Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
This made me laugh. Good work.
[Grades] Grades v. Nuggets 10/30/2013
- Thread starter Bricklayer
- Start date
This made me laugh. Good work.
When watching some of Cousins' post moves, something that stood out to me is that he had his elbows up shoulder level....it reminded me of Shaq. I don't know if he did that last year or not....Jamal mentioned he made himself small last year...maybe this was part of it. Shaq used to create space all the time with those elbows....who in their right mind is going to wear an elbow in the face.
Fear the Putin
Starter
For the amount of abuse and bad calls against him, I don't feel so bad about the travels.
Hadlowe
Starter
HndsmCelt
Hall of Famer
As much as I was loving watching DMC having a MONSTER game, I agree with the minus, specifically because of the single assist. It's not just that he could have done better, he could have made the team much better. Notch up 4 more assists there and and we have at least a 10 point game. I'm not saying Demarcus was selfish he did pass the ball and yes the stiffs on the floor cost him some assists but he could have looked for hot hands and wide open shooters a little bit more. I think DMC can be a 20-10-5 guy and I remember what the team played like when we had one of them.
Padrino
All-Star
i was at the season opener, and it was absolutely electric. for the first time in over half a decade, arco arena truly felt like arco arena again. the kings sold out a few Here We Stay games in the last two seasons, but those pale in comparison to what occurred last night. it was a Here We Are game, from ownership, from the team, from its fans. everything about last night existed in the present tense. there wasn't too much waxing nostalgic. there wasn't too much lofty prognostication. it was just a celebration of where we are now, which is, in my opinion, the best way to alter a team's culture. though i find this patchwork roster wanting, they have to believe they can win as a unit, and a stable, supportive, electric home environment will go a long way towards helping this kings team win games they would have lost in prior seasons. that's a big deal, and it can't be overstated...
but i've never been one to linger in such moments too long. down to business, then. this was a good, gritty, defensive win by the sacramento kings. it's hard to believe i'm saying that, but the kings kept up the defensive effort through the entire game, aside from the occasional lapse. while i expected improvement on the more important side of the floor this season, i didn't think the effort would be so visible on opening night, and so strikingly counter to the defensive culture of the last seven years. if they can bring a similar effort on a consistent basis, they will win a few games they have no business winning, especially if demarcus cousins plays like the franchise cornerstone and all-star center many of us have predicted he would become, given the trust of this organization and more favorable conditions. he wasn't perfect last night, but he would not be denied, either. that competitive fire, coupled with a team-wide defensive effort and the energy of the crowd, propelled the kings forward on a night when shots from both teams were clanging off the rims...
now for the negative critique: as i've reinforced time and again since early in the offseason, the kings are going to struggle to score at the rim this season, outside of DMC in beast-mode, of course. this roster's got a boatload of players who love to shoot jumpers, but they're not a great jump-shooting team. they just aren't. on the nights when they catch fire, the kings will put up 100+, and the defensive effort may be able to hold opponents around 95, but on nights like last night, when their jump shots clang and clang and clang off the rim, they're going to need MONSTER games from cousins and/or their going to need MONSTER effort on the defensive end. it doesn't help that the kings' best rim attacker comes off the bench. it's where IT is most valuable, of course, but it's saying something that the diminutive little chucker also happens to be their most effective penetrator. the kings desperately need a starting SF who can get to the rim. a guy like andre iguodala would very much help round this team into shape. it's such a shame that signing didn't pan out...
other notes: i was satisfied with the starting lineup, and i'm glad to see that malone likely had it figured out all along. thornton and vasquez certainly didn't play their way into the starting lineup in lackluster preseason performances, but they're the obvious starters given the dynamics of bringing isaiah thomas and the rook off the bench. speaking of vasquez, i was rather impressed by his performance. he played in control, and flashed some seriously impressive high-arcing, mid-range shots. he'd have notched a few more assists, as well, if the kings' shooters weren't bricking their jumpers all night long. vasquez's lack of footspeed was on display, but the defensive effort was there, as he played the passing lanes and occasionally bothered both ty lawson and andre miller with his size and hands...
