forward none of these names are on ESPN Pace none of them there’s
John Concor there he is all right yeah I mean it’s it’s crazy like again they they had to pick up a guy and they had to pick up a guy I don’t even know what who this guy is at all um just to get to eight tonight so yeah you’re Jackson
Junior’s play man y’ got handle business here tonight and just preferably I know how you guys are sometimes don’t let this be particularly close either just no no business please do that had no business Harrison go for 40 well you know that’s given and then and then you
Know maybe maybe we can get some you know Keon Ellis minutes or Kobe Jones or something and Kessler get back in there yeah I don’t care just don’t don’t don’t do the thing that you do 68 from North Carolina don’t do the things that we said um Harrison Barnes over under at 12
Points today is he going over under today over oh going over going over James over I would have never said that 14 over I believe wow we’re all taking the over Harrison’s back no player in the starting lineup scored under 15 on Saturday Harrison’s back he’s back back
To what if he scores life serious question if he scores like 15 to 20 again today like you know decent amount today like you like you guys like thinking like they got him back like um I don’t know Jesse I have no clue I’m just trying to produce we got no idea I
Have no idea what I have no idea what we do if Harrison Barnes scores 20 again I like I I don’t even know what to say tomorrow if they win this game he’s back to civilization all right he was he was uh he was that Burning Man for half the
Year are you taking the over uh I’m feeling kind of I don’t know you can’t trust this guy I’m going go under today it’s a trap hair I’m go under I’m going go under you’re going under 12 Under 12 he’s going the Trap
Got we got to put it at 12 and a half so you’re going under 12 and a half okay I’m calling it a trend got this word word we’re going over to 1025 if you want to come join us we’ve got a lot going on over there including tickets to see Justin
Timberlake and Bruce Bruce and then we’ll be back tomorrow oh man it’s either going to be a seismic meltdown or we’ll be talking about the Kings for straight Victory make sure you’re tapped in beginning at 10 a.m. with the Insiders by the way the kings are going to the I the 49ers are
Going to the Super Bowl really yes I’ll have to run that first segment of this show back just
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