[Grades] Grades v. Bobhornets 1/4/2014

[VF21]

This is an awesome site and I cling to the hope that I'm wrong about DC...I just doubt it.

We all like underdogs and maybe with little to cheer for I like IT so much. Heck I still want jimmer to do well.

I think it makes me more frustrated with DC and his lack of leadership. He is still leading the league in T's correct?

Please read my responses about about DMC and technicals (and why we use DMC or DFC and not DC). If Cousins was anyone else in the league, he would not be getting the same kind of scrutiny he receives now from the officials. We Kings fans went through it before when Ron Artest (another player often accused of hero ball, BTW) was here.

 

[bajaden]

How about it is EQUALLY unacceptable for Jefferson to score 27 and Kemba to drop 30? How about Cousins, and JT, and Acy should all shoulder responsibility for letting Jefferson own us? Just like IT and Jimmer should shoulder responsibility for letting Kemba own us?

Defense doesn't start and end with changing one guy. We could resurrect the prime Gary Payton and the defense won't change until we develop some trust and communication on the defensive end. Does that future include IT and our current crop of guards? I have no idea. We need a defensive leader. Someone who's not only a great individual defender, but someone the other guys can model themselves after. I thought Mbah could have taken that role for us.

What I do know is that Cousins is going to have much more leeway with the franchise for his defensive faults than the perimeter guys. So at the end of the day, if the perimeter guys want to have a future on the team, they're going to have to pick it up or get out.

In a span of 15 minutes on the floor, Acy blocked Jeffersons shot twice, and got him called for a charge. People see what they want to see I guess. I don't have a dog in this hunt. I'd also like to point out that theirs a difference between being scored on while contesting a shot, and being scored on while being totally beat by your man off the dribble. If you want to say that Cousins was incapable of stopping Jefferson from scoring, that's fine, but at least he was in the right position to do so. For the most part, IT wasn't, and that's where my criticism comes from.

 

[bajaden]

I'm starting to get a bit concerned about DMC and I wonder if he will EVER get along with his teammates and earn their respect. Sure, he puts up incredible numbers, but he's not dominant on the defensive side and he's not good enough to single handedly make a team into a winner (like a LeBron, Kobe, Durant, Paul, etc. can do). He's shown over the years that he doesn't seem to be well liked among his teammates. He doesn't come across as a leader type.

Now I know that losing takes a toll on everybody and he takes it especially hard but here's the thing -- even if we were a winning team, these issues could easily still be a problem because last time I checked, only 1 team per year wins the NBA championship, so if Cuz got us to the playoffs and we were 1 and done, or 2 and done, or whatever, I fear that we may always have these issues.

I know I'll get blasted for this statement because this board is extremely pro-Cousins, but it is my belief that he is not well liked in the locker room for a variety of reasons. When your best player is not well liked, it's a recipe for disaster. You're going to have fighting on and off the court. You're going to have players playing selfishly, not putting the team ahead of their own stats and success. We have seen this happen this year, and we've seen it pretty much every other year DMC has been with us.

The problem is, I don't know the solution. He's probably not going to change anytime soon. We probably aren't going to trade him. I fear that we'll watch this sort of thing for another 2-3 years before management finally cuts bait, trades him, and moves on.

And you wonder why Cousins get frustrated? Because people like you automaticly point their finger at him anytime anything goes wrong. IT screams at his teammates, and its OK. There's a heated discussion under that basket between Cousins, IT, and Gay, and its Cousins that's the problem. Orton runs into Cousins and knocks him to the floor, and its Cousins that gets called for the foul, and he's supposed to just smile and make nice with everyone. At some point, you get a little tired of everything being one sided. I'd like some of you to put yourself in his position and see how you would fare. Its easy to sit on the sidelines and dictate how someone should act. There's a difference between playing a video game about war, and actually being shot at. Trust me, you change your opinion about war very quickly.

 

[Glenn]

DC was Doug Christie. That's why we call Demarcus Cousins either DMC or DFC.

To be honest, I don't think the rest of your comments bear further response.

I appreciate your restraint.

 

[New Era]

And you wonder why Cousins get frustrated? Because people like you automaticly point their finger at him anytime anything goes wrong. IT screams at his teammates, and its OK. There's a heated discussion under that basket between Cousins, IT, and Gay, and its Cousins that's the problem. Orton runs into Cousins and knocks him to the floor, and its Cousins that gets called for the foul, and he's supposed to just smile and make nice with everyone. At some point, you get a little tired of everything being one sided. I'd like some of you to put yourself in his position and see how you would fare. Its easy to sit on the sidelines and dictate how someone should act. There's a difference between playing a video game about war, and actually being shot at. Trust me, you change your opinion about war very quickly.

