[Game] Kings v. Pelicans - Saturday, Jan. 4 - 7PT/10ET
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This. I think a lot of the Buddy dissenters are misdirecting their ire. Walton mentioned the other night that they are trying to progress Buddy's ball handling, decision making, and shot creation so that he can come through in more important games when defenses are really keying their game plan to stop him. I'm not sure that he is that player, but I can respect the vision that the coaching staff has (and possibly the front office too). I think Buddy is executing the coaches plan, but it leads to a lot of bad plays because he's Buddy. Will he improve? It looks like the Kings are banking on that being a reality. Seems to me that they are putting the cart before the horse.
I like Buddy because he's always out there trying to win. Sometimes it leads to bad plays, but he also has plays like that strip steal late in the game that was really clutch.
I like Buddy because he's always out there trying to win. Sometimes it leads to bad plays, but he also has plays like that strip steal late in the game that was really clutch.
Branding a growing cacophony of concerned voices as “lazy” and “tribalistic” is very dismissive and condescending. How about when the team is winning and the fan-base is expressing excitement about the team? Is that just mindless “group think” as well? Get real, my friend. Here’s what it comes down to: If these so-called “scapegoats” played to the level expected and deserved by the fans then you wouldn’t need to make it your personal crusade to defend them. You are not any more enlightened than anyone else who has an opinion.
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I think Captain is correct and in fact so does Fox.
“I was bad in every aspect of the game,” Fox said. “I was out there in crunch time and just didn’t make plays for us.
“Missed free throws, missed layups. I wasn’t great defensively tonight.”
Fox was 5-11 on free throws. He only had 5 assists to 3 turnovers. Lastly his defense was not strong as Ball went off. For this team to be good Fox has to be a lock down defender. He was not. Fox was a team worst -21.
“I was bad in every aspect of the game,” Fox said. “I was out there in crunch time and just didn’t make plays for us.
“Missed free throws, missed layups. I wasn’t great defensively tonight.”
Fox was 5-11 on free throws. He only had 5 assists to 3 turnovers. Lastly his defense was not strong as Ball went off. For this team to be good Fox has to be a lock down defender. He was not. Fox was a team worst -21.
I agree with this much of this. The Kings agreed to extend the Hield contract for four years at a price of $86 million (minimum). It's clear they weren't paying the $86 mill for a 6th-man shootist type. You pay maybe $8-$15 mill/year for those kind of guys. They were paying for the promise of a versatile starting two-guard who defends, shoots, and makes plays off the dribble.
IMO, he is not that man. He doesn't have the DNA to be that man. Maybe I'm wrong and one day he becomes that man, but 36 games into the season this 27 year old is not remotely that kind of player. Using Christie's language, he's a "hooper," not a basketball player. Walton and his staff are trying everything in their power into making him into the basketball player that they were hoping to get. It's not working. It's like trying to teach intermediate algebra to a student who has trouble with fractions. And to my mind it's affecting the rest of the team. When you preach defense and you keep your best young defender on the bench (JJ) in lieu of Buddy, you aren't helping your team. When you preach making the right decisions and playing the right way and you keep one of your highest BBIQ players on the bench (JJ), instead of Buddy you are not helping your team.
Kings management must re-define their vision for Buddy Hield. IMO, they either need to reduce his role on this team and make him into a 6th man type who primarily shoots off the pass and guards the opposing teams' backups, or they need to trade him to another team. Stop trying to fit the square object into the round hole. Come to grips with who Buddy Hield is as a player.
IMO, he is not that man. He doesn't have the DNA to be that man. Maybe I'm wrong and one day he becomes that man, but 36 games into the season this 27 year old is not remotely that kind of player. Using Christie's language, he's a "hooper," not a basketball player. Walton and his staff are trying everything in their power into making him into the basketball player that they were hoping to get. It's not working. It's like trying to teach intermediate algebra to a student who has trouble with fractions. And to my mind it's affecting the rest of the team. When you preach defense and you keep your best young defender on the bench (JJ) in lieu of Buddy, you aren't helping your team. When you preach making the right decisions and playing the right way and you keep one of your highest BBIQ players on the bench (JJ), instead of Buddy you are not helping your team.
Kings management must re-define their vision for Buddy Hield. IMO, they either need to reduce his role on this team and make him into a 6th man type who primarily shoots off the pass and guards the opposing teams' backups, or they need to trade him to another team. Stop trying to fit the square object into the round hole. Come to grips with who Buddy Hield is as a player.
Fox did have a bad game and he took credit for the loss.
Fox 3 TO
Buddy 7 TO
Yes, buddy got some rebounds but you act like he was guarding Reddick (he wasn't).
Mr. "Everybody gets scored on" was
I can't see why some defend poor defense, lose handles, poor decision making, contested 3s, bad passes, attitude, barking at other players, horrible efficiency, etc. Oh but he grabbed some boards, so we should be thanking our lucky stars.
