[Grades] Grades v. Grizzlies 11/13/2014

[HereWeBoogie]

We need a bench though.
Every starter had a positive +/- with JT being the worst at +7 and Cousins had a +19
as for the bench:
Landry -23
Casspi -11
Evans -7
Stauskas -7
Sessions -9

 

[Jeremy Fraser]

 

[KingMilz]

We need a bench though.
Every starter had a positive +/- with JT being the worst at +7 and Cousins had a +19
as for the bench:
Landry -23
Casspi -11
Evans -7
Stauskas -7
Sessions -9

Aside from Sessions no one on the bench has been that bad again our problem when it comes to losing games is DMC inability to stay out of foul trouble that's all it is, very few teams in the NBA have a stacked/good bench aside from GS/Chicago/Mavs/Spurs there's really no good benches. Landry has been really solid, Evans gives us 2nd chances and Casspi until recent was terrific. The foul trouble on Cousins/JT is the difference between comfortable wins when we are making outside shots and bad losses like today. The +19 is insane and it should have been like +30 if he was not in foul trouble.

The coaches have to tell him if you have 4 fouls let the guy have the lay up don't worry about it don't even contest cause he can't without fouling it's been proven so far.

 

[jcwkings]

When you have a player playing like a superstar playing 31 minutes vs 35-37 is a huge difference. 5 to 6 minutes more of Cousins on the floor gets us this win when you take into consideration how he affects the game. No surprise that the Grizz comeback was a 5 to 6 minute stretch after Cousins picked up his fifth. Still think he shouldnt have come out. Your up 18, just keep Cuz in and kill the game.

 

[Prince_XY]

I must have said it three times during the fourth quarter: we'd have had a better shot of winning if, ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
"Okay, fellas, I need to get DeMarcus and Rudy about five good minutes of rest. So, what I want you to do is play defense, and run the shot clock out every possession on offense. Don't even bother trying to shoot, because they might get the rebound and score on a leak-out. Just hold the ball, and make them inbound on the violation, so we still have a chance to set our defense. All you have to do is stall, until I can put the real players back on the court."

I remember your post and really liked your strategy.

But somehow, you also reminded me of Vivek - with his unconventional 4 on 5 defense/offense strategy.

 

[GoodOldDouwe]

Ugh, Mike Conly also travelled on his last three...

 

[Prince_XY]

Celtics want to get rid if Bass and want a big get the deal done already.

Yes, Bass will be a good player to address our interior defense. Let's give them JT and Hollins.

 

[KingMilz]

I wonder what it would take to get Sammy Dalembert back to us, I wonder if the Knicks would take a gamble on D-Will.

 

[Prince_XY]

I wonder what it would take to get Sammy Dalembert back to us, I wonder if the Knicks would take a gamble on D-Will.

This will really solidify the starting five line-up. But I doubt if Malone will break that bench front court of Landry/Evans. He is just so in-love with that tandem that I think we can have another decent 7-footer and we will still see that Landry/Evans or Landry/DWill combination.

 

[Albatros]

Well if this road trip was supposed to show how far we've come. We have our answer.

"Not very far"

 

[Tetsujin]

I wonder what it would take to get Sammy Dalembert back to us, I wonder if the Knicks would take a gamble on D-Will.

Getting Dalembert back at this point in his career probably going to help all that much. The dude's embroiled in a fight for minutes with crappy post-athleticism-sapping-injuries Amar'e Stoudemire, Quincy freaking Acy, and Jason Smith. His motor is pretty much gone at this point, he still takes really ill-advised shots, and the only reason he blocks shots is because the rest of his team is so godawful that their guys pretty much drive into the paint unabated. Considering how paper thin the Knicks are upfront, the fact he's playing less minutes per game than the guy we dumped off because he was fifth on our PF depth chart isn't a shining endorsement of Dalembert's capabilities.

 

[Prince_XY]

The Kings desperately need size off the bench. The tandem of Landry and Evans together is terrible. Bring in a big lug of a space occupier (Arron Gray type) to eat 10 minutes a game when DMC gets untimely fouls or needs a quick rest.

Sigh...

We haven't actually tried Hollins and I don't know why.

Is Hollins that bad?

Then why did we sign him up?

We could have just signed Terrence Williams instead of him and use Moreland as the bench warmer big.

