K
Kingsguy881
Guest
...after latest 5 game road trip, now do they? Heck, Westphal has lost this team to the tune of 4 wins on a 5 game road trip. How's that working out again? 
Kings Don't Look Very Oklahoma Thunderish....Circa 2008-09....
kingsboi
Hall of Famer
Don't get too excited yet, it was an impressive road trip but we still have to go up against a couple of playoff teams so let's see how we do. Kings clearly have proved up to this point they play better on the road, so I don't even expect them to win at home anymore like you normally would.
Section 101
All-Star
The 76ers win was the only one that was impressive. Wolves, Pacers, Bucks arent that good. And look what happened when they played a contenter fighting for playoff position.
K
Kingsguy881
Guest
Chicago is not a contender fighting for playoff position. Chicag is the BEST team in the league right now (Lakers are a very close second). 3 of the teams the Kings beat were fighting for playoff position. Don't get it twisted.
Section 101
All-Star
Those same 3 teams are a combined 98-121.
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
the team does have the feel of a young and upcoming team. 2 really talented players with a decent young supporting cast. they just need to put it together.. maybe they oust westfail and promote mario elie, the young successor like brooks.
We're 20-52, looking up at practically every team we play against. When you're facing a five game road trip and you're 16-51, it doesn't matter who the opponents are. Coming out of that trip with four wins is a positive, especially when the one team you lost to was the best team in the Eastern conference. I'm pretty sure no one expected them to win more than two games on this one.
K
Kingsguy881
Guest
Those same 3 teams represent 2 of the Easts playoff teams also, with one of them barely on the outside looking in. At home. And if memory serves me correctly, didn't all 3 of those teams beat Sacramento in Sacramento?
Section 101
All-Star
You mean the games they should have won at home?
K
Kingsguy881
Guest
Well, they are winning them now ain't they? And on the road no less. They added that piece (Thornton) that was missing and now they are off and running.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
The answer is of course yes, but this late surge is only part of the story. Fact is even wihtotu it this team is rapidly piling up peices that can one day make you into a top team. It just flies under the radar of the casual fan because they can't see beyond the immediate W/Ls. But every good team was a loser once. Then it matures, grows up, and voila its magic.
Think just as big as anything has been the clarification of needs/roles here late in the season which should make the summer blueprint that much simpler. Looks like we have found our third weapon, 4 of the 5 starters, identified our strength (size/rebounding), know the biggest weaknesses we need to fix (SF, defensive stopper/captain) etc. What happend with OKC wasn't magic, and our rise isn't going to be magic either. Just the natural progression all young teams with talent go though.
Think just as big as anything has been the clarification of needs/roles here late in the season which should make the summer blueprint that much simpler. Looks like we have found our third weapon, 4 of the 5 starters, identified our strength (size/rebounding), know the biggest weaknesses we need to fix (SF, defensive stopper/captain) etc. What happend with OKC wasn't magic, and our rise isn't going to be magic either. Just the natural progression all young teams with talent go though.
Section 101
All-Star
Heuge
Starter
Was it the added Thornton or they finally started playing team ball w/o Evans?
Nonsense.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Was it the added Thornton or they finally started playing team ball w/o Evans?
(Nodding head about Brick's note) Thornton changed this team more than most single players can. We needed a genuine shooting threat to open up the rest of the team's game. We not only got the shooting threat, we got a bit of defense. I consider Thornton to be the spawn of Bobby Jackson and Mitch Richmond. Don't think about that too hard if you are homophobic. Not as good as either in what they did but as complete for the needs of this team as we could want. Incredible addition.
Now the vet SF. Poof! Credibility in the next year or two. Maybe elite. Probably elite.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
...after latest 5 game road trip, now do they? Heck, Westphal has lost this team to the tune of 4 wins on a 5 game road trip. How's that working out again?
I'm with ya. He's obviously not lost the team, and the team is playing the best ball of the season. Also, my point on this has always been: So who are you going to get mid-season that's better? But I've got to tell you, having Dalembert guard the 3 point line against Philly when Philly could only tie by a three point shot? Man, I don't get that.
Section 101
All-Star
But we had a shooter and traded him away because "it didnt work". Now we have another one who needs the ball in his hands more than the one we had.
K
Kingsguy881
Guest
But who is a better passer, dribbler, and doesn't need 5 screens to get himself open because he can create. For himself AND others.
and plays defense.
est.1999
Starter
You are so lost. Do you even comprehend basketball when you watch a game?
