[Game] Kings @ Nets, 2/14/2022 4:30pm Pacific 7:30pm Eastern

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Lack of practice together was clear today. They’ll get better
And they were thinking too much at times. The first game they just rolled the ball out, they don't need to be relying on this 3-4 pass at least offense yet. When it's not there, two man game. He needed to run those Fox pick and rolls at the first sign of dipping early in the game then ride it until the wheels fall off. Obviously shooting this poorly is a guaranteed L but that could stabilize their offense.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
And they were thinking too much at times. The first game they just rolled the ball out, they don't need to be relying on this 3-4 pass at least offense yet. When it's not there, two man game. He needed to run those Fox pick and rolls at the first sign of dipping early in the game then ride it until the wheels fall off. Obviously shooting this poorly is a guaranteed L but that could stabilize their offense.
And I feel like the Kings probably win this game if they hit even close to their averages on the night. So many of those early Nets points were run outs because a Kings missed a super easy shot and someone hustled for the rebound, missed the putback and had their man run down the court and score while they got up off the floor.

There are the obvious bones of a system/roster that works now though and that's something that really couldn't be said for the team for the past three or four seasons.
 
And they were thinking too much at times. The first game they just rolled the ball out, they don't need to be relying on this 3-4 pass at least offense yet. When it's not there, two man game. He needed to run those Fox pick and rolls at the first sign of dipping early in the game then ride it until the wheels fall off. Obviously shooting this poorly is a guaranteed L but that could stabilize their offense.
The amount of movement and speed we saw with Domas holding the ball vs Minny was unreal. It ticked down against the Wiz and seemed almost gone tonight. Funny thing was seeing the guys coaching themselves a ton the first few games then all that disappears tonight. You need that with a big man running the offense and it looks ugly when it’s not being done correctly

With Gentry’s pedigree I was hoping he’d implement a fluid motion offense but at the end of the day he’s a guy sitting on a 526-620 career record. I’m certain Monte & Co have a good idea of the two or three people they want to take over. Pretty clear by the pieces put together that the FO has a vision for the kind of team they want but I doubt we really see it in a sustained manner this season
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer

Really not sure why we played so much drop tonight when it wasn't as big a part of our defense in the last two games. Especially against a Nets team that is essentially three jump shooters and six or seven over-the-hill big men who were in their prime seven or eight years ago.
You know what. I’ll take terrible L’s if it assures Gentry doesn’t stick.
 
I watched most of the game, and I don't think this loss was too bad. It was a lot of guys missing shots they normally make. Harkless and a couple others missed bunnies around the rim that could've completely shifted the momentum a couple times. With Fox-Sabonis, teams are going to dare everyone else around them to shoot, so they better be ready.

With that in mind, Donte really has to find his stroke or else TD will take his starting spot next year. We can't really afford to have subpar shooters in the starting lineup. His amazing defense just can't make up for it... especially not the way the way our floor spacing looks.
 
Aside from the poor shooting, bad officiating, miscommunication and the Net's timely shot making, I thought our coaching strategy was pee poor. The only time we showed any life was when DDV and Mitchell defended us back into the game. Gentry should have run with those two, Fox, Sabonis and Barnes for a stretch. Also, when the shots aren't falling, why do we not try to get HB more involved? The only shots he got were 3s he wasn't making and wild under the basket looks. We need a more strategic head coach.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Hasn't Holmes basically sucked since the eye poke? I don't think it's just the trade. I feel for him. But I hate seeing him on the court right now.

I really only watched about 6 minutes tonight so it's probably not fair for me to go by message boards and tweets but stuff like tonight has me feeling like Gentry is still throwing poop at the wall. I really see no reason why we need to see any more after this season.
 
Kings should not start Mo Harkless. They're better off with the lineups of Fox, Mitchell, Donte, Barnes and Sabonis. The Kings don't have great shooters anyway (they're all average except Barnes). Might as well start Donte and Mitchell to bolster up the defense.
 
The numbers align with the eye test. Why the crazy delta between assists to potential assists? Bklyn packed the paint. Kings going to need to consistent 3 point shooting to stretch defenses. First two Sabonis games, there was enough of that. Last night, it disappeared. Hoping the first few games were the average rather than outliers. We'll see.
 
Hasn't Holmes basically sucked since the eye poke? I don't think it's just the trade. I feel for him. But I hate seeing him on the court right now.

I really only watched about 6 minutes tonight so it's probably not fair for me to go by message boards and tweets but stuff like tonight has me feeling like Gentry is still throwing poop at the wall. I really see no reason why we need to see any more after this season.
Yeah we need to sit Holmes. He's been good enough up until recently that he shouldn't be too difficult to move, especially with his contract. The way he's played the last few weeks can only hurt his value if this is the new normal for him.
 
if you miss shots... take layups
Going to be tough when teams have 5 defenders standing by the lane. I didn’t see the game but looking at the box score highlights the concern with this team. We don’t have many guys who are a threat from 3.

if this team can make shots and spread the floor they could be very good. Unfortunately that if statement hasn’t been resolved yet.

we shall see……
 
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Kings should not start Mo Harkless. They're better off with the lineups of Fox, Mitchell, Donte, Barnes and Sabonis. The Kings don't have great shooters anyway (they're all average except Barnes). Might as well start Donte and Mitchell to bolster up the defense.
If you want to bolster the defense you have to play Mo given his length. The issue is finding guys who can play defense and shoot.

it’s the problem with a Fox/Sabonis core you have to have shooters who play defense and they aren’t easy to find.
 
