Defense

Flopi

Bench
Earlier this season, I was pleased with team's effort on the defensive end.
It seems that, lately, it's back to all offense and open door on the other side.
I guess Tyreke being injured doesn't help either.

Opponents points in the last 6 games :
@ Dallas : 96 pts in 3 quarters, 119 pts total
@ Milwaukee : 59 pts in 2 quarters
@ Oklahoma City : 92 pts in 3 quarters, 113 pts total
vs Denver : 97 pts in 3 quarters, 122 pts total
@ Phoenix : 85 pts in 3 quarters
vs Golden State : 103 pts in 3 quarters, 127 pts total
 
After the first week of the regular season I posted that team played solid defense with excellent effort, but it will be hard to sustain if team continues to lose. It's difficult to keep the same level of effort for individuals not used to it if the result is not clear.
 
Defense is one of the keys to being consistently competitive. The Kings seem to double a lot now on top. Maybe it is a call by Smart toward the end of games. Curry was on fire last night and the Kings still got the victory. It was not obvious but their defense is better. The Warriors played well, they just got outscored. The Kings got just enough stops to win.
 
Different lineups create the different defense. At least partly. Take Johnson and Tyreke out of the lineup and you're just not going to get the D. I think Smart is willing to sacrifice a little D in Johnson for a little more O and less D in Salmons. Also, sometimes Cousins has come to play D, other times he just hasn't; a lot has to do with his frustration over the officials, and of course sometimes he's just not in the lineup because of the officials.
 
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