[Game] 27/82: Kings vs. Nuggets 16 DEC 2024 7pm PT/10pm ET

[NewArena]

Just have to hope they bring this effort against everyone. They’re a playoff team if they do

 

[coolhandluke]

Nuggets going into a zone at the end threw off the Kings a bit and that was enough for the Nuggets to capitalize on.

 

[SacTownKid]

I honestly don't know. I never understood the pick personally especially with monk starting now he's not going back to the bench. Kid is stuck on the bench even if he balls out for years to come. Unless we trading monk or God forbid fox sometime soon

I mean, it's all up to Brown, but this is the 2nd time Monte has attempted to draft a Warriors style multi-positional defender. Last time it was Davion but anyone could tell that was a stretch. He looked nothing like the players the Warriors lusted over. Carter however does. Lets see if those "he can play 4 positions" ideas translate with this one. If not, he isn't the reason this team is where they're at. No other rookie was saving the day if the Kings power trio tops out at the play in level. Then thank goodness Monte goes BPA because now you at least also have something to build with. Fits needs and can play now? Check. Decent upside in a worst case? Check.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

That's still a loss imo.

It's a bit tough to figure, given that Keon had earned the starting spot going into the season and Monk was given a big contract to be the 6th man.

Knecht could have fit in with everyone, as a wing shooter. Assuming they were to move Huerter, like they had tried to

 

[iowamcnabb]

Anyone know if Denver had any timeouts left? If Deebo had not fumbled the ball he likely would have scored with 5 seconds left. Plenty of time for them to bury some obnoxious logo three

 

[The_Jamal]

I thought you said you had Knecht right there with the Carter pick?

Yeah I did. They were two of my favorite prospects in the draft, I had them both very high on my board. I was very pleased we got our choice of either and would have been happy with either guy.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Yeah I did. They were two of my favorite prospects in the draft, I had them both very high on my board. I was very pleased we got our choice of either and would have been happy with either guy.

Point is, if you have two guys equal in projected value and NBA role/talent, wouldn't it make sense to then select for fit?

 

[iowamcnabb]

It's a bit tough to figure, given that Keon had earned the starting spot going into the season and Monk was given a big contract to be the 6th man.

Knecht could have fit in with everyone, as a wing shooter. Assuming they were to move Huerter, like they had tried to

And even Knecht has cooled off a bunch. He had that 5 game hot streak and he has been pretty pedestrian since. Plus he isn’t a plus defender. I liked him and would have been fine with the pick but we need gritty defenders

 

[Joshyjosh31]

He might be a very good player, but how many minutes will he play behind monk/ellis/fox? I haven’t even mentioned Huerter. We needed wing help and he drafted a pg anyway.

That’s what I find funny when people hype Carter up nothing against him but we’re so people see his minutes coming.

 

[hrdboild]

I’m not dumping in DDR either, bad games happen in this sport. It’s all a team effort but I do shift a lot of blame to Monk for changing his entire game after a miss, which is not his character on the court. I posted when it happened… But this is not a game you hold your head high after. They had this. Then some of that nonsense you wrote about happened and a great win tuned into a horrible loss. I took umbrage to your “holding your head high” after this. Na. You get pissed. You hopefully learn. And you don’t let it freakin’ happen again,

The execution in the last 5 minutes was not great. But I think when you lose the game by 1 pt and lose the first quarter by 20 points, you have to consider the scope of the whole game not just the last 5 minutes.

And my point about holding their heads high is that I think for a solid 2 and a half quarters the Kings were dominating a bigger team with a championship on their resume and they were doing it almost entirely with scrappy defense by smaller guys like Colby Jones and Keon Ellis and Domas and Monk putting relentless pressure on the basket every time they got the ball. If they go back to the game tape there's a lot they can learn from this game that they should apply to the rest of the season -- on offense and on defense. And while they're at it, they should also study what went wrong in the first quarter and the last 5 minutes.

That's really the tale of the Kings season so far. If they can string together a full 48 minutes of good basketball, they would be solidly in the playoff picture right now. It's this "taking 1 and a half quarters off" garbage that has us under .500 right now.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

And even Knecht has cooled off a bunch. He had that 5 game hot streak and he has been pretty pedestrian since. Plus he isn’t a plus defender. I liked him and would have been fine with the pick but we need gritty defenders

We've got 3 guards who have earned regular playing time and don't project for a trade. Unless you were thinking of Huerter for the longer term, a wing shooter would have really made sense. The guy is clearly an elite shooting talent

 

[Siranthony]

How many hard fought close games are they going to choke away this year? Why, oh lord why do the fans start chanting with a 7 point lead? It is so stupid to motivate the other team doing that. It's getting hard for me to invest so much time in a game only to have sucked away.

