Fire Paul Westphal

[bajaden]

I will say something positive in Westphal's behalf. I don't think the team has given up on him, or as they say, quit on him. How much that has to do with their confidence in Westphal, or just their will to win, I don't know, so I'll give the credit to Westphal. He does seem to have arrived at a starting lineup, regardless of how long we might think it should have taken. I'm still befuddled by some of his substitutions, but in general the team seems to be playing better. I'll leave you with a quote from an article I read today about another team..


With Roy out, Matthews has taken on a bigger offensive role. He was averaging 18.7 points in 29 starts entering Wednesday.

"I thought early he came out trying to prove he was a better offensive player and really didn't have that flow," McMillan said. "But once he got into the starting lineup and his minutes increased, he played better. I don't think he was pressing as much because he was getting the minutes."

Sometimes you have to give a player time to adjust to whatever role your asking him to accept. And that has been my main point with this team. Its hard for a player to adjust when he's starting one game and getting a DNP the next. So I hope Westphal sticks with this lineup and tightens up his rotation a little more.
.

 

[FaStRmAn]

I don't think they should fire PW. He is serving the purpose he was hired to do. He was not hired for his coaching prowess, he was hired to watch over this group of very young not quite NBA players and just try to teach them the basics as they become mature Moldable Players that a good coach can use. It is pretty obvious that he is not a top flight coach. He was hired because he was cheap and available. Does anyone think that PW is the answer as coach? Let's be serious! PW is a fairly lousy coach, but he certainly makes a good babysitter. Next year new CBA, new Free Agents, and a new coach who can really coach.

 

[Merdiesel]

up 4 under 30 seconds left to go. The only shot you absolutely do not want to give up is a 3. What does our team do. Gives up a wide open 3 to the team that shoots more damn 3s than any other team.

I know we're not winning anything this year but these are games we should be winning!
Get rid of Westphal! The guys is an idiot!

 

[theclash4u5]

up 4 under 30 seconds left to go. The only shot you absolutely do not want to give up is a 3. What does our team do. Gives up a wide open 3 to the team that shoots more damn 3s than any other team.

I know we're not winning anything this year but these are games we should be winning!
Get rid of Westphal! The guys is an idiot!

But Westfail can't make the FTs! /sarcasm

 

[steelevt]

up 4 under 30 seconds left to go. The only shot you absolutely do not want to give up is a 3. What does paul westphal go out on the court and do. Gives up a wide open 3 to the team that shoots more damn 3s than any other team.

I know we're not winning anything this year but these are games we should be winning!
Get rid of Westphal! The guys is an idiot!

here i fixed it for you. i over heard westphal tell the team to leave them open for the 3 during the time out. lets place the blame where it should go

actually someone brought up a good point when we were up 99-90 and we went to a zone and curry hit the 3. that i admit is on westphal. but i stand by my opinion that the players missing FTs loss this game

 

[SacTownKid]

Well, if the team completely winged that dumb*** ally oop to end the 4th then I think Westphal deserves a medal for not strangling his players. Problem is, just not seeing anything brilliant at all as far as the play calling goes. I see some really dumb stuff consistently with how the team is set up. Can't really blame the players for floundering on failed logic. They are not completely innocent by any stretch, they're young, what's Westphals excuse? At the Junior college level this stuff worked?

 

[Section 101]

here i fixed it for you. i over heard westphal tell the team to leave them open for the 3 during the time out. lets place the blame where it should go

actually someone brought up a good point when we were up 99-90 and we went to a zone and curry hit the 3. that i admit is on westphal. but i stand by my opinion that the players missing FTs loss this game

They were not in a zone. Evans went under the pick freeing up Ellis. Evans always goes under the picks.

 

[Kingstime]

They were not in a zone. Evans went under the pick freeing up Ellis. Evans always goes under the picks.

If qe are talking about the 3 that Curry sank to start the 9 zip run they were most definately in a zone. I seem to be the only one that reaally saw something off about that, those are the little things I don't understand about PWs coaching. He seems to shoot himself in the foot with his coaching desions as the players do with their play.

