Tyreke Evans not likely to recieve extension

[Uncia03]

I'm going to play devils advocate here, and defend Smart a little. Personally, I don't think he's gotten a fair shake. He inherited an unbalanced team with no training camp and little practice time to install much of anything. He's accused of playing small ball, but when you look at the roster, he didn't have a whole lot of choice at times. If you took Cuz and JT off the court, your backup center was 6'6" Hayes. He had Hickson for a short spell and then that option was gone. He tried Greene and Outlaw at PF, and that didn't work. He probably had front office pressure to get Jimmer minutes. So he probably thought the only way to get wins, was to out quick other teams. Thusly, he installed IT at the point.

Much is made of the fact that he was an assistant under Nellie, who loves small ball. But somehow everyone conviently forgets he was an assistant under Pops as well at San Antonio. I like that he's installing San Antonio's summer training, hands on approach with the Kings. I think he did a great job of getting much better basketball and attitude from Cousins. JT had his best year under Smart. Not sure how much of that Smart is responsible for, but if you going to criticize all the bad things, then give him credit for the good things.

So personally, I'm going to wait and see how he does with a (hopefully) more balanced roster. Would I prefer a Sloan or a Van Gundy for this team? Yeah, I would, but I think its fair at this point to give Smart the opportunity to see if his offseason system bears any fruit.

I guess at the end of the day I don't trust Smart, and because of that I'm expecting to start of the season with a losing record, players getting frustrated, and Smart ultimately getting fired mid-season or at the end of the season. Oh, and we'll end up with a losing record and in the lottery again.

If Smart starts of the season as our head coach, I'm sad to admit that the above scenario is how I expect things to play out.

I don't want it to play out that way, and I'd be perfectly happy to have a winning season and a chance at the 8th seed under Smart, I just don't expect that to happen.

And I think the primary reason I feel this way is due to how Smart handled both the offense and defense last season.

He basically said, "Our guys don't know how to play in the half-court, so we're going to become a running team."

Now our two cornerstone players are both built for the half-court game. (DMC and Tyreke so there is no confusion)
Rather than lose games while trying to put together an offense that will have success in the future, he implemented an offense which not only doesn't suit our two best players, but also marginalized Tyreke at the SF position. All the while...losing games at a faster clip than before a running style was implemented.

I have no problems being a fast running team. (Both the Thunder and Miami are running teams)
I do have problems when a half-court offense isn't being taught AND the defense gets worse due to the running offense. (Both the Thunder and Miami are good defensive teams)

This team is a mess and it's frustrating because at the end of the previous season we were so close to having all the pieces needed to win at the highest levels.

So there is no question that the roster has to be changed in order to win, but my frustration with Smart is that he did absolutely nothing to help prepare this team to win the future. And if you're going to lose a lot of games, at the very least you should be learning how play so that you can win in the future.

Can anyone say that Tyreke and Cousins spent an entire year last year gaining chemistry on the court to assist in making them a dominant 1-2 punch in the future?
I didn't see it, and to me it just felt like a completely wasted season with no growth or developed chemistry.

 

[Spike]

I guess at the end of the day I don't trust Smart, and because of that I'm expecting to start of the season with a losing record, players getting frustrated, and Smart ultimately getting fired mid-season or at the end of the season. Oh, and we'll end up with a losing record and in the lottery again.

If Smart starts of the season as our head coach, I'm sad to admit that the above scenario is how I expect things to play out.

I don't want it to play out that way, and I'd be perfectly happy to have a winning season and a chance at the 8th seed under Smart, I just don't expect that to happen.

And I think the primary reason I feel this way is due to how Smart handled both the offense and defense last season.

He basically said, "Our guys don't know how to play in the half-court, so we're going to become a running team."

Now our two cornerstone players are both built for the half-court game. (DMC and Tyreke so there is no confusion)
Rather than lose games while trying to put together an offense that will have success in the future, he implemented an offense which not only doesn't suit our two best players, but also marginalized Tyreke at the SF position. All the while...losing games at a faster clip than before a running style was implemented.

I have no problems being a fast running team. (Both the Thunder and Miami are running teams)
I do have problems when a half-court offense isn't being taught AND the defense gets worse due to the running offense. (Both the Thunder and Miami are good defensive teams)

This team is a mess and it's frustrating because at the end of the previous season we were so close to having all the pieces needed to win at the highest levels.

So there is no question that the roster has to be changed in order to win, but my frustration with Smart is that he did absolutely nothing to help prepare this team to win the future. And if you're going to lose a lot of games, at the very least you should be learning how play so that you can win in the future.

Can anyone say that Tyreke and Cousins spent an entire year last year gaining chemistry on the court to assist in making them a dominant 1-2 punch in the future?
I didn't see it, and to me it just felt like a completely wasted season with no growth or developed chemistry.

Agree on all counts.

 

[kingjatt]

I guess at the end of the day I don't trust Smart, and because of that I'm expecting to start of the season with a losing record, players getting frustrated, and Smart ultimately getting fired mid-season or at the end of the season. Oh, and we'll end up with a losing record and in the lottery again.

If Smart starts of the season as our head coach, I'm sad to admit that the above scenario is how I expect things to play out.

I don't want it to play out that way, and I'd be perfectly happy to have a winning season and a chance at the 8th seed under Smart, I just don't expect that to happen.

And I think the primary reason I feel this way is due to how Smart handled both the offense and defense last season.

He basically said, "Our guys don't know how to play in the half-court, so we're going to become a running team."

Now our two cornerstone players are both built for the half-court game. (DMC and Tyreke so there is no confusion)
Rather than lose games while trying to put together an offense that will have success in the future, he implemented an offense which not only doesn't suit our two best players, but also marginalized Tyreke at the SF position. All the while...losing games at a faster clip than before a running style was implemented.

I have no problems being a fast running team. (Both the Thunder and Miami are running teams)
I do have problems when a half-court offense isn't being taught AND the defense gets worse due to the running offense. (Both the Thunder and Miami are good defensive teams)

This team is a mess and it's frustrating because at the end of the previous season we were so close to having all the pieces needed to win at the highest levels.

So there is no question that the roster has to be changed in order to win, but my frustration with Smart is that he did absolutely nothing to help prepare this team to win the future. And if you're going to lose a lot of games, at the very least you should be learning how play so that you can win in the future.

Can anyone say that Tyreke and Cousins spent an entire year last year gaining chemistry on the court to assist in making them a dominant 1-2 punch in the future?
I didn't see it, and to me it just felt like a completely wasted season with no growth or developed chemistry.

i agree as well, if your going to lose why not let your core group lose together and not play musical-chairs with line-ups, put in a system, stick to it and dont panic, let them lose and grow together as the thunder did. theres no magical fix and it seems like the magoofs and petrie have been looking for that rather than doing it the hard way.

 

[Tyndel]

I guess at the end of the day I don't trust Smart, and because of that I'm expecting to start of the season with a losing record, players getting frustrated, and Smart ultimately getting fired mid-season or at the end of the season. Oh, and we'll end up with a losing record and in the lottery again.

If Smart starts of the season as our head coach, I'm sad to admit that the above scenario is how I expect things to play out.