Buddy used to be a good shooter, but when was the last efficient game? I can't remember it. Last night he shot 7 of 20. That's 35%. His SEVEN turnovers are more than double anyone on the team. His mistakes kill momentum every.single.game.now. It's not a slump. If it were he would have a *decent game here and there, but he doesn't.
Buddy sux. Period.
Fox 3 TO
Buddy 7 TO
Yes, buddy got some rebounds but you act like he was guarding Reddick (he wasn't).
Mr. "Everybody gets scored on" was
I can't see why some defend poor defense, lose handles, poor decision making, contested 3s, bad passes, attitude, barking at other players, horrible efficiency, etc. Oh but he grabbed some boards, so we should be thanking our lucky stars.
Buddy used to be a good shooter, but when was the last efficient game? I can't remember it. Last night he shot 7 of 20. That's 35%. His SEVEN turnovers are more than double anyone on the team. His mistakes kill momentum every.single.game.now. It's not a slump. If it were he would have a *decent game here and there, but he doesn't.
Buddy sux. Period.
Kings should’ve won last night’s game, but the story of the season continues—bad free throw shooting, no ball movement, & turnovers.
Fox really needs to work on his mid range—Hayes n Favors were running to the paint whenever Fox drove, leading to a number of misses.
Good Buddy and Bad Buddy showed up last night. Made shots, had 12 boards, but had 7 turnovers n got torched by Reddick, Hart (insert whoever he was guarding). He is what he is. Make him a 6 man or trade him.
Fox really needs to work on his mid range—Hayes n Favors were running to the paint whenever Fox drove, leading to a number of misses.
Good Buddy and Bad Buddy showed up last night. Made shots, had 12 boards, but had 7 turnovers n got torched by Reddick, Hart (insert whoever he was guarding). He is what he is. Make him a 6 man or trade him.
I think you are missing the point. Buddy’s defense needs to be better. I also personally wish they would minimize his time on the ball. But those truths don’t mean Buddy is exclusively what is wrong with this team and solely responsible for every loss.
Fox has often been a defensive sieve and has missed critical free throws.
Ariza has on more than one occasion failed to switch at end of games.
Bogi has played like crap this year.
Barnes has been very inconsistent.
This team has plenty of blame to spread around.
Fox has often been a defensive sieve and has missed critical free throws.
Ariza has on more than one occasion failed to switch at end of games.
Bogi has played like crap this year.
Barnes has been very inconsistent.
This team has plenty of blame to spread around.
There was an entire thread about Fox not being on track anymore, Barnes is routinely criticized as -an overpayed non-winning invisible man, all Bagley threads get locked because people are too vocal about him for reasons, but sure the entire fanbase is only piling on Buddy. Lol, it’s silly.
Basically there’s more than enough blame going around for everyone.
Basically there’s more than enough blame going around for everyone.
100% correct statement. I've been critical of Buddy, but I've also been very vocal about Barnes being invisible. I've also said that I sometimes doubt Fox's ceiling. Joseph has had his share of criticism too. And yea, my Bagley thread got locked, lol. The peeps on this board are passionate for sure.
Care to breakdown his defensive plays in this game? It should be pretty easy since you seem to think there was an abundance of it.
Decision making - something Walton has openly praised as being much better. Attitude/barking? How do you know what is being said? Have there been any reports of teammates not being happy with him, or have we resorted to interpreting supposed eyerolls on TV? I mean considering some here had Cousins as their favourite King ...
Decision making - something Walton has openly praised as being much better. Attitude/barking? How do you know what is being said? Have there been any reports of teammates not being happy with him, or have we resorted to interpreting supposed eyerolls on TV? I mean considering some here had Cousins as their favourite King ...
Didn't he blame himself for the loss against the Spurs? Is that not accountability and self-awareness?
He also sat down with Walton post-rant and says they talked about what he needs to be doing better. Walton in the last two games has spoken well of Buddy in these regards. I thought his defense in this Pelicans game was much improved; we'll have to see if it continues. But my point is that he has shown that he is willing to take responsibility and accountability and work to improve. He's not a perfect player - he has a lot of flaws but he's also in his 4th year and just because we gave him a big contract it isn't going to magically turn him into a star overnight. Look at Barnes and how inconsistent he's been, and he's in his 8th year.
He also sat down with Walton post-rant and says they talked about what he needs to be doing better. Walton in the last two games has spoken well of Buddy in these regards. I thought his defense in this Pelicans game was much improved; we'll have to see if it continues. But my point is that he has shown that he is willing to take responsibility and accountability and work to improve. He's not a perfect player - he has a lot of flaws but he's also in his 4th year and just because we gave him a big contract it isn't going to magically turn him into a star overnight. Look at Barnes and how inconsistent he's been, and he's in his 8th year.
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