It was their first game, but is sure looked like the same old Kings. Initially impressed that a Kings road game was in HD, I quickly realized that it simply meant that I would simply have a clearer picture of a horrible Kings loss.
There it was again. The red carpet down the lane. The lack of effort on the boards. The incessant need to shoot from the outside. Like Yogi said, "It's Deja Vu all over again".
Missing was the toughness, effort, and hustle that we all went into the season hoping we would see. No one, myself included, expected this team to win even 30 games. Heck, I was going to be happy with 20 as long as the losses were because of lack in talent and not effort. This loss had nothing to do with talent.
I know I've seen this before. Thompson getting in foul trouble in the first six minutes (though some of the calls were pretty weak), and arguing every one. Spencer jacking threes. Westbrook running down the lane like there were lights guiding the way. Several Thunder players in double figures. Kevin Martin with a spectacular first half and disappearing in the second. I've seen it all before.
It was all bad, right? Thankfully, no. There was one lone bright spot in this game. Omri Casspi, overcame a rough first half and realized he is an NBA player. He came out in the second half and broke down his defender, hit outside shots, ran the floor, all the things that should make him a valuable member of this team.
What about Tyreke Evans? It's an incomplete. He showed flashes of what will make him a good player but like his teammates he settled for too many outside shots when he clearly had an advantage over Westbrook in the post. It was evident that his shot is clearly the weakest part of his game.
Normally I would say it was only one game, but we've seen it too many times to think this was the exception and not the rule.
