Memo to LeBron James

Well, the Cavs have really put themselves in a horrible position now. They have to win 2 games in a row against the Celtics to advance on to play the Orlando Magic in the East finals.

Quite honestly, LeBron played the worst game of his NBA career. He did not come to the ball in the 2nd half and showed an insane amount of passiveness that has reflected poorly upon his leadership qualities. He passed off the ball way to much and his body language suggested he was done with Cleveland and Coach Mike Brown's puzzling offensive strategy.

For LeBron and the Cavs and the city of Cleveland its now or never. Win or go home with the title of "paper champs" or should I say chumps. Mo Williams has played like a bum in this series as he looks just as bad as last years ECFs against Orlando.

LBJ is going to have to put this team on his back or otherwise he will be the subject of much ridicule by critics journalists and the fans of the game.

What do I think is going to happen in game 6? I have no clue but its one of 2 things. Either the Cavs will develop the nobody believes in us attitude and come out and put in an inspirational performance led by LBJ or they will get pounded by Beantown into oblivion and irrelevance as the rumors will go insane about LBJ leaving for CHI, NYC, or MIA.
The one thing that is guaranteed is that Game 6 will be one of the most defining moments in Cleveland sports history and even greater, in LeBron's legacy as a basletball player. Cleveland needs this championship more than anything else, they have one of the most cursed sports histories known to any fan. LeBron has to deliver or the Cavs and all of Northeast Ohio will fade to black.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

NBA Playoff Picks

My picks for this year's NBA Playoffs

1st Round

EAST

Cleveland over Chicago in 5 games
Orlando over Charlotte in 7 games
Atlanta over Milwaukee in 6 games
Boston over Miami in 7 games

WEST

Los Angeles over Oklahoma City in 7
Dallas over San Antonio in 7
Phoenix over Portland in 5
Denver over Utah in 7

Yeah no upsets here... sorry, Denver-Utah would have been a complete toss up but Utah doesn't have Kirilenko and thats the difference in my opinion. I think Boston shows the most heart they have all season and beat Miami in a grueling 7 game series with nothing left for the second round. LA-OKC will be the most entertaining first round series period. Pretty excited to see how KD responds to Phil Jackson.

2nd Round

EAST

Cleveland over Boston in 6
Orlando over Atlanta in 7

WEST

Los Angeles over Denver in 7
Phoenix over Dallas in 7

Yessir, Phoenix is my surprise team out West. They just seem to be really clicking on all cylinders and Steve Nash is playing unbelievable basketball. Amare has been a different player since the trade rumors started up again and is playing at 2005 level. All their players have accepted their roles and Jared Dudley might be a huge difference in the Dallas series. Lakers will have a tough time with Denver but they'll push through based on talent.
Oh yeah, this will be Atlanta's peak as Joe Johnson is likely to leave via free agency... Sorry A-town fans (not that there are a lot of hard core ones anyway).

Conference Finals

EAST

Cleveland over Orlando in 6

WEST

Los Angeles over Phoenix in 7

Cleveland is just on a mission this year. I think LA will have to go full bar to get to the finals as the teams in the West have just gotten better this year and present more matchup problems for the Lakers than last year. Lebron won't be denied redemption against Orlando.

NBA FINALS

Cleveland over Los Angeles in 7

Maybe this is just what I want to see and what most NBA fans want to see. I think LeBron is tired of playing 2nd fiddle to Kobe Bryant and this series will be remembered for a long time as a clash of two great teams and titans of the NBA. Cleveland's history of failure ends this year with the O'Brien trophy. Anderson Varejao is going to be a big time contributor and if the Cavs get anything from Shaquille O'Neal to slow down Pau and Bynum it will be a bonus. Mo Williams is the x-factor for the Cavs once again... I believe he'll come through this year.

Individual Grades

DISCLAIMER: Anyone that reads this needs to understand, that first and foremost I am a fan of the Sacramento Kings and that I want ultimate success for everyone associated with that franchise and that means every player. I am a fan of every player on the team and want each one to do well. I have no grudge against any player for the Kings. These are just my opinions and have no meaning in the grand scheme of the franchise and its decisions... (just in case by any remote possibility a player actually happens to read this)

The Sacramento Kings finished the season 25-57 this year and with the 3rd worst record in the NBA. Here are my grades of each individual player

