CurseOfTheSalmons
Starter
i did not believe casspi would make that.
Game -4: Sacramento Kings vs. Brooklyn Nets 10/15/14 4:30 AM PST, 7:30 AM EST, 7:30 PM China Time
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
Based on a one game sample, I think we're in good shape with our back court this season. 
Collison and McLemore both looked very good, Stauskas and Sessions have been effective in limited minutes, and Ray McCallum has got to be the best third string PG in the league.
Collison and McLemore both looked very good, Stauskas and Sessions have been effective in limited minutes, and Ray McCallum has got to be the best third string PG in the league.
Ron
Starter
CurseOfTheSalmons
Starter
hooray! defense!
How 'bout a play at the rim? Chance for McLemore to redeem himself?
TheJewishKing
G-League
Huge shot by Casspi, I hope Kings will go get it in overtime.
A contested three is an odd choice for a play out of a timeout with the game tied, but we obviously didn't put our A lineup out there either so I think maybe Malone thought getting a few more minutes for these deep bench guys wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
CurseOfTheSalmons
Starter
brik stauskas.
Albatros
Starter
For those who couldn't watch the game.... the final score doesn't mean much. This end of the 4th/OT lineup won't ever share the floor together during the season. We looked sluggish and out of sync early but came back to take a 12 point lead in the 2nd quarter and held that lead through most of the 3rd. The 4th quarter brought some wonky lineups as Malone tried to find playing time for Casspi and Stauskas. The main takeaways for me --
Collison and McLemore were deadly in the first half. They carved up Brooklyn's backcourt from every angle. Collison's speed is too much for a lot of teams to handle but most of his damage today was done with the corner three. McLemore really hit a nice stride in the second and third quarters mixing up his bread and butter combo of set threes and crafty mid-range pull ups. He was otherwise doing a nice job of moving the ball and creating space for everyone else. Very impressive game from him.
The big rotation was a bit of a mess with Cousins sitting. The PF position is definitely still a problem. Thompson has his moments but he's just not a legit starting 4. Neither is anyone else on our roster. Moreland looked good in his first stint but looked overmatched in the 4th. He did have a couple blocks in OT but he had a couple goaltends too and wasn't really having the impact defensively that you'd expect him to. He's still a long ways away, but his motor is non-stop which is a great start. Hollins didn't look very effective today. I've definitely seen him play a lot better.
Rudy Gay did exactly what he needed to in this game. He took some ill-advised shots early but settled into more of a facilitating role and he was actively finding guys in great positions to score while we made our big run in the second and third quarters. When he doesn't try to score 20 a game and instead uses the threat of his scoring ability to stretch the floor, that's when he's been most effective for us. I was encouraged by his willingness to defer even with Cousins sitting on the sideline. Casspi couldn't hit anything when he first came into the game right up until crunch time when he became the go-to guy and tied the score with a couple timely shots. He still tries to do too much at times, but he's one of the better "corner 3" threats on the team so it's nice to have him on the bench when we need a different look offensively.
Derrick Williams had another one of those "everything he tries turns out wrong" first halves but followed it up with a great stretch in the third scoring 10 points in about 5 minutes (estimated, ESPN stopped tracking stats at the half) and playing solid D -- getting in a stance, sliding his feet, contesting without fouling. I watched summer league too so I can sortof see where some of the animosity comes from, but it seems to me that IT leaving the team has left a void which Williams has filled as the next most-likely scapegoat. For instance -- if any other King's player runs into two backpedaling defenders on a fast break and gets called for an offensive foul it's "come on ref!" but if it's Williams it fits the "this guy sucks" narrative. He wasn't even that bad in the first half, just a half step slow on everything he tried (as was most of the team, frankly). I really wish Malone would stop trying to play him at PF. He doesn't have the size or the skillset to succeed at that position. Every time he looks good it's been by attacking the basket from the wing and using his length and quickness to stay in front of guards and small forwards on D. Ah well, nothing I can do about it eh?
Collison and McLemore were deadly in the first half. They carved up Brooklyn's backcourt from every angle. Collison's speed is too much for a lot of teams to handle but most of his damage today was done with the corner three. McLemore really hit a nice stride in the second and third quarters mixing up his bread and butter combo of set threes and crafty mid-range pull ups. He was otherwise doing a nice job of moving the ball and creating space for everyone else. Very impressive game from him.
The big rotation was a bit of a mess with Cousins sitting. The PF position is definitely still a problem. Thompson has his moments but he's just not a legit starting 4. Neither is anyone else on our roster. Moreland looked good in his first stint but looked overmatched in the 4th. He did have a couple blocks in OT but he had a couple goaltends too and wasn't really having the impact defensively that you'd expect him to. He's still a long ways away, but his motor is non-stop which is a great start. Hollins didn't look very effective today. I've definitely seen him play a lot better.