all in all, i think last night was a window into what we can expect this season: improved defensive effort, big nights from DMC, steady PG play from vasquez, sparkplug effect from IT, rookie jitters from mclemore, and erratc offense everywhere else on the roster...
but i've never been one to linger in such moments too long. down to business, then. this was a good, gritty, defensive win by the sacramento kings. it's hard to believe i'm saying that, but the kings kept up the defensive effort through the entire game, aside from the occasional lapse. while i expected improvement on the more important side of the floor this season, i didn't think the effort would be so visible on opening night, and so strikingly counter to the defensive culture of the last seven years. if they can bring a similar effort on a consistent basis, they will win a few games they have no business winning, especially if demarcus cousins plays like the franchise cornerstone and all-star center many of us have predicted he would become, given the trust of this organization and more favorable conditions. he wasn't perfect last night, but he would not be denied, either. that competitive fire, coupled with a team-wide defensive effort and the energy of the crowd, propelled the kings forward on a night when shots from both teams were clanging off the rims...
now for the negative critique: as i've reinforced time and again since early in the offseason, the kings are going to struggle to score at the rim this season, outside of DMC in beast-mode, of course. this roster's got a boatload of players who love to shoot jumpers, but they're not a great jump-shooting team. they just aren't. on the nights when they catch fire, the kings will put up 100+, and the defensive effort may be able to hold opponents around 95, but on nights like last night, when their jump shots clang and clang and clang off the rim, they're going to need MONSTER games from cousins and/or their going to need MONSTER effort on the defensive end. it doesn't help that the kings' best rim attacker comes off the bench. it's where IT is most valuable, of course, but it's saying something that the diminutive little chucker also happens to be their most effective penetrator. the kings desperately need a starting SF who can get to the rim. a guy like andre iguodala would very much help round this team into shape. it's such a shame that signing didn't pan out...
other notes: i was satisfied with the starting lineup, and i'm glad to see that malone likely had it figured out all along. thornton and vasquez certainly didn't play their way into the starting lineup in lackluster preseason performances, but they're the obvious starters given the dynamics of bringing isaiah thomas and the rook off the bench. speaking of vasquez, i was rather impressed by his performance. he played in control, and flashed some seriously impressive high-arcing, mid-range shots. he'd have notched a few more assists, as well, if the kings' shooters weren't bricking their jumpers all night long. vasquez's lack of footspeed was on display, but the defensive effort was there, as he played the passing lanes and occasionally bothered both ty lawson and andre miller with his size and hands...
all in all, i think last night was a window into what we can expect this season: improved defensive effort, big nights from DMC, steady PG play from vasquez, sparkplug effect from IT, rookie jitters from mclemore, and erratc offense everywhere else on the roster...
...but he did look for shooters. As you pointed out, they missed, which was a recurring theme for the evening. In a close game, where nobody was hitting from the outside (and, to be fair, IT isn't really a spot up shooter), I don't fault DMC one bit for not giving the ball up when it went in the post. He should have had those assists. Sadly, here's where Jimmer could help, but we don't have the complementary player to make up for his shortcoming in other areas.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Stats: 17min 4pts (1-7, 1-5, 2-2) 1reb 0ast 0stl 1blk 1TO
McLemore ( C- ) -- came in and immediately got a pass from Vasquez with a chance for a huge dunk down the middle of the lane that would have brought the house down and been a perfect kickoff to his career, but somehow came up just short off the front of the rim -- he's got to be kicking himself on that one this morning. Had to try to guard Miller, who went right around him in the post, a consistent theme tonight as Ben once again had problems keeping guys in front of him on defense, but made a handful of spectacular athletic recovery plays late that disguised the owes somewhat. Got his only basket early hitting a wide open three off a scramble play, and nice to get that first one out of the way because after that it became a struggle. We tried to run a play for him to start the 2nd quarter, but Faried hopped in his way, and per usual Ben could not change direction and charged. He's just a straight line player with the ball right now. Missed shots tonight weren't the result of him taking bad shots or the wrong shots. One jumper was a bit of a force off his dribble, but the rest were set up pretty well by teammates. But he just flat missed his shots, and it was frustrating on the night how many corner threes we set up for people that just clunked away. Got a block on Fornier in the 4th, but again I couldn't tell whether he was flat getting beat and Hayes was bailing him out, or whether he was effectively funneling guys towards Hayes and trying to chase them down from behind. He's a rook in his first game, but if you can't even get a C- for a 1-7 night without great stuff elsewhere, then what would you ever be able to do to earn a D or an F? 0-7? -1 of 7? Good to get his rookie jitter game out of his system, and we survived it. Cnward and upward.
