Is this team one CONSISTENT Evans jumper away from being a contender?

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sactownfan

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well... i realize that this hurts my creditability if thats even possible at this point... haha but ...

I think this team is one consistent Evans jumper away from being a playoff contender...

now that the dust has settled and the Maloofs have directed my anger on them and away from the players and coach... i think i can calmly think logically now and make sense of what happened last season and how next season could pan out.

Starting with the lockout. no summer league, short season, no practice time. a blind, def horrible coach PW, and coaching change. Evans being moved back and forth and everywhere but the center position. lots of things made last year tough.

But

things will be starting in motion for next year with the draft. i think its fair to say that were looking at 3 options here. 1st is we go DEFENSIVE BIG (most likely). 2nd is we go with H.B. at SF. and 3rd is we hit the panic button and trade. Hopefully not a nuclear Evans type of move but maybe a trade that involves the 5th and someone like Salmons for a later lotto pick to draft Geoff man crush John Hensen.

Ok wither we go Big or SF. We will end up with something like Cousins,JT, unknown DEFENSIVE BIG, Hayes. with a unknown SF, and Salmons upfront. then our legion of guards. with Evans once again being back running the point. ? well no matter how it plays out i'd expect an upgrade or slight upgrade coming at SF and a new DEFENSIVE BIG via draft/FA/Trade... But the core still consisting of Cousins,Evans, and Thornton with a very dangerous pretty well rounded bench.

our core isn't a bad big 3!! in fact looking at the top 3 players on each NBA team. Its pretty awesome given their age. I still strongly believe that Lebron and Evans are very similar players. Similar to that 20-5-5. Like lebron if Evans develops that mid range or even 3pt shot to some degree Evans becomes an instant ALL-Star. Maybe not a starter like Bron but a All-Star bench player ha.

Its maddening to know that Evans NBA life thus the Kings would be so much better if only ... if only he could shoot!!! it would change everything!!! everything!!! it opens up and spaces the floor. It allows Evans to get to the basket with less effort. It would probably allow him better to improve as a passer too since people can't smother the rest of the team and the paint anymore at one point last year Evans started dishing out assists at a crazy rate. I think the assists would improve via jumper. Evans has to know this about his shot... it appears he's been trying the last 2 off seasons to work on it.

It comes down to this... Cousins is a beast he's gonna get better.. Starting ALL-STAR level better... which makes everyones life easier. I think Thornton can improve a little bit still, and then theres Evans.... if that jumper starts falling at even the mid range distance. I really don't see how people can stop us. Even if our defense still sucks and we don't get that DEFENSIVE BIG. i think so many of those close type games we had late in the year go our way. Were just gonna out score people at the very least.

The Lakers, Spurs, Celts, and so one are getting old... our big 3 are growing up.

OKC is gonna a problem in the West for some time if they keep Harden. but i think Evans adding that jumper would automatically ensure 15-20 more wins.

on a side unrelated note... Hawes attitude and game still sucks
 
I like your optimism, and I agree with you in most of the points. It would be great to finally see Evans with a jump shot, our team would be much better. But, I also think Tyreke should learn how to play even without a jumper. Look at Rondo. He can dominate a game, and his shooting is just horrible. But he plays great D, he rebounds, he passes the ball. Then, Tyreke should improve his floater. Now he just attacks the basket, he needs to add different moves around the basket to be successful.

Next year I want to see some big improvement. I also expect a breakout season from Cousins, something that will put him in the mix for the ASG. If we also add a real SF and Smart stops messing with the lineups, we could fight for a spot in the playoff. We have the talent, and I just want to hope everything will be ok.
 
Playoff contender yes, anything beyond 1st or maybe miraculously 2nd round of the playoffs, no.
 
To assume such a leap depends on one player is slightly ridiculous. Yes, Evans with a consistent jumper would be deadly. Deadly enough to carry a team to the playoffs? Maybe. To me, the bigger issue is Smart channeling his inner Popovich and eschewing his Nellie tendencies.

We talk about players improving over the offseason, but what about Smart? You hear about NFL/NCAA coaches meeting with others all the time. Smart should really plan this break well for himself, too.

To clarify: I don't think the premise is all that bad, but the issues to me are above the players.
 
  1. I think this team is one consistent ANY jumper away from being a better offensive team.
  2. I think this team is one additional consistent scorer away from being an even better offensive team (This assumes that the one consistent jumper is also a scoring machine).
  3. I think this team is one GOOD coach away from being a playoff team.
  4. I think this team is one BETTER coach away from being a championship contending team.
  5. I think this team is one GREAT coach away from being a championship winning team.
  6. I think this team is one GREAT defender away from being a championship winning team.
Honestly, a consistent jumper from Evans is not the final piece. It can surely be a huge part of that final piece. Let me bring to your attention that I said "it can be". I say this because if Petrie sees a good deal involving Evans, he will pull that trigger, as he rightfully should.

I do think we need to find either another scoring guard, or a scoring forward, to help the dude out if we want to stick with Reke for the long haul.

I also think we need a helluva lot more veteran presence, especially coming off of the bench. We also need at least one veteran starter, at any position.

With the above said, I honestly believe this team will be Evans-less during their next true championship run, IMO. But then, it is just IMO.
 
I think the point of "... one good Tyreke jump shot away from playoffs..." means that if Tyreke develops a "stop and pop" jumper or a consistent mid-range jumper, he can open the middle from always collapsing on him when he only drives the middle. That then opens up mucho options for Cuz and JT down low or for cutters. Now without a mid-range or stop and pop jumper every team just fills up the paint when Tyreke drives and he has no shot and no where to go as he is too far into the mess to cleanly pass out. Since Kings don't have a "go-to" guy for critical shots or a yet decent perimeter shooting game (Thornton is about it, maybe Cisco) there is not much need to guard the Kings on the perimeter and just blog up the middle to gain the upper hand.

