This team has turned the corner?? CELEBRATION!

[sactownfan]

I think this team has officially been reborn!

I mean we all know paul west was bad... but jeez, evans and this team literally have been given new life... and are starting to resemble the young talented team we were expecting to see this year.

just imagine if Smart had twice the amount of practice time? or had been the coach from the beginning of the season... or even had an offseason to be coach.. ???

things I'm pumped about...

Keith Smart- amazing... not perfect... but so far so amazing. made this team watchable again. appears to have actual basketball sense, and a pair of working eyes... I'm thankful that i never have to see Jimmer at Small Forward again (or guarding a SF). Smart could very well be the best offseason move we made and could very well be the new permeant coach if this keeps up.

IT!- wow not bad for the last pick in the draft... #7 on the ESPN rookie rankings and rising... plus that BLOCK!!!! MAN HES GOT A MOTOR! continues to awe with over the top scrappy defense and a offensive spark that has either saved games for us. or at least given us a shot to get back into it... reminding me a little of Bobby Jackson. this little guy is the real deal! he's shown that he can handle big time "game on the line'' mins. and execute. he's a rookie and makes mistakes... but i think he's a winner and a keeper. just wondering what he could look like in a year or two with more practice and some more work... exciting stuff. the kid just loves the game and being given a chance to pursue his dream... totally loving this guy!

JT!- another wow! the guy has worked hard and its paying off... footwork and composure looks to be finally dialed in. playing at a much better tempo and not flying everywhere out of control 100mph... this guy is a rock for us and giving us what i think are some of the most consistent mins from anyone on this team. mistakes still there but very steady... big jump this year in his game... gotta extend or resign this guy!

Cousins- pretty much a beast... he's been pretty steady. fouls still an issue but improving... needs to finish at the rim with more explosiveness... his head seems to be on slightly straighter with Smart at the Helm... cross my fingers this lasts...

Evans- Ok first things first... I know i wasn't alone in ripping Evans after the way he started the year.. In fact i was completely convinced this team needed a true pass first PG and should consider using Evans to land that guy... the last 5 games Evans is avg 7 ast a game... thats on par with guys like andre miller, wall, and tony parker... wow! maybe he can play Point? i can't recall a player going from looking so passing inept to avg the 7 a game like he's doing now... what a turnaround... and so fast. unbelievable!

Salmons- the new kenny thomas! .... or not so fast... defense is directly affected by his offense apparently so heres hopping he can keep up what he did last night... actually did the things he was suppose to do last night and some... 3-4 3pts! we need that ... Evans is actually creating shots now, and finding guys spotting up... so hopefully that helps turn around Salmons year.

Thornton- well he's possibly the most clutch player we got... he's better than eric gordon and gordon is pretty good... great pick up for us and is a very solid piece... just needs to be 100% healthy

Jimmer- jimmer, jimmer, jimmer... what to do with you? if he plays last night we lose... on a positive note... he didn't, and he's a rookie... he has plenty of time to practice up and hopefully be good player... eventually... he's a great shooter and at worst case will be able to be a NBA level 3 specialist. he's flashed some all around skills but may just need more time to adjust from being Jimmer mania!!! to Jimmer the bench player. things just look mental for him, but that defense... it can only get better right??? so thats good.

the rest of the guys- everyone else just seems to be playing better in more together in general. Garcia, Donte, and Outlaw are all still in funks but thats really nothing new so its kinda a wash... not really bad, not really good.



anyway i bought the NBA package before last nights game after swearing i wouldn't because this team had been so awful. but i believe things have changed for the better. at least a little bit... and i backed it up by putting my money where my mouth is... it was a great first game to watch that wasn't bootleg... EXCITED TO SEE OUR "YOUNGEST TEAM IN THE NBA" FINALLY GROW SOME...

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

Jimmer- jimmer, jimmer, jimmer... what to do with you? if he plays last night we lose

Can I borrow your crystal ball? And maybe your rose colored glasses, too...

