Talk about ending 2010 with a bang! The game between the Kings and Grizzlies on Dec. 29 at Arco Arena in Sacramento involved two buzzer-beaters – both in spectacular fashion.

With five seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Kings holding a slim 97-96 lead, Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley inbounded the ball to O.J. Mayo, who took a couple of dribbles toward the top and made an off-balance, fadeaway jump shot to give Memphis a 98-97 lead with 1.5 seconds remaining. Game over, right? Wrong.

After Mayo’s amazing play, the crowd in Sacramento went nearly dead silent sensing that the game had been won. Even one sideline reporter was too quick to walk on the court to get some postgame interviews.

But hold on Mr Reporter! The game is not over yet.

DeMarcus Cousins inbounded the ball to Tyreke Evans from the baseline and Evans took one dribble and launched a desperation shot from well beyond halfcourt and swished it just just before the red light went on. Kings win, 100-98!

The Kings players and coaching staff celebrated as if they had just won the NBA title, and Evans certainly milked his shining moment by jumping on top of the official’s table as the whole building erupted (haven’t heard this building this loud since Mike Bibby hit a game-winning shot in Game 5 of the 2002 Western Conference finals against the Lakers).

The Kings are in dire need of a spark this season and Evans may have just provided it with his incredible shot. Even though we’ve only played just a quarter of the season, Evans’ buzzer-beater may be the shot of the year in the NBA. See for yourself…

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Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins will be a force to be reckoned with the Sacramento Kings. (GETTY IMAGES)

When it comes to evaluating basketball talent, there are few in the NBA who are better than Geoff Petrie. The Sacramento Kings’ president of basketball operations was responsible for drafting Peja Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu, Gerald Wallace, Jason Williams, Kevin Martin and 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans.

Petrie may have picked up another gem in this year’s draft in No. 5 overall pick DeMarcus Cousins, who could be the next Moses Malone – a bigger and more tattooed version. For those who don’t know Moses Malone, shame on you. He was one of the original basketball beasts, a three-time NBA MVP and named one of the 50 Greatest Players.

Malone wore an intimidating scowl when he stepped on the court and played with a brick on his shoulder. Cousins is cut from the same mold. He walks into the arena as if his someone had just stolen his bike. Cousins possesses a little nasty streak and, just like Malone, almost relishes physical contact.

The 6-foot-11 center out of the University of Kentucky has been beastly so far in the 2010 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, and his supposed attitude problem has been nonexistent so far. In fact, the Kings’ summer league coaches have been raving about Cousins’ work ethic and has showed some outstanding leadership skills, something that was a big question mark during pre-day workouts and a big reason why Cousins dropped to No. 5 in the draft. Otherwise, if you base it on talent alone, Cousins was arguably the second-best player in the draft behind John Wall, his teammate at Kentucky.

The 19-year-old from Mobile, Ala., attacks the boards like Malone. He’s not a quick leaper but knows how to use his body and rebounds extremely well in traffic. And just like Moses, Cousins has a great knack for getting to the free-throw line.

“He’s a very intelligent player,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said about his young big man. “He’s very agile, he’s got quick feet and he knows where the players are around him. And he’s a great rebounder. He’s going to be an outstanding player.”

Moses Malone was the MVP of the 1983 NBA Finals against the L.A. Lakers. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

There are two things you can’t teach: Speed and size.

Wall has the speed and Cousins has the size.

You can’t criticize Washington for taking Wall, who is an absolute blur on the court, but the three teams who passed on Cousins – Philadelphia, New Jersey and Minnesota – will ultimately regret their decisions. While Evan Turner, Derrick Favors and Greg Monroe struggle to adjust to the NBA game, Cousins has assimilated very well.

“Oh, we’re real happy with him,” Westphal said. “Nothing about his stats or anything else, what impresses me is he really knows how to play. He really has a great feel for a 19-year-old, usually that’s one of the last things big guys learn is the feel for the game.

Can you say 2010-11 NBA Rookie of the Year? It’s very possible, giving the Kings back-to-back top rookies.

Westphal says the arrival of Cousins expands Sacramento’s options in the frontcourt. If Cousins plays center he could play alongside up-and-coming power forward Jason Thompson, and if slides to the power forward spot he could pair up with 7-footer Samuel Dalembert, Sacramento’s newest acquisition.

Add 7-foot rookie Hassan Whiteside and 6-9 Carl Landry and all of a sudden the Kings are now equipped to handle division rival L.A. Lakers, who boasts 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum in their starting lineup and 6-10 Lamar Odom off the bench.

“Now we’ll be able to protect the paint a lot better,” Westphal said.

In Cousins’ debut in the Las Vegas NBA summer league on Monday, he finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in just over 26 minutes of work in the Kings’ 97-68 blowout of the Detroit Pistons at Cox Pavilion. He thoroughly outplayed fellow rookie Greg Monroe, who simply couldn’t handle Cousins in the low block.

