[Grades] Grades v. Blazers 11/13/2012

[Bricklayer]

I don't know what you were watching, in the 2nd quarter Jimmer was holding his own against Lillard. Tyreke is the one that fouled him for no reason and continually went under screens to give him open 3's. Most importantly in the 2nd quarter Jimmer went right back at Lillard knocking down a lot of midrange jumpers. Tyreke on the other hand couldn't dream of hitting a pull up jumper and did nothing when he was against Lillard. I don't play favorites, but tonight I saw Jimmer playing hard, putting in effort. Tyreke looked pretty pedestrian once again, on a night when he's asked to the #1 option.

Here is the first quarter defensive mapping -- Lillard played all 12 min:

starters: Brooks, Evans, JJ, JT, CH
1 JJ defends multiple blazers, blazers miss
2 JJ caught on double screen, Batum misses open three
3 3 on 2 fb, Brooks sags back, blazers kick lillard for three
4 Brooks caught on screen up top, Lillard long jumper
5 Reke really strong defense chases Matthews off shot, then forces turnover
6 JJ called fr foul on Batum, defense was ok
7 Aldridge misses long open jumper after Hayes caught away helping
8 Brooks goes under screen, Lillard bombds three
9 Reke stops Matthews, who swings it to Lillard. Lillard beats Brooks, Reke helps, then Lillard kicks it to now open Matthews for 3
10 Reke excellent defense on Mattews, Matthews still hits tough turnaround over him along baseline
11 Aldridge hits turnaround post move +1 over JT
12 Johnson recovers to block a Batum three, -- Thornton in for JT -- Brooks goes under another screen, Lillard misses the long three
13 Matthews fakes MT into parachuting for foul. Lillard beats Brooks off dribble, Hayes has to help, Lillard hits Aldridge for the open side pop, which he hits
14 Reke makes a turnover inbounding pass, Batum lays it up over him off the steal
-- Fredette in for Brooks --
15 Blazers break, bad pass TO
16 Thornotn picked and beaten badly by Price, Batum hits three over Reke, solid contest
17 Batum posts Jimmer, Hayes moves to help, so Batum hits Aldrige for open midrange shot, which he misses. Hickson gets o-reb, Johnson blocks his post attempt
18 Lillard blows by Jimmer, scrambling our defense, Batum misses a three as Reke and Jimmer fly by, another Hickson long o-reb over Johnson, Hayes caught alone on baseline guarding Batum and Aldridge as Reke slow to get back fiorm his challenge. pass to Aldridge, who scores over Reke.
19 Jimmer gets beat by Lillard, who tries to drop a no look pass to Aldridge. Hayes slaps it away, Jimmer picks it up and is fouled tying to break out
-- TRob, Salmons in --
20 Lillard uses pick to get by Jimmer, hesitates and drives. Either Jimmer or TRob slaps ball away from behind
21 Thornton caught heavily on pick up top, Salmond strips a driving Batum
22 Price pulls up for bad forced midrange jumper off his dribble, Salmons challenges. shot misses
23 Lillard gets around Jimmer off a pick, both by his teammate and TRob, Price misses the corner three with a late Salmons challenge
24 Lillard gets around Jimmer again, who just reaches out and intentionally fouls him with the foul to give
25 Lillard shakes Jimmer witt the quick spin move, but misses the uncontested fallaway jumper

If it makes you feel any better, Brooks was even worse.

 

[Sac.1989]

tyrekes going to demand a trade soon the way things are shaping up. Sign and trade when that RFA comes around. These twitter quotes from the brass are to be taken as they are. We all know those close to reke pave the path for him and its clear that nor they or him are happy and we only have ourselves and consistent lack of system to blame.

If the maloofs had any brains they'd invest in a coach, seriously young talent is wasted with us its so frustrating seeing it all unravel.

 

[ParniValjak]

tyrekes going to demand a trade soon the way things are shaping up. Sign and trade when that RFA comes around. These twitter quotes from the brass are to be taken as they are. We all know those close to reke pave the path for him and its clear that nor they or him are happy and we only have ourselves and consistent lack of system to blame.

If the maloofs had any brains they'd invest in a coach, seriously young talent is wasted with us its so frustrating seeing it all unravel.

For Reke's sake he either needs new coach or a new team. Eventually I fear we will trade Tyreke and someone will find gold. Just imagine what a coach like Pop would do with DMC and Reke duo. Unfortunately we are more interested in GSW type offensive team where everyone has a green light and just keep running. The problem with that is that our 2 best players are not suited to that style. Those 2 are made for winning, play off type basketball. Not hit and giggles that we want to play.

