Does this Kings team have an Identity?
- Thread starter ockingsfan
- Start date
First and foremost, a huge component of their identity is RESILIENCE. This is a resilient team. They can get down by, oh, say, 21 points and keep playing, because they believe they have the skills to bounce back. Because of this conviction, they sometimes don't try hard enough quickly enough...they seem to think they have all the time in the world.
Secondly, and sadly, they seem to be a Two-quarter Team. You always hope it will be the 2nd and 4th quarters, or maybe the second half, but sometimes its the 1st and 3rd. They can almost always be counted on to give two really good quarters of play.
Third would be unselfish. The vast majority of the time, this is a team that shares the ball with little-to-no hesitation.
Fourth would be about community. I don't see guys blasting Sacramento and yearning for the big city. They all seem to be good community members who appreciate Sacramento living and its people.
Unfortunately, Walking on Water has not yet become an ingrained part of their identity, but many of us are hopeful.... we hang out in the Optimist thread. ;-)
Secondly, and sadly, they seem to be a Two-quarter Team. You always hope it will be the 2nd and 4th quarters, or maybe the second half, but sometimes its the 1st and 3rd. They can almost always be counted on to give two really good quarters of play.
Third would be unselfish. The vast majority of the time, this is a team that shares the ball with little-to-no hesitation.
Fourth would be about community. I don't see guys blasting Sacramento and yearning for the big city. They all seem to be good community members who appreciate Sacramento living and its people.
Unfortunately, Walking on Water has not yet become an ingrained part of their identity, but many of us are hopeful.... we hang out in the Optimist thread. ;-)
I attribute the defense more to the additions of CoJo, Holmes and Ariza than anything Walton has done.
Our Defensive Rating is 18th out of 30 this year. Last year it was 20th out of 30. Not much of an improvement despite adding 3 solid defenders. If Bagley was healthy all year, I'd guess that we would actually have a worse defensive rating than we did last year.
Offensive Rating was 16th out of 30 last year. 24th out of 30 this year.
Last year pace 5th out of 30. This year 28th out of 30.
The improved defense is a mirage by Walton. His slow, lethargic, grind it out style makes you think the defense is a heck of a lot better because teams are scoring about 6 points less on us than they did last year but the offense is scoring 8 points less as well. Net negative.
So far in my opinion he's been a massive failure. We had an identity going into this season and he tried to change it to something that fits our 30 year old players and not our young core. It should be no surprise to anyone that this team isn't going anywhere because the system is geared toward veteran players that should be getting 20min a game off the bench.
Our Defensive Rating is 18th out of 30 this year. Last year it was 20th out of 30. Not much of an improvement despite adding 3 solid defenders. If Bagley was healthy all year, I'd guess that we would actually have a worse defensive rating than we did last year.
Offensive Rating was 16th out of 30 last year. 24th out of 30 this year.
Last year pace 5th out of 30. This year 28th out of 30.
The improved defense is a mirage by Walton. His slow, lethargic, grind it out style makes you think the defense is a heck of a lot better because teams are scoring about 6 points less on us than they did last year but the offense is scoring 8 points less as well. Net negative.
So far in my opinion he's been a massive failure. We had an identity going into this season and he tried to change it to something that fits our 30 year old players and not our young core. It should be no surprise to anyone that this team isn't going anywhere because the system is geared toward veteran players that should be getting 20min a game off the bench.
Kayte Hunter talked about the identify of the team defense last night. I totally agree. The problem is playing it for a whole quarter and for 4 quarters. The Kings get back in games with defense. Last night 1/13 against Orlando they gave up 65 in the first half to the lowest scoring team in the League. That is your ballgame right there.
This team's identity, in my opinion, is undisciplined.
Sloppy passes, turnovers, lost defensive assignments, lost box out assignments, settling for jumpers instead of getting the ball inside. If this team played the game intelligently, they have the talent to be a top 6-8 team in the west. Call me a homer if you want but I believe that.
