[Game] Kings at Lakers 12/03/10 Game Thread

[Agent23]

No. Just no.

Fans are panicking left and right but that's not it. Its not talent, its youth. You put together the Orlando Magic when all their major guys were 20-22 an the results would not be much more pretty. We are still underacheiving, but its the underacheivement of unrealized potential, not the underacheivement of lousy talent.

Look at most rebuilding projects not the Lakers or Celtics. All their main core guys were young guys and their teams took a few years to come together. OKC was not good at all and Kevin Durant was under alot of fire. The Magic's young roster didn't start to come together till Stan Van Gundy arrived. People are freaking out because coupled with their bad start, there is a realistic chance of them not being here in a few years. This team is still a few years away from being good. You gotta be patient. The talent is there. The experience is not.

 

[Showtime]

Wait...what?

Beno scored 4pts on the night. 4. You're telling me those 4pts are what was holding us in it?

In the first half, when Beno was being agressive, looking to create with either a jumper or setting guys up, the kings were haning in the ballgame. As soon as he hit the bench in the first half, it went downhill from their because they had no offense.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

In the first half, when Beno was being agressive, looking to create with either a jumper or setting guys up, the kings were haning in the ballgame. As soon as he hit the bench in the first half, it went downhill from their because they had no offense.

Perception and reality don't seem to mesh here. Much as I hate the +/- stat, especially as a predictive stat, and especially in single game situations, it is perfectly designed to look at this issue. Last night when Beno was on the floor we were -23, the worst overall +/- on the team (tied with Cousins).

You said things went downhill when Beno hit the bench. Well, Beno came in at the 10:42 mark of the first quarter and the Kings had a 5-4 lead. He left at the 7:01 mark of the second quarter and the Kings were down 35-24. So he was in for 15:41 in his first stint and we were -12 over that period, for -0.77 points per minute. We lost the game by 33, so we were -21 over the other 32:19 of the game (-0.63 points per minute). So Beno's first stretch was actually worse for the team than the rest of the game overall (and his second stretch was very slightly worse than his first). It's tough to see how "things went downhill when Beno hit the bench" when overall, things were better when Beno was not in.

 

[Showtime]

Perception and reality don't seem to mesh here. Much as I hate the +/- stat, especially as a predictive stat, and especially in single game situations, it is perfectly designed to look at this issue. Last night when Beno was on the floor we were -23, the worst overall +/- on the team (tied with Cousins).

That's for the entire game. I specifically said in his first stint in the first half. When he hit the bench, the offense went to crap. When he came back in after coming off the bench, he wasn't looking to be aggressive at all.

You said things went downhill when Beno hit the bench. Well, Beno came in at the 10:42 mark of the first quarter and the Kings had a 5-4 lead. He left at the 7:01 mark of the second quarter and the Kings were down 35-24. So he was in for 15:41 in his first stint and we were -12 over that period, for -0.77 points per minute. We lost the game by 33, so we were -21 over the other 32:19 of the game (-0.63 points per minute). So Beno's first stretch was actually worse for the team than the rest of the game overall (and his second stretch was very slightly worse than his first). It's tough to see how "things went downhill when Beno hit the bench" when overall, things were better when Beno was not in.

I am specifically talking about how the team functioned offensively. +/- takes into account opponent's scoring as well. So, for example, the kings could be doing well on offense, but if the opposition is scoring as well, it won't show up on a boxscore +/-. The team was in a managable position in the first half, and the game got out of hand in the 3rd. Whenever they were able to get some stops, they were totally stagnant on the offensive end. The Lakers also eased up and played a lot more of their bench this game, knowing it was a blowout in the second half, which also influences your +/- stat. The only time I saw any kind of semblance of an offense that game was when Beno was aggressive in the first half. And that is where observation comes into play.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

The team was in a managable position in the first half, and the game got out of hand in the 3rd.

It was a 17 point game at half. Against the Lakers. At Staples. It was over at the half, and Beno didn't have anything to do with it. We got crushed.