[Game] Kings @ Celtics - 2/7/16 - 10 PT, 1 ET

[bajaden]

It shoukd be but, like brick wrote last night, "the Kings will go kings" and find a way to screw this up.

If they intend to fire Karl, most likely they'll wait till the all star break. Somebody needs to be fired. Maybe the whole team after today's debacle.

 

[funkykingston]

Care to share what he said?

I mentioned this above but here's a cut-and-paste:

Bobby said that a number of the Kings' defensive issues stem from a lack of fundamentals (guarding transition threes etc) and that leads to teams stepping on the floor against the Kings knowing they'll get easy outside looks, knowing they'll get mismatches and easy shots at the rim.

But the biggest point for me was that he doesn't ever see anyone getting mad about giving up a ton of first quarter points. That he sees them just sort of shrug it off as normal instead of getting upset and giving defensive effort.

And to me that's exactly right.

 

[Iced Espresso]

If they intend to fire Karl, most likely they'll wait till the all star break. Somebody needs to be fired. Maybe the whole team after today's debacle.

We all have some thoughts on "to do's" "not to do's" etc.

But really with our performance recently, we should be critical of just about everything right now.

Its just terrible.

 

[Kingster]

If it was just this one season, I'd be more philosophical about it. But we've seen this nightmare so many years it's more absurd than a Kafka novel. I'm sick of it. Get rid of everybody. If you've got a problem with toxic waste you don't leave some - you eliminate it entirely.

 

[SacTownKid]

If it was just this one season, I'd be more philosophical about it. But we've seen this nightmare so many years it's more absurd than a Kafka novel. I'm sick of it. Get rid of everybody. If you've got a problem with toxic waste you don't leave some - you eliminate it entirely.

But, you don't throw out the baby with the bath water. The years are connected but the people involved at one point or another have all changed. That tells you the goal should be choosing a side, and bringing in like minded personalities to fit the strengths you have.

 

[Larry89]

Effort on the defensive end. That is not Karl's Fault. Maybe match ups and scheme is. Effort is not. Inexcusable.

 

[Blob]

I mentioned this above but here's a cut-and-paste:

Bobby said that a number of the Kings' defensive issues stem from a lack of fundamentals (guarding transition threes etc) and that leads to teams stepping on the floor against the Kings knowing they'll get easy outside looks, knowing they'll get mismatches and easy shots at the rim.

But the biggest point for me was that he doesn't ever see anyone getting mad about giving up a ton of first quarter points. That he sees them just sort of shrug it off as normal instead of getting upset and giving defensive effort.

And to me that's exactly right.

There's not enough individual or collective pride to stop the opponent with exception of Willie (and Seth when he plays). The main culprits are Marco, Rondo, Rudy and Ben and a head coach who has fostered this passive disregard to open shots. Boogie also stopped trying defensively after 100+ points in two games.

This team needs a trade and a head coaching change. Getting rid of Karl is not going to solve all of our defensive issues but keeping him around will only assure they persist.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Effort on the defensive end. That is not Karl's Fault. Maybe match ups and scheme is. Effort is not. Inexcusable.

While you and other posters have a point that the defensive effort has to come from the players when you coach is starting James Anderson while Omri and Ace are on the bench you have to feel that the coach is not looking out for your team and not interested in defense himself.

 

[hrdboild]

If it was just this one season, I'd be more philosophical about it. But we've seen this nightmare so many years it's more absurd than a Kafka novel. I'm sick of it. Get rid of everybody. If you've got a problem with toxic waste you don't leave some - you eliminate it entirely.

Let's look at what we do have:

We have three players who are among the best in the league at their respective positions.
We have one of the best backup PGs in the league.
We have a 22 year old super-athlete at SG who shows a lot of potential as a shooter.
We have a 22 year old super-athletic 7 footer who can fly all over the floor on defense and deny dribble penetration on the perimeter.
We have several high-character bench players who have shown that they're willing to sacrifice for the good of the team.

This isn't a smoking crater of a roster, there's actually a lot to work with here. Maybe these guys have a ceiling limited by their defensive potential, but I don't think we're nearly as awful personnel-wise as we've shown. I agree with what Cousins said last night. It's more than just energy and effort. You give up 128 points in back-to-back games, there's a bigger problem than just effort. Nobody is that bad.