Cousins followed that solid performance with another double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds against the Lakers on Tuesday at Thomas & Mack Center. Matched up against Lakers second-round pick Derrick Caracter, who has played well this summer, for much of the game Cousins displayed an array of low-post moves, a soft touch near the basket, and a face-up game knocking down mid-range jump shots. He only shot 8-for-20 from the field, but skill set was obvious.

And he also squashed any reports that he was overweight. He was listed at 292 pounds during the draft, but he might already shed a few pounds and looked fit enough to dominate. He showed his athletic ability when he blocked Caracter’s shot with his left hand, hustled down the court, bowled over two Lakers and flipped a one-handed shot for a basket.

Cousins is already ahead of the curve when it comes to drawing double teams and kicking the ball out to teammates. Early in the first quarter against the Lakers, Cousins drew a double team and dropped off a nice no-look pass to a cutting Omri Casspi, who finished the play with a dunk.

It probably won’t be the last time Cousins and Casspi will be hooking up for a dunk.

Last year, Petrie and the Kings landed two gems in the draft in Evans and Casspi. With Evans, Casspi and Cousins, Sacramento now has its own version of The Three Kings and could be serious challengers to the Lakers in the Western Conference. Just like old times.

And just like Moses, the Kings are hoping Cousins can lead them to the Promised Land.

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Zzzzzzz. Zzzzzzz. Is the draft over yet? Man, that was a snoozer. I think ESPN should re-hire Stephen A. Smith just to give the draft a jolt. That was like watching paint dry. Or, maybe ESPN should hand the draft over back to TNT so we can listen to Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley make fun of all the picks.

Outside of Jeff Van Gundy, who was easily the funniest guy on the set, the draft coverage put me to sleep, not to mention the inordinate amount of sleeper picks (sleeper in a bad sense) NBA teams kept writing down on the card for Commissioner David Stern, and the bald guy who took over later in the evening, to read and announce to a very intoxicated crowd at Madison Square Garden who kept chanting “Jeff!…Van!…Gundy! “Jeff!…Van!…Gundy!”

The NBA Draft was the same old story: the good teams did well and the bad teams … well, to quote Barkley, they were terrrrrible! It’s impossible to opine how well or how poorly each did based on one night, but I’m going to do it anyway because it’s entertaining. OneManFastBreak.net breaks down the winners and losers of draft day.

WINNERS

— Sacramento Kings: GM Geoff Petrie is one of the best talent evaluators in the business and he landed the second-best player in the draft in Kentucky big man DeMarcus Cousins with the No. 5 pick. The Kings play in a division that includes the world champion Los Angeles Lakers, who boasts one of the biggest and tallest frontcourts in the league, so it was extremely important for the Kings to get bigger and stronger up front to compete with the Lakers. Cousins (6-11, 290) can complement 2010 Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans, giving the Kings a solid inside-outside punch for the next 10 years. There were questions about Cousins’ lazy attitude, but as Van Gundy pointed out, you can’t be lazy when you average 10 rebounds in 23 minutes. The Kings also took Marshall center Hassan Whiteside (6-11, 215) with their second selection, adding more length to their roster.

— Washington Wizards: The Wizards instantly became better by selecting Kentucky point guard John Wall (6-4, 195) at No. 1. Wall is not only the best player in the draft, but he is also the most charismatic. He is a leader and plays with a ton of energy, which the Wizards severely lacked last season after Gilbert Arenas was sent home for bragging about his gun collection in the arena. Washington also improved its roster by reportedly bringing in guard Kirk Hinrich, who is expected to be dealt next month by the Chicago Bulls to the Wizards in a cap-clearing move. With Wall, Arenas (assuming he’s on board with the team this season) and Hinrich, the Wizards have a dynamic three-guard rotation. The Wizards also added two physical frontcourt players in Clemson’s Trevor Booker (6-7, 240) and frenchman Kevin Seraphin (6-10, 255).

— Oklahoma City Thunder: OKC enters the 2010-11 season one big man away from seriously contending for an NBA title. Heck, they took the Lakers to six tough games with Nenad Krstic as their starting center so anyone with a pulse should be an upgrade. Thunder GM Sam Presti picked up Kansas center Cole Aldrich (6-11, 245) via a trade from New Orleans and then traded for 20-year-old center Tibor Pleiss (7-0, 220) of Germany. Aldrich is a strong rebounder and defender, and should contribute immediately for head coach Scott Brooks. Pleiss is a project they can stash in Europe for a year or two. Euroleague guru Fran Fraschilla compares him to Rik Smits. And for their second-r0und selection, the Thunder drafted Louisiana Tech’s Magnum Rolle (6-11, 225). You can’t go wrong drafting a guy named Magnum.