I don't want it to play out that way, and I'd be perfectly happy to have a winning season and a chance at the 8th seed under Smart, I just don't expect that to happen.

And I think the primary reason I feel this way is due to how Smart handled both the offense and defense last season.

He basically said, "Our guys don't know how to play in the half-court, so we're going to become a running team."

Now our two cornerstone players are both built for the half-court game. (DMC and Tyreke so there is no confusion)
Rather than lose games while trying to put together an offense that will have success in the future, he implemented an offense which not only doesn't suit our two best players, but also marginalized Tyreke at the SF position. All the while...losing games at a faster clip than before a running style was implemented.

I have no problems being a fast running team. (Both the Thunder and Miami are running teams)
I do have problems when a half-court offense isn't being taught AND the defense gets worse due to the running offense. (Both the Thunder and Miami are good defensive teams)

This team is a mess and it's frustrating because at the end of the previous season we were so close to having all the pieces needed to win at the highest levels.

So there is no question that the roster has to be changed in order to win, but my frustration with Smart is that he did absolutely nothing to help prepare this team to win the future. And if you're going to lose a lot of games, at the very least you should be learning how play so that you can win in the future.

Can anyone say that Tyreke and Cousins spent an entire year last year gaining chemistry on the court to assist in making them a dominant 1-2 punch in the future?
I didn't see it, and to me it just felt like a completely wasted season with no growth or developed chemistry.

I agree also. We had a softball second half to the season that should have left us full of hope for next season. After a coaching change we knew we weren't going to the playoffs unless something amazing happened but instead we are left with going into next season wondering what style of ball we will play. That should have been worked out by the all star break.... And it almost was until we switched everything up.

 

[Glenn]

Oh, I agree 100%. I was just explaining why it's a big deal. And if Evans had improved each year instead of regressed it would be a lot more important.

He definitely wasn't as good a SF as a guard. That's his fault, huh?

 

[Glenn]

I'm going to play devils advocate here, and defend Smart a little. Personally, I don't think he's gotten a fair shake. He inherited an unbalanced team with no training camp and little practice time to install much of anything. He's accused of playing small ball, but when you look at the roster, he didn't have a whole lot of choice at times. If you took Cuz and JT off the court, your backup center was 6'6" Hayes. He had Hickson for a short spell and then that option was gone. He tried Greene and Outlaw at PF, and that didn't work. He probably had front office pressure to get Jimmer minutes. So he probably thought the only way to get wins, was to out quick other teams. Thusly, he installed IT at the point.

Much is made of the fact that he was an assistant under Nellie, who loves small ball. But somehow everyone conviently forgets he was an assistant under Pops as well at San Antonio. I like that he's installing San Antonio's summer training, hands on approach with the Kings. I think he did a great job of getting much better basketball and attitude from Cousins. JT had his best year under Smart. Not sure how much of that Smart is responsible for, but if you going to criticize all the bad things, then give him credit for the good things.

So personally, I'm going to wait and see how he does with a (hopefully) more balanced roster. Would I prefer a Sloan or a Van Gundy for this team? Yeah, I would, but I think its fair at this point to give Smart the opportunity to see if his offseason system bears any fruit.

I agree with you in defense of Smart. Let us say a TENTATIVE defense of Smart. He approached his new position and took an out of sync team and methodically got the team to at least be exciting to watch offensively. We belittled him on the way as to his substitution patterns, the use of Tyreke, etc. but by the end of the season, many things were straightened out. We'll see next year what his true stripes are.

It still aggravates the (insert your most popular four letter word) out of me he was extended him so soon. What was the rush? It slammed the door on options right then and there. What if, and I do say "what if," Sloan was thinking that he had enough money and that getting a high salary was not the most important thing in life and he'd like the challenge of a new city with great fans?

There ARE people who do such things for the change of pace and new challenge.

Ah, well, water under the bridge.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

He basically said, "Our guys don't know how to play in the half-court, so we're going to become a running team

I interpreted it as I don't know how to call any sets in half court well so lets run.

 

[Uncia03]

I agree with you in defense of Smart. Let us say a TENTATIVE defense of Smart. He approached his new position and took an out of sync team and methodically got the team to at least be exciting to watch offensively. We belittled him on the way as to his substitution patterns, the use of Tyreke, etc. but by the end of the season, many things were straightened out. We'll see next year what his true stripes are.

I don't get this at all.

Is that the goal of the coach? To make the team exciting to watch offensively? Really?

Also, you mention that many things were straigtened out by the end of the season. I have to ask, what are those things that got straightened out?

Do we know who our starting PG is? (IT could end up coming off the bench or starting, or could be traded for a different piece.)

Do we know who our starting SG is? (If IT starts does that move Thornton to the bench?)

Are we going to continue to play Tyreke at the SF spot or move him back to lead guard like Smart indicated in his last interview?

Do we know who is going to be the starting big next to Cousins? (Is it JT and will we re-sign him, or do we need to bring in a new starting quality big, preferably a defensive one?)

Did Terrence Williams play well enough to be offered a contract, and is there a spot available for him on the team to get minutes?

Did Tyreke and Cousins develop a half-court game to maximize their strengths to pick up easy baskets while in the half court?

These are all questions that jump to the top of my head with-out even having to give it any thought. I have more questions about this team and how it is going to play going forward than I did at the start of last season. So...what did Smart do this season to clear things up...other than making it clear for all of us to see that he isn't a SF? (Which we all knew before the experiment even began)

And yes, I'm not pleased that we offered him an extension as well...just doesn't make sense and could box us into a financial corner since the Maloofs are broke and less inclined to spend money on a decent coach, especially when they already have one under contract.

 

[Uncia03]

He basically said, "Our guys don't know how to play in the half-court, so we're going to become a running team

I interpreted it as I don't know how to call any sets in half court well so lets run.

Now as hard as I'm coming down on Smart...I will say that he wasn't given time to truly implement a new offense.
What bothers me is that he didn't seem to even try.

I will agree that you could easily make the assumption that he doesn't really know how to install a good half-court offense and so he went the running route...which is what he did at Golden State.

I don't know why, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he could implement a half-court offense if he wanted to, but he decided that he'd rather lose playing a running style (which is easier to coach) than lose trying to put a half-court offense together.

But your interpretation has just as much validity as mine. And if he is our head coach next season...we'll know for certain whether he is capable of putting together a half court offense, because if we try to run again next season with-out improving our half court offense and our defense, we'll be leading the charge right back into the lottery.

 

[mac]

Now as hard as I'm coming down on Smart...I will say that he wasn't given time to truly implement a new offense.
What bothers me is that he didn't seem to even try.

I will agree that you could easily make the assumption that he doesn't really know how to install a good half-court offense and so he went the running route...which is what he did at Golden State.

I don't know why, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he could implement a half-court offense if he wanted to, but he decided that he'd rather lose playing a running style (which is easier to coach) than lose trying to put a half-court offense together.

But your interpretation has just as much validity as mine. And if he is our head coach next season...we'll know for certain whether he is capable of putting together a half court offense, because if we try to run again next season with-out improving our half court offense and our defense, we'll be leading the charge right back into the lottery.