Here's my interpretation of what's going on defensively right now: We're playing a defensive scheme that is designed for undersized teams who need to overcompensate with speed what they lack in size. We have size. Speed is a problem for us. And yet we're running all over the court, switching assignments, collapsing into the paint even when a double-team isn't needed. If Avery Bradley takes a wide open three and the closest defender is DeMarcus Cousins a step inside the free throw line, you're putting the players in a situation where they cannot succeed. DeMarcus is not going to run 4 steps out on Bradley and then stop on a dime without fouling. That's not ever going to happen. The bigs can't step out to defend the three point line on every play. What good defensive teams do is they make the switch, deny the ball-handler a path to the basket or a quick shot, and then switch back. We're not switching back and it's just an open invitation for bigs to post up our PG or wings to take as many open threes as they want.

I'll agree that it doesn't look like this team is playing with a lot of pride right now. There's a point at which the coach is just a guy shouting at you from the sidelines and the responsibility is on the players to go out there and win games. But I also think the coach plays a big role in dictating the tempo of the game by choosing the starting lineup, when to sub in bench players and who to sub in, and keeping everyone on the same page as far as what their role is supposed to be. If you've got miscommunication or (even worse) animosity going on between the players and the coach then other teams who are all on the same page are going to eat you alive. That's what we've seen here. We're not playing terribly if you just look at our offensive execution. We're just playing mediocre. Guys are making big plays from time to time but there's also a fair amount of going through the motions. And when a well-coached cohesive team sees that? You better believe they're going to come at you twice as hard because they know you're going to break.

 

[bajaden]

Care to share what he said?

He brought up what I brought up. PRIDE!!!!! Where is the team's pride? He didn't name players, but basically said that the whole team lacked pride. He said it never mattered what happened in the locker room to him. Once he set foot on the floor, he was doing what he loved to do and he gave his all every time. He said the players are being paid a lot of money to play hard for 48 minutes a game, and it's not that hard to do. He implied that the team didn't show up to play and to allow 128 points two games in a row is inexcusable, but not surprising considering how they've played of late.

This team has no heart in my opinion. Talk is cheap. Donte Greene was a great talker. There's a lot of blame to go around. That includes Karl, who is starting to look like an idiot with his substitutions. He pulls WCS with around 3:20 to go in the game, and for the rest of the quarter, the Celtics just waltz to the basket uncontested. Not saying we would have won the game with Willie on the floor, but it showed Karl's belief that offense comes first. Once again, talk is cheap. Cuz was absolutely terrible on defense today. He played off his man the entire game, and they scored the entire game. I think Sullinger missed one shot. Rondo is terrible at keeping his man in front of him, and while he gets his share of steals, he does it by gambling off his man to play the passing lanes, and too many times leaves his man wide open for a three. The steals look good in on the stat sheet though. We had 14 turnovers, and Cousins and Rondo had 9 of them.

Our transition defense was horrible today, and as Bobby Jackson said, this is highschool stuff. It isn't rocket science, but basic basketball. You stop the ball, and defend the perimeter. Duh! What it is, is laziness, lack of effort, not caring, and lack of pride. You don't like your coach, fine. I get that, but it's no excuse of not earning your money, doing what every one of us would give our right arms to do. Every player on this team needs to take responsibility for his own play. Quit bitching about not getting calls, not getting enough minutes, or getting enough shots. Play your butt off every minute your on the floor, and if you do that and lose, then so be it. I'll praise you for effort and desire. But when you play the way you have the last two games, you look like a loser and I have no respect for you.

 

[Larry89]

I feel like they aren't even communicating on the defensive end and it starts with the guards and I also feel like Cousins isnt talking or trying on defense either

 

[Letsgokings13]

**** this team and coach. You're getting millions to play a damn game for 48 MINUTES a couple nights a week, and you can't even act like you care? This team is so soft. Suck.

