Kings @ Blazers (Pre-Season) Game Discussion

[KingsFanGER]

Fun game to watch. Really sloppy play but it's preseason.
Great to see the night and day difference between 2k and JT on display. I love this addition. Wether we can play him with Cuz most of the time remains to be seen.
And when was the last time we had bench players, that could turn around a game like that? What a luxury to finally have a bench worth speaking of.

Rondo had a few boneheaded plays on defense. Needs to improve his attention level to defend the starting spot.

 

[jdbraver]

Yeah, I know what you mean. It looked like it was the first time they'd ever played together.

And yet portlands starters looked like a cohesive unit. The number of folks that make excuses for Ben and deny that he disappears too much for a starting guard is astounding. Let him develop on the bench until he can consistently bring points

 

[jdbraver]

Let's not forget that we'll be seeing a lot of Rondo-Collison lineups this year too. Ben should be the starter this year, but he will have the shortest leash on the team with 2 quality veteran guys behind him who can take minutes at the 2.

Why should he be the starter? What has he shown? Just because he started last year means nothing.

 

[KingsFanGER]

Why should he be the starter? What has he shown? Just because he started last year means nothing.

He fits great with 2 playmakers in Rondo and Cousins, he is quick enough to really leak out in transition and the only thing he really needs to do is run around screens, cut and hit open shots. Mar(co)io is way better in creating his own shot out of pick&rolls and is a better passer and therefore fits like a glove with the bench unit. He will play more minutes than Ben I would guess. And Marco is used to coming off the bench. He doesn't struggle with his confidence and doesn't need time to get into the game.

If only Rondo could teach Ben how to use screens like Allen...

 

[Hadlowe]

1. I really liked what I saw in the high pick and roll with Cousins and Rondo. I like seeing Cousins get easy looks inside.
2. Gay was off with his shot. That will come back around.
3. I'm not sold on Koufos as a starter, but he was great with the second unit. Finally, some rebounding with the bench.
4. Preseason game and we don't get the deep bench out on the floor? Where's my "Stockton to Dukan" pick and pop plays?

 

[The_Jamal]

Why should he be the starter? What has he shown? Just because he started last year means nothing.

Because we know Beli isn't a starter? He's a great shooter and a good veteran, but he's a guy you play 20 MPG, not try and stop some of the best scorers in the game. If it gets truly bad with Ben, then you go that route, but there's still mountains of untapped potential with Ben. Not so much with Belli.

Was great seeing Belli go off like that, but its going to skew some fans mindset about who he is in the position battle with Ben.

 

[TheJewishKing]

It is important to remember that this is our first run with all the acquisitions as a unit in an NBA game, so let's not react like it's a regular season game or something.

I think that the Kings comeback shows a lot of character, I hope we will be able to trust the Kings to make these kind of comebacks when things don't really work out the way they were planed.

As for Koufos starting, I am not quite sure if that will work out, I mean Cousins and Kosta are very massive players and that might cause a very plugged paint which will probably limit their abilities in the paint, I think the starter should be Willie Cauley- Stein instead of Kosta, I think Kosta will fair better with the second unit.

I thought Rondo was OK I guess, he didn't attempt to many shots (only 4) so we couldn't see any indication regarding to his shooting percentage success, he only played 19 minutes and was able to distribute 5 assists, so I am not worried about this part of his game.

Casspi was not very decent today, too many turnovers for a player who comes off the bench, but I bet he will figure it out, I would prefer him to struggle and be inconsistant in the pre-season games rather than in the regular season games.

Bellineli was amazing, 32 points and he was scoring from everywhere, I believe that we will rely on his abilities a lot in this season, and I certainly believe he will deliver.

 

[ESP47]

Thomas Robinson with 12 pts, 16 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk last night. Then again it was against Istanbul Fenerbahce Ulker (say that 5 times fast) but his numbers still stood out.

 

[bubulina]

Thomas Robinson with 12 pts, 16 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk last night. Then again it was against Istanbul Fenerbahce Ulker (say that 5 times fast) but his numbers still stood out.

I can say that fast and easy... But fenerbahçe is to me and my team what Lakers are to Sacramento... So I won't say as I'm even upset they won yesterday :_))

 

[ForlornKing]

Didn't really like Cuz at the four.....

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Didn't really like Cuz at the four.....

It does not play to his strengths, on either end of the floor.

 

[jcwkings]

It does not play to his strengths, on either end of the floor.

