[Game] 40/82 Kings @ Buckaroos 14 JAN 2025, 5pm Pacific 8pm Eastern
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
- Status
The tweet above doesn't even make sense ... Putting your 7 foot 1 center who is known for defense to guard Giannis for a few possessions is what is expected. I'd say the "lopsidedness" mainly comes from giving the Lyles-Crowder 4-5 some run against a team as big as the Bucks. That is more indicative of the lopsideness of the roster.
It's kind of comical at this point the media's disrespect of Len though really. Dude's been in the league 12 years and been a + defensively the entire the time. For example, I can't really see some writer say something like "Rockets roster is so lopsided they have to put Steven Adams on Giannis. Shame on the GM!" ... Len & Adams are comparable at this stage, but for some reason no name writers act like they've never seen Len play. It's ignorant and unlogical to people who follow the NBA. End rant ... Edit - Oh wait she writes for the King Herald? Well that makes her look ignorant even more.
It's kind of comical at this point the media's disrespect of Len though really. Dude's been in the league 12 years and been a + defensively the entire the time. For example, I can't really see some writer say something like "Rockets roster is so lopsided they have to put Steven Adams on Giannis. Shame on the GM!" ... Len & Adams are comparable at this stage, but for some reason no name writers act like they've never seen Len play. It's ignorant and unlogical to people who follow the NBA. End rant ... Edit - Oh wait she writes for the King Herald? Well that makes her look ignorant even more.
Last edited:
Giannis has evolved his game a lot, takes many mid range shots (the 3rd most in the league I think, we all know who is first), with good efficiency so it makes it even harder to be stopped, had several attempts today as well, he wasn't guarded that well. In general the whole plan was awful from early on regarding the defense. Like several wrote before that was the case in Chicago as well (btw the crown was given to the whole squad for "playing well despite the game taking place early") so I hope the team bounces back and becomes tougher in the next matches, perhaps DeRozan should get more clips of Christie playing lockdown defense back in the days to show the rest of the squad?
Even with the loss tonight, the Kings have a better record on the road (10-8) than at home (10-12). If they can increase their home wins under Doug Christie and at least play .500 on the road, they will make the post season for sure. The next game, against Houston, marks the halfway point of the season.
I didn't watch the game after seeing the result, but outside of a nightmare 4-minute sequence in the first quarter where they outscored us 21-2 (Kings 1-9 shooting, Bucks scored on 8 of 9 possessions, grabbing 3 offensive boards and having a 5-point sequence), we basically played them even the rest of the game. Obviously small consolation, but the box score looks like we played 44 minutes out there, and we've had games where we played a lot fewer decent minutes.
Ellis wasn't back to bench today...regarding the starting lineups BUT he was at the bench when that 21-2 run for the Bucks that Capt wrote above happened.
If Monk had been the starter and Keon would have entered in his place at that time maybe things would be different.
Anyway in a sort of positive note the Kings were the last team to lose in 2025 since the Pacers match had ended a while before the one took place in Milwaukee did
If Monk had been the starter and Keon would have entered in his place at that time maybe things would be different.
Anyway in a sort of positive note the Kings were the last team to lose in 2025 since the Pacers match had ended a while before the one took place in Milwaukee did
Hopefully, Christie emphases the three out of four quarters win to the Kings players after the game vs. Milwaukee. The lopsided first quarter was an anomaly that could not be overcome in the end. In a usual game the Kings likely have a 50-50 chance of getting the win. If the Kings had started like the Bucks, that is "hotter than fish grease" the win would have been in the Kings' column. That is just professional basketball.
Too many "ifs" to be sure but it wasn't a completely ugly and effortless loss to an undermanned, or lower ranked team. The team should hold its head high for not folding after that first quarter and giving their best effort consistently to the end. More wins will come with that attitude.
Too many "ifs" to be sure but it wasn't a completely ugly and effortless loss to an undermanned, or lower ranked team. The team should hold its head high for not folding after that first quarter and giving their best effort consistently to the end. More wins will come with that attitude.
I mean he destroyed us despite not scoring 50.
Giannis played 36 min and 39 seconds in this game, so let's just use his per36 stats this season to compare to what he did this game
Season Average: .612 TS% / .598 FG% / 32.4 PTS / 6.2 AST / 3.6 TO / 1.7 AST:TO
Yesterday's Game: .633 TS% / .609 FG% / 33.0 PTS / 13.0 AST / 3.0 TO / 4.3 AST:TO
So not only did he score a bit above his season average on slightly higher efficiency, but he more than doubled his assists while reducing his turnovers. That 6.8 AST delta means that Giannis contributed 13.6-20.4 (depending on if they were 2s or 3s) more points than he normally does. It was very apparent to me that we were sagging off quite a bit to try and contain Giannis considering we don't really have someone that matches up with him somewhat adequately on the defensive end (allowing him to kick out to open shooters all game long).
But comparing his On/Off stats for this game against his season average is even more telling ...