 

[vikinginferno]

up 4 under 30 seconds left to go. The only shot you absolutely do not want to give up is a 3. What does our team do. Gives up a wide open 3 to the team that shoots more damn 3s than any other team.

I know we're not winning anything this year but these are games we should be winning!
Get rid of Westphal! The guys is an idiot!

Please watch that three again. That was nowhere near wide open. He had a hand in his face and made a great shot, so you tip your hat to that and go to the other side and make free throws. That's all we needed, to shoot more than 1 out of 2 free throws just one of the times we went to the line. Westphal does not go free in the loss, but this game was largely lost on the free throw line. Beno should have definitely kept the ball instead of giving it to Pooh and making the rookie shoot those free throws.

 

[bajaden]

Please watch that three again. That was nowhere near wide open. He had a hand in his face and made a great shot, so you tip your hat to that and go to the other side and make free throws. That's all we needed, to shoot more than 1 out of 2 free throws just one of the times we went to the line. Westphal does not go free in the loss, but this game was largely lost on the free throw line. Beno should have definitely kept the ball instead of giving it to Pooh and making the rookie shoot those free throws.

The game was largely lost when we turned the ball over three times in a row when we had a nine pt lead. If we had scored just once in those three trips down the floor we win the game and the missed freethrows don't matter.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

They were not in a zone. Evans went under the pick freeing up Ellis. Evans always goes under the picks.

Evans doesn't go under picks. Evans goes up to the pick, says hi, inquires about his girlfriend/wife, asks if he's got any hot stock tips, compliments him on his shoes, then gives the pick his regrets, as Tyreke really has somewhere he ought to be going.

 

[ArcoKings]

PW= you get what you pay for. Its not ALL of PWs fault for the Kings' play and record as he doesn't have too much to work with but a change is in order. This happens in sports all of the time. IMO, PW is worse than Mussleman and Theus. I like PW but at this juncture he's not a good fit for a young team. He's only the Kings' coach because he came cheap which the Maloofs truly love. He needed the work so he accepted. I'm not surprised at all.

 

[Spike]

P PW is worse than Mussleman and Theus.

Crazy talk. Theus had a huuuge ego, which I don't think would have helped with Cousins. Muss? He's in the NBDL handing out Kings prospects DNP-CDs like they're candy. PW may not be the best long-term fit, but I wouldn't throw him under those two guys.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Don't really mean to throw a log on the fire badum bum... but i found this quote from Kris Humphries interesting

""I may not be starting, but I'm playing minutes every night," Humphries said. "A lot of things factor into that. The NBA is a tough place if you're in one moment, out the next moment and you don't know if you're going to play in a game or not. Guys who don't play every night, that's one of the toughest things to do in the league."

However, things have settled down a little bit on the lineup changes lately

 

[PurpleHaze]

Can we finally close this endless thread. Well, not really but I bet it just dies a slow death over the next month. Westphal has gotten to the half way point in season and will surely finish the year as head coach. Kings will now probably get close to number of wins last season - 25. Heck, they might even win closer to 30. Actually, I bet a lot of Kings fans want them to absolutly win less than last season just to insure the ping pong balls are more favorable. Unfortunately, upcoming draft appears to have no Blake Griffin types, no John Wall types. It has some talent no doubt, but probably 1-5 is not much different than 6-10.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

Kings will now probably get close to number of wins last season - 25. Heck, they might even win closer to 30. Actually,

Have you looked at the schedule from here on out? They'll be very lucky to win 20. 25 would be amazing. 30, well, 30 would be a bona fide miracle. To win 30, they'd have to go 20 and 20 to finish the season. They have a better chance of signing Carmelo Anthony than playing 500 basketball for the rest of the season. More likely they'll finish somewhere around 16-18 wins. Which is great because even if there are no Blake Griffin types this year, a top 4 pick certainly is something to be excited about, even if just looked at as trade bait.