Ummmm, okay. One-sided? We've been witnessing DMC's antics for 4 years now. It's not like this was an isolated incident.

And for the record, I though what IT did last night was totally unacceptable too.

 

[Bricklayer]

Yay! I predicted several week ago it was eventually going to turn into a DMC vs. IT thing in the fanbase. And I also told you exactly how that was going to go for the IT faction.

 

[bajaden]

I'm starting to get a bit concerned about DMC and I wonder if he will EVER get along with his teammates and earn their respect. Sure, he puts up incredible numbers, but he's not dominant on the defensive side and he's not good enough to single handedly make a team into a winner (like a LeBron, Kobe, Durant, Paul, etc. can do). He's shown over the years that he doesn't seem to be well liked among his teammates. He doesn't come across as a leader type.

Now I know that losing takes a toll on everybody and he takes it especially hard but here's the thing -- even if we were a winning team, these issues could easily still be a problem because last time I checked, only 1 team per year wins the NBA championship, so if Cuz got us to the playoffs and we were 1 and done, or 2 and done, or whatever, I fear that we may always have these issues.

I know I'll get blasted for this statement because this board is extremely pro-Cousins, but it is my belief that he is not well liked in the locker room for a variety of reasons. When your best player is not well liked, it's a recipe for disaster. You're going to have fighting on and off the court. You're going to have players playing selfishly, not putting the team ahead of their own stats and success. We have seen this happen this year, and we've seen it pretty much every other year DMC has been with us.

The problem is, I don't know the solution. He's probably not going to change anytime soon. We probably aren't going to trade him. I fear that we'll watch this sort of thing for another 2-3 years before management finally cuts bait, trades him, and moves on.

So now Cousins, according to you, is not well liked in the locker room. And you know this how? You've been in the locker room and seen it first hand? You know someone that has? Or perhaps your capable of mental telepathy? And people wonder why Cousins gets frustrated? Because people like you automaticly point their finger at him anytime anything goes wrong. IT screams at his teammates, and its OK. There's a heated discussion under that basket between Cousins, IT, and Gay, and its Cousins that's the problem. Orton runs into Cousins and knocks him to the floor, and its Cousins that gets called for the foul, and he's supposed to just smile and make nice with everyone.

At some point, you get a little tired of everything being one sided. I'd like some of you to put yourself in his position and see how you would fare. Its easy to sit on the sidelines and dictate how someone should act. There's a difference between playing a video game about war, and actually being shot at. Trust me, you change your opinion about war very quickly.

 

[Padrino]

All of this disfunction is the responsibility of this organization and it's leadership. These things should not be happening. Our team looks frustrated. They play too hard and are stressed out.

i'd like to know why kings fans believe "these things should not be happening"? why are kings fans surprised by the losses and the frustration, exactly? i've asked it several times already this season, but what we're people expecting? why is everyone being so melodramatic? it's incredibly confusing to me...

you've got a new [rookie] owner who has promised big things for this franchise while cautioning patience, a new [rookie] gm who has promised an aggressive approach to reshaping this roster while cautioning patience, a new [rookie] head coach who has promised defensive improvement while cautioning patience, tremendous roster turnover across the last six months with more changes likely on their way in the very near future, a terrible defensive team, a below average rebounding team, a thin bench... who is seriously expecting anything to go right on the court in year one under the new regime?

i'd be more worried if there wasn't tension in the locker room right now. it's a good thing that this team is unsatisfied with their performance. it allows the coach an opportunity to see which players he can count on to lead, it allows the players an opportunity to hold each other accountable for their effort, and it allows the gm an opportunity to assess where he will add and subtract across the roster...

personally, i'm encouraged by demarcus cousins' improvement, rudy gay's resurgence, and coach malone's approach... and that's about it. this team is not built to win. there's clearly a lot of work to do elsewhere on the roster. the minute the new regime decided not to re-sign tyreke evans, they were committing to a new rebuild around DMC. kings fans may not like to hear the term "rebuild" used for the umpteenth time in the last seven years, and some may sneer at my enthusiasm for the 2014 draft, but this team needs two-way talent, defensive roleplayers, rebounders, etc. the water is murky right now. we have no idea what it will look like when it clears up...

jimmer fredette won't be around much longer. neither will marcus thornton. then there's travis outlaw? aaron gray? quincy acy? they have limited utility, but do they really belong anywhere other than at the end of the bench? at this point, who knows if carl landry actually figures into this team's long-term plans or not? is rudy gay here to stay, or will his massive expiring contract be used as trade bait next season? there are far too many unknowns for fans to be tearing their hair out over losses that really shouldn't be so surprising...