If it's any indication, even the trainers believe our team is going to be a running team (Sharpiro mentioned that Cuz needs to be able to run, and that the style of play in itself would allow him to keep his conditioning)

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I guess at the end of the day I don't trust Smart, and because of that I'm expecting to start of the season with a losing record, players getting frustrated, and Smart ultimately getting fired mid-season or at the end of the season. Oh, and we'll end up with a losing record and in the lottery again.

If Smart starts of the season as our head coach, I'm sad to admit that the above scenario is how I expect things to play out.

I don't want it to play out that way, and I'd be perfectly happy to have a winning season and a chance at the 8th seed under Smart, I just don't expect that to happen.

And I think the primary reason I feel this way is due to how Smart handled both the offense and defense last season.

He basically said, "Our guys don't know how to play in the half-court, so we're going to become a running team."

Now our two cornerstone players are both built for the half-court game. (DMC and Tyreke so there is no confusion)
Rather than lose games while trying to put together an offense that will have success in the future, he implemented an offense which not only doesn't suit our two best players, but also marginalized Tyreke at the SF position. All the while...losing games at a faster clip than before a running style was implemented.

I have no problems being a fast running team. (Both the Thunder and Miami are running teams)
I do have problems when a half-court offense isn't being taught AND the defense gets worse due to the running offense. (Both the Thunder and Miami are good defensive teams)

This team is a mess and it's frustrating because at the end of the previous season we were so close to having all the pieces needed to win at the highest levels.

So there is no question that the roster has to be changed in order to win, but my frustration with Smart is that he did absolutely nothing to help prepare this team to win the future. And if you're going to lose a lot of games, at the very least you should be learning how play so that you can win in the future.

Can anyone say that Tyreke and Cousins spent an entire year last year gaining chemistry on the court to assist in making them a dominant 1-2 punch in the future?
I didn't see it, and to me it just felt like a completely wasted season with no growth or developed chemistry.

I respectfully disagree with a lot of what you said here, but to just pick out one thing ... How is Tyreke built for the halfcourt game? Not to say he cannot be successful in the half court, but he has the ability, and has SHOWN the ability to be one of the best open court - fast break players in the NBA. When he is at his best he is an elite finisher, and an elite talent in terms of getting to the rim .. two things that make someone a great fast break basketball player. He's like a mini-Lebron in that respect... he can be an absolute freight train nightmare in the open court. In fact, my biggest problem with him as our point guard was that he wasn't pushing the ball enough.

Like you said, both the Thunder and the Heat push the ball whenever they can. The NBA is a transition game now. It's just the way it is. You have to push the ball up the court when you have the opportunity to do so.

YES, there are times... usually at the end of a game where you must be able to execute in the half court. And I think this is where Tyreke actually struggles. He can't shoot yet, and when the defense is set and he has the ball teams pack the paint on him. He needs the defense to be off balance (in a transition situation) to be successful at this point in his career.

This is why he is actually a good compliment to Cousins, who IS a better half court player. Half court - dump it down to Cousins. Fast break - Give the ball to Evans. That should be the offense at it's most basic level. And I actually think Smart is getting it. Slowly, but getting it. We finally started to go to Cuz at the end of games towards the end of the season. I know this because we have been waiting for it. Smart did it, it worked, and I thought 'what took him so long'. Hopefully this is a direction we keep heading in.

I also don't think the defense got worse because of the running offense.. I think the defense got worse because Evans was playing SF ... which meant we had NO above average defenders at any position in our starting lineup.

We can run with a starting unit of Thomas-Evans-MKG-PF(JT or someone else) and Cousins, and I'd be willing to bet our defense will also be better than it was this season. To REALLY improve though, we are going to have to do something about our interior defense. JT has made some strides in that area, but he clearly isn't good enough at it to cover up Cousins struggles.

I'm just ... not willing to accept the notion that Smart didn't teach any half court offense or defense. Maybe his teaching wasn't effective, but if he didn't address it he wouldn't have a job. It's fun to be snarky and joke about the awful coaches the Kings have had, but to suggest those guys didn't at least attempt to make our defense and offense better isn't really fair.

The bottom line - I think Smart did enough to justify another year. Like Baja said, in a vacuum, would I rather have either Van Gundy? sure. But this is the guy we have, and I THINK that with the right roster he can be good enough for us to win. I will say the thing I like most about him is that he shares a few non X's and O's traits with Doc Rivers. I would say both guys are players coaches who SEEM to get the most our of his players. The guys like to play for Smart. And Last year, considering the roster, I think Smart got the most out of just about everyone aside from Evans. I don't want to downplay that, because Evans is a HUGE part of our future, but 4 guys (Cousins, JT, Thomas, TWilliams) all had very good years under Smart. Thornton stayed about the same, and the rest of the roster was either hurt (Salmons, Hayes) or are fringe NBA players to begin with.

Oops. I didn't mean to go that long. Oh well, time for bed.

 

[Glenn]

I don't get this at all.

Is that the goal of the coach? To make the team exciting to watch offensively? Really?

Also, you mention that many things were straigtened out by the end of the season. I have to ask, what are those things that got straightened out?

Do we know who our starting PG is? (IT could end up coming off the bench or starting, or could be traded for a different piece.)

Do we know who our starting SG is? (If IT starts does that move Thornton to the bench?)

Are we going to continue to play Tyreke at the SF spot or move him back to lead guard like Smart indicated in his last interview?

Do we know who is going to be the starting big next to Cousins? (Is it JT and will we re-sign him, or do we need to bring in a new starting quality big, preferably a defensive one?)

Did Terrence Williams play well enough to be offered a contract, and is there a spot available for him on the team to get minutes?

Did Tyreke and Cousins develop a half-court game to maximize their strengths to pick up easy baskets while in the half court?

These are all questions that jump to the top of my head with-out even having to give it any thought. I have more questions about this team and how it is going to play going forward than I did at the start of last season. So...what did Smart do this season to clear things up...other than making it clear for all of us to see that he isn't a SF? (Which we all knew before the experiment even began)

And yes, I'm not pleased that we offered him an extension as well...just doesn't make sense and could box us into a financial corner since the Maloofs are broke and less inclined to spend money on a decent coach, especially when they already have one under contract.

Oh, calm down! He took a team with no offense and started out by creating two squads. There were the starters and the bench. He let them get used to each other and have some solidarity as two 5 man teams. We made fun of his mass substituting but I suspect he had some reasoning behind what he did. That's better than many coaches. He put Tyreke at SF because we had no SF on any quality. Did I like it? No! But it made sense.

By the end of the season he was substituing in a more normal manner.

That's all I'm going to say because I suspect you think I am full of **** and I'm not going to waste my time on you.

I didn't address your final salvo as I don't think most of what you said are Smart's decisons. They are up to Petrie.

