DEFENSE AND GRIT

[steelevt]

The Holmes acquisition may be so good that you can overlook the other subpar signings or mis-signings. to a degree He's what you'd hoped Cauley-Stein would be on defense. I"m not sure what Phoenc & Phili was thinking letting him go. What a coup in that regard.
The team actually looks better and more cohesive (especially on defense) without Fox who over-dribbles often. They look more focused. The injury could be a silver-lining type deal. They are heavily relying on Hield and Bogdan now on offense. Hield had a master shooting night to allow for the win against the Celtics.

They were prob thinking, maybe we should make room at the starting center spots for some guys named ayton and embiid. As good as Holmes has been for us, no one for saw how important he was to us. Not even the kings cuz he was slated to be a backup here. Sometimes it just takes the right situation and the stars to line up and he took advantage of it. But you’re right about how we all wished he was what wcs would have been to the kings.

 

[King Baller]

Mr Holmes and the Free Agent crew Vlade brought in along with Coach Walton has changed the Kings to a pretty credible NBA caliber defense.

Defense matters!

 

[63royals]

The Holmes acquisition may be so good that you can overlook the other subpar signings or mis-signings. to a degree He's what you'd hoped Cauley-Stein would be on defense. I"m not sure what Phoenc & Phili was thinking letting him go. What a coup in that regard.
The team actually looks better and more cohesive (especially on defense) without Fox who over-dribbles often. They look more focused. The injury could be a silver-lining type deal. They are heavily relying on Hield and Bogdan now on offense. Hield had a master shooting night to allow for the win against the Celtics.

I want to admit to one of my prejudices. If you think ANY absolute judgement about the off-season trades is possible this early in the season, then I think you don't know basketball at all.

 

[Kingster]

Holmes and Joseph have been key to the defense. The head of the snake and the anchor. I love Fox but Joseph is so much more focused and disciplined defensively at this point. Hopefully Fox is seeing the importance of PG defense and that he doesn't have to carry this entire team offensively to win.

I really think Fox is going to learn some things from watching Joseph on defense.

 

[kingdivac]

I want to admit to one of my prejudices. If you think ANY absolute judgement about the off-st season trades is possible this early in the season, then I think you don't know basketball at all.

.

Fine admit your prejudice. then.....I think its fairly safe to claim or suppose none of the Kings recent free agents will make the all-star team - to put it nicely.

 

[Larry89]

Holmes and Joseph have been key to the defense. The head of the snake and the anchor. I love Fox but Joseph is so much more focused and disciplined defensively at this point. Hopefully Fox is seeing the importance of PG defense and that he doesn't have to carry this entire team offensively to win.

Bjelica has been our best help defender, I have been closely watching his defensive help rotations whenever someone goes to double and he is always there. He is so incredibly smart and aware, I hope Marvin and Harry have been watching this behemoth of a man with about half their athleticism patrol the paint.

It is also very apparant when Richaun goes to hedge a high PnR or screen Bjelica is always there in the back coming from the corner/baseline.

 

[kingdivac]

Bjelica has been our best help defender, I have been closely watching his defensive help rotations whenever someone goes to double and he is always there. He is so incredibly smart and aware, I hope Marvin and Harry have been watching this behemoth of a man with about half their athleticism patrol the paint.

It is also very apparant when Richaun goes to hedge a high PnR or screen Bjelica is always there in the back coming from the corner/baseline.

Yes Bjelica has been very consistent - you could make a case most balanced player on the team so far. He does have good help-defense instincts - becomes active to help other players per usual. On the flip side you want to see Bogdan play more like that and scrap more.

 

[hrdboild]

This has been a stunning reversal after the team looked completely lost for the first 5 games. It's not just that the defense has ramped up, though that has been a big part of it. I'm seeing ball movement again and sets that don't break down in the first 5 seconds of the shot clock. Hopefully those first 5 games were an aberration and the team is settling in now to the style of play they'll win with going forward.

