I don't really know what to say about this game.

The question many viewers will have: why don't the Kings always play like that? Well, most teams aren't as stupid and/or untalented on defense as the Knicks. Most teams after, say, three brutal Reke drives to the rim would pack the lane. The Knicks didn't, and Evans kept on going. The success of a slash-heavy offense depends first on the opposing defense's complicity in the matter; if the defense is not complicit, then the attacking team needs to make appropriate passes and hit their outside shots (or do good things on a second slash). To date, the Kings have failed here: Evans is still working out how and when to pass, the Kings are only average from long distance, and the secondary slash has been nonexistant. But it's coming together, and I think even if teams defend the rim better than New York, the Kings can find some late-season success. Fingers crossed.

I was perhaps most encouraged by Paul Westphal's coaching. His lack of a set rotation — hell, a set starting lineup — has drawn ire. But it worked to perfection late. That particular closing lineup — Evans-Martin-Casspi-Greene-Thompson — was just brilliant. And it had played exactly zero possessions as a unit before Tuesday's game. That's why you keep experimenting, keep trying to find success. Cheers to Westphal for that.

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