 

[kpm308]

I think the front office is getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar here, trying to showcase guys to try and drive up their value while making moves like the gay trade to try and compete. I think they're trying to be a little too cutesy here leaving only Jimmer as an option for the back up pg, and not addressing the needs at Sg at all, and hoping that if they don't acknowledge how bad they are sucking, maybe no one else will and they will still have a bit of value. If anyone in the front office was actually as serious about wanting to win as the team and coach are, there's no excuse for not at least having guys like Duhon, Keyon Dooling, or Dahntay Jones in for a workout. These guys are all over the hill, but they're a much better option than what we're putting out there, if you're serious about winning games right now.

 

[Glenn]

i'd be more worried if there wasn't tension in the locker room right now. it's a good thing that this team is unsatisfied with their performance. it allows the coach an opportunity to see which players he can count on to lead, it allows the players an opportunity to hold each other accountable for their effort, and it allows the gm an opportunity to assess where he will add and subtract across the roster...

personally, i'm encouraged by demarcus cousins' improvement, rudy gay's resurgence, and coach malone's approach... and that's about it. this team is not built to win. there's clearly a lot of work to do elsewhere on the roster. the minute the new regime decided not to re-sign tyreke evans, they were committing to a new rebuild around DMC. kings fans may not like to hear the term "rebuild" used for the umpteenth time in the last seven years, and some may sneer at my enthusiasm for the 2014 draft, but this team needs two-way talent, defensive roleplayers, rebounders, etc. the water is murky right now. we have no idea what it will look like when it clears up...

jimmer fredette won't be around much longer. neither will marcus thornton. then there's travis outlaw? aaron gray? quincy acy? they have limited utility, but do they really belong anywhere other than at the end of the bench? at this point, who knows if carl landry actually figures into this team's long-term plans or not? is rudy gay here to stay, or will his massive expiring contract be used as trade bait next season? there are far too many unknowns for fans to be tearing their hair out over losses that really shouldn't be so surprising...

Absolutely. I was thinking this last night. Let there be no more guessing. People are showing their true colors.

 

[pshn80]

Yay! I predicted several week ago it was eventually going to turn into a DMC vs. IT thing in the fanbase. And I also told you exactly how that was going to go for the IT faction.

You are probably right about what you told us but my observation is that there is plenty of room for criticizing both IT and Cuz. It's been done here and sort of overdone in re. both of them. The team needs to do some rehabbing.

 

[Glenn]

You are probably right about what you told us but my observation is that there is plenty of room for criticizing both IT and Cuz. It's been done here and sort of overdone in re. both of them. The team needs to do some rehabbing.

Sometimes a divorce makes sense.

 

[Bricklayer]

I think the front office is getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar here, trying to showcase guys to try and drive up their value while making moves like the gay trade to try and compete. I think they're trying to be a little too cutesy here leaving only Jimmer as an option for the back up pg, and not addressing the needs at Sg at all, and hoping that if they don't acknowledge how bad they are sucking, maybe no one else will and they will still have a bit of value. If anyone in the front office was actually as serious about wanting to win as the team and coach are, there's no excuse for not at least having guys like Duhon, Keyon Dooling, or Dahntay Jones in for a workout. These guys are all over the hill, but they're a much better option than what we're putting out there, if you're serious about winning games right now.

annoys me a little Shannon Brown is still out there, with us so desperately in need of a guard who can play defense.

 

[Entity]

annoys me a little Shannon Brown is still out there, with us so desperately in need of a guard who can play defense.

I thought he was injured.

 

[Kingsfan23]

Relax we only have to endure 11 or 12 more games of this stuff.
At that time DWill can be traded and if things in the locker room are as strained as it sounds and if IT is truly the one in the middle of all of it, then expect DWill to be part of a package alongside IT.
Until that time IT will get plenty of minutes and continue to put up great offensive numbers, but if he is the problem in the locker room, then he probably won't last much longer than the time that DWill can be used as salary for a trade.
So keep an eye out for January 26th, and when we get to that point...sit back and wait, because we'll see some movement at that time.