 

[bajaden]

I feel like they aren't even communicating on the defensive end and it starts with the guards and I also feel like Cousins isnt talking or trying on defense either

Believe me, the problem is bigger than that. People are talking about defense like its some complicated scheme. Most of these players have played just about every type of defensive scheme possible. This is the NBA, not highschool. Where I agree is that everyone has to be on the same page, and it's obvious that their not at times. What I see on defense is a lack of trust, and eventually, if your man isn't covered when you leave to help, you stop helping. There's a lot of CYA going on, and that results in people just parading to the basket or backdoor dunks. It appeared to me, that tonight Cousins decided he wasn't going to leave the basket for fear of no one covering for him. That resulted in his man, whoever it happened to be, being wide open. That shows a lack of trust by Cousins, and it's probably warranted.

 

[Kingster]

But, you don't throw out the baby with the bath water. The years are connected but the people involved at one point or another have all changed. That tells you the goal should be choosing a side, and bringing in like minded personalities to fit the strengths you have.

Did you ever see the movie Omen? Sometimes you do throw out the baby with the bath water.

 

[SacKings384]

People can talk alll they want about team desire. But the Warriors with the same roster went from middle of the pack defensively under mark Jackson to top 2 under Kerr.

 

[hrdboild]

He brought up what I brought up. PRIDE!!!!! Where is the team's pride? He didn't name players, but basically said that the whole team lacked pride. He said it never mattered what happened in the locker room to him. Once he set foot on the floor, he was doing what he loved to do and he gave his all every time. He said the players are being paid a lot of money to play hard for 48 minutes a game, and it's not that hard to do. He implied that the team didn't show up to play and to allow 128 points two games in a row is inexcusable, but not surprising considering how they've played of late.

This team has no heart in my opinion. Talk is cheap. Donte Greene was a great talker. There's a lot of blame to go around. That includes Karl, who is starting to look like an idiot with his substitutions. He pulls WCS with around 3:20 to go in the game, and for the rest of the quarter, the Celtics just waltz to the basket uncontested. Not saying we would have won the game with Willie on the floor, but it showed Karl's belief that offense comes first. Once again, talk is cheap. Cuz was absolutely terrible on defense today. He played off his man the entire game, and they scored the entire game. I think Sullinger missed one shot. Rondo is terrible at keeping his man in front of him, and while he gets his share of steals, he does it by gambling off his man to play the passing lanes, and too many times leaves his man wide open for a three. The steals look good in on the stat sheet though. We had 14 turnovers, and Cousins and Rondo had 9 of them.

Our transition defense was horrible today, and as Bobby Jackson said, this is highschool stuff. It isn't rocket science, but basic basketball. You stop the ball, and defend the perimeter. Duh! What it is, is laziness, lack of effort, not caring, and lack of pride. You don't like your coach, fine. I get that, but it's no excuse of not earning your money, doing what every one of us would give our right arms to do. Every player on this team needs to take responsibility for his own play. Quit bitching about not getting calls, not getting enough minutes, or getting enough shots. Play your butt off every minute your on the floor, and if you do that and lose, then so be it. I'll praise you for effort and desire. But when you play the way you have the last two games, you look like a loser and I have no respect for you.

Our defensive scheme isn't exactly a zone, but it has a lot in common with a zone. And the thing I hate about zone defenses is the lack of accountability. If you miss a switch and the other team scores, whose fault was it? Was it the player who switched off too soon, was it the player who switched in too late, was it a third player maybe who didn't call out the screen like they were supposed to, was it the coach for asking us to play this stupid defense in the first place? Rather than one player watching the tape and saying "I screwed up there, that's on me, I need to defend that differently next time" it has the potential to turn into a lot of finger pointing.

To relate that to today, I don't know that Cousins and Rondo think they played poorly on defense. From Rondo's perspective he was reading the offensive rotations and positioning himself to steal the ball. He came up with 6 steals and he almost had a couple more. He also had plays where he didn't come up with the steal but he forced a turnover anyway by knocking it out of bounds off the other player. We scored 26 points off of turnovers today. That was a huge factor in (sortof) keeping us in the game. From DeMarcus' point of view, he's in there to deter shots in the paint. Jared Sullinger scored 11 of his 21 points on long jumpers. If Cousins is rotating over to block the ballhandler's path to the basket, is it also his responsibility to step out on Sully after the dump out pass? Isn't that why you have 5 players on the court so someone else can rotate over to help when you help them?

