This Kings' season may have gone horribly wrong, but they appear to have done at least one thing right. The drafting of Jason Thompson.
As the Kings played at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, there was quite a contrast on hand when it comes to 2008 first-round draft picks. While the Kings rookie forward continued to develop and produce while having a solid first season, the Knicks' pick -- Italian small forward Danilo Gallinari -- was in his homeland having his aching back examined. Gallinari is likely going to have back surgery, which would a disappointing conclusion to an underwhelming rookie campaign for the former No. 6 pick. Meanwhile, Thompson -- who was taken 12th overall out of little-known Rider University in New Jersey -- entered play ranked 10th among rookies in scoring (10.4 per game), fifth in rebounds (6.9) and first among all players in one fascinating category: fouls.
While Thompson continues to routinely struggle on the defensive end, his habit of getting in foul trouble isn't necessarily a bad thing. The improvements on that end will continue to come, but he refuses to be embarrassed every time out and that often leads to hacking away at would-be scorers. All in all, it appears they found a good player with their pick.
KINGS 121, KNICKS 94: In a season of little accomplishment, the Kings accomplished a little on Friday at Madison Square Garden. Their win over the Knicks was their first against an Eastern Conference team in 29 tries this season. Had they lost to the Knicks and to Philadelphia on Sunday, they would have become the first team in league history to go winless against the opposite conference. They jumped out to a 15-0 lead and led by as many as 30 points in the third quarter, with the Kings starters combining for 102 points and the Knicks shooting just 39.8 percent.
Kevin Martin had 30 points for the Kings and backcourt mate Beno Udrih tallied 20 more.
