[Grades] Grades v. Blazers 1/23/12

[Kings Faithful]

Its not so much our ability to run the offense anymore as much as it is our ability to make wide open shots. Pretty much every player on our team misses shots that every other player in the league makes night and night out... Tyreke has a better chance of hitting a half court buzzer beater than any body hitting a wide open shot from medium range.

 

[mac]

I'm not comfortable with having Travis Outlaw in the game. IT and Donte are also not reliable 3 point shooters, yet they take so many because the shots are there for them. It's really unfortunate that they simply can't hit them at a high clip.

I'm starting to feel that we just don't have enough athletic wing players/ guards. We don't have anyone other than Donte who can get in there and dunk the ball. The league has changed such that wing players need to be really athletic. In that regard I miss having Taylor and Omri. Salmons has lost his speed, IT Jimmer and Thornton are all small for their positions (and without Wade-like athleticism). Tyreke's layups just aren't working. If someone can find the stats I'd like to see the comparison between his rookie season and his 2nd, 3rd year. I think it has a lot to do with the defense knowing that he doesn't use his left hand. If they just stand still and take up as much as space as possible he'll be forced into a hard scoop shot, even after his euro step thing. If he were to go up and try and dunk it I think he'd be going to the line a whole lot more.

Our team is so bad that we really need to find ways to get as much as we can out of whatever opportunities are presented to us. If there's a minor mistake in our defense that can be easily corrected we simply MUST correct it. If we get an open shot near the rim the guys have to take it up strong and make it or get fouled. When we play with energy we can at least hang around in games instead of getting blown out in the first half of every game. If we continue to miss layups, waste transition opportunities, miss wide open 3s etc there is simply no way we end the season above .300. Not with the current personnel at least. I wonder whether the FO is starting to get worried about the make up of the team, or whether they're content just waiting for Hayes to get back and hope that we somehow improve a little by the end of the season. We will of course, but I'm not sure that will be enough for us to be remotely competitive.

 

[mac]

Its not so much our ability to run the offense anymore as much as it is our ability to make wide open shots. Pretty much every player on our team misses shots that every other player in the league makes night and night out... Tyreke has a better chance of hitting a half court buzzer beater than any body hitting a wide open shot from medium range.

With Jimmer seemingly starting to get his Mojo back, I hope that the coaches make it a point of emphasis for guys to look for him if he's wide open instead of taking contested mid range shots (Ahem Salmons, Hickson, Cousins, Outlaw)

 

[sactownfan]

I'm not comfortable with having Travis Outlaw in the game. IT and Donte are also not reliable 3 point shooters, yet they take so many because the shots are there for them. It's really unfortunate that they simply can't hit them at a high clip.

i love the clip part ... good choice of words

 

[Spok22]

I don't really think that we should send Jimmer down to D-league but i get extremely frustrated with his cluelessness on the defensive end. Also, I think we played some good ball in the first quarter and most of the second but we eventually reverted back to old habits and thats what lead to the game getting out of hand. Hopefully Demarcus is ok because I can't imagine how bad this team would be without him for an extended period of time.

 

[Spok22]

If I had a dollar for every year we've been singing that tune I could buy myself a few Jumbacos and maybe even have enough left for fries and a drink.

That commercial is hilarious.

 

[IfAt1st]

When was the last time Cousins past out of the post?

WTH games are you watching?!

DMC passes it out of the "post" (or what only the Kings call the post.... 16 ft from the basket) at least 10 times a game.

It's so absurd, he'll FINALLY get the ball 12 ft from the basket, with only one guy on him after getting turned down or ignored by the guards for 9 straight plays, only to dribble twice, then pass the ball back out and the play go the other direction!

I seriously don't get that - what's he waiting for? He's NOT gonna get a better opportunity to make his post moves. He only gets the ball in that position about 2 or 3 times a night, and he gives it right back half the time!