McLemore ( C- ) -- came in and immediately got a pass from Vasquez with a chance for a huge dunk down the middle of the lane that would have brought the house down and been a perfect kickoff to his career, but somehow came up just short off the front of the rim -- he's got to be kicking himself on that one this morning. Had to try to guard Miller, who went right around him in the post, a consistent theme tonight as Ben once again had problems keeping guys in front of him on defense, but made a handful of spectacular athletic recovery plays late that disguised the owes somewhat. Got his only basket early hitting a wide open three off a scramble play, and nice to get that first one out of the way because after that it became a struggle. We tried to run a play for him to start the 2nd quarter, but Faried hopped in his way, and per usual Ben could not change direction and charged. He's just a straight line player with the ball right now. Missed shots tonight weren't the result of him taking bad shots or the wrong shots. One jumper was a bit of a force off his dribble, but the rest were set up pretty well by teammates. But he just flat missed his shots, and it was frustrating on the night how many corner threes we set up for people that just clunked away. Got a block on Fornier in the 4th, but again I couldn't tell whether he was flat getting beat and Hayes was bailing him out, or whether he was effectively funneling guys towards Hayes and trying to chase them down from behind. He's a rook in his first game, but if you can't even get a C- for a 1-7 night without great stuff elsewhere, then what would you ever be able to do to earn a D or an F? 0-7? -1 of 7? Good to get his rookie jitter game out of his system, and we survived it. Cnward and upward.
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
His 3 best for me were, the spin jab step with lefty lay in. The long step away angled high off glass. Then the follow up of his own miss with the hammer throw down. Came out there with full game.
chasen4r1
Starter
That last one, the throw down, was a bit reminiscent of CWebb. Love it
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
Obviously he worked very hard on his entire game, including this physical conditioning and 'subtle skills', during the off season. Our cornerstone is focused and motivated
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
To be perfectly fair, the dude would have probably had more assists had anyone other than IT or the General been capable of hitting the broadside of a barn last night.
Siranthony
Starter
The grades may be a little rough on some of the players. It has to be hard to play much harder on defence and be expected to be as good scoring. The overall effort was off the hook! The whole team was giving it everything they had. Fun game to watch.
I agree with most of the posts above. Cousins played like a franchise player. We knew he had good hands, but it is obvious he also has good feet. He has a great lateral game with greatly improved offense in the low post. Shaq may be making a difference. He talked to Cousins right after he taunted McGee at the end of the game. That was Cousins only flaw of the night.
The tandem of GV and IT was very productive, playing together or one at a time. By having in effect two point guards, the Kings can maintain a high level of energy at the position.
The 1 and 5 positions were very impressive, but the 2,3 and 4 were missing in action. It is impressive that the Kings could win a game like this one. The major improvement was the defense limiting Denver to 88 points. If the Kings can keep most teams in the 90s or less, they are going to win a lot more games. The sense of urgency by the Kings down the stretch on offense was something new that I attribute to coach Malone. It is easy to extrapolate, but watching the Kings already feels different. They are going to be in a lot of games where they have been blown out in the past.
The tandem of GV and IT was very productive, playing together or one at a time. By having in effect two point guards, the Kings can maintain a high level of energy at the position.