 

[Section 101]

Can we finally close this endless thread. Well, not really but I bet it just dies a slow death over the next month. Westphal has gotten to the half way point in season and will surely finish the year as head coach. Kings will now probably get close to number of wins last season - 25. Heck, they might even win closer to 30. Actually, I bet a lot of Kings fans want them to absolutly win less than last season just to insure the ping pong balls are more favorable. Unfortunately, upcoming draft appears to have no Blake Griffin types, no John Wall types. It has some talent no doubt, but probably 1-5 is not much different than 6-10.

Over the past 82 games the Kings are 20-62. They arent improving even though the talent is better the last 42 games and the have been together longer.

25 wins is a very long shot. Their current pace is still 18 games. He's worse than a Natt team that gave up 3/4 way through the season.

 

[pshn80]

Over the past 82 games the Kings are 20-62. They arent improving even though the talent is better the last 42 games and the have been together longer.

25 wins is a very long shot. Their current pace is still 18 games. He's worse than a Natt team that gave up 3/4 way through the season.

Interesting stat analysis. I like Westphal. Let's keep him. If someone wants, it's OK with me if you want to keep this thread. It's a vent, not for me, but for some.

 

[bajaden]

Can we finally close this endless thread. Well, not really but I bet it just dies a slow death over the next month. Westphal has gotten to the half way point in season and will surely finish the year as head coach. Kings will now probably get close to number of wins last season - 25. Heck, they might even win closer to 30. Actually, I bet a lot of Kings fans want them to absolutly win less than last season just to insure the ping pong balls are more favorable. Unfortunately, upcoming draft appears to have no Blake Griffin types, no John Wall types. It has some talent no doubt, but probably 1-5 is not much different than 6-10.

I think Kyle Irving falls into the John Wall type catagory, and he reminds me a lot in the short look I had of Chris Paul in style of play. I will guarantee you right now that there will be 2 to 3 stars that come out of this draft, and maybe 4 or 5. The trick is to weed them out. If I have my choice I still like having the first pick in the draft. Nothing worse than sitting there an hoping the guy you want will be there. You can't keep counting on having Minnesota picking in front of you every time.

 

[bajaden]

Have you looked at the schedule from here on out? They'll be very lucky to win 20. 25 would be amazing. 30, well, 30 would be a bona fide miracle. To win 30, they'd have to go 20 and 20 to finish the season. They have a better chance of signing Carmelo Anthony than playing 500 basketball for the rest of the season. More likely they'll finish somewhere around 16-18 wins. Which is great because even if there are no Blake Griffin types this year, a top 4 pick certainly is something to be excited about, even if just looked at as trade bait.

I have to agree with you on this one. The upcoming schedule is a tough one. If the Kings had been playing this well at the beginning of the season they probably have 15 to 17 wins right now. Hey, I'll never say never, because crazier things have happened, but I'm not going to put any money down on it. Right now just 20 wins looks like a long shot, but feasable. 25 would be a remarkable comeback.

 

[Section 101]

So for those who don't beleive a coach has much influence over wins/losses how do you explain the bobcats?

Larry Brown 9-19
Paul Silas 9-6

Same players different results.

Paul Silas would have been perfect for the Kings instead of Westfail. But I didnt think he was going to coach again after the cancer.

 

[JJ22L]

So for those who don't beleive a coach has much influence over wins/losses how do you explain the bobcats?

Larry Brown 9-19
Paul Silas 9-6

Same players different results.

Paul Silas would have been perfect for the Kings instead of Westfail. But I didnt think he was going to coach again after the cancer.

I understand your argument. However, there is such thing as a "honeymoon period." I have seen players turn it on for a new coach simply because a.) he is new and they feel like they need to build credibility and b.) they are just relieved to be rid of their old coach and feel like they have more freedom.

When Silas has 30 games under his belt, let's re-evaluate his record and I will concede defeat if they are still .500+.

Disclaimer - this is NOT at all me advocating keeping Westphal.