The Kings USED to feed Demarcus in the post, night in and night out in his rookie year, just to see him cough it up or make an absurdly-bad shot time after time.
Remember how often the other team double-teamed him, and he'd immediately hit the open man with pinpoint passing? God, it's like even THAT "offense" is a half-remembered dream.

Now, he hardly ever takes post shots. Half his shots (at least) are from rebounds.
1/5 of his shots are 18 ft "jumpers" (and he SHOULD be taking those - he's shooting 50% on them).

As for tonight, he got at least 3 assists, and I'm pretty sure 4 (fouls cost him at least 2 more), but the scorers only gave him 2 assists on the night.

 

[Krunker]

I didn't watch the game. I see the same comments I saw early in the season about selfishness. Early in the season many games had less than 10 assists game. The comments about selfishness were backed up by the stats. This game had 23 assists. My question is really quite obvious. Is this really the same selfish team we saw early in the season or are the signs of improvement?

I don't need to be told how bad this team is as I know it is a bad team. That's not news nor particularly clever to point out. As the stats for this game seemed to show improvement, is there not improvement? With a bad team, for me anyway, improvement is about all I can hope for.

There were more assists and more ball movement, although definitely times where they went 1 on 1 or should have passed the ball on the fast break and instead got nothing. Overall I think the team is getting into better habits that should have payoffs down the road. It is still disturbing the number of open shots that are just missed.

 

[Dime Dropper]

Best thing about the game being over is that we won't have to listen to Portland announcers again 'til next season. They're atrociously bad. So blindingly biased and childish, trying to get in needless digs whenever possible. It's no wonder they're recognised league-wide as the worst there is.

As for the game, it hurt my eyes. Terrible stuff and despite the attempts at an offense and season-high in assists, there WAS a lot of 1-on-1 stuff, as well as bad decision-making etc.. Time to forget about that one.

 

[ParniValjak]

Interesting that Dalembert (28) is winning the poll by FAR! At the moment has double the votes of the second placed Beno (14)!

If this question was asked as recently as a month ago the results would be very different. A bit like people wanting Adelman gone only to realise that its the biggest **** up by the organisation in the last 7 years

 

[mac]

Interesting that Dalembert (28) is winning the poll by FAR! At the moment has double the votes of the second placed Beno (14)!

If this question was asked as recently as a month ago the results would be very different. A bit like people wanting Adelman gone only to realise that its the biggest **** up by the organisation in the last 7 years

I disagree. A lot of people saw the importance of Dalembert. I just found it futile to think that the FO didn't want him here at all. He didn't sign with us, so what could we do? What people did say that one man does not make a defense, and pointed out that we were still one of the worst defensive teams last season despite having Dalembert here. I'm sure if you asked around most would want Dalembert back, but only for the right price.

 

[mac]

Best thing about the game being over is that we won't have to listen to Portland announcers again 'til next season. They're atrociously bad. So blindingly biased and childish, trying to get in needless digs whenever possible. It's no wonder they're recognised league-wide as the worst there is.

As for the game, it hurt my eyes. Terrible stuff and despite the attempts at an offense and season-high in assists, there WAS a lot of 1-on-1 stuff, as well as bad decision-making etc.. Time to forget about that one.

Portland and NO are tied on my worst announcers list. IIRC the Clippers' ones are pretty good and objective.

 

[jalfa]

Portland and NO are tied on my worst announcers list. IIRC the Clippers' ones are pretty good and objective.

it's a bit dated, but:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2206/2413153215_66585a827b_o.jpg

 

[ESP47]

This team is just god awful. This is one of the least interesting teams I've seen since I began watching in 1993. How they have as many wins as they do right now is confusing to me. I think we've just played some teams that have had really off nights because we can't shoot over 35% in a game to save our lives. Team is terrible from the free throw line. They have 2 guys capable of hitting 3's at a 30% clip. No one can pass. No one can INBOUND pass. Half the players are dumb as rocks. Demarcus is the only player with hands on the team. It's just crappy to watch right now. I really hope we can make some trades or release some players to put something else on the court.