Rudy Gay did exactly what he needed to in this game. He took some ill-advised shots early but settled into more of a facilitating role and he was actively finding guys in great positions to score while we made our big run in the second and third quarters. When he doesn't try to score 20 a game and instead uses the threat of his scoring ability to stretch the floor, that's when he's been most effective for us. I was encouraged by his willingness to defer even with Cousins sitting on the sideline. Casspi couldn't hit anything when he first came into the game right up until crunch time when he became the go-to guy and tied the score with a couple timely shots. He still tries to do too much at times, but he's one of the better "corner 3" threats on the team so it's nice to have him on the bench when we need a different look offensively.
Derrick Williams had another one of those "everything he tries turns out wrong" first halves but followed it up with a great stretch in the third scoring 10 points in about 5 minutes (estimated, ESPN stopped tracking stats at the half) and playing solid D -- getting in a stance, sliding his feet, contesting without fouling. I watched summer league too so I can sortof see where some of the animosity comes from, but it seems to me that IT leaving the team has left a void which Williams has filled as the next most-likely scapegoat. For instance -- if any other King's player runs into two backpedaling defenders on a fast break and gets called for an offensive foul it's "come on ref!" but if it's Williams it fits the "this guy sucks" narrative. He wasn't even that bad in the first half, just a half step slow on everything he tried (as was most of the team, frankly). I really wish Malone would stop trying to play him at PF. He doesn't have the size or the skillset to succeed at that position. Every time he looks good it's been by attacking the basket from the wing and using his length and quickness to stay in front of guards and small forwards on D. Ah well, nothing I can do about it eh?
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
The game narrative was actually fairly simple and interesting, if not entirely encouraging:
Cousins sat out, and so after a brief and uninspiring attempt at using a full sized JT/Landry frontcourt, we instead quickly settled on playing smallball/positionless basketball with only one not particularly involved big man out there at a time, and then tweener forwards, DWill, Rudy, Casspi, even I think some Trey Johnson at the end. The centers were JT-->Hollins-->Moreland. No Cuz or Reggie at all, just a brief nothing attempt at Landry. And we got out and pushed the pace. Ball movement was often very good, and of course the running and running catered to our positionless athletes. Predictably this strategy allowed the Nets to score back easily the other way, with Deron and Teletovic being particular pains. Rudy, Ben and Collison all thrived on our side, and a good show was put on for the fans. Hints of a possible strategy we might employ when without Cousins this upcoming season, entirely scrapping any attempt at a power game and just using our wing athletes to try to win an open court game rather than try to slog it out with less talented interior guys, especially against an older and slower team like the Nets.
Hollins looked like last 7 years Hollins
Moreland had a couple of good defensive stands otherwise ineffective
JT rebounded but no rim protection
Landry had better show some life here or that contract becomes completely unmoveable and an anvil
Ben had his game, it never fails
DWill tale of two halves. Once we put him out there at PF in the third with run run orders he came to life
Gay was exceptional helping run the team and kicking Joe Johnson's butt at the other end, rose to occasion
Collison came in off the bench and exploded in the 2nd quarter: 18pts 6ast in 17min!
Omri was...very involved let's say. Attacked, lots of numbers, lots of shots as goto guy, maybe too much
Stauskas was ok but not hitting his threes, which of course is a primary job description
McCallum got in the game late, hit a three, not much else
Johnson got in the game late, maybe even for first time in OT. Did nothing to displace anyone.
Cousins sat out, and so after a brief and uninspiring attempt at using a full sized JT/Landry frontcourt, we instead quickly settled on playing smallball/positionless basketball with only one not particularly involved big man out there at a time, and then tweener forwards, DWill, Rudy, Casspi, even I think some Trey Johnson at the end. The centers were JT-->Hollins-->Moreland. No Cuz or Reggie at all, just a brief nothing attempt at Landry. And we got out and pushed the pace. Ball movement was often very good, and of course the running and running catered to our positionless athletes. Predictably this strategy allowed the Nets to score back easily the other way, with Deron and Teletovic being particular pains. Rudy, Ben and Collison all thrived on our side, and a good show was put on for the fans. Hints of a possible strategy we might employ when without Cousins this upcoming season, entirely scrapping any attempt at a power game and just using our wing athletes to try to win an open court game rather than try to slog it out with less talented interior guys, especially against an older and slower team like the Nets.
Hollins looked like last 7 years Hollins
Moreland had a couple of good defensive stands otherwise ineffective
JT rebounded but no rim protection
Landry had better show some life here or that contract becomes completely unmoveable and an anvil
Ben had his game, it never fails
DWill tale of two halves. Once we put him out there at PF in the third with run run orders he came to life
Gay was exceptional helping run the team and kicking Joe Johnson's butt at the other end, rose to occasion
Collison came in off the bench and exploded in the 2nd quarter: 18pts 6ast in 17min!
Omri was...very involved let's say. Attacked, lots of numbers, lots of shots as goto guy, maybe too much
Stauskas was ok but not hitting his threes, which of course is a primary job description
McCallum got in the game late, hit a three, not much else
Johnson got in the game late, maybe even for first time in OT. Did nothing to displace anyone.
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It's a hundred times worse, because he still doesn't pass or defend, but now he can't score or rebound, either.