 

[mac]

For Reke's sake he either needs new coach or a new team. Eventually I fear we will trade Tyreke and someone will find gold. Just imagine what a coach like Pop would do with DMC and Reke duo. Unfortunately we are more interested in GSW type offensive team where everyone has a green light and just keep running. The problem with that is that our 2 best players are not suited to that style. Those 2 are made for winning, play off type basketball. Not hit and giggles that we want to play.

Unfortunately even GSW aren't following a GSW type offensive team

 

[Flopi]

One thing that i've noticed and bothers me :
The Blazers have no bench, we have players who like to drive inside and, still, the starting five for Portland managed to commit ONLY 6 FOULS !!!

Actually, I've checked the stats on nba.com and the Kings are 4th in the league for fewest fouls commited by opponents.

 

[FaStRmAn]

keep Reke, MT, DMC, blow the rest up. maybe T-Rob can stay too

Trade Reeks if he has ANY value left, Keep DMC and T-Rob. Purge the rest including Petrie, Smart, and staff.

 

[UK_King]

I did say we'd see Jimmer trying to guard Lillard and i was told it wouldn't happen

Did he do a great job? ur no. Did he do a flat out terrible job? No.

Boy Lillard looks awfully good though, always under control, never rattled, generally makes the right pass and takes the right shot.

could be scary good.

 

[Hadlowe]

I dunno why everyone is freaking out. We lost a game without our best player and biggest offensive threat on the floor. Basketball is always a "sum of its parts" type of game. When you take out the only big post threat on offense, your offense is going to suck wind.

Portland's starting five is a stellar offensive unit. Lillard's game has translated immediately to the NBA, but he's also got great complementary pieces in two wings who are excellent three point threats, a high flying mobile forward in Hickson and a center who is lights out from mid-range. They aren't great defensively because, well, Hickson.

Portland's biggest weakness is their bench, which we exploited to some extent. But, without Cousins, we were never going to match their starting five in offense. That doesn't mean the Kings are worthless. We struggled without our star player and our starting point guard and his backup. Simple as that, really.

That is not to say that the Kings are fine. The roster problems in the backcourt are very real, and the small forward situation is still a headache. But there is no need for a uniform freakout. Cousins is a future all-star. Tyreke is still an exceptional talent, but lacks the proper supporting player at the three. Most of the rest of the supporting roster is in place.

Why wasn't Dorrell Wright available again?

 

[Siranthony]

Maybe it's intentional. Who knows. Maybe Smart is doing what he is told. This kind of coaching and losing will see the Kings out of town or out of buisines sooner rather than later.

 

[Rug King]

If the maloofs had any brains they'd invest in a coach, seriously young talent is wasted with us its so frustrating seeing it all unravel.

If the maloofs had any brains, they wouldn't have leveraged themselves so far out they had to sell their cash cow beer distributorship, lost their stake in The Palms, sabatagued the arena deal and stuck a knife in the loyal King's fans back.
I hope they won't be able to buy a $6 burger soon. I know they won't get any help from me.

 

[lwc]

In regards to the poll question: I voted for Jimmer to be the #1 bench guard because the off-the-bench role has done well for him this season. However, my hope is that Coach Smart will make Tyreke the PG and Jimmer the 2 with JJ at the 3, and DMC and Hayes at the 4/5. Jimmer and Tyreke together are perfect. How do you guard them? Against Tyreke you have to pack the lane if he has the ball in his hands, however, if Jimmer is in, you have to respect his 3-shooting. So, if the lane is packed and the 2-man has to stick to Jimmer, someone will always be open.

In my dreams Jimmer continues at this seasons level OR improves and Tyreke is made the definitive PG for the team. If Jimmer gets cold, you always have MT to trot out. However, reality is that Smart has been burying Tyreke at the 2/3 sticking players like Brooks and IT at the point and playing 9-10 deep every game. Get a rotation, stick to it and watch the development happen.

 

[Hadlowe]

In regards to the poll question: I voted for Jimmer to be the #1 bench guard because the off-the-bench role has done well for him this season. However, my hope is that Coach Smart will make Tyreke the PG and Jimmer the 2 with JJ at the 3, and DMC and Hayes at the 4/5. Jimmer and Tyreke together are perfect. How do you guard them? Against Tyreke you have to pack the lane if he has the ball in his hands, however, if Jimmer is in, you have to respect his 3-shooting. So, if the lane is packed and the 2-man has to stick to Jimmer, someone will always be open.