Yep, he should be the anchor in the paint. Also suits WCS's ability to just roam and make defensive plays while Cuz is in the paint. WCS did the best job on Meyers Leonard, you could see his length and quickness surprised Leonard. I have to say aside from Bellineli of course, WCS was the most impressive considering it was his pro debut. You could see how Cuz will struggle going out on stretch 4's. Cuz at the 4 could work against the Grizzlies, but thats about it.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

We can get away with playing Cousins at the 4 against Memphis, San Antonio, Washington, Chicago, and maybe Milwaukee. That's probably the whole list, though.

 

[lawlman91]

Belinelli is better than McLemore. But in terms of fit I'd put him in the 2nd unit with Collison. Mario should play at the end of close games, not McLemore. That was based on one game, though.

 

[pshn80]

8 years in the league with 6 different teams. We didn't just discover an unknown commodity. We know that Marco can shoot. We also know that this is one preseason game. Rudy isn't all of a sudden horrible. Marco isn't all of a sudden the second coming of Reggie Miller. We won't know what we have as a team until about 20 games into the regular season. If Marco earns the nod, great. But.......preseason....

Right - and during those twenty games start Bellinelli. Let Ben fight it out with James for second string.

 

[funkykingston]

Yeah, I've really come around to the idea of Cauley-Stein starting. It seems like a terrible idea for a team with playoff aspirations to have a rookie in the starting lineup but unless Karl wants to flip-flop lineups a lot to have Gay starting at PF with Cuz at C or Boogie starting at PF with Koufos at C depending on matchups then I don't see a great alternative.

Gay will struggle against a lot of big/post up PFs. So against Griffin, Aldridge, Randolph, Sullinger, Nene, Gasol, Millsap and Anthony Davis it'd be a tough thing to start Rudy at the four.

Likewise against George (if he really does play a lot of PF for IND), Love, Nowitzki, Green, Faried, Morris, Parker, Patterson, Ilyasova, etc Cousins is going to have a very tough time chasing guys around the perimeter. And while he'll have a huge advantage in the post against all of those guys, having Koufos at C means a more clogged paint and likely fewer post up touches because of it.

Cauley-Stein has the length to defend tall/power players and the quickness to guard perimeter oriented PFs. I expect him to struggle against talented veterans like Blake and LMA and the Brow but he's the best defensive option IMO. And perhaps more importantly we saw that if Koufos starts our second unit is very weak on the boards. Cousins can cover for WCS not being a strong rebounder and Koufos can help the fact that Acy also isn't great on the glass (or aid Gay if he shifts to the 4) giving more balance.

I'm a big Koufos fan and I think he should get a ton of minutes but without too much of a kneejerk reaction based on one preseason game I have to say I'm not a huge fan of starting DeMarcus and Kosta together.

Cauley-Stein still wouldn't play huge minutes or likely be in at the end of games (likely logging the fewest minutes among the starters) but he's a very good option to start games and feel out the pace and style of play before making substitutions.

My $0.02

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

You'll never lose money betting on Kings Fans to be enamored with the new hotness.

 

[celtics33]

you can't decide on one game.

That said I have never been a Benbelieber. If he comes out and sucks a few more times Belinelli is a damn GOOD option. With Rondo and Koufos/WCS out there, our starting lineup is going to be a very stark 3 weapons and 2 roleplayer group. That 3rd weapon absolutely HAS to be able to knock down shots and make smart decisions. Its a 100% no arguments heard necessity.

As far as this sort of bench explosion, its not Bels' normal thing, and Ben frankly is about as likely to come up with the occasional big game. Ben's always had those. But he's never consistently played the night in and night out sort of game of a winner.

A:

Perkins = Koufos/WCS
Garnett = Cousins
Pierce = Gay
Allen = Bellinelli
Rondo = Rondo

Balance makes plenty enough sense to consider it.

I couldn't agree with you more. And the Kings are going to be exciting to watch playing this year, just allow them to develop some chemistry.

 

[jdbraver]

He fits great with 2 playmakers in Rondo and Cousins, he is quick enough to really leak out in transition and the only thing he really needs to do is run around screens, cut and hit open shots. Mar(co)io is way better in creating his own shot out of pick&rolls and is a better passer and therefore fits like a glove with the bench unit. He will play more minutes than Ben I would guess. And Marco is used to coming off the bench. He doesn't struggle with his confidence and doesn't need time to get into the game.

