Has Kevin settled in?

[K F Jay]

Kevin played well against the NY Nicks and played like the Kevin we know against the Piston. He looks to have put everything behind him and is now focused on his game. With back to back road wins the team is fighting thier way out of a long slump. Which leads me to believe weather Kevin was a distraction or not the players and Kevin are starting to click at the same time. Is it too soon to tell. Lets say Kevin has settled in. Are we happy that were going to see Kevin with the ball majority of the time instead of like it was before Kevin returned when it was Reke and co.. Sisco is supposed to return after the all star break who most of think could and should be a good fit with the new Kings style of play. We have too many good guards and threes on our team that are not going to get consistent minutes on a nightly basis even if they deserve them. What a shame.

 

[mac]

Well. Even if Kevin has settled in, we'd still be better with a better interior presence, be it a defensive or offensive one. Kevin and Evans just isn't going to work in the long run, or rather it's not worth the amount we're paying for the results that we will get.

 

[jcassio]

I think you can say that Kevin has settled in.

Hopefully he'll spend the rest of the season raising his shooting percentage. I'd like to add 'and improving his defense' to that statement, but I just don't think he has the mentality to put his energy into that.

 

[pilot305]

Realize who they just played...New York and Detroit....Ask this same question in 2 weeks..

 

[NoBonus]

It looks like things are just now starting to click with Kevin... I forgot how impressive his offensive game really is... moving with the ball, moving without the ball, hitting long range shots, creating contact and drawing fouls. He can really screw up another team's strategy, especially when Reke is in the game and they cannot completely focus on Kevin... so impressive.

 

[Kingfanpaul]

I really wish that Kevin would have settled in a little sooner. I'd like to see it happen against some good teams. Now there are no more games before the trading deadline to see if they will mesh. I'm still up in the air on trading Kevin.

 

[NoBonus]

I really wish that Kevin would have settled in a little sooner. I'd like to see it happen against some good teams. Now there are no more games before the trading deadline to see if they will mesh. I'm still up in the air on trading Kevin.

Unless a young big is coming to Sac, I cannot imagine the Kings trading Kevin at this point.

 

[Luv4Kings]

He's doing well despite the fact that you can still see there is pain in that left wrist.

How many games do players need to really feel comfortable together and start to play well? Look at history. It can take more than just games, it can take a season or more. Kevin and Reke have played together a relative handful of games. Last night, I started to see them work together like they haven't before. Kevin holding two defenders, Reke moving the ball..

Let's face it folks. They both require a lot of attention from the opposing defense so someone is going to be wide open.

They're still working out all that. It doesn't come overnight.

The key to success is, neither of these guys are selfish.

 

[kupman]

I am a looooong way from saying that Kevin has settled in. He had 2 decent games in row against below average teams this week. It does not impress me much.

We played the Suns less than 1 week ago. Do you remember that Kmart performance? It was nothing short of horrible. Brick's grade summary was a fair description. His play before that game was pretty much just bad.

If this is settled in then we really are getting the shaft on our 11 mil/year.

 

[Bricklayer]

Kevin played well against the NY Nicks and played like the Kevin we know against the Piston. He looks to have put everything behind him and is now focused on his game. With back to back road wins the team is fighting thier way out of a long slump. Which leads me to believe weather Kevin was a distraction or not the players and Kevin are starting to click at the same time. Is it too soon to tell. Lets say Kevin has settled in. Are we happy that were going to see Kevin with the ball majority of the time instead of like it was before Kevin returned when it was Reke and co.. Sisco is supposed to return after the all star break who most of think could and should be a good fit with the new Kings style of play. We have too many good guards and threes on our team that are not going to get consistent minutes on a nightly basis even if they deserve them. What a shame.

1) Kevin did NOT play well against the Knicks. At all (8pts on 40-10 shooting in regulation). Until OT. So if that was the settle it was pretty damn abrupt.

2) Here was what happened vs. the Pistons:

Donte/Omri/Tyreke minutes/shots vs. Knicks (in regulation):
115min 55 FGA, 12 FTA

Donte/Omri/Tyreke minutes/shots vs. Pistons:
72min 23 FGA, 8 FTA

That is not to say that Kevin did not play well -- he did. And that's not to say that there wasn't a difference -- as much from the coaching/tactics as from Kevin. It looked like starting in New York that we tried to free up the offense by taking the ball out of Kevin's hands and making him a strictly off the ball guy. Which is what it has to be if he stays. But which also means that Tyreke/Beno are essentially empowered to ignore him like they did in New York in favor of other players, or feature him like they did in Detroit. But the essential problem remains -- all of our little players are logjammed up and for one to succeed, it means others have to fail. If you take away all of Donte and Casspi's minutes and shots, of course Kevin (and Beno and Noc) are going to be more comfortable -- because those minutes and shots go to them. If Reke is tired and only gets up 8-10 shots, then Kevin can become a 20pt scorer. If Reke is the big scorer, then Kevin is left off not knowing what to do with himself. It is in some ways the pure PG theory exemplified -- the idea behind getting a Rubio or whoever was always that that would be the best fit next to Kevin. Take shots themselves, just feed the shotaholic SG. And that's Kevin's comfort zone.

