[Game] Kings @ Celtics - 1/30/13 - 4:30 PST

[Spike]

I think the problem is well before the 4th quarter, but your point stands.

 

[Spike]

10 of our 17 wins have come against sub 500. teams in the East, we have failed to beat numerous teams who have been trashed the by injury (Indianax2, Bulls, Minnasota, Boston), I think people are greatly exaggerating how good this team would be with a "good" coach. We can't beat semi decent teams on a regular basis so no we are not a team that would be in the playoff hunt. On top of that add the fact our star shows up half the time for us to be in the hunt Cousins would have had to play well in 75% of the games hes played in at least.

You underestimate the value of a good coach. When players have roles and guidance, they're more apt to follow the script. If you can agree that the talent on this team is "semi-decent", then we would have more wins with a better coach, and would be competitive against other "semi-decent" teams. That alone would bring in DMC's focus, and you might even get a few more surprises.

The flip side is that you get starters playing their asses off, seeing their efforts go wasted due to coaching, then wondering why they should even bother, since the coach is going to mess it up anyways. Most of the wins have been the cause of individual efforts, not cohesive game plans. (Think about the Dallas game for how a coach can muck up a good thing.) Thank goodness Evans still plays his *** off, or this would be even uglier.

 

[KingMilz]

You underestimate the value of a good coach. When players have roles and guidance, they're more apt to follow the script. If you can agree that the talent on this team is "semi-decent", then we would have more wins with a better coach, and would be competitive against other "semi-decent" teams. That alone would bring in DMC's focus, and you might even get a few more surprises.

The flip side is that you get starters playing their asses off, seeing their efforts go wasted due to coaching, then wondering why they should even bother, since the coach is going to mess it up anyways. Most of the wins have been the cause of individual efforts, not cohesive game plans. (Think about the Dallas game for how a coach can muck up a good thing.) Thank goodness Evans still plays his *** off, or this would be even uglier.

I agree with you about Evan playing his *** off much respect to him, imo we should start running the offense through him more.

I don't agree with you when you say the talent is semi decent outside of Reke, Cousins the next two players based purely on talent would be Johnson (can defend, drive and handle well at his size) and T-Rob but one lacks shooting and the other is a rookie. Non of our guards are very talented all limited talents other than Reke.

 

[Padrino]

10 of our 17 wins have come against sub 500. teams in the East, we have failed to beat numerous teams who have been trashed the by injury (Indianax2, Bulls, Minnasota, Boston), I think people are greatly exaggerating how good this team would be with a "good" coach. We can't beat semi decent teams on a regular basis so no we are not a team that would be in the playoff hunt. On top of that add the fact our star shows up half the time for us to be in the hunt Cousins would have had to play well in 75% of the games hes played in at least.

i'm uncertain of your point. if an individual stipulates that a team would improve under the guidance of a different coach, you can't use that team's track record with their existing coach to infer that they would not improve. it is speculation either way, but it really does not seem a stretch that the kings might improve all of five games with a coach who doesn't favor a 10-13 man rotation, including some of the most asinine substitution patterns imaginable. it doesn't really seem a stretch to believe that any team might improve a few games by ditching a "head coach" who's strategy seems much more fit for a child's rec league than the highest degree of professional competition...

 

[Spike]

I agree with you about Evan playing his *** off much respect to him, imo we should start running the offense through him more.

I don't agree with you when you say the talent is semi decent outside of Reke, Cousins the next two players based purely on talent would be Johnson (can defend, drive and handle well at his size) and T-Rob but one lacks shooting and the other is a rookie. Non of our guards are very talented all limited talents other than Reke.

Here's how I see it:
Evans, Cousins - no questions. You have a very potent 1-2 punch that you can build around (with proper coaching)
Thompson, Robinson - one very good role player (recent play non withstanding), and one rookie with potential. "Semi decent."
Jimmer, Thornton, Johnson - one player with potential, another player who seems to be having a crap year for a variety of reasons, and one who was mistakenly given the green light by his coach but still, "semi decent."

