[Game] 50/82: Kings vs. Magic 05 FEB 2025, 7pm PT/10pm ET
- Thread starter Mr. S£im Citrus
- Start date
Well, Portland is as hot as any team in the NBA
Beat them in their house tomorrow and I’ll forgive this crapshow.
They are big and athletic too, so it can just as easily be another beat down. I don’t want to hear they’re tired from this game though.
I expected the sloppy offense integrating LaVine. Plus LaVine himself hadn’t play for a week and a half or so. He looked rusty on top of out of the flow.
Just no ball movement.
But they lost like this because their defense was embarrassing.
Beat them in their house tomorrow and I’ll forgive this crapshow.
They are big and athletic too, so it can just as easily be another beat down. I don’t want to hear they’re tired from this game though.
I expected the sloppy offense integrating LaVine. Plus LaVine himself hadn’t play for a week and a half or so. He looked rusty on top of out of the flow.
Just no ball movement.
But they lost like this because their defense was embarrassing.
When Keegan is out there running around like his legs are slop you know it's the lag. Monk and Keon against big guard teams might be something you don't harp on too much either. That was probably the main source of the breakdowns at times. Not that the Magic are easy to switch against for any team but accepting the post up with those two and helping down was the undoing in the 2nd half.
Told my wife in the 2nd quarter when the Kings were up by 4 that they were going to get blown out eventually.
They were giving the Magic incredibly easy looks. Allowing the Magic to just straight line drive them without even needing a screen. Plus on top of that the Magic were making nearly all of the difficult shots we forced them into. Impossible to not get blown out when you defend like that and have to deal with their lucky shots.
The Kings lack of size was exposed badly and LaVine's effort on the boards was pathetic.
They were giving the Magic incredibly easy looks. Allowing the Magic to just straight line drive them without even needing a screen. Plus on top of that the Magic were making nearly all of the difficult shots we forced them into. Impossible to not get blown out when you defend like that and have to deal with their lucky shots.
The Kings lack of size was exposed badly and LaVine's effort on the boards was pathetic.
Christie has a lot of work to do.
The Kings got pulverized in the paint - 50 Orlando points allowed in three quarters. After that it was easy peezy for Orlando to hoist the 3s with impunity and kill the Kings. First came the body punches, then the right cross, uppercut and KO followed. It does breed confidence when you know you own the paint.
Lavine is a talent, no doubt, but his insertion at mid-season is bringing not just the challenge of getting used to the offense and defense and his teammates comfortable with him. Unless this game is a short term anomaly, he has changed the pecking order. Murray did not touch the ball once on offense in the first quarter. No exaggeration. His production in this 1st quarter compared to the last game's first quarter were total opposites. When he got to feel the ball a couple of times after the first quarter he was so thirsty he hoisted it no matter what. And then when he was passed the ball by DDR in the 2nd half he was so surprised someone passed him the ball (Who, me?) he wasn't ready for it and it resulted in a turnover. Out of pity Christie devised a play for him at the beginning of the 4th, which Murray promptly hit.
As they were saying on the broadcast, the schedule doesn't allow for practice over the next several games, so I guess Christie is going to have them look at film on the plane or something. These next few games could be a challenge until the All Star break and they get some practice time. Hopefully, Valanciunas can help them out somewhat in interior defense.
The Kings got pulverized in the paint - 50 Orlando points allowed in three quarters. After that it was easy peezy for Orlando to hoist the 3s with impunity and kill the Kings. First came the body punches, then the right cross, uppercut and KO followed. It does breed confidence when you know you own the paint.
Lavine is a talent, no doubt, but his insertion at mid-season is bringing not just the challenge of getting used to the offense and defense and his teammates comfortable with him. Unless this game is a short term anomaly, he has changed the pecking order. Murray did not touch the ball once on offense in the first quarter. No exaggeration. His production in this 1st quarter compared to the last game's first quarter were total opposites. When he got to feel the ball a couple of times after the first quarter he was so thirsty he hoisted it no matter what. And then when he was passed the ball by DDR in the 2nd half he was so surprised someone passed him the ball (Who, me?) he wasn't ready for it and it resulted in a turnover. Out of pity Christie devised a play for him at the beginning of the 4th, which Murray promptly hit.
As they were saying on the broadcast, the schedule doesn't allow for practice over the next several games, so I guess Christie is going to have them look at film on the plane or something. These next few games could be a challenge until the All Star break and they get some practice time. Hopefully, Valanciunas can help them out somewhat in interior defense.