Season Average: +3.4
Yesterday's Game: +45.0
That's a massive difference. And let's put this in perspective...we actually outscored the Bucks by 15 PTS when Giannis was off the floor. When Giannis was on the floor yesterday, we were outscored by 30 PTS.
He may not have had the "flashy" 50 point game, but when you contribute to 46.6-53.4 PTS in the game, while having a .633 TS%, and only turn the ball over 3 times, you're controlling that game fairly easily.
Giannis played 36 min and 39 seconds in this game, so let's just use his per36 stats this season to compare to what he did this game
Season Average: .612 TS% / .598 FG% / 32.4 PTS / 6.2 AST / 3.6 TO / 1.7 AST:TO
Yesterday's Game: .633 TS% / .609 FG% / 33.0 PTS / 13.0 AST / 3.0 TO / 4.3 AST:TO
So not only did he score a bit above his season average on slightly higher efficiency, but he more than doubled his assists while reducing his turnovers. That 6.8 AST delta means that Giannis contributed 13.6-20.4 (depending on if they were 2s or 3s) more points than he normally does. It was very apparent to me that we were sagging off quite a bit to try and contain Giannis considering we don't really have someone that matches up with him somewhat adequately on the defensive end (allowing him to kick out to open shooters all game long).
But comparing his On/Off stats for this game against his season average is even more telling ...
Season Average: +3.4
Yesterday's Game: +45.0
That's a massive difference. And let's put this in perspective...we actually outscored the Bucks by 15 PTS when Giannis was off the floor. When Giannis was on the floor yesterday, we were outscored by 30 PTS.
He may not have had the "flashy" 50 point game, but when you contribute to 46.6-53.4 PTS in the game, while having a .633 TS%, and only turn the ball over 3 times, you're controlling that game fairly easily.
I think you're misunderstanding.
Yes, our biggest weakness is not having a PF with good size, length, & athleticism who can defend and space the floor. I think the vast majority of us on this board agree that we'd like to see that player added as we continue to build & upgrade the roster.
The point I was making is that guys like Giannis are not on many NBA playoff rosters. The guy is as strong as a C, as long as a C, and as athletic/quick as a SF. He is the "Greek Freak" for a reason. For a team who's biggest weakness is size, length, and athleticism in the frontcourt, it's a recipe for disaster playing against someone like Giannis.
Now looking at the list you provided, I would hope we can agree that all of those players do not provide as bad of a matchup problem as someone like Giannis does. Fair? I feel wayyyyy more comfortable asking Murray to guard the guys you listed than I do asking him to guard Giannis.
Giannis is essentially a physical mismatch for everyone, but that mismatch is much more severe for us which makes it difficult to overcome. That PF mismatch may exist for other NBA playoff teams, but it's not nearly as severe as when we have to play against Giannis (which at least gives us more of a chance to win the game).
Yes, our biggest weakness is not having a PF with good size, length, & athleticism who can defend and space the floor. I think the vast majority of us on this board agree that we'd like to see that player added as we continue to build & upgrade the roster.
The point I was making is that guys like Giannis are not on many NBA playoff rosters. The guy is as strong as a C, as long as a C, and as athletic/quick as a SF. He is the "Greek Freak" for a reason. For a team who's biggest weakness is size, length, and athleticism in the frontcourt, it's a recipe for disaster playing against someone like Giannis.
Now looking at the list you provided, I would hope we can agree that all of those players do not provide as bad of a matchup problem as someone like Giannis does. Fair? I feel wayyyyy more comfortable asking Murray to guard the guys you listed than I do asking him to guard Giannis.
- LAL - LeBron: Not as strong, long, & athletic as Giannis
- MIN - Randle: Not as long & athletic as Giannis. Maybe they are similar strength-wise but I think Giannis is still stronger
- MEM - Jackson: Not as strong & athletic as Giannis but they have similar length (but he's not nearly the offensive threat Giannis is anyway)
- DAL - Doncic: Not as strong, long, & athletic as Giannis
- DEN - Gordon: Not as long as Giannis. Maybe there are similar strength-wise but I think Giannis is still stronger. Probably similar athleticism (but Gordan is not nearly the offensive threat Giannis is anyway and you're referencing a game where Murray was out with injury and we started DeRozan and McDermott at SF & PF...)
- PHO - Durant: Not as strong & athletic as Giannis, but they have similar length
Giannis is essentially a physical mismatch for everyone, but that mismatch is much more severe for us which makes it difficult to overcome. That PF mismatch may exist for other NBA playoff teams, but it's not nearly as severe as when we have to play against Giannis (which at least gives us more of a chance to win the game).
Last edited:
so you are saying we have a match up problem at forward 
apparently everyone but Monte gets the problem as we have had it for four years.
apparently everyone but Monte gets the problem as we have had it for four years.
I think that + the Kevin and Lyles minutes yesterday were brutal.
But yes, it would be ideal if we had another 3&D forward with length/size.
- Status