If Honeycutt develops a decent/consistent 3 and 15-20 ft jumper, along with Thornton and IT, then they are getting somewhere if Tyreke develops his mid-range jumper and even a Westbrook type "tear drop" layup from 10-12 ft.
 
Maybe. Give us a decent SF and any consistent shooter and I geniunely believe this team can contest for the #8 seed next year.
 
lAgree with any jumper, better defense (anywhere, better if in several places), better team play. Of course if you get one of these I think it would help immensely in improving the other two.

Specifics? Send Evans to PG school, get a tall defensive shooter at SF, send our big 3 to defensive big man school. Then sit back and watch the wins roll in.
 
Tyreke's entire offensive game is predicated on him breaking down players one-on-one and getting to the rim. The problem is that Tyreke isn't the sort of explosive athlete who can finish those plays at a high level. Yes, he can put up big scoring numbers, but he can't do so efficiently. And that is what is keeping him from being an elite player. Adding a reliable jumpshot would help his game, to be sure, but I don't think it would make him into an elite player by itself. Not unless he becomes a Steve Nash/Stephen Curry caliber shooter, which is highly unlikely. And even if Tyreke makes that leap, you're still looking at a team with only one star player. We'd just be struggling to crack the eighth seed instead of hoping to land the top pick in the draft.
 
dmj said:
Tyreke's entire offensive game is predicated on him breaking down players one-on-one and getting to the rim. The problem is that Tyreke isn't the sort of explosive athlete who can finish those plays at a high level. Yes, he can put up big scoring numbers, but he can't do so efficiently. And that is what is keeping him from being an elite player. Adding a reliable jumpshot would help his game, to be sure, but I don't think it would make him into an elite player by itself. Not unless he becomes a Steve Nash/Stephen Curry caliber shooter, which is highly unlikely. And even if Tyreke makes that leap, you're still looking at a team with only one star player. We'd just be struggling to crack the eighth seed instead of hoping to land the top pick in the draft.
Click to expand...

You do realize Tyreke finished those plays at a higer level than Derrick Rose or Russel Westbrook last year don't you?

The jumper is the thing. Amongst guards the only elite driver who finishes significantly better is Wade.
 
dmj said:
Tyreke's entire offensive game is predicated on him breaking down players one-on-one and getting to the rim. The problem is that Tyreke isn't the sort of explosive athlete who can finish those plays at a high level. Yes, he can put up big scoring numbers, but he can't do so efficiently. And that is what is keeping him from being an elite player. Adding a reliable jumpshot would help his game, to be sure, but I don't think it would make him into an elite player by itself. Not unless he becomes a Steve Nash/Stephen Curry caliber shooter, which is highly unlikely. And even if Tyreke makes that leap, you're still looking at a team with only one star player. We'd just be struggling to crack the eighth seed instead of hoping to land the top pick in the draft.
Click to expand...

Bricky already pointed out that Tyreke is a much better finisher than you give him credit for. All he needs is to be a good enoug shooter to make him man come out and guard him. As for him being the only star calibre player on the team, I would disagree with you there as well. Cousins is going to be the best player on this team IMO, even if Tyreke develops an outside shot good enough to take him to the next level.
 
Telemachus said:
Bricky already pointed out that Tyreke is a much better finisher than you give him credit for. All he needs is to be a good enoug shooter to make him man come out and guard him. As for him being the only star calibre player on the team, I would disagree with you there as well. Cousins is going to be the best player on this team IMO, even if Tyreke develops an outside shot good enough to take him to the next level.
Click to expand...

If Cousins and Evans can both take their games to the next level, who cares who the "best player on the team" is? I mean, who was better - John Stockton or Karl Malone? One without the other would have been much less effective than the dynamic duo.
 
VF21 said:
If Cousins and Evans can both take their games to the next level, who cares who the "best player on the team" is? I mean, who was better - John Stockton or Karl Malone? One without the other would have been much less effective than the dynamic duo.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I was responding to dmj saying that if Tyreke did take it to the next level, then he would be the ONLY star player the Kings had. My point was that Cousins is already a blossoming star in the NBA, and could be the best center in the league in a couple years.
 
Team needs more than just a jumpshot from Tyreke. The team needs to be smarter overall and have a far more balanced roster than what existed previously. Just having a jumper, but not knowing how to use it doesn't advance the team that much. Overall, mental lapses on offense and defense hurt the team a lot, and having to play imbalanced and multiple lineups hurt the team.
 
Telemachus said:
I agree with you. I was responding to dmj saying that if Tyreke did take it to the next level, then he would be the ONLY star player the Kings had. My point was that Cousins is already a blossoming star in the NBA, and could be the best center in the league in a couple years.
Click to expand...

Oops. Sorry. I should started my post with "I agree with you," too.

:)
 
Evans' BBIQ/decision making/mentality/the like is more important than a jumpshot.

That's one of the great things about Cousins; the competitive spirit is there. He's a little rough around the edges, but he's got the killer instinct that only a handful in the league have. Him being one of the biggest and strongest bodies in the league makes him that much more potent. He's going to be our guy IMO.
 
In terms of being a title contender? This team is too young and has too little depth for that. Barely any vets and no true SF. If Cousins were dominant presence like a young KG, then of course this team could be a title contender fast, but he isn't. This team is capable of being in the Houston, Utah range of a playoff spot but nothing more at this point. Especially since the Maloofs are still the owners of this team.
 
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