Francisco Garcia For Three: Speaking of All-Star Saturday Night, a less-heralded King could also be making the trip to Los Angeles. Among all players with at least 500 attempts from downtown over the last three seasons, Garcia ranks 23rd in three-point accuracy (39.3%), ahead of Ray Allen, Ben Gordon, and Kevin Martin. The problem for 'Cisco, of course, has been a lack of court time, as the swingman has missed 74 games over the past two years with injuries. But with his fractured wrist now fully healed, Garcia played 33 minutes in the Kings' preseason game against the Golden State Warriors and recorded 14 points (2-4 3PT), nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Garcia will be an integral part of the Kings’ rotation, and he is in prime position to knock down spot-up outside jump shots created off Evans' penetration to the basket and Cousins' passing out of the post. Although it's a small sample size, 'Cisco was phenomenal in the eight games in which he tallied over 25 minutes while playing with Evans, scoring 12.3 points on 59% shooting and a blistering 54% from three-point range (13 out of 24).
While he may not be as incredibly efficient all year long, don't call it a comeback for Garcia in 2010-11—no really, you shouldn't, as he was drafted way back in 2005 and is the longest-tenured player on the roster. ‘Cisco will end up competing in the Three-Point Contest, and if he comes off the bench for the majority of the season, he could also find himself in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation.
Foul Play: I didn’t say these would all be positive predictions. The Kings committed the fifth-most personal fouls in the league last season (22.3 per game), with Jason Thompson racking up the second-most personals in the NBA (3.7 per contest). Dalembert, in the meantime, averaged 4.7 fouls per 40 minutes, and Cousins has already fouled out of two of his first three preseason contests. While the 1977-78 Atlanta Hawks' NBA record of 30.1 fouls per game will (hopefully) remain safe, the referee's whistle will be an all too prominent part of Kings games.
Article comments
1 - Newska
It should be great season for Omri Casspi -Israeli Sacramento Kings player
2 - Alex Kramers
Absolutely, Newska. Omri had a phenomenal rookie season and has looked great in the preseason so far. He'll likely start at small forward for much of the year and put up great numbers.