Kings notes: Cauley-Stein avoids injury; Karl praises Belinelli

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SACRAMENTO -- The Kings continued their week-long buildup to opening night with another spirited practice on Thursday. Coach George Karl is tasked with both developing a cohesive game plan and keeping the team from killing each other in head-to-head competitions.

“You always have an excitement to the season to begin and there’s probably a boredom to beating each other up for another three or four days,” Karl said. “Our preseason schedule was a little different, I guess would be the best way to phrase it.”

Karl continues to install his offensive playbook, which is bound to have a few new wrinkles with key additions at almost every position on the floor.

“Basically it’s a pretty simple offense, but you try to have as many looks as possible to get to the action,” Karl said. “Quick and sharp and fast creates defensive mistakes.”

The team will practice Friday and Saturday before taking Sunday off. They will return to the practice court on Monday and Tuesday in anticipation of Wednesday’s opener against the Los Angeles Clippers.

 

Rookie on ice

Willie Cauley-Stein rolled his left ankle mixing it up under the basket and sat the remainder of practice. When the curtain lifted, Cauley-Stein had his shoe off and the ankle immobilized in ice. The team has yet to release an official diagnosis, but according to a source, it is not considered serious.

“He played for a few minutes after that, so I’m hoping it was just precautionary,” Karl said.

If the rookie isn’t available for next week’s opener, Karl will rely on Kosta Koufos, Quincy Acy, Eric Moreland and possibly even Rudy Gay to fill the void at the four.

“We have insurance policies on this team, which is great,” Karl added.

 

High praise for Belinelli

Outside of Darren Collison, Marco Belinelli has drawn the most praise from his play so far this preseason. Karl continued that praise today, comparing the 29-year-old wing to an NBA legend.

“He has a cleverness to him,” Karl said. “Actually, he kind of reminds me of Pete Maravich. He has a fancy knack to finding the right play in a classy way. I knew he was a good shooter, but I’ll tell you what, he’s a high-level shooter. I’m not ready to give him great yet, but he’s a pretty damn good shooter.”

When asked about the comparison, Belinelli couldn’t stop smiling.

“I saw a couple of videos on YouTube about him, I know he was unbelievable, so I’m really happy that George said something like that about me,” the Italian-born wing said. “I just try to be me. I continue to get better.”

 

Roster now stands at 15

Second-year point guard David Stockton was released this afternoon as the team shaved the roster to its required 15 players. While no decision has been made, don’t be surprised to see the 24-year-old Gonzaga grad return to the Reno Bighorns and coach David Arseneault Jr., where he averaged 20.1 points and 9.4 assists last season.

It appears that second-year big man Eric Moreland and rookie forward Duje Dukan have both made the final roster. 

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