 

[Hadlowe]

I saw a lot of stagnant offense. The team was passing, but the off-ball movement is still slow and often without a clear purpose, leading to shooters catching the pass out of position and with their man on top of them. When the entire Blazers front-court got into foul trouble in the first, I couldn't understand why we didn't keep Cousins in there and just punish them down low. And, for the love of god, work up some entry plays to get Cousins the ball in the post.

Good stuff. Donte taking Aldridge one on one in the post and giving up nothing. Fredette tying together two good shooting performances in a row. Very little Salmons. Pretty good team defense at times. Garcia having a good shooting night.

Bad stuff. Defensive rebounding, for the love of all that's holy. Selfish dribble dribble shoot plays still making appearances. Jamal Crawford. Our inability to finish at the rim. Bad shooting from IT, Donte, Salmons, Outlaw, Evans. Cousins getting schooled in the post by Craig Smith. Lousy officiating. The Portland announcers.

 

[Kingster]

I'm not comfortable with having Travis Outlaw in the game. IT and Donte are also not reliable 3 point shooters, yet they take so many because the shots are there for them. It's really unfortunate that they simply can't hit them at a high clip.

I'm starting to feel that we just don't have enough athletic wing players/ guards. We don't have anyone other than Donte who can get in there and dunk the ball. The league has changed such that wing players need to be really athletic. In that regard I miss having Taylor and Omri. Salmons has lost his speed, IT Jimmer and Thornton are all small for their positions (and without Wade-like athleticism). Tyreke's layups just aren't working. If someone can find the stats I'd like to see the comparison between his rookie season and his 2nd, 3rd year. I think it has a lot to do with the defense knowing that he doesn't use his left hand. If they just stand still and take up as much as space as possible he'll be forced into a hard scoop shot, even after his euro step thing. If he were to go up and try and dunk it I think he'd be going to the line a whole lot more.

Our team is so bad that we really need to find ways to get as much as we can out of whatever opportunities are presented to us. If there's a minor mistake in our defense that can be easily corrected we simply MUST correct it. If we get an open shot near the rim the guys have to take it up strong and make it or get fouled. When we play with energy we can at least hang around in games instead of getting blown out in the first half of every game. If we continue to miss layups, waste transition opportunities, miss wide open 3s etc there is simply no way we end the season above .300. Not with the current personnel at least. I wonder whether the FO is starting to get worried about the make up of the team, or whether they're content just waiting for Hayes to get back and hope that we somehow improve a little by the end of the season. We will of course, but I'm not sure that will be enough for us to be remotely competitive.

They know everything is going up with his right hand, they know he likes to go right a lot more than left, they know that doesn't have a mid-range game and so they just wait for him at the hoop to try a layup, and they know he can't consistently hit from the outside. When your game is that limited, no matter how talented you are, you are going to have some problems, especially against above .500 teams that pay attention to scouting reports. The fact that he is a one-trick pony on offense makes it tough to devise a half court offensive system that utilizes his talent. I think that's one of the many reasons that Smart wants to fast break as much as he can.

 

[Hadlowe]

One thing I didn't understand, why were we letting Tyreke and IT bring up the ball solo with Felton riding them the whole way? Where were the backcourt screens to speed up the transition to half-court. We were losing 4-6 seconds each possession with Felton riding them.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Funny, I always thought Portland's announce crew was one of the better ones in the league. But that's because I can't get past the crews that employ former players that sound like Mush Mouth. Of course they're biased. I'm not gonna sweat that. But they've got nothing on Tommy Heinsohn, who I also enjoy.

 

[ArcoKings]

Outlaw and Salmons have got to go. Anyways, another disappointing result. Just when you think the team is about to turn the corner: BAM.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

Outlaw and Salmons have got to go. Anyways, another disappointing result. Just when you think the team is about to turn the corner: BAM.

$10m+ in bad contracts.

