Defense

[bluntsnbball]

i'm disgusted with this teams D and i am curious to hear some other opinions about what the problem is. Is it Smarts fault? is it the individual players faults? Whatever it is, something has got to change here.

i know we picked up Smarts option for next season, but is it his fault? Do we need a new coach? New assistant coach(es)? Are there any defensive specialist coaches that may be of interest to us as an assistant? Do we need a new system? New players that know how to get through screens and know when help on the double team and when to stick with their man?

What do you folks think?

 

[swisshh]

I think it's first and foremost a personnel and upper management issue. There was a brief moment where the team was acquiring tougher players and players with more defensive potential. In one off season we sent off a tough minded guy like Casspi for a known defensive liability in Hickson. We traded for Salmons whose best defensive days were a year behind him. We drafted Jimmer and sent off Beno, who is by no means a defensive player, but who is leaps and bounds ahead of Jimmer on defense. We didn't retain Dalembert and proceeded to get no defensive anchor replacement. For years, Petrie has ignored defensive big men. Even when the team had them, there was a coach unwilling to play them.

Defense is just not in the current brain trust's priorities.

 

[IfAt1st]

Whoever's fault it is, the Kings are going nowhere without significantly better defense.

They'd better figure it out somehow - coaching..... players..... both.

 

[Bricklayer]

I think it's first and foremost a personnel and upper management issue. There was a brief moment where the team was acquiring tougher players and players with more defensive potential. In one off season we sent off a tough minded guy like Casspi for a known defensive liability in Hickson. We traded for Salmons whose best defensive days were a year behind him. We drafted Jimmer and sent off Beno, who is by no means a defensive player, but who is leaps and bounds ahead of Jimmer on defense. We didn't retain Dalembert and proceeded to get no defensive anchor replacement. For years, Petrie has ignored defensive big men. Even when the team had them, there was a coach unwilling to play them.

Defense is just not in the current brain trust's priorities.

There was a real unfortunate shift there. Although Casspi was terrible defensively.

Nonetheless, very distressing, because our team culture has always been offense first, and hence we have been one of the losingest franchises in the league. Then briefly, very briefly for about 2 years we seemed to have changed direction radically, and there was hope. And then...did we lsoe confidence in it? Give up and return to our normal instincts? Don't know. What I do know is that we have been in the bottom third of the league defensively for 7 of the past 8 years. Its not just this year's bunch.

 

[ParniValjak]

There was a real unfortunate shift there. Although Casspi was terrible defensively.

Nonetheless, very distressing, because our team culture has always been offense first, and hence we have been one of the losingest franchises in the league. Then briefly, very briefly for about 2 years we seemed to have changed direction radically, and there was hope. And then...did we lsoe confidence in it? Give up and return to our normal instincts? Don't know. What I do know is that we have been in the bottom third of the league defensively for 7 of the past 8 years. Its not just this year's bunch.

BINGO!!!!!

The motto of the franchise seems to be we rather lose and look pretty, than win ugly!

 

[Prince_XY]

i'm disgusted with this teams D and i am curious to hear some other opinions about what the problem is.

The problem is that our GM (who guides the owners on what direction the team should go) does not believe that defense is equally important as offense. Change the GM and the culture of this team will change.

 

[king4life89]

Sorry for u c hayes fans but he needs to be traded ill say it again over and over dude always gets scored on,gets rebounded over,cant make layups I wouldnt mind trading him asap...hes to short and fat midget

 

[sidney]

Sorry for u c hayes fans but he needs to be traded ill say it again over and over dude always gets scored on,gets rebounded over,cant make layups I wouldnt mind trading him asap...hes to short and fat midget

the guy is still playing through the shoulder injury. He'll be solid when healthy...hopefully all next year.

 

[sidney]

The problem is that our GM (who guides the owners on what direction the team should go) does not believe that defense is equally important as offense. Change the GM and the culture of this team will change.

Salmons was brought in to help with defense and to shoot the 3 and spread the floor. He has shot the 3 between 38 and 42% over the last 5 years (very good) and has been stinking it up shooting 30% for us with mediocre defense this year. Hayes was brought in to help with post defense and is no where near full strength with the shoulder injury.

It really is not as if Petrie just never cares about defense. You can see the logic there, but when you bring in two vets as starters to stabilize the defense and one gets injured and the other has a year so far below his averages in every way it's not time to play the blame game. Just time to recognize the weakness and make some changes.