Why Isn't Sasha Playing?

iowamcnabb

Hall of Famer
#91
DNPs got to the end , unfortunately because of an injury ...
But i have to say that i was expecting a littbe bit more , after the great start he set for himself in the first 2/3 possesions ...
Kind of get stucked in the motion of the game and mage stupid calls ... Did not take some good looks , missed a couple of others ...
Looks a bit out of self-confidence ... Hope he will proove me wrong ...
Good to see from the game though is the connection with Domas ... We can use this more in the season ... Those tow seems to play
good together ...
I actually liked what I saw. He passes up one shot he shouldn’t have and just misses the threes. Other than that we got what we expected out of him. I still think it’s going to be hard to find consistent playing time for both he and Lyles but it was good to see him out there tonight.
 
#93
I actually liked what I saw. He passes up one shot he shouldn’t have and just misses the threes. Other than that we got what we expected out of him. I still think it’s going to be hard to find consistent playing time for both he and Lyles but it was good to see him out there tonight.
Without any changes in the roster I don’t see also much minutes for him and lyles together ….
As far as today I am critical cause I have seen much more of him …
He has to do 3/4/5 boards more and shouldn’t be afraid to shoot the damn ball …
The two points play he is great , glad to see finally some action at this part as well , was missing them badly so far in his minutes
 
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#94
I like the Domas/Sasha pairing, it seems they have a connection and Domas was actively looking for him.
No joke, this was like THE reason I was excited for him to come over here. On most teams, I'd think he'd get wasted and just be planted in the corner as a spacer. But Domas can actually use Sasha's off-ball ability and they look like they can form a fairly devastating 2-man duo.
 
#95
No joke, this was like THE reason I was excited for him to come over here. On most teams, I'd think he'd get wasted and just be planted in the corner as a spacer. But Domas can actually use Sasha's off-ball ability and they look like they can form a fairly devastating 2-man duo.
One of the things a want to see and why i think Vezenkov will suit perfect as starter (might be reduced again to 20-22 minutes) but they can open a lot of plays with Domas in the start of each 1st and 3d quaerters ...
With Keegan and Fox in those 5 other team just wont know who to defend ...
 
#96
Here's what is implied by that question: "...that the team wouldn't otherwise benefit from?" Look at his +/-, his total habit of disappearing in games, and then look at guys who aren't veterans like Keegan and Trey and Sasha that could benefit from the consistent playing time to improve and to see what they can do. Barnes is a known quantity at this point. We aren't going to learn anything new about him this deep into his career. What we do know is he's a mediocre player with a skillset that far outshines his actual production, and he's allergic to consistency. He's been a disappointment and considering his contract should not be getting the burn he does.
 
#97
I was wondering if i should start this conversation again , at some point i decided not to , but ........

Any theory why the hell Lyles got 32 minutes today and Vezenkov 0 !?!?!
Was the preformance agains Pelicans THAT bad ???
Was he the reason for the defeat ?
Why did not Coach separate those 32 min 20-12 for example ?
Lyles did not have the best possibe game (specially for his standarts reently) an took only 4 shoots for the whole game ?!
He has NICE amount of rebounds (8) , but those he made in the first 20sh minutes ...

Vezenkov even did not take part in the '' garbage '' time ...
Please for some thought of the anti-vezenkov members so i can take off the pink glasses :) :) :)
 
#98
Well, I'm not anti-Vezenkov, however:

Only a guess but Brown favors defense and rewards players that put effort in that part of the game. Lyles was playing defense well, taking charges, and playing hard-nosed ball. Lyles was a contributor to the comeback on both ends. Under a reward/punishment system, Lyles justifiably earned additional floor time.

Brown will not trade demonstrated defense for potential offense. It is neither part of the game plan nor the philosophy.

Given that Sasha is somewhat less of an effective defender, it is important for him to either develop better defensive skills or to demonstrate outstanding offensive potential. Yes, it is hard to do sitting on the bench...even in garbage time. It appears that excellence in practice situations is his only current hope for a better status.

The few times he is on the court, he needs to maximize what he does best...shoot the ball at every opportunity. Cut down on the passes away and play like Keegan did during his rookie year. That is, camp out on the perimeter and launch when open. From watching film of Sasha, he strongly has that ability. If he can shoot 50% (or so) he will play, otherwise he sits. Hopefully, his short leash does not cower him from playing the type of game that we know can be a contribution.

These thoughts are predicated on Sasha remaining a King. There may be other teams that could appreciate and use his skill set and may consider him a valuable asset in trade. It could sweeten a trade deal with the Kings. Both trade parties, and Sasha, win.
 
#99
Well, I'm not anti-Vezenkov, however:

Only a guess but Brown favors defense and rewards players that put effort in that part of the game. Lyles was playing defense well, taking charges, and playing hard-nosed ball. Lyles was a contributor to the comeback on both ends. Under a reward/punishment system, Lyles justifiably earned additional floor time.