I do have 2 concerns though, and they're both related. Last year we were top 5 in pace and it seemed like the blitz mentality was ideally suited to maximizing the potential of our biggest potential stars: Fox and Bagley. This team is currently second to last in pace and they've played their best basketball with Fox and Bagley on the sideline. We've seen this before with many teams. On paper, getting Fox and Bagley back only makes them deeper and more talented but in reality it takes rotation minutes away from defensive role-players and forces the team to reorganize its offense to allow our star players an appropriate amount of touches. It could be a bumpy ride mid-season rebuilding chemistry on the fly. If this is our new identity, if we're going to win by limiting opposing scoring chances like we're Utah or Denver, there's going to be a lot of pressure on Fox and Bagley to adjust their game style when they get healthy.

To be clear, I don't see this as a play style problem... however you divide up the totals, all it takes to win is to score more points than your opponent. Making "Pace" the keystone to success has always been problematic. Lurking in the shadows of this success though is the question of how such a dramatic change is going to play out going forward. We have completely re-invented the wheel this year both offensively and defensively from a team that won 39 games last year. It's hard to say at this point which direction this is going to go.

 

[NME]

To be clear, I don't see this as a play style problem... however you divide up the totals, all it takes to win is to score more points than your opponent. Making "Pace" the keystone to success has always been problematic. Lurking in the shadows of this success though is the question of how such a dramatic change is going to play out going forward. We have completely re-invented the wheel this year both offensively and defensively from a team that won 39 games last year. It's hard to say at this point which direction this is going to go.

Right, pace isn't magic by itself, as we learned last year once other teams caught on. You still have to come out ahead incrementally with each exchange of possessions (or create more possessions.)

It's like the old joke about business models: "Sure, we lose money on every transaction, but we make it up in VOLUME."

 

[Amiga]

I'm also a little worried that we will lose this new found defensive style when Bagley comes back. I would prefer that he is eased back into the lineup and only given the starting spot if his defense is up to par and he's outplaying Beli and Holmes. His dad being Lavar Jr. kinda worries me, but I also see Luke as a no nonsense type of guy. He's gonna do whats best for the team, as he already showed benching dedmon quickly and subbing out Buddy when he put up a stinker.

 

[63royals]

.

Fine admit your prejudice. then.....I think its fairly safe to claim or suppose none of the Kings recent free agents will make the all-star team - to put it nicely.

So instead of responding to my point you change the subject. LOL.

 

[parker]

Mr Holmes and the Free Agent crew Vlade brought in along with Coach Walton has changed the Kings to a pretty credible NBA caliber defense.

Defense matters!

In his post-game comments, Bogdan said last year they were playing one on one defense, but now they are playing team defense and everyone knows where they are supposed to be. Jab at Joerger? Either way, the team has bought into what Walton is selling.

 

[kingdivac]

This has been a stunning reversal after the team looked completely lost for the first 5 games. It's not just that the defense has ramped up, though that has been a big part of it. I'm seeing ball movement again and sets that don't break down in the first 5 seconds of the shot clock. Hopefully those first 5 games were an aberration and the team is settling in now to the style of play they'll win with going forward.

I do have 2 concerns though, and they're both related. Last year we were top 5 in pace and it seemed like the blitz mentality was ideally suited to maximizing the potential of our biggest potential stars: Fox and Bagley. This team is currently second to last in pace and they've played their best basketball with Fox and Bagley on the sideline. We've seen this before with many teams. On paper, getting Fox and Bagley back only makes them deeper and more talented but in reality it takes rotation minutes away from defensive role-players and forces the team to reorganize its offense to allow our star players an appropriate amount of touches. It could be a bumpy ride mid-season rebuilding chemistry on the fly. If this is our new identity, if we're going to win by limiting opposing scoring chances like we're Utah or Denver, there's going to be a lot of pressure on Fox and Bagley to adjust their game style when they get healthy.