In my dreams Jimmer continues at this seasons level OR improves and Tyreke is made the definitive PG for the team. If Jimmer gets cold, you always have MT to trot out. However, reality is that Smart has been burying Tyreke at the 2/3 sticking players like Brooks and IT at the point and playing 9-10 deep every game. Get a rotation, stick to it and watch the development happen.

It's been said before, but it's worth repeating. The problem is not Tyreke. The problem is not the point guard (IT has shot very well from 3 point range this season, and Brooks has the range, despite not shooting well so far). The problem is the small forward position. Johnson is a step forward in defense, but his lack of range is killing the offense, particularly Tyreke. Jimmer, Brooks, and IT are all similar enough as point guards and have the range that it doesn't matter which one of them is out there playing off the ball. If we don't have at least one other deep threat, floor spacing won't happen, the lane will stay clogged, and the offense will continue to struggle.

I really don't like putting my faith in Salmons to man the three, but that may be where we're at.

 

[Hadlowe]

I love that clip both for the highlight dunk and for the fact that two of the five Kings on the floor are completely motionless in the offensive set.

 

[Heuge]

I've been a Kings fan since 1986. This game marks my darkest moment, in a long line of dark moments with this team. Between the crowd of Hawk game like proportions, the poor coaching, the weirdly formed roster, and the two faced owners lying about every attempted method to get out of town; it has grown very discouraging to be a fan. Add in a20 point blowout loss at home to the other worst team in the western conference and I am in full sky is falling mode. At least college ball has started and I can begin to dream of the next lottery pick we will almost get.

 

[Kingster]

I didn't see the whole game, but my impression from this one is that I really like Thomas Robinson but not for any of the reasons I liked him in college. He's woefully over matched in the paint at this level to the point where it's embarrassing when he tries to score in there. But he sure can fly around the court and get his hands into everything. I have no idea how to use him on the court at this point, but I'm intrigued to see what kind of player he's going to turn into. He reminds me of Tyrus Thomas unfortunately, but that doesn't mean he's doomed to fail. Someone is going to have to be creative about finding a position for him. I almost think he's a better fit at SF than PF, but really it just depends on the system and the individual matchups.

I want to see him in pick and rolls with IT or Jimmer. He is very quick on the roll and they can throw it up there for the finish. But to do the pick and roll I don't think you can have Evans and Johnson on the floor at the same time because teams are packing the paint due to their poor outside shooting This team desperately needs a two-way shooter at the two or the three.

 

[Kingster]

It's been said before, but it's worth repeating. The problem is not Tyreke. The problem is not the point guard (IT has shot very well from 3 point range this season, and Brooks has the range, despite not shooting well so far). The problem is the small forward position. Johnson is a step forward in defense, but his lack of range is killing the offense, particularly Tyreke. Jimmer, Brooks, and IT are all similar enough as point guards and have the range that it doesn't matter which one of them is out there playing off the ball. If we don't have at least one other deep threat, floor spacing won't happen, the lane will stay clogged, and the offense will continue to struggle.

I really don't like putting my faith in Salmons to man the three, but that may be where we're at.

I'd change it slightly to what the problem is: the problem is the three or the two. Just like Tyreke would be more effective with a three who could shoot outside, Johnson could also be more effective with a two that could shoot outside. It's having both the two and the three not being able to shoot outside that really hurts.

 

[chief bromden]

I watched the comeback from 25-10 and then the 3rd quarter collapse. I thought Jimmer played great in the first half. You can see that the ball is glued to the net when Jimmer is shooting, but his ball handling when he is bringing it up in half-court sets leaves something to be desired. When Cousins is back, I envision Cousins in the post with Jimmer on the 3 point line... when Cousins gets doubled he simply passes it out to Jimmer and he shoots. This needs to happen. Mix in some pick and roll, and some Tyreke. I thought Tyreke had some nice stretches this game and found myself wondering why he was benched at certain points. (I think he is on his way out sooner or later, the Kings are telegraphing that they have given up on him). Additionally, bring Thornton and Hayes off the bench so they can run their 2 man game. That should be the offense. Thompson's inside game is still a joke, his moves are so herky jerky still and it looks like he vomits the ball when he does get the shot off. Leave him on the baseline or the top of the key to shoot his jumper and run the lane for the board/put back. The dribbling around the court for 7 seconds to then hand off to another guy who dribbles around for 7 seconds has to stop. These are my dreams (ie. they won't happen)

Man... why didn't we draft Lillard? He looks so smooth... and focused. If we did, we probably would have screwed him up anyway. Oh well.