 

[iowamcnabb]

The one all of a sudden problem we have is Colby has been an absolute dawg on defense and was the second best defender on the floor for either team after Keon. Remember when a lot of us thought he had a chance to be a really good player after summer league and the Gleague performances and then he sucked and we all forgot about him? He is going to get plenty of playing time for the next month but when Devin comes back?

 

[Jdbraver137]

This hurts. Ugh my stomach hurts as I for the first time since we hired brown now turn t9 draft pages.

 

[The_Jamal]

Point is, if you have two guys equal in projected value and NBA role/talent, wouldn't it make sense to then select for fit?

Devin Carter is one of the best defensive prospects we've seen in a good minute and a freak athlete/incredible wingspan to boot. How is that not a fit for a team that's been one of the worst defensive franchises in the entire NBA for basically the whole existence?

Knecht is great, but he's basically Kevin Huerter's measurements and he struggles defensively. Yeah, he's 6'6, but I think it's very easy to make the case that Carter's skill-set is a much bigger need/fit than Knecht.

 

[Joshyjosh31]

I think moving on, at least short term the Kings guard core is Fox, Monk, Carter, and Keon. That's more than enough even if Carter doesn't play much in 3 guard lineups. The reality even before Carter was drafted was this is a guard team. It has been for some time. Now, the only piece that actually truly makes it work is that Carter guy. If he lives up to his potential, he's pushing everyone out of his way not named Fox. If not, he's the role guy doing what you saw Colby do tonight but with elite athletica bility and defensive skill rather than just effort. Credit to Colby for the effort though.

Everyone’s going big collecting wings and our philosophy is “guard team” can’t make this crap up

 

[iowamcnabb]

We've got 3 guards who have earned regular playing time and don't project for a trade. Unless you were thinking of Huerter for the longer term, a wing shooter would have really made sense. The guy is clearly an elite shooting talent

I’d rather have Keon and Keon clone with offense than a wing shooter.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

The one all of a sudden problem we have is Colby has been an absolute dawg on defense and was the second best defender on the floor for either team after Keon. Remember when a lot of us thought he had a chance to be a really good player after summer league and the Gleague performances and then he sucked and we all forgot about him? He is going to get plenty of playing time for the next month but when Devin comes back?

It's a log jam for sure. Someone is going to come out with the short stick....and maybe even two guys will

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Devin Carter is one of the best defensive prospects we've seen in a good minute and a freak athlete/incredible wingspan to boot. How is that not a fit for a team that's been one of the worst defensive franchises in the entire NBA for basically the whole existence?

Knecht is great, but he's basically Kevin Huerter's measurements and he struggles defensively. Yeah, he's 6'6, but I think it's very easy to make the case that Carter's skill-set is a much bigger need/fit than Knecht.

but going back to....that you had them equal in the draft for the Kings pick. Right?

 

[SacTownKid]

Devin Carter is one of the best defensive prospects we've seen in a good minute and a freak athlete/incredible wingspan to boot. How is that not a fit for a team that's been one of the worst defensive franchises in the entire NBA for basically the whole existence?

Knecht is great, but he's basically Kevin Huerter's measurements and he struggles defensively. Yeah, he's 6'6, but I think it's very easy to make the case that Carter's skill-set is a much bigger need/fit than Knecht.

And the Lakers are just a tad above the Kings in the standings last I checked. It's funny, the Kings lack of impact is because they drafted Carter, who hasn't even played, yet the Lakers are mediocre too.

 

[iowamcnabb]

This hurts. Ugh my stomach hurts as I for the first time since we hired brown now turn t9 draft pages.

We are all frustrated but this is a good team. We turned the corner imo in that Wolves game. We just missed a big opportunity tonight to have serious momentum.

 

[The_Jamal]

The one all of a sudden problem we have is Colby has been an absolute dawg on defense and was the second best defender on the floor for either team after Keon. Remember when a lot of us thought he had a chance to be a really good player after summer league and the Gleague performances and then he sucked and we all forgot about him? He is going to get plenty of playing time for the next month but when Devin comes back?

Colby's spent a ton of time at the 3 during his stint in the rotation. Today, it was him and Keon on the wing with Monk or Fox at point.

If Colby can stay consistent; Carter/Keon/Colby rotate in as your back-up 1/2/3.

