It's All Star break and Quincy Acy is still not in the rotation

[KingMilz]

Now before I go on my rant I will fully disclose I'm a massively bias Quincy Acy fan and he in my mind can do no wrong for the most part.

I just can't beleive that a team completelly devoid of hustle/toughness and athletic players in general that Quincy is not the first big man off the bench. He has at least 3 times (could be a few more I'm forgetting) this year has been key in winning games for us going back to when he locked down Brook Lopez/dunk feast and defense late vs Lakers and today against the 76ers. As well as numerous other solid performances against the Mavs (should have played more)/Warriors.

I can't figure out why he's not playing 15-20 mins a game when his skillset is far more viable and compatable with Cousins/WCS than what KK is.

I've said this before yes Quincy is for the most part a scrub but he's a scrub with some wierd x-factor he brings to the team when he's playing well. Whoever is coaching should put him in every single game to see if he has that mojo going the guy also finshes around the rim and MAKES free throws.

 

[twslam07]

Now before I go on my rant I will fully disclose I'm a massively bias Quincy Acy fan and he in my mind can do no wrong for the most part.

I just can't beleive that a team completelly devoid of hustle/toughness and athletic players in general that Quincy is not the first big man off the bench. He has at least 3 times (could be a few more I'm forgetting) this year has been key in winning games for us going back to when he locked down Brook Lopez/dunk feast and defense late vs Lakers and today against the 76ers. As well as numerous other solid performances against the Mavs (should have played more)/Warriors.

I can't figure out why he's not playing 15-20 mins a game when his skillset is far more viable and compatable with Cousins/WCS than what KK is.

I've said this before yes Quincy is for the most part a scrub but he's a scrub with some wierd x-factor he brings to the team when he's playing well. Whoever is coaching should put him in every single game to see if he has that mojo going the guy also finshes around the rim and MAKES free throws.

I'm with you, KingMilz. With the rumors of Karl being let go and the team looking unmotivated lately, Acy NEEDS to see the floor to help insert some life into everyone.

Having said that, you're going to need to cut someone out of the rotation to get Acy consistent minutes. I think it has to be Belinelli (when McLemore comes back healthy). He's not been shooting the ball well all season which means Collison & Casspi are better offensive options at SG and his defense is atrocious which means Collison & Casspi (although out of position), can't do any worse guarding backup SGs. This is how I would distribute the minutes:

PG - Rondo (35 min)/Collison (13 min)/Curry
SG - McLemore (25 min)/Casspi (12 min)/Collison (11 min)/Belinelli/Anderson
SF - Gay (34 min)/Casspi (14 min)/Butler
PF - Cauley-Stein (28 min)/Acy (15 min)/Cousins (5 min)/Moreland/Dukan
C - Cousins (32 min)/Koufos (16 min)

Cousins - 37 min
Rondo - 35 min
Gay - 34 min
Cauley-Stein - 28 min
Casspi - 26 min
McLemore - 25 min
Collison - 24 min
Koufos - 16 min
Acy - 15 min

Unfortunately, Karl seems to have a Belinelli addiction which means this probably won't ever happen, but if they are serious about improving the defense, this is the way to go.

 

[Kings_of_California]

I had just recently stated in another thread that I agree, he is criminally underused at this point.

He brings tremendous energy, defense and glass presence. He's a solid player for sure.

Acy doesn't come without his issues, however. Primarily being that he is way undersized.

He's physically strong and can bully people, but 6'7" only gets you so far in the NBA. He's situational.

Taking minutes from Koufos might sound awesome, but Acy simply cannot match up against 7 footers.

I agree, he needs 12 to 15 minutes court time per game, but his length is an issue.

 

[twslam07]

I had just recently stated in another thread that I agree, he is criminally underused at this point.

He brings tremendous energy, defense and glass presence. He's a solid player for sure.

Acy doesn't come without his issues, however. Primarily being that he is way undersized.

He's physically strong and can bully people, but 6'7" only gets you so far in the NBA. He's situational.

Taking minutes from Koufos might sound awesome, but Acy simply cannot match up against 7 footers.

I agree, he needs 12 to 15 minutes court time per game, but his length is an issue.

Agreed. That's why in my scenario Cousins & Koufos would still be getting all the minutes at C while Cauley-Stein & Acy handle the minutes at PF.

 

[KingMilz]

I had just recently stated in another thread that I agree, he is criminally underused at this point.