 

[Kingster]

I'm going to play devils advocate here, and defend Smart a little. Personally, I don't think he's gotten a fair shake. He inherited an unbalanced team with no training camp and little practice time to install much of anything. He's accused of playing small ball, but when you look at the roster, he didn't have a whole lot of choice at times. If you took Cuz and JT off the court, your backup center was 6'6" Hayes. He had Hickson for a short spell and then that option was gone. He tried Greene and Outlaw at PF, and that didn't work. He probably had front office pressure to get Jimmer minutes. So he probably thought the only way to get wins, was to out quick other teams. Thusly, he installed IT at the point.

Much is made of the fact that he was an assistant under Nellie, who loves small ball. But somehow everyone conviently forgets he was an assistant under Pops as well at San Antonio. I like that he's installing San Antonio's summer training, hands on approach with the Kings. I think he did a great job of getting much better basketball and attitude from Cousins. JT had his best year under Smart. Not sure how much of that Smart is responsible for, but if you going to criticize all the bad things, then give him credit for the good things.

So personally, I'm going to wait and see how he does with a (hopefully) more balanced roster. Would I prefer a Sloan or a Van Gundy for this team? Yeah, I would, but I think its fair at this point to give Smart the opportunity to see if his offseason system bears any fruit.

I very much agree. I'd also add that until the Kings have a balanced roster this "small ball" dogma on this board is way overblown. We have to wait and see what Smart does with a balanced roster before going off the deep end on his supposed small ball fanatacism. Also, as I've watched these playoffs I've seen great coaches use small ball repeatedly. There's nothing wrong with it in smaller doses. We just have to have a balanced roster so that it can be used as a change of pace, not as a standard out of necessity.

 

[Uncia03]

I respectfully disagree with a lot of what you said here, but to just pick out one thing ... How is Tyreke built for the halfcourt game? Not to say he cannot be successful in the half court, but he has the ability, and has SHOWN the ability to be one of the best open court - fast break players in the NBA. When he is at his best he is an elite finisher, and an elite talent in terms of getting to the rim .. two things that make someone a great fast break basketball player. He's like a mini-Lebron in that respect... he can be an absolute freight train nightmare in the open court. In fact, my biggest problem with him as our point guard was that he wasn't pushing the ball enough.

I didn't think I'd have to explain why Evans is built for the half-court, but here goes.

There are a ton of players on every team who can get the ball and push it right to the rim in a fast-break situation before the defense gets set.
Pretty much any wing player who has good athleticism and ball-handling can do that. Evans, with his size and strength, combined with his ball-handling allows him to perhaps be more effective, but just because he's good in transition doesn't mean that he isn't most valuable in the half-court.

Tyreke's unique ability is in his ball-handling combined with his size, strength, and length. He isn't the most explosive of athletes but his other attributes more than make up for it.
Provided that a defense isn't completely set to take away his driving to the rim, he's probably one of the top 5 players at breaking down his man and getting an angle to the basket against a half-court defense.

The problems for him are two-fold. First, he can't keep his man honest with an effective jumper, this allows his defender to sag into the paint, making it more difficult to get to the rim.
Second, he doesn't have teammates/'implemented offense' which can spread the floor and prevent the defense from just keying in on his driving ability.
But despite those two limitations, he's still elite at getting to the rim in the half-court, and as you've seen in the playoffs, that ability is key to have success late in the season.

Now imagine what Tyreke would be able to do in the half-court if the defense also had to worry about a Durant/Harden sitting around the perimeter. Or Ray Allen coming off screens while Garnett flares to the perimeter in a pick-and-pop situation.
Even if he does develop a jumpshot, he's not going to be able to break down a defense if the entire defense is still keyed in on his dribble-drive. He might be more effective at hurting a team while hitting the open jumper, but there is no breaking of the defense in that situation.

If the defense is completely loaded against Tyreke (no Kings ball movement, screen setting, player movement) then he's not going to be effective in driving into the teeth of the waiting defense. This is why it's still a team game.

But if our players are moving and cutting, if we're setting good screens (down screens/staggered screens for shooters), and if we have players who can hit the open spot that is going to prevent the defense from completely loading up on Tyreke, which gives him the opportunity to exploit the defense to get to the rim.

That is what 1/2 of our offense should look like. Ball and player movement designed to get good shooters open looks while tweaking the defense enough to allow Tyreke to break the defense with his drives to the rim. (either for the finish or the kick-out to the open man)
The other half of our offense should be going through Cousins on the low block. Bullying his way to the basket to either finish or find the open man on the double team.
Obviously if we have a lot of player/ball movement, Cousins would be best served operating in the high post, where he can use his passing to find cutters, or get the ball to Tyreke when the defense is tweaked enough for Tyreke to be most effective in his dribble-drive.

But the simple fact is that we're not going to see much of that if the coach clearly states, "We aren't good in the half-court, so we're going to run, run, and keep on running."

I do want to mention that I'm all for easy buckets in transition. If Tyreke snags a rebound and is able to push it the length of the court to finish at the rim, I'm all for him doing that.
The issue is that if you're in a play-off series and say have 25 fastbreak points in Game 1 due to the defense not getting back in transition, then adjustments are going to be made in Game 2. The opposing coach might emphasize getting back in transition, or he may decide to only send 1 or 2 players to the offensive glass while having the remaining team head back on defense whenever a shot is put up.
There is a reason why fast-break/transition baskets become more and more scarce as a play-off series goes on. It's because if you're really hurting a team there, they are just going to adjust to slow the pace down and deny you easy baskets.
Fast break/transition usually works far better in the regular season because you're not playing the same team over and over again.

If we want to have any success as a playoff team we are going to have to develop a good half-court offense using Cousins big-body in the low post and Tyrekes dribble-drive against an honest defense.

 

[joemama]

hard to follow that up

great break down, but has anyone heard of toronto's interest in Reke?

"The Toronto Raptors are also aggressively shopping for a star-caliber small forward, and have been tied to talks surrounding Tyreke Evans and Andre Iguodala"

I know it is from god awful hoopsworld!

 

[Tyndel]

I very much agree. I'd also add that until the Kings have a balanced roster this "small ball" dogma on this board is way overblown. We have to wait and see what Smart does with a balanced roster before going off the deep end on his supposed small ball fanatacism. Also, as I've watched these playoffs I've seen great coaches use small ball repeatedly. There's nothing wrong with it in smaller doses. We just have to have a balanced roster so that it can be used as a change of pace, not as a standard out of necessity.

Our roster imbalance was blown way out of proportion this last year and we contributed to it by the way we played our players. 4 big man rotation cousins jt hayes and Hickson/WS. 3 guard rotation Reke MT and IT. 3 sf rotation depending on matchups Williams Donte Cisco.

Oh that unbalanced cause we don't have a star at the 3 hmmmm..... We don't need a star at the 3 we don't need alot of scoring at the 3 we need defense and enough of a shot to keep the defense honest with an offensive scheme. Our roster was imbalanced cause we played it imbalanced not because we didn't have the personnel to make a traditional lineup work. Smart doesn't deserve a pass or excuses on this front after another wasted year for our ageing "young" guys.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I didn't think I'd have to explain why Evans is built for the half-court, but here goes.

There are a ton of players on every team who can get the ball and push it right to the rim in a fast-break situation before the defense gets set.
Pretty much any wing player who has good athleticism and ball-handling can do that. Evans, with his size and strength, combined with his ball-handling allows him to perhaps be more effective, but just because he's good in transition doesn't mean that he isn't most valuable in the half-court.

