I was really cool with his moves at the time he did or didn't make them. Worked well, too.
[Grades] Grades v. Nuggets 11/3/2014
- Thread starter Bricklayer
- Start date
I was really cool with his moves at the time he did or didn't make them. Worked well, too.
rainmaker
Hall of Famer
Yeah, but it's a straight gamble. Malone didn't invent some alternate theory in an attempt to win a 2nd game of a back to back yesterday which hasn't been tried or done before. Many have tried the same before him and had that strategy blow up in their face by holding the starters out too long. We've seen it blow up in our faces numerous times. That our bench has been quite poor leading up to yesterday's 3rd quarter made it even more of a gamble. But yesterday it worked, and we're possibly going to see some benefit from the bench having more confidence.I waited till it played out before I came to a judgement because he knows his players and their capabilities a lot better than I do. It appeared he was working with the strategy of: let the backups keep it close for as long as possible and wear down their first team, then stick in my first team at 6 minutes or so and let them finish it off against their tired legs. You'll notice he put Ray Mac (the freshest guard in the building) in there for the final 6 minutes, and he came up with a couple great plays, and played real solid D.
So no, I had no problem with how the game was coached. In your world that's not a possibility. Gee you're so open minded. Not hopeless at all. I was so wrong.
I know it's popular around here, judging by the game thread, to say "ha, I told you guys you shouldn't question Malone, he knew what he was doing all along", after the fact and after the gamble paid off, but it doesn't make it any less of a gamble at the time and it's still a gamble which could have swung either way. While our bench fought like hell and were scrappy, they weren't executing well on offense and all it would have taken is Den hitting a couple of their open 3's to get a bit of a cushion and the arena rocking. Could have been a different outcome. So it's a gamble which paid off, the timing of it was great for us but nonetheless it's still a gamble which next time might not pay off.
Tis the NBA, sometimes these things work, sometimes they don't. When they do, ride that momentum as long as you can.
Sorry for being dense, but if the dynamic duo is Ben and Nik, then how did they get 21 points? Or maybe we're talking about a different duo?
HighFlyingMonkey
Starter
He probably meant minutes, not points.
Chubbs
Starter
The team chemistry appears much better early on. Winning can do that. Maybe we never win 3 of 4 again this year. It doesn't feel like a fluke, but it could be. Kings probably did get lucky holding out the starters. I'm not entirely sure DC/Rudy had it in them though to play big minutes. But if it was luck, it was great timing, and GREAT for the team in the long run. It's a long season. I wouldn't play the bench that long too often, but it worked this time.
Only 78 games to go...
Only 78 games to go...
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
If the shoe fits: We're at the beginning of a long season. Some of you need to pace yourselves or you'll be out of insults before the all-star break. Come on, guys. You can disagree with someone without making it personal. The name-calling and personal jabs need to stop now. Thanks.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
That's going to be a tough spare.
K
KingMilz
Guest
It was hilarious listening to the Nuggets "color" guy he gets so annoyed at any flopping like the dude literally calls every single flop on the other team, the dude is crazy bias. He was also like "well you can call a foul on Reggie Evans on every single possession" yet when I was watching the Nuggets hard back in the day when they had Reggie for a brief period he loved that guy.
TheJewishKing
G-League
I really don't want to jinx or something but I just wanted to say that it has been really pleasant to watch the Kings play thus far in the season and I also hope it will be the same as the season continues.
The Kings are playing very good basketball, they are passing the ball really well and mostly playing smart, they have been beating some very good teams, such as Portland, Denver and LA Clippers, this is not obvious, those teams are the "elite teams" in the NBA and the Kings have been able to show them that they are not feeling threatened by it.
3/5 from our starting lineup are playing at a really high level until now, shooting the ball at will and distributing the ball well and grabbing high amount of rebounds, of course I am talking about Collison, Cousins and Rudy Gay, all of them have been able to lead the way for the Kings in our very convincing wins.