I doubt DWill has too much value right now. Kid was traded for moute and this will be the second team in two months moving him

 

[Uncia03]

I doubt DWill has too much value right now. Kid was traded for moute and this will be the second team in two months moving him

DWill will have a ton of value.
The GMs don't operate in a vacuum. They understand that Gay, right now, is one of the top SFs in the league. They also understand that because Cousins is not a defensive wizard, the Kings require a defensive oriented, ideally large, PF to play between him and Gay.

DWill is not that type of player, and for those reasons of 'fit' moving him is the logical thing for the Kings to do.
Don't forget that DWill in his last game of as a starter had one of his best games of his young career. (And that game was only 11-12 games ago)

To think that a GM will look at DWill and say 'Well the Kings want to trade him now, so that must not make him any good' is not giving the GMs any sort of credit. They might not all be the sharpest people in the world, but they are not that foolish.

 

[mac]

i'd like to know why kings fans believe "these things should not be happening"? why are kings fans surprised by the losses and the frustration, exactly? i've asked it several times already this season, but what we're people expecting? why is everyone being so melodramatic? it's incredibly confusing to me...

you've got a new [rookie] owner who has promised big things for this franchise while cautioning patience, a new [rookie] gm who has promised an aggressive approach to reshaping this roster while cautioning patience, a new [rookie] head coach who has promised defensive improvement while cautioning patience, tremendous roster turnover across the last six months with more changes likely on their way in the very near future, a terrible defensive team, a below average rebounding team, a thin bench... who is seriously expecting anything to go right on the court in year one under the new regime?

i'd be more worried if there wasn't tension in the locker room right now. it's a good thing that this team is unsatisfied with their performance. it allows the coach an opportunity to see which players he can count on to lead, it allows the players an opportunity to hold each other accountable for their effort, and it allows the gm an opportunity to assess where he will add and subtract across the roster...

personally, i'm encouraged by demarcus cousins' improvement, rudy gay's resurgence, and coach malone's approach... and that's about it. this team is not built to win. there's clearly a lot of work to do elsewhere on the roster. the minute the new regime decided not to re-sign tyreke evans, they were committing to a new rebuild around DMC. kings fans may not like to hear the term "rebuild" used for the umpteenth time in the last seven years, and some may sneer at my enthusiasm for the 2014 draft, but this team needs two-way talent, defensive roleplayers, rebounders, etc. the water is murky right now. we have no idea what it will look like when it clears up...

jimmer fredette won't be around much longer. neither will marcus thornton. then there's travis outlaw? aaron gray? quincy acy? they have limited utility, but do they really belong anywhere other than at the end of the bench? at this point, who knows if carl landry actually figures into this team's long-term plans or not? is rudy gay here to stay, or will his massive expiring contract be used as trade bait next season? there are far too many unknowns for fans to be tearing their hair out over losses that really shouldn't be so surprising...

I think it's only fair to judge the team based on what the FO envisioned. They had a plan and certain goals in mind. How are we faring in those regards?

Went to dig up quotes from Malone's press conference when he was hired.

“We’re not going to guarantee the Playoffs in the first year, like we did in Golden State. There’s a lot of talent on (the Kings). When you look offensively, the Sacramento Kings were a very efficient offensive team. The thing that is so exciting about this team, this opportunity, is working for a terrific and committed ownership group like Vivek and Mark and the rest of the guys.

“Defensively, obviously, we all know – it’s no secret – they were a very poor defensive team. That’s going to be one of the keys this year – establishing ourselves as a defensive-first team, and that takes hard work. But if we can get our guys to commit and buy-in, and maintain some of the offensive efficiency they’ve shown, I think there could be a fairly quick turnaround.

“For me, Year 1 will not be based on wins and losses. It’s going to be more based on changing the culture, becoming a defensive team and developing every player on our roster so they’re improving throughout the season.”

It's very clear that Malone had three goals in mind.

1. Culture change. I take it to mean playing hard every night, not being ok with losing. Thus far we haven't seen any change. Culture change demands consistency - our team the last few years would play hard on some nights and not others as well. Malone has called out the team for not meeting his expectations in this aspect.

2. Becoming a defensive team.... enough said.

3. Developing every player throughout the season - hard to say with the roster having changed so much. We've certainly seen huge strides in Cousins' game. Jimmer is finally getting regular minutes and I like to believe that he is improving too, certainly on the defensive end at least. JT has had a bit of a down year, McLemore's development thus far is questionable. IT hasn't shown me any improvement during the season in running the team or on defense. He's been shooting and scoring at a high level right off the bat. Thornton just stunk it up at the start of the season, so in that sense he has improved since though I'd say that's not hard to do given his terrible play to begin with. DWill has looked bad since being moved to the bench.

