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Tag: Sacramento Kings

  • Kevin Durant and Thunder Defeat Kings

    Kevin Durant led the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 94-81 victory over the Sacramento Kings Friday night.

    Durant, the NBA’s leading scorer, proved his title earning 29 points in the match, as well as contributing with one rebound and six assists.

    Oklahoma City held Sacramento to just 51 points and 30 percent shooting in the first three quarters, even with Durant sitting out for the last 1:25 of the third. Durant credits his team’s recent coming together for the win.

    “Lately, we’ve been much better defensively and offensively,” stated Durant in an interview. ”So, tonight was a good game. We put both sides of the floor together pretty well.”

    Durant wasn’t the only player who shined during the game. Russell Westbrook had 18 points and six assists, while Jeremy Lamb added 13 points to the score.

    The Thunder beat some pretty formidable opposition in the form of Ben McLemore, who scored 18 points for the Kings, and Travis Outlaw, who added 17.

    The Thunder also shut down Kings standouts DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay. Gay, who averages 20 points per game, was reduced to just seven. Cousins, who entered the game ranked 10th in the league for scoring, contributed only four.

    ”Not one guy could take credit for stopping Gay or Cousins, so we just try to do it together and rely on each other, and we did a good job,” Durant said.

    Durant has scored at least 25 points in the last 37 consecutive games, creating the longest run since Michael Jordan’s 40-game streak with the Chicago Bulls during the 1986-87 season.

    The Thunder is also posting some pretty impressive stats, winning the last five of six and holding its opponents to 96 or fewer points in the last four of five wins.

    ”We put ourselves in position, if we defend, to win every game,” said Westbrook.

    Image via Oklahoma City Thunder, Twitter

  • Jimmer Fredette Close to Becoming Free Agent

    According to NBA sources, Jimmer Fredette and the Sacramento Kings are close to finalizing a buyout agreement on Fredette’s contract.

    Once the buyout is finalized, Fredette still needs to clear NBA waivers. If that happens, though, he’ll soon be a free agent.

    Despite his outstanding college basketball career at Brigham Young University and being the 10th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, Fredette has struggled to find his place with the Kings.

    Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro said he has been working with Fredette’s representatives on the buyout agreement after trying unsuccessfully to place the third-year guard elsewhere prior to the NBA’s annual trade deadline last Thursday.

    He said that Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé “loves Jimmer and wants to do the right thing by Jimmer. We’re just talking about things at this point. There’s nothing done at this point.”

    “I think Pete D’Alessandro and Vivek Ranadivé, our owner, deserve a lot of credit,” head coach Michael Malone said prior to Tuesday night’s match up with the Houston Rockets. “Because we could just hold on to him and he could kind of finish out the season, go into free agency. But we’re trying to do this to help him out, to get (him) with a team where maybe he can get on a playoff roster and showcase his abilities in a different scenario…”

    Fredette didn’t play Tuesday night. The Kings lost 129-103 on home court.

    “His three years here have not gone the way he would have hoped obviously,” Malone said. “But I have a lot of respect for him as a man and how he’s carried himself through some difficult times, so hopefully this will all be resolved soon and I always wish Jimmer nothing but the best.”

    Among the teams rumored to be looking at signing Fredette should he become a free agent are the Memphis Grizzlies and the New York Knicks.

    Fredette boasts a loyal fan base that has carried over from his glory days at BYU. “Jimmermania” is still going strong, with the hashtag #freejimmer making the rounds on Twitter.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Joakim Noah Fined For Verbal Abuse Of Officials Following His Ejection

    It is not the first time that Joakim Noah has been in trouble with the NBA, and it is unlikely to be the last, but he was ejected from another game, and fined for what happened afterward.

    Noah was ejected from the previous game between the Bulls and the Sacramento Kings, which took place in Sacramento on Monday night. The Bulls have had a disappointing season, and Joakim Noah let his temper get the best of him, and it cost him.

    He was called for a foul that he felt that he didn’t deserve, and became extremely vocal about it, resulting in his ejection. In addition, Joakim Noah has received a hefty fine of $15,000 from the NBA.

    He is a center for the Chicago Bulls, a team that has struggled since the loss of their star point guard Derrick Rose. The play that resulted in Joakim Noah’s rejection came when Marcus Thornton of the Kings launched a three-pointer from the left corner, and Noah was called for a foul as he battled with DeMarcus Cousins for rebounding position.

    The replays immediately concluded that the foul was wrongly called, and Noah erupted with frustration and confusion, as did most of his teammates on the bench, although he let himself get a bit too vocal.

    Joakim Noah later admitted that his beahvior was wrong in an interview when he said that was disappointed, and apologized to the refs. He also said “I think I was just frustrated with the game. I was frustrated with the call, but it doesn’t give me the right to do what I did. I deserve to get ejected, and it was just a bad decision on my part.’’