Watching the game from a nice sideline camera angle it's easier to see where the defensive mistakes are. My point is that guys are expending effort, they're just expending effort in non-complimentary and at-times contradictory ways. If Rondo is going to disrupt the passing lanes than someone else is going to have to be there to close out hard on guards. On a fast break you need to know instantly who is going to stop the ball, who is going to defend the basket, and who is going to find the shooter and keep them close. When everyone is on the same page than you can work these kinds of problems out. Maybe it's just a matter of perspective who is more at fault, the players or the coach. But I see a team that is disorganized on defense, almost as if the 5 players on the floor don't really know what their teammates are trying to do. It doesn't matter to me how much effort you're expending if you're expending it in an unproductive way.

 

[Kingster]

He brought up what I brought up. PRIDE!!!!! Where is the team's pride? He didn't name players, but basically said that the whole team lacked pride. He said it never mattered what happened in the locker room to him. Once he set foot on the floor, he was doing what he loved to do and he gave his all every time. He said the players are being paid a lot of money to play hard for 48 minutes a game, and it's not that hard to do. He implied that the team didn't show up to play and to allow 128 points two games in a row is inexcusable, but not surprising considering how they've played of late.

This team has no heart in my opinion. Talk is cheap. Donte Greene was a great talker. There's a lot of blame to go around. That includes Karl, who is starting to look like an idiot with his substitutions. He pulls WCS with around 3:20 to go in the game, and for the rest of the quarter, the Celtics just waltz to the basket uncontested. Not saying we would have won the game with Willie on the floor, but it showed Karl's belief that offense comes first. Once again, talk is cheap. Cuz was absolutely terrible on defense today. He played off his man the entire game, and they scored the entire game. I think Sullinger missed one shot. Rondo is terrible at keeping his man in front of him, and while he gets his share of steals, he does it by gambling off his man to play the passing lanes, and too many times leaves his man wide open for a three. The steals look good in on the stat sheet though. We had 14 turnovers, and Cousins and Rondo had 9 of them.

Our transition defense was horrible today, and as Bobby Jackson said, this is highschool stuff. It isn't rocket science, but basic basketball. You stop the ball, and defend the perimeter. Duh! What it is, is laziness, lack of effort, not caring, and lack of pride. You don't like your coach, fine. I get that, but it's no excuse of not earning your money, doing what every one of us would give our right arms to do. Every player on this team needs to take responsibility for his own play. Quit bitching about not getting calls, not getting enough minutes, or getting enough shots. Play your butt off every minute your on the floor, and if you do that and lose, then so be it. I'll praise you for effort and desire. But when you play the way you have the last two games, you look like a loser and I have no respect for you.

No comment. I just wanted re-post your post. And I may do it again, and again. I'd rather watch 12 guys from the D League compete than watching this crap.

 

[hrdboild]

Did you ever see the movie Omen? Sometimes you do throw out the baby with the bath water.

Hey Kingster, I want to apologize for being rude to you earlier. I could just send a PM, but I made the comment publicly and I was out of line so I feel like the apology should be public too. Regardless of how much the game we're watching blows, I recognize your right to your opinion and my obligation not to be a jerk. I'm sorry. I'll try to calm down a little and check myself before dropping an insult next time.

 

[Larry89]

Bobby Jackson's right pinky finger has more pride than some of these players right now, at some point you get tired of being a laughing stock and play harder when you're angry right? I thought players used to player harder when they got angrier instead of quitting.

 

[kingsboi]

People can talk alll they want about team desire. But the Warriors with the same roster went from middle of the pack defensively under mark Jackson to top 2 under Kerr.

I think what Steve Kerr was selling to his Warriors squad must of sunk in.

 

[kingsboi]

Bobby Jackson's right pinky finger has more pride than some of these players right now, at some point you get tired of being a laughing stock and play harder when you're angry right? I thought players used to player harder when they got angrier instead of quitting.

If they play angry, you are just going to go out there and either get technical fouls, flagrant fouls and/or ejections.

 

[funkykingston]

One frustrating thing for me is that I don't ever expect this Kings team to come back and win. Partly because I don't trust that they can get stops when they need it and partly because I don't see enough offensive execution down the stretch.

They out up a lot of points due to the pace they play at but when things tighten up and slow down at the end of the game I don't see a disciplined offensive team with the patience and ball movement to get good shots and nobody that you can consistently count on in the crunch to go get a tough basket.