 

[Bricklayer]

I rather doubt Westphal gets fired now.

a) he's come this far

b) the Maloofs publicly said he was going to be there all season

c) the Maloofs gave him an extension in the offseason, and are financially hurting and not going to be eager to pay 2 coaches at once

d) the last time we fired a coach midseason we got the Natt disaster, adn that will make anybody gunshy

e) the team has started to paly much much better, and despite all the losing the team does not appear to have quit on Westphal. Still playing hard, just not always smart.

f) his rotations have finally started to solidify, and while this has passed unnoticed, and Donte of course continues to be jerked around, the rotations have solidifed with virtually all of the main youth starting (Cousins, Thompson, Casspi, Reke) or in major roles.

g) the playoffs are already out of reach, so there is no season to save so to speak


It just all adds up to him probably continuing to caretaker it for the rest of the season.

 

[Section 101]

I understand your argument. However, there is such thing as a "honeymoon period." I have seen players turn it on for a new coach simply because a.) he is new and they feel like they need to build credibility and b.) they are just relieved to be rid of their old coach and feel like they have more freedom.

When Silas has 30 games under his belt, let's re-evaluate his record and I will concede defeat if they are still .500+.

Disclaimer - this is NOT at all me advocating keeping Westphal.

But if they "turn it on" for the new coach that means they either weren't giving it all for the old one or the old one wasn't getting it out of them.

Maybe the new coach is just better and has the right plays for the players.

 

[Section 101]

I rather doubt Westphal gets fired now.

a) he's come this far

b) the Maloofs publicly said he was going to be there all season

c) the Maloofs gave him an extension in the offseason, and are financially hurting and not going to be eager to pay 2 coaches at once

d) the last time we fired a coach midseason we got the Natt disaster, adn that will make anybody gunshy

e) the team has started to paly much much better, and despite all the losing the team does not appear to have quit on Westphal. Still playing hard, just not always smart.

f) his rotations have finally started to solidify, and while this has passed unnoticed, and Donte of course continues to be jerked around, the rotations have solidifed with virtually all of the main youth starting (Cousins, Thompson, Casspi, Reke) or in major roles.

g) the playoffs are already out of reach, so there is no season to save so to speak


It just all adds up to him probably continuing to caretaker it for the rest of the season.

I don't disagree that he wont get fired if things stay the same. It would take something happening at this point. And only for financial reasons. The problem is I don't see him developing any other the players. They have remained the same or gotten worse.

 

[bajaden]

I don't disagree that he wont get fired if things stay the same. It would take something happening at this point. And only for financial reasons. The problem is I don't see him developing any other the players. They have remained the same or gotten worse.

I agree with Bricky, and I agree with you. Leaves me in an uncomfortable quandry. Hmmmm! Maybe I'm too agreeable..

 

[Superman]

I don't disagree that he wont get fired if things stay the same. It would take something happening at this point. And only for financial reasons. The problem is I don't see him developing any other the players. They have remained the same or gotten worse.

I could see him getting fired with a month or less to go in the season, just to see how the team responds to a new voice. But not in the anticipation that we'd suddenly be a good team and make a run or anything. Just as a "we know we're not bringing him back next year, let's see just how much of the problem was coaching, and how much was poor play" kind of thing. And with a high profile assistant like Elie on the bench, we could make him interim head coach and see if he can earn a legitimate look to get the full-time job. Kind of like Scotty Brooks.

 

[Kings Fan Gerard]

the Kings are 10-33 right? Jason Jones said on Twitter that in 16 of the Kings' losses, they actually led in the 4th. Had they won all of those games, they'd have a record of 26 and 17 right now. I mean the Kings had a shot to win those games but they just couldn't close it out. I think half of the blame is due to the inexperience of the team and the other half is due to poor coaching. And Westphal killed this team's confidence because of his roller coaster line up changes.

 

[UK_King]

bobcats had a few injuries in that stretch just before brown got fired if i remember correctly, could just be a case of the talent coming back.

in other news jason williams waived by magic.

 

[Bricklayer]

in other news jason williams waived by magic.

that actualy would be an interesting little note, and JWill could come full circle to finish things. The only problem with that scenario is the two possibilities are that a) Jason it totally done as an NBA player, and you can't really lead from the 12th man/practice player positions; and b) if on the other hand he's not totally done as a player, just down the road in Florida there is a certain Miami Heat team still without a PG and with a champinship history with Jason.