[Game] 56/82: Warriors @ Kings 21 FEB 2025, 7pm PT/10pm ET
- Thread starter QWERTYLICIOUS
- Start date
Hey, any team can get a run going but people should also be real about all of this as well. If it happens, great. If it doesn't? It sucks but understandable. Who knows what this team even looks like come summer. Is DC even going to be the coach? Will the Kings have a lottery pick even if they don't make it to the postseason? Is Monte's job safe? The rest of this season likely determines all of that.
My gut says Monte is gone, and that’s a bad thing. The look on his face after the Pistons loss when he knew he would have to fire MB said it all. DC, while enormously qualified and deserving of coaching consideration, seems by all signs to be an ownership decision. Monte + Wes’s track record has been great up to this season. All signs point to the wheels falling off and I’m not super hopeful about what happens after that.
really truly hope I’m proven wrong!
really truly hope I’m proven wrong!
LaVine has to come around, and when he does, he's still the most talented player on the team. He really is. Is Monk a starting PG in the league? Perhaps, but perhaps not next to anything the Kings have currently. Pre Fox, post Fox, Monk is a pretty inconsistent defender and is a total gambling type of player. He is pretty much is like this teams J-Will as @Tetsujin has half jokingly mentioned at times but this team doesn't have a Webber on O and Vlade on D to cover up some of the mishaps. Monk is the definition of a volume/streak player. Starting or benching might not be the thing, it might be the minutes in total and in crunch time with him. Maybe he wins out whatever battle is bound to go down at PG/SG, but now that teams are going to be putting him out there as a top priority on scouting reports as a lead handler we'll certainly find out.
If it were a 1 v 1 trade it can certainly work. Artest for Peja was a prime example. Those Kings weren't pushing the SG to PG, and changing over half the rotation though. Yes, this is why this season had to have been considered somewhat of a punt, or at least the possibility existed that you actually pushed yourself farther down in the interim to hopefully make a bigger leap the next season. I don't doubt the Kings will get some run going at some point, but their issue is the clock. There aren't enough games left in this tight play in race to have an extended feeling out process.
Yeah the only thing that can be clearly deduced is that Monte did indeed want LaVine to some extent. The only real thing you can pin on Monte is that he didn't go rebuild, he went retool with the caveat that he gave himself ammo to continue to retool with picks or also potentially start a rebuild fairly quickly if need be.
Yea that option is to trade him somewhere else was Fox obligated to only be traded to SA regardless of the offer. How is the best pick you get seven years from now force them to come off a hawks pick, at the very least there own unprotected pick this year. What’s the point of getting next years Spurs pick after they get an off season to put players around Wemby and fox.
Getting Lavine to chase a phantom 8th seed is mind boggling there isn’t a team in the play-in that we could even think of beating maybe Minnesota. Next year we won’t be better than San Antonio and maybe Pheonix/Portland
Getting Lavine to chase a phantom 8th seed is mind boggling there isn’t a team in the play-in that we could even think of beating maybe Minnesota. Next year we won’t be better than San Antonio and maybe Pheonix/Portland
It’s getting close to a lock for the top 6 seeds and there is a good chance one of Dallas or Minny lands at 7. Our best outcome at this point is 8 and only if we go on a run. Pretty tough to go win 2 and then play OKC in the first round. I’m not begging to tank either though, 10-14 in the draft doesn’t have any obvious studs. I think I’d rather swing in the second round for Toohey ( Vecenie has him 20-45) and get that Atlanta pick off the books.
Have you not seen how the NBA has worked in these scenarios lately? The only reason the Warriors likely agreed to trade for Butler is because he signed an extension. Yeah Fox still has another year, but no team was giving jack **** once Paul started telling teams he wasn't staying just like Siakams agent told the Kings.
I remember people getting triggered by your "punt" comment last time around. This is the time to understand the pieces that we got and build on combinations that work and balance things around in the offseason. Instant chemistry is not a given. There's chaos with changes in other teams also in the conference and if we gel faster than others, we may have a chance. If not, Kings may be better served with a first round pick in the upcoming draft.
Exactly and that better be what Monte was thinking. Personally I respect Monte a lot more after the trade deadline and think he spread his chips around in the way you need to with Fox pulling the crap he did and an uncertainty on the horizon. Bad GM's close off paths and overpay in those scenarios and he really didn't. Monte did as good of a non cap crippling retool as you can. The Kings have talent so the possibility also exists that they can rip off 10 in a row again this season. Maybe the next 10 games, but I wouldn't be putting any serious money down on that one lol.
One positive from tonight is that Fultz might have been yet another sneaky good pickup out of the recycled pile for Monte. Now it's up to DC to make the most of it. The leftover rookie minutes won't cut it. He can't be yet another need filler getting crumbs. If he flames out, he flames out but he looked good out there.
