After beating the Los Angeles Lakers last week, Sacramento coach Keith Smart joked that he wished the Kings’ schedule were changed so that they only played upper-echelon teams. Those are the games where the Kings most consistently maintain their focus and intensity. Coach Smart did not get his wish. The schedule was not changed. Instead, the Kings played the Minnesota Timberwolves, who rode a five-game losing streak into Sleep Train Arena. It was a game that the Kings probably should have won and, indeed, they were ahead from the opening tip until 11:59 of the first quarter. The Timberwolves earned a one-point lead with .9 seconds left in the opening period and never trailed again. The fi

The Sacramento Kings, sporting the worst record in the Western Conference, battled the Los Angeles Lakers, who are the most All-Star laden team in the NBA on Wednesday evening. Had Laker point guard Steve Nash not missed the game due to injury, the Laker starting five alone would contain five All-Stars — compared to zero on the entire Kings roster. But, Kings fans had hopes for a good game. As King fan Saul said, “If we play an A game and they play a B game, we're perfectly capable of taking this game.” We played our A game. Laker Dwight Howard, arguably the best center in basketball, played twice as many minutes as foul-plagued DeMarcus Cousins, but Big Cuz equaled Howard’s point total,

The Sacramento Kings reversed the disappointing tempo of their previous two games, both thorough defeats, when they played the Brooklyn Nets on the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 18. The Kings had started erratically against the Portland Trailblazers last Tuesday, Nov. 13, and the Atlanta Hawks last Friday, Nov. 16, building up double-digit deficits by the end of the first quarter. On Sunday, however, they came within 23 seconds of finishing the first quarter with a lead. In both previous games, they played strong second quarters and were able to end the half down by only a bucket or two. On Sunday, however, it was the opponents who played a fierce second quarter and left the Kings with a dou

When the Sacramento Kings met up with the Atlanta Hawks on Friday at newly crowned Sleep Train Arena (sounds good to have Arena back in the name), a couple of goals must have been in mind. First, play better than they did the week before and second, hope Tyreke’s jumper was coming into form. I guess you could say they went one-for-two as they lost to the Hawks 112-96 in a game that had the loyal fans on their feet booing in the closing moments, but on the bright side, Tyreke Evans' shot is looking better one game at a time. THE PLAY Booing at the obvious lack of effort and an insufficient amount of offensive movement at times shows the fans in attendance (only 11,814 on a Friday) still

The Sacramento Kings lost to the Atlanta Hawks 112 to 96 in a home game Friday night. These photos come coutsey of Darren Hall Photography. DeMarcus Cousins is kocked down, but no foul is called.   Tyreke Evans commits an offensive foul. John Salmons gets an unlikely dunk. Cousins face says it all.........it wasn't the Kings night!! Josh Smith powers by James Johnson. Jeff Teague on his way to the hoop despite Tyreke Evans trying to block.

The post-game locker room was somber. Players sat, staring into the distance. Asking them questions felt as awkward and inappropriate as hitting on women at a funeral. Keith Smart, the normally ebullient coach of the Kings, gave a moribund press conference. Perhaps for the first time, he did not even open with a statement. Instead, the coach took the podium, looked dejectedly at the assembled reporters, and mumbled simply, “You got some questions?” This was a game that might have been won. The Portland Trailblazers came to Power Balance Arena with the same 2 - 5 record as the Kings, but carried a four game losing streak. Their defense ranked near the bottom of the league, rarely holding

Fans of the Sacramento Kings remained loyal to their team and sold out the “blackout” home opener victory Monday night despite the growing uncertainty that has surrounded the franchise in recent years. The energetic home crowd helped the Kings defeat the Golden State Warriors 94-92 in the final seconds for their first victory of the season after going 0-3 on their season-opening road trip. Optimism still remains amongst the team and its fans even after their rough beginning to the season. “I would like to see them make the playoffs, it would be a long shot but I would like to see them be close to .500, I’d be happy with that,” said Rob Horton, a Kings fan of 25 years. “That would at lea

It was one of the ugliest starts I’ve ever seen in a Kings’ game—regular or preseason. Less than five minutes into the game, the Kings’ starting center and point guard, DeMarcus Cousins and Aaron Brooks, had picked up two early fouls each that took the team completely out of their up-tempo game. The Sacramento Kings never could recover from—at one point—a 15-point deficit, and lost to its rivals the Golden State Warriors 98-88 at Sleep Train Arena on Wednesday, Oct. 17, in front of 10,708 fans. After closely watching the position battle at the small forward spot during the Monday, Oct. 15, contest against the Trailblazers, I thought I’d focus my attention toward what is quickly becoming

What has to happen for the Sacramento Kings to surprise everyone and make a playoff run this year? Does Tyreke Evans need to have the breakout year that everyone's been waiting for? Does the new, in-shape DeMarcus Cousins need to show he's as mature as he is talented? Or does Thomas Robinson need to prove he was worth a fifth overall draft pick? Perhaps all that, and a little something more. James Ham, a Kings beat reporter with the blog Cowbell Kingdom, said he thinks a playoff run from the Kings is unlikely, but possible. He thinks the deciding factor will be whether the players can "put aside the egos," come together as a whole and get on board with Coach Keith Smart's vision for the

Buckle up, ladies and gents, as it’s that time of the year again! The time to cheer like madmen and madwomen for your purple-and-black court warriors is just around the corner. The Kings kicked off their 27th season in Sacramento with their annual Media Day on Monday afternoon. The event saw many new faces in the royal purple, black and white, along with the returning core from last year, as they get ready for their second season under the leadership of head coach Keith Smart. With the influx of several new players — Thomas Robinson (first-round draft pick), along with Aaron Brooks and James Johnson (free-agent signees) — comes the chance to change up the starting rotation, or find a pu