That being said, this team is having an identity crisis. It's supposed to be a team built to space the floor for Fox and Bagley, but Joseph, Ariza, Barnes, Dedmon, Holmes, and Bagley almost don't require defending on the perimeter because they're simply terrible shooters. That's 6 of your 10 regular rotation players. That's not what this team needs to succeed around Fox and Bagley.
Sloppy passes, turnovers, lost defensive assignments, lost box out assignments, settling for jumpers instead of getting the ball inside. If this team played the game intelligently, they have the talent to be a top 6-8 team in the west. Call me a homer if you want but I believe that.
That being said, this team is having an identity crisis. It's supposed to be a team built to space the floor for Fox and Bagley, but Joseph, Ariza, Barnes, Dedmon, Holmes, and Bagley almost don't require defending on the perimeter because they're simply terrible shooters. That's 6 of your 10 regular rotation players. That's not what this team needs to succeed around Fox and Bagley.
There's no identity, unless you consider losing in the last two minutes nearly every game an identity. Every time they play I don't know what I'm going to get. Usually with a team I can pinpoint what to expect, like with Orlando for instance - they're great at defense, can't score much though. Rockets are going to blow you out of the building, Bucks are going to suffocate on D and Giannis is going to the rack every time.
The Kings? They will...like kind of be competitive but also not really, and like kind of look good but then also look bad, and Buddy might be the leading scorer but he might also not be, and Fox will take over the game or he might not, too. Barnes is going to be invisible, or wait...no, he had a big game. Giles is gonna play, oh nvm he's on the bench. Bogdan is dribbling the ball into the floor again ugh- oh wait he drilled a 3. BUDDY!!! Buddy is killing us...
There's just no sense of consistency.
The Kings? They will...like kind of be competitive but also not really, and like kind of look good but then also look bad, and Buddy might be the leading scorer but he might also not be, and Fox will take over the game or he might not, too. Barnes is going to be invisible, or wait...no, he had a big game. Giles is gonna play, oh nvm he's on the bench. Bogdan is dribbling the ball into the floor again ugh- oh wait he drilled a 3. BUDDY!!! Buddy is killing us...
There's just no sense of consistency.
Last edited:
I just want something to get excited about. For me, that needs to be exciting/featured play by Fox and Bagley. They are the only potential all stars on this roster (in my opinion) and so at this point a win here or there, a 30 point game by Belly, etc., doesn’t move the needle. I want to get back to how I felt last year and over the summer. That we have an exciting young core and we are a team of the future. I look at the Memphis core of Ja and JJJ and I keep thinking “but that should be us!!! We are the exciting up and comers”. So second half of the year I want the league to take note of Fox and Bagley so we can fee some excitement again this offseason.
Right now we are caught between two identities: developing a lot of youth and desperately trying to end our playoff drought. The problem is we are jeopardizing the former in pursuit of the latter. We aren't giving the guys that should be seeing minutes the time they need on the court. We should waive Ariza, trade Bjelica and Joseph if we can. They are all playing around 25 mpg a night. Those minutes need to be divided among our youth. We won't know what our identity is until we understand what we have and we won't know that by having Giles and James riding the bench and Bagley and Bogie playing sub 30 minute games.
Why doesn't Bjelica having a big game excite you? He's pretty much in his prime (only 28), and can be a big piece for this team for years to come. Bagley needs a spacing big next to him, especially one that can pass. I agree with you that Bags and Fox need to take this team to the next level, but with how contracts are structured in this era, hitting success during their rookie contracts is a must. Bjelica being his best now absolutely helps the team in a huge way, and it's why the injuries to Fox and Bagley this season are so disappointing. It's basically narrowed the Kings window for reaching and sustaining success (I know that sounds laughable for this franchise right now). The Kings now need their development and cohesion to hit hyperdrive, or hit on a creative trade.
I agree on the Grizz for sure, bit envious of their squad, lot of good players on rookie deals with a couple nice vets mixed in (Crowder, Valo).
I agree on the Grizz for sure, bit envious of their squad, lot of good players on rookie deals with a couple nice vets mixed in (Crowder, Valo).