[Game] Kings v. Blazers 10/25/19 7PM PT/10PM ET

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Stop living in the past kings fans.
Willie this. . .
Luka that. . .

This is a KINGS forum maybe we can actually talk about the kings?
I'm sure there is a Doncic forum for those of you that want to talk about him everyday. How about the game thread actually has somethimg to do with the game and not 60% about ppl that are not KINGS?
 
Positives
I saw a real sense of urgency from Fox last night. He had 14 free throws and made a deccent amount. He is learning how to take games over.

The kings shared the ball a lot better than game 1 and it lead to some good open looks. We made >40% of our 3 balls.

Buddy and Bogi were looking for each other and Buddy passed on a good shot to give Bogi a better shot. As Christie said Buddy would not have done that in the past. These represent maturity and growth in our back court.

Negatives
Ariza is just going through the motions.
Walton is playing Ariza too much.

Obviously Dedmon is playing bad but his hesitation on open looks is unforgiveable. He was brought in to hit open shots and spread the floor if he can't do that he should not be a starter.

Oh and why aren't we running again?
 
he is averaging 5.5 pts, 5.5 reb, 0 ast, 0 stl, 1.5 blocks in 17 minuts so far.
wcs averaged 11.9 pts, 8.4 reb, 2.5 ast, 1.2 stl, 0.6 blocks in 27 minutes.
This is one of those cases where the numbers don't tell any of the story. WCS' rebounding stats don't say anything about the fact that he would follow up a 15 rebound night and then a 12 rebound night with a 4 rebound night and 5 rebound night. When he wanted to, he was a very solid center. The issue was if he had a good night it seemed like he thought he had justification to take the next night off. He also had no paint protection presence at all. He was lackadaisical and non threatening. Anyone who wanted to could drive on him.
 
It's sad that we went from not even knowing if we would need Giles to be competitive to almost seeming like we have to rely on him to be something special if this season is going to go anywhere. I just don't see it from our big men. Holmes is fine as a backup. Beli is way better than people give him credit for but we need a true center that can play some defense out there along side him.
 
somebody said that Grant called out the fans during the game, as if the crowd wasn't loud enough.
I have no idea where he got that. My buddy and I both agreed that was as good a "refs you suck" chant as we've ever heard at G1C.
Just watching the game on TV it sounded very quiet in the 1st Q. Like silent.

Might not have been the reality.

Cant blame the fans if it was though.
The fans were quiet to start but got plenty loud as the game went on. I believe Grant made his comment in the early going? I blame the brutal security lines outside — they want to keep the plaza within the security perimeter for the post game concert but that leads to an inefficient positioning of the metal detectors, IMHO. Many fans weren’t in their seats until midway through the first. It definitely impacted the energy to start.
 
It’s only been 2 games but I think we should let Walton and Divac go. Divac literally picked Walton without interviewing anybody else and Walton just wanted a paycheck. The offensive system we
Run is screen and then stand around and watch. Walton has 20 games to
Figure it out IMO and if we are 5-15 by that point he should get booted
 
This is one of those cases where the numbers don't tell any of the story. WCS' rebounding stats don't say anything about the fact that he would follow up a 15 rebound night and then a 12 rebound night with a 4 rebound night and 5 rebound night. When he wanted to, he was a very solid center. The issue was if he had a good night it seemed like he thought he had justification to take the next night off. He also had no paint protection presence at all. He was lackadaisical and non threatening. Anyone who wanted to could drive on him.
To me it did not seem like he did not care or did not try, its just that he had bad games like anyone. He did have some issues when JJ and Shump were traded but I think that is understandable.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
It’s only been 2 games but I think we should let Walton and Divac go. Divac literally picked Walton without interviewing anybody else and Walton just wanted a paycheck. The offensive system we
Run is screen and then stand around and watch. Walton has 20 games to
Figure it out IMO and if we are 5-15 by that point he should get booted
You should change your moniker to Knee jerk! This may be one of the most ridiculous posts I've ever read in my time on the forum. After two games we should just fire everyone. Unbelievable!
 
You should change your moniker to Knee jerk! This may be one of the most ridiculous posts I've ever read in my time on the forum. After two games we should just fire everyone. Unbelievable!
seems like writing is on the wall already imo that’s all. I’m usually not like this but my gut is telling me Divac just wanted summer to start ASAP and Walton wanted a paycheck
 
You should change your moniker to Knee jerk! This may be one of the most ridiculous posts I've ever read in my time on the forum. After two games we should just fire everyone. Unbelievable!
to be fair to the guy... it is 2 games plus an off-season of rotten drama. And no sign of life from the coach or the guys. This coach is a corpse a statue. looks complacent af.
now in context... in Golden State, he rolled out the ball for Kerr's superteam. In LA he rolled out the ball for Lebron.
Luke Walton is a putz and I would not mind one bit if they picked any of his assistants to take over tomorrow.

