Kings Blog and Q&A

Luther Head didn't miss a shot against the New Orleans, the team that almost his team this offseason.

Head made all four of his shots (three of from three-point range) for his 11 points.

In case you forgot Head's offseason drama. He'd agreed to a two-year contract worth a reported $2.3 million with the Hornets. Then general manager Jeff Bower was fired and the offer was pulled with the Hornets claiming Head failed his physical because of a bad knee.

Head said there was nothing wrong with his knee.

Head ended up signing a one-year deal that becomes guaranteed next month if he's still on the team. There's no reason to believe Head won't be around, especially if he continues to be lead the Kings' improving perimeter defense.

Head did a good job checking New Jersey's Devin Harris and followed that up with an admirable job on New Orleans superstar Chris Paul.

Paul had nine points and 14 assists, but he shot 2 of 12 from the floor. Head was the primary defender on Paul and forced a miss late with the Kings down 73-71. The Kings didn't get the rebound, so they didn't get a chance to tie or take the lead late.

After 29 different starting lineups last season and five already this season, it's fair to be skeptical when Paul Westphal says the starting lineup that includes Head and Donte' Greene will be what the Kings use for the "foreseeable future." After all, how far in the future can we really see when it comes to the lineup?

I'm inclined to believe Westphal on this one, as long as the Kings keep defending well. Who knows, they might even start making shots, too.

*Through two games of Westphal's tighter rotations, Omri Casspi, Darnell Jackson and Jason Thompson appear to be the players who will see their minutes dip the most.

Casspi hasn't played at all in the last two games. Jackson didn't play against the Hornets. Thompson's minutes appear limited to use as a third center and as a backup power forward.

With Donte' Greene and Francisco Garcia playing the bulk of time at small forward, there hasn't been a lot of time for the Thompson at small forward experiment. And with Westphal using DeMarcus Cousins and Samuel Dalembert together at times, there's even less time for Thompson.

Thompson played 7 minutes, 21 seconds against the Hornets.

*Speaking of Cousins, he said he didn't feel like he gave the team anything against the Hornets. He was 3 of 11 shooting with only five rebounds. Cousins fouled out after fouling late to put New Orleans on the foul line.

I think the shooting will come for Cousins. But he had four turnovers, including being stripped in the post again.

Cousins has had at least four turnovers in six games this season. If the Kings are going to go to Cousins in critical situations, they have to know Cousins will take care of the ball better.

Cousins took the blame not long ago for some of the ball he loses to guards in the post. He said he needs to give players more time to clear before making his move.

Then again, if he gets the ball with the shot clock winding down, it's hard to be patient. But I touch on the whole slow-starting offense issue in the game story that will be on the web site sometime around midnight.

*How rare is it for the Kings to lose when holding an opponent to 75 points or less? According to Elias Sports Bureau, the last time it happened to the franchise was when the Kings weren't even the Kings.

They were still the Rochester Royals when they lost to Milwauke, 75-74, on Feb. 9, 1955.

--Jason Jones