There could not have been a sadder way for that winning streak to end. A non-competitive game against the... Kings. Yep, that just happened folks.
Straight to notes mode:
- Chris Paul was awful in every sense of the word. Declined to use the big possessions in the fourth, messed up often when he did. Yeesh.
- Not going to blame this game on luck one bit since the Kings outfought us at virtually every position. But one note that should be mentioned- DeMarcus Cousins is shooting 29% from 10-22 feet this season. So... yeah.
- Marcus Thornton was essentially unguardable tonight. So it makes perfect sense that he'd play 17 minutes. The biggest culprit (in terms of taking his minutes away)? Jarrett Jack. Monty Williams decided to leave Jack on the floor for large swaths of time alongside Chris Paul, and that probably cost us a chance at this win.
- The defensive rebounding absolutely collapsed in the fourth quarter. Heading into the final stanza, New Orleans was collecting 85% of all Kings misses. They finished the game at under 75%. The most exemplary play, of course, was Dalembert's put back that sealed the game.
- Tyreke Evans picked up his fifth foul in the third quarter. He then proceeded to destroy us in the fourth. Again, it's tough to vociferously point fingers (it's not like you run a play at a guy that has five fouls and poof! he's gone!), but we did very little in the way of attacking him until it was too late.
- Yeah, yeah, start a new streak tomorrow and all that, but this one is next to impossible for me to digest. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning, but I doubt it. We make our way up the standings, knock off some damn good teams, and lose to the Kings ahead of important games with the Thunder and Lakers next week? Just disgusting.