Jason Thompson: Grade : B+

JT started the season off like a monster and looked like a sure bet to be in the rookie sophomore game and then he hit one of the worst 2nd year slumps a person has ever seen. The key to young players is to see how they can respond to adversity and JT did. When the Landry-Martin trade went down, he took the role of going to the bench and didn't pout. He thrived in the role. His rebounding this year was the Kings largest asset and next year the key growth will be with his ability to get to the double-digit rebounding clip by controlling his fouls (something he did better after the slump). The jump shot from 15 has got to get more consistent and he needs to get quicker and more athletic around the rim. It seems like JT constantly get outjumped by one or two guys near the rim instead of finishing strong like Landry with the throwdown or the reverse. He has a lot more upside than most people might think. This summer will be huge for him as he and Spencer Hawes will be battling for minutes at the center position with Landry as the permanent fixture at the 4 spot. He is a major part of our core for the future. If the way he battled with Pau Gasol in the finale (19pts 16 rbs) is any indication of his talent, then perhaps one day this guy can be an all-star.

Sean May: Grade: C+

We didn't see a whole lot of Mr. May this season and for good reason. It seems like he would not be able to keep up with the other 9 guys on the court and he was often lagging and outmuscled for position. There is value however in Sean because he showed an uncanny ability, that I didn't really know about, to make a consistent 15 foot jumper. He seems like a decent passer from the few minutes he did receive on the floor. While I wouldn't mind if the Kings kept him for the minimum, I don't see him getting any more playing time next year as the Kings will likely add a quality big man in the draft or via free agency. Overall, smart player but not enough minutes to make any sort of impact.

Dominic McGwire: Grade: C/Incomplete

Honestly saw the guy play maybe 2 to 3 times this whole season before he went out with the foot injury. While he may be one of the better defenders on the team; his offense does not seem NBA quality at all. Maybe he becomes Udoka's replacement if the Kings let him go.

Ime Udoka: Grade B-

During the times that the well traveled vet played, he provided good experienced leadership on the floor and decent defense. His shooting however was horrible at times as he was not the 3-pt shooter the Kings had hoped he would be (28% 3ptFG). While it is always good to have a guy like Udoka on your team as a calmer of nerves, I don't know if his defense warrants another year for the Kings and taking up of minutes from Casspi, Donte, and Garcia.

Donte Greene: Grade: A-

I know... an A- is really high... but considering where "The Show" was at last year and how far he has come in just one season; the grade is well deserved. Donte Greene was so unnoticed last year that one of my good friends from hs, referred to him as Gerald Greene, when we talked about his web series last year. Yikes. Donte has made enormous strides with his work ethic, defense, and shot selection. His athleticism, length, and versatility scream the possibility of one day being a star player... it's his ability to remain consistent that still is in question. Personally, I think the guy has the 2nd most upside on the team after Tyreke. He has the ability to guard 4 positions on the court as well as play those positions. He's 6'11 and I totally believe that one day he will be one of the best defensive players in the league if he can committ 100 percent to it. His attitude is unlike any young player you will meet. He constantly roots for his teammates whether he is or is not on the court and he generally loves Sacramento. His statistics don't stand out to you but I don't like to look at stats when talking about Donte. There were games where he would play 30 minutes and other games where he played 5-10. This is where consistency has to come in. I think he has done enough to earn that small-forward starting position (more later on Westphal and his lineups). I believe with more consistent minutes this guy will be much better and I look for him in the offseason to add more strength and quickness off the dribble which will make him even more of a threat than just a 3 point shooter and future hopefully dunk contest contestant.

Francisco Garcia: Grade: Incomplete

Unquestionably the vocal leader of this team and a good one at that. Does not gripe about his minutes and he is able to advise his teammates now that its been his 5th year in the league. He had a freak injury during training camp and never seemed to get a chance to show his skills on the court. In the limited time we did get to see him, he played well and showed reallly good range on his jumpers. He is a very good utility guy who can play 3 positions and will be vital as a leader for the Kings if he continues to accept his role. I see him doing that.

Spencer Hawes: Grade: C+

The guy really has some talent as a passer and a jump shooter but jeez he is still weak when it comes to playing down low. He threw some of the sickest passes you'll ever see against the Lakers at Arco during X-mas break. The Kings love to run their high post through him but he seems to really get outmuscled for rebounds on a consistent basis. Averaging only 6 rebounds a game as a center is unexcuseable. And it's not like JT or Carl are taking away all of those rebounds as they average around 14 total boards between them. The Kings will always stick with him because as they say center. I don't think the Kings will be giving him an extension over the summer. They want to see him really play out his contract. Don't get me wrong though! Spencer Hawes is very important to the Kings future almost as much as Donte, and JT. He has unique skills and anchors an offensive system that once the Kings figure out, is gonna look amazing. There is going to be a situation that could happen where he falls out of favor with the Kings and it looks like the origins started with the trade for Landry. Who is going to be next year's starting center? JT or Spence???

