In the NBA, more than any other sport, games are affected by the whims of the schedule makers.

In professional basketball, the home team wins more than 60 percent of the time, compared with about 58 percent of the time in the NFL, 55 percent in the NHL and 53 percent in MLB. (Oliver Entine, Deptartment of Statistics, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania). 

So there's that, but then there are also the quirky irregularities of the schedule. Sometimes teams are made to play two nights in a row, while other times they'll get three nights off.

So sometimes, you'll have a team that is playing its second road game in 27 hours pitted against a team that has been chilling at home since its last game ended some 93 and a half hours earlier.

Needless to say, this bodes well for the home team. 

And sometimes that road team will be the Minnesota Timberwolves, arguably the worst team in the NBA, coming off a hotly contested loss to the Lakers the night before and playing without their top two point guards.

And sometimes that home team will be YOUR Sacramento Kings.

This game, by all rights, and all measures, should have been a Kings victory.

No one told that to Michael Beasley and the suddenly game Timberwolves, however. 

The former No. 2 pick of the Miami Heat, traded to Minny for a bag of rocks in an off-season salary dump that helped pave the way for Lebron’s talents to be taken to South Beach, came out on fire and pretty much stayed that way for the entirety of the Timberwolves’ 98-89 victory.

For a while he was doing it pretty much by himself. With 3:20 left in the first quarter, Beasley and the Kings were tied at 14 apiece. (The Wolves had 20).

Beasley and the Kings then traded a pair of baskets to knot it at 16 before Francisco Garcia put the Kings ahead of Beasley for good with a long three-pointer. Beasley answered with a jumper of his own to pull to within one, but after that, the Kings pulled away from the ’Wolves’ small forward. 

Beasley finished the first half with 27 points (to the Kings’ 45), and the game with a career-high 42. He scored from all over the floor and seemingly at will. The Kings tried guarding him with five different players, none of which were effective.

"Obviously Michael Beasley is someone who we didn't have any success guarding against," said a very confounded-looking Kings head coach Paul Westphal in his postgame presser. "We tried everything we could try, and he had the answers."

It's a credit to how bad the Timberwolves (2-7) are that the Kings (3-4) never trailed by more than the nine points they lost by. The Kings shot 25 percent from the three-point line, 44 percent from the field, missed 12 free throws and had 19 turnovers.

Reigning Rookie of the Year and would-be Sacto savior Tyreke Evans had by far his worst game of the young season. He finished with five points on 1 of 5 shooting. He matched the points with five turnovers and trumped them both with six personal fouls, the final being an offensive foul (his third) with more than 10:30 to play in the game.

"Tyreke just had one of those games" Westphal offered by way of explanation.

With their main playmaker off the floor to end the game, the Kings appeared rudderless but somehow managed to hang in there behind the (relatively) inspired play of newcomer Samuel Dalembert, and, more to the point, the uber-lackadaisical effort by the ’Wolves. (My neighbor in the press box, a veteran of many more games than yours truly, was overcome about halfway through the fourth. "This is a horrible game" he said emphatically, shuddering).

With 5:11 to play, Dalembert made his second straight bucket and was fouled. The crowd was alive, and the center had the opportunity to make it a two-point game from the line, but he couldn't make the free throw.

Thirteen seconds later, Kevin Love was at the line completing a successful three-point play to extend the lead to six.
The next possession, Jason Thompson took an ill-advised, off-balance 18-footer that led to another quick Kevin Love basket in the paint, an eight-point Minny lead, and the game being, for all intents and purposes, over.

Now, I'm not saying that the Kings are a bad team, but good teams don't lose at home to bad teams on the second night of a back-to-back. They just don't. 

You do the math.

Notes:

It was "Military Night" at Arco, among the festivities:

Before the opening tip, an Air Force airman rappelled from the rafters with the game ball.

At the end of the first quarter, the MC called for those in the crowd to recognize the veterans in attendance, which they did, resoundingly. It was a nice moment, but I found it a bit odd when he beseeched the crowd. "If you served in World War I or World War II, stand up and be recognized." If you served in either of the big ones, I think you can be recognized just fine from the comfort of your chair.  (World War I ended 92 years ago.  At least he didn't ask any Civil War vets to stand up.  That would have been unrealistic.)

At halftime, 30 new Army recruits were sworn in.

At the end of the third quarter, an army lieutenant was given the opportunity to win a new car if he made a half-court shot. He missed. He was then given the opportunity to win $300 if he made a three-pointer. He missed. He was about to take a free throw for $100 when Joe Maloof, from his courtside seat, put the new car back on the table. He drained it, and the crowd went bonkers. By far the loudest applause of the night.

All the phots but one are the work of the supremely talented Ron Nabity.  I bet you can guess which one.

If you wish to lavish praise or sling mud, feel free to drop me an email: lindol@gmail.com