He brings tremendous energy, defense and glass presence. He's a solid player for sure.

Acy doesn't come without his issues, however. Primarily being that he is way undersized.

He's physically strong and can bully people, but 6'7" only gets you so far in the NBA. He's situational.

Taking minutes from Koufos might sound awesome, but Acy simply cannot match up against 7 footers.

I agree, he needs 12 to 15 minutes court time per game, but his length is an issue.

Honestly I have not seen KK being able to match it with 7 footers ethier he's been trashed lately by Monroe/Okafor in the post which is meant to be his strength defending slower big men, add to that he can't cover the perimeter, I'd much rather have Cousins defending post players (when he's motivated hes pretty damn good) and in the 2nd unit with Acy I rather see WCS playing as a centre next to the rim using that shot blocking ability and let Acy chase 3point shooters rather than WCS doing it. I don't like the fact on defense WCS is always away from the rim playing with Cuz/KK it's hard for him to protect the rim always chasing stretch 4's and big 3's.

 

[twslam07]

Honestly I have not seen KK being able to match it with 7 footers ethier he's been trashed lately by Monroe/Okafor in the post which is meant to be his strength defending slower big men, add to that he can't cover the perimeter, I'd much rather have Cousins defending post players (when he's motivated hes pretty damn good) and in the 2nd unit with Acy I rather see WCS playing as a centre next to the rim using that shot blocking ability and let Acy chase 3point shooters rather than WCS doing it. I don't like the fact on defense WCS is always away from the rim playing with Cuz/KK it's hard for him to protect the rim always chasing stretch 4's and big 3's.

I totally agree with this last line. That's why I'm really in favor of moving Koufos for a better backup PF. It will allow Cauley-Stein to get some minutes at C which will place him next to the rim so he can protect the paint. It will give us the ability to use Cauley-Stein's entire skillset (perimeter defense when playing PF & rim protection when playing C) rather than mainly using him on the perimeter.

A 3 big rotation of Cousins, Cauley-Stein, & T. Gibson would be ideal with a guy like Aldrich as the 4th big in case we need a big, strong body to get spot minutes at C (depending on matchups).

 

[kingsboi]

I'm in favor for giving Acy consistent minutes regardless of match ups which is what Karl has been doing all season instead of just playing the guys that bring it every game, Acy being the perfect example. He is nothing special but he is your typical lunch pail type of NBA player who you know what you are getting out of and that's been missing, Kings fans appreciate hard work and effort a little more than talent IMO.

 

[funkykingston]

Honestly I have not seen KK being able to match it with 7 footers ethier he's been trashed lately by Monroe/Okafor in the post which is meant to be his strength defending slower big men, add to that he can't cover the perimeter, I'd much rather have Cousins defending post players (when he's motivated hes pretty damn good) and in the 2nd unit with Acy I rather see WCS playing as a centre next to the rim using that shot blocking ability and let Acy chase 3point shooters rather than WCS doing it. I don't like the fact on defense WCS is always away from the rim playing with Cuz/KK it's hard for him to protect the rim always chasing stretch 4's and big 3's.

Kosta Koufos' per minute production throughout his career has been very, VERY consistent. He does what he does. He's limited by his lack of quickness but he is very fundamentally solid defensively, especially against the pick & roll. He's also a good rebounder who plays within himself. For George Karl he's a good 5 man in the dribble drive offense - just hanging around outside the lane waiting for dump offs. But I think he would have been a more useful player if the Kings were still playing the style Malone had them using last season. He wasn't any better in Memphis than he's been in Sacramento but I do think he meshed better with the Grizzlies style.

Personally I'd be fine with the Kings dangling Koufos as trade bait. To be fair at this point I'm okay with the Kings dangling anyone other than Casspi, Willie and Boogie as trade bait though I see little value in throwing in low cost, useful guys like Curry or especially Acy.

But I digress. I think if Koufos and another player or two could bring back a quality SG I'd be all in favor of it. Because honestly the Kings could go out in the offseason and sign Cole Aldrich for less money and get equal production to what Kosta brings. I'm a Koufos fan but he's a bit of an odd man out when you have a frontcourt that already features WCS and Boogie.

That and I never liked that Toney Douglas and Cole Aldrich showed some real potential as bargain defensive role players for the Kings and then weren't re-signed, or from what I can tell, even really pursued at all.

