[Game] Kings @ Lakers - 2/28/14 - 7:30 pm

[VF21]

And that's one of the other heart-breaking things about a game we truly should have won. I will hazard a guess that if OJ had seen more minutes, we wouldn't be arguing about whose deficiencies hurt us the most. (BTW, my vote has to go with Ben.)

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Yeah so umm ... two things to look forward to this season - culture change and Ben McLemore. I don't know about you, but I want no part of a culture that loses to a bunch of no-name "scrubs" thrown together.

Lets play the new guy, Orlando Johnson a lot

 

[Kingster]

Rough game to swallow. While every perimeter took their lumps defensively, Ben got beat from start to finish. Absolutely ridiculous how open every player he guarded was tonight.

I honestly don't know what you do with him. He obviously can't handle big minutes. But if you pull him as a starter now, after all but saying "we cleared everyone out for you", you kill any ounce of confidence he has left.

Just keep playing him. And that's what they'll do for the rest of the season I believe.

 

[The_Jamal]

Isaiah gave up another career scoring night. To Michael Jordan Farmar, so that's fun

No, he actually didn't. Farmar decimated every guard tonight equally.

 

[Shaqfuey]

Our D-League backcourt rotation kills us. Ben & Ray (the McBrick Brothers) are virtually useless - have them on the floor at the same time and its glaring. Fortunately, this is a great look at them and the need to upgrade in the off-season. Maybe for a two-guard that doesn't feel the need to chuck 3-pointers exclusively.

 

[Kingster]

The new guy, a defender, didn't stop 'em. McCollum, the purported defender didn't stop 'em. Nobody stopped 'em. They were just hot as hell.

 

[mac]

No, he actually didn't. Farmar decimated every guard tonight equally.

Yeah I'm pretty much sick of blaming it on one guy or another. Guards get career nights on us every other game. I'm not happy about the loss but I've always been a firm believer in looking at a team's entire body of work. Sometimes we get hot and we blow out the Mavs, or beat the Heat or something, but that's just luck. It's the tail end of the distribution curve, but our play on average is near the bottom of the league.

What's that, 0-10 without Cousins? Well good thing he hasn't put himself in a position to miss more games than he should eh?

 

[VF21]

I want to see more of OJ. Until Ben can start to do something/anything right, it's a farce to have him out there. I can't believe that stinking up the court night after night is any better for his confidence than having him only play limited minutes.

But I have to remind myself this is the time for Malone and his staff to look at these guys and decide who they want to hitch to the wagon next year.

 

[Sam0ah]

This was a game the Kings would have won if the Lakers didn't shoot the hell out of the ball from three point land. I really liked what I saw from Ray. It is becoming more evident that Ben is really not ready.

 

[VF21]

The new guy, a defender, didn't stop 'em. McCollum, the purported defender didn't stop 'em. Nobody stopped 'em. They were just hot as hell.

Fair enough. But it's still frustrating as hell to see us find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A couple of turnovers, a couple of stupid shot choices and a couple of missed assignments cost us a win we could really have used. That just hurts.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

I actually don't. It's just that you picked a really weird game to criticize him, is all I'm saying. And, again, when someone makes a bad pass, it's not the fault of the person the pass was intended for.

You reply to every comment that anyone makes about JT on this forum.

He has been fumbling balls his entire career. you really haven't noticed this?

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Ray was the better defender. But I understand the need to keep IT on the court for the offense.

We scored 122 points on fifty percent shooting, and gave up 126 on 60 percent shooting. Offense is the opposite of what we needed.

 

[Kingsfan23]

I have a fear that Rudy is looking to put up stats. When he was driving he was going up with it what seemed like every time. I don't want him getting exorbitant touches or looking to go one on one. If this is happening I don't want the coaches to tolerate it if it's not part of the gameplan

 

[luckytkp]

Seriously, what does the front office see in McLemore? I see a player who cant shoot and doesn't know how to play defense. It's just not only his defense technique, he doesn't even know what's going on the floor. Going under the screen on Farmer after he hit 8 3s? That had nothing to do with technique, it was his brain.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

And with Cousins since the All Star break? No guarantee at all they would have won with Cousins. With good Cousins, likely. With bad Cousins, not likely.

