Encouraged.

[Variant]

With as poorly and lackadaisically as the Kings have been playing the last few weeks I was starting to get a little discouraged about the future of this team -- even with the young guys we have.

I'm glad to see that when properly motivated, this team CAN play hard. I understand it's difficult to get up for every game like this the rest of the season when the playoffs are just not going to happen, but I hope we can see this kind of effort more often. Tonight highlighted for me that this team DOES have a lot of talent, and a great backcourt in Martin and Udrih, a decent bench and just some overall good pieces to work with when they feel like putting forth the effort. Norm Nixon on the Laker postgame show was giving a lot of props to how talented this team is....

And... wonder how Ron will react to sitting the fourth quarter? Maybe Reggie was worried he'd re-agitated his sore foot.

 

[Gary]

Definitely.. I would like to see the Kings draft a young PF and go with a lineup of;

C-Hawes
PF-1st round pick (Love?)
SF-Garcia
SG-Martin
PG-Udrih

See how that team can grow together, and shop everyone else.

EDIT for lack of specific trade info so thread isn't moved

 

[VF21]

Just an FYI. If this thread starts to turn into another discussion of draft/trade possibilities, it's going to be moved to the Personnel Moves forum.

 

[tyrant]

what have the kings done that was different from beating detroit, dallas, new orleans and utah? why was this win encouraging? we're like 7 games away from .500 because we cant beat the teams we're supposed to beat. there isnt enough focus.

 

[Spike]

The positive way to look at things is to say that the Kings are playing to the level of their competition. The negative way to look at things is to say that the Kings are playing to the level of their competition. For better or worse, that's what we're getting this year. Certainly is making things pretty exciting, though.

 

[ninjabiscuit]

Better than last year, IMO

The funny thing to me about this season compared to last season is that even though the records are similar, I feel a lot more hope for the future than I did last year. Maybe it's Reggie's philosophy, maybe it's the fact that an actual move was made (with more coming, I hope), but I feel like there are good pieces in place and some light at the end of the tunnel.

The fact that we're beating the good teams and losing to the bad ones is hard to explain, but I would rather have that situation and find the team EXCITING TO WATCH than feel the way I felt last year...not very good and painful to watch.

I suppose another way to look at it is this: the fact that we can beat the good teams when we play hard implies that losing to the bad teams is a lack of EFFORT rather than SKILL. And that, in turn, implies that with the right effort, this team is in good shape. I would rather be here than amongst the teams that simply can't beat the good teams at all.

 

[tyrant]

sometimes we do play to the level of our competition, but its not like we're beating good teams on a nightly basis. our record against teams that are over .500 is in the range of 12-30. or something in that area. we can be good some nights, but as i said earlier its a lack of focus and lack of a true superstar.

 

[HighFlyingMonkey]

I think you can start either Beno or Garcia on a contender, but not both. Both make excellent roleplayers though if we can get a star at either PG or SF. Of course, the gaping wound of PF still needs to be addressed.

 

[AyeCarly]

I think you can start either Beno or Garcia on a contender, but not both. Both make excellent roleplayers though if we can get a star at either PG or SF. Of course, the gaping wound of PF still needs to be addressed.

Beno is good enough to start. Since starting (11 games) after the Bibby trade, he has had 3 games with 0 turnovers, 2 games with 1 turnover, and 2 games with 2 turnovers and the other 4 he had 4 TOs. He is averaging ~ 6.5 assists per game in the same 11 games. His assist to turnover ratio is ~ 3.22/1 which if he played and kept up the whole season would rank him 11th in the league (meaning there are 19 starting PGs worse in that category).

 

[tyrant]

i would agree with beno starting but not garcia. i think garcia has lower than average basketball i.q. there's more to learn than understanding the fundamentals. he kinda reminds me of artest sometimes. miller, moore and martin are the best we have in that category. thats why this team was so successful in the past

 

[VF21]

The funny thing to me about this season compared to last season is that even though the records are similar, I feel a lot more hope for the future than I did last year. Maybe it's Reggie's philosophy, maybe it's the fact that an actual move was made (with more coming, I hope), but I feel like there are good pieces in place and some light at the end of the tunnel.

The fact that we're beating the good teams and losing to the bad ones is hard to explain, but I would rather have that situation and find the team EXCITING TO WATCH than feel the way I felt last year...not very good and painful to watch.

I suppose another way to look at it is this: the fact that we can beat the good teams when we play hard implies that losing to the bad teams is a lack of EFFORT rather than SKILL. And that, in turn, implies that with the right effort, this team is in good shape. I would rather be here than amongst the teams that simply can't beat the good teams at all.

I agree with your first two paragraphs.

