Welcome Devin Carter

[SacTownKid]

Only real wart on his game that I can see so far is he gets picked pretty easily when dribbling through traffic. I think he's definitely going to be off ball a lot more than on ball this year in the NBA because of that very reason.

His shot looks great. Even his misses are close. He knows when to make the right reads to dump the ball off to his teammates. His defense looks great. A guy his size blocking two 3pt shots in a game is very impressive. I think he has a chance to come in and be Keon v2.0 from the start. Just needs to work on his ball handling in traffic and get more reps because you can tell he still doesn't always know where his spots are on the court. Probably just from not playing much 5 on 5 for months.

That along with not being the most fluid using the backboard or soft touch around the rim were the only noticeable sketch areas in his game in college that I saw. He pulled out a floater in the G-league, I don't remember seeing that much out of him in college. That will definitely help his game a ton if he can get that down.

 

[The_Jamal]

That along with not being the most fluid using the backboard or soft touch around the rim were the only noticeable sketch areas in his game in college that I saw. He pulled out a floater in the G-league, I don't remember seeing that much out of him in college. That will definitely help his game a ton if he can get that down.

I think its tough to gauge his offense right now too with how much times he's had off playing real 5 on 5. The defense/energy stuff you can just fall right into, but I think it'd take some time for him to get the offensive feel going again

 

[Tetsujin]

 

[Hoovtrain]

Impressive

 

[iowamcnabb]

That was a good game for Devin to get his first taste. At home, crazy atmosphere, Dad in house. Obviously the rebounding was the big thing that stood out tonight. Didn’t really have many opportunities offensively but that will come. If he can just do all the little things he is going to help us win games even if he only gets 10-15 min for awhile.

 

[Double-K]

That was a good game for Devin to get his first taste. At home, crazy atmosphere, Dad in house. Obviously the rebounding was the big thing that stood out tonight. Didn’t really have many opportunities offensively but that will come. If he can just do all the little things he is going to help us win games even if he only gets 10-15 min for awhile.

There were plenty of defensive highlights to appreciate. His relentless hustle and ability to slip screens rival only Keon Ellis on this team. His matchup against Bane while short-lived, was impressive, making every possession more difficult, and his instincts for positioning on rebounds were exceptional.

These defensive strengths are qualities opponents can’t take away from him. Offensively, however, he’ll need time to adjust to the game’s pace and adapt as defenses start preparing for him. Yet, considering how most teams still leave Keon Ellis wide open, Carter should have the opportunity to develop and grow at his own pace.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Yeh I can’t imagine not playing basketball for 7 months and then playing the Memphis Grizzlies out the gate haha

 

[SacTownKid]

There were plenty of defensive highlights to appreciate. His relentless hustle and ability to slip screens rival only Keon Ellis on this team. His matchup against Bane while short-lived, was impressive, making every possession more difficult, and his instincts for positioning on rebounds were exceptional.

These defensive strengths are qualities opponents can’t take away from him. Offensively, however, he’ll need time to adjust to the game’s pace and adapt as defenses start preparing for him. Yet, considering how most teams still leave Keon Ellis wide open, Carter should have the opportunity to develop and grow at his own pace.

I can't even remember seeing a player like Devin with his tools defensively.

 

[Sam0ah]

I can't even remember seeing a player like Devin with his tools defensively.

In a different way kinda reminds me of Ron Artest. Just moves different

 

[gunks]

Fun minutes when he played!

Flashed some truly beastly rebounding and forced two TOs out the gate.

McNair needs to find somebody to take Huerter to clear the log jam a bit because Carter is going to earn minutes sooner than later.

 

[NiNetNiNe]

I’m excited to see what a defensive showing of Carter, Ellis, and Murray would look like.

 

[MizzouKing]

I was dubious about how Devin could contribute at this point in the season, but had been looking at it from a scoring perspective. I hadn't considered that he could find his way to contribute by rebounding and defending. Those are definitely areas of need that provide opportunities.

