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  • Oscar Robertson

    Sacramento Kings to Recognize Oscar Robertson at Friday's Game

    CINCINNATI – Former University of Cincinnati men’s basketball star and NBA legend Oscar Robertson will be honored by the Sacramento Kings on Friday, April 20, when the franchise plays host to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    The Kings are recognizing the 50th anniversary of Robertson’s historic triple-double season with the Cincinnati Royals in 1961-62. The former Bearcat averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists during the year. He remains the only player in NBA history to accomplish the feat.

    Sacramento will honor Robertson with tribute videos throughout the game. Robertson also will salute a current Kings player with the Robertson Triple Double award, given annually to a player who exemplifies excellence on and off the court.

    The Kings also will present a roundtable called “Generations of Basketball” on Thursday. The event will be invitation only but will be broadcast live on www.kings.com. Robertson will be the honored guest and the panelist will include fellow Hall of Famers Bill Walton and Alex English along with former All-Star and Kings president Geoff Petrie and Kings rookie Isaiah Thomas. The focus on the discussion will be both on the history of the game and basketball fundamentals and basketball intelligence.

    Friday will also be proclaimed as “Oscar Robertson Day in Sacramento” as former NBA All-Star and Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson will present Robertson with the key to the city.

    A 12-time NBA All-Star, Robertson is a Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame inductee and has been named the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Player of the Century.

    Robinson played 10 of his 14 NBA seasons with the Cincinnati Royals. He won an NBA championship as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks at the conclusion of the 1970-71 season.

    The Cincinnati Royals were renamed the Kansas City Kings in 1972 when the organization moved to Kansas City, Mo. The Kings moved to Sacramento, Calif., prior to the 1986 season.

    Robertson was honored by the Kings with the retirement of his jersey in February 2003.
    Robertson played varsity basketball at UC from 1958 through 1960 and still ranks as the school’s all-time leader in points (2,973), rebounds (1,338), field goals made (1,052) and free throws made (869). He was a three-year consensus all-american and three-time pick for National Player of the Year honors. Robertson helped UC to a 97-7 record and two NCAA Final Four appearances (1959 and 1960) during his college career.
    -gobearcats.com

    Robertson was a generation ahead of his peers during the 60's. In an era where the influx of game changers like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor were playing, Robertson was a man of great versatility and perhaps the first true big guard.

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      • Originally posted by CKR13 View Post

        It has been a year of ups and downs for Evans, though down for the whole team. Evans started the year as a point guard and when Keith Smart took over, Evans did had good stretches of strong games in playing the point. Then Smart harnessed rookie Isaiah Thomas Jr., who is a revelation as he is the only true point guard of the team. Thomas was inserted into the starting lineup and Evans moved up to small forward. After adjustments, Evans had good stretches on playing forward. Evans has been improving on his defense as well as overall point forward skills.

        It is never easy being utilized for dual roles in a team and that difficulty is much harder on being a forward and later playing the point. Demarcus Cousins has emerged as the franchise centerpiece with Evans being second alongside talents like Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton. I for one would definitely extend Evans in the offseason. A contract similar to that of Thornton or a bit higher would do well.
        I'd love to keep him, as I still think he has the potential to be an solid all-star if he could just develop a half-decent jumper. But realistically, it's hard to tell if he'll ever truly live up to his potential if he stays with the Kings as long as they keep moving him around and changing his role... and from what it appears with how the team is headed, he doesn't look like a chemistry fit anymore. If I were him, I'd probably want a change of scenery.

        He was actually playing well at the PG after Smart took over and started to look like the Tyreke from his rookie year. But if you're gonna have Thomas starting at PG and Thorton at SG, then he's basically gonna placed into a role where he has to play off-ball a lot more (which is not his strength considering he has ZERO jumpshot). Combine that with the fact that you have DMC and Thorton taking a ton of shots, and he becomes the odd man out. Basically, unless Tyreke is at the point, I don't see him and Thornton co-existing because that forces Tyreke into an off-ball SF role.