 

[Blob]

Let's look at what we do have:

We have three players who are among the best in the league at their respective positions.
We have one of the best backup PGs in the league.
We have a 22 year old super-athlete at SG who shows a lot of potential as a shooter.
We have a 22 year old super-athletic 7 footer who can fly all over the floor on defense and deny dribble penetration on the perimeter.
We have several high-character bench players who have shown that they're willing to sacrifice for the good of the team.

This isn't a smoking crater of a roster, there's actually a lot to work with here. Maybe these guys have a ceiling limited by their defensive potential, but I don't think we're nearly as awful personnel-wise as we've shown. I agree with what Cousins said last night. It's more than just energy and effort. You give up 128 points in back-to-back games, there's a bigger problem than just effort. Nobody is that bad.

Here's my interpretation of what's going on defensively right now: We're playing a defensive scheme that is designed for undersized teams who need to overcompensate with speed what they lack in size. We have size. Speed is a problem for us. And yet we're running all over the court, switching assignments, collapsing into the paint even when a double-team isn't needed. If Avery Bradley takes a wide open three and the closest defender is DeMarcus Cousins a step inside the free throw line, you're putting the players in a situation where they cannot succeed. DeMarcus is not going to run 4 steps out on Bradley and then stop on a dime without fouling. That's not ever going to happen. The bigs can't step out to defend the three point line on every play. What good defensive teams do is they make the switch, deny the ball-handler a path to the basket or a quick shot, and then switch back. We're not switching back and it's just an open invitation for bigs to post up our PG or wings to take as many open threes as they want.

I'll agree that it doesn't look like this team is playing with a lot of pride right now. There's a point at which the coach is just a guy shouting at you from the sidelines and the responsibility is on the players to go out there and win games. But I also think the coach plays a big role in dictating the tempo of the game by choosing the starting lineup, when to sub in bench players and who to sub in, and keeping everyone on the same page as far as what their role is supposed to be. If you've got miscommunication or (even worse) animosity going on between the players and the coach then other teams who are all on the same page are going to eat you alive. That's what we've seen here. We're not playing terribly if you just look at our offensive execution. We're just playing mediocre. Guys are making big plays from time to time but there's also a fair amount of going through the motions. And when a well-coached cohesive team sees that? You better believe they're going to come at you twice as hard because they know you're going to break.

You make good points and the other thing I notice lately is teams are putting Boogie in pick and roll because they know he does not want to step outside of 12 feet or so from the hoop. And in his mind he may be doing his job as assigned which is to protect the rim and allow the perimeter shot. But teams are exploiting this defense because they know the ball handler can come off the pick with space to make a play.

What needs to happen IMHO (because this is what I see what for other teams who defend) is the guard goes over the pick and trails the man with the ball. He may end up behind him but he can run him off the three point line and into help defense or pressure the shot from the side or behind. This is usually the best way to defend the pick and roll.

The other option is for Boogie to step up and trap the man out of the pick and roll and force a pass with Willie rotating to protect the rim. The problem with this strategy is it gets Boogie in foul trouble but can be used sporadically. Instead we see time and time again where Boogie just sits back. The wing gets picked off and taken out of the play due to slow reaction time and lack of tenacity and hustle.

The bottom line is that Karl has had enough time to figure out a scheme that works or more effective that his guys buy into and execute and it hasn't happened.

Vlade is justified in firing Karl because if he hasn't got this group to play more cohesive defense by now its unlikely to ever happen. Karl also sealed his own fate by limiting the minutes of his best defender earlier in year (Willie) and most recently in loss to Bulls, keeping a good perimeter defender (Seth) on the bench 95% of the year, and playing his worst defensive player (Marco) a lot of minutes in bench role that was colossal failure.

I also think there's minutes for Acy as part of a 10 man rotation to infuse the team with hustle and tenacious attitude that could be contagious. Karl hasn't done any of this so to fire him independent of his relationship with Boogie has merit.