So objectively speaking the team really isn't on track to meet the FO's stated goals. I think that's reason enough for fans to be frustrated and perhaps a little hysterical. Truth be told I'm happy to see some conflict going on, because I just don't see us becoming a good defensive team or having culture change with the group of guys we have now. We need more changes (no secret who I'm advocating we get rid off next). It's a tough call to make though. How do we differentiate what is simply a result of the guys being unfamiliar with each other and the system, and what are the problems that time alone isn't going to fix? When I look at the defensive effort and results every game I'm inclined to think that our defensive problems are more like the latter.

 

[Padrino]

I think it's only fair to judge the team based on what the FO envisioned. They had a plan and certain goals in mind. How are we faring in those regards?

Went to dig up quotes from Malone's press conference when he was hired.



It's very clear that Malone had three goals in mind.

1. Culture change. I take it to mean playing hard every night, not being ok with losing. Thus far we haven't seen any change. Culture change demands consistency - our team the last few years would play hard on some nights and not others as well. Malone has called out the team for not meeting his expectations in this aspect.

2. Becoming a defensive team.... enough said.

3. Developing every player throughout the season - hard to say with the roster having changed so much. We've certainly seen huge strides in Cousins' game. Jimmer is finally getting regular minutes and I like to believe that he is improving too, certainly on the defensive end at least. JT has had a bit of a down year, McLemore's development thus far is questionable. IT hasn't shown me any improvement during the season in running the team or on defense. He's been shooting and scoring at a high level right off the bat. Thornton just stunk it up at the start of the season, so in that sense he has improved since though I'd say that's not hard to do given his terrible play to begin with. DWill has looked bad since being moved to the bench.

So objectively speaking the team really isn't on track to meet the FO's stated goals. I think that's reason enough for fans to be frustrated and perhaps a little hysterical. Truth be told I'm happy to see some conflict going on, because I just don't see us becoming a good defensive team or having culture change with the group of guys we have now. We need more changes (no secret who I'm advocating we get rid off next). It's a tough call to make though. How do we differentiate what is simply a result of the guys being unfamiliar with each other and the system, and what are the problems that time alone isn't going to fix? When I look at the defensive effort and results every game I'm inclined to think that our defensive problems are more like the latter.

coach malone made those comments before the kings' new front office decided to trade the kings' best individual defender for a defensively-inept pass-first PG, who himself was traded before having the opportunity to build chemistry with the team's franchise cornerstone. that said, i don't miss vasquez's matador defense, but it was "upgraded" with isaiah thomas' matador defense. personally, i'm giving coach malone a pass until next season, when the picture should be clear enough for him to actually have an impact as the kings' head coach...

i mean, i liked the game that malone was talking out of the gate, and i can appreciate his frustration to this point in the season, but i've always seen his goals as unattainable, given the make-up of his roster. a rock solid team philosophy is important to sustained success, but personnel matters in the nba. it really does. let me list off some names for you: jimmer fredette, marcus thornton, travis outlaw, quincy acy, aaron gray. they're all rotation players on this team. it's a problem. beyond that, the kings have got a sixth man starting at PG, a hopelessly lost rookie starting at SG, and a utility big starting at PF. the rudy gay trade is panning out better than i expected as far as gay's individual performance is concerned, but i said it then and i still believe it now: that trade wasn't likely to improve team play in the short term, particularly on defense...

 

[rainmaker]

Ummmm, okay. One-sided? We've been witnessing DMC's antics for 4 years now. It's not like this was an isolated incident.

What incident? What antics and what incident did I apparently miss last night that?

 

[SacKings2002NBAChampions]

I think some of you are being very unrealistic. What can you expect with a roster like ours? You have a star player in Cousins. A solid player in Rudy Gay who happens to get along with Big Cuz and then a wanna be point guard who kind of meshes with the team but then again is also the main culprit for our downfall on and off the pitch. You have a PF who decides to show up about once a month if that and then a SG whose basketball IQ is equivalent to a donkey (even though he'll probably end up being a Gerald Wallace in the league for a couple seasons). Now we get to the bench: you have a washed up player in Thornton, a horrible backup pg who is selfish without a viable reason in Ferdette, and then a top 2 draft pick who hasn't done anything significant in his career thus far and a bunch of bench Warmers who at least give a little hustle I guess.

