Interesting STATS after 6 pre-season games

[Padrino]

Don't know why people don't get it. It's not about stats/shooting %/Assists/etc. It's about the flow of the offense, getting others involved, ball movement, finding the mismatches, pushing the ball up the court, getting the ball into the post. None of these show up on a stat sheet.

correct. but these are always dependent upon a coach with enough basketball acumen to craft a consistent gameplan that sufficiently executes a creative and balanced offensive attack. rick adelman is a master. gregg popovich is a master. phil jackson is a master. george karl is a master. keith smart is not. paul westphal is not. reggie theus is not. eric musselman is not. the kings' roster is undeniably mismatched and unbalanced, but the great coaches always know how to maximize their best players' talents by working the gameplan around those talents, no matter the state of their roster. this is why so many--including the kings' players themselves--are frustrated with keith smart's inability to settle on a consistent starting five...

when you commit to playing tyreke evans at a single, consistent position (with some flexibility), amongst the starters or on the bench, and you commit to playing marcus thornton and aaron brooks and isaiah thomas each to a single, consistent position (with some flexibility), amongst the starters or on the bench, you can breed some consistency in your team's level of play; you can craft a gameplan that maximizes their talents because each player knows where he stands, and knows what his role on the team will be going forward. but when your gameplan is primarily composed of shifting lineups every other game, you are clearly at a loss for what to do with your roster, and are too afraid to commit to anything long enough to give your players a shot at success. keith smart has shown himself to be cowardly in this way. a lot of blame for poor play gets unfairly placed on head coaches all across the league. however, as far as the kings are concerned (and after the maloofs get their fair share of abuse), keith smart should receive a very healthy dose of blame for the poor play of his team...

that said, wednesday night marks the kings' first game of the 2012-2013 regular season. keith smart has a chance to make things right, to help his team improve in a western conference in transition, to feverishly grasp at that final playoff spot. its okay to come up short. its not okay to sabotage your own opportunity for success...