 

[kingsboi]

He brought up what I brought up. PRIDE!!!!! Where is the team's pride? He didn't name players, but basically said that the whole team lacked pride. He said it never mattered what happened in the locker room to him. Once he set foot on the floor, he was doing what he loved to do and he gave his all every time. He said the players are being paid a lot of money to play hard for 48 minutes a game, and it's not that hard to do. He implied that the team didn't show up to play and to allow 128 points two games in a row is inexcusable, but not surprising considering how they've played of late.

This team has no heart in my opinion. Talk is cheap. Donte Greene was a great talker. There's a lot of blame to go around. That includes Karl, who is starting to look like an idiot with his substitutions. He pulls WCS with around 3:20 to go in the game, and for the rest of the quarter, the Celtics just waltz to the basket uncontested. Not saying we would have won the game with Willie on the floor, but it showed Karl's belief that offense comes first. Once again, talk is cheap. Cuz was absolutely terrible on defense today. He played off his man the entire game, and they scored the entire game. I think Sullinger missed one shot. Rondo is terrible at keeping his man in front of him, and while he gets his share of steals, he does it by gambling off his man to play the passing lanes, and too many times leaves his man wide open for a three. The steals look good in on the stat sheet though. We had 14 turnovers, and Cousins and Rondo had 9 of them.

Our transition defense was horrible today, and as Bobby Jackson said, this is highschool stuff. It isn't rocket science, but basic basketball. You stop the ball, and defend the perimeter. Duh! What it is, is laziness, lack of effort, not caring, and lack of pride. You don't like your coach, fine. I get that, but it's no excuse of not earning your money, doing what every one of us would give our right arms to do. Every player on this team needs to take responsibility for his own play. Quit bitching about not getting calls, not getting enough minutes, or getting enough shots. Play your butt off every minute your on the floor, and if you do that and lose, then so be it. I'll praise you for effort and desire. But when you play the way you have the last two games, you look like a loser and I have no respect for you.

The attitude, approach and mentality of a loser is difficult to shake. It's always talking to you in the back of your mind, "here we go again"

 

[kingsboi]

One frustrating thing for me is that I don't ever expect this Kings team to come back and win. Partly because I don't trust that they can get stops when they need it and partly because I don't see enough offensive execution down the stretch.

They out up a lot of points due to the pace they play at but when things tighten up and slow down at the end of the game I don't see a disciplined offensive team with the patience and ball movement to get good shots and nobody that you can consistently count on in the crunch to go get a tough basket.

and that is why when the opposition has a 20 point lead, I change the channel and never look back.

 

[VF21]

If you are referring to Karl making quote "no player is untouchable" he apologized to Boogie and admitted his mistake. Boogie is not justified to continue to hold a grudge. It would be so petty, but not unlike Cousins who has froze out Ailene Voison for the last 6 months over a tweet he didn't like.

When Boogie says "I am not going to blame the other guys in this locker room...we have bigger issues" how is this a more credible than Rondo saying "coaching is not the problem"?? A 2-time NBA champion is more credible in my mind than a guy who has never won 30 games.

I am not saying Karl is the right coach because he is not. But I have seen this act from Boogie before and you have too. Things go south and he points fingers implicitly or explicitly, at the refs, at the coach, at the system and anyone but himself.

His terrible play in first quarter set the tone for game and we had to play catch up for 48 minutes but he won't mention this post-game because that requires self-accountability he is incapable of.

Karl apologized after a period of time where he stood by his comments. If truth were told, I think we'd all find out the ONLY reason GK apologized was because he was told to.

You and I (and a bunch of others) have completely different views of the whole situation. I am not saying Boogie is perfect by any means, but I am saying a future HoF coach SHOULD be able to handle him. Karl doesn't want to, despite what he might say. If he did, he'd be utilizing DMC's strengths instead of trying to mold him into something he is not.

As far as Boogie freezing AV out, he's not the first Kings player to do it.

 

[VF21]

There's not enough individual or collective pride to stop the opponent with exception of Willie (and Seth when he plays). The main culprits are Marco, Rondo, Rudy and Ben and a head coach who has fostered this passive disregard to open shots. Boogie also stopped trying defensively after 100+ points in two games.

This team needs a trade and a head coaching change. Getting rid of Karl is not going to solve all of our defensive issues but keeping him around will only assure they persist.

Now this I can and do totally agree with.

