Beno improving

[QoooooQ]

Well, Beno played maybe his best game ever against the Raptors. Since he was criticized harshly on this forum last season, I thought it would be good to appreciate how incredibly well his playing now.

He was mentioned somewhere as an early candidate for the Most Improved player award early in the season, but then fell out of the discussion as we piled up losses. But look out now, for the month of March his averaging insane numbers: 53.6% on field goals, 60% on threes, 100% on free throws, 15.5. PPG and a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Even for the season he's shooting almost 50% on field goals which is quite incredible. If you look at the league leaders he's actually 30th in FG%. The only point guards ahead of him are Rondo, Nash and Paul. For three point percentage he's at 40% for the season, 20th best in league.

Some people still wanted him traded at the deadline because of his contract. I think that's complete nonsense because he seems to be the perfect backup for Reke. Trying to run the team last year he failed, but this year he has fit right in with Evans and is having a career year as his sidekick in the backcourt. I think the numbers show that we could not hope for a more efficient player next to our star. This year his performance on the court matches his salary, he seems to be a positive guy in the locker room and I'm glad we will have him here for another couple of years as our team improves.

 

[DoDiGaG0]

Well, Beno played maybe his best game ever against the Raptors. Since he was criticized harshly on this forum last season, I thought it would be good to appreciate how incredibly well his playing now.

He was mentioned somewhere as an early candidate for the Most Improved player award early in the season, but then fell out of the discussion as we piled up losses. But look out now, for the month of March his averaging insane numbers: 53.6% on field goals, 60% on threes, 100% on free throws, 15.5. PPG and a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Even for the season his shooting almost 50% on field goals which is quite incredible. If you look at the league leaders his actually 30th in FG%. The only point guards ahead of him are Rondo, Nash and Paul. For three point percentage his at 40% for the season, 20th best in league.

Some people still wanted him traded at the deadline because of his contract. I think that's complete nonsense because he seems to be the perfect backup for Reke. Trying to run the team last year he failed, but this year he has fit right in with Evans and is having a career year as his sidekick in the backcourt. I think the numbers show that we could not hope for a more efficient player next to our star. This year his performance on the court matches his salary, he seems to be a positive guy in the locker room and I'm glad we will have him here for another couple of years as our team improves.

I was a huge advocate of moving Beno(even at the trade deadline)

is he worth the deal he got? Probably not..

He does fit this system extremely well and plays really nicely with Tyreke because Tyreke can take so much of the pressure of running the offense off of him.

I still really believe we need a big defensive combo guard who can guard the 2/1 w/ above average play-making skills to play next to Tyreke for an IDEAL Combo but Beno would make for a deadly and nearly ideal first guard off the bench.

Bricklayer, before you say cisco... im thinking of someone Doug Christie or Eric Snow

 

[Gary]

I was a huge advocate of moving Beno(even at the trade deadline)

is he worth the deal he got? Probably not..

He does fit this system extremely well and plays really nicely with Tyreke because Tyreke can take so much of the pressure of running the offense off of him.

I still really believe we need a big defensive combo guard who can guard the 2/1 w/ above average play-making skills to play next to Tyreke for an IDEAL Combo but Beno would make for a deadly and nearly ideal first guard off the bench.

Bricklayer, before you say cisco... im thinking of someone Doug Christie or Eric Snow

OK I know I am hugging (again) but Antonio Anderson fits the bill. At least enough to get an invite to summer league. The two biggest assets are Defense (check) and Anderson plays well with Evans (check). He's no worse than Udoka I can guarantee. He would probably give us a Udoka type player with better ball handling skills.. He's bigger and stronger than Udoka though, and has longer arms. As for his offense.. meh.. He can get to the line but he wouldn't get in the way of Tyreke. He has the range and has been working on his shot, but it's not up to par with NBA SGs yet which is why he hasn't got a job yet with an NBA team.

People have given me flack for wanting him on the Kings since he's a D-Leaguer and does not "belong" in the NBA but he was slated to be a late first rounder early second rounder had he left college a year earlier. Last year he was supposed to be drafted somewhere late second, or undrafted. Of course he went undrafted, but was one of those early undrafted FA signings.

Anderson isn't Christie, and he's not Eric Snow, but he has the potential to become a good NBA defensive SG with ball handling skills. He has been working on his range, but I don't think his mechanics will allow him to be consistent which is what a lot of NBA teams want from their SG unless they have the all around skills of a Evans, Wade, or LeBron.

 

[Gary]

BTW, Anderson was called up by the Thunder so no way we can snag him this year. But hey.. 6'6 strong as hell, won defensive player of the year for Conference USA (when he played with Evans), and averaged almost 6apg on the D-League team which means he has the handles. I think it would be a good move to get a look at him this summer

 

[Prince_XY]

Some people still wanted him traded at the deadline because of his contract. I think that's complete nonsense because he seems to be the perfect backup for Reke. Trying to run the team last year he failed, but this year he has fit right in with Evans and is having a career year as his sidekick in the backcourt. I think the numbers show that we could not hope for a more efficient player next to our star. This year his performance on the court matches his salary, he seems to be a positive guy in the locker room and I'm glad we will have him here for another couple of years as our team improves.