As far as the third, though, I think we're trying to define something that just might not be definable at this point in time. We're not a team "in good shape" in the sense there is still a lot of work to be done BUT we're at least a work in progress and that wasn't clear last season or even at the beginning of this one.

My philosophy is to just sit back and watch the story unfold. It's an ongoing drama not a three-act play.

 

[Showtime]

I like Beno the more I watch him. IMO he's been shooting just as well as Bibby, has range, but he utilizes the midrange game and can get to the basket. He's also unselfish, and can be counted on to make plays.

Hawes showed a lot yesterday. He proved he not only can play down low, but he can rebound and hit the outside shot. This is the first game where he's done everything in one game for significant minutes, and the fact that the team came through instead of collapsing spoke volumes. I hope they get somebody good to work with him for next season. I want him playing at least 25 minutes a game.

Garcia played great defense in denying the ball to Kobe, and hit three 3's to start things off, but slowed down offensively late. He's going to be a poor man's Tay Prince.

Salmons was great again on defense and the open court, and I think the Kings need to run more to take advantage of their speed and athleticism.

Kevin Martin needs to stop disappearing late in games. He's not a superstar, and he's not a go-to scorer, but he still needs to be more asertive and attack. He's quick enough to drive and create space no matter who guards him, but he just doesn't attack as much as he should, and he better start.

 

[VF21]

Kevin Martin did just about all he could last night, considering he was keyed on the whole game. Who would you like him to attack? He wasn't getting the ball a lot for the simple reason first Kobe and then Rad were attached to him at the hip with help quite a bit of the time.

 

[tyrant]

martin would be 10X better if he could put the ball on the floor. he's too thin. this is why god made a weight room. put your head down and quit being denied.

 

[VF21]

Now you're more than just silly. Martin gets about half his points from drives that result either in baskets or FT, with emphasis most likely on the latter.

 

[Spike]

Kevin's been getting to the FT line on a pretty consistent basis, regardless of size. I don't think he's forcing the issue which, at times, can be a good thing. I also don't think that "bulking up and pounding the ball inside" is the type of game we're going to get from Kevin. That's more Artest's forte.

 

[Emma]

martin would be 10X better if he could put the ball on the floor. he's too thin. this is why god made a weight room. put your head down and quit being denied.

If you're a fully grown man playing basketball bulking up can hamper your rhythm. Take for example Shaq and Bibby. If you're not a freak like Karl Malone (If you've seen him in person you'd know what I mean), then bulking up may or may not help you, that's a crap shoot.

 

[tyrant]

what is he gona do if we ever get back into the playoffs? a minimum of 4 games against the same team. you spend days focusing on that #1 or #2 option. players that can make a difference are those who can overcome the pressure, the double teams, the officials, and the other ball hogs on the team. i dont see kevin doing that. ever. i agree that alot of times he can beat his man off the dribble. but talk about saying the same thing over and over. free throw line freew throw line free throw line. we all know he can get to the freethrow line.

 

[Warhawk]

Now you're more than just silly. Martin gets about half his points from drives that result either in baskets or FT, with emphasis most likely on the latter.

Agreed. I see several times almost every game where he takes his man off the dribble and scores it or gets fouled doing so. Often times both on the same play.

He's not the best at it, but getting better, I think.

 

[Warhawk]

what is he gona do if we ever get back into the playoffs? a minimum of 4 games against the same team. you spend days focusing on that #1 or #2 option. players that can make a difference are those who can overcome the pressure, the double teams, the officials, and the other ball hogs on the team. i dont see kevin doing that. ever. i agree that alot of times he can beat his man off the dribble. but talk about saying the same thing over and over. free throw line freew throw line free throw line. we all know he can get to the freethrow line.

So, did you even read your own post (#14)?

Here, I'll help:

martin would be 10X better if he could put the ball on the floor

So, which is it? Or are you channeling your inner Artest where both are true 27 minutes apart?

 

[tyrant]

So, did you even read your own post (#14)?

Here, I'll help:



So, which is it? Or are you channeling your inner Artest where both are true 27 minutes apart?

of course he can put the ball on the floor and drive. what im saying is that he cant make plays. he hasnt been able to produce when he's guarded by a decent defender or when teams concentrate on him.

 

[ninjabiscuit]

I agree with your first two paragraphs.

As far as the third, though, I think we're trying to define something that just might not be definable at this point in time. We're not a team "in good shape" in the sense there is still a lot of work to be done BUT we're at least a work in progress and that wasn't clear last season or even at the beginning of this one.

My philosophy is to just sit back and watch the story unfold. It's an ongoing drama not a three-act play.

Agreed, "in good shape" isn't what I meant. "In better shape than last year" is how I would characterize the Kings, and more fun to watch, IMHO. I'm not even really trying to define it...I'm just saying that I like this team better than I did last year. As the OP entitled the thread, I'm "encouraged."