[Grades] Grades v. Hornets 11/23/2015
- Thread starter Bricklayer
- Start date
Believe me, I'm well aware of this situation. I've been thinking about this since the start of the season. If Rondo continues to play well and we still lose, there's no reason for him to come back which means we would have blown another chance at a rebuild during Cousin's tenure and you can be sure a trade demand from his agent will be incoming. This needs to change quick. Patience is absolutely the wrong instinct in our situation.
Also consider this: nobody came here to play for Coach Karl. He's a respected figure in the league for good reason but Rudy came via trade and stayed for Coach Malone. Collison came for the starting gig. Rondo came for DeMarcus and Rudy. Casspi came for DeMarcus and the city of Sacramento (the feeling is mutual
) and I get the feeling Kosta, Marco, and Caron came for Vlade. The team is united with our without George Karl. If he can't find a way to win with this roster he needs to go, past history be damned. And the looming uncertainty of the draft pick situation and Rondo's contact situation means we need to figure this out quick.
Incidentally, this is why I can't stand Grant Napear. If he had any sense of the big picture or loyalty to the success of this franchise he would stop taking pot shots at DeMarcus Cousins and start calling out the coach for playing small ball with a big roster and choking away winnable games with confusing and contradictory player rotations. We don't have the luxury of feeling our way into the season. Vlade brought in win-now veterans to play for a hall of fame coach with high expectations all around and so far they're playing well below expectations. If this season doesn't work out, there's a very real chance it all gets blown up which means 5+ more years of suck. Nobody wants that.
Also consider this: nobody came here to play for Coach Karl. He's a respected figure in the league for good reason but Rudy came via trade and stayed for Coach Malone. Collison came for the starting gig. Rondo came for DeMarcus and Rudy. Casspi came for DeMarcus and the city of Sacramento (the feeling is mutual
) and I get the feeling Kosta, Marco, and Caron came for Vlade. The team is united with our without George Karl. If he can't find a way to win with this roster he needs to go, past history be damned. And the looming uncertainty of the draft pick situation and Rondo's contact situation means we need to figure this out quick.Incidentally, this is why I can't stand Grant Napear. If he had any sense of the big picture or loyalty to the success of this franchise he would stop taking pot shots at DeMarcus Cousins and start calling out the coach for playing small ball with a big roster and choking away winnable games with confusing and contradictory player rotations. We don't have the luxury of feeling our way into the season. Vlade brought in win-now veterans to play for a hall of fame coach with high expectations all around and so far they're playing well below expectations. If this season doesn't work out, there's a very real chance it all gets blown up which means 5+ more years of suck. Nobody wants that.
It is just so simple
1. Collison is a great Reserve PG, I love our Bench DC,Belli,Omri,Koufos,WCS but he is not a SG!, have him play 18 min behind Rondo not next to him
2 We have a great 3 man Big Rotation leave it alone stop benching WCS
3 Rudy Gay is a very good SF , He is not a PF
These small ball lineups makes me sick, Defensive schemes suck, Turnovers galore just was painful watching the collapse last night
I am so sick seeing 2-3 players out there Playing out of their position, Rudy PF, Belli SF, Collison SG ? Really George?
Vlade please stop the madness!!!
1. Collison is a great Reserve PG, I love our Bench DC,Belli,Omri,Koufos,WCS but he is not a SG!, have him play 18 min behind Rondo not next to him
2 We have a great 3 man Big Rotation leave it alone stop benching WCS
3 Rudy Gay is a very good SF , He is not a PF
These small ball lineups makes me sick, Defensive schemes suck, Turnovers galore just was painful watching the collapse last night
I am so sick seeing 2-3 players out there Playing out of their position, Rudy PF, Belli SF, Collison SG ? Really George?
Vlade please stop the madness!!!
I really hate Karls sub patterns and lineups. He sees the stats and numbers that show we are a better team when everyone plays in their natural position and we go big yet is hell bent on forcing his midget lineups. Collison/Beli/Casspi/Gay's offense is not good enough to allow a total mismatch on defense.
These midget lineups are so bad that he is having to run Rondo and Cuz into the ground playing fast pace ball for 37+ minutes a night and most nights Rudy is in that same boat just to cover up how awful we are on defense. Cuz is already beaten down and we're only 15 games into the season and at this pace Rondo will be too. We need balance! Yes playing 1 small player at a time can happen but he cant force it, especially when things were going so well in the 3rd last night!
I really think George just doesn't want to put in the effort anymore, his pay is guaranteed and he isn't some up and coming young coach who needs to prove himself or needs job security, this IS his last gig. We saw some fire and adjustments after the players blew up at him during the meeting but if he needs to be cursed out every time to make an adjustment he is not the coach for this group and needs to be fired yesterday.
