Omri Casspi Finds his Shooting Zone

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Last night, Omri scored 13 points against the Charlotte Bobcats in a losing effort. He shot 50% overall, but was only 1 for 5 from three-point range. But that's good news! Because that means that Omri was 5 for 7 from regular non-three-point range.

On the flip side, Omri only grabbed one board and had no assists. Apparently he is struggling defensively and only played for 22 minutes. He is still the starting small forward (for now) but his production is much different than a few weeks ago.

Now I have a feeling that I will be preaching patience after every Kings game. In all professional sports in America there are about a giz-billion scouts that analyze every game. If there is a flaw in Omri's game it will be exploited by the opposition until he fixes that flaw. And then the scouting process repeats itself again. That is part of being a professional athlete in the 21st century.

As a surrogate Kings fan I am greatly disappointed since the Kings are on a four game losing streak. Also, the Kings have only gone 1-9 over their last ten games. The Cinderella story for both Omri and the Kings is beginning to turn into one of the ugly step-sisters. Remember - be patient!

Don't lose the faith, there's still a lot of basketball left to play.

Omri Casspi Splits One Fan's Loyalty

It has finally happened. Omri Casspi is forcing me to choose sides. Do I remain loyal to my home team, the team that I have followed for almost 25 years. (Oy am I old!) OR - do I switch loyalties, follow my man-crush and become a whole-hearted fan of the Sacramento Kings? These are indeed difficult times.

Well the reality is that I am a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers and I actually have an easy decision. The Sixers stink. They are horrible and unlike the NJ Nets, their salary cap is a mess. In other words, there is not a good chance that they are going to get better any time soon. Thanks a lot Elton Brand!

So even though the Kings are playing the Sixers tonight in Philadelphia, I can easily root for Omri and the Kings. I could take the easy way out and root for Omri to get some good stats while the Sixers win the game. BUT - since the Sixers are going nowhere fast, I am ready to channel all of my NBA karma in the Kings direction.

Check out this post for my preview of the Kings vs. the Sixers.

Omri Casspi and the Kings Challenge Philadelphia 76ers (Preview)

Tonight (Friday Jan. 15) the Kings travel to Philadelphia to challenge the Sixers. Feel free to read my post about how to handle it when Omri comes to play against your favorite team.

This game is worthy of a preview because Kevin Martin is supposed to return from his wrist injury and play in the game. Now as fans of Omri Casspi we must ask ourselves - how does this effect Omri's playing time?

First of all, if you are not a basketball addict, you should know that Kevin Martin (the Kings's best player for the past three years) and Omri play different positions. So, Martin's return to the starting lineup does not automatically force Omri to come off the bench. Moreover, since this is Martin's first game back, you wouldn't expect him to play 40 minutes. Bottom line - Omri's starting position is safe, but his minutes should be reduced.

Final note - as I previously posted, Omri's strength is his all around game not just scoring. Even if Omri loses his starting job, he could easily be a great sixth man off the bench.