IMO, you are mistaken.

People wanted to get rid of Beno not only because of his contract, but also because the guy had been very inconsistent with his play and very poor in defense. That my friend is not a complete nonsense.

And what makes you think Beno won't revert back to his old self?

IMO, since we already began purging the team with players having below average capability in defense ( or those capable but won't exert the consistent effort in defense ), we shouldn't stop the process. Miller is gone. Martin is also gone. The last remnants of the team's softiness in defense ( Beno and Hawes ) should also go before the other players get infected again.

Beno shouldn't be indispensable to this team. If we can get the upgrade player we need in one of the positions in exchange for Beno, then by all means we should trade Beno. It is not as if Beno is all that good now and is carrying our team to those wins consistently.

 

[QoooooQ]

the guy had been very inconsistent with his play and very poor in defense.

Presumably you mean inconsistent from year to year, because he has been very consistent from game to game this season. So that leads us to the question:

And what makes you think Beno won't revert back to his old self?

My answer is that he seems to be playing a role that suits him perfectly on this team. I wouldn't put much emphasis on last year's performance considering that we had a completely dysfunctional team with incompetent coaching. Nothing is certain of course, but he seems to be thriving next to Evans right now.

Defense? Ok, so he's not perfect. But I think his offensive efficiency makes up for it.

 

[K F Jay]

I think Beno is better playing offguard that's why he's doing so well with Tyreke. I like everything about his offensive game. The only things that concerns me is

1. Too many scorers. Tyreke and Landry should be our main scorers and the rest of the scoring should be spread around. If Beno continues to be a scorer it will be hard to get the rest of the team involved. BUT I dont think this is a major problem. We'll need his scoring when Tyreke and/or Landry are resting.

2. Defense. I notice Beno tries on defense and is fundamentally sound but he can't stop the scoring guards in the league. We don't have a guard that can defend the smaller quicker scoring guards in the league. Tyreke can but it takes alot out of him resulting in him being too tired to defend on back to backs, 3 games in 4 days, etc. the hectic NBA schedule. We need someone to take the load off Tyreke. Udoka can a little but we need a ball handler who can defend and Udoka is'nt a ball handler. Cisco fits the bill but is not quick enough. Cisco is a better defender against the bigger scoring guards and is the perfect utiltiy player for us.

It won't hurt us if Beno is gone. BUT I think we can keep him and Cisco and the smaller quicker scoring guard defender, ball handling guard we need. We don't need to trade Beno and/or Cisco. In fact we need to add that player we need in the mix.

 

[PurpleHaze]

All the comments on Beno (at least the positive ones) are pretty much spot on, IMO. I like that he gets into offense fast, attacks relentlessly - faster than Tyreke in the set-ups. Not that 'Reke is terribly slow, but Beno pushes it hard. Also, Beno constantly calls out the play, verbally and with hand signals, moves teammates into exact position he wants - he's damn smart in that regard. #13 is learning by watching #19 execute those plays and that's all good.

Most of Beno's pull up little mid-range "draino's" or slashing drives inside "lefty's" (making sensational 50% FG) are not as first option but when clock is winding down and he HAS TO break down the D for something to happen. It seems this season he's got the 3 ball working better than ever. When he gets to the line he's 90% from the stripe. That's clutch as he almost never misses big 4th Q FT's. His D will never be a main calling card but it's obvious his time spent in San Antonio under Coach Pop has been instrumental in having sound fundamentals on that end. He gets a number of deflections with his waving out-stretched arms, moves his feet laterally better than average to stay in front of his man for most part, has surprisingly strong upper body (he's solid 6'3" 205 lbs) and is not afraid to take a charge (unlike skinny dude he replaced in Kings starting line-up).

In short, Beno Udrih is now earning his contact one game at a time and he's been doing it from opening tip this season - both off the bench as a needed spark and now as valuable back court starter. I like a comment I heard Tyreke say about Beno. He said he listens to him, learns from him, because, "he's a veteran who has been around 5-6 years and knows how to play in this league."

 

[Rookie]

First I thought he was a guy just playing for contract and then become lazy once he signed the dotted line. He didn't want to perform to what we expected of him. However I can't blame him for last season performance. I probably would lose motivation too if I was playing with a bunch of heartless players.

His contract is definitely worth it now that he's willing to show up.

 

[kgrichwine]

Beno esta bueno!

 

[Prince_XY]

Presumably you mean inconsistent from year to year, because he has been very consistent from game to game this season.

And that is not true. Review all the previous threads of games and you'll see we still saw the true inconsistent Beno in some games. I think this year is more of a Beno anomaly, especially in offense. Defensively, the only difference is that he seems to exert more effort now, but in futility. There are a lot more games he played wonderfully on the offensive end, but you can tell the norm will be that he will always be a liability in defense. And you don't want that if you're building a playoff team and especially a championship team.

What I am saying is that if we get a good offer for him, one that will be an upgrade, then by all means trade him like we did on Martin while his stock is still deceivingly high. Nobody in his right mind makes a 6th man type of player like Beno indispensable in the NBA. Oh well, I hope not to see one in Sacramento.

