[Game] 23/82: Kings @ Memphis, 05 DEC 2024, 5 pm PT/8 pm ET

[iowamcnabb]

1-20 from three between Keegan, Huerter and Fox. When it’s obvious they don’t have it, can we please run some plays to get Monk open? Can we find a way to hit Keon in the corner, the guy who is our most consistent shooter?

We played ok this game but Ja only had 8 points and we lost this game. That can’t happen. We let sizable leads slip to deficits at least 3 times tonight because we had no offense outside Deebo free throws and a couple runners from Fox/Keegan. We got poor play from Crowder and I don’t think IJ was great despite the numbers. That’s understandable with him though, we have to live with the growing pains. This would have been an acceptable road loss to a hot team if we weren’t in the situation we are in.

 

[Tetsujin]

Ellis played all of two minutes in this game and was +5, for what it's worth. As I wrote earlier, not playing him when the Kings have a double-digit lead is almost unfathomable. And that goes double when Huerter goes 0-6 from three and Murray 1-7, because Keon is a better shooter from beyond the arc right now than either of those guys.

Is Mike Brown trying to win games or score personnel points?

This would be a good point if those Keegan-Isaac-Crowder-Kevin-Fox units weren’t the ones building the leads and gaining momentum in tonight’s game.

 

[twslam07]

Hell, its a different game if we hit ONE more three tonight.

I had that originally written, but if Monk hit the 3 he took with 2 seconds left, there wouldn’t have been a difference in the game (technically). So was playing it safe with a measly 28.6% from 3

 

[The_Jamal]

Ellis played all of two minutes in this game and was +5, for what it's worth. As I wrote earlier, not playing him when the Kings have a double-digit lead is almost unfathomable. And that goes double when Huerter goes 0-6 from three and Murray 1-7, because Keon is a better shooter from beyond the arc right now than either of those guys.

Is Mike Brown trying to win games or score personnel points?

It's got to be something on film that he totally ****s up (What? I have no idea, but it's something they're seeing) or something in practice he's not grasping.

Because it's just stupid we're basically running a 7 man rotation right now and burning our top guys out to NOT play Keon. I don't get it. There's more than enough room for Keon to be 20+ MPG. But he's just lost full trust of this coaching staff.

Hey, it's not my job, it's Brown's on the line. If he wants to die on the hill that Keon doesn't help wins, he'll find out real quick if this thing continues to go south.

 

[Tetsujin]

The problem with complaining about the officials is that there are legitimate gripes people have with bad calls and then people complaining because they think Ja should be allowed to foul people and then go crazy when he gets called for it.

https://twitter.com/statuses/1864873339245764615

 

[SacTownKid]

1-20 from three between Keegan, Huerter and Fox. When it’s obvious they don’t have it, can we please run some plays to get Monk open? Can we find a way to hit Keon in the corner, the guy who is our most consistent shooter?

We played ok this game but Ja only had 8 points and we lost this game. That can’t happen. We let sizable leads slip to deficits at least 3 times tonight because we had no offense outside Deebo free throws and a couple runners from Fox/Keegan. We got poor play from Crowder and I don’t think IJ was great despite the numbers. That’s understandable with him though, we have to live with the growing pains. This would have been an acceptable road loss to a hot team if we weren’t in the situation we are in.

When Fox isn't running the early offense and the ball swings to him he has a bad habit of searching for iso or tough 3's. That's a tough way to get going when you're not feeling it. Monk was open at the end, that last shot should have been a mid ranger from him not a pass back out. The Grizzlies had a clear plan, let Monk of have all the space in the world on pick and roll and then the last play they changed it up and it forced him into the paint. Clever. I think it's obvious that the "spray 3's" was the goal. Bad call.

 

[Kingz19]

You have any numbers to back that up or are we just talking anecdotally here?

Anecdotally of course. I do watch every game and from my perspective they, Huerter especially, are getting really good looks from three compared to last season.

If there is a stat for such things id be interested in looking at it.

Their shooting woes definitely aren’t for lack of space and a dearth of good looks from what I’m seeing.

If they weren’t such good open shots, it wouldn’t be nearly as frustrating to watch as it has been.