 

[Padrino]

I watched the comeback from 25-10 and then the 3rd quarter collapse. I thought Jimmer played great in the first half. You can see that the ball is glued to the net when Jimmer is shooting, but his ball handling when he is bringing it up in half-court sets leaves something to be desired. When Cousins is back, I envision Cousins in the post with Jimmer on the 3 point line... when Cousins gets doubled he simply passes it out to Jimmer and he shoots. This needs to happen. Mix in some pick and roll, and some Tyreke. I thought Tyreke had some nice stretches this game and found myself wondering why he was benched at certain points. (I think he is on his way out sooner or later, the Kings are telegraphing that they have given up on him). Additionally, bring Thornton and Hayes off the bench so they can run their 2 man game. That should be the offense. Thompson's inside game is still a joke, his moves are so herky jerky still and it looks like he vomits the ball when he does get the shot off. Leave him on the baseline or the top of the key to shoot his jumper and run the lane for the board/put back. The dribbling around the court for 7 seconds to then hand off to another guy who dribbles around for 7 seconds has to stop. These are my dreams (ie. they won't happen)

Man... why didn't we draft Lillard? He looks so smooth... and focused. If we did, we probably would have screwed him up anyway. Oh well.

amended: the kings are telegraphing that they don't want to pay him, so instead they're sabotaging his value as an excuse to refrain from re-signing him. why play him less than 30 minutes a game off-ball in his contract year unless you want to sink his value? it boggles the mind...

that said, he'll likely earn a modest contract somewhere else, and become an incredibly high value player for a head coach that's not afraid to let 'reke be 'reke...

 

[chief bromden]

amended: the kings are telegraphing that they don't want to pay him, so instead they're sabotaging his value as an excuse to refrain from re-signing him. why play him less than 30 minutes a game off-ball in his contract year unless you want to sink his value? it boggles the mind...

that said, he'll likely earn a modest contract somewhere else, and become an incredibly high value player for a head coach that's not afraid to let 'reke be 'reke...

I've thought about that too. Is he restricted this off-season? I've thought that maybe they are trying to save themselves money by diminishing his value and then matching the offer he ends up signing. The only thing that stops me is wondering why they'd want to retain a player that they've pissed off? Even if he isn't restricted, pissing him off guarantees his going elsewhere in the off-season. Playing him like this also diminishes his trade value...I don't understand their handling of him. Maybe everything is geared toward frustrating and diminishing the fan base? I'd love to be behind closed doors with this team so that we could understand the true forces at play.

 

[Padrino]

I've thought about that too. Is he restricted this off-season? I've thought that maybe they are trying to save themselves money by diminishing his value and then matching the offer he ends up signing. The only thing that stops me is wondering why they'd want to retain a player that they've pissed off? Even if he isn't restricted, pissing him off guarantees his going elsewhere in the off-season. Playing him like this also diminishes his trade value...I don't understand their handling of him. Maybe everything is geared toward frustrating and diminishing the fan base? I'd love to be behind closed doors with this team so that we could understand the true forces at play.

yeah. honestly, it'd be nice to find out that there is some grand conspiracy helping to hold the kings back from realizing their potential. that would at least offer us some sort of reasonable explanation for what we're seeing. sadly, the more likely answer is that, with an arena deal up in the air, with a team always on the verge of leaving town, with the maloofs' empty pockets, and with thinned-out management operating on the cheap, the kings are completely without organizational principle at the moment. this thread gives an example of how gregg popovich approaches team-building. in the late-90's and early-00's, the kings had a specific approach to team-building. but does anybody honestly believe that there is presently a governing philosophy in the sacramento front office? trade beno udrih for john salmons to move down in the draft, where you pick jimmer fredette? let samuel dalembert walk? sign travis outlaw? sign chuck hayes (which is actually starting to look like the best move the kings have made in recent memory)? sign james johnson? sign aaron brooks? these are the moves that are meant to bolster a fledgling and mismatched roster? they're scattershot acquisitions, at absolute best, and there is no clear methodology at work to explain their utility. the problem is not the coach. it is not the players. the problem is in the management of the entire franchise. bringing in a quality veteran coach with a hard nose and strong leadership skills would certainly fix a few things, in the short term. but what happens when it comes time to re-sign tyreke evans and demarcus cousins? will any of it matter? i get more and more cynical by the day...