Former Sacramento King Donte Greene is set to hold the second annual Goon Squad Classic on Aug. 10 at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, Calif. Although it appears that Greene will not be playing for the Kings again, Greene wanted to give the fans another chance to attend his charity basketball game, the Goon Squad Classic. The game started last season during the NBA’s holdout, prompting Greene to want to give basketball to the Sacramento region, and benefit numerous charities with the money raised. “It was in high demand,” Greene said. “I got a great response from the fans, and they wanted me to do another game, and we planned it during the season to hold another one, thinking I will

As I sat in the Sacramento Kings media room at Power Balance Pavilion on Thursday afternoon, my heart sank when the Charlotte Bobcats took Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with the second overall pick of the 2012 NBA draft. A small forward that can score at the rim is a burning need for the team and I was really looking forward to watching this kid’s defensive and rebounding skills along with the motor he brings to the table. Guys like him don’t lower their level of play — they make the other players on the team raise their collective enthusiasm and desire for the game. But when Dion Waiters, a shooting guard out of Syracuse, was picked by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the fourth overall pick in th

The Sacramento Kings defeated their Pacific Division rival the Los Angeles Lakers 113-96 at Power Balance Pavilion Thursday night in the final game of the season. With the win, the Kings finished 22-44 for the season. The Kings were 16-17 at home and only 6-27 on the road, a number they will have to increase if they want to succeed in the NBA. Prior to the start of the game, Kings star DeMarcus Cousins came to center court and thanked the fans for being a great sixth man all year long, which brought a loud applause from the 16,281 in attendance. Though the Lakers sat all of their starters in anticipation for the beginning of the postseason on Saturday, the Kings began the game strong an

If it wasn’t enough that it was Grateful Dead night and fans that bought the special ticket package got to talk to the legendary Bill Walton, members of the band and got a special T-shirt to mark the occasion. Then, the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season, former Kansas City Royal Oscar Robertson was being recognized. How about that it was Fan Appreciation Night at the ole barn and nearly half in attendance was rewarded with some kind of prize for being a loyal purple-wearing fan. And finally, outstanding Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Isaiah Thomas was honored as this year’s winner of the team’s Oscar Robertson Triple Double Award during the game. Oh,

The Sacramento Kings lost a huge game to the San Antonio Spurs 127-102 Wednesday after falling aprt during the second half. Kings center DeMarcus Cousins fouled out of the game early in the fourth quarter and scored 18 points and nine rebounds and forward Jason Thompson scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds. In this video, they both talk about what went wrong in the game, the outlook on the rest of the season and the impressive play of the Spurs.  

As the season winds down, the challenge becomes: How do you keep a 20-41 team still yearning for more wins and team cohesion? How about play the San Antonio Spurs (45-16) in front of a nearly packed house and learn from the seemingly simple way the team from Texas goes about its everyday business? The plan worked for 24 minutes. After halftime, the Spurs decided to lay the smackdown and really show the Sacramento Kings (20-42) how the formula translates on the floor by outscoring the home team 69-42 in the second half on way to a 127-102 rout at Power Balance Pavilion Wednesday evening. The good news was that the Kings took an early 6-0 lead on the backs of Tyreke Evans and Jason Thomps

The Sacramento Kings dropped their fourth straight game as they fell to the Houston Rockets 104-87 at Power Balance Pavilion Sunday night. Sacramento came out with little energy, and it showed as the Rockets jumped to a quick 10-2 lead and never trailed the rest of the game. “We just didn’t have a lot of energy tonight, and that’s something we’ve got to work on,” Kings guard Jimmer Fredette said. “We’ve got to continue to get better at that and come bring it every single night so we are disappointed with ourselves.” After scoring at least 99 points in their previous 12 games, the Kings have been held to under 85 points in their last three games. Coach Keith Smart attributes this to the

One would think, in a game billed as the “Throwdown Showdown,” a battle between a couple of the game’s best dunkers in Donte Greene and DeMarcus Cousins for the Kings and DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin for the visiting Clippers, that there would be a ton of action at the rim. Not the case, as Sacramento’s front line did a solid job of protecting the paint against the bigs from Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it was the guards of the Clippers who did the damage in the key on various drives to the basket by Chris Paul, Randy Foye, Nick Young and Eric Bledsoe. Each of them scored in double figures and constantly pushed the ball into the lane as the Kings lost 93-85 Thursday evening at Power B

The Sacramento Kings were unable to achieve back-to-back wins as they fell to Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns for the third time this season Tuesday night at Power Balance Pavilion. DeMarcus Cousins did all he could, leading all scorers with a career-high 41 points en route to the 109-100 loss. Cousins also hauled in 12 rebounds and shot 16-25 from the field. “He had a career night taking advantage of their interior,” Kings coach Keith Smart said. “We had him posting up in different areas on the floor, so he had both baseline- and middle-drive. Then they started doubling, and that’s something that’s going to happen to him as he grows as a pro.” But not even Cousins’ monster game could o

GAME RECAP At first glance, Saturday’s game between the Sacramento Kings and the New Jersey Nets was a match up between two equally struggling teams. The Nets carried an 18 - 35 (.340) record into Power Balance Pavilion, while the Kings, last in the Pacific Division, were 18 - 33 (.353). But, the Kings play better at home so, Advantage: Kings? Not necessarily. The New Jersey Nets are one of only two teams to play better on the road than at home, and the only team to play substantially better. So it was that the Nets left town with a 111 - 91 win, and remained undefeated on their current swing west. The home team started well. Playing crisply, the Kings led throughout the first quarter.