        You could move him to the bench as a 6th man where he can be the focal point (and I also like the chemistry w/ him and Jimmer), but a bench role is probably not what he's looking for (especially if he sees himself as better player than both Isaiah and MT).
        Anyway, it just seems like there's been a ton of experimenting with the line-ups all season, but no positive results (unless you count Isaiah trending up at the expense of Tyreke trending down). What a frustrating season!
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        • I'd love to keep him, as I still think he has the potential to be an solid all-star if he could just develop a half-decent jumper. But realistically, it's hard to tell if he'll ever truly live up to his potential if he stays with the Kings as long as they keep moving him around and changing his role... and from what it appears with how the team is headed, he doesn't look like a chemistry fit anymore. If I were him, I'd probably want a change of scenery.
          It may take awhile for Evans to develop and refine his jumpshot in terms of respected NBA standards. His form which is a slight inching fadeaway affects his accuracy as it is flawed in fundamental where he is intentionally out of balance. That said, what is your ideal potential for Evans? Honestly, I find it difficult to imagine as well. In a perfect world, he would be the franchise player that will harness everyone around him like that of LeBron James when he was still playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Second scenario is Evans being the perimeter go-to-guy for the team wherein the emerging Demarcus Cousins is the accepted franchise player. It is hard to tell on what is the ideal potential for Evans given the direction of the team. Some would say superstar status or all-star status, but I would dismiss it as it leaves no detail at all for actual team structure and player dynamics.

          It is looking like the Kings are heading into the direction where Cousins is the star player.

          He was actually playing well at the PG after Smart took over and started to look like the Tyreke from his rookie year. But if you're gonna have Thomas starting at PG and Thorton at SG, then he's basically gonna placed into a role where he has to play off-ball a lot more (which is not his strength considering he has ZERO jumpshot). Combine that with the fact that you have DMC and Thorton taking a ton of shots, and he becomes the odd man out. Basically, unless Tyreke is at the point, I don't see him and Thornton co-existing because that forces Tyreke into an off-ball SF role.
          I agree, Evans had a good stretch playing point guard under Smart. But Thomas really changed things for the Kings when he got the keys to the team as the lead. Which brings us to Evans where he is a driving guard that needs the ball for his offense to thrive in the game. Evans has not really developed the sense to be an off-ball offensive player where he will navigate through the team offense and read the defense for opportunities for an entry pass. Evans has not yet developed the quick-reading out of the dribbling penetration for playmaking. So all that is left for Evans is to shoot wherein his jumpshot is still far from being consistent.

          I have seen games where Evans disappears where Cousins and Thornton are thriving offensively while Thomas is on a roll. Evans and Thompson have the same tendency in the starting lineup. Task that to Keith Smart on instilling Evans into the offense via off-ball plays and the right reaction given the situation.

          If there is some good out of this is that Evans is not complaining on who gets the shots or possession tendencies. But I would not guarantee it for long. Lately, Evans is puzzled on what is his role with the team.

          You could move him to the bench as a 6th man where he can be the focal point (and I also like the chemistry w/ him and Jimmer), but a bench role is probably not what he's looking for (especially if he sees himself as better player than both Isaiah and MT).
          Anyway, it just seems like there's been a ton of experimenting with the line-ups all season, but no positive results (unless you count Isaiah trending up at the expense of Tyreke trending down). What a frustrating season!
          A bench role for Evans could make him unhappy. For now, I would prefer him starting as the small forward. He has shown games for a potential in being a point forward, but that is the stretch where either Thornton is struggling or when Thornton was injured with a calf injury.

          I agree, the season was a learning curve especially when the team was going nowhere with Westphal even to the eventual hiring of Kieth Smart. Smart has been experimenting as well. Trying out starting five combinations that lead to the Cousins, Thompson, Evans, Thornton and Thomas quintet. Smart has been experimenting with bench reserves and in combination with starters.