Brown will not trade demonstrated defense for potential offense. It is neither part of the game plan nor the philosophy.

Given that Sasha is somewhat less of an effective defender, it is important for him to either develop better defensive skills or to demonstrate outstanding offensive potential. Yes, it is hard to do sitting on the bench...even in garbage time. It appears that excellence in practice situations is his only current hope for a better status.

The few times he is on the court, he needs to maximize what he does best...shoot the ball at every opportunity. Cut down on the passes away and play like Keegan did during his rookie year. That is, camp out on the perimeter and launch when open. From watching film of Sasha, he strongly has that ability. If he can shoot 50% (or so) he will play, otherwise he sits. Hopefully, his short leash does not cower him from playing the type of game that we know can be a contribution.

These thoughts are predicated on Sasha remaining a King. There may be other teams that could appreciate and use his skill set and may consider him a valuable asset in trade. It could sweeten a trade deal with the Kings. Both trade parties, and Sasha, win.
This team's entire identity is to out-score the opposition through 3's. I'm not sure how you think this is a defensive minded roster.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Brown said ahead of the year that the focus this year was to improve defensively and if the team needed to take a small step backwards on the offensive side that he would do so.

That's kind of how teams build. You get one piece going 100%, then you add the new wrinkle. This is one reason I've always been opposed to making a rash trade because a fancy name is there right now.

This is year two of what Monte and Brown hope to be a new era of Kings basketball. The golden era also saw the Kings take a small step back in year two before they took a huge leap forward in year three.

I think Sasha is in the long term plan but the big goal this year is making the defense run at the level Brown and Monte want.
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
It's a numbers game, simple as that. He's not playing ahead of the starters or Lyles/Monk/whoever the back-up PG is. Add in the fact that Brown seemingly prefers a traditional back-up C, he's now basically fighting for that 10th man roster spot.

We can argue about him getting time over HB, but he's just not going to play over him.
If HB continues to be a non-factor (and I'm guessing he'll have a random 30 point game now that I'm mentioning this) then I could see Brown benching him temporarily.

In that case I think Sasha could get the surprise start (like Duarte over Huerter instead of Monk) because Brown seems to like to keep his bench rotation in place.
 
I wasn’t even super sold on him coming in, and still have no reason to be sold yet, but it’s hard to imagine a world where he’s more invisible and/or useless than Barnes out there.
I can.

In a lineup with high usage options, Harrison Barnes is still averaging over 40% from 3 and the guy we're told was a knockdown shooter is hovering at about league average.

Put him in the starting lineup with Fox, Domas, and Keegan having the usage they have, and watch him be more invisible fast.

And in a world that's built off coach trust, the 12 year vet who's averaged roughtly ~15 PPG consistently for like 7 years isn't going to ride the pine for the old European rookie who shoots league average and misses defensive assignments, I'm sorry. Barnes may or may not be washed, but he's got several years of goodwill built up with coaches, and they're always going to be the last one to throw in the towel on these vets.
 
I can.

In a lineup with high usage options, Harrison Barnes is still averaging over 40% from 3 and the guy we're told was a knockdown shooter is hovering at about league average.

Put him in the starting lineup with Fox, Domas, and Keegan having the usage they have, and watch him be more invisible fast.

And in a world that's built off coach trust, the 12 year vet who's averaged roughtly ~15 PPG consistently for like 7 years isn't going to ride the pine for the old European rookie who shoots league average and misses defensive assignments, I'm sorry. Barnes may or may not be washed, but he's got several years of goodwill built up with coaches, and they're always going to be the last one to throw in the towel on these vets.
sasha is way better than barnes. Watching barnes out there is just painful. But hey, lets keep running barnes out there, no matter how useless he is, cause he's built up all that goodwill.
 
sasha is way better than barnes. Watching barnes out there is just painful. But hey, lets keep running barnes out there, no matter how useless he is, cause he's built up all that goodwill.
Leave Barnes aside man , he is Vet, he earned Brown trust , he was great in the past ... Lets pay him respect till he is traded ...
BUT what about this Anderson guy !? We gave him 30 minutes and literaly the best he did , Coach words , is to throw himselves towards some ball on the floor !?!? For over 30 min of plays he has exactly 2 points and 9 (not sure exactly) boards ...
He has more PF then points ....
 
Leave Barnes aside man , he is Vet, he earned Brown trust , he was great in the past ... Lets pay him respect till he is traded ...
BUT what about this Anderson guy !? We gave him 30 minutes and literaly the best he did , Coach words , is to throw himselves towards some ball on the floor !?!? For over 30 min of plays he has exactly 2 points and 9 (not sure exactly) boards ...
He has more PF then points ....
I know I'm living in should land, but what have you done for me lately?
Nothing? Then have a seat on the bench.

I really don't care what he's done in the past. He got paid and he sucks now. The past is the past.

I know he's a nice guy. Lets make him our community ambassador of goodwill and move on to someone who can contribute on the court.
 