 

[coolhandluke]

Dude already looks like our second best rebounder after Sabonis. He got some big man rebounds in traffic.

 

[Caccia]

Dude already looks like our second best rebounder after Sabonis. He got some big man rebounds in traffic.

If that's the case, the Kings need more rebounders. Carter certainly has a knack for finding the ball.

Dennis Rodman used to study his opponents the way baseball pitchers keep tabs on opposing batters: he would figure out how the ball bounced when each individual player would shoot, and position himself accordingly. No reason why the Kings cannot have better anticipation when it comes to offensive rebounds, especially, since it is their own guys shooting. That is something all the assistant coaches can help with.

 

[iowamcnabb]

 

[The_Jamal]

That was a good game for Devin to get his first taste. At home, crazy atmosphere, Dad in house. Obviously the rebounding was the big thing that stood out tonight. Didn’t really have many opportunities offensively but that will come. If he can just do all the little things he is going to help us win games even if he only gets 10-15 min for awhile.

He had a few times he got called for fouls where he contested a couple shots at the rim...that don't get called if his name is Marcus Smart or Jrue Holiday.

Overall, thought this was what I expected from him. The offense is likely going to stay pretty poor, but just go be a defensive menace (forced i think 3 TOs in 10 minutes?), be an energy guy and crash the glass. Just doing that will help this team a ton the last 50 games of the year

 

[sactowndog]

Fun minutes when he played!

Flashed some truly beastly rebounding and forced two TOs out the gate.

McNair needs to find somebody to take Huerter to clear the log jam a bit because Carter is going to earn minutes sooner than later.

he has to be able to make shots at some level to keep getting regular minutes. But the defense was nice and the rebounding was spectacular.

 

[GWD]

he has to be able to make shots at some level to keep getting regular minutes. But the defense was nice and the rebounding was spectacular.

Carter was likely quite nervous in his first NBA game. Pressure on one's self is still pressure when shooting. But defensive hustle is possible through nervousness, as we saw...although it might cause a foul or two. He will get over it.

Taking coaching pressure off of Keegan and Huerter to make every shot was my hope when Coach Christie took over. It may be too soon to take hold, but after a couple of games off, Keegan may emerge reborn. Let's hope.

 

[sactowndog]

Carter was likely quite nervous in his first NBA game. Pressure on one's self is still pressure when shooting. But defensive hustle is possible through nervousness, as we saw...although it might cause a foul or two. He will get over it.

Taking coaching pressure off of Keegan and Huerter to make every shot was my hope when Coach Christie took over. It may be too soon to take hold, but after a couple of games off, Keegan may emerge reborn. Let's hope.

yeah we shall see. So far the team looks good but we also played Mavs without everyone, 76ers without Embid, and Grizz without Morant/Smart/Jackson.

A Keegan who can shoot would make a big difference. But no question playing Ellis more helps this team.

 

[The_Jamal]

he has to be able to make shots at some level to keep getting regular minutes. But the defense was nice and the rebounding was spectacular.

I'm just going to TBD his offense until the start of next season. Let him get a summer league, and a full training camp to actually learn the offense.

But the defense/rebounding is stuff that can and should be sticky right away. And so far, through 3 pro games, looks very good

 

[Jdbraver137]

I'm just going to TBD his offense until the start of next season. Let him get a summer league, and a full training camp to actually learn the offense.

But the defense/rebounding is stuff that can and should be sticky right away. And so far, through 3 pro games, looks very good

I wouldn’t worrry, I actually thought he did really well. He didn’t take a lot of shots but he was a good distributor on the offensive end. Plus the shots he did get were at the end of the shot. Clock

 

[Spike]

yeah we shall see. So far the team looks good but we also played Mavs without everyone, 76ers without Embid, and Grizz without Morant/Smart/Jackson.

A Keegan who can shoot would make a big difference. But no question playing Ellis more helps this team.

