The Missing Piece

It has been well known that in the past the Kings had a number of clutch shooters. In the past you could look to Mike Bibby to nail that last second, buzzer beater shot. As of late, the Kings have been missing that piece.

Many would say, myself included, that prior to the deadline the only person I had any decent amount of trust in was Tyreke Evans. When Tyreke went out and missed 20 games due to the plantar fasciitis in his left foot, there was no one. While we have good perimeter shooters like Beno Udrih, Francisco Garcia, and Omri Casspi; none of them were consistent enough to get the job done. This had DeMarcus Cousins barking for the ball in those last second shot moments. We are all aware of the altercation that ensured after the loss to the Thunder between he and teammate Donte Greene, where Cousins wanted the ball for the opportunity to win the game. Greene in-bounded the ball to the then clutch Evans. Since Evans took his place behind the bench in his street clothes, the Kings went out in search of help. Prior to the February trade deadline, the Kings traded second year King Carl Landry to New Orleans for Marcus Thornton.

I will be the first to admit that I was none to happy about this trade by the numbers. Thornton's numbers were not all that impressive to me. Then he came to Sacramento and I had the opportunity to see him play. He filled the huge hole that Evans' absence left. In all but 2 games since his arrival, Thornton has scored at least 20 points. Thornton has been the saving grace even now that Evans is back. He hit a big three late in the game against Phoenix Suns to give the Kings the 116-113 win. That marked the third win against the Suns this season and both games at Power Balance Pavilion (formerly ARCO Arena) have been thrilling victories. Last night when it looked as if the Kings were doing everything they could to lose the game in the final 2 minutes in Houston, but Thornton had other plans. He hit the big shots and free throws down the stretch to allow the Kings to once again play the role of spoiler for playoff hopes.

It is safe to say that the Kings have found their clutch man. When the game is on the line I want to see the ball in one of two peoples' hands: Marcus Thornton or Tyreke Evans.