Donte’s Inferno

This post is going to be short and sweet. It’s the day before Thanksgiving and I’m with family, but there were just too many positives tonight to not post and discuss. First and foremost was the game that Donte Greene had tonight for the Kings as he dominated on both ends of the floor. He established a new career high in points with 24 and also added four rebounds, five assists, and six blocks on 9-of-13 shooting from the field including six threes. It was the type of coming out party that we have all been waiting for from Donte as he continues to show flashes of the type of player that we all know that he can be. He took over the game tonight and was everywhere on both sides of the floor. The Kings played very well as a team, but it was clearly Donte’s night as everything he put up seemed to be falling, and he also added a highlight reel dunk and several blocked shots as the Knicks clearly had no answer for him this evening.

Greene is one of the most talented players on the Kings roster and he has clearly improved his game this season. The next step will be consistency as he has continued to be up and down this season. After his last big game, in which he scored 24 points, he followed it up with a big zero in the scoring column the next night. As long as Greene continues to play well, he will command time on the floor and tonight’s performance was definitely an eye opener. Hopefully he can capitalize on it and develop some consistency moving forward.

Greene wasn’t the only King that played well this evening as seven Kings scored in double-digits. Tyreke Evans was solid as he notched a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He finished just three assists shy of a triple-double with seven on the evening. Sergio Rodriguez stepped in for a sick Beno Udrih and really helped solidify the bench tonight with 15 points in over 32 minutes of play as the Kings needed his ballhandling this evening and only played eight men.

The Kings held the Knicks to just 38.5 percent shooting from the field and were in control from start to finish in this one. The only negative is that they continue to play haphazardly with the ball and registered 18 turnovers. This is a problem that has plagued them lately and while they seem to be able to overcome an abundance of turnovers at home, it has been their undoing on the road.

The Kings face New Jersey on Friday as they look to hold the Nets to 0-16 this  season and push them one loss away from the worst start in NBA history. It is a game that the Kings should win and really must as they look to continue to build confidence for a young team. The Kings haven’t been in the role of favorite in a long time, but this is a game that they should win as long as they stay aggressive and continue to play as well as they have at home this year.