Carl Landry: Grade: A-

Landry otherwise known as "Man-dry" is a beast down low and he seriously made KG look 20 years older than he already did when they were in Beantown a month ago. Landry's numbers increased big time this year as he got starter's minutes in Houston and then onto Sac as the 2nd best scorer. He is the low-post scorer that Spence and JT aspire to be. There is one major weakness though with Landry and it's his horrible rebounding numbers (6.5 per game... while it might be a lot lower because earlier this season he wasn't playing as many minutes... still he didn't go up much past 7 rebounds as a King). It's hard to expect him to truly be a good rebounder when he does so many other good things the Kings don't have much of such as draw the double team, make a jumper and post up on the block and drive, finish strong... but when you see a guy like Brockman coming in and averaging just 4 rebounds in 12 minutes of action... it's hard not to think that Landry's rebounding can get better. Still this guy is a permanent fixture with the Kings and he's only making 3 mil next year so a lot of quality for minimum quantity of money that he is receiving. Next year, I would like to see him get around 8 to 9 boards and 20 pts a game because I honestly think JT is going to average a double double next year so rebounding is going to be harder. Great addition by the Kings and it made losing one of my favorite players of all time Kevin Martin a lot easier than it would have been.

Andres Nocioni: Grade: D

Mr. Nocioni, did you just feel like shooting everytime you touched the ball? Was this your train of thought: "hey i'm not in this team's future plans so let me go ahead and get mine while i get these few minutes that I have". JEEZUZ, NOC!!! Nocioni looked to shoot basically everytime he got the ball as the Kings started losing later into the season. He looked very good early when he was buying into the Kings early success when they were 13-14. Soon as the losing started happening, is when a switch went on in Noc's head to just shoot every time he got the ball. I understand that he's not in the best of situations as an aging veteran (on a team of under 24s) with an inflated contract that is going to be impossible to move in the next two years, but you can't play selfish ball and expect people not to notice. Kings management, please find a way to move this guy!!!! ASAP. Unless he changes his attitude completely, all he's doing is taking away minutes from Casspi, Greene and Garcia.

Beno Udrih: Grade: B+

From someone who was basically left for dead after last season's dreadful effort to a player who became one of the leaders of the team and won the Oscar Robertson Triple-Double award (honors the player who signifies best off the court leadership/community service and on the court all around game/leadership). Beno has turned it around and essentially rediscovered his strengths: Pick and roll offense with a lot of movement and a pretty automatic sweet looking jumper. He is very crafty around the basket. Guy was playing hard every game and had a great triple-double against the Cavs. He had 21 and 11 against the Lakers to close out the season. The offense needs him to function correctly. I clearly remember a game against the Clippers where the Kings were just killing them and as soon as Beno went out, the Kings went clueless on offense. This guy is a good facilitator and relieves Tyreke of a lot of pressure of handling the ball. He can get you a good shot when you need it and makes Spencer Hawes look really good when they play their two man game. I will admit and like a lot of others, we were all down on this guy because of last year but he has seriously turned it around. He plays really well against LA teams for some reason.... (oh yeah the Lakers can never defend point guards and get scorched by really good ones and the Clippers... well they're the fucking clippers). It will be interesting to see how Beno's role changes or if it does at all based on what the Kings do in the draft or free agency. For now Westphal's offense is very good for Beno.

Omri Casspi: Grade: B

A pleasant early surprise this season but is it just me or has everyone gone a little too crazy about this guy. He has a lot of things to work on in the offseason but for someone who was a 23rd overall pick, he has definitely overachieved. He really needs to work on his ball handling especially with his weak hand and not being predictable on his drives. His finishing needs work and I thought this year he settled for too many outside shots (although he shot them really well at nearly 45%). Not really sure how large Omri's upside is. Seems more like a guy that can come off the bench and really give good energy and hustle plays along with hard nosed defense. The Kings found a good player at pick 23 and as long as Omri realizes his obligation to his team and not just his country's media, the future is very bright. Shot selection and ball handling are his areas that need to be improved. The "Michael Jordan Of Israel" definitely has the drive to do it.