 

[kingsboi]

You make good points and the other thing I notice lately is teams are putting Boogie in pick and roll because they know he does not want to step outside of 12 feet or so from the hoop. And in his mind he may be doing his job as assigned which is to protect the rim and allow the perimeter shot. But teams are exploiting this defense because they know the ball handler can come off the pick with space to make a play.

What needs to happen IMHO (because this is what I see what for other teams who defend) is the guard goes over the pick and trails the man with the ball. He may end up behind him but he can run him off the three point line and into help defense or pressure the shot from the side or behind. This is usually the best way to defend the pick and roll.

The other option is for Boogie to step up and trap the man out of the pick and roll and force a pass with Willie rotating to protect the rim. The problem with this strategy is it gets Boogie in foul troubl but can be used sporadically. Instead we see time and time again where Boogie just sits back. The wing gets picked off and taken out of the play due to slow reaction time and tenacity and hustle.

The bottom line is that Karl has had enough time to figure out a scheme that works or more effective that his guys buy into and execute and it hasn't happened.

Vlade is justified in firing Karl because if he hasn't got this group to play more cohesive defense by now its unlikely to ever happen. Karl has also sealed his own fate by limiting the minutes of his best defender earlier in year (Willie) and most recently in loss to Bulls, keeping a good perimeter defender (Seth) on the bench 95% of the year, and playing his worst defensive player (Marco) a lot of minutes in bench role that was colossal failure.

I also think there's minutes for Acy as part of a 10 man rotation to infuse the team with hustle and tenacious attitude that could be contagious. Karl hasn't done any of this so to fire him independent of his relationship with Boogie has merit.

There is no question that teams have made it a priority to have Cousins in pick and roll situations because he does not step out on the perimeter too often and if he does, he either reaches and his man gets right by him or he picks up a silly foul. I know if I was playing the Kings, I would pick and roll Cousins to death and make them stop me, which wouldn't happen anyway.

 

[Glenn]

What needs to happen IMHO (because this is what I see what for other teams who defend) is the guard goes over the pick and trails the man with the ball. He may end up behind him but he can run him off the three point line and into help defense or pressure the shot from the side or behind. This is usually the best way to defend the pick and roll.

Heresy!

 

[Blob]

Karl apologized after a period of time where he stood by his comments. If truth were told, I think we'd all find out the ONLY reason GK apologized was because he was told to.

You and I (and a bunch of others) have completely different views of the whole situation. I am not saying Boogie is perfect by any means, but I am saying a future HoF coach SHOULD be able to handle him. Karl doesn't want to, despite what he might say. If he did, he'd be utilizing DMC's strengths instead of trying to mold him into something he is not.

Can you elaborate on this?

If he did, he'd be utilizing DMC's strengths instead of trying to mold him into something he is not.

Boogie has played the best basketball in his career under Karl including back-t0-back 20-20-10 games, 104 points in two games, and the best statistical month ever in January. How is Karl trying to mold him into something he is not? Seems to me he is trying to mold him to best utilize his extensive array of skills.

I have contended if there is a flaw in Karl's system re: Boogie he has too much freedom, including trying to be Magic Johnson, launching threes and a historic usage.

But ultimately it is the responsibility of the player to make the smart and simple and fundamental basketball play instead of one that is not there or outside his skill set.

Disappointment related to Boogie's meddling efficiency and 4-21 FGs games, is more on him than the system. If you stick Boogie in the post exclusively you are not going to like the results. This has to do with the way NBA defenses send help to a back-t0-basket player in half court offense and Boogie's lack of go-to move.

You can put Boogie in the post more often and have success but it will work if he is willing to draw doubles and finds the open man, if he is used as a decoy as much or more than scoring threat. Too often this has not been the case.

Boogie has said he prefers playing inside and outside so he is not constantly beat up. It is a matter of finding the proper balance I think Karl has done a pretty good job of this. Like I said if anything Karl is guilty of it is granting his best player too much freedom. This is hardly molding him into someone he is not.

The other factor that must be considered if that when Boogie is in the post with Rondo and Willie the floor collapses and spacing shrinks with two relative non-scorers. Your offense gets sticky. This is why Karl has implemented what he has to open the floor and improve spacing and attack lanes so I am not going to criticize him for this. There is plenty of other reasons to criticize him