— Los Angeles Clippers: This is the only time of the year when the Clippers trump the Lakers on the front pages of the L.A. sports sections. The Clippers hold a draft lottery party every year, it seems like, and most of their picks normally end up as fodder for stand-ups at The Laugh Factory on Sunset Strip. But this season, whoever is doing the picking, the Clippers made some solid decisions. Wake Forest’s Al-Farouq Aminu (6-8, 205) is a capable small forward and Kentucky’s Eric Bledsoe (6-1, 190) is not a starting point guard, but he could be a decent backup. But the biggest news of the day in Clipperland is that Blake Griffin, last year’s top overall pick who missed the entire season because of a knee injury, has been cleared to play.

— San Antonio Spurs: Year in and year out, head coach Gregg Popovich and GM R.C. Buford make excellent picks in the draft and this season is no different. With the 20th overall selection, the Spurs took Oklahoma State shooting guard James Anderson (6-5, 210), who many consider as the best shooter in the draft and San Antonio badly needs guys who can put the ball in the basket. Then, with the 49th pick, the Spurs nabbed center Ryan Richards (6-11, 230) from England. San Antonio has a history with picking international gems, and Richards could turn out to be a steal.

LOSERS

— Portland Trail Blazers: Billionaire owner Paul Allen fired GM Kevin Pritchard on the day of the draft. Then, to add salt to the wound, he made Pritchard work the rest of the night. On his final shift as Blazers GM, Pritchard selected Memphis guard Elliot Williams (6-4, 180). A lame pick for a lameduck GM. But who could blame him? The Blazers also traded small forward Martell Webster to Minnesota for forwards Luke Babbitt (6-9, 225, Nevada) and Ryan Gomes. Gomes could be a nice player, but Babbitt could be another Luke Jackson.

— Minnesota Timberwolves: The Timberwolves keep taking athletes who like to run, but then they try to fit them in a triangle. It won’t work. I’d like to think Syracuse forward Wesley Johnson (6-7, 195), taken fourth overall, will be a stud but, for some reason, I keep seeing Hakim Warrick or John Wallace. Outside of Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse players tend to flame out in the NBA and Johnson could fall into that category.

— Orlando Magic: The Magic selected Kentucky center Daniel Orton (6-10, 255) in the first round. Orton averaged 3 points a game as DeMarcus Cousins’ backup and had trouble with keeping his weight down. Now, unless Orlando has plans of trading Marcin Gortat, they now have a logjam at the center position. Dwight Howard, obviously, is the starter and Gortat is an excellent backup. So where does that leave Orton?

— Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks not only didn’t address their needs in the frontcourt, but they seem to be planning for life without All-Star Joe Johnson. Atlanta swapped first-round picks with New Jersey, acquiring scoring guard Jordan Crawford (6-4, 195), and then took Pape Sy (6-7, 225) from the Senegal in the second round. Jordan Crawford is basically Jamal Crawford, so the Hawks have too many Crawfords on the roster.

— New York Knicks: The Knicks might as well have taken the day off because they basically have put all their chips in the LeBron James sweepstakes. Andy Rautins (6-5, 193) and Landry Fields (6-5, 185)? Are you kidding me? That’s the best they can do? It’s LeBron or Bust in NYC.

— University of Kentucky: Coach John Calipari was shedding a tear a little bit Thursday night. For one, he was happy his guys all went in the first round. Secondly, he knows he’s got some serious rebuilding (or reloading) in Lexington. But don’t feel too bad for Coach Cal because he’s got another stout freshman class coming in this season.

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When it comes to governing a major professional sports league, nobody is as efficient and calculated as David Stern. For more than 25 years as NBA commissioner, he has been able to manipulate situations in order to stimulate his billion-dollar empire. He has presided over the two most successful decades in the history of the league, earning him the right to opine on just about anything, and that includes the forbidden world of sports betting.

But why would the image-conscious Stern even broach the subject of wagering on NBA games with the Tim Donaghy incident still hanging over his head?

Whatever the reasons may be, Stern believes it is worth the gamble.

The fact that The Commish is even willing to openly talk about the subject is a clear indication that he is warming up to the idea of legalizing sports betting, having gained enough knowledge about the gaming business with a big assist from the Maloof family, owners of the Sacramento Kings and Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

When it comes to running a professional sports league, David Stern is the best.

In Stern’s view, it’s a win-win situation. First of all, it taps into an entirely new market for the NBA to grow its product. Second, it would be a public relations coup for the league to venture into something that could result in a highly profitable and taxable industry when it becomes mainstream. And last but not least, it somewhat diffuses the Donaghy bombshell.

“I think [Stern’s] probably getting firsthand information and getting better educated on [sports betting],” said Jeff Sherman, sports book manager at the Las Vegas Hilton. “He’s learned more about it and he has really softened on his stance. It’s a step in the right direction.”

