Early Season Kumbaya (positive) Thread...

[sactownfan]

OK LETS KEEP THIS A POSITIVE ONLY THREAD... IF YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING NEGATIVE SAVE IT FOR THE GRADES OR ANOTHER THREAD...BUT LETS KEEP THIS POSITIVE ONLY TAKES SO FAR.

OK ... WOW... like everyone else here I'm still in disbelief over last nights implosion. However I was able to take more positives away from last nights epic fail and the previous losses this morning. Its been a long long time since we were this competitive. We absolutely could and really should have won everyone of the games on that last rode trip. Think about that again... absolutely could and really should have.... The ability so say such a thing about a "Kings team" is actually a positive in itself. haha

Its been so long that I think I forgot how to cope with losing close or competitive games. lol! over the last 5+ years we've been so poorly lacking talent or skill that at this point so early in the season... I would already have been regretting my leaguepass purchase.

HOWEVER... this team is breaking our hearts in an entirely different way so far this season. SO... My take on the positves...

1) We are not getting blown out. In fact we are blowing teams out (playoff teams) for a decent chunk of games. This makes losing these games harder to take but seriously thank the lord there at least worth watching and close. We still could be a playoff team THIS YEAR. Our schedule has been brutal so far and we still have a winning record.

2) Our team/roster is ahead of schedule for being competitive. One thing semi lost last night was once again Ben was on the scene! He has emerged as a legit 2 guard on this road trip. Also Collision has proven to be a legit starter and a massive upgrade to IT as far as making those around him better. As I see it for the first time in FORever we have a starting 5 that can hang with the leagues best. Really only the PF spot is in need of an upgrade (as i see it). We also have a few guys that can provide us with some decent bench/role play as well. Carl, Evans and Casspi have been decent. Carl has actually been great at times. The major issues off the bench right now are Size and a back up PG... The team really struggles when Collision comes off. I think you'll see PDA make a move at some point to address one or 2 of these by the all-star break.

(side note, think about how long its been that we talked about needed bench depth vs needing all new starters LOL!)

3) This team is learning to win. The only way to succeed sometimes is to fail first. We can build off of these losses. Like all young or newly constructed teams you gotta get some lumps and go thru the fire together before you go onto winning titles. These defeats are the building blocks to success. Cousins is a great example of this. Teams are now seriously game planning for him and throwing him looks they didn't bother with in the past. They're adjusting to our style and you see that mid game right now. Its only a matter of time tho that Cousins and the rest of the team also adjust to them and we go back to crushing. Its a learning curve.

4) Im gonna say it again. BEN!!!!!! this guy is really pumping me up! He's obviously not near a finished product. But WOW... if he continues to grow and becomes more consistent this team IS UNSTOPPABLE.... in the first half of the DAL and MEM game when we were blowing them out. Ben was killing it, aka doing his job not even all-star level.... its not a coincidence.

5) We have Cousins.... other teams don't....He's growing too... only gonna get better... think about that.

Anyway this team is competitive. Im excited to see more close games.

 

[Gilles]

Well, how about:
1. When was the last time a team was able to go +20 on two top-5 West teams in two games in a row.
2. When Cousins is on the floor, Kings are massively outplaying their opponents, that so far included basically West's elite.
3. Kings are 3-6 in home/away games, so Kings's record should be considered as at least 6-3, not 5-4. It will all even out over the course of the season.
4. At some point Kings will start winning games, in which they build 20+ leads as in win 9 out of 10 times even on the road, not 1 out of 3.
5. Last season at this point Kings were 2-6.
EDIT:
6. Kings played all games against West teams without meeting one of Lakers, Wolves or Jazz, likely #13-15 in the West by the end of the year.

 

[VF21]

Positives?

1. This team is at least watchable.
2. KF has more active members posting in the threads than we've had in a long time.
3. No John Salmons.

 

[Glenn]

I'm happy with the team on the whole although it took awhile to get over last night. The team has a starting unit. Now it needs a bench. We aren't far from having a decent bench the way it is. Just my opinion.

 

[Chubbs]

This team is no longer deep in a hole without even one above average player. Horrific loss that hurt like hell, but alas, it was in fact game 9. It's not like the championship window just slammed shut.

Not that we are anywhere near that, but this certainly was nothing like 2002. That hurt for years. I'm pretty good 24 hours later. Somewhat dreading what happens next, but at least the blown leads were against top teams on the road.

