Basketball IQ

[pshn80]

Basketball is a team sport requiring five men on the floor, playing at once. Most players in their first year or so play with a set of four other team mates whose average playing experience is twice to three times or more of what our Kings players experience. In fact there is only one player on the Kings who has started for more than two years in the NBA. When a team has experienced this much failure in the fourth quarter even the few vets get anxious, nervous and not themselves. Basketball IQ, basketball experience, moxy, these things will come, to some more than others. Another word is this is what you get when almost no one plays four years of college ball.

 

[Sarunas]

At least another year. 3/5 of your team (starting 5, anyway) has 1 year of NBA experience or fewer, and they are all trying to get to know each other. That comes with time. NBA players don't have much time to sit and reflect during the year - they sleep, and train, and get ready for the next game. Practices aren't as frequent or hard-hitting during the season, unless you get a nice long stretch in between games. Otherwise, it's just a walk-through and opponent prep.

The game is too fast paced that by the time you think "Gee, the last time I passed up this shot with 10 seconds left, we didn't get a good shot off, so this time I'm going to take it", the play is over, and you've lost the ball.

Some things do improve, and if you notice, there are little things that are improving. Demarcus not fouling out within a 15 minute span, for example. Tyreke taking a few more open jump shots instead of ALWAYS driving into the lane. You're talking about pretty young guys. Other sports have a faster curve because the pace of the game is much slower.

It's frustrating, sure, but if you look for the smaller things you won't go as crazy. Big picture items won't be seen until the end of the year, at the earliest. Sometimes a coaching change helps, but a new coach won't make this group more experienced overnight.

I realize that, but even our "veterans": Beno, Cisco, Landry, make the same mistakes. I understand what you mean when you say the pace of the game is too fast to stop and think about a past mistake, but it seems like other players don't have this issue. I have a hard time swallowing the idea that our players need 3-4 years to learn what you should and shouldn't do in terms of poor plays when they make the same mistakes over and over. You even gave a great example: DMC was a fouling machine. He still is at times, but he has toned it down. He has cut down on his travels and erratic drives stutter stepping drives. He learned from mistakes.

I don't see how our guys need years of experience and playing together to do things as simple as not repeat the same catastrophic mistakes every game. You don't need years of experience to know that when you are open and there is 8 seconds on the shot clock you should shoot. Or dribbling until there is 6 seconds on the clock then forcing a pass to a guarded player to shoot isn't a smart possession. I realize we are going to do these things late in games here and there, because of our aforementioned youth and inexperience, but the fact that we replicate the same mistakes nightly is beyond frustrating. I realize that more experienced teams are going to outplay, outwit and beat us. I'm not saying we should win every single one of these close games, but to lose them in the exact same fashion every time around, it makes it hard for me to buy the excuses when it looks like sheer stupidity and an unwillingness to correct bad habits. Sorry to be blunt with the last sentence, but I don't know how to sugar coat that.

 

[Spike]

I realize that, but even our "veterans": Beno, Cisco, Landry, make the same mistakes. I understand what you mean when you say the pace of the game is too fast to stop and think about a past mistake, but it seems like other players don't have this issue. I have a hard time swallowing the idea that our players need 3-4 years to learn what you should and shouldn't do in terms of poor plays when they make the same mistakes over and over.

Cisco will continue to make chowder-headed mistakes. I think that's who he is. He has shown leadership and a calming influence, so there's that. His mistakes wouldn't be as magnified were he a bench player, as he would be on a team like the Spurs, where he would only be needed for 15-20 minutes a game at most. He's depended upon for much more here, which is why those mistakes are magnified.

Beno, I think overall, has played well. Again, I think he's being asked to do more than a player of his caliber should, but he's actually playing above expectations.

Landry - he's looked OK in stretches offensively. Not bad for a 3rd year player, but not great. Rebounding is atrocious.

I think the overall problem is that we're looking for starter leadership & decision-making from players who shouldn't have to be in that role, and those who will eventually be in that role (Evans/Cousins) haven't matured yet to be able to consistently do that. 3/4 years from now is not what I meant, but in the 3rd year of a unit functioning together should tell a lot about the players. Hell, even just a complete year of Evans & Cousins working together (not to mention an off-season) will pay off. It'll be there.

 

[swisshh]

Landry is a good example of having a weakness you need to develop out of and having a weakness that is just being boneheaded. Landry is poor at passing out of double teams, and a poor passer in general. Outside of that, I can't think of too many things that look bad on the court. Yes, he doesn't rebound defensively that well, but he is sort of just a sixth man scorer. He knows where he is weak and sticks within his limits.

Compare that to guys like JT who try to do moves they cannot and then foul just.. just because and you may get an idea of the difference between "oh its just inexperience" and "no its low bball IQ".