Tyreke's unique ability is in his ball-handling combined with his size, strength, and length. He isn't the most explosive of athletes but his other attributes more than make up for it.
Provided that a defense isn't completely set to take away his driving to the rim, he's probably one of the top 5 players at breaking down his man and getting an angle to the basket against a half-court defense.

The problems for him are two-fold. First, he can't keep his man honest with an effective jumper, this allows his defender to sag into the paint, making it more difficult to get to the rim.
Second, he doesn't have teammates/'implemented offense' which can spread the floor and prevent the defense from just keying in on his driving ability.
But despite those two limitations, he's still elite at getting to the rim in the half-court, and as you've seen in the playoffs, that ability is key to have success late in the season.

Now imagine what Tyreke would be able to do in the half-court if the defense also had to worry about a Durant/Harden sitting around the perimeter. Or Ray Allen coming off screens while Garnett flares to the perimeter in a pick-and-pop situation.
Even if he does develop a jumpshot, he's not going to be able to break down a defense if the entire defense is still keyed in on his dribble-drive. He might be more effective at hurting a team while hitting the open jumper, but there is no breaking of the defense in that situation.

If the defense is completely loaded against Tyreke (no Kings ball movement, screen setting, player movement) then he's not going to be effective in driving into the teeth of the waiting defense. This is why it's still a team game.

But if our players are moving and cutting, if we're setting good screens (down screens/staggered screens for shooters), and if we have players who can hit the open spot that is going to prevent the defense from completely loading up on Tyreke, which gives him the opportunity to exploit the defense to get to the rim.

That is what 1/2 of our offense should look like. Ball and player movement designed to get good shooters open looks while tweaking the defense enough to allow Tyreke to break the defense with his drives to the rim. (either for the finish or the kick-out to the open man)
The other half of our offense should be going through Cousins on the low block. Bullying his way to the basket to either finish or find the open man on the double team.
Obviously if we have a lot of player/ball movement, Cousins would be best served operating in the high post, where he can use his passing to find cutters, or get the ball to Tyreke when the defense is tweaked enough for Tyreke to be most effective in his dribble-drive.

But the simple fact is that we're not going to see much of that if the coach clearly states, "We aren't good in the half-court, so we're going to run, run, and keep on running."

I do want to mention that I'm all for easy buckets in transition. If Tyreke snags a rebound and is able to push it the length of the court to finish at the rim, I'm all for him doing that.
The issue is that if you're in a play-off series and say have 25 fastbreak points in Game 1 due to the defense not getting back in transition, then adjustments are going to be made in Game 2. The opposing coach might emphasize getting back in transition, or he may decide to only send 1 or 2 players to the offensive glass while having the remaining team head back on defense whenever a shot is put up.
There is a reason why fast-break/transition baskets become more and more scarce as a play-off series goes on. It's because if you're really hurting a team there, they are just going to adjust to slow the pace down and deny you easy baskets.
Fast break/transition usually works far better in the regular season because you're not playing the same team over and over again.

If we want to have any success as a playoff team we are going to have to develop a good half-court offense using Cousins big-body in the low post and Tyrekes dribble-drive against an honest defense.

I don't disagree with your points, I just disagree with how you are interpreting those points. I hope that makes sense.

See, I don't think Evans is just another guy who can push the ball and get to the rim on the fast break ... I think he is an elite level open court player. I think that is his biggest strength. I don't want to take that away from him. The problems you mentioned, which I highlighted in bold, are exactly the reasons why I want the team to run. He doesn't have a jumper and he doesn't have teammates who can keep the defense honest with a jumper. Thornton can do that to a certain extent, but when your two biggest weapons, Cousins and Evans, are paint scorers the defense would be stupid to do anything other than pack the paint.

The first thing (shooting) is something Evans is going to need to work on on his own. The teammates thing goes back to the 'unbalanced roster' thing we had going on all year. Neither has to do with Smart in my opinion, which is what the original post was about. And I HATED Evans at SF, I think that was a major problem ... but that doesn't have a whole lot to do with what we are talking about right now, I just wanted to mention it to prove I'm not actually Keith Smart in disguise.

I'm not stupid, I know we need to improve our halfcourt offense. I'm not trying to say we don't, I'm just saying that the problems in the half court where two-fold.

1) We aren't very good.
2) Smart wasn't the head coach to begin the season in a lockout year.

And I put A LOT more stock into reason #1 than reason #2. We need a better team to be a better team. Kind of simple.

Like I said in my first response, if we have Keith Smart as the head coach, with Thomas, Evans, MKG, defensive PF, Cousins as the starting unit next season we will still run, but our defense will be much improved. And if that ISN'T the case, then yes .. I'll be the first one to start the 'Fire Keith Smart' thread.

I understand that this isn't say much, but Smart is the best coach we have had since Rick. At the very least, he has the energy and enthusiasm to communicate with these young guys ... something Westphal could never do. The players like him. The players want him back. And when they say that, I can tell they mean it (at least in Cousins case).

And as I stated before. He isn't my favorite coach. He may not even be a good coach... but from what I have seen and what he has done, I think he deserves a chance next season.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

Our roster imbalance was blown way out of proportion this last year and we contributed to it by the way we played our players. 4 big man rotation cousins jt hayes and Hickson/WS. 3 guard rotation Reke MT and IT. 3 sf rotation depending on matchups Williams Donte Cisco.

Oh that unbalanced cause we don't have a star at the 3 hmmmm..... We don't need a star at the 3 we don't need alot of scoring at the 3 we need defense and enough of a shot to keep the defense honest with an offensive scheme. Our roster was imbalanced cause we played it imbalanced not because we didn't have the personnel to make a traditional lineup work. Smart doesn't deserve a pass or excuses on this front after another wasted year for our ageing "young" guys.

It comes down to this.

Evans, Thornton, and Thomas played MULTIPLE LEVELS higher than all the other garbage we had at the PG, SG, and SF spots. Greene, Jimmer, Garcia, Outlaw, Honeycutt, Salmons all had down years. Maybe is was injury or some (Salmons and Outlaw) or just being old (Garcia should be fine, but he sure looked slow and old at times) ...

It's easy to ask a guy like Harden or Ginobili to come off the bench when your team is winning, but how do you tell a guy like Tyreke Evans that he is being benched for Travis ****ing Outlaw? Same for Thornton, same for Thomas.

I hated seeing us trot Evans out at SF all year .. because not only did he struggle to guard 3's, but now Thornton was matched up against bigger 2's Evans usually guards, and Thomas, while a decent defender for his size, will ALWAYS be to short to challenge bigger PG's. They can shoot right over him. And even the Thomas-Thornton-Evans trio MAY be able to work with better defense at the rim, but Cousins and JT aren't going to provide any kind of weakside defense. No nearly enough needed to cover up all the other wholes.

And that was just on defense. You also had the issues on the offensive end because 4 out of 5 starters wanted to score 20ppg.

I think the roster problems were real. Not the whole reason we sucked, but it was a factor. The only guys who were really allowed to 'be themselves' under this scenario were Thomas and Cousins.

