Yes, this photo is from inside Sleep Train Arena! Located at the top of the arena is this bar area. It was Asian Pacific Islander Night tonight, so fans who bought a special ticket had the opportunity to come in early for a mixer and a fun raffle for various autographed items. This is the first time I've been in this part of the arena - you really wouldn't know it was here unless you really explore around! I think most fans just stick to the concourse area, it's cool to find out about places like this!
The Kings provided some nice free food at the Asian Pacific Islander mixer. We were treated to rice, stir-fried vegetables and pot stickers. We were given free drinks too. Last time I checked, free is a pretty good price. This was a pretty nice pre-game snack to munch on.
As I mentioned, the Kings also raffled off a few autographed items to the fans who came out to the mixer. The final raffle prize was this basketball signed by Jimmer Fredette. It's too bad I didn't win this basketball, that would have been a nice little item to have for my modest collection of Kings autographed items.
After the mixer I went down to court-level to watch some of the players warming up. Both Jeremy Lin and James Harden were out getting some work in. Little did I know that James Harden would have a monster game tonight. I guess that extra work really paid off... either that or he's just that good. He really took it to the Kings in this game.
This is Danny. He's the usher in our area, and he's awesome! It's been really good getting to know him as I've gone to the games this season. He's always fun to talk to and get help from when needed - he's got a great sense of humor too. He has to do some hard things, like deal with fans in the wrong area and the like... but he does it the right way. The Kings should give Danny a raise or something, he's the best!
At court-side before the game I got to get this up-close picture of Grant and Jerry doing some pre-game activities. I'm going to have to get a picture of Grant or Jerry before they do a game one of these days. I have met both of them before at various events - both are really great with fans.
The tickets that I bought through the special ticket opportunity were inexpensive, but the seats were pretty high up. We were in section 201 row P. The seats really weren't bad as the view was good and we had a nice angle to see the game. The experience is definitely different than that of the lower bowl... but not in a bad way. I really enjoy getting the chance to see the game from different aspects.
One thing that I really enjoyed seeing was the special lighting that the Kings had on the floor during the player introductions. You really can't see this well from my regular season seat in 122. Maybe it's the angle that we see the court from, but from up above, the effect looks spectacular. Great job to whoever came up with this idea!
One of the things that hampered my enjoyment of this game was the way the Kings played against the Rockets. The Rockets completely dominated the Kings, and it started early. The Rockets put up 42 points in the first quarter alone! James Harden scored more than the entire Kings team by himself during the first 12 minutes. I really couldn't believe what I was seeing on the court.
Though the Kings struggled with their game, the Kings Dancers still did their thing. The SKD kept the atmosphere lively and entertained the fans. I really think the fans appreciated the dancers efforts as the energy in the arena definitely changed a bit for the better during their performance.
Hah! Definitely an Asian invasion of sorts during Asian Pacific Islander night! I brought five of my best friends to this game. Three of these guys share season seats with me, and the other two are good friends that enjoy basketball. I love getting together with as many friends as I can to go to the game, more friends is 'more better'!
Reggie Evans was recently acquired in the deal that sent Marcus Thornton to the Nets. This was the first game that i saw some real minutes from him. He definitely showed some energy and spirit during the game, even though it was a blowout by the Rockets. I think some fans may mistake Evans with Acy. Both are big guys with a headband and a beard. Yup, it can get confusing.
The Big Cuz was having trouble keeping the emotions in check tonight, so much so that he was ejected from the game. His time of ejection was especially unfortunate because it came at a time when the Kings were actually making a fairly good chip into Houston's lead. The Kings halved the lead from 30 to 15, but after Cousins left, the Kings couldn't really pull that much closer. DeMarcus tweeted out an apology for his actions after the game.
The this game must have been demoralizing for the Kings, I appreciated seeing Coach Malone continue to encourage his players during time-outs. It is never fun to take a blow out, but the job of a coach is to keep their cool and just try to right the ship. Rudy Gay was one of the few bright spots for the Kings in terms of offensive output. He worked hard to put up numbers tonight.
I'll finish off this post with this final pic. It's the Kings Drum Corps. At first I thought the Kings had found an Asian drum troop to perform, but it turns out it was the Drum Corps that we've seen... just with Asian themed drums. It was a nice performance, but I would have loved to see a Lion dancing on the court! When you see these types of Asian-style drums out, you just expect to see that! Oh well! Next home game is on Saturday versus the T-Wolves. See you then!
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