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
what he said
Section 101
All-Star
So Martin is the best player on the 38-35 Houston Rockets?
est.1999
Starter
I don't think the Rockets have a best player. But what is the point of your question?
Gary
All-Star
You do understand it's a team game and you do understand the concerns he was describing, right? Let's see them after a few games with meaningful minutes together. Both aqre ball dominant guards.. Usually that spells disaster unless one of them can take the high road and become a distributor. Neither one has shown they could do that yet consistently. So his point is valid.
I would rather have a winning team than a team that has 2 20ppg guards that can't play well together.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Absolutely not. We have another one who can quickly create his own offense at any moment from any point on the floor, and who plays an entire floor game. Thronton scores while putting very few demands on the other players on his team to do so. He does not in any way need the offense to center around him.
Hoovtrain
All-Star
4-1 is 4-1. I don't care who it's against. It's not exactly like the Kings are world beaters right now. 4-1 on the road, against anyone, is quite an accomplishment for this team.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Marcus thronton is NOT a ball dominant guard. Nor an offense dominant guard. Being able to dribble and chew gum at the same time is not ball dominant -- its potent. He scores quickly, rarely sits on the ball for more than a few seconds. He had no problems doing his thing playing next to Beno, who controlled the ball most of the time.
The recent winning streak isn't a big surprise. We actually faced some weaker competition for a change, and if you're connecting the dots, we've been working towards this for awhile:
1) Cousins starting to dominate as a post presence at the end of January
2) Dalembert moving into the starting lineup and playing well with Cousins
3) Thornton coming in and showing that he can take some of the scoring load off Tyreke
4) Landry going and opening up consistent minutes for Thompson to be the bench roleplayer he should be
4) Garcia getting healthy and playing well
5) Westphal making one of Greene/Casspi the backup instead of splitting minutes between them
6) Tyreke getting much needed rest/recuperation
It wasn't just the addition of Thornton that did it, but in retrospect that move looks like the key change that helped put everything else into balance. I wasn't in favor of the trade when it happened. Thornton had a good year last year but I had him pegged as a volume shooter without a conscience, which clearly has not been the case. In retrospect I think he's at least a comparable talent to Landry, but Landry couldn't find a role on this team while Thornton fills a much needed niche. Now everybody has a clear role that suits them.
It's taken pretty much the whole season to figure it out, but that's probably not unusual when you're dealing with players this young who may or may not develop how you expect as the season goes on. If we could start over right now and play another 82 games with this team, they might even challenge for a playoff spot.
1) Cousins starting to dominate as a post presence at the end of January
2) Dalembert moving into the starting lineup and playing well with Cousins
3) Thornton coming in and showing that he can take some of the scoring load off Tyreke
4) Landry going and opening up consistent minutes for Thompson to be the bench roleplayer he should be
4) Garcia getting healthy and playing well
5) Westphal making one of Greene/Casspi the backup instead of splitting minutes between them
6) Tyreke getting much needed rest/recuperation
It wasn't just the addition of Thornton that did it, but in retrospect that move looks like the key change that helped put everything else into balance. I wasn't in favor of the trade when it happened. Thornton had a good year last year but I had him pegged as a volume shooter without a conscience, which clearly has not been the case. In retrospect I think he's at least a comparable talent to Landry, but Landry couldn't find a role on this team while Thornton fills a much needed niche. Now everybody has a clear role that suits them.
It's taken pretty much the whole season to figure it out, but that's probably not unusual when you're dealing with players this young who may or may not develop how you expect as the season goes on. If we could start over right now and play another 82 games with this team, they might even challenge for a playoff spot.
SCKingsfan
Bench
I do think they found a way to play team ball while Tyreke was out. But recall that when we went out, they hit rock bottom. When they integrated Thorton, they began to figure it out. It did not depend on having Reke out of the equation. There are some benefits to having him on the sidelines, however, as things seemed to come together more in terms of team ball. It is nice to come back knowing you have a competent scorer whom you can share the load with; and seeing DMC progress as someone to work the offense through; and having 3 bigs more competently controlling the paint. I look forward to his reintegration and wish there was more season left to watch it develop. This is the direction we expected the team to move in, but that many of us have had little patience in letting play out; so little patience, in fact, that some of us are still not recognizing this was well-planned and to-be-expected learning curve.
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