Sacramento Kings versus Golden State Warriors: Observations From My Front Row Seat in Front of My Computer Monitor

October 17, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard

(22) goes up for the shot against Golden State Warriors point guard

(30). The Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings 98-88. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

Last night, I was in the same predicament as a lot of Sacramento Kings fans. For some reason, I thought the game was going to be televised on Comcast Sportsnet California (CSN), so I planned to watch the game in the comfort of my home in front of my television.

I did not attend the game, discovered it wasn’t televised, could not find a radio broadcast, checked a couple Sacramento Kings‘ threads for suggestions, and then headed over to SB Nation Warrior thread to see if they had any ideas.

Feeling I was not alone in my experience, I wanted to share it with other fans. In no way was this intended as a recap to supersede the fine one by Scott Levin.

Ironically, I got my first bit of pregame humor from the Warrior post by Atma Brother ONE :

"See if you can stay awake…PredictionsRight before the half, Coach Mark Jackson asks Coach Keith Smart how to draw up a play.Harrison Barnes is glad the Kings didn’t draft him this past summer.Carl Landry is glad he’s not on the Kings anymore.DeMarcus Cousins wishes he slipped one spot to the Warriors back in 2010.We’re all happy we’re not Kings fans.We’re all happy we don’t live in Sacramento.Warriors by 7Very funny guys!Little did I know then, that would be the highlight for the next couple of hours. Warrior fans weren’t having much luck either. I ended up going over to Yahoo Sports then linking onto NBA Game Channel/Stat Tracker.I had a front row seat to looking at box scores and play-by-play action on my computer screen. By the time I got “settled in my seat” the Kings were already in foul trouble and 11 points behind the Warriors.I was surprised to see the starting lineup:  Aaron Brooks, Tyreke Evans, Travis Outlaw, Jason Thompson, and DeMarcus Cousins.I get that Keith Smart wants to try out different starting lineups, but wasn’t this the same one he tried out in the previous game against the Portland Trail Blazers? Can’t imagine him being attached to Travis Outlaw. What happened to his 14 Sudoku plan?Oh well, it wasn’t long before he substituted James Johnson for Travis Outlaw.Observations: Spending two hours staring at a bunch of changing box scores is not an adequate or appealing substitute for the real thing. It was apparent, from the get-go the Kings were getting off to a rocky start. Brooks and Cousins had two fouls each. In the second quarter, James Johnson ran into his own foul trouble with four of them.I understand the officials were whistle happy last night. Fortunately, I did not hear any of that. Although I could not see the action on the floor, the numbers in front of me at the end the first half showed the Kings were in trouble. The assist column was almost void of any. Here and there, some long range shots were hit, but there were also a lot of misses.Kings came out with more energy in the third quarter. Brooks made a 19-footer from the top of the key. Cousins made a 21-footer with an assist from Brooks and Evans made a reverse layup with an assist by Brooks. I was beginning to feel the first surge of excitement, but this was followed by a series of misses.At one point in the third quarter, four of the Warrior players were in double digits, while the Kings had none.  Jason Thompson was the first King to garner double digit points.While the Kings would nearly close the gap, they couldn’t overtake the Warriors. Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton combined for 25 points, off the bench, compared to starting guards Evans and Brooks who combined for 16 points.This was a terrible game viewed by watching box scores. I doubt if it was much better in person, considering the price to tickets, parking, and the drive home. At least I could just turn off my computer.Golden State Warriors 98 – Sacramento Kings 88Published on 10/18/2012 at 9:00 AM PDTLast updated on 10/18/2012 at 9:00 AM PDT Right before the half, Coach Mark Jackson asks Coach Keith Smart how to draw up a play.Harrison Barnes is glad the Kings didn’t draft him this past summer.Carl Landry is glad he’s not on the Kings anymore.DeMarcus Cousins wishes he slipped one spot to the Warriors back in 2010.We’re all happy we’re not Kings fans.We’re all happy we don’t live in Sacramento.Warriors by 7"