Yes, and their probably 6 or 8 others - name them? - I have no idea but logic tells threre are or else, if not, then we better not look IT in the mouth. Please don't break off relations with IT until you've found somebody better to replace him. Be careful, two years from now he might be best in the league.
[Grades] Grades v. Nets 3/9/2014
- Thread starter Bricklayer
- Start date
HereWeBoogie
Hall of Famer
i wasn't saying that sarcastically like we shouldn't replace Isaiah, i was being serious, i wan't IT replaced at all costs, and im just trying to get a legitimate list of names of players we could realistically obtain
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
Yeah, I got you. I was posing the question, that it doesn't seem like it would be a big search to find that type of player. It seems like rather basic skills in an NBA point guard, but maybe it's not these days?
That really is much harder than you make it out to be. In order to run an offense you have to be able to get into the paint and make the defense adjust to you. Almost all pass-first point guards could get into the paint on every play so you need someone with excellent quickness and ball handling. They also need to be able to shoot open jumpers so that teams have to play them tight enough to allow them to get into the paint. You also have to fiind someone who is big enough, strong enough and quick enough to defend the other teams point guard. Add all those qualities up and it is really hard to find a player that can simply run a team, make open shots and play tough D.
Which is the silly part of most of the PG discussion around these parts. Basically, it comes down to Rondo, Kyle Lowry, or Rubio as PG's would deem acceptable to play with Cuz
K
KingMilz
Guest
Shaun Livingston
Whoever starts at PG has to compete with John Wall, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, and now Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Eric Bledsoe, Michael Carter-Williams, Goran Dragic, and Kemba Walker. It's true not every team in the league gets to have an elite PG, but you do need to have a defensive game plan for checking these guys. It's also clear that there's more than one way to be successful at the position in the NBA. Some of these guys are elite shooters but some of them are not. Some are elite playmakers and some are not. Some are plus defenders and some are not. The hyperbole goes both ways here. We don't need to have a PG who does everything well. But when you see that we're last in the league in assists and nearly last in every defensive category, I think it makes sense to prioritize playmaking and defensive ability as we try to fill in all the question marks around Cousins in the starting lineup. Now maybe you acquire an elite defensive player at a different position and it takes some pressure off the PG position in that regard. Again, there's more than one way to be successful. In this year's draft, both Smart and Exum look like they should be above-average defensively at the PG position with some question marks about either one's readiness to run an NBA offense. That's one path. The aforementioned "dream fit" PGs like Rondo, Lowry, or Bledsoe would be another. Rondo will be a FA at the end of next season, Lowry and Bledsoe at the end of this season (though Bledsoe is restricted). Another would be acquiring an elite perimeter defender to play SG or SF or an impact shotblocker to pair with Cousins in the post. Then maybe you can look at the big picture and emphasize individual defense less from the PG position.
We're not even close to being a competitive team right now so it stands to reason there would be a wide range of opinions about how to close that gap. What I don't understand is how anyone can look at our situation and want to bring both Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas back as the starters next season. We may be straddling .500 with all three of them in the lineup but we're also last in the league in assist/TO ratio (and getting worse) and terrible on defense. You want to talk about unrealistic expectations, find me the two hall-of-famers to plug in at SG and PF/C who are going to turn the least efficient offense and damn near least effective defense into a contending team without taking any shots or handling the ball. It's not going to happen. It makes sense at this point to be open-minded about any path forward which represents a dramatic change from what we're doing now.... because what we're doing now is not even close to working.
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treach1976
Bench
How much of the issues (on the offensive side at least) could be solved by having a more robust offensive playbook? IT takes a lot of heat for his selfish me-first ball and inability to get Rudy / Cousins invovled. Rudy is starting to get more heat on his ISO tunnel vision mode, and Boogie probably isn't passing enough out of double teams. I'm mostly speaking about IT though. If Malone establishes, not just a set of plays, but a true offensive system, could IT turn into the point guard the Kings need (or at least leave less of a gaping hole?)
Long term, I'm still strongly in the camp that argues IT should be given and then embrace the super-sixth man role. But IT has one top flight skill, getting in the lane and to the basket, I have to believe that if the Kings had a set offense that IT could run, the Kings could find a way to exploit his driving ability while making sure it doesn't lock out the offense. Or, as some argue, is IT just not built for that? Is his "brain broken" to the point that it's always going to be me first?
(Not even going to address defense on this post.... that issue is apparent to everyone not named Jerry or Grant).
Long term, I'm still strongly in the camp that argues IT should be given and then embrace the super-sixth man role. But IT has one top flight skill, getting in the lane and to the basket, I have to believe that if the Kings had a set offense that IT could run, the Kings could find a way to exploit his driving ability while making sure it doesn't lock out the offense. Or, as some argue, is IT just not built for that? Is his "brain broken" to the point that it's always going to be me first?
(Not even going to address defense on this post.... that issue is apparent to everyone not named Jerry or Grant).
Kingster
Hall of Famer
It is interesting to me that in the last two years (I'm including this year), SA and Atlanta were one and two in assists. Atlanta is 1st this year in assists; 2nd last year. SA was 1st last year, 2nd this year. Atlanta's pg, Jeff Teague has averaged 7.1 assists over these past two years. Tony Parker with SA has averaged 6.9 assists over the past two years. The Clipps, with the best assist maker in the league in CP3 at 10.2 assists/game over the last two years came in 3rd this year; 4th last year. There is definitely more than a point guards assists to take into account when you look at a team's assists.
Chupacabra
Starter
Start McCallum. Bring Isaiah off the bench and give him lots of freedom. Give the ball to Cousins more often.
FaStRmAn
Starter
Is this what Mailing It In looks like? Never have I seen so many do so little for so long. There are exactly T W O NBA caliber players on this team. Cousins and Gay are PLAYERS. The rest are showing to be not players. You would think that as the season is winding down players would be playing for their NBA lives ! It looks like there are players that are asking to be jettisoned. And destroying their trade value in the process !! The roster turnover must continue. We have NO guards. IT is a backup, plain and simple IMHO. Kings need to draft/trade for NBA Caliber guards. Guards that can play NBA Caliber defense. They need a shooting guard that can shoot. They need a PG that can distribute the ball on a regular basis. Hopefully the offseason and draft will bring new players to this team. Because the players they have are not watchable.
CruzDude
Senior Member sharing a brew with bajaden
Now that hits the performance nail on the head!!! Role players who are role players, not previous starters now off bench. It is a mental issue with players and with 3 major trade/player/role changes in 3 months with very little practice time, it is hard enough to define roles much less get to practice them. Kings need 4-5 bench players who can come in and score 10 on any given night and 1-2 who do it every night. But key "gunks" item is "...a PG who will actually run an offense." Doesn't need to be a star but a mover-distributor. Then again, to distribute, the others have to be moving and helping all the time.
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