I really REALLY like the way Paul Westphal is handling this team!
Right now Tyreke is your "GO TO" Guy in clutch situations. He is a 20 year old rookie. He is going to fail and make mistakes. BUT until he has been in that situation many MANY times, he wont be as comfortable as he will be in the future. Westphal is building for the future. He is molding his "Go To" guy now in December where the games are worth 1 in the W column. There will come a time when time is running out, and we NEED a hoop.
Maybe Martin is back to set up for a pass out of the double team down the road. But Evans needs to run that last second play over and over again to see what works and what does not work. Evans will be in that situation many MANY times in his future. He is THAT type of player. The type of player who you WANT to have the ball one on one with ANYONE guarding him. You want him to figure out what to do and how to do in, so in the future it will be automatic! We all have to understand that Tyreke Evans is
S P E C I A L !
From what I have seen of Evans so far in his young career, I want him to have the ball in his hands with the clock running out do decide the game. The Kid is
C L U T C H ! There are VERY FEW CLUTCH players in the NBA. If it turns out that Evans is a bona fide
C L U T C H player, then the Kings are on their way to a winning season. The Players Tyreke has around him now are pretty good. When Martin and Garcia return to not only improve the team but to teach the young Mr. Evans how to finish and succeed in game ending situations, then the Kings will be well on their way to a return to respectability. Try to name every
C L U T C H player you can think of. The list would be debatable, but one thing isn't.
C L U T C H players play on good teams.
C L U T C H is the ability to perform with the game on the line and the clock running down. Many very good players turn down those shots because they are NOT
C L U T C H.
With Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans in the same back court, teams are going to have a great deal of trouble double teaming both players. If Kevin can return to his regular scoring prowess, and Evans can keep up his great play as a rookie, the Kings will be almost unguardable down the stretch of close games. The way the Kings Defense has improved with the addition of Evans guarding the other team's best perimeter player, and the improved defense of Donte Greene and JT, the Kings are on the verge of going on a nice winning streak. Defense, rebounding, and clutch scoring at the end of games will turn around those games we have been barely losing into games that we are wining. When we pass the 17 win plateau this month, people will began to believe that this team has made a transformation into a team that can compete with the very best teams. When Martin and Evans start playing a 2 man game with the other 3 players moving and setting screens, the Kings are gonna look like a juggernaut! Kevin Martin can SCORE. When he has the ball, he either scores a basket or goes to the line. Evans has a devastating first move to the basket, and when he shoots he either gets fouled or he makes the shot. Evans is a slasher who has a decent outside shot. Martin is a deadly shooter who can also slash to the rim. There will be 3 other players on the floor making screens, and setting up for corner 3's if their man leaves them to double either 'Reke OR Martin. I like the way that will look at the end of games. It is VERY hard to double 2 WING players. You have to use bigs to double and that leaves the basket open for a dribble drive or a bounce pass for a layup. There are SOOOO many options.
I CAN NOT WAIT till Martin is healthy and back up to his usual self. That should take about 5 games. And if teams double on Martin and Evans, do they leave Casspi and Greene wide open in the corner for the short 3 point shots? It will be pick your poison time! Have Brockman in there to scratch and claw for an offensive rebound or a put back. The Kings are going to surprise some teams, but you can be sure that teams will be watching tape and they wont be sneaking up on people for much longer. All the more reason we will need clutch players as the season progresses. Teams will start taking away the first and second options so the offense will need to be working well to get shots for our scorers.
By the Way, Paul Westphal is no fool. He didn't come into what some thought was a reclaimation project! He arrived just in time to make a splash! Westphal is a great judge of talent as well. When he saw what the Kings had to work with EVEN BEFORE the draft, he was sold on coaching this team. How must he now feel with the added talent and the emergence of a unique player like Tyreke Evans? I bet he feels like he hit the LOTTERY ! Westphal is the perfect coach for the job too, because he is a TEACHER of the game. And now he has a team full of young, bright, and willing students that are ready to learn and give it their ALL to succeed! OH, Westphal must be Giddy with excitement! He is a leading candidate for Coach of the YEAR, and deservedly so. But with the GENIUS of Petrie, the enthusiasm of the Maloofs, and perhaps the best pupil that Westphal has EVER HAD in Tyreke Evans, this coaching job must look like the best job in the WORLD right now for Paul Westphal!
Now if Petrie can just perform one more miracle. We need one more solid big who can rebound and defend the paint. Not an allstar or even an allstar candidate. Just a solid vet who can remain healthy, get the defensive rebounds and maybe a few Offensive rebounds as well. And a Center that can play good one on one Defense on good centers, and help in team defense against Allstar caliber Centers. Petrie has several bargaining chips. K9's contract. He has a glut of wing players who all are playing great basketball, and he has the attraction of coming to an up an coming team that will be a contender in the next year or two baring any major injuries. Oh yes, Petrie has some leverage. There will be a solid big man on a team that is out of contention by the allstar break that will be looking to shed contracts before having to pay the luxury tax. In fact, Petrie may have several options to sort through. I trust that Petrie will get the right guy for the job, and put this Kings team OVER THE TOP. He can make the Kings a contender THIS YEAR if he can just pull off a trade that doesn't harm the chemistry the team already has and adds the one element that the Kings are lacking. I trust Petrie will succeed.