Besides Cousins and Gay, you don't have a team. A bunch of bench players surrounding them and many bench warmers. It comes as no surprise that we allow 110+ ppg and have one of the worst records in the league. We might even eclipse the bucks for the worst record at the end of the season as they at least have a roster coming along and a solid draft pick will get them where they need to be. For us, well, we won't benefit too much from a draft pick unless we make some offseason moves. I wouldn't mind trading Rudy Gay for a solid PG and SG who can defend and score but are team players with no ego. Then, we can draft a potential star big man who has post defense. And possibly trade a DWill and Thornton for a couple veterans who bring experience and leadership
Maybe a player or two that even Cousins will respect...

 

[Glenn]

What incident? What antics and what incident did I apparently miss last night that?

Someone else who hasn't changed gears from last three years to this year. I wonder if some people watch the games.

 

[HndsmCelt]

I will stand by my observation that PDA is playing Barter Kings here and has traded up from the blender he started with to a water bed. Sure the end goal is a Hot Rod but we started with a blender. To get here we traded every player who could even spell defense and move a great back up PG to start but I don't see this as permanent, just a transition phase. Now if something does not change by the trade deadline poor Malone will have to decide if he can forgo defense for the remainder of the year and coach Nelly-ball, or if he can just live with coaching D to a porous front line and no rim protector, in the hopes that something will sink in and the off season survivors will be on the right page for next season with a better roster.

 

[bloom]

I'll get on my favorite player. Title and playoff wins are sparse throughout history with a guy his size, but with this crappy team he is refreshing.

DC is an incredible waste of talent. He who giveth, take the away. IT is all about expectations.

GV was sooooooo glad he got out of town. He kind of was the best defense of Jimmer. An ehhhh defender will struggle on a kind/Cousins team.

This is an awesome site and I cling to the hope that I'm wrong about DC...I just doubt it.

We all like underdogs and maybe with little to cheer for I like IT so much. Heck I still want jimmer to do well.

I think it makes me more frustrated with DC and his lack of leadership. He is still leading the league in T's correct?

I really hate pinning players against one another, but here’s what I see….Isaiah brings excitement (when he plays from the bench) except he plays a lot for himself; you can see it when he plays. But who doesn’t like to be “the man” the guy who gets “the glory?” This problem started when our previous front office decided that we had to push Tyreke aside and have I.T be the R.O.Y

I missed most of the game last night, except the last 4 minutes (down by 6) and all I saw was I.T jack up shots, instead of passing, moving without the ball, create for others, he came and tried to be the hero. And it wasn’t the only game that he’s done it, he’s done it over and over again. How many times have we seen him hold onto the ball for the last seconds and try to win it - this to me isn’t a winning formula & it doesn’t give confidence to the other 4 guys on the court with him….On most occasions I’ve seen him have 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 and he’ll try to take it all by himself.

He’s not all negative…he’s a great energy off of the bench and a good x factor to have out there.

Please explain to me why GV was excited to get out of here? He didn’t defend and his game wasn’t close to why we brought him here & he was pretty slow. I’m actually really happy about the trade except I would like to see us trade for a PG.

Demarcus does have his faults, but he’s improved a lot over these past few years…He’s controlling himself really well on the court and he blames himself when he sees his mistakes. And there has been games (especially the Houston game) where Demarcus put the team on his back and won….He might lead the league in technicals but some of those calls were pathetic. He makes mistakes and he will grow out of them, but he at least acknowledges his mistakes. Each player needs to own up to their mistakes and be better as a result of them. Stop blaming the other players, stop staring the other guy down & do their job.

Personally, I never saw I.T as our “big three.” I wish we could trade for a starting PG, and have I.T revert back to back up. I'd also like to see Ray get to see some back up PG minutes.

 

[Glenn]

I will stand by my observation that PDA is playing Barter Kings here and has traded up from the blender he started with to a water bed. Sure the end goal is a Hot Rod but we started with a blender. To get here we traded every player who could even spell defense and move a great back up PG to start but I don't see this as permanent, just a transition phase. Now if something does not change by the trade deadline poor Malone will have to decide if he can forgo defense for the remainder of the year and coach Nelly-ball, or if he can just live with coaching D to a porous front line and no rim protector, in the hopes that something will sink in and the off season survivors will be on the right page for next season with a better roster.