If anything this whole long drawn out mess has put the lie to the Kevin as 2nd/3rd/roleplayer phenomenon, and should have caused a reexamination of some of the struggles in the past to mesh with Artest, Bibby, Salmons etc. Kevin's comfort zone is a a #1 option getting up the shots and minutes he wants to. When other guys are competing heavily for those same shots and minutes...Kevin hasn't figured out how to do that. Nor to be fair, have the other guys figured it out the other way. Despite our change in tactics regarding Kevin no longer initiating the offense -- a good change methinks that can only make things run smoother -- nothing that happened on this roadtrip made that appear untrue. Reke has tired game in Toronto and plays distributor, Kevin scored 20+. Reke, Casspi, Donte have big games in New York, Kevin is forgotten about until that little spurt in OT. Reke, Donte, Casspi are tired and step back in Detroit, out comes Kevin again as a 20pt scorer. He played well to be sure. But he played well because he was the man, the #1 option again.

 

[stevetaebo]

1) Kevin did NOT play well against the Knicks. At all (8pts on 40-10 shooting in regulation). Until OT. So if that was the settle it was pretty damn abrupt.

I'll take that abruptness in OT as improvement. 18 pts with 9 points OT is better than 18 pts with 0 in OT.

 

[Luv4Kings]

1) Kevin did NOT play well against the Knicks. At all (8pts on 40-10 shooting in regulation). Until OT. So if that was the settle it was pretty damn abrupt.

2) Here was what happened vs. the Pistons:

Donte/Omri/Tyreke minutes/shots vs. Knicks (in regulation):
115min 55 FGA, 12 FTA

Donte/Omri/Tyreke minutes/shots vs. Pistons:
72min 23 FGA, 8 FTA

That's one perspective.

Another is, without Kevin in OT, we lose.

Also, Kevin was 4 of 9 in regulation or 45%, and 3 of 4 in OT. If shooting 45% isn't settling in pretty well - in regulation - I don't know what you'd call it.

And didn't we beat the Pistons? So I don't see the problem here. Martin was 9-15 in that game, 60%. He only took 15 shots.

 

[Luv4Kings]

Also in the Pistons game, Beno and Noc combined for 19 shots and combined they played 59 minutes.

If you want Green and Casspi to get more shots, why didn't they get them from Beno and Noc?

Maybe because Beno was shooting 80% and even Noc was shooting 66%!

Green was shooting 29%. Maybe that's why Coach limited his minutes.

Maybe it wasn't because Martin was hogging the ball.

 

[Bricklayer]

I'll take that abruptness in OT as improvement. 18 pts with 9 points OT is better than 18 pts with 0 in OT.

Its a nice one game thing, but you certainly don't point to things that happen in OT as signs of how things are going to play out everyday for the simple reason that OTs don't happen everyday.

 

[pshn80]

Things may not work out for Martin as part of this team. On the other hand it could be just what the doctor ordered. Sometimes people are amazing. Sometimes they may try and work things out quite well. Especially when they are talented and motivated to win. They can't really change their stripes maybe but they can make those stripes look pretty good together. All I'm saying Brick is that you are probably right but the end result could be quite OK. I'm enjoying seeing it play out. Long way to go.

 

[Merdiesel]

Kevin and Tyreke looked pretty damn satisfied with last nights win at the end of the game. Good to see those two bonding. Please give this back court a chance Petrie!

 

[sactownfan]

Kevins not going to go anywhere unless its a really good deal for us... so chances are hes staying...

Im still a big supporter of the Evans/K-Mart backcourt... I really think it could be deadly once kevins 100% and comfortable with the rest of the team which he clearly isn't 100% yet and chemistry is a problem...

I also think that kevins lack of defense wouldn't be such a problem if we had more help defense around the basket (a shot blocking big).

it might be another month till Kevin and Evans and the rest of the team are totally on the same page.

 

[OptimusRhyme]

Yep im defnitely coming around to supporting the Evans/Martin backcourt.. I really forgot how talented martin is. Hes by far the most versatile scorer on this team and he showed that the last cuple games. I agree with sactownfan that martins defense would get alot better if we had an interior presence to back him up and clog the lane.

Another great positive about having martin beside reke is that evans is going to keep improving his passing because he knows how good of a scorer martin is and he will want to get him his shots. You can already notice Rekes passing getting better.Hes finding teamates left and right.

Another thing I noticed last game is Martin gets pumped up when he does something good for the team.. So you can clearly see he wants to be here, and hes trying his hardest for us. We raised this kid from a nothing, to a top ten scorer in the league. He's put in the most work out of any king we've had from the time that hes been here till now. So its only fair that we give him the shot he deserves to be a big piece on this team.

 

[Luv4Kings]

Yep im defnitely coming around to supporting the Evans/Martin backcourt.. I really forgot how talented martin is. Hes by far the most versatile scorer on this team and he showed that the last cuple games. I agree with sactownfan that martins defense would get alot better if we had an interior presence to back him up and clog the lane.