 

[bajaden]

I guess at the end of the day I don't trust Smart, and because of that I'm expecting to start of the season with a losing record, players getting frustrated, and Smart ultimately getting fired mid-season or at the end of the season. Oh, and we'll end up with a losing record and in the lottery again.

If Smart starts of the season as our head coach, I'm sad to admit that the above scenario is how I expect things to play out.

I don't want it to play out that way, and I'd be perfectly happy to have a winning season and a chance at the 8th seed under Smart, I just don't expect that to happen.

And I think the primary reason I feel this way is due to how Smart handled both the offense and defense last season.

He basically said, "Our guys don't know how to play in the half-court, so we're going to become a running team."

Now our two cornerstone players are both built for the half-court game. (DMC and Tyreke so there is no confusion)
Rather than lose games while trying to put together an offense that will have success in the future, he implemented an offense which not only doesn't suit our two best players, but also marginalized Tyreke at the SF position. All the while...losing games at a faster clip than before a running style was implemented.

I have no problems being a fast running team. (Both the Thunder and Miami are running teams)
I do have problems when a half-court offense isn't being taught AND the defense gets worse due to the running offense. (Both the Thunder and Miami are good defensive teams)

This team is a mess and it's frustrating because at the end of the previous season we were so close to having all the pieces needed to win at the highest levels.

So there is no question that the roster has to be changed in order to win, but my frustration with Smart is that he did absolutely nothing to help prepare this team to win the future. And if you're going to lose a lot of games, at the very least you should be learning how play so that you can win in the future.

Can anyone say that Tyreke and Cousins spent an entire year last year gaining chemistry on the court to assist in making them a dominant 1-2 punch in the future?
I didn't see it, and to me it just felt like a completely wasted season with no growth or developed chemistry.

I don't disagree with much of what you said, and by no means was I trying to endorse the style of play that Smart ran this past season. I'm simply pointing out, that his options were somewhat limited by the makeup of the roster (serious lack of talented height), the youth of the roster, along with very limited practice time. I think his approach might have been very different if he had a team made up of veteran players. Especially a more balanced team.

A run and gun offense is a lot simpler to install than a more complicated motion offense in a half court set. Team defense is even harder with young inexperienced players, whose first instinct is to take matters into their own hands. I'm not giving Smart a pass, but I do think he did some good things in a short amount of time. And as we really don't have a choice as to whose going to coach the team next season, I'm willing to cut him some slack and see what he can do with a normal training camp, and the normal amount of preseason games. Just having the rookies and some of the second year players at summer league should be of help.

Now if he continues down the path of run and gun, and little defense, I'll be one of the first to unleash the guided missiles. I agree that both Tyreke and Cousins should flourish in the halfcourt. Especially Cousins. However, I don't think the uptempo game is as big a disadvantage for Tyreke, as it is for Cousins. What the Kings don't have, are a lot of players that can create their own shot, and even some of those that can, do so better in a stop and pop situation, which lends itself to an uptempo game. Which is why I think some sort of motion offense would be the best approach for this team. It gets players that can't create on their own, open shots, and easy baskets with backdoor cuts etc.

I'am not now, and never will be a fan of isolation basketball. It has its place in the flow of the game at times, but I hate it as a system. Hopefully more of Pop's rubbed off on Smart than Nellie did. I guess we'll see soon.

 

[bajaden]

Our roster imbalance was blown way out of proportion this last year and we contributed to it by the way we played our players. 4 big man rotation cousins jt hayes and Hickson/WS. 3 guard rotation Reke MT and IT. 3 sf rotation depending on matchups Williams Donte Cisco.

Oh that unbalanced cause we don't have a star at the 3 hmmmm..... We don't need a star at the 3 we don't need alot of scoring at the 3 we need defense and enough of a shot to keep the defense honest with an offensive scheme. Our roster was imbalanced cause we played it imbalanced not because we didn't have the personnel to make a traditional lineup work. Smart doesn't deserve a pass or excuses on this front after another wasted year for our ageing "young" guys.

After Hickson was gone, (he only played 35 games for the Kings, and 28 for Smart) who would you bring in when Cousins and JT went to the bench? The only big we had on the bench then was Hayes, at 6'6".... I guess the question would be, that despite its obvious defiencies, which lineup is the more effecient, the Lineup of Cousins, JT, Greene/Outlaw, Thornton, and Evans, or the lineup of Cousins, JT, Evans, Thronton, and IT? Obviously, neither is a perfect scenario. This team had a serious lack of talented height, with emphasis on the word TALENTED. Despite the fact that Outlaw played some nice basketball the last five games of the season, he pretty much sucked most of the year. Greene was his usual inconsistent self. Hickson was terrible while he was here. We didn't have Williams for the first half of the season. Jimmer was a rookie, and played like most rookies. Salmons 6'6", Cisco 6'7", Williams 6'6", Hayes 6'6", Thornton 6'3", Jimmer 6'2", I. Thomas 5'9". After Cousins and JT, Whiteside is the only player over 6'10", and he obviously wasn't ready to play regular minutes. Both Outlaw and Greene are SF's who were tried at PF and couldn't cut it there.

Sorry, I just don't see any balance on this team. Not in the height dept, and in the mix of talent. And no, I didn't agree with playing Tyreke at SF. I though that was a terrible decision. I still think his best position is going to be SG.

 

[Uncia03]

I don't disagree with your points, I just disagree with how you are interpreting those points. I hope that makes sense.

See, I don't think Evans is just another guy who can push the ball and get to the rim on the fast break ... I think he is an elite level open court player. I think that is his biggest strength. I don't want to take that away from him. The problems you mentioned, which I highlighted in bold, are exactly the reasons why I want the team to run. He doesn't have a jumper and he doesn't have teammates who can keep the defense honest with a jumper. Thornton can do that to a certain extent, but when your two biggest weapons, Cousins and Evans, are paint scorers the defense would be stupid to do anything other than pack the paint.

As mentioned I don't want to take away from Tyreke's ability to run the floor and score in transition. You likened him to a mini-Lebron in transition and I don't disagree with that assessment.
The problem I have is focusing the offense on being a running team because of his ability in this area. The reason I have a problem with that is due strictly to playoff basketball. Having success in the regular season means nothing if you are not setting yourself up to succeed in the post season.

And here is the issue which really dominates my thought process. What percentage of LeBron's points came in transition against the Celtics in that fantastic 7 game series we just had?
I don't know the answer, but I'd guess maybe 15%, perhaps 20% as a high number just eye-balling the game. (If that is a stat which is tracked on a site somewhere, I'd love to get the true percentage.)

So if LeBron is considered the best in the league in being unstoppable in transition, and he just finished a grueling 7 game series where less than 25% of his points came in transition, why would you dedicate your offense to a scheme which isn't going to really work in the later portions of the play-offs?

The transition game can be an important piece to the puzzle, but if you're making it your primary piece you're never going to be good enough to win an NBA chamionship because it's just too easy for the opposing coach to take that away in a 7 game series.