As for Acy, people seem to forget that he's younger than Cousins. He's still growing as a player and while he will always have limitations (no real offensive game, undersized as a big etc) he IS improving as a role player. He was substantially better defensively for the Knicks than he was in his first stint as a King. And I definitely see him doing a better job of recognizing rotations and challenging guys this season than his first time around.

If he can continue to work on that side of things and develop into more of a defensive stopper while keeping his energy level and enthusiasm then he's exactly the type of guy you want on your bench.

 

[Bricklayer]

Kosta Koufos is a full sized center.

Quincy Acy is a blown up SF.

Its really not that mysterious. Koufos is much more Cuz's replacement than he is a guy who plays next to Cuz. What you would really be talking about is having Acy come in to play backup center. And that's more of the old crap duplex ball that we never want to go back to.

Where Acy is most useful is next to Cuz, not replacing him. And that puts him in competition with WCS (no) and Casspi (possible depending on whether Casspi is hot or cold from three).

 

[funkykingston]

Kosta Koufos is a full sized center.

Quincy Acy is a blown up SF.

Its really not that mysterious. Koufos is much more Cuz's replacement than he is a guy who plays next to Cuz. What you would really be talking about is having Acy come in to play backup center. And that's more of the old crap duplex ball that we never want to go back to.

Where Acy is most useful is next to Cuz, not replacing him. And that puts him in competition with WCS (no) and Casspi (possible depending on whether Casspi is hot or cold from three).

In my mind the Kings big man rotation should essentially break down like this

Starters:
Cousins
Cauley-Stein

Bench:
Scoring or Stretch 4
Full sized backup center
Energy/Hustle/Defensive player
Deep bench PF/C for emergency minutes due to injury

The Kings are missing the stretch 4 and with Moreland hurt they are missing that deep bench option. I've liked what I've seen out of Acy as the energy guy. And Koufos is definitely serviceable as Cousins' backup, I just wish Karl would stop trying to play the two together.

 

[Showtime]

Kosta Koufos is a full sized center.

Quincy Acy is a blown up SF.

Its really not that mysterious. Koufos is much more Cuz's replacement than he is a guy who plays next to Cuz. What you would really be talking about is having Acy come in to play backup center. And that's more of the old crap duplex ball that we never want to go back to.

Where Acy is most useful is next to Cuz, not replacing him. And that puts him in competition with WCS (no) and Casspi (possible depending on whether Casspi is hot or cold from three).

I think we'd all rather see Acy and WCS split the minutes at PF instead of seeing Rudy, Casspi, or KK next to Cousins.

 

[Kings_on_the_RiSE]

I think we'd all rather see Acy and WCS split the minutes at PF instead of seeing Rudy, Casspi, or KK next to Cousins.

Sign me up.

 

[hrdboild]

I agree that it's probably a good idea to shop Koufos. I also think a change in the starting lineup could be in order considering how poorly we've started games during this losing streak. So why not shorten the rotation to squeeze out black hole Belinelli and try to trade Koufos. Go with 3 guards (Rondo, Collison, McLemore) and 3 bigs (Cousins, Cauley-Stein, Acy) along with Gay and Casspi as our primary rotation with Curry filling in extra minutes in the backcourt when you need them. So I'd switch to something like this:

BACKCOURT
Rondo/Collison
McLemore/Collison (Curry)

FRONTCOURT
Gay/Casspi
Acy/Cauley-Stein (Casspi)
Cousins/Cauley-Stein

Collison is still getting minutes at SG, but at least we have a real SF on the floor to make up for it. Casspi can play some minutes at PF where he was effective in stretches earlier in the season and we really need to find a way to get him going again. His slump has coincided with our sudden inability to win. Cauley-Stein is the first big off the bench and subs in for Acy, and then moves to the C spot when DeMarcus needs to come out. Even moving him to the bench, I've still got him playing 25-30 minutes per game. We could do the same thing with Acy coming off the bench instead, but I like this arrangement because Acy fits a particular role harassing PFs on the perimeter and in the post while Cauley-Stein is more of a do-it-all defensive presence who just needs to be on the floor to be effective. Curry is next in line and his minutes depend on how well Ben is playing.

The question then is who we can get for Koufos.