I think Malone should have used Hollins more in our front court rotation against the giants. He could not have been more terrible than Evans on offense and could probably had given a good match-up defensively. We could have saved DMC from fouling out and given Landry a side-kick with more length on defense.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

When you have a player playing like a superstar playing 31 minutes vs 35-37 is a huge difference. 5 to 6 minutes more of Cousins on the floor gets us this win when you take into consideration how he affects the game. No surprise that the Grizz comeback was a 5 to 6 minute stretch after Cousins picked up his fifth. Still think he shouldnt have come out. Your up 18, just keep Cuz in and kill the game.

i agree. Leave him in and tell him to play defense with his hands in his pockets

 

[Prince_XY]

http://hoopshabit.com/2014/09/12/nba-power-rankings-30-starting-power-forwards/

I do not consider Luc Ba A MOUTE a starting PF. So that places our very own JASON THOMPSON as THE WORST STARTING POWER FORWARD in the entire LEAGUE !!

So the question is what is PDA going to do about it? JT is a detriment to the team. Literally subtraction by addition. I think Coach Malone HAS to start Landry at the 4. Thompson gives us nothing and actually makes so many stupid numbskull plays that he is causing losses and he causes runs by the other team. We have NO backup Center and our starting PF is a DOOFUS. Hard to win with a cast like that...

Shhhh....slow down and not so loud about JT.

Funkykingston might hear you.

 

[hrdboild]

Wait, back up: are the two of you saying that some baseball team means more to you than the Kings?

Not at all -- just some perspective. I watched that team lead all of baseball in pretty much every category for 4 months only to lose a decade's worth of 1 run games on fluke mental errors in the last month and a half and blow a sure win in the last two innings of a playoff elimination game. Anyone who's an A's fan knows what I'm talking about. It was the biggest sports related comedy of errors I've ever seen, only it wasn't funny. It was like getting punched in the stomach over and over until you stop feeling the pain and just accept it as a way of life. Imagine we're the best team in the NBA at the end of February and then lose enough games by 1 or 2 points to drop all the way down to the 8th seed and then cough up a 20 point lead in the fourth quarter of the last game of the season and miss the playoffs entirely. Sounds impossible, but that's essentially what happened with the A's this year. Comparatively speaking, blowing two big leads in a row early in the season now feels like a walk in the park.

 

[Sac.Kings]

Regardless of the outcome for the kings protesting the end of the game ... This game was the beginning of the end for JT. There's no way as a gm you can just sit there and look at a camera now with a straight face and say I'm going to leave the team alone.

 

[Albatros]

Fact of the matter is they are performing above expectations.

no need to get carried away by this losing streak, just as it wasn't the time to get carried away by the winning one.

This is the team for the forceable future, barring some unprecedented meltdown.

 

[KingsFanGER]

We are highly dependent on Cousins on the offensive end, but where it really hurts, when he is out of the game is, on the defensive side of the court. We can play Rudy and Dc to keep the offense flowing, if Cousins is on the bench, but we are a totally different team, when it comes to protecting the paint, if he is off the floor.
A capable backup would be huge. Just someone that helps us, to protect our lead, to the moment, when DMC is ready to step on the floor again.
Isn't there anyone out there, who could fill this need? How about Jermaine Oneal? Couldn't Ryan Hollins do the job?
It's so frustrating to see the Kings dominate playoffbound teams, just to lose the game, cause we have no replacement for DMC.

 

[New Era]

Ugh, Mike Conly also travelled on his last three...

Huh? He pump faked and then stepped in and shot. How was that a travel?

 

[Albatros]

Huh? He pump faked and then stepped in and shot. How was that a travel?

Because he clearly picks up his pivot foot and steps forward again after the pump fake.

 

[Chubbs]

We are highly dependent on Cousins on the offensive end, but where it really hurts, when he is out of the game is, on the defensive side of the court. We can play Rudy and Dc to keep the offense flowing, if Cousins is on the bench, but we are a totally different team, when it comes to protecting the paint, if he is off the floor.
A capable backup would be huge. Just someone that helps us, to protect our lead, to the moment, when DMC is ready to step on the floor again.
Isn't there anyone out there, who could fill this need? How about Jermaine Oneal? Couldn't Ryan Hollins do the job?
It's so frustrating to see the Kings dominate playoffbound teams, just to lose the game, cause we have no replacement for DMC.

I do not understand why Hollins does not play. I know he's no star, but he's TALL. Carl Landry is not a center. Never will be. And somehow he's our best defender on the court at times. Carl Landry!

And if Hollins isn't good enough, then why the hell did we sign him?

 

[PurpleHaze]

Wow, JT get's C- grade with zero mention of the bonehead imbecile's final .03 "pissed away" (to quote Coach Malone) non-play of the night, maybe the season. This after JTs so richly deserved grade F given for his laughable performance in meltdown against Mavs.