 

[gunks]

$10m+ in bad contracts.

Petrie has to go.

 

[kennadog]

I wanted Dalembert back, if the price was right. He didn't want us and he made that pretty clear. Not much to be done, when a player won't come back.

 

[Arkitect]

If Dally was offered enough money I bet he would have stayed. Considering we again have the lowest payroll in the league, we could have easily paid him an extra 2 - 3 million a year compared to Houston without impacting our cap space at all. Are you telling me the 12 million we are paying Travis Outlaw over the next 4 years could not have been better spent on Dally? I have no doubt that our FO is at fault for him not being in a Kings uniform this year.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Overpaying players has impact beyond just the one contract. It insures you will pay more for future players and is a terrible thing to do after the lockout.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Referring to grades: Jason "Flailing Schmuck" Thompson - appropriate nickname until, if ever, he proves different. May I suggest another one - Donte "Consistent Brick" Greene until he, if ever, proves otherwise. I'm growing more fed up everyday with both of these glorified garbage men. We have enough custodians on the Kings roster. No way both should be back in Sac next year or even through this season to continue their mediocre schmuck careers here. Oh, and I certainly would not have dissed Daly or Beno in such way - two good ones that got away!

 

[Andre87]

I wish we had more players of DMC's level on this team

 

[Lafayette]

The main reason this team looks so bad... CAN'T SHOOT THE BALL! Holy turd, this team missing 70% of the time and most of those are OPEN shots, horrible. Coach Smart needs to realize who the shooters are and leave them on the floor. I like Donte but why does he think he's Larry Bird along with Garcia. Jimmer's looking better but needs to man up on defense, not tough enough. I can't ramble about it because it's all the same but the key culprit is SHOOTING %

 

[Section 101]

Referring to grades: Jason "Flailing Schmuck" Thompson - appropriate nickname until, if ever, he proves different. May I suggest another one - Donte "Consistent Brick" Greene until he, if ever, proves otherwise. I'm growing more fed up everyday with both of these glorified garbage men. We have enough custodians on the Kings roster. No way both should be back in Sac next year or even through this season to continue their mediocre schmuck careers here. Oh, and I certainly would not have dissed Daly or Beno in such way - two good ones that got away!

Donte is shooting .439 %. 3rd on the team. It's his 3pt .223 % that is bringing him down. He should shoot the wide open ones and start driving more.

 

[kennadog]

Overpaying players has impact beyond just the one contract. It insures you will pay more for future players and is a terrible thing to do after the lockout.

And it impacts the ability to re-sign your own players.

Didn't know where to put this, but Matt Moore's comment on the Kings in his sportsline power rankings made me laugh (black humor). Kings up to 24 from 27.

The Keith Smart era: Bad, but competent. An improvement

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/...may-be-ugly-but-some-teams-thriving-on-it/rss

 

[sdballer]

I wanted Dalembert back, if the price was right. He didn't want us and he made that pretty clear. Not much to be done, when a player won't come back.

Again, where is this coming from? He actively wanted to be in sac when he was in Philly, finally performed when he was starting here, mentioned repeatedly that Sacramento was a major option, then went and said he thought they were going to get something done.

Everyone assumes we made a far better offer than Houston and he was dead set against resigning. The further we get from the event, the more strenuously people argue he was against it.

Isn't it possible that he did want to return? That Petrie's own admission that they went after Hayes instead and reached back out only after Hayes had the issue were a major factor? And isn't it possible that the deal we made was far closer to Houston's and that if we'd just sent a little more money (to cover the income tax issue plus), he would have been back? Do we really believe that if we'd offered Sammy 18M for 2 years that he still would have jumped at non-guaranteed $13M from Houston?

Instead, people talk as though there was no chance he was coming back, that he was totally against it, and that it wouldn't have mattered even if we offered an extra couple million?

The fact is its just as likely that our FO screwed up and I think there is ample evidence with other activity over the last few years to support that.