 

[Uncia03]

After Hickson was gone, (he only played 35 games for the Kings, and 28 for Smart) who would you bring in when Cousins and JT went to the bench? The only big we had on the bench then was Hayes, at 6'6".... I guess the question would be, that despite its obvious defiencies, which lineup is the more effecient, the Lineup of Cousins, JT, Greene/Outlaw, Thornton, and Evans, or the lineup of Cousins, JT, Evans, Thronton, and IT? Obviously, neither is a perfect scenario. This team had a serious lack of talented height, with emphasis on the word TALENTED. Despite the fact that Outlaw played some nice basketball the last five games of the season, he pretty much sucked most of the year. Greene was his usual inconsistent self. Hickson was terrible while he was here. We didn't have Williams for the first half of the season. Jimmer was a rookie, and played like most rookies. Salmons 6'6", Cisco 6'7", Williams 6'6", Hayes 6'6", Thornton 6'3", Jimmer 6'2", I. Thomas 5'9". After Cousins and JT, Whiteside is the only player over 6'10", and he obviously wasn't ready to play regular minutes. Both Outlaw and Greene are SF's who were tried at PF and couldn't cut it there.

Sorry, I just don't see any balance on this team. Not in the height dept, and in the mix of talent. And no, I didn't agree with playing Tyreke at SF. I though that was a terrible decision. I still think his best position is going to be SG.

I don't think you're going to find anyone who disagrees with the assessment that we had major problems with the SF position last year.

But here's the question for you.

Being a fan of the Kings, and knowing that you're going to lose 2/3rd of your games anyway, if you're the coach of the Kings which route do you take:

Route 1:
Play an undersized line-up to put talent in the 1-2-3 spots, while hoping that next year a quality SF will be brought to the team to balance the roster.

Route 2:
Play different combinations of 1-2 spots while playing the best of the worst SF. Begin to install an offense that plays Tyreke at the guard spot and develops chemistry with Cousins in both the low and high post.

Now I'll admit that I'm being a bit unreasonable, since we've had a slew of coaches who have been 'me-first' instead of 'team-first' and you have to expect a coach to do whatever they can to win the game, rather than losing while trying to get better in the long-term.
But the fact is that we still lost, and not only did we lose, but we lost a lot, and we didn't seem to get any sort of long-term benefits from the losing. It was mostly just a lost season.

I feel that Smart choose Route 1 and we lost most of the season because of that.

I would have rather him played a consistent 3-4-5 line-up while trying to figure out the best way to play the guards.
Does a Tyreke/IT with Thornton/T.Will/Jimmer off the bench work?
How about Tyreke/Thornton with IT/T.Will/Jimmer off the bench?
What about Tyreke/T.Will with IT/Thornton/Jimmer off the bench?

I would have rather he experimented with different guard combinations, while letting Tyreke and Cousins develop some guard/big-man chemistry.

As of this moment, I'm assuming that Tyreke will be a starting guard next season, but beyond that, I have no idea how the line-up is going to shake out. What may or may not work, and we had time last season to perhaps get some idea of these things.

 

[Uncia03]

One more thing I want to mention.

This feels like one of those classroom debate situations where the teacher takes two students and tells them that they have debate each side of an argument.
I know that there isn't anyone who is soundly endorsing Smart as the next greatest thing, but rather taking the attitude that he'll probably be our coach next year and it's better to be hopeful that he'll turn things around rather than calling for his head on a platter.

So from this debate analogy, I feel that taking the pro-Smart side starts off at a disadvantage, because the best you can hope for is that he'll be better next year. I do hope that people don't think I'm yelling or foaming at the mouth while discussing this topic, because for me it really is just a discussion.

I will say that when I see all the coaches who could be available this off-season, and then I see what Smart did for us last season, it's frustrating to know that he is under contract, and therefore adds an additional obstacle for us getting a more seasoned head coach.

 

[Glenn]

It pains me to be put in the role of defending Smart because there were coaching options that were so much better and I am angry that he is coming back. But as I am on the pro side for this little set-to, I have to add that I doubt that Smart thought that what he was going to do would fail. I think he thought there would be more wins. As it was, all it did was lower the margin that we lost by. In retrospect we can be far wiser. If Smart had been able to look into the future and see that we would lose, I would hope, but not depend on, that he would have gone in a diffeent route and developed Tyreke. In retrospect for me, the biggest crime was that he didn't develop Tyreke. He identified himself as a great coach for guards yet what he did to Tyreke is awful. I think at least IT recorgnized that Cousins should get the ball and I doubt that Smart had much to do with it.

 

[bajaden]

One more thing I want to mention.

This feels like one of those classroom debate situations where the teacher takes two students and tells them that they have debate each side of an argument.
I know that there isn't anyone who is soundly endorsing Smart as the next greatest thing, but rather taking the attitude that he'll probably be our coach next year and it's better to be hopeful that he'll turn things around rather than calling for his head on a platter.

So from this debate analogy, I feel that taking the pro-Smart side starts off at a disadvantage, because the best you can hope for is that he'll be better next year. I do hope that people don't think I'm yelling or foaming at the mouth while discussing this topic, because for me it really is just a discussion.

I will say that when I see all the coaches who could be available this off-season, and then I see what Smart did for us last season, it's frustrating to know that he is under contract, and therefore adds an additional obstacle for us getting a more seasoned head coach.

Well because I know you, and we've had these discussions in person, I know form whenst you come. I don't know anyone that takes a more clinical approach than you do, where I tend to let my gut direct me a little too much at times. However, together, we pretty much gleen whats there. As far as Smart goes. Because I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt for last season, doesn't mean my expectations are less. If I see another year of mixed lineups and no set rotation, then I'm done with him very quickly. I want to see wins. I'll be reasonable about it, but at minimun, we should be in the hunt for the 8th spot in the playoffs.

None of that means I'm not disappointed that were not persuing Sloan or a Van Gundy. I was one of the first to curse the ground when they picked up Smart's second year. Something they had no need to so at the time, and before they knew who might be available in the offseason. But thats water under the bridge now. So I'm going to hope Smart is the second coming of Pops, until he proves otherwise. Shouldn't take long!

 

[rainmaker]

I'm going to play devils advocate here, and defend Smart a little. Personally, I don't think he's gotten a fair shake. He inherited an unbalanced team with no training camp and little practice time to install much of anything. He's accused of playing small ball, but when you look at the roster, he didn't have a whole lot of choice at times. If you took Cuz and JT off the court, your backup center was 6'6" Hayes. He had Hickson for a short spell and then that option was gone. He tried Greene and Outlaw at PF, and that didn't work. He probably had front office pressure to get Jimmer minutes. So he probably thought the only way to get wins, was to out quick other teams. Thusly, he installed IT at the point.

That's fair, as far as the frontcourt goes. He did have his hands somewhat tied, but let me disagree a little. While he started JT/Cuz together, many times he subbed them both out at the same time, and sat them on the bench for extended period, as he did every starter at times. During the season numerous times after the initial 6-8min stint to start off the game, I was calling for either JT or Cuz to be on the floor as much as possible, which rarely happened.