I would be totally behind Malone if he insisted that his players play defense whether they are effective or not. Lower the number of minutes for the players not cooperating. I think he did that to IT last game and it may have been a contributing factor in the anger on the court.

 

[bloom]

I will stand by my observation that PDA is playing Barter Kings here and has traded up from the blender he started with to a water bed. Sure the end goal is a Hot Rod but we started with a blender. To get here we traded every player who could even spell defense and move a great back up PG to start but I don't see this as permanent, just a transition phase. Now if something does not change by the trade deadline poor Malone will have to decide if he can forgo defense for the remainder of the year and coach Nelly-ball, or if he can just live with coaching D to a porous front line and no rim protector, in the hopes that something will sink in and the off season survivors will be on the right page for next season with a better roster.

I don't think Coach will stop teaching D. I think the plan is to constantly drill defense into these guys, eventually the players will learn and implement this into the actual game.

 

[Npliam]

I think some of you are being very unrealistic. What can you expect with a roster like ours? You have a star player in Cousins. A solid player in Rudy Gay who happens to get along with Big Cuz and then a wanna be point guard who kind of meshes with the team but then again is also the main culprit for our downfall on and off the pitch. You have a PF who decides to show up about once a month if that and then a SG whose basketball IQ is equivalent to a donkey (even though he'll probably end up being a Gerald Wallace in the league for a couple seasons). Now we get to the bench: you have a washed up player in Thornton, a horrible backup pg who is selfish without a viable reason in Ferdette, and then a top 2 draft pick who hasn't done anything significant in his career thus far and a bunch of bench Warmers who at least give a little hustle I guess.

Besides Cousins and Gay, you don't have a team. A bunch of bench players surrounding them and many bench warmers. It comes as no surprise that we allow 110+ ppg and have one of the worst records in the league. We might even eclipse the bucks for the worst record at the end of the season as they at least have a roster coming along and a solid draft pick will get them where they need to be. For us, well, we won't benefit too much from a draft pick unless we make some offseason moves. I wouldn't mind trading Rudy Gay for a solid PG and SG who can defend and score but are team players with no ego. Then, we can draft a potential star big man who has post defense. And possibly trade a DWill and Thornton for a couple veterans who bring experience and leadership
Maybe a player or two that even Cousins will respect...

Effort isn't too much to ask. You may not win, you may not be a good team but it isn't too much to ask that your player give their utmost effort on the defensive end.

 

[rainmaker]

coach malone made those comments before the kings' new front office decided to trade the kings' best individual defender for a defensively-inept pass-first PG, who himself was traded before having the opportunity to build chemistry with the team's franchise cornerstone.

I don't believe it's a coincidence that Malone erupted during a postgame interview, his far and away most heated post game interview, minutes after Reke got done tearing this team a new one and leading NO to a win.

Malone wants defense and commitment on that end. He spoke highly of Reke before we declined to match. I think he was pretty aggravated after watching what Reke did and that he would have been the player best suited to accomplish what Malone asks/requires his guards to do and our FO thought otherwise, handicapping Malone, his defensive philosophy and ability to do his job. I'd have been pissed too if I wanted much better defense from my guards and my GM let the one guy on the roster who can play above average defense walk over 3M and I had the opportunity to work with him if all we did was commit another 3M to him, while we end up get slaughtered on the perimeter night after night. IMO part of Malone's reason for exploding was the though that, "hey, I could easily have had that guy on my roster and now look at the guards I'm left with".

As an aside, this is a tough position for Cuz. He's got the max contract which comes along with the idea you'll carry us to wins. He's got Shaq in his ear telling him to get 24/10 every night and be the best center in the league. He's got Malone wanting to win now and focus's everything around Cuz. Then our FO frankly surrounds him with talent which has little chance of winning or defending. It's mixed messages. His coach wanting and expecting to win games and Cuz leading us to victories while the FO preaches patience and gives Malone/Cuz little to work with outside of Rudy. And that's where the disconnect likely comes from. Cuz wants to win now, is expected to win now and is ready to win now after improving across the board, yet this team isn't nearly built well enough to have a chance. It's tough to put the pressure on Cuz to win now while at the same time throwing this season away as we trade away/move all our defenders and gut the roster. If our biggest issue is defense, which it is, and Cuz wants to win now and his coach keeps talking about us not being able to defend(rightly so), then naturally Cuz is going to have problems with those who aren't defending well enough as that's what is preventing him and us from winning. I maintain that if we had the same roster we did at the end of last year, with Reke/Douglas/Aldrich, we'd have a better record than we do now. I want Rudy here and am happy we have him, but Malone likely would have had more to work with and a few players who can actually execute what he demands.