I’d rather it be some spacing issue or something rather than the two shooters we desperately need to make threes shooting 25 percent each on a high volume of good looks

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

It's got to be something on film that he totally ****s up (What? I have no idea, but it's something they're seeing) or something in practice he's not grasping.

Because it's just stupid we're basically running a 7 man rotation right now and burning our top guys out to NOT play Keon. I don't get it. There's more than enough room for Keon to be 20+ MPG. But he's just lost full trust of this coaching staff.

Hey, it's not my job, it's Brown's on the line. If he wants to die on the hill that Keon doesn't help wins, he'll find out real quick if this thing continues to go south.

or, Brown has been told that he is not in the hot seat this season, after they just extended him

 

[The_Jamal]

or, Brown has been told that he is not in the hot seat this season, after they just extended him

His job was never on the hot seat, heading into the year.

Even if that were the case, do you think he's intentionally hurting the team because he doesn't like Keon?

 

[Tetsujin]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1864885435643859270

 

[sactowndog]

1-20 from three between Keegan, Huerter and Fox. When it’s obvious they don’t have it, can we please run some plays to get Monk open? Can we find a way to hit Keon in the corner, the guy who is our most consistent shooter?

We played ok this game but Ja only had 8 points and we lost this game. That can’t happen. We let sizable leads slip to deficits at least 3 times tonight because we had no offense outside Deebo free throws and a couple runners from Fox/Keegan. We got poor play from Crowder and I don’t think IJ was great despite the numbers. That’s understandable with him though, we have to live with the growing pains. This would have been an acceptable road loss to a hot team if we weren’t in the situation we are in.

Yeah I think Monte is the problem with this roster but Kevin is such a streaky shooter. I don’t get why they don’t play Huerter and Keon and if Kevin is hot play him more. If not play Keon. Right now this team is winning just enough to lose their draft pick and nothing more.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

His job was never on the hot seat, heading into the year.

Even if that were the case, do you think he's intentionally hurting the team because he doesn't like Keon?

Not heading into the season. I'm talking maybe they've indicated that he's not potentially on the hot seat, if they end up in a position that doesn't reach their minimal goal by the end of the season.

No, I think they're managing the roster in way, where a priority is raising Huerter's value so they can trade him. Even with whatever risks might be involved with that. I think they're convinced that they must find a way to upgrade the roster fit, in order to be a contender or even a playoff threat.

 

[megapoxy]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1864883706663702729

I think Sabonis scored a putback early in 3rd and then no more attempts for him. He was taking many shots early, couldn't be stopped during the 1st quarter but as time went by he was being "fed" less and less.

Regarding Keon he would have made the 3 really wide open 3s that Keegan and Huerter missed, it's his favorite spot anyway but MB chose to keep him on the floor for 2 whole minutes. So there has to be an injury for Kevin for him to get normal minutes on the floor again?

I haven't watched Memphis this season, mostly because they play early as if they are an Eastern team but in this "wild wild" Western conference they are in the 4th place 7 wins over .500 and their team doesn't look so strong. We should have beaten them if we were more careful, had better management from the bench or Morant hadn't been ejected and we still would be way far behind them in the standings. Now our morale got even lower and having to play on a back to back while on the move will add more excuses in case we fail to beat the Spurs for a 3rd time this season.

Last but not least, if MB throws his players under the bus again I don't get it why he doesn't act like he is pissed during the match just pretend to be the chill guy with hands in his pockets.

60-15 Memphis bench points btw, Jones had 9 of them in 16', Smart outscored all of our subs with 18.

 

[coolhandluke]

Another winnable game down the drain. Just didn’t make enough shots. The lack of offensive pecking order has the players hesitating about who has to lead the possession.

The less said about our after-timeout or set plays the better. We don’t have any signature plays that could be executed without overthinking. Creating on the fly doesn’t allow for easy shot making.

On a day when we couldn’t hit a three, we left the best three point shooting guy on the bench. He can defend too.

We’re not making it easy for our guys to succeed. That’s the bottom line.

 

[sono]

DNP vs Rockets
2:21 vs Grizzlies
Is Ellis in Brown's dog house?