To be clear, I don't see this as a play style problem... however you divide up the totals, all it takes to win is to score more points than your opponent. Making "Pace" the keystone to success has always been problematic. Lurking in the shadows of this success though is the question of how such a dramatic change is going to play out going forward. We have completely re-invented the wheel this year both offensively and defensively from a team that won 39 games last year. It's hard to say at this point which direction this is going to go.

A big difference is Bogdan waking up from his early funk, and getting back to his play from his first season to lead the team for his teammates instead of himself. He's had his fingerprint on several of the 5 wins. Entirely necessary for the team to improve. I initially thought he was the best player on the team his 1st season, and so his regression was tough to watch last season. But its nice to see he's currently located his former effort and patience to a good degree.

 

[SacTownKid]

You can't discount Dedmons ability to defend the rim in his minutes either. I noticed a couple of games ago, guards are starting to think twice before taking it to the rim at him.

 

[Tetsujin]

You can't discount Dedmons ability to defend the rim in his minutes either. I noticed a couple of games ago, guards are starting to think twice before taking it to the rim at him.

Much has been made of Dedmon's struggles on offense and his brainfarts but he, along with our other free agents, has really brought nice defense in his minutes on the floor.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

I come from that area, but can relate to what you say. The trip certainly didn't help, and I wonder if even Vivek is second guessing himself right now.

I haven't bothered to look into it myself, but I read a tweet that indicated that these types of long distance preseason trips have historically resulted in teams getting off to slow starts.

I recall the 2000 KINGS playing two regular season games in Japan against Minnesota to start off the season and they were clearly sluggish in both games.

 

[ockingsfan]

I think that in the "Post - Golden State Warriors Apocalypse" NBA, I think that Defense will again become the barometer of winning championships.

They say "Defense wins Championships" and that was not necessarily the case when the sharp shooting GSW had their run.

Now that the Warriors of old are decimated, I think defense will come to the forefront during the playoffs again. When players start getting a little more tight and referees start letting the teams battle a little more, defense will become more important.

If the Kings can sustain this defensive prowess, I think they can definitely become a playoff contending team this year.

 

[parker]

I think that in the "Post - Golden State Warriors Apocalypse" NBA, I think that Defense will again become the barometer of winning championships.

They say "Defense wins Championships" and that was not necessarily the case when the sharp shooting GSW had their run.

Now that the Warriors of old are decimated, I think defense will come to the forefront during the playoffs again. When players start getting a little more tight and referees start letting the teams battle a little more, defense will become more important.

If the Kings can sustain this defensive prowess, I think they can definitely become a playoff contending team this year.

This is an inaccurate statement. The Warriors were actually a top defensive team during their championship runs.

This article lays out the evidence that the Warriors success was based on their defense. Your last two sentences are likely true, though.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/patric...s-team-must-be-built-on-defense/#1d6324f02bfa

 

[ockingsfan]

This is an inaccurate statement. The Warriors were actually a top defensive team during their championship runs.

This article lays out the evidence that the Warriors success was based on their defense. Your last two sentences are likely true, though.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/patric...s-team-must-be-built-on-defense/#1d6324f02bfa

Here is the thing about those championship Warrior teams.

While most teams got tight in big time situations and those 3 pointers that were going in during the regular season, would miss come crunch time of the playoffs, the Warriors kept making them.

I'm sure that the Warriors had good defense, but I think their offense is what really carried them in those championships. Their opponents made the mistake of trying to go tit-for-tat with them on offense and most teams failed. Instead of trying to grit and grind the Warriors to beat them, they tried to beat the Warriors at their own offensive game, but all fell short.

Teams were trying to match those Warriors team, offense for offense, which I thought was a huge mistake. Instead of grinding out games, teams were lulled into trying to trade basket for basket with the Warriors. While the GSW defense may have been good, it was the GSW offense that made those teams special.

Once you take away that juggernaut offensive team, who seemed impervious to the "tightening of the sphincter" in big time situations and the long ball, teams will swing back to the normal grit and grind of Playoff basketball. I think that is where playoff basketball will ultimately swing back to, once teams figure out they don't have a Warriors offense juggernaut shooting team to deal with in the playoffs anymore.