[Grades] Grades v. Nets 11/13/2013
- Thread starter Bricklayer
- Start date
C
Cold
Guest
Some of you were quick to write off Vasquez. Guy was still trying to get in game shape.
He has been a solid average starting PG in this league for a while, which isn't a bad thing considering how stacked the NBA PG position currently is.
He has been a solid average starting PG in this league for a while, which isn't a bad thing considering how stacked the NBA PG position currently is.
Chupacabra
Starter
I voted for JT due to his rebounding efforts. Rebounding had been our weakest area prior to this game. Having 3 guys getting double digit rebounds was HUGE. If Cousins/Thompson/Patterson can average 25 boards for the season we'll be in good shape.
While watching this game you could tell what everyones role was. You could see the logic that was being used to justify the player combos in the 1st and 2nd units. Salmons sole purpose out there is to be a secondary ball handler. With Thomas' s ability to dribble the air out of the ball there's no pressing need to have another ball handler on the floor with him. Malone has actually found a way to make Salmons useful lol
While watching this game you could tell what everyones role was. You could see the logic that was being used to justify the player combos in the 1st and 2nd units. Salmons sole purpose out there is to be a secondary ball handler. With Thomas' s ability to dribble the air out of the ball there's no pressing need to have another ball handler on the floor with him. Malone has actually found a way to make Salmons useful lol
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Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
That was my assumption too. Once we moved BMac into the lineup, he's a starting guard who can't handle at all. JT and Cuz handle well for bigs, but typically you would like to have a secondary handler amongst your littles. Outlaw isn't that. So more stinky fish we got.
I think the biggest takeaway was our effort and improved defense. The FG% looks pretty horrible when you just look down the statsheet at Cuz, JT, Ben etc., but we still won by a lot! I thought IT was back to a more PG-ish style of play, which was a welcome sight. He did do something which IMO was rather unsportsmanlike - with 40 or so seconds left in the game and us up a good deal, he dribbles to the corner, and the Nets kinda half get back on D as players normally do in the closing minute of a blown out game. They were all kinda standing around while the rest of the Kings slowly jogged up the court, and IT took advantage of that and dribbled in for a layup but got fouled. Felt a lot like needless stat-padding to me and I would be pretty upset if I was a Nets player.
Very pleased with Vasquez this game. Tetsujin should just give the entire Nets team the coveted SAR award.
Very pleased with Vasquez this game. Tetsujin should just give the entire Nets team the coveted SAR award.
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
If Jason Thompson's shot comes around like it did last night, he will be good with cousins, with his size/length, ability to guard their best big player, and can stretch the floor a bit with his outside shot. I'd rather see long 2's from JT at this point, instead of a bunch of 3's from Patterson.
PPat shoots too many 3's, but it was nice to Vasquez get him shots in the paint for a change. Would like to see him get many more shots closer to the basket..mid range and active cuts and rolls in the paint
PPat shoots too many 3's, but it was nice to Vasquez get him shots in the paint for a change. Would like to see him get many more shots closer to the basket..mid range and active cuts and rolls in the paint
ninjabiscuit
Bench
You took the words out of my mouth about Patterson. When he went in for the flying dunk (with a great assist from Greivis), I was very surprised. I didn't know he could do that. More, please!
PPat doesn't shoot too many threes, he misses too many threes. I think this board in the past has advocated his takin!' three point shots.
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ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
Remember when players used to try to get closer to the basket for shorter shots, when their long shots were not going in? The three point line does more harm than good, for many players
Padrino
All-Star
i didn't get a chance to watch last night's game, but it's amazing to me that the kings managed to put up 107 while continuing to shoot so poorly as a team. turnovers and rebounds seem to tell much of the story. only 6 TO's for the kings, against the nets 15, and sac played even on the boards for a change, providing them with more possessions than usual. inefficient though it may have been, it was a good win, especially since vasquez decided to show up and play the role he was brought here to play, and since thornton decided to show up and potentially increase his trade value a bit...
more than anything else, though, this win was important for our rookie head coach's credibility. he made a couple of changes to the starting lineup while maintaining consistency about what he expects from his team. the players followed through and absolutely crushed the nets. it's the kind of victory malone needed to get this mismatched collection of players on the same page...
now, at 2-5, brooklyn is clearly underachieving. they were overrated heading into the season, but there's enough talent in that locker room to make the playoffs in an eastern conference with massive disparity between the pacers and heat, and then everybody else. i hesitate to say that the kings beat a good team last night, but they certainly outperformed a more talented team. well done, coach and co.
