Hang in there, Spencer!

[Backlash]

You make an excellent point. Sometimes we put all of our attention on the center when thinking of interior defense, but the help from the power forward and small forward is essential to have good interior D. There's a lot defensive improvement that needs to take place from 4s and the 3s, not just the center position.

A majority of Jason Thompson's fouls are as a result of reaching in when the center doesn't block his man out and he swipes at the ball.

The Center is the focal point for the teams defense on the interior, if the interior presence isn't there, there is a domino effect of defensive rotation issues that cause people to be out of position, and pick up cheap fouls from having bad angles at defending.

So I dont see that as an excellent point at all.

 

[Rug King]

I'm not ready to give up on Spencer. I think he's going to be a very good center in this league in about 3 years. However, I do think we need another center to share playing time with him for a couple of years while Spence matures . Right now it's either Spence or your pf of choice and that's not gonna work.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

at 21 Lebron.......at 21 Kobe.....at 21 Dwight......at 21 Hawes has less than made his mark on the NBA.

You're trying to compare Hawes to three of the top superstars in the league. That's a bit much, don't you think?

We don't expect Hawes to be a superstar, never have. If Hawes turns out to be a top-half starting center for 5+ years, that's pretty good return on a #10 pick. And that's not out of the question, since he's only 21.

He needs to get stronger, so he doesn't get pushed around as much. That should improve with age. He needs to develop the mentality to push people around, and maybe, just maybe, getting pushed around by his buddy Brockman in practice might give him some incentive to learn to push back. And he needs a team that will get him the ball in the post on a consistent basis. So far that's not happening, sometimes because the entry passes are horrible, and sometimes because the offensive sets have him on the perimeter (talk to Westphal about that one).

Oh, and he needs to stop getting stripped when he put the ball on the floor.

But I believe that he will improve in all of these areas in the coming years. Whether he will improve enough is up for question, but I think it's far too premature to give up on him.

So, since I haven't yet chimed in on the "Hang in there, Spencer!" thread, here's my two cents: Hang in there, Spencer! Work hard to improve what you have to improve, and have faith that the Kings' front office will have a bit more patience with your development than some Kings fans are showing!

 

[dbfish]

Spencer needs to be reading the "Enough is enough" thread and not this thread. He seems to play better when he is mad.
So get mad Spencer and you will do much better.

 

[mdme]

Ok... here goes....

There's no way to go but up.

 

[DeMoN]

Hawes seems to be turning into a good weak side blocker, looks to be his positive on defense.

 

[Kingster]

A majority of Jason Thompson's fouls are as a result of reaching in when the center doesn't block his man out and he swipes at the ball.

The Center is the focal point for the teams defense on the interior, if the interior presence isn't there, there is a domino effect of defensive rotation issues that cause people to be out of position, and pick up cheap fouls from having bad angles at defending.

So I dont see that as an excellent point at all.

You don't play interior defense with a center. You play it with a center and power forward and a small forward. When a switch happens, or when guys get beat, rotations have to occur. To say it's all on the center is ridiculous.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

Dear Spencer,

You're a dashing and handsome ladies man even if it is because women seem to think you own 14 gold medals. Hang in there and stay thirsty my friend.

LMAO

they could be twins

 

[bajaden]

You don't play interior defense with a center. You play it with a center and power forward and a small forward. When a switch happens, or when guys get beat, rotations have to occur. To say it's all on the center is ridiculous.

There seems to be some people on this fourm that don't really understand the game of basketball. And thats fine. Not everyone has played the game. Or read books on the game. All they've done is simply watch games, and listen to pundits spew their pearls of wisdom. Defense starts on the perimiter. You've got to stop the ball there. If you don't stop the ball there, you end up with a Spencer Hawes trying to stop a Chris Paul one on one. Now you tell me who you think is going to win that battle most of the time. The peneration is not Hawes or Thompson's fault. How they react to it is. Its been the rotations that have been the problem.

The truth is, that no matter which team your talking about, when a perimiter player is able to get past his man, someone has to leave his man in order to help. The minute that happens, your defense is now broken down to a certain extent and your now playing catchup. The experienced teams that play good defense are good at switching and still forcing the other team to take a defended shot. The Kings do not fall into that catagory. To expect the Kings with all the youth on their team to play defense the same way the Spurs do is pure lunacy. All we can expect is effort.

What I'm saying is the poor defense is a team effort, and not just the fault of the guy reaching out at the last minute and fouling the other player. That doesn't excuse him, but others need to share in the blame. I know a lot is expected in peoples minds from the center position. But you have to alter your expectations according to the skill set of the player. If you have a player that stands 7 foot in shoes and weighs 245. He's probably going to have a hard time holding position against a Shaq or a Yao ming in the post. He's going to need help against guys like that. You have to find a way to play to his strengths, because the other teams are going to play to his weaknesses.

Hawes is what he is. He will get better. How much better is the question mark. And will that be enough? Thats why we play the games. To find out. So he needs to play, and for the time being, we need to be patient. Critical at times, but patient.

 

[PoundForPound]

ok game by hawes but he has got to start rebounding. 3 rebounds in 20 minutes? come on.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

ok game by hawes but he has got to start rebounding. 3 rebounds in 20 minutes? come on.

I think a lot of that had to do with the Knicks absolutely conceding a large number of rebounds after their shots. Spencer and two other white shirts would put themselves in position to box out, and the Knicks were already in the backcourt. There were a decent number of "free" rebounds that went in Spencer's direction that a teammate (not having to box anybody out themselves) moved in and grabbed.

It's one thing if you don't get any rebounds because you're not in position to do so. It's another thing if you're in position to get the rebound, and defer to a teammate in front of you. There was a lot of the latter last night - seemed like Spencer was doing the right thing on the boards most of the time.

 

[VF21]

Spencer had a great game last night. What may not have come across on TV is just how engaged and involved he was both on and off the court. He was being the epitome of a valuable teamate. There was a lot of team play and just good solid basketball being played. It's a game like this that can get our Spencer back on track.

 

[bajaden]

I think a lot of that had to do with the Knicks absolutely conceding a large number of rebounds after their shots. Spencer and two other white shirts would put themselves in position to box out, and the Knicks were already in the backcourt. There were a decent number of "free" rebounds that went in Spencer's direction that a teammate (not having to box anybody out themselves) moved in and grabbed.

It's one thing if you don't get any rebounds because you're not in position to do so. It's another thing if you're in position to get the rebound, and defer to a teammate in front of you. There was a lot of the latter last night - seemed like Spencer was doing the right thing on the boards most of the time.

The whole idea is for your team to get the rebound. Sometimes it just bounces the other way. Thompson must tip at least three a game to his teammates. But your right. They were boxing out and doing the little things that win a game for you.

 

[bloom]

Thank you VF. I’m so happy that there’s a positive thread for Spencer. There’s been too much hate poured on him this year…Hopefully Spencer can put it together soon and improve like we thought he would.

 

[kupman]

He has played well in 3 of the last 4 games. maybe he is coming out of the early season slump.