The 1 and 5 positions were very impressive, but the 2,3 and 4 were missing in action. It is impressive that the Kings could win a game like this one. The major improvement was the defense limiting Denver to 88 points. If the Kings can keep most teams in the 90s or less, they are going to win a lot more games. The sense of urgency by the Kings down the stretch on offense was something new that I attribute to coach Malone. It is easy to extrapolate, but watching the Kings already feels different. They are going to be in a lot of games where they have been blown out in the past.
What gets me excited is we now know we have the capability to play great defense and actually depend on it to win. Our lack of what you would call good defensive players as been well noted, but you saw us last night playing as a unit and making an effort (even if it wasn't successful all the time). What we did last night are what the championship teams do when the role players aren't making shots: they throw the ball to their big kahuna and rely on the defense to make stops.
Was also very happy with how GV and IT were used last night and especially pleased that they were able to play well together. Make a GV-McLemore-IT guard rotation seem feasible in the future.
We got a long way to go, but at least we finally, after 5 years, have a starting point to get this team back into the playoffs and hopefully a title contender.
Was also very happy with how GV and IT were used last night and especially pleased that they were able to play well together. Make a GV-McLemore-IT guard rotation seem feasible in the future.
We got a long way to go, but at least we finally, after 5 years, have a starting point to get this team back into the playoffs and hopefully a title contender.
ninjabiscuit
Bench
Hadlowe
Starter
I felt it all the way out in Appalachia.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Perhaps there was some traveling but many people do the very same thing.
I saw McHale in college and as a Minnesotan, I tended to inhale articles about his game. McHale came out of college as a good big. As the years passed, he added to his game until he ended up as almost unstoppable when he got in deep. If one move didn't work, he tried another and another until he could get a shot off. It was amazing to watch. Boogie was pulling off a few of those McHale like moves which with what else he has learned, may make him darn near unstoppable. Apparently Shaq's influence is to teach him how to use his size. After the game Shaq told Cousins to keep being a beast. So now we have a guy who seems to be agile enough to be a bit McHale-like with the bull-like power of Shaq.
I think the big contract has an effect on how officials and everybody sees him. Valued vets get the calls and perhaps it's just that a player who can buy and sell a ref many times over may get the benefit of the calls. Stern used to try to influence his officials to keep the best players on the court as he figured that's who the fans paid to see. Whether anything like that is going on, I don't know. Boogie was taking care of his part of the deal with no reach in fouls.
It's one game but there is a lot new about what Boogie is doing. There also may be more that he is allowed to do.
And folks, has anyone found his demeanor to be bothersome?
nickmcclure
Bench
Whoa there, a little harsh considering we've had one regular season game to judge him on. Thornton is a streaky shooter and he had a terrible game but there are times when he looks like an all-star (at least on offense). We just need to get that stroke back and you'll see he's NBA talent (starting or otherwise).
HereWeBoogie
Hall of Famer
One thing it seems like nobody has mentioned, our team scored only 90pts, and they WON. when was the last time you saw the Kings do that? holding a run and gun Nuggets team to 88pts? its only one game but if that trend continues we could be a happy group
gunks
Hall of Famer
Whoa whoa whoa whoa! I understand the optimism, buts lets try to be a little bit realistic here!
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24-12-4.
Major respect to Mike Malone for reminding us how a competent NBA head coach handles his team and his players. It's been a very, very long time since I saw passion, control, logic and intelligence from the head coach slot and I truly understood how much of a different it makes.
HereWeBoogie
Hall of Famer
One more positive from me:
Although their roster is not the same this year, the Nuggets have absolutely owned us over the past couple seasons so the win was very nice to me. so many blowout losses for the Kings against Denver, even at home. and a lot of that was thanks to Ty Lawson who is indeed still out there.
Although their roster is not the same this year, the Nuggets have absolutely owned us over the past couple seasons so the win was very nice to me. so many blowout losses for the Kings against Denver, even at home. and a lot of that was thanks to Ty Lawson who is indeed still out there.
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