As for Vlade... I don't want his head but I'm not going to stick up for him anymore either. Drafting Bagley and firing Joerger... and taking soooo much sweet time to fire Karl and to fire Brandon.... I'm completely ambivalent about Vlade. he's a nice figurehead but no special love for him as GM.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
My concern is that two of the players we signed in free agency haven't played as advertised. Especially Ariza, who looks like his feet are in concrete. I might be able to live with that if his shot was falling, but it's not even close. As for Dedmon, whether you liked Willie or not, he was better than Dedmon has been so far. I believe he's only taken one 3 pointer so far. He's fumbled several passes and has become a turnover machine.

Holmes has been our best center, but he's a bit undersized when confronted with some of the taller centers in the league, and he's mostly a post player, which tends to clog the lane. But, that said, I do like him a lot. I hate to suggest this, but it might be time, with Bagley out for a while, to move Barnes to PF and insert Bogi at SF. Put whoever you want at center, but with that group you could live with Holmes at center. The other option would be to insert Giles at center or PF if and when he's able to play.

But once again, my main concern is the poor play of mostly Ariza, and Dedmon. In Dedmon's case it may just be a matter of getting used to a new system with new players. Maybe! But Ariza looks downright terrible. I seriously question if he has anything left in the tank. Maybe the Sun's fans had good reason to boo him.

Just to cover all the bases, I have no problem with the play of Joseph. He's been as advertised..
 
The problem in this game was that all the new signings who we thought were all upgrades have all been worse than who they were replacing.

Dedmond was signed to shoot threes and so far he hasn't made a single spot shot this season where I'm already kind of seeing him hesitating to shoot. Yikes. Willie when paired with Bjelicia as the spacer was way more of a threat to a defense as a super athletic lob threat. It was an easy pass for Fox and Bogi to make. Dedmond does not command nearly the same gravity and I've already seen him bobble a punch of passes and rebounds making me wonder if the Kings are doomed to always sign bigs with bad hands as punishment for having C-Webb. Also this team will miss Willie's ability to defend in space, especially since Walton is doing more switching than Joerger ever did. Dedmond is also a really bad passer, he has had multiple turnovers already attempting some nonsense angle passes from the high post. Willie was actually an underrated passer, which was surprising for someone with pretty well below average BBall IQ. Holmes certainly plays with a ton of energy and looks pretty good defending in space but he is way too eager for his own good and picks up quick fouls. I'd like to see Walton start Holmes with Bjelicia and tell Holmes to play a more measured style that can keep him on the floor for longer than 15 minutes a night.

Ariza looks completely washed. Mario Hezonja blew by him like he was a traffic cone. Shumpert and Jackson gave us more last season in that spot. Ariza already looks disinterested. Shump played his heart out every night and Jackson ran the floor well(fit our style), played competent defense and could hit an open three at least a little, he also was a good passer and kept the ball moving.

So basically if things don't change our starting lineup got worse and our bench got worse(considering we brought Bagley off the bench last season). A bench of Yogi, Bogi, Jackson, Bagley, Giles is way better than what we have right now.

It appears only when all else is failing, just like Joerger. And just like Joerger he's not utilizing the right components when doing so. They have both switched mostly with 3 guard lineups. C'mon Walton, this team hasn't had the size on the wing they do now in almost ever. Use Barnes and Ariza the way they were in their last runs with successful teams already so we can see if Ariza is a total wash at this point. Mostly Walton is having the big play off pick and roll and much like last season the strong guard teams are eating the Kings alive. If I were a team I'd hire Chuck Hayes as lead pick and roll defensive specialist coach. That was one of the smartest bigs in defending the passing lane on pick and roll I've ever seen. I understand a lot of bigs won't be able to switch but he wasn't just a switch big, or a hedge big, he played it so smart. He made the pass over extremely difficult.
 
My concern is that two of the players we signed in free agency haven't played as advertised. Especially Ariza, who looks like his feet are in concrete. I might be able to live with that if his shot was falling, but it's not even close. As for Dedmon, whether you liked Willie or not, he was better than Dedmon has been so far. I believe he's only taken one 3 pointer so far. He's fumbled several passes and has become a turnover machine.

Holmes has been our best center, but he's a bit undersized when confronted with some of the taller centers in the league, and he's mostly a post player, which tends to clog the lane. But, that said, I do like him a lot. I hate to suggest this, but it might be time, with Bagley out for a while, to move Barnes to PF and insert Bogi at SF. Put whoever you want at center, but with that group you could live with Holmes at center. The other option would be to insert Giles at center or PF if and when he's able to play.

But once again, my main concern is the poor play of mostly Ariza, and Dedmon. In Dedmon's case it may just be a matter of getting used to a new system with new players. Maybe! But Ariza looks downright terrible. I seriously question if he has anything left in the tank. Maybe the Sun's fans had good reason to boo him.