more than anything else, though, this win was important for our rookie head coach's credibility. he made a couple of changes to the starting lineup while maintaining consistency about what he expects from his team. the players followed through and absolutely crushed the nets. it's the kind of victory malone needed to get this mismatched collection of players on the same page...
now, at 2-5, brooklyn is clearly underachieving. they were overrated heading into the season, but there's enough talent in that locker room to make the playoffs in an eastern conference with massive disparity between the pacers and heat, and then everybody else. i hesitate to say that the kings beat a good team last night, but they certainly outperformed a more talented team. well done, coach and co.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Beat me to the point on Malone. Although he certainly says the right things and the players seem to like him, there is nothing like a change in the lineup followed by a very good game to cement Malone's image.
Padrino
All-Star
i don't know that it necessarily "cemented" his image, because these kings could very well rattle off a seven-game losing streak across the remainder of november, and who knows how easy it will be for coach malone to keep his locker room together in such an event. however, it was important that malone made a strong point with his words early this week, that he drove it home with action, and that the team responded accordingly...
it wasn't the cranky posturing of paul westphal. it wasn't the wishy-washy talking-in-circles of keith smart. it was a signal that michael malone is a capable and decisive head coach. after all, being an nba head coach is, as much as anything else, about managing egos and massaging high-level performances out of players who may be dissatisfied in their respective roles...
malone actually reminds me quite a bit of jim harbaugh. they're both player's coaches. they know how to connect. they know how to act like "one of the guys" and earn the trust of their teams. but they also know how to manage the locker room, and they know when to be stern and tough on their teams. it's a good look for a coach whose kings-of-the-future also happen to be pretty young. DMC is 23. IT is 24. mclemore is 20. if sac lucks into another potential franchise talent at the top of the 2014 draft, then that player will only be 19 or 20...
mostly, last night was a solid piece of evidence that this coach can stick. given a more balanced roster with a legitimate second option, a greater share of defensive personnel, and fewer chuckers, i have some measure of faith that michael malone will know how to coax wins from a team that will have been absent from the playoff picture for about a decade by the time they're back in that conversation. it's just up to the front office to help put him in that position across the next couple of seasons (and, as of this moment, i have considerably less faith in PDA's ability to do so. i'd sure like him to prove me wrong)...
I don't understand your fascination with bashing on PDA's off-season? You seem to do it every chance you get. 2 of his 3 big acquisitions have been injured. We saw the potential GV can have for us (who is rehabbing his own injury). McLemore looks to have great potential playing off a big like Cousins. Speaking of Cousins, we got him extended so we don't have to deal with RFA next season. $27 mil of his cap room this season is tied up into Thornton, Hayes, Salmons, Jimmer and Outlaw. Is it because he let Reke go and you've held on to your belief that he can be a franchise player?
Kingster
Hall of Famer
I don't think Malone's image has to be improved upon or "cemented". He has a team that is untalented overall. He's not going to make them a .500 team this year, a win over the hapless Nets notwithstanding. You just want him to hang in there and do everything possible to have the team play hard, maintain morale, and improve as much as possible, especially with the younger talented players on the team.
Padrino
All-Star
no, it's because most of the offseason moves failed to address needs that i personally value the most (defense and rebounding). trading a second rounder for luc richard mbah a moute was shrewd, but such a move barely registers as a commitment to bringing in defensive personnel, not when it stands in contrast to signing carl landry to a four-year deal...
and it's just an opinion, sir. let's not forget that you're fond of rah-rah'ing on behalf of isaiah thomas at every opportunity. he's a great change of pace guard off the bench, and this team's bad enough all-around that he's got an excellent chance of winning a sixth man of the year award this season, but he's not the second coming, as jerry, grant, and The_Jamal want us all to believe...
beyond that, as much as i like vasquez's floor general style of play, i maintain that it's disastrous for a team to have its weakest defensive links in the first (PG) and last lines (C) of defense. and a combination of carl landry, patrick patterson, and chuck hayes doesn't pick up the slack at all, on top of being absolutely dismal on the boards. thank the lord that malone decided to put jason thompson back into the starting lineup. as for mclemore, i like him just fine, and i think he'll have success in this league as an off-ball shooter and potential third option, but i wanted either michael carter-williams, c.j. mccollum, or trey burke initially, and MCW is certainly proving a lot of teams wrong who passed on him, including the kings. so yes, i'm entitled to bash PDA's first offseason as sacramento's gm, because my opinions are completely counter to most of what he accomplished. he's got time to win me over, but, as far as this fan's concerned, he's off to a very rocky start...