Really though, I don’t see any corners being turned. They haven’t looked like a complete disaster lately, which is an improvement but they still have a long ways to go to really compete in the west.

In the east maybe they could compete for a playoff spot this year but in the west I think they’re still about two years away.

 

[jcwkings]

we lost five in a row then beat a playoff team that plays bad on the road. it was a good win, but it shouldn't all of a sudden erase some of the losses we have had this season.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

we lost five in a row then beat a playoff team that plays bad on the road. it was a good win, but it shouldn't all of a sudden erase some of the losses we have had this season.

Not only that but Portland had two chances to send it to overtime. The Kings got lucky that both were misses. If one of those three goes in and Portland wins in OT, it's a whole other mood around here.

 

[IfAt1st]

uh, this is the prototypical absurdly optimistic post that should be ridiculed as much as the pessimistic posts are.

But it won't be.

Turned a corner? They won a game against a team that wasn't playing well, and doesn't play well on the road.

Let's AT LEAST wait until they win 1 well-played and well-fought game against a team with a winning record to even start thinking they've turned a corner, OK?
Until this Kings team can step up and close out tough-fought games in the 4th quarter, really any concept that they're a competitive team is ridiculous. All they've proven so far is that they keep making mistakes in close games, yet can still win a few of them.

BTW - projecting and estimating are not usually strong bets.
I'm waiting until they stop resembling these future versions of themselves, and start acting like them before getting excited.

These constant boom/bust reactions on this board are pretty predictable.
They lose a game bad, and people want to blow up the team and FO.
They win a close game and they're all "We've turned a corner!"

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

uh, this is the prototypical absurdly optimistic post that should be ridiculed as much as the pessimistic posts are.

But it won't be.

It's actually even more ridiculous than that though. He managed to work some Jimmer bashing into his "positive" post but no one will have a problem with it because Jimmer bashing is acceptable. now if he'd bashed Tyreke instead, the S would be hitting the fan.

 

[sactownfan]

Can I borrow your crystal ball? And maybe your rose colored glasses, too...

Really though, I don’t see any corners being turned. They haven’t looked like a complete disaster lately, which is an improvement but they still have a long ways to go to really compete in the west.

In the east maybe they could compete for a playoff spot this year but in the west I think they’re still about two years away.

crystal ball? did you see jimmer in the first meeting? pretty sure Keith Smart had a front row seat to that and learned his lesson... hence .... no jimmer vs the blazers ...

also although they're still losing over all .... they are looking better than when Paul Westfail was in charge... Evans like i pointed out is playing much better balanced, and unselfish basketball... which... seeing how he's a huge piece to this teams ability to compete is a very good thing...

Keith Smart has had virtually no practice time this year and change will be coming slower than it could during a normal season... but i can see the difference in that team that got destroyed in Westfails last game to now... this team is hanging in there now... mistakes and loses are still coming ... but for being the youngest team in the NBA i just wanna see growth and improvement... 5-4 at home this year

 

[ForlornKing]

KF.com never changes..........

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

crystal ball? did you see jimmer in the first meeting?

Did you see the whole team in their first two meeting? The Trailblazers just blew them out, plain and simple. I don't care how bad Jimmer was in those games one guy is never responsible for getting blown out. That's a team failure.

 

[BMiller52]

Can I borrow your crystal ball? And maybe your rose colored glasses, too...

Really though, I don’t see any corners being turned. They haven’t looked like a complete disaster lately, which is an improvement but they still have a long ways to go to really compete in the west.

In the east maybe they could compete for a playoff spot this year but in the west I think they’re still about two years away.

agreed, it's one game.

 

[Dime Dropper]

It's actually even more ridiculous than that though. He managed to work some Jimmer bashing into his "positive" post but no one will have a problem with it because Jimmer bashing is acceptable. now if he'd bashed Tyreke instead, the S would be hitting the fan.