The emergence of Ben is just an incredible positive. We've got 4 of 5 legit NBA starters. And not one, but two elite players. That's good!

I'll let you guess who the odd man out is. Hint:Not Demarcus.

 

[randymoss1881]

1. The emergence of Ben he is shooting 43% from 3 with 4.3 attempts and last 4 games is shooting 50% from 3 54% from 2 and averaging 16.5ppg. If he can keep that up that's a nice 3/5 option.

2. We should have beat 2 contenders on the road (Mavs are pretenders for me) had them both down 20. Even though we lost that shows the impact of our big 2. People can't say we snuck up on them when we had already beat the blazers/clippers teams would be aware of us.

3. Defense. Our first team defense is top 5 a reporter tweeted earlier that our starting 5 is #1 in points per 100poss.

4. Role players. Guys like sessions (or if replaced by Ray)/ JT/Ben/Nik can only go up and getter better from here. Especially Nik/back up pg.

5. 5-4 record. Yes we should be 7-2 but 5-4 is still good when you are playing all playoff teams but the nuggets.

 

[HighFlyingMonkey]

We're fine. No need to hit the panic button. November is the toughest month we have all year, and we're still above .500 as of right now. Have some tough tests coming up against the Spurs and Pelicans, and then a monstrous road trip later (@MIN, @NOP, @HOU, @SAS) to end the month, but if we can be hovering around .500 by the time December rolls around we're in good shape.

 

[PurpleHaze]

After all the drama of the Maloofs, an endless coaching merry-go-round, a decade of arena headache - we are now past all that to just focus on OUR team - THE SAC-RA-MEN-TO KINGS. What major burden lifted! YES!

Once we finally stop beating ourselves like NBA team full of snot nose teenagers this team has proved it has core talent to complete against anyone with playoffs no longer far away distant dream. GO KINGS!!

 

[Siranthony]

We're fine. No need to hit the panic button. November is the toughest month we have all year, and we're still above .500 as of right now. Have some tough tests coming up against the Spurs and Pelicans, and then a monstrous road trip later (@MIN, @NOP, @HOU, @SAS) to end the month, but if we can be hovering around .500 by the time December rolls around we're in good shape.

I agree. If we hang in there for a few more games I think this team will start rolling. These tough losses will help us come playoffs if we are lucky enough to make it.

 

[Jespher]

I'm encouraged by the team's size, skill, and athleticism along the starting five. All five starters pass the eye test for NBA size, and the added length of Ben, Rudy, Jason, and DeMarcus makes them able to rebound and run at five spots.

They can score in the post. DeMarcus is abusing any and all comers here, but Rudy has demonstrated a nice post game, Carl Landry is extremely versatile off the bench as a post scorer, and the guards are able to dribble penetrate and score efficiently (even Sessions will have competence here).

They are an excellent defensive rebounding team, and winning the glass, plus scoring in the paint is an excellent recipe for success. Garbage rebounds offensively lead to easier put backs throughout the season and the Kings are dominating here.

They get to the free throw line, and usually make them. So far they are top five in the league at both free throw attempts per game and overall percentage

Nick Collison is a play-making, stabilizing point guard. He makes everyone around him better!

Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins are legit scorers throughout any quarter of the game, and other teams have to adjust to them

Michael Malone has the respect of his players, the confidence from ownership, and has maintained a consistent message throughout his tenure. Defense is the path to wins. The Kings are capable of staggering defense for quarters at a time. 26% for the Grizzlies in the first quarter, excellent defense against a superb Golden State offense, etc. Players have also bought in to playing their role, sacrificing offensive touches for the betterment of the team and increased defensive energy, especially Jason Thompson. The team has visible leadership from its stars, and veterans to stabilize strife from within. The improvement in team chemistry is palpable! The improvement in ownership/management chemistry, spending power, innovation, and leadership is exponential!

The team still has a lot of ability to improve from within. Ben McLemore, Nic Stauskas, Ray McCallum, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Moreland, and even Derrick Williams are young enough to continually adapt and improve their game for the betterment of the team. Stabilizing veterans are still in their prime, and continually add to their game, especially Rudy, Collison, Casspi, Thompson, and Landry.

