Bjelica was guarding Lonnie Walker in some sort of 24 Hour Fitness Zone defense in the 3rd as well.. We seemingly have no defensive scheme or discipline. Our perimeter defenders fall for fakes so many times. We have real issues of PnR defense and help defense. The spurs scored 40 points in the 1st for Christ sake
[Game] Kings @ Spurs, Friday July 31, 5 PM PT
- Thread starter Capt. Factorial
- Start date
I don't understand if we need a small 4 that can rebound and provide decent size and cutting then why dont we play Jabari if we traded for him??? HB can't play 48 minutes a game, we can't have Bjelica guarding Derozan and Lonnie Walker on the perimeter.. why not just use your personnel...
Is playing Jabari at 4 any worse than having Harry at 5 or Bjelica at 4 or 5 and just have fox and buddy/bogdan/hb?
Is playing Jabari at 4 any worse than having Harry at 5 or Bjelica at 4 or 5 and just have fox and buddy/bogdan/hb?
It's unfortunate but coaches always have the power to mess things up when they think they know it all. What separates a great coach like Pop from most coaches? He goes with the flow. He doesn't fight the waves. Don Nelson was very similar. If his best players were all 5'10", well, that's who played. If they were 6'10" that's who played. That's kind of a bench mark of all coaches who can't re-create their perfect scenario time and again or pick their spots. Even someone considered the greatest of all time by some, Phil Jackson himself, landed face first in his last job. My way or the highway always seems to highway at some point.
Maybe there will be some miraculous awakening that is the complete opposite of the picture the stats are painting. It's possible the upside of a big lineup is better than the small one (against all the odds right now). The problem is there are only so many chances to fail and the sins of his predecessors weigh heavy still. He says things that indicate he knows what's up, then in the most crucial moments of a game he does the opposite. I do think in many ways Walton is the best coach we've seen in a long time. He doesn't just maintain the same losing patterns over the course of a whole game for weeks at a time, nor does he just randomly throw players out there consistently. For instance, he tried to go big but to his credit he did attempt to utilize an inside strategy here and there (which failed and doesn't include their "superstar" in the best way possible anyway). The problem is he appears to be someone who either doesn't trust the process, his players, or himself. I'm not sure which it is.
In the end it's about common sense to me. Never has the path been this clear. I've never been an advanced stats guy at all, but for craps sake, it can't be denied and this game might have just been the biggest and most harsh lesson the team could learn. Considering the direct competition factor this might have been the worst loss in the teams last 10 years +. Even under the best strategy they may still lose in the end, but it's like taking bad shots as your primary option. You're just doomed to failure unless luck is totally on your side like 100% of the time. Sorry, not acceptable for people at the top of the food chain of pro basketball. This is what's so frustrating, Walton at times appears to be the first decent coach for his players this team has had in forever. But it's all a tease up to this point.
In the end it's about common sense to me. Never has the path been this clear. I've never been an advanced stats guy at all, but for craps sake, it can't be denied and this game might have just been the biggest and most harsh lesson the team could learn. Considering the direct competition factor this might have been the worst loss in the teams last 10 years +. Even under the best strategy they may still lose in the end, but it's like taking bad shots as your primary option. You're just doomed to failure unless luck is totally on your side like 100% of the time. Sorry, not acceptable for people at the top of the food chain of pro basketball. This is what's so frustrating, Walton at times appears to be the first decent coach for his players this team has had in forever. But it's all a tease up to this point.
Walton does make more changes and adjustments than his predecessor, but still falls into the trap of not trusting players. I use Adelman as an example of a coach who let players play, without personalizing their success or failures. Adelman let JWill play his game, regardless of the outcome. He didn't try to change or punish him. When JWills style was no longer useful, the team moved on to another type of point guard.
The last 2 coaches on this team have been trying to teach players to adjust to a style of play rather than maximize the players skillset within the system. When the pressure is on, the coach falls back to their most comfortable system/style regardless of the situation because they lack the feel for the game in the moment from a coaching perspective.
Long winded way of saying, like Joeger, Walton is an insecure coach.
The last 2 coaches on this team have been trying to teach players to adjust to a style of play rather than maximize the players skillset within the system. When the pressure is on, the coach falls back to their most comfortable system/style regardless of the situation because they lack the feel for the game in the moment from a coaching perspective.
Long winded way of saying, like Joeger, Walton is an insecure coach.
Walton killed the Kings momentum at the end of the 3rd when Fox was clearly gassed and had nothing left in the tank. He left him in for an extra 3-4 minutes and Fox missed all of his shots in that period and the Kings gave up about a 10 point swing.
Fox's motor was going 100% and Walton should have recognized that and given him the rest he needed. When Fox came back in the 4th, he was Fox again.
Fox's motor was going 100% and Walton should have recognized that and given him the rest he needed. When Fox came back in the 4th, he was Fox again.