Could you not have a starting lineup of Evans, Thornton, Johnson, Thompson and Cousins? If you want, you can replace Thornton with Jimmer to help with spacing, but still, there's enough there, again, with the caveat of a proper coach and system, to be "kinda OK." Not perfect, certainly, but at least with the potential to win a few more games. Again, I'm not arguing that they're great, but I think we've got more than we think we do. Coaching is obscuring that fact.

Everyone else - "Mateen", as piksi used to say.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Thompson's last two games have been back to perfectly acceptable roleplayer-quality play, aside from Smart being quick with the hook, in favor of his smallball fetish.

 

[gunks]

You underestimate the value of a good coach. When players have roles and guidance, they're more apt to follow the script. If you can agree that the talent on this team is "semi-decent", then we would have more wins with a better coach, and would be competitive against other "semi-decent" teams. That alone would bring in DMC's focus, and you might even get a few more surprises.

The flip side is that you get starters playing their asses off, seeing their efforts go wasted due to coaching, then wondering why they should even bother, since the coach is going to mess it up anyways. Most of the wins have been the cause of individual efforts, not cohesive game plans. (Think about the Dallas game for how a coach can muck up a good thing.) Thank goodness Evans still plays his *** off, or this would be even uglier.

Playin for that nice contract on a better team.

 

[kingsnation]

So, I just got home, turned on the replay of the game (not knowing the results) and we were down by 2 early in the second quarter.

I was thinking, awesome, I get to watch an exciting game! Well, I turned it on just in time to see our team disappear again. This team is just a gigantic mess. And it's the mental lapses. We essentially won the game tonight, excluding the 2nd quarter. You can also almost say the same things about the NOLA game and Denver game (maybe )

A combination of a incompetent coach, lazy and lost players, a terrible bench and a team that's in limbo has taken it's toll on our quality of play.

 

[UK_King]

One thing Trob needs to do is read the game a lot quicker, like the way he's playing right now, but it does annoy me when he stands in the way of our own players.

 

[Hadlowe]

I agree with you about Evan playing his *** off much respect to him, imo we should start running the offense through him more.

I don't agree with you when you say the talent is semi decent outside of Reke, Cousins the next two players based purely on talent would be Johnson (can defend, drive and handle well at his size) and T-Rob but one lacks shooting and the other is a rookie. Non of our guards are very talented all limited talents other than Reke.

To me, it's less about the talent level than the way the talent meshes. Tyreke's set shot has improved remarkably this season, but for that to become a staple in the offense, he needs another guard or wing who can create pportunities for him as well as space the floor for his drives to the rim. Salmons, Brooks, and Jimmer have shown some ability there, but only Salmons plays with Reke on a regular basis.

Cousins is a multi-talented, offensive-minded big-man who is not a good defender in the low post but is surprisingly good in passing lanes and on the perimeter. He needs a defensive anchor big who is not going to require the ball to be effective and can rebound. None of our bigs fit that description. Thompson and Robinson are good rebounders, and Hayes is a good post defender, but not against the drive.

Lost in the shuffle is Thornton who is an excellent scorer. He has been relegated to a bench role, ostensibly as a super sixth man, but who ends up playing in lineups that do not run plays for him. He is having the worst year of his career from the field, but, to my knowledge, he has not been one of the people causing trouble in the locker room.

Of those problems, the only one that cannot be easily solved is our big-man rim defender issue due to the impending sale. Solve the rotation issues by starting Brooks or Jimmer next to Reke (preferably Jimmer due to Cousins reported dislike of Brooks). If the coach insists on playing four guards in a game, Bring IT and Thornton in together to build some chemistry and run plays specifically to get Thornton open. Preferably, just sub Thornton in for the starting PG and let Tyreke run the show.