Sam Amick pointed out something interesting in his blog post today, which is that we have the same 26-32 record at this point in the season that we had last season.
I happen to like Theus better than Musselman, but "lower expectations" is his MVP this season.
I surely hope Theus isn't looking at those stats and thinking he has to beat Musselman to prove his worth. I don't want to see the veterans playing extended minutes at this point at the expense of the kids. I've made no secret of my feelings about seeing Anthony Johnson on the court at all. He is not a part of the future of this franchise and I think it's patently unfair to use him over someone like Quincy, whose entire NBA future could depend on whether or not the Kings can actually find a niche for him.
I don't think he thinks he feels he absolutely has to beat Muss' win total from last year, tho I'm sure it's crossed his mind.
The bigger issue as pointed out by bricklayer is that a coach (especially a young coach like Theus trying to prove himself) is going to be looking out for himself every bit as much as a player in a contract year looks out for himself. And that means he's going to try to get the best record he can possibly get.
So while you maybe worried about developing the young guys, Theus is worried about building his resume. And why shouldn't he? He could play the kids just like you want him to but what's in it for him if he later gets canned anyways? If he gets canned, he at least wants the best W-L record on his resume.
You know personally I would hope that Theus's bosses would look at more than a W-L record as to whether he should continue being a coach. If I was a GM, I would prefer a coach at this point in the Kings development that was good at managing egos and developing kids, not winning games. His ability to develop the team we have in the future should be the most important indicator of his financial success as a coach.
Exactly.
Hopefully, if that is the case, he'll realize that playing the newer kids will do more for his reputation than a couple of meaningless wins garnered by giving way too many minutes to guys like Anthony Johnson.
Can't forget Theus played a majority of those games without Bibby and Ron and Kevin each missed 17 games this season already.
Muss had Bibby all 82 games, Kevin all but 2 games, and Artest missed 12 games all of last season.
My opinion is this team is being better coached and run better. Theus definitely has the chance to be a really good coach in the league. He just needs to get the players to work with.
What happened to other 10 games?
26+32=58![]()
To stay in the league with a solid career as a coach and not shuffled down the line (like the Sac Kings first coach) to an assistant position, a rookie coach has to win. That's the bottom line.
What happened to other 10 games?
26+32=58![]()
Can't forget Theus played a majority of those games without Bibby and Ron and Kevin each missed 17 games this season already.
Muss had Bibby all 82 games, Kevin all but 2 games, and Artest missed 12 games all of last season.
My opinion is this team is being better coached and run better. Theus definitely has the chance to be a really good coach in the league. He just needs to get the players to work with.
I am guessing we finish the season (24 games) with a record of 14-10 leaving us at 40-42 for the year.
I am guessing we finish the season (24 games) with a record of 14-10 leaving us at 40-42 for the year.
I wish I had your kind of optimism.