[Game] Kings @ Suns - 11/4/15 - 6 PT, 9 ET

[CVKingsfan]

But Anthony Davis! He da bezt! Bezt in leegue!

The status quo is being questioned:
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/11/3/9663020/demarcus-cousins-anthony-davis-elite-big-men

 

[Kingster]

Karl: "When we got punched, we didn't respond with a lot of anger." Biggest disappointment was not responding against adversity.

Mental toughness was lacking.

 

[NovembersVeryOwn]

I would love to see James Anderson start in place of Ben McLemore. We don't have the luxury of being able to give Ben all of the time it may take for him to play better. Removing him from the starting line-up, in my opinion, will light a fire under Ben and he will soon come to the realization that this team needs for him to be better. It's going to take some real soul searching from within himself, and I know that those who would be against this move may say that it would destroy his confidence, but this team needs to do what's best for the team moving forward. I hope at least someone can see where I'm coming from.

 

[NovembersVeryOwn]

James had a solid pre-season maybe not statistically as I havent looked at his numbers but you really got the feeling watching him that he knows how to play the game the way it should be played. He is unselfish and knows what he can and cannot do. He may not be as athletic as Ben but his basketball IQ in my opinion would make up for that. This keeps Belinelli coming off of the bench to provide scoring with the second unit and is just the fire that needs to be lit under McLemore to get him going. if this team wants to win now, we cannot sit and wait for Ben to play better, knowing it may take extended time.

 

[Amit149]

I would love to see James Anderson start in place of Ben McLemore. We don't have the luxury of being able to give Ben all of the time it may take for him to play better. Removing him from the starting line-up, in my opinion, will light a fire under Ben and he will soon come to the realization that this team needs for him to be better. It's going to take some real soul searching from within himself, and I know that those who would be against this move may say that it would destroy his confidence, but this team needs to do what's best for the team moving forward. I hope at least someone can see where I'm coming from.

At this point I would love to see him start...

If Anderson will be good it's a win for the team, and if he's bad maybe you'll stop constantly complaining about Ben like he is the cause of everything bad that ever happened in basketball...

 

[Letsgokings13]

I like how he fit in our line up as well

 

[ForlornKing]

Seth, Anderson, and Moreland need to play more.

 

[lawlman91]

Or instead of playing small go big. Rondo, Rudy, Omri, WCS, Kosta. Position less doesn't mean they have to be 6'5 or under

I remember the Rudy/Omri/Collison wing lineup, with JT and DMC as the big men. That lineup did really well. They could run and slow down.

Today, we have a possible big ball lineup of Collison/Rudy/Omri/Koufos/Cousins. Four of those guys are respectable enough to shoot from the outside, or at least mid range. They've got the size advantage everywhere, but guaring stretch-fours may be an issue. That's when we take out Koufos for WCS.

 

[Livinthedream]

Ben not in starting line-up tonight, per Bill Herenda

 

[jcwkings]

Ben not in starting line-up tonight, per Bill Herenda

I think this is good, Ben will get more looks in the second unit as they play faster and tend to share the ball more. He also doesnt have the pressure of guarding the best SG's. At this point if we can get Ben to be productive in some way to the rotation we have to take it. Anderson may not be the answer, but he is a solid defender, and thats a start at this point.

 

[rainmaker]

I think this is good, Ben will get more looks in the second unit as they play faster and tend to share the ball more. He also doesnt have the pressure of guarding the best SG's. At this point if we can get Ben to be productive in some way to the rotation we have to take it. Anderson may not be the answer, but he is a solid defender, and thats a start at this point.

How so? Belli is the 2nd unit's SG. This was a big part of the conversation about benching Ben. Drop him from the starting lineup and he becomes the 3rd SG.

 

[sdballer]

How so? Belli is the 2nd unit's SG. This was a big part of the conversation about benching Ben. Drop him from the starting lineup and he becomes the 3rd SG.

Yep. All for a guy whose best career year was worse than what many considered was awful for Ben last year. We'll see but it feels like a very short-sighted move to me.

 

[rainmaker]

Wonder if we start Rondo/DC or Rondo/Anderson. If it's the former, would like to see Curry/Belli out there together and see what they can do.

 

[sdballer]

Wonder if we start Rondo/DC or Rondo/Anderson. If it's the former, would like to see Curry/Belli out there together and see what they can do.

I actually think rondo/dc matches up better with phx but it leaves us really thin on playmakers off the bench

 

[Livinthedream]

Yep. All for a guy whose best career year was worse than what many considered was awful for Ben last year. We'll see but it feels like a very short-sighted move to me.

Could be a matchup situation and Collison starts. Could be that while Cuz is out this the direction Karl feels comfortable with. Or could be the beginning of the end. We'll see.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Ben not in starting line-up tonight, per Bill Herenda

Well, there you have it. Trade him, and be done with it.

 

[NovembersVeryOwn]

It looks like my hope will come to fruition. James Anderson seems to have gotten the nod to start in place of Ben, due to the fact that Karl has constantly stated how much he likes Marco coming off of the bench. I like this move. Like I've stated before, this team wants to win now, and as short sighted as it may sound we cannot afford to continue to wait for Ben to come around not knowing how many games it will take, with or without Cousins.

