[Game] Kings @ Suns 2/14/2023 6pm Pacific 9pm Eastern

[ShastaKingsFan]

This breakdown video has been floating in the Kings' subreddit:

we've got some glaring defensive issues

High IQ positioning and fundamentals is currently by in large, absent at all levels of basketball. Hard to watch

 

[BigVirg]

Nearly all of the Kings perimeter defenders can be taken off the dribble without even needing to be screened. This is why they lose nearly every game. Pay attention to the shot quality other teams get vs. what the Kings get. Wide open 3s all game long because the second that initial defender gets blown by, then defense is forced to come help and now the opponent just has to kick it out to a guaranteed wide open player.

Huerter, Monk, TD, Murray, Barnes and Lyles are bbq chicken for any straight line driver.

Fox also is half the time. Even Davion gets out muscled on multiple drives per game.

The shot quality that the opponents get on half their plays is like basically a pre game warmup and it's why the Kings give up really high shooting percentages every game. Half of the opponents misses are just pure luck because there's no one in the vicinity of them when they're shooting.

Huerter especially doesn't have the foot speed to stay in front of anyone.

 

[dude12]

As for defense, main reason Kessler Edwards got time. Might even see some Keon Ellis as well as the season goes. Got to be able to get stops at some point

 

[Folsomkingsfan]

Huerter especially doesn't have the foot speed to stay in front of anyone.

Harrison Barnes is our best defender in our starting unit. That should tell you all you need to know.

 

[ESP47]

As for defense, main reason Kessler Edwards got time. Might even see some Keon Ellis as well as the season goes. Got to be able to get stops at some point

Kessler's defense looked really good in his short stint. I was really impressed. He doesn't know where to be on offense yet though.

We know Keon can D up as well but he got the hook in that Dallas game because his team defense was atrocious. He was completely lost. Going to need some seasoning on that end for sure.

 

[twslam07]

Kessler's defense looked really good in his short stint. I was really impressed. He doesn't know where to be on offense yet though.

We know Keon can D up as well but he got the hook in that Dallas game because his team defense was atrocious. He was completely lost. Going to need some seasoning on that end for sure.

It’s one of the reasons I’ve been conjuring up trade ideas that would upgrade our defense at SG and SF/PF and push Huerter and Barnes to the bench (like this one… https://community.kingsfans.com/threads/bkn-team-x-sac-2023-off-season.89145/)

A rotation of…

PG - Fox (32 min) / Monk (16 min)
SG - O'Neale (26 min) / Monk (10 min) / Huerter (12 min)
SF - G. Williams (26 min) / Huerter (14 min) / Barnes (8 min)
PF - Murray (30 min) / Barnes (18 min)
C - Sabonis (32 min) / Free Agent C (16 min)

…would be really solid. O’Neale, Williams, and Murray would give us a lot of good wing defenders while still being able to space the floor really well for Fox and Sabonis.

 

[Kingster]

It might be worth it though. With unproven scorers like Williams the question is how much is he worth to you? He does have offensive skills and in college showed a more well rounded offensive game but lower production 3 and D guys do have a cap in value. That said, Williams is a great risk vs. reward player because if he can bring back some of those skills offensively he had in college along with his spot shooting and defense, he's a potential huge payoff for a team willing to gamble.

I don't think he is unproven offensively. I see him score from the inside and outside, but of course he's not Boston's main attraction because of their two great players. I love him and think he'd be a fantastic addition to the Kings. Also, I think Jamal has been on his train for quite a while now.

 

[The_Jamal]

Kessler's defense looked really good in his short stint. I was really impressed. He doesn't know where to be on offense yet though.

We know Keon can D up as well but he got the hook in that Dallas game because his team defense was atrocious. He was completely lost. Going to need some seasoning on that end for sure.

Yeah Keon got lost on that one rotation which gave Wood a wide open layup. Then the PHX game, came in and fouled Booker and didn't see the floor again.

Seemed like Kessler picked up the defensive rotations a bit better than Keon. Or at least was better in ISO defense.

 

[ESP47]

Yeah Keon got lost on that one rotation which gave Wood a wide open layup. Then the PHX game, came in and fouled Booker and didn't see the floor again.

Seemed like Kessler picked up the defensive rotations a bit better than Keon. Or at least was better in ISO defense.

Yeah Booker kept reacting like Kessler was bbq chicken every time he had him in an iso situation. Would wave everyone off and then go to work but Kessler never really got beat for any easy buckets. When Booker made them, they were difficult shots that only great players can routinely make.

I remember Keon getting lost on a corner 3 as well. May have been Wood. He was like a -9 in 3 minutes or something like that. Might be better to give him minutes against some non playoff teams but there aren't many of them left on the schedule.

 

[SacTownKid]

I just don't think Celts would be willing to match like a 17mil/season+ offer either. So many salary commitments already and they just don't have room for him when they're fully healthy. He's just exactly what the Kings need at the 4, especially with Keegan showing he can play the wing full-time.