I hear that, but I've also seen us lose to teams playing without their best players. Teams have played us and won when we didn't have a team at full strength - at the end of it all, we're not going to look back at those wins and say, "yeah but..." if we're in the playoffs.
You can only play whomever steps on the court. What you do with that time is what matters, and it looks like the Kings, regardless of who they're playing, are starting to show some life again. I'll take it.

 

[twslam07]

he has to be able to make shots at some level to keep getting regular minutes. But the defense was nice and the rebounding was spectacular.

Carter was likely quite nervous in his first NBA game. Pressure on one's self is still pressure when shooting. But defensive hustle is possible through nervousness, as we saw...although it might cause a foul or two. He will get over it.

Taking coaching pressure off of Keegan and Huerter to make every shot was my hope when Coach Christie took over. It may be too soon to take hold, but after a couple of games off, Keegan may emerge reborn. Let's hope.

The other thing to keep in mind is that his conditioning is not up to where it needs to be (they’ve been pretty vocal about this), and on top of that, this was a 2nd night of a back to back for him (since he played 34 min the previous night for Stockton).

I’m looking forward to seeing a 100% version of Carter, but you can already see the foundation he’s working with thus far.

 

[sactowndog]

I'm just going to TBD his offense until the start of next season. Let him get a summer league, and a full training camp to actually learn the offense.

But the defense/rebounding is stuff that can and should be sticky right away. And so far, through 3 pro games, looks very good

he needs to be able to make catch and shoot 3’s. Stand in the corner and shoot. That doesn’t take too much “learning”.

 

[sactowndog]

I hear that, but I've also seen us lose to teams playing without their best players. Teams have played us and won when we didn't have a team at full strength - at the end of it all, we're not going to look back at those wins and say, "yeah but..." if we're in the playoffs.
You can only play whomever steps on the court. What you do with that time is what matters, and it looks like the Kings, regardless of who they're playing, are starting to show some life again. I'll take it.

sure but being good enough to make the play-in, lose to a team who is actually playing their players, and losing their draft pick is not my idea of a win.

right now I’m hoping that isn’t the worst case possible outcome looming.

 

[Hoovtrain]

Can already see all the little things he does. Rebounding looked as good as advertised

 

[The_Jamal]

yeah we shall see. So far the team looks good but we also played Mavs without everyone, 76ers without Embid, and Grizz without Morant/Smart/Jackson.

A Keegan who can shoot would make a big difference. But no question playing Ellis more helps this team.

Grizzlies were also 15-4 their last 19, so they are playing great basketball regardless of who's on the floor. That's still a quality win.

Kings have to prove they can win games like the Mavs and Sixers. Got to continue to prove you can beat good teams like the Grizz

 

[NiNetNiNe]

Grizzlies were also 15-4 their last 19, so they are playing great basketball regardless of who's on the floor. That's still a quality win.

Kings have to prove they can win games like the Mavs and Sixers. Got to continue to prove you can beat goos teams like the Grizz

Watched a video on the Grizzlies new found offense. They went from 30th in the league last year in PPG to 1st this year. The Grizzlies took a college offense and implemented it in the NBA. Their offense is pretty insane now, while still having their good defense.

 

[Tizzy Flip]

Watched a video on the Grizzlies new found offense. They went from 30th in the league last year in PPG to 1st this year. The Grizzlies took a college offense and implemented it in the NBA. Their offense is pretty insane now, while still having their good defense.

It actually makes a whole lot of sense when we’re becoming a guard/wing heavy league where even the bigs can drive and shoot. Wonder if we see more variations of it as I think the league has figured out how to neutralize the DHO

 

[Kingster]

I think its tough to gauge his offense right now too with how much times he's had off playing real 5 on 5. The defense/energy stuff you can just fall right into, but I think it'd take some time for him to get the offensive feel going again

I get the feeling he's going to take a while to be much of an impactful offensive player, but he will give immediate impact on the defensive end, no doubt. In future games I'm going to be interested in his ability to get his own shot.

I didn't check his plus/minus for the game, but the eyeball test told me he made a positive impact when he was in the game. His energy jumped off the charts.