Almost 48 hours to tip-off 2016-17! I am pumped, who's with me?!
Starting Line-Up
PG - Lawson
SG - Affalo
SF - Rudy
PF - Boogie
C - Koufos
This was my projected starting line-up a week ago, and I see no reason now to divert from this expectation.
The key to destroying the Suns, a weak team on the rebuild, will be to make their guard trio of budding star Devin Booker, pinball PG Bledsoe and instant spark guy Brandon Knight work for their points, deny open 3s, hedge them towards help, get over the screens, and force TOs.
If two or more of these dudes go for over 25, they can stay with us until crunch time then its anyone's game. Otherwise, we can route these guys by 20 points. We can destroy them inside, get them into foul trouble, score a ton of points in the paint with early O for Boogie, post-ups for Rudy, Affalo, and back door cuts for Omri and Ben.
1st Man off the Bench:
Barnes
Best of the Rest:
Ben
Tolliver
Cauley-Stein
Temple
Omri
One uncertainty is whether we go 10 or 11 deep, whether Joerger goes to one of Tolliver or Omri, or both. I see this as the unknown but besides that I anticipate this rotation is fairly set and look at this game as a great chance for us to get off to a 1-0 start against a bad team.
Blob's Game Keys:
Kings 110
Suns 93
Boogie: 30/12/6
Ty Lawson: 12/12
Rudy 22/6
Affalo: 18/4
Barnes: 10/3 steals
Let the season begin!!!
Starting Line-Up
PG - Lawson
SG - Affalo
SF - Rudy
PF - Boogie
C - Koufos
This was my projected starting line-up a week ago, and I see no reason now to divert from this expectation.
The key to destroying the Suns, a weak team on the rebuild, will be to make their guard trio of budding star Devin Booker, pinball PG Bledsoe and instant spark guy Brandon Knight work for their points, deny open 3s, hedge them towards help, get over the screens, and force TOs.
If two or more of these dudes go for over 25, they can stay with us until crunch time then its anyone's game. Otherwise, we can route these guys by 20 points. We can destroy them inside, get them into foul trouble, score a ton of points in the paint with early O for Boogie, post-ups for Rudy, Affalo, and back door cuts for Omri and Ben.
1st Man off the Bench:
Barnes
Best of the Rest:
Ben
Tolliver
Cauley-Stein
Temple
Omri
One uncertainty is whether we go 10 or 11 deep, whether Joerger goes to one of Tolliver or Omri, or both. I see this as the unknown but besides that I anticipate this rotation is fairly set and look at this game as a great chance for us to get off to a 1-0 start against a bad team.
Blob's Game Keys:
- Minimize TO's: Don't give the Suns easy baskets. Keep them in the half-court and they will struggle to break 90 points. Execute your O and you are going to get a great shot every time. Rudy in particular needs to resist the urge to break play sets and go one-on-one. EDIT: According to Joerger we were dead last in pre-season turnovers while being #1 in team FG%, which suggests we are going to score a lot of points if we can protect the ball.
- Defend their guards: Our bigs need to give extra help on Bledsoe and Knight, and not give up open 3s to Booker.
- Is Ty Legit? I think we know what to expect from our guys, but this is the one uncertainty. Lawson has speed and handles, and looks like a guy who is going to work defensively. He can penetrate and probe and get the ball to the open man. But remains to be seen if he can get to the rim and finish over length and make open shots. We need this guy to be capable for 25-30 MPG before Collision returns or this hole in the line-up is going to prohibit competing at high level.
- Boogie Time: Cousins is poised to have his best season, within a system to best utilize his talents. The combination of conditioning and high post offense will translate into box score stuffing like we haven't seen before. Yet don't expect a ridiculous usage rate like last season. The Joerger system is designed for sharing and caring, not monopolizing. Look for improved defensive intensity, scoring and passing efficiency as tangible evidence Boogie has arrived as a legitimate superstar.
- Now or Never Ben: If Ben wants to keep his place in the rotation once Collison comes back, he needs to make more of an impact in his minutes than Temple makes in his. Ben is a more physically imposing presence on the floor with a structured system to make better use of his limited skills. Now or never. Make your 3s at 40% or better, use your athleticism, deflect passes, fill the lane, and prove legitimacy better late than never. I think Ben can do it with a supportive coaching staff, his wealth of experience, and a second unit role to compete against opponents back-ups.
Kings 110
Suns 93
Boogie: 30/12/6
Ty Lawson: 12/12
Rudy 22/6
Affalo: 18/4
Barnes: 10/3 steals
Let the season begin!!!
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