LA’s other, other, other team is in town today and after a vengeful fourth quarter drubbing of Aubrey Graham’s traveling sportswear models, Sacramento will attempt to quench the unquenchable – a thirst for wins, especially against a Clippers team trying to stay afloat. With Kawhi Leonard out and James Harden healthy, the Clippers are vulnerable and if the Kings are serious about being one of the best teams in a stacked Western Conference, they’ll have to take note of every advantage afforded them. Can the Kings get to a second three game win streak before the ten game mark? Will that Raptors fourth quarter be the spark in the powder keg for the Kings going forward? Will someone please tell me what the hell Norman Powell is doing this season??
Let’s talk Kings basketball.
When: Friday, November 8th, 7:00 PM PST
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
TV: NBCSCA – Mark Jones (play-by-play)
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140 AM
For Your Consideration
… It’s Powell You Finish: Yeah, we’re going to start right off with pondering the meaning of life while staring into the unknowing that rises from staring at Norman Powell’s stats for too long. Simply stated: Stormin’ Norman is on an absolutely scorcher to start the season. This guy is a ten year vet, career averages of 12.5 points a game, averaged 13.9 points in 76 appearances with the Clippers off the bench last season and 17.0 points in 60 appearances the season before. He’s one of the better off-the-bench options in the league. I do not deny him that. He’s also a known quantity and at 31 his best basketball days are here right now. The milk isn’t stale by any means, but use it in the next few days or your roommates will start asking questions.
So, conventional wisdom would say Norman Powell should not be averaging 25 a game through 8 games this season. Yes, with Paul George abandoning ship and Kawhi playing a game of Operation with the salad tongs, Norm should be getting more minutes — 7.2 to be exact. But, this man is taking a fraction under 17 shots a game, three more than his career high. He’s making them at a 53.0% clip, 6.9% higher than that career high season and that’s while yacking up 8.5 threes a game to the tune of 48.5% on top of it. The man is the leading scorer on a team that features James Harden, a healthy James Harden, a James Harden that has a greener light now than literally any stop since he was traded to Houston. In the wake of the Leonard injury and the opening of the fifteen trillon dollar Intuit Dome, Steve Ballmer certainly wants to win as many games as possible and good for Steve, great for Harden’s agenda but… who lit this eight game stretch of fire under Powell’s ass?
Is it short-lived? Eh probably. Regression to the mean, Harden getting jealous, Kawhi coming back – there’s so many things one can expect to take place that will drag Powell back to earth. But, for the time being, I can’t say that I don’t love watching a role player explode like this, even if the brightness is doomed to be flash more than fire.
As for the rest of these Clippers – they’re staying afloat to start this season. They’re the third slowest pace, seventh ranked in defensive rating, hold opponents to the fourth lowest scoring average in the league. They hold opponents to the lowest number of two point attempts per game and are top ten in steals, while being in the low third in blocked shots. This team isn’t an atom bomb, they’re a noose. They try to set the pace, they capitalize on turnovers and they slowly choke the life out of you, one error at a time. On offense, they’re scoring at the seventh lowest clip of the season, have the 20th best offensive rating and when they’re shooting, they’re hovering just above or below league average in three point and two point percentage, respectively. If you think Harden’s foul merchant routine has rubbed off on the rest of his LA teammates, it hasn’t. They’re in the bottom third in free throw attempts, and are the third worst three point shooting attempts. Well, what about Harden’s passing? Yeah! They’re 13th in assists, but 29th in turnovers, so Harden’s definitely rubbing off there.
Speaking of James, I can’t say he’s struggling to start the year. He’s averaging 20.8 points, 9.4 assists and 8.1 rebounds, to go along with 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks, so he’s still a premiere player in the league, but he’s not quite the Harden of old. Shooting 37.6% from the field and 28.4% from deep, Harden’s still shooting at a Harden volume, he just hasn’t adjusted to be Houston Harden for a team that would definitely love to see that man make an appearance this season.
The Clippers are a good team. Don’t let one injury define your expectations for the season here. They might fall off a cliff at some point, but for now they’re a .500 team, with guys that can score, rebound and play Ty Lue defense. They’re a good mix of youth, athleticism and toughness and the moment you think the Kings cake walk tonight is the moment the rope goes tight and they snap the rope tight around their necks.
The Small Stuff
DeRoz to DeTop: Congrats to Deebo for snapping Chris Webber’s streak of 20 point games to start a Kings career. It’s only eight games and there’s a lot of basketball left to be fought for, but anytime you break a record that Webber held in Sacramento, you’re doing something right. Here’s to continuing to prove talking heads wrong.
Prediction
Zubac and Sabonis both wind up with pronounced tiger scratches down their arms tonight, one of Derrick Jones Jr. or Kai Jones catch an ESPN Top 10-worthy body tonight, and the game is close till late with Harden pulling a Harden at a critical juncture allowing for the Kings to close it out.
Kings: 108, Clippers: 104