Stern has been gambling for years business-wise, albeit on an entirely different level. He may not be placing bets on winners but he has certainly rolled the dice on a number of occasions that helped push the league past Major League Baseball as the second-most profitable professional sports entity in North America.

He helped institute a salary cap in the early part of the 1980s when it was considered a foreign idea. When the Players’ Association tried to bully him during negotiations in 1998, he locked them out and waited until they caved in. When the NBA television contract with NBC expired in 2002, he was able to broker a unique deal with three media entities – ABC/ESPN, TNT and AOL Time Warner – that allowed the league to grow its resources during a time when TV ratings were sagging in the post-Michael Jordan era and media executives scoffed at the idea of using cable TV as the main vehicle for promotions.

ABC/ESPN, TNT and AOL Time Warner have since extended their partnership with the NBA through 2015-16, so it can’t be all that bad, and league execs have nearly $800 millions to smile about.

Stern is hyper sensitive when it comes to protecting the well-being of his business. He persevered through an ugly brawl in Detroit five years ago and lived to tell about it, so he knows how to put a positive spin on major issues.

Now, with a potential referee scandal staring him in the face, Stern has once again felt the need to defend his territory. Instead of backpedaling and becoming defensive, he went on the offensive and decided to face this potentially explosive issue head-on, which would explain his recent revelation.

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated’s Ian Thomsen to discuss the future of the league, the NBA commissioner said this about the possibility of opening discussions regarding betting on NBA games: “Considering the fact that so many state governments – probably between 40 and 50 – don’t consider it immoral, I don’t think that anyone [else] should. It may be a little immoral, because it really is a tax on the poor, the lotteries. But having said that, it’s now a matter of national policy: Gambling is good.”

Stern added: “So we have morphed considerably in our corporate view where we say, Look, Las Vegas is not evil. Las Vegas is a vacation and destination resort, and they have sports gambling and, in fact, there’s a federal statute that gives them a monopoly of types [on sports betting]. And we actually supported that statute back in ’92.”

Some observers, including Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, questioned the timing of Stern’s latest statement, especially with the Donaghy case still fresh on people’s minds.

Lawrence wrote: “After Donaghy, it should have been nailed shut, for good, by Stern himself, because the entire scandal happened on his watch. Stern is known to be a visionary, but going where baseball’s Bud Selig and the NFL’s Roger Goodell wouldn’t dare go is not what we expected from pro sports’ top commissioner. Stern made a mistake, at the very least.”

A mistake? Hardly.

Stern is very careful and meticulous when it comes to addressing his beloved league for public consumption, and he just won’t throw darts on a board and hope one of them would stick. Besides, he did not make any official commitment to legalized gambling. He chose his words wisely and the gist of his comments suggests that he’s “open to a dialogue” or “would consider possibilities.”

Sherman strongly believes that having the NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas in 2007 made a big impression on Stern, with a little nudge from the Maloofs.

“[Stern and the league office] were closed-minded before. But by having the All-Star game here, they have developed a relationship,” Sherman said. “And I’m sure the Maloofs have a lot to do with educating him on how it works. It’s not a free for all, and it’s not scandal after scandal. There are rules and regulations.”

Two years ago, the Maloofs convinced Stern to let the Palms take bets on every team but the Kings. Now that Stern seems to be leaning toward possible discussions regarding wagering in the sport, Joe and Gavin Maloof will surely lead the campaign in speeding up the process in getting this unprecedented legislation approved.

“I’m thrilled to hear him say that,” Joe Maloof recently told Yahoo! Sports. “I think it does two things: First, it legitimizes gambling. It regulates it. That’s the most important thing. It’s clean. It’s honest. It’s fair.

“And then it creates a tremendous excitement for your product. People react differently when they have a bet on a game versus when they don’t. This is going to bring in great interest. If it’s regulated properly, this can be a tremendous revenue source for the league.”

Sports betting is the proverbial elephant in the room. You simply can’t ignore it. How do writers, broadcasters and analysts determine a favorite or an underdog? Through point spreads, of course.

Countries outside the U.S. allow sports betting, including Canada where the Toronto Raptors play. Stern likely won’t pass up an opportunity to form partnerships outside the States to increase the global popularity of the NBA. Wagering on sports is legal in many European markets where basketball fans are growing exponentially.

According to reports, TV ratings have actually increased in the two seasons since the Donaghy story originally broke and it hasn’t deterred the bettors.

“That seems to be overblown,” Sherman said of the Donaghy controversy. “It has had no effect at all on the way people bet.”
The one thing most people can bet is that Stern will leave no stones (or chips) unturned if and when he decides to officially open the sports books to all NBA consumers.

This article also appears on Covers.com.

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