HighFlyingMonkey
Starter
Looks like this game will be on replay at 11:30 AM on NBATV if anyone local missed it and is interested
gunks
Hall of Famer
To be fair, the old Landry couldn't rebound either
Yeah, I almost took that part out, but I was trying to be charitable to Landry.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Considering how utterly ridiculous the lineup was at the end of the game (Moreland/Omri/Nik/Ben/Ray), the fact we made it into overtime is an achievement in itself.
I thought Moreland looked like a rookie out there (for obvious reasons) but he showed flashes of good defensive play (see the Nets final possession of the 4th quarter where he forced Plumlee into a bad decision). His timing was definitely off at points, with him recording what seemed to be a half dozen goaltending penalties. That said, his presence still seemed to deter some of Brooklyn's dribble penetration in overtime and he seemed to be settling into a defensive rhythm right about when the game was close to finishing. I want to see him in a situation where he's in his natural PF position before I make any judgements.
Playing small ball allowed Omri to completely dominate Mason Plumlee on offense with the Duke alum making him look like the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki. Seriously, that step-back three to tie the game in the fourth was made possible by Plumlee's general inability to defend anyone shorter than him. But I'm coming out of the first half of the preseason confident in our SF depth between Gay and Omri. And considering how Malone seems to be veering towards playing Ben and Nik at the 3 in spots, there seems to be less and less reason to see D-Will out on the floor.
On the SG front, Ben had one of his patented "Surprise! I'm actually good at basketball!" games, using his athleticism to drive into the paint and flashing his shooting stroke in addition to playing a relatively solid defensive game. I thought Nik also showed flashes but in the ultimate bizzaro world moment had the McLemore-esque inconsistent, nearly-invisible at times performance.
It should be important to note that our starters (those of them who played) outplayed their starters, a good sign even if both teams were resting key players (yes, I'm calling Reggie Evans a key player), though I will say that Teletovic absolutely killed us from beyond the arc.
And finally, JT had a really really solid game, being perhaps our best overall defender on the night. Also, he rebounded like Reggie Evans was possessing his body.
I thought Moreland looked like a rookie out there (for obvious reasons) but he showed flashes of good defensive play (see the Nets final possession of the 4th quarter where he forced Plumlee into a bad decision). His timing was definitely off at points, with him recording what seemed to be a half dozen goaltending penalties. That said, his presence still seemed to deter some of Brooklyn's dribble penetration in overtime and he seemed to be settling into a defensive rhythm right about when the game was close to finishing. I want to see him in a situation where he's in his natural PF position before I make any judgements.
Playing small ball allowed Omri to completely dominate Mason Plumlee on offense with the Duke alum making him look like the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki. Seriously, that step-back three to tie the game in the fourth was made possible by Plumlee's general inability to defend anyone shorter than him. But I'm coming out of the first half of the preseason confident in our SF depth between Gay and Omri. And considering how Malone seems to be veering towards playing Ben and Nik at the 3 in spots, there seems to be less and less reason to see D-Will out on the floor.
On the SG front, Ben had one of his patented "Surprise! I'm actually good at basketball!" games, using his athleticism to drive into the paint and flashing his shooting stroke in addition to playing a relatively solid defensive game. I thought Nik also showed flashes but in the ultimate bizzaro world moment had the McLemore-esque inconsistent, nearly-invisible at times performance.
It should be important to note that our starters (those of them who played) outplayed their starters, a good sign even if both teams were resting key players (yes, I'm calling Reggie Evans a key player), though I will say that Teletovic absolutely killed us from beyond the arc.
And finally, JT had a really really solid game, being perhaps our best overall defender on the night. Also, he rebounded like Reggie Evans was possessing his body.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
I went out for drinks with a co-worker instead. Had to catch up after the fact, which would make the talking to myself a little odd. Also I might be a little inebriated at the moment.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
After all your chutzpahing about how the shoe was on the other foot with this start time you go out for sake with a co-worker instead???
I hope she was at least cute.
Well, I did miss the first few minutes, because I was just getting back from my morning run, but it was normal waking time for some of us... Of course, I would have had to leave at halftime, anyway, if I hadn't had the day off.
Like I said during the game, it was funny to me how McLemore seems to play best when he's on the court at the same time as Stauskas. I wouldn't hate the idea of us having a big, mid-00s Seattle-esque back court in about three years.
Livinthedream
All-Star
I'm just thankful that I don't have to defend Ben for at least the next few days.
Wouldn't even be a fair fight, he'd just take you straight to the hole.
Livinthedream
All-Star
Well played
HereWeBoogie
Hall of Famer
Kings still leaving 3pt shooters wide open all day long even though most of the roster has been turned over. It's gotta be Malone's idea to sag off and help in the paint and dare them to shoot 3s. Well Mike, that doesn't work in the NBA, pretty much anyone can make an open 3
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
Signs of life from Derrick and Ben
PurpleHaze
All-Star
And now NBA considering shortening 3 pt line to conform with FIBA international standard. Going to 22.1 ft from 23.9 ft. Imagine how much more game will merely revolve around constant camping out at 3 pt line. Then there's NBA looking at cutting length of game down to 44 minutes from 48 - with four 11 minute quarters. "Tightening up" the game NBA claims is ultimate goal. There are no doubt a few changes NBA needs to make but not these.