 

[coolhandluke]

DNP vs Rockets
2:21 vs Grizzlies
Is Ellis in Brown's dog house?

He’s getting the Sasha treatment.

 

[megapoxy]

According to the pool report regarding Ja's ejection "after postgame review he was in a legal guarding position and should not have been called for the foul"

 

[NewArena]

These kind of losses don’t bother me as much. Grizzlies are good and we were right there - it’s the other avoidable losses that make this one sting more than it should IMO. Let’s get the W tomorrow

 

[sono]

He’s getting the Sasha treatment.

I'd understand if Ellis had 0 defense, not to mention he's our best 3 point shooter of this season so far.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

These kind of losses don’t bother me as much. Grizzlies are good and we were right there - it’s the other avoidable losses that make this one sting more than it should IMO. Let’s get the W tomorrow

You really can't evaluate the games, based on "who they should" or "should not" beat. Everything indicated that they should have won this game, but simply didn't make enough open shots

 

[iowamcnabb]

No, I think they're managing the roster in way, where a priority is raising Huerter's value so they can trade him. Even with whatever risks might be involved with that. I think they're convinced that they must find a way to upgrade the roster fit, in order to be a contender or even a playoff threat.

I personally don’t think they are doing any showcasing. Anyone trading for Huerter is doing so either as salary matching or with the intentions of letting him rebuild his value under their tutelage- like John Collins for example. I think his value won’t change much even if he starts shooting better. I think both Atlanta and Brooklyn make some sense for him and they both have extra forwards they don’t need to trade us.

 

[iowamcnabb]

31 percent from the field in the second half and 2-18 from 3.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I personally don’t think they are doing any showcasing. Anyone trading for Huerter is doing so either as salary matching or with the intentions of letting him rebuild his value under their tutelage- like John Collins for example. I think his value won’t change much even if he starts shooting better. I think both Atlanta and Brooklyn make some sense for him and they both have extra forwards they don’t need to trade us.

Do you think they did any "showcasing" with Mitchell last season?

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Yeah I think Monte is the problem with this roster but Kevin is such a streaky shooter. I don’t get why they don’t play Huerter and Keon and if Kevin is hot play him more. If not play Keon. Right now this team is winning just enough to lose their draft pick and nothing more.

Yeah, that's always been a complaint with Brown. He seems to make his decisions before the game starts, instead of seeing how the game is going and making adjustments and subs accordingly

 

[Elektrik]

You see what you want to see. Huerter has played excellent defense all season too (and tonight). Not Keegan level, but he's been strong on that end.

Doesn't excuse the shooting. But the Huerter brigade doesn't like him so they put all the blame for losing the game when he's bad on him. Rather than what actually happened on the floor.

He’s a shooting guard but He can’t shoot. That’s his primary role. He’s not helping us lose but he’s certainly not helping us win. Tonight he had a makeable open 3 point shot at the end of the game and he deferred. At least he would have given us a chance by taking a shot. Instead, it wound up being a jump ball that Memphis got which sealed the deal.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Do you think they did any "showcasing" with Mitchell last season?

imo, no. These front office guys have followed all these players through their college years, even high school in a lot of cases. Davion and Kev both have years of game tape in the NBA and both were likely salary matching as opposed to positive assets. Both viewed as reclamation projects. I did buy that we were showcasing Hali at the end of his tenure but that made sense because they were showing what he looked like as the main orchestrator of the offense.

 

[est.1999]

Their best player gets ejected and we still can’t close and win the game? This team is a**

 

[Remi]

Sorry, but I blame coaching staff for such loses like this...

 

[megapoxy]

Their best player gets ejected and we still can’t close and win the game? This team is a**

In that match he was "our" best player instead though, the way he was playing (in both offense and defense).

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Deuce was also talking about how the much higher paid guy in Huerter "has to play", in order to maintain his value around the league. They can't afford to let him rack up DNP-CD's, whereas with Keon they can from a roster management point of view. Keon's value won't drop, being that he was just signed to a full (small) contract last season. Most teams would luv to have him.

A lot of Kings media are just as baffled about Keon not playing and searching for an answer that could explain it. When you're looking for any player or detail that could help you win some close games, whatever the reason is, won't be a popular one