 

[HndsmCelt]

No argument here that Acy should see more min at the 4, but I can also see Quincy and WCS as the answer to counter small ball with quick defensive bigs playing with DMC or KK, rather than the 3 guard match up we see way too often. Since our guards are not stopping the ball anyway, at least this way our forwards retain the rebounding advantage and offensive size advantage while only giving up what ever speed advantage Anderson or Beli have over Quincy.

 

[Showtime]

Anybody else think Butler should be getting PT over Marco at this point?

 

[Bricklayer]

Anybody else think Butler should be getting PT over Marco at this point?

I think its safe to say Butler is essentially not on the team. I don't think he's touched the floor in over a month, not even in blowouts. Assume he's jsut chilling/awaiting his trade.

P.S. hrdboild, characterizing Marco as a black hole is just off. Well off. In fact he's the only one of our SGs who can make plays for other people with his passing.

 

[funkykingston]

I think its safe to say Butler is essentially not on the team. I don't think he's touched the floor in over a month, not even in blowouts. Assume he's jsut chilling/awaiting his trade.

P.S. hrdboild, characterizing Marco as a black hole is just off. Well off. In fact he's the only one of our SGs who can make plays for other people with his passing.

Marco is unselfish, a good ball handler and historically a good outside shooter while being too unathletic to create his own shot or defend.

He's been exactly as advertised except that his shooting touch has mysteriously disappeared.

When a guy like Belinelli can't shoot it really emphasizes his weaknesses.

 

[KingMilz]

Kosta Koufos is a full sized center.

Quincy Acy is a blown up SF.

Its really not that mysterious. Koufos is much more Cuz's replacement than he is a guy who plays next to Cuz. What you would really be talking about is having Acy come in to play backup center. And that's more of the old crap duplex ball that we never want to go back to.

Where Acy is most useful is next to Cuz, not replacing him. And that puts him in competition with WCS (no) and Casspi (possible depending on whether Casspi is hot or cold from three).

I said WCS should be Cuz replacement because he's always subbed out first so by the time Cuz needs a breather WCS should be the back up C so he can actually play next to the rim since he's our best rim protector but he never get's a chance to show it chasing athletic/shootinng type players. I never implyed Acy at C I'm implying more of him at PF and more of WCS as the rim protector/C when he's not playing next to Cuz.

 

[hrdboild]

I think its safe to say Butler is essentially not on the team. I don't think he's touched the floor in over a month, not even in blowouts. Assume he's jsut chilling/awaiting his trade.

P.S. hrdboild, characterizing Marco as a black hole is just off. Well off. In fact he's the only one of our SGs who can make plays for other people with his passing.

I didn't mean "black hole" in the traditional ball-hog sense of the word, meaning the ball goes to him and never comes back out. I meant he's a black hole of suck. As in he's sucking up 26 minutes per game and dragging the team down with every one of those minutes. He's taking 10 shots per game and making only 38% of them. He's taken more three pointers than anyone else on the team and his season average is now below 30%. And he's by far the worst individual defender on the team. That's at least as bad as Ben McLemore's first season only he's a 29 year old veteran signed to a 3 year deal not a 20 year old rookie. He's absolutely killing us this season and still we keep throwing him out there and feeding him the ball. Even by defending him he's starting to pull you into the event horizon, your credibility as an unbiased basketball analyst and stats guru starting to strain.

 

[SacTownKid]

Kosta Koufos is a full sized center.

Quincy Acy is a blown up SF.

Its really not that mysterious. Koufos is much more Cuz's replacement than he is a guy who plays next to Cuz. What you would really be talking about is having Acy come in to play backup center. And that's more of the old crap duplex ball that we never want to go back to.

Where Acy is most useful is next to Cuz, not replacing him. And that puts him in competition with WCS (no) and Casspi (possible depending on whether Casspi is hot or cold from three).

I agree, Acy is more useful next to Cuz and that spot should be split between Willie and he in my opinion.

Acy is a game impacting player, Kosta is a solid holdover until Cuz is ready to go back in. I think Kosta would be best used playing the same type of minutes he has for most of his career and strictly back up Cuz. The main on floor differences I see consistently between Acy and Kosta is the pick and roll defense. Acy can at the very least provide some opposition there. Kosta is, well, below decent. He and Cuz together is almost a guaranteed wide open mid-range jumper for a guard.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

I can't explain Acy's lack of playing time, but I'm certain that it must be DeMarcus Cousins' fault. It surely can't be blamed on George Karl because he has over 1000 regular season wins and is a future HOF coach that always knows what he is doing.