You guys are ridiculous. Who here has agreed with the OP, or who do you think actually will? I'd bet very few. And the fact that you're comparing Jimmer's play to Tyreke shows how utterly pathetic your views on basketball are. I don't at all agree with criticising Jimmer in this particular instance, but he is nowhere near as talented as Tyreke, nor has he performed close to as well. There is no double standard on this board about Jimmer. People like him and want him to succeed, but for the most part, he has struggled. Obviously there are some exceptions, and no one should be overly harsh on him, but that is a fact. He's a rookie and will improve, and that's pretty much the end of it.


FTR, I think this team has a long, long way to go before it has turned the corner. But there's a reason people don't slate occasional optimism/homerismas opposed to constant idiotic, exaggerated criticism. Surely you can figure that one out yourself.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

It's actually even more ridiculous than that though. He managed to work some Jimmer bashing into his "positive" post but no one will have a problem with it because Jimmer bashing is acceptable. now if he'd bashed Tyreke instead, the S would be hitting the fan.

 

[sactownfan]

Did you see the whole team in their first two meeting? The Trailblazers just blew them out, plain and simple. I don't care how bad Jimmer was in those games one guy is never responsible for getting blown out. That's a team failure.

OMG... you are ridiculous... well apparently Keith Smart and I disagree with you.... so you can keep your great team failure theory ... or just accept that jimmer didn't play for a reason... the Keith Smart though it was best for our teams chances of winning that Jimmer sat on the bench for this one... theres no grey area... its black and white...

also so far I'm a little surprised that no one else shares the view that things might be turning around ... maybe slowly but wow! really! no one else is seeing anything different from Westfail to Smart??? no one else seeing Evans being called a PG and actually passing for 7 dimes a game all of a sudden?

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

And the fact that you're comparing Jimmer's play to Tyreke shows how utterly pathetic your views on basketball are

Rather, the fact that you think I compared their play shows how dismal you reading comprehension must be.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

OMG... you are ridiculous... well apparently Keith Smart and I disagree with you.... so you can keep your great team failure theory ... or just accept that jimmer didn't play for a reason... the Keith Smart though it was best for our teams chances of winning that Jimmer sat on the bench for this one... theres no grey area... its black and white...

also so far I'm a little surprised that no one else shares the view that things might be turning around ... maybe slowly but wow! really! no one else is seeing anything different from Westfail to Smart??? no one else seeing Evans being called a PG and actually passing for 7 dimes a game all of a sudden?

Been there done that. I recall twice under Westphal they had 4 game winning streaks. in 2009 they even started out 8 and 9, I believe. I got all excited thinking they were turning the corner only to see it all collapse like a house of cards. I've had it with the false hope and forced optimism. I want to see tangible improvement over the long term. I'm done getting excited over a few good games here and there.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Rather, the fact that you think I compared their play shows how dismal you reading comprehension must be.

Au contraire, you said Jimmer bashing is acceptable (it's clearly not - no player bashing is allowed and only idiots partake in such childish nonsense). All sactownfan did was give his opinion on whether Jimmer would have helped or hurt the team in this game. That is not bashing and in truth, he was probably correct in this instance, although I personally would have left it out as it wasn't completely necessary. You compared this Jimmer "bashing" (which it wasn't) to bashing Tyreke (by bashing, I'm presuming you mean criticising their play thus far, given that no actual bashing has occured in this thread). I've pointed out how idiotic of you it was to compare the criticism of Tyreke's play to the criticism of Jimmer's. Which it is. Now run along and find something else that you think you should be rebelling against.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

Au contraire, you said Jimmer bashing is acceptable (it's clearly not - no player bashing is allowed and only idiots partake in such childish nonsense). All sactownfan did was give his opinion on whether Jimmer would have helped or hurt the team in this game. That is not bashing and in truth, he was probably correct in this instance, although I personally would have left it out as it wasn't completely necessary. You compared this Jimmer "bashing" (which it wasn't) to bashing Tyreke (by bashing, I'm presuming you mean criticising their play thus far, given that no actual bashing has occured in this thread). I've pointed out how idiotic of you it was to compare the criticism of Tyreke's play to the criticism of Jimmer's. Which it is. Now run along and find something else that you think you should be rebelling against.