Just to cover all the bases, I have no problem with the play of Joseph. He's been as advertised..
Ariza looks like he's phoning it in and that's a scary thought. The Kings really could have used that extra 12 million at the deadline to facilitate a deal. If he doesn't start bringing it Walton really needs to start looking at Justin James or Daquan Jeffries if for nothing more than energy.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
to be fair to the guy... it is 2 games plus an off-season of rotten drama. And no sign of life from the coach or the guys. This coach is a corpse a statue. looks complacent af.
now in context... in Golden State, he rolled out the ball for Kerr's superteam. In LA he rolled out the ball for Lebron.
Luke Walton is a putz and I would not mind one bit if they picked any of his assistants to take over tomorrow.

As for Vlade... I don't want his head but I'm not going to stick up for him anymore either. Drafting Bagley and firing Joerger... and taking soooo much sweet time to fire Karl and to fire Brandon.... I'm completely ambivalent about Vlade. he's a nice figurehead but no special love for him as GM.
Not sure what your referring to in the off-season. Most people thought Vlade's signings were good one's, at least on paper. Our pre-season games were for the most part entertaining and our play looked pretty good for pre-season. Not sure I can think of anything that happened that would even bring the thought of firing Walton to mind. Unless your referring to the sexual assault case.

Look, I have no idea how good or bad a coach Walton will be, but I don't think I can pass judgement after two games. Now after 20 games, if were something like 6 and 14, then I'm certainly on board. Thing is, if the Kings go out and win the next three games, everyone will change their mind. The reason this team was bad for so many years was because it was a revolving door for players, coaches, and GM's. I don't want to go back to that. As for Bagley, I have no problem with him other than injuries. Even when he has a bad game, he still posts a double/double. I believe he'll be a perennial all star.
 
It’s only been 2 games but I think we should let Walton and Divac go. Divac literally picked Walton without interviewing anybody else and Walton just wanted a paycheck. The offensive system we
Run is screen and then stand around and watch. Walton has 20 games to
Figure it out IMO and if we are 5-15 by that point he should get booted

Not after 2 games, haha. I think how the team looks that early will factor in though. Not just W/L record. It's another thing that has to be considered that the players this team is relying on to take the team to the next level are still fairly inexperienced largely due to a lack of committment by their previous coach. The moves Vlade made are good fit types (not being used right obviously) and they should help the team but they were never going to single-handedly tilt this team into being a 50 win team. However they are the types of moves you make when you believe you can be a 50 win type of team. And there is a possibility. They have depth, talent, and a ton of shooting ability now the question is how to focus it properly. Walton has shown the ability to evolve game to game and that's a huge plus. It means there is a chance to find that sweet spot and play in a way that works the way it has to.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Ariza looks like he's phoning it in and that's a scary thought. The Kings really could have used that extra 12 million at the deadline to facilitate a deal. If he doesn't start bringing it Walton really needs to start looking at Justin James or Daquan Jeffries if for nothing more than energy.
Well James has the height to play some SF, but Jeffries, who by the way I really like, and wanted the Kings to take in the 2nd rd, is mostly a SG, even though he does have a huge wingspan. One thing both those guys would bring is solid defense. Although our perimeter defense has been much better, were still making switching and rotational mistakes. Players like Rubio shouldn't be able to just waltz down the lane for uncontested layups.

I know it probably won't happen, but I'd give Gabriel a shot as the backup SF. At the very least, you'd get defense and rebounding from him. He did shoot around 38% from the three last season in the G-League. He's more of a catch and shoot shooter than an off the dribble shooter.
 
ABC10's Sean Cunningham, on the question of pace:

"It’s been brought up. Differing answers depending on who you ask. Newer players struggling with it more than those who have been here. A concern though."
 
What a heist Ariza pulled off on the franchise lol.

Walton sucks! never been a fan and had bad vibes since the beggining.

Theres no uptempo pace this year at all, the starting 5 is a bad mix of tunnel visions scorers that lack playmaking.

When Giles is back I'd like to see this Fox/Bogi/Barnes/Giles/Dedmon.

The Clips bring Lou Will and Harrell off the bench and they kill it.. i think the same should be done with Buddy and maybe even Bagley when hes back.
 
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So far the Kings are not doing anything well. Last year they played fast. Not now. They scored a lot. Not now. They tried to improve their team defense. Not now. They rebounded as well as their opponents most of the time. NOt now. I don't see a team identify, a style of play.

This situation requires some firm coaching. Laying down the rules is what the Kings need. Malone and Jaeger were good at that part. We shall see if Luke knows how to get serious. There is nothing to lose by benching some people that do not follow the coach's directives. If they think Phoenix and Portland were tough, wait unitl they play LA and LA and GS.
 
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