 

[NovembersVeryOwn]

We could be staring at a 1-7 or 1-6 start. This is the Western Conference, it's brutal. Theres no way you can dig yourself out of a whole to put yourself in good position to make the playoffs. Great move by Karl shuffling his line up for this game. Phoenix is a must win, in my opinion. We cannot keep giving games up with or without Cousins.

 

[lawlman91]

I want to keep him on the team but it's okay if we bench him.

 

[gunks]

Hope he can still get some time, but I have no issue with Ben falling out of the rotation.

Watch us trade him only to see him blow up Whiteside style (ok, more likely he Jimmers).

 

[parker]

Could be a matchup situation and Collison starts. Could be that while Cuz is out this the direction Karl feels comfortable with. Or could be the beginning of the end. We'll see.

Agree. Just because it's been leaked that Ben is not starting, does not mean that Anderson is starting.

 

[sdballer]

We could be staring at a 1-7 or 1-6 start. This is the Western Conference, it's brutal. Theres no way you can dig yourself out of a whole to put yourself in good position to make the playoffs. Great move by Karl shuffling his line up for this game. Phoenix is a must win, in my opinion. We cannot keep giving games up with or without Cousins.

If James Anderson is the difference between 1-7 and something much better, it would be the first time in his career.

 

[Livinthedream]

Agree. Just because it's been leaked that Ben is not starting, does not mean that Anderson is starting.

Correct. Hearing Collison is starting.

 

[jcwkings]

If Collison is starting we could see Curry given a chance.

 

[NovembersVeryOwn]

If James Anderson is the difference between 1-7 and something much better, it would be the first time in his career.

I'm not expecting us to win most of these upcoming games during this rough stretch. With that said, you've seen Ben's impact this season thus far. Call me crazy but i'm confident Anderson can provide us with the same if not better overall play and consistency at his position. He isnt a difference maker by any stretch of the imagination however he is a solid defender who seemed to gel with the starting line up during the preseason. I think its worth giving him a chance to either start or log some good minutes which were previously Ben's.

 

[gunks]

Prediction: if we lose tonight, somebody starts a "Fire Karl" thread.

Prediction number 2: we win tonight.

Go Kings!

 

[KingMilz]

Prediction: if we lose tonight, somebody starts a "Fire Karl" thread.

Prediction number 2: we win tonight.

Go Kings!

I will probably be making trade Rudy Gay ones to

But we on a serious note we desperately need shooting and ball movement without it we are just so easy to defend cause aside from our PG's no one can create for themselves off the bounce.

 

[Bricklayer]

I will probably be making trade Rudy Gay ones to

But we on a serious note we desperately need shooting and ball movement without it we are just so easy to defend cause aside from our PG's no one can create for themselves off the bounce.

ironically a system which I believe misuses Cuz might turn out to be the most Cuzcentric of them all given his advantage over other bigs off the bounce.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I want to keep him on the team but it's okay if we bench him.

Okay for whom?

I have been pretty consistent about this throughout: if we're not going to start McLemore, we might as well trade him. Those Kings Fans whom may be holding onto the idea that we can develop McLemore off the bench are kidding yourselves. No, we can't. Or, more to the point, no, we're not. Some Kings Fans are okay with that, some are not, but that's what it is; don't fool yourself into believing otherwise.

Look, if you support McLemore being pulled from the starting lineup, that pretty much means that you have to believe two things simultaneously:

1. McLemore is actively impeding our chances to win games.
2. It's more important for us to win in the short term than to spend any time devoloping McLemore for the long term.

And it's whatever if you believe those things; there's no value judgment on that. Just don't fall into the trap of telling yourself, "Well, we'll let him come off the bench and develop that way," because that ain't how it's going down. If you support benching McLemore, then you should support trading him, too. Because here's the deal: if you think that it's more important to win in the short term, whether it's because you think we need to have momentum going into the new arena, or because you think we need to challenge for the playoffs to keep Cousins happy, or because you're just tired of a decade of losing, or all of the above, or none of the above... if it's more important for us to win now, then it's going to be more important to win five games from now, and it's going to be more important to win twenty-five games from now, and it's going to be more important to win eighty-five games from now.

If we're committed to trying to win, then at no point are we going to be able to slow down and try to bring McLemore along. So, he's gotta go. Not because we "owe it to him" to send him somewhere that he might get playing time, or some bull**** like that, but just because it's stupid and petty to keep him here. First of All™, taking McLemore out of the starting lineup relegates him to the third shooting guard. Not the third guard, the third shooting guard. He effectively becomes the fifth guard: he was already behind Rondo, Belinelli and Collison in the hierarchy, and now he's going to be behind Anderson, too. He becomes the eleventh man in a ten-man rotation, which leads to my Second of All™: three million is too much to pay for that guy. There's not much reason to keep McLemore at this point, other than spite.

The one and only chance of developing McLemore at this point is to send him to Reno: make him the focal point of the entire offense, and tell him he's got thirty-two games to get right, or he's gone. And even that is a fifty/fifty proposition. But, make no mistake, there will be no further meaningful development on the main roster, at this point.

 

[VF21]

Spare the innocent Ponderosa Pine, there is reason for optimism! Tonight's officials are Ed Malloy, David Jones and Haywoode Workman. (Lauren has been regulated to the replay center .)

The officials for tonight's game are fine. The fact Lauren is going to be at the replay center gave me chills and an immediate feeling of dread and impending doom.