          We have made progress but not ground breaking, only modest progress. Gone are the offensive meltdowns from last season. We are the second highest scoring team in the game at some point though we are second to the last in offensive efficiency; we are second in points in the paint this season, thanks to the emergence of COusins. The emergence of Cousins has been attributed to Smart giving him more possessions via the feed. I guess that counts as progress for Cousins. If there is any major setback is our defense. Among the worst in the league as Smart's pace is faster than the Phoenix Suns or at the time when D'Antoni was still with the Knicks on his 7-seconds or less offense.

          Our brisk offense really compromises the defense as it is turnover prone and leaves a lot of 50-50 possession instances that has lead to opponents scoring off our turnovers. Plus we have no shot-blockers, only hustle shot-blockers. I look for us to improve our defense if we are to win more games next season. Up next is the NBA Draft.
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          • Originally posted by CKR13 View Post
            We are the second highest scoring team in the game at some point though we are second to the last in offensive efficiency; we are second in points in the paint this season, thanks to the emergence of COusins. The emergence of Cousins has been attributed to Smart giving him more possessions via the feed. I guess that counts as progress for Cousins. If there is any major setback is our defense. Among the worst in the league as Smart's pace is faster than the Phoenix Suns or at the time when D'Antoni was still with the Knicks on his 7-seconds or less offense.

            Our brisk offense really compromises the defense as it is turnover prone and leaves a lot of 50-50 possession instances that has lead to opponents scoring off our turnovers. Plus we have no shot-blockers, only hustle shot-blockers. I look for us to improve our defense if we are to win more games next season. Up next is the NBA Draft.
            That's the main reason why I'm not as blown away by Isaiah as a lot of Kings fans are. Don't get me wrong, it's a great underdog story, he can clearly play in the league and he's an asset. But a big part of the argument in favor of starting Isaiah is that the Kings offense has been playing at a high level. But like you pointed out, that's not really true... sure they score a ton, but it's because they play at a crazy fast pace. They still have a terrible offensive efficiency though, and the frantic pace - combined with that poor offensive efficiency - also hurts them defensively. At least with Evans at the PG, you get a guy who can defend the other teams best back court scorer and can sometimes force a switch with Marcus (as usually the other team's SG ends up guarding Evans, allowing Marcus to work against a smaller PG). But if you run with Isaiah at the PG with Thorton and Evans, you're looking at a very undersized group. And while they have more raw offensive firepower with that group, because you have Evans playing out of position, you don't get to fully realize the benefit of that firepower. I feel like that's kind of been a theme all year though ... the sum of the whole hasn't been anywhere near the sum of the individual parts.

            On the plus side, DMC looks like he could be the next dominant big man. He's actually learning to play like a big man with guard skills instead of like a guard with enormous size. He still has a few shots every game when I can't help but facepalm myself ... but not nearly as many as earlier in the year.
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            • And on a side note, it's kinda cool that you're a Kings fan from Virginia! LOL you might be the only one in the state
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              • Thanks! Got hooked up with the Kings during the mid-90's when Mitch Richmond was in town. Most people here in VA root for the Boston Celtics.
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                • Sacramento City Mayor Kevin Johnson will meet with the Maloofs.

                  Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson plans to meet Kings' owners the Maloofs
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                  • Originally posted by DonPugfâché View Post
                    That's the main reason why I'm not as blown away by Isaiah as a lot of Kings fans are. Don't get me wrong, it's a great underdog story, he can clearly play in the league and he's an asset. But a big part of the argument in favor of starting Isaiah is that the Kings offense has been playing at a high level. But like you pointed out, that's not really true... sure they score a ton, but it's because they play at a crazy fast pace. They still have a terrible offensive efficiency though, and the frantic pace - combined with that poor offensive efficiency - also hurts them defensively. At least with Evans at the PG, you get a guy who can defend the other teams best back court scorer and can sometimes force a switch with Marcus (as usually the other team's SG ends up guarding Evans, allowing Marcus to work against a smaller PG). But if you run with Isaiah at the PG with Thorton and Evans, you're looking at a very undersized group. And while they have more raw offensive firepower with that group, because you have Evans playing out of position, you don't get to fully realize the benefit of that firepower. I feel like that's kind of been a theme all year though ... the sum of the whole hasn't been anywhere near the sum of the individual parts.