 

[bajaden]

coach malone made those comments before the kings' new front office decided to trade the kings' best individual defender for a defensively-inept pass-first PG, who himself was traded before having the opportunity to build chemistry with the team's franchise cornerstone. that said, i don't miss vasquez's matador defense, but it was "upgraded" with isaiah thomas' matador defense. personally, i'm giving coach malone a pass until next season, when the picture should be clear enough for him to actually have an impact as the kings' head coach...

i mean, i liked the game that malone was talking out of the gate, and i can appreciate his frustration to this point in the season, but i've always seen his goals as unattainable, given the make-up of his roster. a rock solid team philosophy is important to sustained success, but personnel matters in the nba. it really does. let me list off some names for you: jimmer fredette, marcus thornton, travis outlaw, quincy acy, aaron gray. they're all rotation players on this team. it's a problem. beyond that, the kings have got a sixth man starting at PG, a hopelessly lost rookie starting at SG, and a utility big starting at PF. the rudy gay trade is panning out better than i expected as far as gay's individual performance is concerned, but i said it then and i still believe it now: that trade wasn't likely to improve team play in the short term, particularly on defense...

I believe it was Newton that said, "For every action, there is an equal reaction". The problem of course, is that the action is known, but the reaction is always unknown. Predictions are easy to make, but results are hard to come by. Especially when you have a series of actions, and perhaps the results aren't what you expected. What I'm doing is agreeing with you. Right now, the Kings front office is experimenting, and some look like failures. The Kings are like a leaking boat with several hole, and not enough plugs to seal all the holes. They pull out a plug to stop a leak in one area, and create a leak in another area. They had maybe the best 6th man in the NBA, traded their starting PG, and turned that 6th man into a starter, where his weaknesses are being more readily exposed. At the same time, they weakened the bench. They traded maybe their best defender for Williams, who showed his appreciation by rising to expectations, and then traded for Rudy Gay, thereby rendering Williams irrelevant. Or at least so it seems at the moment.

The problem is, we don't know exactly what the front office plans are. All we can do is react to what they do, and make educated guesses. Actually, maybe they're uneducated guesses. When we single out a certain player to lay the blame on after a game, its quite understandable. The problem is, that its the equivalent of standing in the engine room of the Titanic with a bucket and bailing water. There are bigger problems! When the Kings are down by 15, and I see some players on the team smiling, the culture change still has a way to go. And the only way to change it, is to rid yourself of any player that doesn't hate to lose. I don't have a problem with players getting frustrated and letting it show. To my mind, that's the kind of players I want on my team. Players that are passionate about winning. At the same time, I do think those same players do have to look in the mirror at times. Its always easy to blame someone else.

I like everyone else assumes that Williams will be traded. But maybe the Kings never intended to keep Gay. Why is Jimmer suddenly getting more minutes. Is he suddenly a different player? Or is that a looming deal to move IT, and not for another PG, so their grooming Jimmer to take over the starting job. No, I'm not advocating that. I honestly don't know what they have in mind, but I'm sure they have something in mind, and soon were likely to have new additions to the roster. If nothing else, I believe that on Jan 6th, the Kings can start offering 10 day contracts, so expect to see a D-League player brought in for a look see. And not necessarily from the the Reno team. I also believe next tuesday is the day that all non guaranteed contracts become guaranteed. I'm sure D'Niaye has that date circled on his calendar.

 

[SacKings2002NBAChampions]

That's the coaches fault. Malone needs to be more assertive. He's way too passive. If a player isn't playing defense... Bench him for the following few games. Who cares if we lose; we have a losing season anyways. If its IT, bench him. If its
Just the other day I saw Popovich bench Duncan for lack of effort and on top of that screamed in his face and Duncan took it....Duncan, possibly greatest PF to play the game and top ten player all time.
Demarcus Cousins shouldn't get any special treatment. He should be second to the coach always. I dislike his arrogance and everyone else who feels superior to the coach. To me, it seems like the players don't take Malone serious. Hence, if they took him serious they'd actually put some effort on the defensive end...

 

[HndsmCelt]

Personally I would be behind Malone if he stuck with the coaching D position, but if that is the case we as fans have to be willing to watch a LOT of losses because I just don't see our current set of guards ABLE to play defense. So the only other option for management/fans who want to see wins NOW is to play run-n-gun and try to put up 120 a night and pray the other guys only get 115.