If you want to bolster the defense you have to play Mo given his length. The issue is finding guys who can play defense and shoot.

it’s the problem with a Fox/Sabonis core you have to have shooters who play defense and they aren’t easy to find.
Length don't mean squat if you're not a good defender. I don't ever see Mo stealing ball or play great help team defense. These traits belong to Mitchell and Donte.
 
Yeah we need to sit Holmes. He's been good enough up until recently that he shouldn't be too difficult to move, especially with his contract. The way he's played the last few weeks can only hurt his value if this is the new normal for him.
In fairness to holmes, I dont think its so much him sucking as it is he has been frozen out of the offense. How many PnR having you seen him in? When you see him in it, the guards almost always goes away from him, which eliminates the benefit of the rim runner. They havent even hit him on the high post for push shots. He isnt attempting shots or getting touches so when you have a high energy big, that will be a problem. He isnt the kind of player you run an offense through, but if you are Mitchell, DDV, or Fox, your penetration skills are good enough to use him effectively, and the thing is, Fox used to do just that, but Gentry's system has eliminated Holmes from being effective. he hasnt been involved since Walton was fired. Even Mark Jones commented yesterday on the push shot that he hit, "how long has it been since we have seen that push shot". They need to look for him in the PnR more, he will get them easier buckets. When you put him in the PnR, he will also be able to get offensive rebounds, but they have him (on offense and defense) patrolling the mid range, that takes him away from the rim and eliminates his effectiveness. Gentry is using him poorly.
 
Going to be tough when teams have 5 defenders standing by the lane. I didn’t see the game but looking at the box score highlights the concern with this team. We don’t have many guys who are a threat from 3.

if this team can make shots and spread the floor they could be very good. Unfortunately that if statement hasn’t been resolved yet.

we shall see……
They missed a ton of shots at the rim.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
I can't imagine the team shooting in the 30s very regularly. Bad nights happen. I do think our shooting will improve especially heading into next season.

Davion and DDV defending though is insane. There wasn't a lot of good to takeaway on the surface but except for the first quarter and after the team gave up, they held their own on defense.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
It was an odd shooting game in which players were missing the basket entirely. Makes you wonder about the background in the Nets stadium

I didn't see the oomph in the team. My guess is the adrenaline rush of the trade, the last minute travel to Sacto and then back east, and the cram to learn the Kings offense and defense finally got to the guys. I have a feeling we'll see a more rejuvenated team against Chicago.

As Donte gets more comfortable in the offense and defense, and vice-versa, I see a very good defensive backcourt. Donte and Mitchell is a terror defensively, and when Fox presses his on-button on D, he and Donte could also be very scary defensively. Good times lie ahead.
 
okay but was that because the were often contested shots by 2-3 defenders??
Eh...yeah but they missed a lot of shots that they wouldnt have otherwise. I also dont think that they will be as bad from the perimeter on most games as they were. Up until this game, Barnes was scorching from the 3. I saw more airballs launched from the 3 (esp DDV who airballed 2 or 3) than even bad shooters get. Just like not reading into the first 2 games too much, i dont want to read too much into this game.
 
Kings should not start Mo Harkless. They're better off with the lineups of Fox, Mitchell, Donte, Barnes and Sabonis. The Kings don't have great shooters anyway (they're all average except Barnes). Might as well start Donte and Mitchell to bolster up the defense.
I don't think it would be wise to start all 3 of the G's considering the Kings don't have a ton of offense runners right now. Maybe Mitchell but that length of Harkless/Holiday has been good. Harkless isn't as good at getting over screens but this allows them to switch, which they need to do more of instead of sitting back and dropping. They have length to help over at the rim finally, they aren't the small midget team they were just a few weeks ago.
 
And I feel like the Kings probably win this game if they hit even close to their averages on the night. So many of those early Nets points were run outs because a Kings missed a super easy shot and someone hustled for the rebound, missed the putback and had their man run down the court and score while they got up off the floor.

There are the obvious bones of a system/roster that works now though and that's something that really couldn't be said for the team for the past three or four seasons.
The time to start panicking is around this time next season after a new coach, a full training camp and some reinforcements to shore up the holes around the Fox/Sabonis/Barnes/DDV/Mitchell core if things looks bad. Kind of why we were so stunned the first 2 games is they looked like an offense that had been together for 5 seasons, not a team that acquired 6 new players at the deadline with a fired the head coach mid-year. As Mid pointed out, let's get these guys comfortable playing together and get a head start on building chemistry next season. The play-in this year doesn't really matter.
 
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