Well they're 14-15 with DMC and Rudy in the lineup together. which is a hell of a lot better than the 0-10 that they are without Cuz

 

[sdballer]

I like when we argue about which Kings guard is most responsible for bad defense. Hint: they all suck

 

[Fear the Putin]

McLemore is so pee poor on defense, it makes me sick

 

[Npliam]

Fair enough. But it's still frustrating as hell to see us find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A couple of turnovers, a couple of stupid shot choices and a couple of missed assignments cost us a win we could really have used. That just hurts.

I think you might need some brandy tonight.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

You reply to every comment that anyone makes about JT on this forum.

No, only the ones that are factually inaccurate. I could respond to the ones that are factually inaccurate about Thomas, Cousins, Gay, et. al, but I don't really feel the need to add to the chorus.

He has been fumbling balls his entire career. you really haven't noticed this?

I have, indeed, noticed this. And I also know the difference between a lost ball turnover, and a bad pass turnover.

 

[TonyTouch21]

I noticed a bad coaching move when Malone left Mccallum on the floor a little too longer. But who did he put in..... Ben Mclemore. It's obviously time to finish the game tomorrow night with Orlando "Pulp" Johnson. We are anemic at the 2 spot and that's all we got.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Really don't understand what Malone was thinking by having Ben in there down the stretch. He hadn't scored, and was getting torched on Defense all night. And ill be dammed if the same trend didn't hold up in those final few minutes

 

[sdballer]

We're not good. It's unlikely we are going to be good this season. Giving Ben a chance to learn from his mistakes isn't the end of the world. If we had a better alternative at SG, maybe Coach goes with that. But we don't, so we deal with the learning.

 

[The_Jamal]

Def intrigued with seeing Johnson get more burn. Sadly, I think you can confidently say after 13 minutes of play with us that he has the best idea of how to play defense amongst our guards. Didn't really put up numbers, but didn't hurt us when he was on the floor. Again, sadly, that's a huge improvement for us at SG.

 

[luckytkp]

Really don't understand what Malone was thinking by having Ben in there down the stretch. He hadn't scored, and was getting torched on Defense all night. And ill be dammed if the same trend didn't hold up in those final few minutes

But our FO loves him, that must count for something

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Really don't understand what Malone was thinking by having Ben in there down the stretch. He hadn't scored, and was getting torched on Defense all night. And ill be dammed if the same trend didn't hold up in those final few minutes

The only real explanation, is that the win didn't matter much. It was more important to give Ben more look at the end of a game.

I'm not sure how many more looks it will take, but I'm not seeing change. Definitely not enough to even consider that he could be a solid starter for a playoff push next season

 

[Sam0ah]

But our FO loves him, that must count for something

I just don't know if Ben has the it factor. He is supposed to be a good shooter, but I just don't see it. I would much rather have OJ pulp start after watching him play one game. Malone has to see this.....

 

[luckytkp]

I just don't know if Ben has the it factor. He is supposed to be a good shooter, but I just don't see it. I would much rather have OJ pulp start after watching him play one game. Malone has to see this.....

I dont think he has any "factor"

 

[VF21]

We're not good. It's unlikely we are going to be good this season. Giving Ben a chance to learn from his mistakes isn't the end of the world. If we had a better alternative at SG, maybe Coach goes with that. But we don't, so we deal with the learning.

OJ is a SG.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I just don't know if Ben has the it factor. He is supposed to be a good shooter, but I just don't see it. I would much rather have OJ pulp start after watching him play one game. Malone has to see this.....

It's going to take them a while to let go of the Ben hope, that seemed to be so very high. Maybe by bringing in another young shooting guard (Orlando Johnson), it could help them move on a bit sooner

 

[KingMilz]

I wouldn't mind us playing OJ for 25+ mins a game to see how he fits, it's clear he has physical tools and skills while looking cool and calm out there

 

[sdballer]

OJ is a SG.

OJ looked decent compared to the rest of our defensive guard crap for 13 minutes. He's put up pretty poor stats in 2 seasons and the team has way less invested in him than Ben. I don't mind him getting looks the rest of this season but what is the real benefit to playing him over Ben?