And of course that some credit should be given to our bench, thus far the one player from the bench who stood out the most is my man Omri Casspi, he is showing a lot of growth since his last tenure with the Kings, whether if it's in his demeanor or his game because he grew a lot in both aspects, he is playing like a veteran, and mostly make very good decisions, he hasn't been forcing tough shots, and he has also been able to attack the paint a lot in this season, you can really witness a very significant growth in his game, he really has been the x-factor of the bench for the Kings, and just like Cousins,Gay and Collison, Casspi is one of the reasons the Kings were able to achieve some great wins.
The Kings are playing very good basketball, they are passing the ball really well and mostly playing smart, they have been beating some very good teams, such as Portland, Denver and LA Clippers, this is not obvious, those teams are the "elite teams" in the NBA and the Kings have been able to show them that they are not feeling threatened by it.
3/5 from our starting lineup are playing at a really high level until now, shooting the ball at will and distributing the ball well and grabbing high amount of rebounds, of course I am talking about Collison, Cousins and Rudy Gay, all of them have been able to lead the way for the Kings in our very convincing wins.
And of course that some credit should be given to our bench, thus far the one player from the bench who stood out the most is my man Omri Casspi, he is showing a lot of growth since his last tenure with the Kings, whether if it's in his demeanor or his game because he grew a lot in both aspects, he is playing like a veteran, and mostly make very good decisions, he hasn't been forcing tough shots, and he has also been able to attack the paint a lot in this season, you can really witness a very significant growth in his game, he really has been the x-factor of the bench for the Kings, and just like Cousins,Gay and Collison, Casspi is one of the reasons the Kings were able to achieve some great wins.
Chupacabra
Starter
It really looks like Nik is picking up the obligatory "you're a rookie so you couldn't possibly have just made a good defensive play" fouls. He picked up 3 fouls in about 2 minutes in this one. The 2nd foul was highly questionable when he was battling for position against Afflalo and the 3rd foul that was called when he cleanly blocked Afflalo's shot wasn't a foul at all. How about the phantom call on McLemore for his humiliating block of Afflalo's attempt at the rim. Afflalo got a steady dose of hard nosed defense and seemingly got bailed out every time.
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
Again showing that he's a potent "closer". There's only a handful of guys that can do that around the league...and we've got one. We didn't even have a legit closer IMO, during the 'golden era' teams of the early 2000's
The Hammer
All-Star
Of course it's a gamble. But it's a gamble I trust Malone to make, win or lose. It's ridiculous to say you could do it better, it's ridiculous to say he was perfect. And, if they had made a three or two, who's to say Malone doesn't call a quick time out before their lead gets past 5, and puts the starters back in.
Anyway, it's silly to come out and say he got lucky or was coaching poorly just because it didn't look the way you thought it should.
G
GQ_Gabriel
Guest
I completely agree. We are so fortunate to have, like you put it, a legitimate closer who you can give the ball to down the stretch for crucial buckets.
rainmaker
Hall of Famer
Who said that?
BTW, because you and others appear to simply "trust", doesn't make it "ridiculous" to not follow that same thought process. It was a gamble, through and through, one that paid off and one that many times doesn't pay off. Pointing out it in fact was a gamble is just that, pointing out it was a gamble.
Have we crossed the don't question Malone and PDA thresh-hold because we're 3-1?
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I won't speak for everyone, but I certainly questioned the move. Still do. It was definitely a gut decision, and I'm glad it worked out.
At no time, however, did I allude to Malone being a poor coach. That said, coaches are not infallible, and even great coaches make bad moves from time to time. We're human. I think it's fine to question moves, especially during the play-by-play of a game.
Like I said, I'm glad it worked. I could see the reasons for it, but I wouldn't have done it.
At no time, however, did I allude to Malone being a poor coach. That said, coaches are not infallible, and even great coaches make bad moves from time to time. We're human. I think it's fine to question moves, especially during the play-by-play of a game.
Like I said, I'm glad it worked. I could see the reasons for it, but I wouldn't have done it.