LOL! Pointing out double standards has nothing to do with rebellion. i'm just the type of person who calls BS when I see it. As for "I've pointed out how idiotic of you it was to compare the criticism of Tyreke's play to the criticism of Jimmer's", that proves nothing. That one players is better than another is irrelevant here unless you're suggesting that it should be OK to bash players when they're playing bad. And even in that case, there's a lot of hypocrisy around here.

 

[sactownfan]

hey we one a game! but to turn around and beat a team that just crushed us... i can see a difference! Evans is posing numbers like his rookie year... and his ast are spiking way up... were 5-4 at home!

 

[Larry89]

game winning plays were on 1 on 1 drives by tyreke and thorton. not that impressed

 

[Glenn]

OMG... you are ridiculous... well apparently Keith Smart and I disagree with you.... so you can keep your great team failure theory ... or just accept that jimmer didn't play for a reason... the Keith Smart though it was best for our teams chances of winning that Jimmer sat on the bench for this one... theres no grey area... its black and white...

also so far I'm a little surprised that no one else shares the view that things might be turning around ... maybe slowly but wow! really! no one else is seeing anything different from Westfail to Smart??? no one else seeing Evans being called a PG and actually passing for 7 dimes a game all of a sudden?

I tend to be more optimistic than pessimistic when it comes to the Kings. I agree in general with your sentiment. I also am tired of defending optimism to people who find that attitude unacceptable.

 

[Glenn]

game winning plays were on 1 on 1 drives by tyreke and thorton. not that impressed

Perfect example.

 

[Dime Dropper]

What part of I did not compare their play are you having trouble with here? Rebelling? LOL! Pointing out double standards has nothing to do with rebellion. i'm just the type of person who calls BS when I see it.

It appears that you're the one having trouble with comprehension. I've already pointed it out. If you're unable to grasp it, why don't we go a different route?

Where did the OP bash Jimmer? He gave his opinion on whether he thought he would have helped in this particular game. That is not bashing. You're being dramatic to try to highlight an issue that doesn't exist.

Unless you think people are discussing Tyreke and Jimmer as people, it's pretty OBVIOUS you're talking about bashing their play. What else would you be comparing if not their play? If there is some part of this you would like to object to, feel free! Otherwise, you're attempt to wriggle out of your childish statement is futile.

 

[rainmaker]

It appears that you're the one having trouble with comprehension. I've already pointed it out. If you're unable to grasp it, why don't we go a different route?

Where did the OP bash Jimmer? He gave his opinion on whether he thought he would have helped in this particular game. That is not bashing. You're being dramatic to try to highlight an issue that doesn't exist.

Unless you think people are discussing Tyreke and Jimmer as people, it's pretty OBVIOUS you're talking about bashing their play. What else would you be comparing if not their play? If there is some part of this you would like to object to, feel free! Otherwise, you're attempt to wriggle out of your childish statement is futile.

I agree with you. Sactownfan has bashed Jimmer before, and it was obvious to just about everyone.

Don't think he bashed Jimmer at all here. In fact, I think this was one of the better, objective posts by sactownfan.

Jimmer- jimmer, jimmer, jimmer... what to do with you? if he plays last night we lose... on a positive note... he didn't, and he's a rookie... he has plenty of time to practice up and hopefully be good player... eventually... he's a great shooter and at worst case will be able to be a NBA level 3 specialist. he's flashed some all around skills but may just need more time to adjust from being Jimmer mania!!! to Jimmer the bench player. things just look mental for him, but that defense... it can only get better right??? so thats good.

There's actually a lot of truth in this. I see zero bashing. I think Por would have killed Jimmer defensively. What, is Jimmer going to guard Felton or JC? No way. Smart couldn't hide him against Curry/Monta against GS either. Tried him on a sf and that obviously didn't work.

