Grades Kings vs Lakers 12/27/18
- Thread starter Kingfanpaul
- Start date
Terrifically entertaining game. I've replayed it twice, now. Kings win each time. This is truly a magical season with a team composed of bunch of terrific guys who have great chemistry. Enjoy this season, you may never experience another like it. The Kings may have better teams down the road, teams that win more games, compete for championships, etc., but it may be a long time before there is another team as magical as this one.
They shouldn't be this good, they shouldn't be winning games like this, but somehow, they manage to all pull together and get the job done. They play for one another. I am enjoying the heck out of this season, I was optimistic before the season started, I expected to see improvement, but did not expect results like this, not this soon. I thought they were a year away from approaching this kind of results.
Having said that, I do not plan on spending nearly as much time on here. I'm going to enjoy the games without all the drama that is on here. the constant griping, complaining, whining, "expert analysis" of what is wrong with the Kings, the players, the coach, the front office. Y'all need to relax and just enjoy the season. It's already playing with house money. The Kings are not winning a championship this year, may not even make the playoffs and for some of you that will be a season of failure if/when that bubble bursts and that is sad because the Kings are so far ahead on the curve, now.
They shouldn't be this good, they shouldn't be winning games like this, but somehow, they manage to all pull together and get the job done. They play for one another. I am enjoying the heck out of this season, I was optimistic before the season started, I expected to see improvement, but did not expect results like this, not this soon. I thought they were a year away from approaching this kind of results.
Having said that, I do not plan on spending nearly as much time on here. I'm going to enjoy the games without all the drama that is on here. the constant griping, complaining, whining, "expert analysis" of what is wrong with the Kings, the players, the coach, the front office. Y'all need to relax and just enjoy the season. It's already playing with house money. The Kings are not winning a championship this year, may not even make the playoffs and for some of you that will be a season of failure if/when that bubble bursts and that is sad because the Kings are so far ahead on the curve, now.
Buddy's struggles are directly linked to his handles. Buddy needs to counter with a few quick jab, one two step backs and driving and dishing. One of the the really overlooked things about Buddy is that he's a black hole (he's improved some this year, but will more often than not shoot, drive and shoot, or turn the ball over). His recent struggles also brings us back to Lavine. Lavine has his usage issues, but he brings a dynamic that Buddy does not--crowd him and he'll punish the opposing team off the bounce.
Kosta has been playing horrible.
Honestly, the short rotation is going to be an issue and I suspect the Kings are getting ready to make a move--showcasing Ben (failure), Kosta (somewhat failure, because he is what he is), Yogi, and to some extent Giles in the G-League.
Kings are hurt and have hit a physical wall. These heroic, last minute wins have masked a ton of the injuries and fatigue, but it's real and it's there. Bogie's playing at about 80% speed, Fox has the shoulder, Bags is out, & Shump is on management. Surprisingly, the healthiest starter is Buddy, but he's also become one dimensional as teams counter his most effective tool.
It might be time to move Buddy to the second unit and let him eat against second tier defenders.
Kosta has been playing horrible.
Honestly, the short rotation is going to be an issue and I suspect the Kings are getting ready to make a move--showcasing Ben (failure), Kosta (somewhat failure, because he is what he is), Yogi, and to some extent Giles in the G-League.
Kings are hurt and have hit a physical wall. These heroic, last minute wins have masked a ton of the injuries and fatigue, but it's real and it's there. Bogie's playing at about 80% speed, Fox has the shoulder, Bags is out, & Shump is on management. Surprisingly, the healthiest starter is Buddy, but he's also become one dimensional as teams counter his most effective tool.
It might be time to move Buddy to the second unit and let him eat against second tier defenders.
The Kings are consistently playing lackadasical defense in the first half. They seem to be able to crank it up in the second half.
The offense is having some dead spots when getting a bucket is very difficult.
I am singling out Fox, and Shumpert for their great defense. Bjelica runs the floor and makes plays underneath. Buddy never gives up.
Bogdan rose to the occasion, but I am giving the game ball to Shumpert.
An unbelievable win. These get tucked away in the psyche of a team. They start to believe "We are never out of it."
The offense is having some dead spots when getting a bucket is very difficult.
I am singling out Fox, and Shumpert for their great defense. Bjelica runs the floor and makes plays underneath. Buddy never gives up.
Bogdan rose to the occasion, but I am giving the game ball to Shumpert.
An unbelievable win. These get tucked away in the psyche of a team. They start to believe "We are never out of it."
Hell yeah, we should enjoy these magical moments, there is nothing like dealing a heart wrenching loss to your hated nemesis, seeing the team so jubilant and celebratory, but this is the start of something for the next decade, not a once in a lifetime season.
The Kings are outperforming their point differential again. This is something I touched on in my preview. This is our edge over the league. We are crunch time darlings.
We have the interchangeability of Fox and Bogs with-the-ball or off-the-ball. It is uncanny the looks that Bogs can get for himself or others. Joerger has more confidence and faith in him than anyone on the team, with D-Fox 1A. This is part of the reason I have said Bogs is the best player on the team (Fox is the most talented), he's better than Buddy, though he hasn't had a better year than Buddy so far. Last night can be the start of many 20+ PPG for him on 60-65% TS%. He's this good.
Despite the flaws of the team (getting stops and boards), we have a two-headed monster of D-Fox and Bogs to beat you in the 4th with speed or beat you craft. And Fox has craft too. Teams cannot load up on D-Fox with Bogs or vice versa. It is unique to have two guys who can as easily create for others as they do themselves, with D-Fox doing more in open floor and Bogs more in a structured set. This is how we have a negative -1.4 point differential a 19-16 record. When the game is on the line we have two facilitators or finishers with the guts and skill to make plays. Our differential and team metrics is closer to a 16-19 team.
Can we keep this up? I don't know. But I know Bogs can play better than he has overall this year and last night was just a taste of what is to come. He is already super confident, and after making that shot, I imagine he is going to feel fairly invincible heading into Sunday and thereafter.
The Kings are outperforming their point differential again. This is something I touched on in my preview. This is our edge over the league. We are crunch time darlings.
We have the interchangeability of Fox and Bogs with-the-ball or off-the-ball. It is uncanny the looks that Bogs can get for himself or others. Joerger has more confidence and faith in him than anyone on the team, with D-Fox 1A. This is part of the reason I have said Bogs is the best player on the team (Fox is the most talented), he's better than Buddy, though he hasn't had a better year than Buddy so far. Last night can be the start of many 20+ PPG for him on 60-65% TS%. He's this good. Despite the flaws of the team (getting stops and boards), we have a two-headed monster of D-Fox and Bogs to beat you in the 4th with speed or beat you craft. And Fox has craft too. Teams cannot load up on D-Fox with Bogs or vice versa. It is unique to have two guys who can as easily create for others as they do themselves, with D-Fox doing more in open floor and Bogs more in a structured set. This is how we have a negative -1.4 point differential a 19-16 record. When the game is on the line we have two facilitators or finishers with the guts and skill to make plays. Our differential and team metrics is closer to a 16-19 team.
Can we keep this up? I don't know. But I know Bogs can play better than he has overall this year and last night was just a taste of what is to come. He is already super confident, and after making that shot, I imagine he is going to feel fairly invincible heading into Sunday and thereafter.
We struggle against athletic bigs. Last night Harrell and tonight Kuzma. KK isn’t athletic enough and Jackson isn’t big and physical enough. Yes Harry will commit fouls but we need to play him more against those guys as our other options are clearly not working. Let Harry work out of his defensive issues.