[Grades] Grades and/or post-game discussion - Kings @ Cavs 12/6

#32
Looks like the Kings have found their junkyard dog in Sampson, and I mean that as a compliment. WCS is going to have some competition for minutes when he gets back. When was the last time WCS got 16 rebounds? And have you ever heard Joerger say this about WCS after a game: "I think he played great....I thought he fought like crazy"?

Hield really hurt the Kings with at least three terrible turnovers in this game. Man, he just frustrates (and scares) the heck out of me with his dribbling. If he's dribbling the ball and the opposing guard "turns him," he's a sitting duck most of the time to get picked. If he doesn't get picked, the opposing team just hasn't studied the scouting report on him.

If you really believe that Hill has his head in the game, watch the last minute of this game with the 24-second clock running down when instead of taking the open shot, he throws to Sampson at the 3 point line! If Fox or Hield did something like that, I could understand it because of their inexperience. But from your experienced vet, no way! By the way, that mistake by Hill mirrored what he did in the opening minute of the game when he turned down a wiiiiiiiiide open shot to pass it to a guy who was covered. The guy just isn't into it.
I'd actually be interested to see how WCS and JaKaar look together at the 4/5, defensively they should be fun to watch at least.
 
#40
Hield played pretty terrible. I was surprised that Joerger didn't sub him out on a couple occasions.

I wouldve liked to see the rest of the Kings be more aggressive at the end. Seems they were scared and just kept feeding Randolph.

Frank Mason is awesome.

Jakarr essentially reminds me of a Reggie Evans type player. Extremely extremely ugly game on offense but has tons of energy.
 
#41
I'm worried about Fox. Anytime he's on the floor, he's extremely passive. Cavs didn't have a PG to bully him, but he looked physically outmatched at times. In this game, he ended up with 29mins 6pts 2asts 1reb 1blk 4tos.

Mason has outplayed Fox by a lot. Mason has his own flaws, but he was extremely impressive tonight. 15pts on 4-6. He would've had a couple more points if not for missed FTs. oh, and he did it all in 19mins.

Samspon played a great game. He couldn't stop Lebron, but he did his best to slow him down. Amazing energy on the boards..something we haven't had in a while. Added a few nice energy throw downs.

Buddy played a good game all around. Did a good job scoring and finding teammates. Loose ball handling, but it was a good game from Buddy. 17pts on great efficiency. 3pt % is skewed by 2 heaves.

Don't be misled by Bogdan's rough shooting. He played a good game on both ends too. Did a good job moving the ball and solid job on D.

Not too much to write about in this game. Bench continues to outplay the starters.
I agree with everything in your post, except that I wonder if you watched the first half? Fox played well and was anything but passive.
 
#43
Hield played pretty terrible. I was surprised that Joerger didn't sub him out on a couple occasions.

I wouldve liked to see the rest of the Kings be more aggressive at the end. Seems they were scared and just kept feeding Randolph.

Frank Mason is awesome.ate

Jakarr essentially reminds me of a Reggie Evans type player. Extremely extremely ugly game on offense but has tons of energy.
Except a couple defensive miscues, one against LeBron and a a bad turnover or two, I thought Buddy played great.


As a team we just need to shoot our open shot as soon as we get it. They are still very tentative. Basically everyone but Zbo and Temple hesitate too much.


I'm going to pick a nit here, but I think I want Fox coming off the bench again. I don't think he's either allowed or able to be aggressive enough with the first group. Lots of shoving the ball into Zbo or Hill/Temple's hands early in the shot clock. He's not really a weapon in that situation. I'm not sure if this is coming from Joerger or if he's just not able to turn it on enough yet.

Also, the late game shove the ball to Zbo was hard to watch. Not sure it ultimately mattered, but I think it didn't give us the chance to win with how it ground down the movement.
 
#45
I thought Buddy played a good game. Hit shots, found his teammates, made some steals and even played some solid defense on Lebron during a couple possessions after initially getting embarrassed by him the first time he was on him. Yeah he made some turnovers but he also caused some as well so it's not like he was a negative at all.

Jakarr defended Lebron about as good as anyone in the league possibly could. Lebron is just that damn good. Now that he has that 3 point shot, he's deadly and has probably extended his prime by a few years because of it.

ZBo had a really good game but I wish our guys would quit just using him as a safety net. The offense grinded to a halt at the end because the Cavs were going to make sure anyone other than ZBo had to score.

Frank the tank with another awesome game off the bench. Awesome value for a 2nd round player.
 
#46
Sampson & Vince Carter. These are my two favorites, they just bring that it factor that gets others going. A

Mason the steady killer who is a keeper forsure. A

The rest were just a bit okay. Not a bad loss, would have been a great win.
 
#47
I thought Buddy played a good game. Hit shots, found his teammates, made some steals and even played some solid defense on Lebron during a couple possessions after initially getting embarrassed by him the first time he was on him. Yeah he made some turnovers but he also caused some as well so it's not like he was a negative at all.

Jakarr defended Lebron about as good as anyone in the league possibly could. Lebron is just that damn good. Now that he has that 3 point shot, he's deadly and has probably extended his prime by a few years because of it.