Leave Barnes aside man , he is Vet, he earned Brown trust , he was great in the past ... Lets pay him respect till he is traded ...
BUT what about this Anderson guy !? We gave him 30 minutes and literaly the best he did , Coach words , is to throw himselves towards some ball on the floor !?!? For over 30 min of plays he has exactly 2 points and 9 (not sure exactly) boards ...
He has more PF then points ....
I'll agree he's better than JTA.

But that's Brown trying to find answers to a thin wing rotation. He's not going to throw Sasha out there for those minutes the same way he's not going to ask Lyles to play the SG position.
 
I can.

In a lineup with high usage options, Harrison Barnes is still averaging over 40% from 3 and the guy we're told was a knockdown shooter is hovering at about league average.

Put him in the starting lineup with Fox, Domas, and Keegan having the usage they have, and watch him be more invisible fast.

And in a world that's built off coach trust, the 12 year vet who's averaged roughtly ~15 PPG consistently for like 7 years isn't going to ride the pine for the old European rookie who shoots league average and misses defensive assignments, I'm sorry. Barnes may or may not be washed, but he's got several years of goodwill built up with coaches, and they're always going to be the last one to throw in the towel on these vets.
Yea.

For starters, we have no idea if Sasha would put up a HB line, if given the minutes. He's a 28 year old NBA rookie joining a playoff team. There's nothing guaranteed here.

Now, I do think Sasha would probably perform better than HB with the minutes, but coaches aren't going to care about that. No one would bench an 11 year respected vet for a rookie who may or may not out-perform him. They cater to their vets and especially one as well-respected as HB. And I know it's fun to just trash HB around here, but he hasn't been the worst 5th option in the history of sports as some make him out to be.

People shouldn't be complaining about Huerter/Duarte or JTA playing over him either. Entirely different positions. Those dudes are 2/3 flex wings and in the case of Duarte and JTA, Brown is searching for a wing defender. Sasha I think is a pretty clear 4 that can flex to the 3 in certain match-ups. But, Keegan/Lyles/HB are the three guys who are ahead of him on the depth chart and there just isn't room for minutes behind them.
 
Yea.

For starters, we have no idea if Sasha would put up a HB line, if given the minutes. He's a 28 year old NBA rookie joining a playoff team. There's nothing guaranteed here.

Now, I do think Sasha would probably perform better than HB with the minutes, but coaches aren't going to care about that. No one would bench an 11 year respected vet for a rookie who may or may not out-perform him. They cater to their vets and especially one as well-respected as HB. And I know it's fun to just trash HB around here, but he hasn't been the worst 5th option in the history of sports as some make him out to be.

People shouldn't be complaining about Huerter/Duarte or JTA playing over him either. Entirely different positions. Those dudes are 2/3 flex wings and in the case of Duarte and JTA, Brown is searching for a wing defender. Sasha I think is a pretty clear 4 that can flex to the 3 in certain match-ups. But, Keegan/Lyles/HB are the three guys who are ahead of him on the depth chart and there just isn't room for minutes behind them.
Lets assume all you wrote is like you that ...
Why then are you going so ofensive (to ''buy'') on a guy who is going to be your 4th option on that position ? Why gave him pretty high sellary as well , and surely promise for minutes otherwise he was not going to come at all ...

And come onnnn JTA with over 30 minutes in last two and Veznkov with nada ...
And we uses JTA at same 3/4 position we are seemgly to want to use vezenkon ... we did not put him as guard and that was easy to be seen ...
Exact stats : 30:58 min 1 out of 7 shoots , 2 points , 9 boards and 1 asist , 6 PF ..... Is this what we are looking for !?!?!?
 
It's funny how most people are perceiving Vezenkov as a "rookie" or "unproven". The guy was Euroleague's MVP and in the last decade European basketball is slowly closing the gap to the NBA in terms of intensity, pace and skills required. If I remember correctly Germany beat the USA in the World Championship semifinals last year and Haliburton, Banchero and Edwards were all on the floor.

By the way there are some rumors that Vezenkov was icing his left ankle during the game so that is a solid enough reason not to risk his health in a game the Kings were comfortably winning.
 
It's funny how most people are perceiving Vezenkov as a "rookie" or "unproven". The guy was Euroleague's MVP and in the last decade European basketball is slowly closing the gap to the NBA in terms of intensity, pace and skills required. If I remember correctly Germany beat the USA in the World Championship semifinals last year and Haliburton, Banchero and Edwards were all on the floor.

By the way there are some rumors that Vezenkov was icing his left ankle during the game so that is a solid enough reason not to risk his health in a game the Kings were comfortably winning.
There could be a bunch of reasons, but I really don't think he's in the doghouse as some around here do. And in terms of proving himself, I think it's less about proving his skill as it is proving he can fit in here, learn the offense, etc. etc. He's shown his shooting is for real and his defense is actually a little above average, and he can rebound above average for his position in the NBA which is saying something. I just think he'll have more of a chance if/when things shuffle around via a trade.