My answer is that he seems to be playing a role that suits him perfectly on this team.

Mrs Beno, know what? His role should fit perfectly for the team and not the other way around Mrs Beno. I am just kidding of course.

I know what you mean. But please, do not imply that we should make Beno indispensable! We need a defensive specialist next to Evans. One who can play off the ball and at the same time one who can very well handle the ball. And he should be a big guard, so we can capitalize on Evan's advantage at the point guard position.

I wouldn't put much emphasis on last year's performance considering that we had a completely dysfunctional team with incompetent coaching. Nothing is certain of course, but he seems to be thriving next to Evans right now.

Defense? Ok, so he's not perfect. But I think his offensive efficiency makes up for it.

You can have all the offensive efficiency that you want, but without a consistent decent defense you are nothing more than Nelie's basketball team. You are still not going anywhere. If that is the kind of basketball team we are building, then by all means let us make Beno indispensable and we shouldn't have had that move to trade Martin.

BTW, I don't think Beno's sucking last year has anything to do with incompetent coaching or having a completely dysfunctional team. Sucking last year was more of a result of Beno's poor performance contributing to the team's sucking. He sucked as our ballhandler. He sucked as the supposed veteran leader of this team. The guy just sucked in every facet of his game and these had contributed a lot to our countless losses. He was lazy, turns the ball too much, and sometimes really looked like an NBDL player on the court. His laziness on the court, especially for a point guard who was supposed to lead this team was infectious.

And when was the last time you saw a supposedly veteran and an okay point guard dribbled the ball to his foot?

 

[CruzDude]

Beno has been the most consistent player this year and has been instrumental in a number of wins. He has finally found his role with Tyreke and has more normal PG skills than Tyreke, now at least. Whenever Beno scores 20+ I think Kings are like 6-1?? I've always been a Beno supporter and he does have the best puill up jumper on the team.

While his "D" is OK, if we have the bigs taking away the middle on D then the guards get great relief. It's a team thing as evidenced by the defensive contribution of Landry and the improvement, slight as it is, of Hawes and JT.

Beno can still be in the running for the most improved player. On the Kings for sure.

 

[Rookie]

I think you are going off on what none of us are saying. Maybe you have some kind of hatred toward the guy. I don't blame you if it was last year. But this year is different and we're looking forward not backward.

Beno has improved and playing well with the team. You can blame last year and point the fingure at him all you want, but obviously he has done better with the current team now.

You can think the guy would revert back but I doubt that because this team will be the one playing next season not the team of 2008.

 

[folsomfella]

Have you noticed national broadcasters never get his name right?

The guy on ESPN.com calls him Beano Oodrith

The guy on NBA.com calls him Ben O Oodrah.

 

[kennadog]

I've been pleased with Beno's consistency this season. He's a veteran point guard, who's played on a championship team. I think Evans could do worse than having Beno around from whom to learn some things about being a PG, more about opposing players and just learning the NBA.

Right now, Beno has the killer jumpshot that Reke doesn't have yet, but will hopefully develop.

 

[vistacruza_kings]

its funny when a poster has nothing to rip on a player about, they can always claim "hes bad defensively"

 

[kennadog]

its funny when a poster has nothing to rip on a player about, they can always claim "hes bad defensively"

Well, if there's anything that Kings fans are intimately knowleageable about, it might be bad defense.

 

[Bricklayer]

You could still upgrade that spot, with a better defender in particular, and a bigger player who can help keep opposing teams from loading their best wing defenders off onto Reke. But this was what I was saying during the Kevin debates -- having a truly great backcourt pairing has just not been how its done. A Beno level guy, with a Cisco level guy around as well, is every bit as good as the sorts of players that have been paired with the MJs and Kobes and Wades of the world over the years. Complementary roleplayers.

I had a list of things you'd want from a Reke backcourt mate from early in the season, basically 1) defends; 2) enough size to keep Reke guarded by PGs; 3) can help with ballhandling duties; 4) spot shooter who can knock down open Js. Cisco is only modestly talented, but he always matched up pretty well on all 4 fronts. As he and Reke continue to develop a chemistry -- been noticing that draw and kick to the corner game is picking up steam these last few -- he should fit nicely. Beno does not have as much of the first two, but he's a good fit on the latter two. And altogether a Beno/Cisco platoon there is not a bad fit at all next to a superstar guard type. Its better than what runs next to Kobe or Wade or CP3 or Deron etc. (although we'll have to see how Thornton does once Paul gets back). Its better than the guys Jordan had back there.

With the salary cap you only have limited resources to spend on assets in the NBA. Limited roster spots, draft picks, $$. I'm not at all sure the best use of ours is in mucking around with the SG spot. Time and time again teams havce decided that the better way to compement their superstar guards has been to spend those assets on the frontline, and to just run roleplayers at the other guard spot next to their star. We've already got those roleplayers in place. If we can get a better roleplayer back there, than as always, cool. But it may not be neede. Those guys may give us enough, especially as Reke grows more dominant over the next few years of development.