    He was seen pointing his finger directly at one referee, and shouting profanities at his face. After that, he proceeded to point and scream at the other referees, and his teammate Carlos Boozer, along with an official, were forced remove him from the court, and direct him toward the locker room.

    Sacramento went on to easily win the game 99-70, and held the Bulls to only 13 points in the 4th quarter. Noah was ejected at the 7:40 mark in the third quarter, and the Bulls were unable to find a way to win, even when playing the worst team in the western conference.

    The loss puts the Chicago Bulls at 6th place in their conference with a record of 23-24. Despite Joakim Noah’s ejection and fine, he was still able to play in their next game against the Phoenix Suns.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • The Sacramento Kings Are Putting Google Glass on Their Players, Mascot, and Dancers

    The Sacramento Kings are officially the tech geeks of the sports world.

    Just a few days ago, the Kings organization became the first professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin (people to purchase tickets and merch with the digital currency). Now, they’re strapping Google Glass on people and broadcasting the action on their jumbotron.

    From the Kings:

    The technology will allow fans at the game, and viewing at home, to witness the courtside experience through the eyes of Slamson, Kings dancers, sideline reporters and others closest to the action live as they stream their first-person views through Google Glass. The Glass broadcasts are the latest new technology feature the Kings are testing to improve the in-arena experience for fans.

    The experience will be powered by CrowdOptic, a software platform which analyzes the real-time Google Glass feeds and curates them by their subject matter and quality, exporting only the highest quality live footage to the arena scoreboard.

    “Fans could simply aim their smart devices to inherit someone else’s Google Glass view, or evaluate concessions lines. It is just a matter of time before Google Glass is an integral part of the fan experience of watching live sports. We are very excited about the many future possibilities working with CrowdOptic,” says Kings President Chris Granger.

    From the preview video below (filmed at a recent home game), it looks like players are going to wear Google Glass too – though I doubt the wearable tech will make an appearance during actual gametime.

    This isn’t the first time we’ve seen how Google Glass can take sports fans inside the experience. Last year, NFL punter Chris Kluwe showed us training camp through Glass, a top NBA prospect wore the tech to the Draft, and Google Glass took a trip to Wimbledon.

    Google has acknowledged Glass’ “potential in the sports realm” to connect athletes, coaches, and fans in new ways. What do you think?

    Image via Sacramento Kings, YouTube

  • Shaquille O’Neal Buys Stake in Sacramento Kings

    Big Shaq has always been known for his moves on the court. Now, he’s making waves off the court – in the boardroom to be exact. The future hall-of-famer has secured a minority stake in the Sacramento Kings under the leadership of the team’s new owner, Vivik Ranadive. While the team made an announcement of O’Neal’s acquisition today, Bloomberg reports that the formal news conference will take place on Tuesday in Sacramento.

    O’Neal has actually been in deliberation with Ranadive since the early part of the summer. The new owner has stated that he and the big man have forged a strong sense of camaraderie in the short time of getting to know each other better. Shaq’s personal and professional rapport with 24-hour fitness owner and Kings’ shareholder, Mark Mastov, also edified the team owner’s interest in adding 3-time MVP to the Kings’ group.

    “I wanted to find somebody to add to the ownership group who truly represented 21st century basketball, who represented my vision of NBA 3.0, which is having an understanding of technology, wanting to build a global brand and being global in their thinking, and really being committed to having an impact in the community,” Ranadive informed USA Today. “The most iconic person on the planet was Dr. O’Neal.”

    Ranadive also shed light on the basis of he and O’Neal’s conversation and current perspective on the future of their endeavor with the Kings:

    “We talked about what the forces were that were shaping the 21st century, we talked about technology, we talked about new companies that we were looking at. And based on that we came to a conclusion that we could … put a dent in the universe if Dr. O’Neal became my partner.”

    O’Neal’s interest in the Kings came as quite a surprise for many NBA enthusiast as they can’t help but remember Shaq’s legendary comments in regards to the team years ago. The 7’1 phenom was known for his comedic banter during the 2002 Western Conference finals when he coined the team as the, “Sacramento Queens.” The Kings have always been an arch nemesis to the Los Angeles Lakers, whom Shaq clenched three NBA championships with. Shaq has made no apologies for his previous remarks stating the comments were a basis of ‘marketing’ the Western Conference finals. The comments fueled Shaq’s desire to be the ‘most watched game ever.’

    Most would see an interest in the Lakers more befitting for Shaq, but the current television analysis has other plans. With the team’s $530 million buyout by the Ranadive group back in May, the Kings’ have been undergoing drastic changes. The plans to construct a new $448 million downtown arena is only the beginning toward the future of the Kings.

    Shaq also shared the reasoning for his growing interest in the Kings’ franchise with USA Today:

    “What interested me in this deal is the new vision, the new Kings, the new everything. I’ve always wanted to be part of something like this. … It’s going to be great.”

     

    Image via Shaq’s Official Twitter Page