and my belief regarding tyreke evans is that he's a very valuable two-way power guard who can shine as a second option when given the opportunity, and i still believe that he's got fringe all-star potential in a league that's slowly souring at the SG position. however, his ankles represent a serious problem, and his lack of a consistent jump shot will hold him back from franchise player status. but we all saw his three-pointer improving in real time last season. he was improving in many of his weaker areas, he gave consistent effort on defense, and i simply prefer strong, physical talents that can get to the rim over weenie jump shooters like the kings have now. evans made it clear he wanted to stay in sacramento, but the pelicans offered him the kind of contract that he couldn't turn down when sac balked at the money. now, unfortunately, he's a bench guard in a very crowded and very talented (but endlessly redundant) backcourt rotation in new orleans...
i hope that satisfies your passive-aggressive inquiry...
Glenn
Hall of Famer
The fact our team is awful is not Malone's fault. I know taking an opposing view is your schtick but I think you whiffed on this one. Malone is doing is well as he can with the hand he was dealt. Do you disagree? If so, what would you think Malone should be doing that he neglecting?
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
You people would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
PDA's offseason was flat crap. That's why its "bashed". It was flat crap.
It takes a special breed of gerbil to ooh, make a draft pick, then proceed to lose your second best player, chase your betters because they are all you know and find out the hard way you are GMing a small market team, waste money on duplicative players, drop a little pick on possibly damaged goods, fix almost none of our completely obvious to any non moron holes, let all of our best defensive personnel go when you claim to preach defense, and fail to get rid of basically any of the soft, selfish, offensive oriented chuckers on the team. Not even one of them. In fact they went off and added another.
And our owners both a) hired the coach, and b) came in determined to max out Cousins. So the two big moves for the future during the summer don't even land at PDA's doorstep.
PDA's offseason was flat crap. So its consistently "bashed" as so by non pollyannas. About the largest olive branch that can be extended to PDA is that being totally unprepared to do the job he unexpectedly fell into for this franchise this summer does not necessarily mean he's not going to be able to do it going forward. Its a bad omen, but not the end of the story.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
I think you better read before you write. I'm supporting Malone, regardless of the record of this team.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
I get confused when you need to disagree with me to make your point which in essence is the same as mine. I just didn't post my support of Malone in a proper way to satisfy you. If you think a rookie coach in the beginning of his first year has nothing to prove, bully for you. I think it is naive.
Fear the Putin
Starter
hehe...
The Hammer
All-Star
Bingo.
And while I was a huge Reke fan, and generally consider his development totally screwed by bad coaching and org leadership, at the point of PDA's entry, the jury is still out on if this team is better with Reke or Vasquez, as it will eventually be constructed. You can't judge the move on this year in full even, as you have to wait until the next few major moves are made, which will be at least a year, including next summer's free agent period.
I would have liked to see Aldrich retained, for just a million. That was a mistake imo. Douglas would have been nice, too. However PDA probably looked at them and said "not likely part of the team's long terms plans" and decided not to waste a dime on them, preferring to try out Hamady.
Not FLAT poopoo. But I definitely would wait a while before using the bathroom after PDA's summer just used it. Still, I'm going to go the generous route and give him at least 2-3 years to let him put an overall plan together. The summer can't be judged on the summer alone. And it also includes seeing how well Malone can coach defense and team defense into "non-defensive" players, who have other legitimate strengths.
People in general need to realize our whole front office, including coaching staff, is working as a unit. It's quite possible Malone said to PDA, "I can coach Landry and Vasquez into passable team defensive players, but I do need at least one above average versatile defender (Luc)." I, in fact, believe that is the most likely behind the scenes reasoning for the moves.
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bajaden
Hall of Famer
Could be worse, his name could be Tonto, which means stupid in spanish. I wonder is anyone told the lone ranger.
Kingsfan23
All-Star
Whether or not you are a fan of Reke (I wasn't), Tyreke can't start at the 1 or the 3 and we had just drafted what many considered the talent of the draft at the 2
bajaden
Hall of Famer
Chubbs
Starter
Brick is my hero.
The Hammer
All-Star
Oh, and harsh grade on Thompson. I'd take that from him any night. At least should be in the B range.
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