So while Chuck was our main backup, sending him out there for 6-10 min stretches without either JT or Cuz, and with 4 guards was partly due to circumstance, but also partly due to him either a)not valuing placing JT/Cuz next to him and therefor preferring small ball, or b) not having a clue how to form a sub pattern which values the size he did have, as limited as it may be. How often did JT just rot on the bench through the end of the game after being pulled early in the 3rd? A number of times, and what we saw instead for most of the 2nd half was either Chuck/Cuz(which works) or Chuck + four guards for 6-10 min stretches. Also think he could have played Hassan a little more pre-injury, as he didn't look bad as he started to get comfortable.

As far as the backcourt goes, preferring the worst defensive backcourt in the league and Reke as SF over an IT/Reke backcourt with TWill or Salmons/Cisco at SF, or a Reke/MT backcourt with the above mentioned SF's at SF, was again on him. He went for quick transition baskets instead of committing to defense.

Much is made of the fact that he was an assistant under Nellie, who loves small ball. But somehow everyone conviently forgets he was an assistant under Pops as well at San Antonio. I like that he's installing San Antonio's summer training, hands on approach with the Kings. I think he did a great job of getting much better basketball and attitude from Cousins. JT had his best year under Smart. Not sure how much of that Smart is responsible for, but if you going to criticize all the bad things, then give him credit for the good things.

Not sure why you're saying "everyone conviently forgets he was an assistant under Pops as well at San Antonio" as I've pointed that out numerous times. What I've also pointed out, and quoted on here was how Smart commonly refers to Nelson as the guy who he's patterned himself after, not Pop, and just by watching his small ball and funky sub patterns lends itself to being more of a Nelson disciple, not Pop. I've also frequently posted his postgame interviews, and when questioned about defense he answers very similarly to the way Nelson would have, not Pop who would have smoke coming out of his ears.

I've also pointed out how Cuz has played very well under Smart, although I personally think that has more to do with anyone aside from Westy coaching him rather than giving Smart most of the credit. Also said what he did with IT was great, but thought it went too far. Not sure why you're saying I don't acknowledge Smart spending years under Pop, which I have and have complained when I don't see evidence of it, or that I haven't given Smart any credit at all, where I have. Are you being insincere or just didn't see any of those previous posts?

So personally, I'm going to wait and see how he does with a (hopefully) more balanced roster. Would I prefer a Sloan or a Van Gundy for this team? Yeah, I would, but I think its fair at this point to give Smart the opportunity to see if his offseason system bears any fruit.

I don't think it's fair to give Smart the opportunity next year as I don't think he ever should have been extended, and should not be our coach right now. Now, do I hope he turns it around and proves me wrong? Of course! But that is more based on circumstances, not that I think he's deserving of that chance. I'm completely unconfident in his ability to turn it around though, and personally if I'm that unconfident is someone doing a job well, why would I also sit here and say they are deserving of the opportunity? Guess we just disagree here. If it doesn't go well, and by not going well I mean to not be challenging for a playoff spot in April, and not improving defense, sub patterns or playing guys to their strengths, then he'll have wasted another season of our development. We don't have time to take a chance wasting another season and firing the coach at some point. We've done that how many times since Rick? Only difference is we have two young studs who might do anything possible to move on if it continues.

But, that's the situation we're in, so I hope for the best. That doesn't mean I have to support it in any way, or the coach in any way, which I don't, and as I truly believe he'll be canned at some point next year, I won't blow smoke and act like I have any positive feelings about him coaching this team going into next year. Actually think the things he's good at(understanding and getting along with players, helping with their jumper in practice, mapping the floor), is the mark of a good assistant, and the qualities of an assistant coach. But when it's time for him to make the tough in game decisions, I've seen nothing which makes me confident he can handle those responsibilities. All just my opinion of course.

 

[mac]

I don't disagree with much of what you said, and by no means was I trying to endorse the style of play that Smart ran this past season. I'm simply pointing out, that his options were somewhat limited by the makeup of the roster (serious lack of talented height), the youth of the roster, along with very limited practice time. I think his approach might have been very different if he had a team made up of veteran players. Especially a more balanced team.

A run and gun offense is a lot simpler to install than a more complicated motion offense in a half court set. Team defense is even harder with young inexperienced players, whose first instinct is to take matters into their own hands. I'm not giving Smart a pass, but I do think he did some good things in a short amount of time. And as we really don't have a choice as to whose going to coach the team next season, I'm willing to cut him some slack and see what he can do with a normal training camp, and the normal amount of preseason games. Just having the rookies and some of the second year players at summer league should be of help.

Now if he continues down the path of run and gun, and little defense, I'll be one of the first to unleash the guided missiles. I agree that both Tyreke and Cousins should flourish in the halfcourt. Especially Cousins. However, I don't think the uptempo game is as big a disadvantage for Tyreke, as it is for Cousins. What the Kings don't have, are a lot of players that can create their own shot, and even some of those that can, do so better in a stop and pop situation, which lends itself to an uptempo game. Which is why I think some sort of motion offense would be the best approach for this team. It gets players that can't create on their own, open shots, and easy baskets with backdoor cuts etc.

I'am not now, and never will be a fan of isolation basketball. It has its place in the flow of the game at times, but I hate it as a system. Hopefully more of Pop's rubbed off on Smart than Nellie did. I guess we'll see soon.

One reason why many of us are skeptical that Smart would do otherwise is that he idolizes Nellie. Just listen to all his interviews and you'll find him talking about what he learnt from the great Don Nelson far more times than he mentions Pop. Lets not forget that he also ran the same offense in GS.
The only reason why I'd give him the benefit of the doubt is because he explicitly said he was running less pick and rolls due to our shooters (Salmons) not making their open shots.

 

[Kingster]

Our roster imbalance was blown way out of proportion this last year and we contributed to it by the way we played our players. 4 big man rotation cousins jt hayes and Hickson/WS. 3 guard rotation Reke MT and IT. 3 sf rotation depending on matchups Williams Donte Cisco.

Oh that unbalanced cause we don't have a star at the 3 hmmmm..... We don't need a star at the 3 we don't need alot of scoring at the 3 we need defense and enough of a shot to keep the defense honest with an offensive scheme. Our roster was imbalanced cause we played it imbalanced not because we didn't have the personnel to make a traditional lineup work. Smart doesn't deserve a pass or excuses on this front after another wasted year for our ageing "young" guys.

We'll see. If Smart is terrible then I guess he will continue to be terrible next year and we will have another terrible outcome for the year. He will have a full offseason to prepare his team, and I believe he will have quite a different roster than what we now see. So if he is that bad, he'll have a control experiment to prove he's that bad.

 

[JB_kings]

Jason Jones ‏@mr_jasonjones
Hearing Tyreke Evans is working out w/ Petrie. Doesn't sound like actions of someone Petrie is trying to trade. Hear Reke is in good shape

Never heard of Petrie working with a player.

 

[Glenn]

Never heard of Petrie working with a player.

Petrie is a shooter. Period. If he is working with Tyreke, that is wonderful. Maybe also it is to keep other elements away from Tyreke's development and see it up close and personal. In any case, this is a positive. And, no, I've never heard of Petrie working out with a player in a teaching capacity.