One positive from tonight is that Fultz might have been yet another sneaky good pickup out of the recycled pile for Monte. Now it's up to DC to make the most of it. The leftover rookie minutes won't cut it. He can't be yet another need filler getting crumbs. If he flames out, he flames out but he looked good out there.
If coach Christie and the Kings want to save this season, they really need to move LaVine to the bench and start Keon. LaVine looks lost and if the Kings insist on starting him, the season is essentially over.
If that is the case they need to start tanking and get to #10 or 11 in the pre-draft lottery to insure they keep their 1st round pick. But, if the want to make a run for the playoffs, they need to sit LaVine and start Keon now.
If that is the case they need to start tanking and get to #10 or 11 in the pre-draft lottery to insure they keep their 1st round pick. But, if the want to make a run for the playoffs, they need to sit LaVine and start Keon now.
That makes a ton of sense. Id really like to see more backside action leading to our scorers having the ability to attack a late close out. Right now it seems the action happens with the ball handler and the backside sits elbow three and corner 3 more often than not... (i do see some backside action just would like more/more complex stuff) I noticed the opponent defense is in enough in position to close and still cut off the drive. Im hoping you are right about the offseason and improvement chemistry improvement. I jusy want the ball to move like poetry again lol
Apart from the usual bad things that the team showed... we didn't take advantage of the height difference at any point, Sabonis wasn't "fed" inside the paint, most of his basket was 2nd chance points, the pick n roll with Monk was nowhere to be seen.
Also LaRavia and Lyles playing together was a failure, after that 1st match LaRavia hasn't shown much apart from such effort in defense so this huge issues how to extend his contract in the offseason it won't be such a big problem anymore. I think one of them should go out of the rotation and we could try IJ instead who was again "inactive" at the bench. Crowder and McBuckets still are not trusted, I get Jae has a veteran presence helping the young ones meet the refs before tip off etc, but it would be better to have someone contributing on the floor. McDermott could have played some minutes today.
It was the first time Doug Christie looked frustrated in the presser, it is obvious that there are consecutive bad performances by the team, repeating the same mistakes over and over again and things will most likely not change if he doesn't change things in the lineup/rotation first. But even if he will it won't still be enough for the Kings to make it to the playoffs as things are looking at the moment.
Keon can't always be our savior, he had a bad match, it happens, but he wasn't used properly. In the first half he entered quite fast and played for 13 consecutive minutes until going back to the bench.
The only good thing coming from this game (besides Deebo) was Fultz, that can help as the only authentic point guard in the roster that also is a solid defender. His playing time should increase and we shouldn't rely on Monk/Lavine/DDR to be the prime ball handlers all the time.
Sabonis has a protective thing in his finger the last 3-4 matches, not sure if it's bothering him and he takes fewer shots lately.
In that video from Kings social media with Isaac Jones baby photo, LaVine initially refuses to guess who it is (even though it is obvious) saying that he is in the team only for a day or something. Fultz replied instantly that has less days as part of the team.
Next match vs the Hornets will be tricky, they always gave us trouble the past few years even though we were the heavy favorites on paper, they might do that again now that we seem to struggle.
Also LaRavia and Lyles playing together was a failure, after that 1st match LaRavia hasn't shown much apart from such effort in defense so this huge issues how to extend his contract in the offseason it won't be such a big problem anymore. I think one of them should go out of the rotation and we could try IJ instead who was again "inactive" at the bench. Crowder and McBuckets still are not trusted, I get Jae has a veteran presence helping the young ones meet the refs before tip off etc, but it would be better to have someone contributing on the floor. McDermott could have played some minutes today.
It was the first time Doug Christie looked frustrated in the presser, it is obvious that there are consecutive bad performances by the team, repeating the same mistakes over and over again and things will most likely not change if he doesn't change things in the lineup/rotation first. But even if he will it won't still be enough for the Kings to make it to the playoffs as things are looking at the moment.
Keon can't always be our savior, he had a bad match, it happens, but he wasn't used properly. In the first half he entered quite fast and played for 13 consecutive minutes until going back to the bench.
The only good thing coming from this game (besides Deebo) was Fultz, that can help as the only authentic point guard in the roster that also is a solid defender. His playing time should increase and we shouldn't rely on Monk/Lavine/DDR to be the prime ball handlers all the time.
Sabonis has a protective thing in his finger the last 3-4 matches, not sure if it's bothering him and he takes fewer shots lately.
In that video from Kings social media with Isaac Jones baby photo, LaVine initially refuses to guess who it is (even though it is obvious) saying that he is in the team only for a day or something. Fultz replied instantly that has less days as part of the team.
Next match vs the Hornets will be tricky, they always gave us trouble the past few years even though we were the heavy favorites on paper, they might do that again now that we seem to struggle.