It's one game. Put your head down and continue to work your *** off.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

It appears that you're the one having trouble with comprehension. I've already pointed it out. If you're unable to grasp it, why don't we go a different route?

Where did the OP bash Jimmer? He gave his opinion on whether he thought he would have helped in this particular game. That is not bashing. You're being dramatic to try to highlight an issue that doesn't exist.

Unless you think people are discussing Tyreke and Jimmer as people, it's pretty OBVIOUS you're talking about bashing their play. What else would you be comparing if not their play? If there is some part of this you would like to object to, feel free! Otherwise, you're attempt to wriggle out of your childish statement is futile.

I made a mistake there, my bad. Doesn't change anything else I said though. There is an obvious double standard on this board where it's acceptable to bash certain players but not others. it's also acceptable for certain forum members to make personal attack but not others, etc. I don't object to the criticism or attacks. I'm pretty much a free expression absolutist in those regards. I'm not in favor of any policy, rule, attitude, etc. that stifles free expression. My goal is merely to expose the hypocrisy that I see.

 

[sactownfan]

game winning plays were on 1 on 1 drives by tyreke and thorton. not that impressed

yeah ... but ... the end of games and or quarters usually involves running an iso for your best players.... I'm happy now its more at the end of quarters than the offense we run the whole game

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

Perfect example.

Perfect example of what? Seems you're the one who finds other views unacceptable.

 

[Hoovtrain]

Kingfans.com in general (not this particular thread) has officially jumped the shark.

 

[sactownfan]

Smart credits practice for improved play

In Smart’s first two weeks as head coach, the Kings played nine games in 14 nights, leaving them very little time to work on their shortcomings.

Since last week’s embarrassing blowout to the Denver Nuggets, the Kings have found some relief in their schedule, which provided five days of practice time before yesterday’s win over the Trailblazers.

“This team is a team that needs to practice,” said Smart, who for the first time since January 5th has the full roster at his disposal. “When we get quality practice in, our season won’t allow it, but when we get a couple days, we can reinforce a lot of things like how we want to trap, how we want to rotate. And we can break everything down and do it.”

The Kings have talented players practically at every position. But with the roster’s average age of 24.69, the Kings are the youngest team in the league. With so little workout time until recently, Thornton believes they’ve missed the reinforcement provided by practice.

“We’re a young team and we have a lot of stuff,” Thornton began. “A lot of stuff to (work on) to make us the team we want to be.”

Teammate Thomas thinks the extra time in the film room has helped. Seeing their faults on offense and defense is a big plus, according to the rookie point guard.

“The more practice time we get, the better we’re going to be as a team,” Thomas said. ”Because we need to see our mistakes. We need to capitalize on our mistakes and make them into positives.”

 

[rainmaker]

I made a mistake there, my bad. Doesn't change anything else I said though. There is an obvious double standard on this board where it's acceptable to bash certain players but not others. it's also acceptable for certain forum members to make personal attack but not others, etc. I don't object to the criticism or attacks. I'm pretty much a free expression absolutist in those regards. I'm not in favor of any policy, rule, attitude, etc. that stifles free expression. My goal is merely to expose the hypocrisy that I see.

If you're goal is to merely expose hypocracy, how about looking in the mirror. Your post from the game thread against GS:

I feel like the Kings have a better team or at least a better future on paper but the Warriors are playing better in reality. The Warriors are looking at this game as an easy win for sure. I can't believe I've lowered my expectations this far, but I'll be happy regardless of the outcome as long as they don't get blown out.

As soon as that game ended, even though we were close to winning at the end, and stumbled in the last few minutes, you started complaining. Then we win last night, and you continue to complain. What ever happened to being happy as long as we don't get blown out?

 

[IfAt1st]

DimeDropper personally attacked RotD twice on page 1 alone.

Go look at the wording - he's not just attacking the opinion, he's attacking the person.