These midget lineups are so bad that he is having to run Rondo and Cuz into the ground playing fast pace ball for 37+ minutes a night and most nights Rudy is in that same boat just to cover up how awful we are on defense. Cuz is already beaten down and we're only 15 games into the season and at this pace Rondo will be too. We need balance! Yes playing 1 small player at a time can happen but he cant force it, especially when things were going so well in the 3rd last night!
I really think George just doesn't want to put in the effort anymore, his pay is guaranteed and he isn't some up and coming young coach who needs to prove himself or needs job security, this IS his last gig. We saw some fire and adjustments after the players blew up at him during the meeting but if he needs to be cursed out every time to make an adjustment he is not the coach for this group and needs to be fired yesterday.
Believe me, I'm well aware of this situation. I've been thinking about this since the start of the season. If Rondo continues to play well and we still lose, there's no reason for him to come back which means we would have blown another chance at a rebuild during Cousin's tenure and you can be sure a trade demand from his agent will be incoming. This needs to change quick. Patience is absolutely the wrong instinct in our situation.
Also consider this: nobody came here to play for Coach Karl. He's a respected figure in the league for good reason but Rudy came via trade and stayed for Coach Malone. Collison came for the starting gig. Rondo came for DeMarcus and Rudy. Casspi came for DeMarcus and the city of Sacramento (the feeling is mutual) and I get the feeling Kosta, Marco, and Caron came for Vlade. The team is united with our without George Karl. If he can't find a way to win with this roster he needs to go, past history be damned. And the looming uncertainty of the draft pick situation and Rondo's contact situation means we need to figure this out quick.
Incidentally, this is why I can't stand Grant Napear. If he had any sense of the big picture or loyalty to the success of this franchise he would stop taking pot shots at DeMarcus Cousins and start calling out the coach for playing small ball with a big roster and choking away winnable games with confusing and contradictory player rotations. We don't have the luxury of feeling our way into the season. Vlade brought in win-now veterans to play for a hall of fame coach with high expectations all around and so far they're playing well below expectations. If this season doesn't work out, there's a very real chance it all gets blown up which means 5+ more years of suck. Nobody wants that.
Also consider this: nobody came here to play for Coach Karl. He's a respected figure in the league for good reason but Rudy came via trade and stayed for Coach Malone. Collison came for the starting gig. Rondo came for DeMarcus and Rudy. Casspi came for DeMarcus and the city of Sacramento (the feeling is mutual
) and I get the feeling Kosta, Marco, and Caron came for Vlade. The team is united with our without George Karl. If he can't find a way to win with this roster he needs to go, past history be damned. And the looming uncertainty of the draft pick situation and Rondo's contact situation means we need to figure this out quick.Incidentally, this is why I can't stand Grant Napear. If he had any sense of the big picture or loyalty to the success of this franchise he would stop taking pot shots at DeMarcus Cousins and start calling out the coach for playing small ball with a big roster and choking away winnable games with confusing and contradictory player rotations. We don't have the luxury of feeling our way into the season. Vlade brought in win-now veterans to play for a hall of fame coach with high expectations all around and so far they're playing well below expectations. If this season doesn't work out, there's a very real chance it all gets blown up which means 5+ more years of suck. Nobody wants that.
To be fair, Kemba has been an unmitigated chucker since he entered the league. For his career he is averaging 15 shots per game on a FG% of less than 40. This is the first year that his 3pt% has been north of 33%. I am no Isaiah Thomas fan, but Thomas has been the better player in the league by a not insignificant margin.
Playing with Boogie is more than reason enough with secondary reason of showing loyalty to organization that showed faith in you when 29 other teams didn't. Rondo had taste of being with team ill-suited to his skill set in Dallas. He knows the grass is not always greener. Here he has freedom to play his game and the best big man in the game to drop dimes. Even if a coaching change is necessary and win total is not what we hope, Rondo will have motivation to return. There may be compelling reasons for him to move on, but likely more to stick around.
I get the frustration but just to point out a 60-60 halftime scored ballooned to a 22 point lead with Omri being inserted for Willie to start the 3rd quarter. This line-up was effective because the Hornets do not have anyone imposing on the front line besides Al Jefferson, and Boogie was dominating him on offense and totally shutting him down defensively every time without help.
So whereas there are times it does make sense to put a more defensive-oriented team on the floor and especially when you simply need to 9 and 10 players deep to keep your best players fresh from crunch time, it is overly simplistic to say small ball won't work for this roster. This unit (with KK replacing Boogie, and Marco replacing Ben midway in the third) played the best basketball I have seen in the team play this year.
Boogie
Rudy
Omri
Ben
Rondo
And Boogie playing pick and roll in the center of the floor (top of key) with Rondo is the perfect use of his talents because opponents cannot double as readily from this area of the floor. There is definitely valid criticism of Karl I think we should careful not to just dismiss him as having completely lost all good sense.
