I think none of our guards had their best game. Bogi has some inexplicable turn-overs. Fox does at times force things on the penetration. Buddy struggled. And yet we still won. Our guards will have to play better to beat Portland. All of them. It was nice to see our bigs contribute like they did. I don’t think previously we win this game.
[Game] Kings v Hornets, Saturday, Jan. 12 - 7PT/10ET
- Thread starter The Hammer
- Start date
I’m not replying to only him. My point is a general comment on the thread. MK is correct that Fox at times forces penetration and shots that aren’t there. Tetsujin is correct that Bogi had some bad turnovers. Both players would be the first to say they need to keep getting better. If we want to beat Portland they need to be better next game.
Not everyone is going to have a great game and most teams will have flat spots in the game with opponents making runs. You just have to adjust and weather them. The coach did a very good job with that last night.
I really saw the coach playing Giles and Bagley for a long stretch together last night and just think he is seeing the value of leaving Bagley in at the end of the game.
I believe they want to start playing Giles more but as the grind of the season progressively gets worse his knees need to be watched. Another off season for him to get stronger is going be good for everyone. The interior defense and rebounding with those two will be amazing for us.
No bad comments for me as it was tough win and I really like this team.
Good game guys!!
I really saw the coach playing Giles and Bagley for a long stretch together last night and just think he is seeing the value of leaving Bagley in at the end of the game.
I believe they want to start playing Giles more but as the grind of the season progressively gets worse his knees need to be watched. Another off season for him to get stronger is going be good for everyone. The interior defense and rebounding with those two will be amazing for us.
No bad comments for me as it was tough win and I really like this team.
Good game guys!!
The Kings played well in many categories. Their defense disrupted the Hornets part of the time. At the end of games, the Kings are very successful with an inside game, going to Willie, Bagley and Giles with Buddy and Bogdan throwing up 3s. When the 3s aren't falling pound it inside.
There is some serious maturation going on with this team. The guys are playing to win instead of not to lose. There is a mental adjustment that takes place when the Kings go from fast pace, to milk the clock. They are figuring out how to do this and be successful.
It would be good to pass a little better and reduce some turnovers. The Kings were outrebounded, which is concerning, but that is partly because they shot better than the Hornets. This is the kind of game they used to lose pretty often. Big change.
There is some serious maturation going on with this team. The guys are playing to win instead of not to lose. There is a mental adjustment that takes place when the Kings go from fast pace, to milk the clock. They are figuring out how to do this and be successful.
It would be good to pass a little better and reduce some turnovers. The Kings were outrebounded, which is concerning, but that is partly because they shot better than the Hornets. This is the kind of game they used to lose pretty often. Big change.
Yeah the thought of the ball in Giles hands at the high post with Bagley down low.... Buddy/Bogdan cutting every which way off ball screens ... Fox off the ball in an Iso position.... all we need is player X waiting for the corner 3.....
If Giles can shoot consistently from the high post this set becomes almost unstoppable.
If Giles can shoot consistently from the high post this set becomes almost unstoppable.
What clutch shooter? Bjelica?
When the Kings spread the floor with Bjelica in crunch time, opponents force the pass to WCS when our guards drive. Willie is unreliable in that situation. If the guards don't drive, the defense is forcing them into low percentage 29 footers or highly contested threes. Keeping Bagley in the game forces teams to play honest defense because he's a threat for an easy basket down low. Bjelica hasn't been a positive in that situation. It worked out last night with Bagley.
When the Kings spread the floor with Bjelica in crunch time, opponents force the pass to WCS when our guards drive. Willie is unreliable in that situation. If the guards don't drive, the defense is forcing them into low percentage 29 footers or highly contested threes. Keeping Bagley in the game forces teams to play honest defense because he's a threat for an easy basket down low. Bjelica hasn't been a positive in that situation. It worked out last night with Bagley.
I liked what I saw from Willie in the first half. That was a rare activity level for him. He was bouncy and alert. He was gobbling up the boards and keeping possessions alive. There's no reason he cannot play like this more often. Then he faded. Our 12 point lead shrunk to 3 points really fast when he came in for Giles and immediately gave up a three point play to Kemba and the offense sputtered with him in the high post. I wish I knew where I could find that stat but I am fairly convinced Willie leads the NBA in allowing and-ones. Willie tried a dunk in the second half in which he was 6 feet from the hoop and a defender directly in front of him. I don't like to discourage aggressiveness but it has to be harnessed not wild. There was NO way he was going to make that dunk unless he could extend his arm length by 4 feet. He has to have the presence of mind to alter his shot attempt given time and place. On another play the lob pass from D-Fox was slightly off target so when Willie caught the ball he was a few feet from the hoop. It would have been better to come down with the ball and power backup in the space that was available to him. This is another presence of mind situation where you have to have awareness and poise. You simply resort to the highest percentage shot for yourself when you are you know good at basketball. What Willie did was try to complete the play in one motion and because he lacks touch he missed. These types of plays in which he is trying to dunk when a half hook would work, or tries complete a errant lob pass in one motion instead of catching then going up strong for the foul or the and-one are going to cost him millions of dollars.
Both went to Duke, both come from basketball families, both are a "III"... and I agree their on court chemistry is great! Do people know that Bagley is the grandson of Jumpin Joe Caldwell? Dr. J once said he was was the hardest guy to guard him in the ABA. Caldwell won gold at the 1964 Olympics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Caldwell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Caldwell