ZBo had a really good game but I wish our guys would quit just using him as a safety net. The offense grinded to a halt at the end because the Cavs were going to make sure anyone other than ZBo had to score.

Frank the tank with another awesome game off the bench. Awesome value for a 2nd round player.
LeBron hitting two or three threes in a row, one from like 30ft is just unfair. The guy is just unreal, dude is about to be 33 yrs old and is playing like a 27 year old stud at his peak.
 
#48
Yeah I don't get it, LeBron always looks like he's gonna miss 3s and has a slow somewhat ugly form and then bam... Doesn't look pretty but works
 
#49
Just got done watching the game. First of all i want to say i'm proud of the entire team for playing a really good game from start to finish. Secondly i want to say Jakarr Sampsons effort (especially on the boards) out their should embarrass some the players on our team. We would win 50+ games if all of our guys displayed the consistent tenacity and effort that I saw from Sampson against the Cavaliers. I hope he keeps getting minutes.
 
#53
Who remembers Justin Williams ?

We've been crying for a prospect big, blue collar workhorse for years.

Brockness wasn't around long, maybe JaKarr sticks
Those guys were hustlers, but they were also pretty much centers who can only guard one position. JaKaar can guard 1-4 comfortably and probably hold his own against some 5's. In the age of having to switch a lot, that is a tremendous asset.
 
#55
I'm worried about Fox. Anytime he's on the floor, he's extremely passive. Cavs didn't have a PG to bully him, but he looked physically outmatched at times. In this game, he ended up with 29mins 6pts 2asts 1reb 1blk 4tos.

Mason has outplayed Fox by a lot. Mason has his own flaws, but he was extremely impressive tonight. 15pts on 4-6. He would've had a couple more points if not for missed FTs. oh, and he did it all in 19mins.
My concern with De'Aaron still revolves completely around his shot. He's a decent finisher at the rim (and will improve as he gets stronger), he's as quick as advertised, he's shown better court vision/awareness than I expected and he has the right mindset with leadership traits.

But the reality is that he's largely being nullified because defenders don't respect his shot at all. They sag way off, go under every screen and take away driving Lane's, daring him to shoot.

None of this is news, I think we all expected it to be the case. But watching it play out it's painfully obvious that Fox's career is going to hinge on him becoming a threat from outside.
 
#57
My concern with De'Aaron still revolves completely around his shot. He's a decent finisher at the rim (and will improve as he gets stronger), he's as quick as advertised, he's shown better court vision/awareness than I expected and he has the right mindset with leadership traits.

But the reality is that he's largely being nullified because defenders don't respect his shot at all. They sag way off, go under every screen and take away driving Lane's, daring him to shoot.

None of this is news, I think we all expected it to be the case. But watching it play out it's painfully obvious that Fox's career is going to hinge on him becoming a threat from outside.
When/if he develops a consistent outside shot it will really open up his game. I have confidence (faith?/hope?) that with hard work he can develop that shot. His mechanics don't look broken to me, may just need a whole lot of off season reps and maybe a tweak or two. I would like to see him improve his FT percentage, too. It's at 70%, while not terrible, I would like to see him up over 80% anyway with the way he drives to the basket and has the potential to draw a lot of fouls. I think improving his outside shot and FT percentage go hand in hand. Improving his outside shooting is probably the determining factor as to whether he becomes a future star in the NBA.
 
#58
I was very proud of the Kings last night. They played with mental toughness. Their confidence is rising all the time although it is is fits and starts. They should come away from a game like Cleveland with renewed belief in themselves. It is hard to adequately describe what Sampson brought to the team last night. Attitude, Intensity, Desire. Mason and Bogdan have it. Kufous has it. Randolph has it, I just wish he could play defense. Carter has it, he is just old.

I would rather see the Kings lose in a game like last night, than win a game with a lot of fancy shooting and dancing around. Basketball is a simple game really. You defend, you rebound, you run, you put the ball in the hole. Sampson is really good at the first three. We have plenty of shooters. Confidence is increasing, and will make a difference in the shooting percentage. I really like Temple as a player. I wish he could shoot better. Trading Sampson for Skal changes the Kings whole personna to something much better. This was a milestone game.

Oh yeah, number 23 is pretty good.
 
#59
I'm worried about Fox. Anytime he's on the floor, he's extremely passive. Cavs didn't have a PG to bully him, but he looked physically outmatched at times. In this game, he ended up with 29mins 6pts 2asts 1reb 1blk 4tos.

Mason has outplayed Fox by a lot. Mason has his own flaws, but he was extremely impressive tonight. 15pts on 4-6. He would've had a couple more points if not for missed FTs. oh, and he did it all in 19mins.

Samspon played a great game. He couldn't stop Lebron, but he did his best to slow him down. Amazing energy on the boards..something we haven't had in a while. Added a few nice energy throw downs.

Buddy played a good game all around. Did a good job scoring and finding teammates. Loose ball handling, but it was a good game from Buddy. 17pts on great efficiency. 3pt % is skewed by 2 heaves.

Don't be misled by Bogdan's rough shooting. He played a good game on both ends too. Did a good job moving the ball and solid job on D.

Not too much to write about in this game. Bench continues to outplay the starters.
I continue to enjoy your analysis on the players and team. Both game summary as well as honest hard look at each player and team long term view.