If only Rondo could teach Ben how to use screens like Allen...

Or shoot like Allen. Which is why he doesn't fit.

 

[jdbraver]

You'll never lose money betting on Kings Fans to be enamored with the new hotness.

Or clinging to unrealized potential.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I'm not clinging to anything. I'm not attached to McLemore, at all, I've just seen enough of Bellinelli to not feel compelled to go all in with him, either. There's a whole lot of uncharted middle ground between the "It's just one preseason game" tactic I'm taking, and the "Anybody but McLemore" angle that you appear to be coming from.

 

[jdbraver]

I'm not clinging to anything. I'm not attached to McLemore, at all, I've just seen enough of Bellinelli to not feel compelled to go all in with him, either. There's a whole lot of uncharted middle ground between the "It's just one preseason game" tactic I'm taking, and the "Anybody but McLemore" angle that you appear to be coming from.

That not true I'd start McLemore over Jimmie or the crap we had last year.

 

[sdballer]

Or clinging to unrealized potential.

He's 22.

You need to pace yourself. We're one preseason game into a long year.

 

[KingsFanGER]

Or shoot like Allen. Which is why he doesn't fit.

Well we have 3 SG's and 2 combo guards on the roster right now. Let's see how it goes first, before we focus on one or the other player.
Ben should be able to get quite a few points on runouts in transition alone. If he is able to hit 3's at a semi decent rate of 35%+ he is no liability in the halfcourt either.

 

[lawlman91]

He's 22.

You need to pace yourself. We're one preseason game into a long year.

I want McLemore to start, but as a side note I roll my eyes every time someone says that he is "oozing with potential".

 

[sdballer]

I want McLemore to start, but as a side note I roll my eyes every time someone says that he is "oozing with potential".

Luckily, no one is really saying that here.

The only discussion has been that he's young and could be the 3&d player that fits better with our starters while Marcos skills (and limitations) might work better off the bench.

 

[The_Jamal]

Luckily, no one is really saying that here.

The only discussion has been that he's young and could be the 3&d player that fits better with our starters while Marcos skills (and limitations) might work better off the bench.

Not might, will. We already know who Marco is as a player; lights out shooter, good bball IQ, can be a playmaker, bad defender. He's shown he can be a highly successful rotational player in 20-25 MPG off the bench and being the "lead option" type of guy for the second unit for multiple teams. Why take a guy out of a role he's already comfortable in?

Ben made significant strides from year 1 to year 2 and he's significantly more qualified to keep up with the Harden/Monta/Wade/Dipo type of SG's than Belli is. Don't send him to the bench unless he gives us a reason to do so.

 

[FaStRmAn]

Not gonna read much into this game either way. Nice comeback but the turnovers were atrocious. I think they will work out the rotations, and hopefully the outside shooting will improve. Gay will not shoot that bad every game. He has a track record of being a good shooter. As for McLemore, he needs to really improve this year for us. I think starting WCS with Cuz is the best starting lineup. But play Cuz at the 5 and WCS at the 4. Im excited that the Kings actually have pieces that are USABLE in NBA GAMES. In the past there were so many holes to fill, that it was a roster full of holes. Not so much anymore. WE GOT OPTIONS !!! That is refreshing....

 

[funkykingston]

Two years ago Marco put up 32 points against the Knicks on 12 of 16 shooting and 6 of 9 from deep.

He followed up that game with a 5 point outing. Sure it's 32.5 minutes versus 24.5 minutes but his season average was 25 mpg so clearly he got the extra minutes because he was hot. I think that will be the way he's used with the Kings. He's a big weapon who can get hot and put points on the board in a hurry. But over his career he's been no more consistent than Ben, though I'll concede that he's been a generally more effective player overall.

McLemore III absolutely needs to get more consistent on offense and hit open shots at a higher rate. But what should determine whether or not he should start is whether he can defend at a decent level night in and night out. Belinelli is a poor defender, full stop. He gives effort but he's never even going to be average on that end. If anything he'll decline further over the next few years. So if Ben can up his shooting percentages a bit and make good decisions on offense while providing average or better offense then he should start.

And Marco will determine his own minutes off the bench by how well he's shooting the ball any given night.

 

[ForlornKing]

About Rudy - I don't feel like he's a "preseason" type of player.

IIRC He played like this all last year's preseason but turned it on when it actually started.