 

[coolhandluke]

Just have to hope they bring this effort against everyone. They’re a playoff team if they do

Except that first quarter, of course.

We dropped 47 points in the second quarter. Nuggets didn't know what hit them. Injected chaos at both ends of the floor. The frustrating thing is that the team is versatile but could not put it all together for a sustained period of time. Are we carrying and expanding on the lessons that we learn in one game to another? It remains to be seen.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Colby's spent a ton of time at the 3 during his stint in the rotation. Today, it was him and Keon on the wing with Monk or Fox at point.

If Colby can stay consistent; Carter/Keon/Colby rotate in as your back-up 1/2/3.

Where does Huerter fit in? or is this assuming a trade?

 

[The_Jamal]

Where does Huerter fit in? or is this assuming a trade?

I mean yeah, Huerter trade. I don't think there's any expectation that he's a long-term piece here. Or that Carter really contributes that much this season with how much time he's missed.

The rest of this season (or until trade deadline?) is Keon/Huerter as your 6/7 off the bench, while we hope Colby/IJ continue to develop and maybe we get some late season help from Carter.

This is also assuming Colby can keep up his level of play and remain a solid contributor.

 

[SacTownKid]

The one all of a sudden problem we have is Colby has been an absolute dawg on defense and was the second best defender on the floor for either team after Keon. Remember when a lot of us thought he had a chance to be a really good player after summer league and the Gleague performances and then he sucked and we all forgot about him? He is going to get plenty of playing time for the next month but when Devin comes back?

Colby is playing hard but effort will eventually plateau. Devin projects entirely different on both ends with a basis of tools fundamentally and athletically that simply do not come around very often. Also, Monte made it clear, this isn't just about now. Carter wanted to play through the shoulder but Monte is looking at him as a core piece moving on. I think the best thing about Carter is his talent + rookie contract potentially gives Monte the ability to keep his team and add a little in time or rebuild should it come to that. If anyone ends up thinking Carter in any way is the reason the Kings flatline they need to look over at the Kings star trio. That's where you win or lose. They're the ones steering the ship.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I mean yeah, Huerter trade. I don't think there's any expectation that he's a long-term piece here. Or that Carter really contributes that much this season with how much time he's missed.

This is also assuming Colby can keep up his level of play and remain a solid contributor.

Oh, Ok. So you're not really projecting for this season. More of a long term outlook.

I don't doubt that Jones can keep playing hard defense. The question is will some of his offense translate? His shot hasn't been very convincing

 

[megapoxy]

I still don't like watching MB being the chill guy on the sidelines. During the NBA Cup semis Mosley and Rivers had a mic and Mosley was giving instructions in every f*cking possession to his players, offense, defense all the way (by possession, by possession, by possession and so on), today Malone did the same (no mic was involved) he was making gestures for the players to hold their hands high calling for screens etc while Brown did the chill guy Darvin Ham immitation having his hands on his pockets and sometimes Luke gets up calling the players on defense to do this and that.
That had never happened the first season when he got all the votes for COTY, not so much during the 2nd season, but now in this 3rd season that he got an improved contract it happens all the time. He only gets frustrated and calling his players for their mistakes only in the press conference after the game. I don't think that helps the team, like I don't think keeping Keon off several matches helped the team either and I don't think he had a coaching masterclass today either. Use your energy and your frustration during the game not after it finished.

 

[megapoxy]

Also since many wrote about the refs, I think they were ok tonight, Denver was complaining also the whole time for many "contacts" close to the basket that weren't given as fouls. Refs "let them play" the whole match, BUT those 2 (cause the 3rd was without a doubt) quick fouls against us in the beginning of the last quarter made no sense regarding the way they were not calling them in the 3 previous quarters from both sides.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Colby's spent a ton of time at the 3 during his stint in the rotation. Today, it was him and Keon on the wing with Monk or Fox at point.

If Colby can stay consistent; Carter/Keon/Colby rotate in as your back-up 1/2/3.

Yeh I’m comfortable with that but I think we are looking at a 9 man rotation for most of the remaining season with spot minutes for a 10th and 11th guy.

Option one: no trades. Lyles at the 4/5, Keon, Huerter and Devin/Colby fighting it out for 9th spot with the “loser” competing with Mcbuckets for minutes.

Option 2: DFS trade. Lyles at the 5, DFS, Keon and Colby/Devin competing

The other trade options like Cam or Kuzma would see Lyles/ Kev shipped out but now we have to play Len or IJ minutes at the 5 so the minute crunch is likely to be a problem no matter what. Good problem to have but worth noting.