The Kings have excellent salary cap flexibility going forward with a glut of expiring contracts this offseason, along with Larry Bird rights to Rudy Gay. With increased salary cap expectations given the new TV deal struck, they should be players for further improvement in the coming seasons.

The Kings have an ownership that has been willing to spend, and usually spend wisely.

There is a new, shiny arena on the horizon that is poised to rejuvenate the entire region dramatically!

The Kings are here to stay!

 

[Glenn]

I'm encouraged by the team's size, skill, and athleticism along the starting five. All five starters pass the eye test for NBA size, and the added length of Ben, Rudy, Jason, and DeMarcus makes them able to rebound and run at five spots.

They can score in the post. DeMarcus is abusing any and all comers here, but Rudy has demonstrated a nice post game, Carl Landry is extremely versatile off the bench as a post scorer, and the guards are able to dribble penetrate and score efficiently (even Sessions will have competence here).

They are an excellent defensive rebounding team, and winning the glass, plus scoring in the paint is an excellent recipe for success. Garbage rebounds offensively lead to easier put backs throughout the season and the Kings are dominating here.

They get to the free throw line, and usually make them. So far they are top five in the league at both free throw attempts per game and overall percentage

Nick Collison is a play-making, stabilizing point guard. He makes everyone around him better!

Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins are legit scorers throughout any quarter of the game, and other teams have to adjust to them

Michael Malone has the respect of his players, the confidence from ownership, and has maintained a consistent message throughout his tenure. Defense is the path to wins. The Kings are capable of staggering defense for quarters at a time. 26% for the Grizzlies in the first quarter, excellent defense against a superb Golden State offense, etc. Players have also bought in to playing their role, sacrificing offensive touches for the betterment of the team and increased defensive energy, especially Jason Thompson. The team has visible leadership from its stars, and veterans to stabilize strife from within. The improvement in team chemistry is palpable! The improvement in ownership/management chemistry, spending power, innovation, and leadership is exponential!

The team still has a lot of ability to improve from within. Ben McLemore, Nic Stauskas, Ray McCallum, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Moreland, and even Derrick Williams are young enough to continually adapt and improve their game for the betterment of the team. Stabilizing veterans are still in their prime, and continually add to their game, especially Rudy, Collison, Casspi, Thompson, and Landry.

The Kings have excellent salary cap flexibility going forward with a glut of expiring contracts this offseason, along with Larry Bird rights to Rudy Gay. With increased salary cap expectations given the new TV deal struck, they should be players for further improvement in the coming seasons.

The Kings have an ownership that has been willing to spend, and usually spend wisely.

There is a new, shiny arena on the horizon that is poised to rejuvenate the entire region dramatically!

The Kings are here to stay!

Good note. We have guys who are still wet behind the ears but I think we can be reasonably sure that Ben and Nik will solve the SG needs. I think we also have a very fine backup PG or maybe an occasional SG in Ray Mac. We, as fans, need a little patience. We are close to having a damn fine team, one that will cause me to watch the game without the lurking fear of a loss.

 

[Gilles]

This forum, especially in game thread, is venting. And I think, people should step back and ponder for a while.
Big 3 all likely played banged up. Kings can't have really effective offense without long ball, and Ben didn't show up for the second straight game. Hope, no one was expecting his 3-6, 4-8, 4-6 from 3 become every day reality. He's still inconsistent offensively. Eric Gordon entered the game averaging 8points in 10 possessions he usually used, which makes 11 point on 13 shots. Gordon had 17 today - that's your margin of victory.
Leaving Anderson wide open. Unforced, lazy TOs. Malone's rotations. Ben not making shots. Stauskas allowing points/wasting possessions himself. Failing to deliver the ball inside down the stretch.
Swing each factor to Kings favor, and it's win. And it might be the second game after the one in OKC, that team showed up a bit flat, without intensity and urgency (outside of Casspi and 4th quarter Boogie)
Just not Kings night!
Just move on to the next one. Bulls are waiting, and they are always willing to outwork you, if you let them.
Survive @NOP, @HOU, @SAS road trip and Kings have 3 weeks home stretch even if games vs MEM, vs TOR, vs HOU are tucked onto the schedule. Kings will be able to iron out all the kinks, work on their FTs and outside shots, and all of sudden everything will be all right in Sacramento. But let's get through near stretch without "Sky is falling!" after every loss.
P.S. Anthony Davis IS a superstar, and became the first player this season to score more than 25 points against the Kings.