                    On the plus side, DMC looks like he could be the next dominant big man. He's actually learning to play like a big man with guard skills instead of like a guard with enormous size. He still has a few shots every game when I can't help but facepalm myself ... but not nearly as many as earlier in the year.
                    Yes, starting Thomas has a backside where he cannot contain the bigger point guards despite his quickness wherein we give up size and mass. That is the compromise with Thomas as the starting point guard. The benefit is stability on having a natural point guard.

                    While Evans starting at point guard gives us the advantage on the mismatch for the defense and together with Thornton, gives us good size in the backcourt. But in Evans starting, Keith Smart loses the stability and the play-calling that he has invested with Thomas.

                    I think one solution where our ideas can meet half-way is making Marcus Thornton come off the bench. He was effective during his season and a half with the New Orleans Hornets in coming off the bench. Averaged 14 points from there. So our back-court will have Thomas and Evans. Though I think Thornton will not be happy given such a proposition.

                    At this point, Smart has a lot of work to ponder about this offseason.
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                    • Originally posted by CKR13 View Post

                      I think one solution where our ideas can meet half-way is making Marcus Thornton come off the bench. He was effective during his season and a half with the New Orleans Hornets in coming off the bench. Averaged 14 points from there. So our back-court will have Thomas and Evans. Though I think Thornton will not be happy given such a proposition.
                      I agree 100%. I like MT, but going back to last year I thought we were better off with him coming off the bench where he could be an top-tier 6th man. I remember the Warriors announcers said it best: he's a pure scorer who on a good night can carry a team to a W, but on a bad night can shoot you out of a game. But at least as a 6th man, it's justifiable for him to jack up shots since he'd be the clear-cut best scorer, and it WOULDN'T be at the expense of taking shots away from your other primary scorers. Then instead of a pure full-time PG, Tyreke can can go back to being a "creating SG / part-time PG" which is when he seems to be at his best (eg when he had Beno). But like you said ... probably not gonna sit too well with MT.
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                      • Originally posted by CKR13 View Post
                        Thanks! Got hooked up with the Kings during the mid-90's when Mitch Richmond was in town. Most people here in VA root for the Boston Celtics.
                        Nice ... that's around the same time I got into the Kings. So you actually met Mitch Richmond?! (One of my all-time favorite players in real-life AND in the original NBA Jam. And dare I say the most underrated player of the past 15 years)?

                        I remember MJ saying he was the toughest guy to play against. And Reggie Miller said something similar. He was kind of like the Tim Duncan of 2-guards (technically skilled, crazy effective, but not flashy at all) ... except without the benefit of having other all-star level teammates and playing on good teams. Oh the memories ...

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                        • It brings back memories indeed. Richmond was someone you could be proud of despite being on a small market team. Guy was so good and fundamentally sound that he just can't be contained for long. What memories.

                          I had the good fortune in meeting Mitch Richmond last year in New York for an NBA event.
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                          • The Sacramento Kings falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 102-93. Demarcus Cousins lead the way with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Tyreke Evans with 16 points.
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                            • The Sacramento Kings routing the Charlotte Bobcats 114-88. Demarcus Cousins lead the rout with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Tyreke Evans with 22 points. An all around game for Jason Thompson with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Jimmer Fredette off the bench with 11 points.
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                              • Rumors on the news wire has it that the Kings will be listening to trade offers for Tyreke Evans. Also, the agent of Evans flew into Sacramento recently to ask the management if they are willing to negotiate for a contract extension.
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