Another great positive about having martin beside reke is that evans is going to keep improving his passing because he knows how good of a scorer martin is and he will want to get him his shots. You can already notice Rekes passing getting better.Hes finding teamates left and right.

Another thing I noticed last game is Martin gets pumped up when he does something good for the team.. So you can clearly see he wants to be here, and hes trying his hardest for us. We raised this kid from a nothing, to a top ten scorer in the league. He's put in the most work out of any king we've had from the time that hes been here till now. So its only fair that we give him the shot he deserves to be a big piece on this team.

Well said. He patiently worked his *rear* off for us through all the previously crappy seasons. I think it's unappreciative to bash him now when all he's trying to do is help us win.

 

[rainmaker]

Realistically, I don't see Petrie moving Kevin before giving the Kev/Reke backcourt a chance to play with a real nba frontline. If a deal comes along that is to good to refuse, then yes, I see Petrie pulling the trigger. I just don't think that is likely at this point.

I would think Petrie is doing everything possible to acquire a quality big using a combination of Kt's expiring, Noc, Beno, Hilton, draft picks, and possibly JT. Kevin vs the chemistry of this team(especially Omri/Donte) is an issue, but it is 2nd behind our non-existent frontline.

 

[xrzn]

If by settled in you mean he flops on every shot he takes to try and draw the foul rather than trying to make the shot and taking minutes away from Reke/Omri/Donte, he's settled in perfectly.

 

[Luv4Kings]

If by settled in you mean he flops on every shot he takes to try and draw the foul rather than trying to make the shot and taking minutes away from Reke/Omri/Donte, he's settled in perfectly.

"Every shot?" So he makes those 3s from the floor in front of the basket? Man, he's amazing!

You might watch a game with more perspective and try to see that what you think is "every shot" is really a handful in the context of an entire game.

Besides, many times it works, he gets the call or an and-1 and he makes his free throws.

 

[Luv4Kings]

Realistically, I don't see Petrie moving Kevin before giving the Kev/Reke backcourt a chance to play with a real nba frontline. If a deal comes along that is to good to refuse, then yes, I see Petrie pulling the trigger. I just don't think that is likely at this point.

I would think Petrie is doing everything possible to acquire a quality big using a combination of Kt's expiring, Noc, Beno, Hilton, draft picks, and possibly JT. Kevin vs the chemistry of this team(especially Omri/Donte) is an issue, but it is 2nd behind our non-existent frontline.

I'm not clear on where the idea that Kevin is bad for team chemistry comes from. I've seen every game and have never seen any chemistry issue with Kevin. Can you tell me where this comes from?

 

[Bricklayer]

Well said. He patiently worked his *rear* off for us through all the previously crappy seasons. I think it's unappreciative to bash him now when all he's trying to do is help us win.

He's helped us win 4 games this year.

He helped us win 12 last year.


There was no internet last time we were so miserable, but I do have to wonder whether this same silliness went on back in the old days. Oh noes! We can't trade Wayman! He's nice! And we owe him a chance to work with the new team for um, being nice, and um, taking our millions.

 

[Bricklayer]

I'm not clear on where the idea that Kevin is bad for team chemistry comes from. I've seen every game and have never seen any chemistry issue with Kevin. Can you tell me where this comes from?

You must be kidding me.

 

[Luv4Kings]

You must be kidding me.

Or you could actually answer the question.

If you even have an answer.

 

[Luv4Kings]

He's helped us win 4 games this year.

He helped us win 12 last year.


There was no internet last time we were so miserable, but I do have to wonder whether this same silliness went on back in the old days. Oh noes! We can't trade Wayman! He's nice! And we owe him a chance to work with the new team for um, being nice, and um, taking our millions.

Hmm.. last time I check, basketball was a team game and even Kobe Bryant couldn't get the Lakers to win when the rest of the team sucked.

I like how you just call opinions "silly" and toss them off without a reasonable response.

The comment wasn't about a trade, it was about showing appreciation and not bashing a player who's put his heart and soul into this team. I don't believe the word "trade" was in the context anywhere.

 

[Luv4Kings]

Oh, and the internet has been around a long time. Fan boards have been readily accessible since the mid 80's and for those of us with a little more computer experience, long before that. We sucked plenty before 1999.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

There was no internet last time we were so miserable, but I do have to wonder whether this same silliness went on back in the old days. Oh noes! We can't trade Wayman! He's nice! And we owe him a chance to work with the new team for um, being nice, and um, taking our millions.

While the alt.basketball.pro.sac-kings or whatever the usenet group is was never that active, I remember weekends in high school sitting around my dad's restaurant talking to the cooks about all the players that came through and how they were potential all stars if we just got the true point guard or center needed to compliment them. Same with the janitor at my mom's restaurant when I was in middle school. So yeah, it was always that way.

 

[NME]

We were pretty miserable in Mitch's last year, and I think the Graffiti Board was around then wasn't it?