Jon Brockman: Grade: B

Going strictly by what expectations are. Jon Brockman has been excellent. The "Brock-Ness Monster" has created havoc when he came into the game and left opponents acting like "who the f--- is this dude elbowing and nudging people out of the way" His toughness and rebounding are admirable in the few minutes that he received. Nothing is more obvious than the fact that the Kings may never run a play for him as the 1st option but he will definitely need a jump shot in order to stay in the league and I have no doubts that he will work on this along with getting even stronger so he can knock more heads to the ground next year. Guy averaged 4 rebounds in 12 minutes of game time. Pretty good but a lot of things Brockman does... you won't find in the stat sheet.

Tyreke Evans: Grade: A

Tyreke Evans averaged 20-5-5. Enough said. To do that for an entire season as a rookie is truly remarkable. I'm sick and tired of trying to prove that he's the rookie of the year so I'm just going to put my faith in the voters to get it right. He has changed the outlook of the franchise from being very grim (See end of 08-09 everyone playing for themselves) to being as bright as it can be. He is a game changer and you feel his impact during a game with his drives and kicks and incredible handles. He thrills the crowd with his moves (see Ron Artest spun into the floor 3/16 vs. Lakers) and he is going to be even better next year when he trains in LA this summer to develop the jump shot which will make him unguardable. The way he took over to help the team come back against Chicago was remarkable. I'll always remember his step back jumper with the shot clock running down and his motion showing that he had big balls and that the United Center was "his house". Most importantly he seems so unfazed by all the attention and all the hype around him. He is so humble, its amusing. He doesn't need the big lights, He loves Sac and he's going to be the man for years to come that hopefully brings us that championship that the city has been dying to get, especially since '02. Slow down there, we just need a trip back to the playoffs for now. Key with Tyreke's growth will be his ability to play without the ball and trust his teammates to make shots. Trust and good shooting are both contagious and they both contribute to chemistry. Once Tyreke knows Omri, Donte, JT, and Spence and other young players the kings get in this draft are capable of being consistent, this team is going to be even more successful.

Coming soon...my apologies to Paul Westphal

GREAT FEATURE ON TYREKE EVANS

Link to the article from NBA.com : http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/04/05/spencer.evans.feature/index.html

Tyreke Evans is going to be a special player and he has his head in the right place. He is so mature beyond his years, its quite remarkable. He has single handedly changed the outlook of the franchise in a matter of one year.

Joey Dorsey waived by the Kings

Yahoo! sports' Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting via Twitter:

"Kings cut Joey Dorsey largely for clownish behavior, source says. They don't consider him bad guy, but coaches feared his act rubbing off. "

Btw: Dominic McGuire is done for the rest of the season with tear in plantar fascia.

PREVIEW FOR TONIGHT @BOSTON

Tonight: Kings @ Celtics 4:30PM (Pacific)

Kings are gonna have to play one of their most perfect games to win tonight. They will be once again without Tyreke Evans who is still feeling the effects of the concussion he suffered last Friday against Milwaukee. Tonight will require a lot of ball movement similar to what was seen against the Los Angeles Clippers and Beno Udrih will be the major key on offense as well as on defense as he will "try" to stop Rajon Rondo which may be impossible for any point guard in the NBA. My suggestion would be to go with a big line up tonight for the Kings to combat the size of the Celtics up front. I hope Westphal uses JT, Spence, and Landry as the front line and have Donte and Beno in the backcourt so that we have a second point guard coming off the bench with Cisco. Donte Greene's shooting is so important to this team as well as JT's rebounds and Spencer's assists. Landry needs a 20 and 10 game tonight and the bench really needs to help us out with Garcia, Casspi, and Noch and maybe even May.

The Celtics present major matchup problems with Ray Allen coming off screens for those open threes as well as Rondo's unstoppable ability to get into the paint and create havoc with his ball handling. The Celtics have shown many lapses this year including losses at home to both the Grizzlies and the Nets (I know the feeling...), however this team seems to be getting some of its swagger back with its recent wins against Dallas and Denver. The Kings cannot be intimidated by Kevin Garnett from getting into the paint. They must step up to these guys and knock down open shots. Not a lot of room for error tonight. This is what is exciting about a young team because ever so often they really surprise you and hopefully that's what happens tonight!! Kings were 3 or 4 free throw makes from winning against Boston in their last meeting this season at Arco. Should have won the game... but that's been sort of the story all year... we're just too young to win close games right now but it would be nice to get off to a good start tonight!!!