 

[New Era]

Because he clearly picks up his pivot foot and steps forward again after the pump fake.

You can pick up your pivot foot to shoot or pass

 

[New Era]

Because he clearly picks up his pivot foot and steps forward again after the pump fake.

If you're saying he picked up his pivot foot and then put it back down again, and shot, then that would be a travel but he never had established a pivot foot prior to that.

 

[Sac.Kings]

You can pick up your pivot foot to shoot or pass

I don't think you can.

 

[Albatros]

If you're saying he picked up his pivot foot and then put it back down again, and shot, then that would be a travel but he never had established a pivot foot prior to that.

Yes he does, because he lifts his left foot establishing his right as a pivot. Then he steps forward and back with his right foot, just watch the play.

 

[Kingster]

Because another 6'8" old dude will somehow make our interior situation better.

Bass hasn't had a lobotomy. It's an upgrade.

 

[The Hammer]

I don't think you can.

Yeah, you can. That's the logic behind the "two steps" rule when you pick up your dribble on the run and go for a lay-up. As long as you don't put your "pivot" foot back down while still in possession of the ball, you're good.

 

[jcwkings]

I think people are overreacting on JT. Yes we know the guy is a total dunce at times, but he had played fine defense on Z bo(not the first time). Realistically he will not even be on the floor in close games most nights. Landry should close most nights, high Iq, good post defense with his bulldog frame and with Cousins in there his lack of length is semi covered. Our issue is backup C because once Cuz goes out opposing PG's waltz right in when combined with Sessions matador defense. I dont know why Hollins doesnt get a shot, unless you signed him to be honorary towel waiver. Any low level big will do, just someone that can rotate properly, contest shots and set some screens on the other end for the 12-15 minutes Cuz is off the floor, Aaron gray? At least he sniffed the floor last season and knows the guys/system well.

 

[Spike]

I think both games highlighted the fact that we cannot win against top competition without at least solidifying the bench and upgrading defensively.

1. Our bench has two major issues as I see it. No real post, and no defensive tone. We were lucky vs. Denver that they didn't have any defense either, so it wasn't likely as obvious as it was vs. the Mavs and the Grizzlies. Sessions, for all of his "scoring" aptitude, doesn't fight through screens. Conley had a field day with him, as have other guards. He rarely chooses to fight through those screens or hedge up when he sees it coming. What makes it worse is that you then have Landry/Evans trying to cover that - and let's face it, they're not suited to clean up those messes, and it all falls apart. Teams get easy looks. Stauskas has a similar issue, but I'm willing to give him a rookie pass for now. Would McCallum help? I don't know. I don't know how he'd do in extended minutes, but we know he can score, so it's not like we'd lose what we're getting from Sessions, and we'd upgrade defensively. We might not have to bring in an outside player to limit this issue for the time being. Not sure.
2. We need to upgrade our starting PF to better complement Cousins. JT has done a nice job with man D, but we need a better weakside helper so that the Kings aren't reliant upon Cousins to be that anchor. We sorely need him on the court. I don't think his high fouls are an issue of him being careless, I think it's an issue of him taking it upon himself to be that defensive anchor. I think we need a dirtier worker at PF, keeping Cousins from picking up some of those fouls, which would allow for JT to slide in at backup 4/5, where I think he's a better fit for the team, or at least more of a matchup starter when the situation dictates. Not too many teams have great centers in their second unit - or else they'd be starters. I don't think that JT is the issue in and of itself - it's just that we need an upgrade. Also, I'd like to think that running the offense through JT vs. Evans in the high post would result in better play in that second unit.

Number 1 is a greater issue for me than number 2. If coach Malone has to keep either Cousins or Gay on the floor at all times, that says something about our bench. How many of his fouls are as a result of trying to anchor the second unit? I'm not sure, but playing the fourth with 3 fouls vs. 4 fouls is a metric crapton different.

Imagining the above issues were fixed, would a rotation of (assuming a 10-man rotation, which I'm not overly fond of):

McCallum
Stauskas
Casspi
Landry/Evans
Thompson

pee away 20 point leads? There's a little more balance there defensively as well as offensively. Will this issue get solved? I'm hopeful the first one will be, as it seems the easiest to at least try and tinker with. Whether or not we get another shot at a 20 pt. lead against a top tier team is another issue. I'm afraid that the second issue won't be fixed until the trade deadline, where more options may potentially exist.