Defense wins games

Yoda

Yoda

Bench
#31
#31
thesanityannex said:
Wells defense>Mobley's defense SAR's defense>Thomas defense




Looks like an improvement, not a nieve statement.

You have failed to give your reasons as to why they are worse defensively.
In your opinion, how did we become a worse defensive team?
Did this happen because we lost an aging defensive monster in Webber? Or was it the trade of the reliable Bobby Jackson? Could it have been the trade of young Doug Christie?
Click to expand...
Christie>Wells Webber>SAR Jackson>Hart

We are not better on D then we were at the start of last year. Webber may have had issues but he is not a dwarf. Christie may have been getting old, but Bonzi is a bad defender, especially when he is not in the mood. Bobby is a good defender, but you cannot assume injury.

BTW, I think we are a slightly better defensive team then we were at the end of the year last year so I agree with your first statement.
 
HOU CuttinoFan

HOU CuttinoFan

Prospect
#33
#33
I think you guys may be setting yourself up for disappointment in regards to Bonzi's defense... I'm biased, but I don't see how he's such an upgrade over Cat.

I saw from league pass that a lot of Cat's bad habits showed up again last year with Orlando and Sacramento, but two years ago in JVG's defensive scheme, he was really a very good stopper. He gave Iverson, Kobe, and T-Mac absolute fits with his quick feet and quick hands, and when he made a mistake the defense usually covered up for him.

But obviously I'm a bit biased, so back to Wells... I really don't believe that a single perimeter player can drastically improve a team's defense (with the exception of Kirilenko). Even guys like Artest and Bowen rely on having good rotations and shotblockers behind them. Bonzi may or may not be an individual upgrade over Cuttino, but the integrity of your defense is going to rely on how well the entire team operates defensively.

That said, when all's said and done, I think balance, not defense, is what wins championships. If the Kings' defense is anywhere close to their offense, they'll be a legitimate threat in the West.
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#35
#35
thesanityannex said:
Wells defense>Mobley's defense SAR's defense>Thomas defense




Looks like an improvement, not a nieve statement.

You have failed to give your reasons as to why they are worse defensively.
In your opinion, how did we become a worse defensive team?
Did this happen because we lost an aging defensive monster in Webber? Or was it the trade of the reliable Bobby Jackson? Could it have been the trade of young Doug Christie?
Click to expand...
Listen, SAR has been one of the worst defensive PFs in basketball, in large part because he's not really a PF at heart. He's roughly the mildest of all possible defensive improvements over either hobbled Webb or undersized KT, and only an improvement at all if he rediscovers some heart which hasn't been there in his game for years now. There we have to hope its been his head which has been the problem and not a slow fade in athletic ability as he ages.

Bonzi Wells is a good defender most nights. Not a great defender. But a good one. He was nowhere close to being in Doug's league when Doug was in his prime. He might be as good as OLD Doug, maybe, but its just part of what he does, and frankly he still thinks as an offensive player first. He plays defense, which is a welcome change on our team, but when he decides to turn it up and "stick it to you" he thinks offensively first rather than trying to just lock his man up.

Jason Hart was a VERY marginal player in the NBA before last year. 11th/12th man type. There was a reason he ended up on an expansion team. He's a very good defensive PG -- his calling card and reason for being in the league -- but he's not ever going to be able to duplicte that hyper-energetic *pop* that Bobby could bring to games. Few could.

We can say that we are better defensively than at the end of last year -- indeed how could we not be -- but that was kind of a bastardized team in midseason transition and not even remotely on the defensive map. But we are not clearly better than the team which started last season, and which itself still wasn't good enough defensively (our pipedream hope in the early season being that somehow those guys could call upon their vast playoff experience, reach down deep one more time in a champiosnip team's heart, and find a fountain of youth and defensive grit for the playoffs that we weren't seeing day to day). Nor do we have an obvious defensive captain anymore -- not a single major player who thinks defense first and who can inspire and elevate his teammates' efforts. There are ways that this can work adequately to keep us afloat, but its pretty much a best case scenario to get this team back to just middling defensively. Be enough to win a lot of games in the regular season, not enough to win big when it matters. And thereafter the path up defensively is hazy with our entire lineup pushing 30 and too old to change their focus or games completely around. We would need an impact defensive 6th man, or more likely a Christie-like acquisition to replace one of the starters to ever get us back in the conversation as a defensive team at anywhere close to the championship level we were operating at in our peak in '02 and '03.
 
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sono

sono

Starter
#36
#36
HOU CuttinoFan said:
...That said, when all's said and done, I think balance, not defense, is what wins championships. If the Kings' defense is anywhere close to their offense, they'll be a legitimate threat in the West.
Click to expand...
you hit the bullseye...
 
T

thesanityannex

Guest
#37
#37
Yoda said:
Christie>Wells Webber>SAR Jackson>Hart
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These are the healthy versions though. Those are obvious. my ">/<" were for the damaged and old Jackson, Webber, Christie. In that case, it is an upgrade. Anyways, I need the season to start. I find myself arguing over nothing, damn the TDOS.
 
O

ONEZERO

Guest
#38
#38
Just let the season start before we start making defensive predictions....

And for the record, last years defense(at the start of the season or the end of the season) was ridiculous and embarrasing. I feel there is no way that we can't be better than that this year.
 
K

Kings113

All-Star
#40
#40
Uh, I don't think that's necessary.

As one of the maloof's said "We can put it in the hole, we just have to be better at defending it."
 
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Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#41
#41
ONEZERO said:
Just let the season start before we start making defensive predictions....

And for the record, last years defense(at the start of the season or the end of the season) was ridiculous and embarrasing. I feel there is no way that we can't be better than that this year.
Click to expand...
Actually at the start of last season, let's say first 25 games until Bobby went down and before the Doug/Mobley trade, our defense was "ok". Not good enough to do serious damage with. But ranked in the middle #14-#19 range in most stats. What was aggravating things was that we were getting killed on the boards so our middling defense was having to defend far too many posessions. After we lost Bobby, and then Doug, is when things really started to spiral. And of course after the Webber trade the whole thing just descended into a chaotic mess.
 
A

Andre-3001

Guest
#45
#45
poo poo

i think the kings must have a better d this year. because everytime the other team have the ball i poo poo my dipers
 
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