I just keep going back and forth with Barnes and his long-term use with the Kings. He's such a good player when he's locked in and stays aggressive, but we're at like a 3-year trend now where he's like an elite 20 PPG scorer for a 8 game stretch and then is just perfectly fine fading back into being a low USG C&S spacer. So if Barnes isn't going to stay consistent offensively, I'd be very tempted to go get the massive upgrade on defense with Grant and still maintain the spacing with how Grant has shot the 3 the last 3 seasons. Also something to be said about adding a piece in Grant Williams, who is the same age as the rest of the core and won't be 25 until next season. So we'd have a real 3+ year window where we'd have the core locked up, assuming Monk and Sabonis re-up the following off-season. That's fairly exciting prospect as well

The question is still guard skills and doesn't that of your statement perfectly describe Keegan as well? If Keegan and Williams can't at least replicate the abilities on the ball that Barnes shows then this team gets even more reliant on Fox. It sounds like Brown wants to see Keegan get more aggressive and the only way to do that in this offense is with the ball so that will be the test. Williams might be able to do some of what Barnes does and had a pretty decent post game in college but at a Barnes level is unlikely. If Monte is smart, if 17 is the number he might be able to keep Barnes and Murray and go after someone like Williams.

 

[SacTownKid]

I don't think he is unproven offensively. I see him score from the inside and outside, but of course he's not Boston's main attraction because of their two great players. I love him and think he'd be a fantastic addition to the Kings. Also, I think Jamal has been on his train for quite a while now.

For his asking he is.

 

[The_Jamal]

Yeah Booker kept reacting like Kessler was bbq chicken every time he had him in an iso situation. Would wave everyone off and then go to work but Kessler never really got beat for any easy buckets. When Booker made them, they were difficult shots that only great players can routinely make.

I remember Keon getting lost on a corner 3 as well. May have been Wood. He was like a -9 in 3 minutes or something like that. Might be better to give him minutes against some non playoff teams but there aren't many of them left on the schedule.

Yeah. The two plays that stood out were the ones where he had Booker for like 8 seconds in ISO and forced him into a tough contested mid-range....which Booker made. And then another like 6+ second ISO where he forced him to pass late in the shot clock where CP3 took a contested fadeaway 3...which he made. And the rest of the possessions I think were just solid overall competitive defense.

 

[The_Jamal]

The question is still guard skills and doesn't that of your statement perfectly describe Keegan as well? If Keegan and Williams can't at least replicate the abilities on the ball that Barnes shows then this team gets even more reliant on Fox. It sounds like Brown wants to see Keegan get more aggressive and the only way to do that in this offense is with the ball so that will be the test. Williams might be able to do some of what Barnes does and had a pretty decent post game in college but at a Barnes level is unlikely. If Monte is smart, if 17 is the number he might be able to keep Barnes and Murray and go after someone like Williams.

I think all I'd say with Keegan is we don't know yet. He's just an playing an entirely different position than he was in college. And even in SL, he showed some scoring creation moves that we've seen absolutely none of with the big-league team.

Not sure if it's by design/scheme or if Keegan just needs to be selfish for a few possessions a game and go look to score a bucket. He's been so willing to play within the team system that if the open jumper isn't there, he's moving the rock. It's mostly a good thing that he only takes "good" shots, but it would be helpful if we saw what kind of shot creator he can be too.

To some extent, Huerter has this same problem too. He really is excellent with the ball in his hands and has some scoring/playmaking creation that he can be utilizing far more than he does. And it really helps the offense when he does take that pressure off Fox to get downhill and collapse the defense. Maybe it's just a role/scheme thing within the offense, but all of Barnes/Keegan/Huerter have some ability to go get a bucket through self-creation. It's not like they're PJ Tucker or Danny Green out there or something.

 

[iowamcnabb]

I think all I'd say with Keegan is we don't know yet. He's just an playing an entirely different position than he was in college. And even in SL, he showed some scoring creation moves that we've seen absolutely none of with the big-league team.

Not sure if it's by design/scheme or if Keegan just needs to be selfish for a few possessions a game and go look to score a bucket. He's been so willing to play within the team system that if the open jumper isn't there, he's moving the rock. It's mostly a good thing that he only takes "good" shots, but it would be helpful if we saw what kind of shot creator he can be too.

To some extent, Huerter has this same problem too. He really is excellent with the ball in his hands and has some scoring/playmaking creation that he can be utilizing far more than he does. And it really helps the offense when he does take that pressure off Fox to get downhill and collapse the defense. Maybe it's just a role/scheme thing within the offense, but all of Barnes/Keegan/Huerter have some ability to go get a bucket through self-creation. It's not like they're PJ Tucker or Danny Green out there or something.

Unfortunately the non aggression was a bit of an issue in college too. In their tourney game they were playing a lesser team and were playing terribly and we kept waiting for Keegan to take over and for Fran to run plays for him but he never did. He just played within the offense. He still finished in typical Keegan fashion where you look up and he has 19 and 10. I do think there is a chance that Brown is the right coach to coax it out of him