Kings Free Agent Options

Sactown Royalty made a very interesting post on the Kings and what they are looking at for this summer of 2010. Check it out http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2010/3/25/1390184/analyzing-free-agency-options-in

HOW CAN YOU LOSE TO JERSEY?

No excuses at all. Even w/out Tyreke Evans, the Kings should have beat the Nets. This is a really bad loss and hopefully not a sign of how the last few games will go. The Kings cannot lose to teams like the Nets if they hope to build for the future. Bottom line, you gotta have that game period one way or another. A win against Boston wouldn't even come close to taking away the embarrassment of this loss. No excuses... gotta beat a team thats only won 8 games by the end of March. Not much to really say except that its pretty embarrassing.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

Lots of topics to get to on the Kings


Grant Napear aka Peaches (Sactown Royalty) got his wish basically. It can be said that K-Mart was pretty much all but traded since Tyreke Evans was drafted as people that were on the national scene (who do not follow the team regularly and in my opinion basically look at statistics to make determinations) felt that they couldn't play together. Then it just snowballed into plain fact amongst the national media. Then Grant Napear decided to use this and add it to his constant "rip Kevin Martin on the radio" days whenever the Kings lost after his return from injury. As David Thorpe mentioned in this piece, the Kings had lost a bunch of games just before Kevin came back, however everyone wanted to make him the scapegoat for their problems. Is it Kevin Martin's fault that nearly everyone on the team was young and not ready to be winners and complete players? Is it Kevin Martin's fault that the entire team didn't play defense? Is it Kevin Martin's fault that no player outside of Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih would show some type of consistency? No. Don't get me wrong, Kevin Martin is not a in your face guy and not a vocal leader obviously and maybe that was his downfall, but he deserved a little bit better than to be the scapegoat. To call a guy "soft" when he gets to the free throw line 8-10 times a game is ridiculous in my opinion. Sure, yes it gets on my nerves that everytime he drove to the lane, he was trying to get fouled but more often than not, it freaking worked. But whatever, this chapter of the Kings is over, and now Martin is on his way to a much brighter situation at this time. The Houston Rockets are going to be better when they get Yao back. A starting line up of Brooks, Martin, Ariza, Scola and Yao is loaded and they also have a very good 3-4 man rotation off the bench. I wouldn't be surprised if this team is a 4 seed next year in the West.


As much as I hate to see Martin go, the trade is a solid decision by the Kings in terms of what they received with Carl Landry who is quite a bargain right now and will be next year when the Kings pick up his $3.o million option. The guy is capable of averaging a double double and give the Kings a legitimate low-post scorer that they have not had since Ron-Ron was here.


Another important story, Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee, the beat writer for the Sacramento Kings, is leaving the newspaper for Fanhouse. This is a sad indictment on the newspaper business, whose death is being pushed more forward than originally predicted due to the economy. Sam Amick was a great writer for the Bee and showed excellent talent in bringing the most accurate news to his readers with his columns and blogs on the Kings. No one can deny his skills as he was able to make excellent frank assessments of the team without overly criticizing its players if not justified. He will be truly missed as now we’re stuck with a Laker fan as the new main guy (Jason Jones) and Ailene Voisin, who in my opinion has fallen out of touch with the Kings.

I see us finishing decently somewhere around 30 wins and possibly being able to add a big man in the draft this offseason. Beno Udrih has really turned his outlook around and has become worth his contract this season. I don't know what happened but I think Tyreke has had a major positive impact on Beno's game. Beno plays very well when the Kings offense involves a lot of movement off the initial pick and rolls that he has with Spence. When Beno gets to that midrange spot, he is just money from that area. Kudos to Westphal for realizing what makes Beno successful. Finally definitely gotta say I love JT's energy coming off the bench where he does not have to worry about foul trouble. Hawes has definitely shown a lot of fire lately and is a very talented passer along with his excellent outside shooting. Learning from Landry's low post technique will be huge for JT and Spence for the development of the Kings.

Last thought: Tyreke Evans is the rookie of the year, PERIOD. If you don't think that's true, then you probably don't know how hard 20, 5 and 5 is to maintain almost for an entire season. No one can stop this guy from getting to the basket even though they all now gameplan to pack the lane, knowing he can't shoot. The man has nearly had 3 triple doubles in the last 4 games. He is the FRANCHISE now and its on him to make his teammates accountable for their performances over the next few years if the Kings want to get back to the playoffs (the way Kobe did with the Lakers between '05-'09 and continues to do).

More to come later...