So whereas there are times it does make sense to put a more defensive-oriented team on the floor and especially when you simply need to 9 and 10 players deep to keep your best players fresh from crunch time, it is overly simplistic to say small ball won't work for this roster. This unit (with KK replacing Boogie, and Marco replacing Ben midway in the third) played the best basketball I have seen in the team play this year.
Boogie
Rudy
Omri
Ben
Rondo
And Boogie playing pick and roll in the center of the floor (top of key) with Rondo is the perfect use of his talents because opponents cannot double as readily from this area of the floor. There is definitely valid criticism of Karl I think we should careful not to just dismiss him as having completely lost all good sense.
Except I am now not sure what the benefit of that would be if Rondo is flat the better player with superior control.
In the preseason/early on Collison was giving us a nice bench burst...but the cost was he was platooning with Rondo, and Rondo was being suppressed and often having no impact. Then he got hurt, Rondo was unleashed...and what are you going to do? Start taking minutes away from a walking triple double to make sure DC gets his?
I don't disagree with the DC at shooting guard attempted solution to this problem. What I disagree with is its not working.
In the preseason/early on Collison was giving us a nice bench burst...but the cost was he was platooning with Rondo, and Rondo was being suppressed and often having no impact. Then he got hurt, Rondo was unleashed...and what are you going to do? Start taking minutes away from a walking triple double to make sure DC gets his?
I don't disagree with the DC at shooting guard attempted solution to this problem. What I disagree with is its not working.
grant napear has very little in the way of legitimate basketball acumen, and his commentary has all the nuance of a billy club. in lacking a grasp of the necessary degrees of nuance to capture the "big picture," grant perpetually retreats to shock-jock schtick. unfortunately, demarcus cousins' behavioral issues make him a tremendously easy target for grant's potshots, which in turn helps to juice the ratings of grant's hack-tastic radio show. he won't call out any of george karl's dubious qualities or decisions simply because demarcus has always been a much easier villain to castigate, and grant has never dared to take the road less traveled in pursuit of an argument. calling out karl would lend weight to the idea that demarcus' attitude towards karl is justified, and grant isn't about to align himself with cousins on the subject of anything...
Problem is that as it stands the chances that we can retain Rondo are slim to none. We can't afford to let go of Collison (who is on a solid contract) simply because this year he isn't as ideal with Rondo there.
It's an unfortunate catch 22. Rondo and Collison don't play that well together. Which might cause us to lose some games, but it's not the only problem. If we keep Collison, we increase our chances of losing Rondo. If we trade Collison, we still can very easily lose Rondo. The only thing the Kings should be doing if they do want to play that lineup is they have to have WCS out there for rotation. But then here comes another problem. Collison is a pretty weak shooter (especially from 3). So you can have someone like Marco out there at the three, but then if you have WCS out there then you have to have someone at the 4 to stretch the floor. But Rudy Gay isn't really getting it done at the 4 slot defensively.
So really there is no easy answer here for us in terms of getting Collison more minutes without the team overall suffering.
It's an unfortunate catch 22. Rondo and Collison don't play that well together. Which might cause us to lose some games, but it's not the only problem. If we keep Collison, we increase our chances of losing Rondo. If we trade Collison, we still can very easily lose Rondo. The only thing the Kings should be doing if they do want to play that lineup is they have to have WCS out there for rotation. But then here comes another problem. Collison is a pretty weak shooter (especially from 3). So you can have someone like Marco out there at the three, but then if you have WCS out there then you have to have someone at the 4 to stretch the floor. But Rudy Gay isn't really getting it done at the 4 slot defensively.
So really there is no easy answer here for us in terms of getting Collison more minutes without the team overall suffering.
That lineup has a weakness at PF, but I agree that it is one the Hornets were poorly equipped to exploit. Ben can guard 1-3 reasonably well. Rondo can guard 1s and 2s. Omri and Gay can guard 3's and 4's. Cousins can play goalie.
The problem comes when we roll out the 6'1", 180 lb. Collison at the 2. Collison is a point guard. He can guard most point guards but very few 2's. He absolutely cannot guard Nic Batum or Jeremy Lamb who each have 6" on the guy. You compound that further when you play Ben or Belinelli at the 3 and Gay at the 4. That is three undersized guys at each position, which increases the risk of severe defensive mismatches.
The problem comes when we roll out the 6'1", 180 lb. Collison at the 2. Collison is a point guard. He can guard most point guards but very few 2's. He absolutely cannot guard Nic Batum or Jeremy Lamb who each have 6" on the guy. You compound that further when you play Ben or Belinelli at the 3 and Gay at the 4. That is three undersized guys at each position, which increases the risk of severe defensive mismatches.
K
This really sucks to say but if near the trade deadline we are completely out of the playoff picture and Rondo can't give us something verbal or any indication he wants to come back we might actually have to trade him to get something back for the future. He's been tremendous for us but we really need him back or else it's the ultimate loss/loss situation unless we trade him under the circumstances I pointed out.