 

[tyreeeke]

I love that clip both for the highlight dunk and for the fact that two of the five Kings on the floor are completely motionless in the offensive set.

Beautiful.

 

[bajaden]

It's really quite simple, and Smart isn't doing a good job, but Petrie handed him a mess. Just look at any possession and the players on the floor. As soon as any player not names Hayes doesn't have the ball, they are suddenly a lesser player and are close to useless. JT/Cuz/Trob can crash the boards, but are really no different then any other team's big men.

IT/MT/Brooks/Outlaw/Salmons/Evans/Jimmer/JJ, they all have the same talent in creating their own shot. But the goal isn't to get a shot, it should be to get a high percentage shot.

So you think that Cousins is no different than any other teams big man. Just an average 6'11" player. Wow! I'm going to remind you of that statement after his first 30pt/20 rebound game. Pure nonsense!

 

[DesertFox]

So you think that Cousins is no different than any other teams big man. Just an average 6'11" player. Wow! I'm going to remind you of that statement after his first 30pt/20 rebound game. Pure nonsense!

That was a reference to floor spacing and role without the ball. Most big men stay close to the basket and try to get rebounds. That is what JT/Cuz/Trob do, as they do not camp out behind the 3 point line. A statement, not a criticism of their games.

 

[blackice]

I die a little bit inside every game I have to watch without Cousins playing...I mean it's not much better with him in there when it comes to wins but at least he is a watchable talent unlike most of the roster.

 

[The_Jamal]

At least Reke playing PG opened most of your eyes to our utter lack of consistent jump shooters. This problem as afflicted us all season long and been the cause of why our offense has been so terrible

 

[SacTownKid]

Jimmy Spencer is on Twitter talking about how badly Sacramento is misusing Tyreke. and now Tyreke's brother is tweeting about it as well. saying the coach continues to ice him. and even mentioned that Rip Hamilton came up to him in Chicago and said "thats crazy, tyreke was killing us and then the coach iced him"

wow. coach is killing the team fast

The Bulls were the one team that didn't ice him themselves because they didn't rely on the zone. Plenty of icing is going on but it's usually when Tyreke runs into a wall of four bodies. Not enough shooting to put around he or Cuz to open that lane up unless they put Reke at PF, which I wouldn't be surprised to see Smart go with at some point.

Last night he actually put Reke at PG next to Thornton and it worked! They were running offense through Hayes and the Kings went up. They stopped playing that way and the lead went fast. They need to start the offense with Cousins as a facilitator and Reke next to Thornton. Cutting off the ball will help the shooting woes and give Reke more chances offensively than just looking at a wall of defense or open air when he's stranded at the 3 point line. Yep, not looking like that SG everyone thought he'd be is he.

 

[pshn80]

This'd season I need a driver/companion for each game I go see. We went last night. If things don't improve on the team.I may lose my driver. As it was last night he diverted his eyes for most of the 4th quarter. Thank god for the "kissing" highlights they had on the screen at that time - he looked up then.

Most everything you folks have said above is true. Not really any one thing but some of every thing. It's ownership, management, coaches, and players - each and every one of them, our "franchise players aren't, maybe they can be "wannabes". Tre days of having a serious problem or two are long gone. Maybe my continuing fan hood will be to look for signs of fixing anything. Go Kings!!!!!

 

[Uk kings fan]

woo go jimmer im not going to lie i thought you should have been cut before the season started


interestingly i have met one of the girls consoling you guys Frankie Sanford

 

[HereWeBoogie]

Just heard Keith Smart on the Napear show. he said something like this. "i rarely talk about things from an offensive standpoint, your offense comes and goes, sometimes the guy makes his shot and sometimes he doesnt"

wow i guess that explains how horrible our offense is. he doesnt even run any type of offense

 

[flipray]

Just heard Keith Smart on the Napear show. he said something like this. "i rarely talk about things from an offensive standpoint, your offense comes and goes, sometimes the guy makes his shot and sometimes he doesnt"

wow i guess that explains how horrible our offense is. he doesnt even run any type of offense

I heard that while driving, I know a lot of us hate Westphal, but that quote right there makes him no different than the last coach. At least Westphal had better rotations. The only thing I can credit Smart is defense.