Thornton out, Jimmer gets third start in a row

James Ham January 13, 2012 Injuries

Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweeted today that Marcus Thornton will miss his third game in a row with a thigh contusion. This means rookie Jimmer Fredette will get his third consecutive start for the Kings tonight in Houston.

Jimmer Fredette will start tonight again for Thornton

— JasonJones (@mr_jasonjones) January 13, 2012

Fredette has struggled in his first two starts, averaging 8.5 points while shooting just 5-for-17 from the field. Jimmer looks slightly uncomfortable on the court and his teammates seem to sense that as well.

Houston poses match-up troubles in the backcourt for most teams. Kyle Lowry is having a breakout season, posting career highs in points (15), assists (9.4) and rebounds (6.8). Kevin Martin’s numbers are down across the board, but he still leads Houston in scoring and is a threat to score 30 points on any given night. It will be interesting to see which player Coach Smart puts Jimmer on defensively.

Jimmer Fredette Marcus Thornton

About the Author

James Ham provides coverage through news analysis and in-depth interviews with Kings players and staff. James is also one of the producers behind the award-winning, independent documentary "Small Market, Big Heart". James graduated UC Davis with a degree in history and is happily married with two children.

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CVLANG

Jimmer need to get his act together, what’s he waiting on, shot the ball when you’re open, man.
Jasonjones

He can’t shoot the ball, too many ball hogs. I will love to see jimmer just take over the game. He definitely can. The crowd would be behind him too. It’s his teamates that would hate him. Kind of reminds me when maravich came into the league (although maravich was a lot better) Teamates would drop passes on purpose, because they hated all the attention he received, they hated he was seen as the savior of the team/franchise. You don’t think the same thing is going on today with Jimmer? Think about it, if jimmer succeeds, and the kings succeed, kings stay in sactown. If they go down the drain?? they are going to la.
http://www.taylor-graphics.net/ Taylor Graphics

sadf
Taylor Graphics

Fredette looks lost out there because other players demand (hog) the ball when he’s used to commanding it. Following him at BYU, he was the one who demanded the ball and got it. Yes, there are traces of the Maravich effect regarding Jimmer’s presence with the Kings. It looks like he’s lost a lot of confidence and, athletically, he’s in a whole different world. His defense is atrocious, but it always has been, and the NBA is run-and-gun anyway. The NBA style is going to a severe challenge to Jimmer’s game. Maybe he can’t adapt?
MBJ

When Maravich played at LSU many of their games were nationally televised. People watched to see the Pistol get his 40 plus but LSU did not win often. Jimmer did what he did at BYU while producing a high percentage of wins. I think it is a shock to him to be treated the way he is being treated on the court in Sacramento (I don’t imagine it is much better in the locker room). It’s amazing because Jimmer is such a great teammate. Winning basketball is a team sport; if a team does not play as a team it isn’t much fun for players, coaches, or fans. Kings clearly have bad chemistry. Ball hogs should be traded no matter who they are.
RFL

Why are you guys making excuses and feeling sorry for Jimmer’s poor play, and hating the other players. You have no idea what goes on in the locker room or any other place for that matter. They’re the reason he’s shooting 35%, they’re the reason he’s jumping in the air with no place to go, they’re the reason he won’t shoot when he has a shot and they’re the reason he’s slow. For God sakes, he’s a damn rookie, get a clue you idiots.
Fred

I’m a Jimmer fan but it’s obvious he’s not physically capable to succeed in the NBA the way he did in college. He has to adapt his game to his strengths, which he has not done. It’ll take him some time, but hopefully he can do it. It’s not good when you are considered a shooter but are barely making 1/3 of your shots.
Taylor Graphics

Amen, brother.