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
I still question the move as well. I get the concept and idea, but thought it was overdone. Reason being, when you've got a tough road game well within grasp to be won, you take those opportunities by the throat. There will be time for rest and looking at other players later.
With that said, it worked and it got RayMac going, so we got that going for us...which is nice
With that said, it worked and it got RayMac going, so we got that going for us...which is nice
Certainly not, but I do think they deserve a lot more leeway than they were getting in the off-season around here. I wouldn't be as happy obviously, but I'd be pretty excited if we played the way we have these past 4 games and were 1-3. We've had a clear culture change and guys look comfortable playing defense in Malone's system. Us being comfortable in anything has been a rare occurrence in the last 10 years.
Now, it'll be very interesting to watch if what we've seen thus far is sustainable. Collison is off to a career start and far exceeding his career numbers, we're near the bottom of the league in most offensive efficiency categories, we're shooting 37 FTA/game which I don't think will last.
But for now, willing to just enjoy the hot start and us playing well.
Larry89
Disgruntled Kings Fan
If there is anything I question it is our offense.. the defense has carried this team to victory this year, but the end of the game offensive possessions against the clippers and nuggets have been less than sub par. I think the Kings got stopped on their last 6 offensive posessions against the clippers and then went full iso mode against the nuggets. Not to mention this team is 29th in assists so far this year, it might be because our backup point is Sessions running pick and rolls with Reggie Evans.
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
The Sessions situation, where he continues to pass the ball to Evans, as if he will initiate a quality play. That's a perfect example of low IQ from the PG position
I'll try to be cautious as you say.
Looks like everyone is happy it worked.
The Hammer
All-Star
Not at all. I'm just saying give the guy some space to operate. So that if it doesn't look the way you think it should as it's happening, don't automatically assume your way would be better, especially given that he knows his players a lot better than any of us.
And I'd actually challenge your assertion of how much of a gamble it was. Again, he is working with more information than is privy to us. It is a gamble, but perhaps a less risky one that we may assume from our set of information. Perhaps. That's all I'm saying. But then again, almost every coaching decision is a gamble. I disagree with the picture of complete blind risk that some are painting.
Exactly. He knew how tired the starters were. He didn't just blindly decide to toss the bench out there. I believe he was watching very carefully to assess the performance on the court. He was committed to giving the starters as much of a breather as possible, but would have not hesitated to put them back in if things went south. He wasn't locked in to a particular decision so much as he was locked in to a probable course of action subject to ongoing review.
Whatever it was, it worked. And I strongly believe that what we saw last night was indicative of what Vivek wants from Malone. There will be times, of course, when the best laid plans etc. etc. etc. and then we'll be calling for Malone's head on a platter again. Right now, though, I'm going to give him a lot of credit for what I saw from our TEAM last night.
I was nervous that our bench was going to let it get out of reach but that's not what happened. When I realized our bench wasn't getting blown out and our starters had thoroughly outplayed Denver's in the first quarter, I came around to Malone's strategy. And that was before we won the game. It would have been easy to question the move after the fact if we lost, but that's not fair to Malone either. He brought his starters back in fresh with the score tied and just over 5 minutes to play. That is a winning strategy in most games. I think it was questioned as much as it was only because we've been getting nothing from our bench in recent memory. The way the fourth quarter played out, we needed that extra burst at the end that we got by resting our starters for so long. Coach Malone has got these guys playing defense and playing it pretty well, so that gets him a lot of extra currency from me at least. I questioned his rotations decisions last week, but at this point I want to take it all back. Winning earns you the benefit of the doubt. Cousins has been steadily preaching that team wins are more important than minutes, shots, or individual stats. Listen to the man!
Chupacabra
Starter
I went against the grain on the voting this time. 14 rebounds in 22 minutes? Thank you sir, mayI have another?
Livinthedream
All-Star
The team has been gritty over the last 3 games. Haven't been this tough since the Michael Smith, Brian Grant, Sarunis Marciulionis days.
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