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[Game] Kings @ Bucks 23 Mar 2000 EST
- Thread starter Mr. S£im Citrus
- Start date
MassachusettsKingsFan
All-Star
Our defense absolutely sucks. Garcia is getting lit up by Delfino .. Delfino!!
MassachusettsKingsFan
All-Star
Cisco has been so bad tonight. So so bad.
The defense got better towards the end of the half when Donte and Dally were in the game together. Go figure.
The defense got better towards the end of the half when Donte and Dally were in the game together. Go figure.
Rockmeister
All-Star
Its only the 3rd quarter and I heard Jerry Reynolds say "I have a good feeling about this game that the Kings will win". Way to jink the Kings.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
The thing that excites me about Cousins is that he has so many problems with the game, so many things to work on yet he still is very good. A great player with a lot of upside.
MassachusettsKingsFan
All-Star
If we could just cut all the stupid plays of our game we'd be much better off. We make so many rediculous mistakes like just throwing the ball away... Gotta stop doing things like that.
MassachusettsKingsFan
All-Star
We are winning this one with defense right now. Dally shutting down Bogut, and Donte, JT, Thornton, and Udrih are locking down there matchups too. Finally some solid D.
Dr. Spaceman
Bench
Great job from the little guys tonight. Thornton's assists have been tremendous and the most surprising aspect of his game since he's come here. Very encouraging to see him grow so quickly here. Most importantly, it makes the wait to see him and Reke together that much harder and it makes me that much more hopeful and curious to see that it works out between them. He's already proven to be more critical to a team's success than Kevin Martin ever will.
MassachusettsKingsFan
All-Star
Yup. Thats the thing that gives me hope for a Reke-Thornton combo. Thornton is a much better ball handler and passer than Kevin. His court vision is so much better than any of us could have expected .. he makes some really good passes out there.
He's also a much better rebounder/defender than Martin ... and seems like a tougher player all around. Im excited to see Evans back this friday .. Pretty sure he will be playing off the bench for a game or so, but when he starts again I wonder who goes to the bench. Either guy (Beno or Thornton) would do wonders for the second unit... Also the possibility Cisco goes to the bench and Westy plays Evans at the 3.
I am going to kick Westphal in the face if Beno, Thornton, and Reke are on the floor together.
PurpleHaze
All-Star
The Kings now have 18 wins while Fear the Deer Bucks have 28. The Kings are at least as good as Milwaukee and probably a bit better. I'll say it outloud... if Kings were in EC they'd have 28-30 wins at this point and be in playoff hunt.
MassachusettsKingsFan
All-Star
It would be foolish to rule anything out with this coach.
The Hammer
All-Star
Yes, but that said, generally, the better, and more complete the ball player, the easier it is for him to play with others. Thornton does not give me the feeling that he needs the game to go a certain way to be effective, even though he is an explosive scorer. His game is A LOT more complete than Martin's... all that gives you flexibility in who he plays next to. I have a feeling it will work out well.
Jechtsphere
Starter
What happened to cousins? Didn't see him in the 4th.
Considering we got our *** kicked by virtually every EC team, including the Cavs and Wizards, I wouldn't bank on that. We have a bad record because we sucked all year (barring a short decent stretch here and there), not because we're in the WC. We were better that Milwaukee in this game (I assume because of the score. I wasn't actually able to watch it), but the Bucks were better throughout the season, and we are nowhere near the level of Indiana and certainly not even close to Philly or the Knicks.
PurpleHaze
All-Star
Maybe, but considering we lead the league in losses by 5 pts or less, that stat alone could have gotten at least 5, maybe as many as 10 more wins at this point in either conference - with some breaks and more clutch play. Not to mention, this Kings team has only been blown out all year 4 or 5 times and had a fourth quarter lead in over half its losses. We're just young and dumb, but learning with each loss and with each win.
ArcoKings
Starter
Exactly. With more effort in those close games the team could easily have close to 30 wins by now. Not enough to get to the playoffs but a decent season with so many kids. I can't wait to see what Marcus Thornton and Tyreke can provide while playing together these last handful of games.
That's one way to look at it, but I generally live by the philosophy that it's not real until it actually happens. A lot of teams throughout history had the potential to have a much better record than they actually did, but most teams never reach their full potential, for various reasons. Had Miami won all of their close games, they would be on pace to break the Bulls 72 win record. Are they as good as MJ's Bulls? Not even close. Sometimes these close losses are an illusion - a lot of these under 5-pt losses were actually not as close as the final score would suggest, and for at least 2 months at the beginning of the season we played at a level that most Euroleague teams would be embarrassed by.
A lot of things need to happen for us to become truly better than our record indicates, and while we have the potential, we (meaning the players, coaching staff, FO, etc.) need to make them happen, and at this point I dont have the confidence that the organization knows exactly what they have to do in order to fulfill this team's potential. I hope they get a real coach in the offseason. That would be a good start.
Kings Faithful
Starter
I disagree. How many of those games did we outplay the opponent, only to give it away in the last 2 minutes? How many games were we right there with a minute left only to give up a quick 6 or 7 points? Sure there were a few garbage time catchups, but for the most part I think we've been the team in control up until the 4 or 5 minute mark of the 4th.... which is what matters the most. Maybe other teams were cruzing until that point because they knew they could take control, but I wouldn't bet on that.
A lot of things need to happen for us to become truly better than our record indicates, and while we have the potential, we (meaning the players, coaching staff, FO, etc.) need to make them happen, and at this point I dont have the confidence that the organization knows exactly what they have to do in order to fulfill this team's potential. I hope they get a real coach in the offseason. That would be a good start.
What matters most is having more points than the other team at the end of the game. If we consistently failed to do that, then we didn't outplay the other team. And yes, teams were cruizing against us, at least in the first part of the season. Part of it was that they didn't really need to prepare, and part was that they couldn't prepare to stop whatever it was we were doing, because even we didn't know what we were trying to do. It was a pattern of individual efforts in the first half - if the shots were falling we would take the lead. At halftime the coach of the opposing team pointed out to his players the one or two plays we were trying to run, and the party was over.
Personally, I am ok with sucking, as long as there is a clear path to improvement. Unfortunately, I don't see that path, not with our current coach. Sure, some players will improve individually (and some will regress), but as a team we haven't made any progress since Westphal took over.
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