He's not a good defender all the way around. I think there are particular matchups he can do well against, but generally speaking, he hurts you on D. Interesting you mentioned that Carlisle wasn't attacking him all game long. Against Orlando the opposing coach torched him and Hield in pick and rolls all game long. Vuc attacked him at every opportunity and he was terrible on the defensive end. In this game, he was completely flat footed, just out of his element with the pace of the game and the spread-the-floor offense of Dallas. I can see him playing with four other good defenders that can make up for his lack of foot speed, but I just can't see it if he's paired with another below average defender in Hield. And vice-versa.
[Game] Kings v. Mavericks - Wednesday, Jan. 15 - 7PT/10ET
- Thread starter VF21
- Start date
- Status
in all honesty I stopped watching half way through the 4th quarter as my wife was complaining about being forced to watch bad basketball. So if he did, I missed it.
Bagley has the physical tools to be a decent defender. I’m just not sure he ever had to play team defense on his AAU team which was him and other less talented players. Can he learn it? I don’t know. Some basketball people I know say they don’t see the correct vision and instincts to think he will ever be good.
My deleted comment about him going to the G league and playing 38 mins was not tongue in cheek. I think he would be helped greatly seeing the game at a slower speed.
Bagley has the physical tools to be a decent defender. I’m just not sure he ever had to play team defense on his AAU team which was him and other less talented players. Can he learn it? I don’t know. Some basketball people I know say they don’t see the correct vision and instincts to think he will ever be good.
My deleted comment about him going to the G league and playing 38 mins was not tongue in cheek. I think he would be helped greatly seeing the game at a slower speed.
I can’t disagree with you, but I just don’t see a trade of any significance happening before the deadline this season unless it’s an offer clearly too good to refuse. I think the Kings have essentially written this season off and are focused on the long-term future. Vlade has locked the team into some contracts that are going to be tough to move given the corresponding low level of talent. Regrettably, the short-term outlook (1-3 years) is not particularly promising.
He hurts you in some ways, helps in others, but it's rather noticeable teams are exploiting the Kings big lineups and Bjelica has been a part of it. During the multiple sequence hole digging in this game Carlisle ran the same set that saw Bjelica having to cover Hardaway Jr. at the 3 point line on a pin down. Walton just sat and watched it happen. Every game this seems to occur. I'm trying to figure it out. Walton was so much more on the ready earlier in the year, now it's things like running 2 PG's and Buddy against a team with a 6'8" PG. When you're margin of error is as slight as it is, the wrong substitution can destroy you. Waiting too long to recognize where you're being attacked from and giving up 2 easy looks at the 3 can start things heading downhill quickly.
From Sean Cunningham on Twitter,
Kings frustrations continue to build. Not to insinuate that there is drama in the locker room, but the sniping and bickering on the floor becoming more evident. Maybe a good ol' scrap would do them some good
Too bad Joerger was such a big meanie. Part of a head coaches job is to keep the troops pulling in the same direction. Walton has been on the job for a very short time and the team is becoming a mess as far as chemistry goes. Never mind the X’s and O’s. And yes, the players are responsible for holding it together, but Walton also has to have a huge hand in this with the culture he has created.
Kings frustrations continue to build. Not to insinuate that there is drama in the locker room, but the sniping and bickering on the floor becoming more evident. Maybe a good ol' scrap would do them some good
Too bad Joerger was such a big meanie. Part of a head coaches job is to keep the troops pulling in the same direction. Walton has been on the job for a very short time and the team is becoming a mess as far as chemistry goes. Never mind the X’s and O’s. And yes, the players are responsible for holding it together, but Walton also has to have a huge hand in this with the culture he has created.
There has been some discussion about team defense being the Kings' identity this year. Last game they gave up 65 points in the first half to the lowest scoring team in the League, Orlando. Last night they gave up 71 points in the first half to Dallas minus Porzingas.
Forget everything I have said about defense. Until the Kings get serious about it they will be hopeless and hapless. They can't win at home against average teams.
Fox is really playing well. Barnes and Bejelica are doing their part.
Forget everything I have said about defense. Until the Kings get serious about it they will be hopeless and hapless. They can't win at home against average teams.
Fox is really playing well. Barnes and Bejelica are doing their part.
I think all of these things are equally true:
1. Injuries have hurt the team. Not just production, but also cohesion.
2. Buddy has regressed due to other teams adjusting to him and what's between those ears.
3. Bags has not developed due to injuries and a lack of physicality..
4. New system.
5. The Kings got significantly less athletic and their core rotation got older.
6. New system that emphasizes ball movement and smarts on offense and defense. Combined with existing and new players who operate best as black holes (or semi-black holes) and may lack smarts: Bogi (bh only), Buddy, Barnes (bh only), & Bagley. The four Bs.
7. No shot blocking presence.
The above items are somewhat workable. The following are not:
8. NO HEART.
9. NO PHYSICALITY.
Excluding Fox and Bags, everyone (including Vlade) needs to go. I can be talked into keeping Walton.
1. Injuries have hurt the team. Not just production, but also cohesion.
2. Buddy has regressed due to other teams adjusting to him and what's between those ears.
3. Bags has not developed due to injuries and a lack of physicality..
4. New system.
5. The Kings got significantly less athletic and their core rotation got older.
6. New system that emphasizes ball movement and smarts on offense and defense. Combined with existing and new players who operate best as black holes (or semi-black holes) and may lack smarts: Bogi (bh only), Buddy, Barnes (bh only), & Bagley. The four Bs.
7. No shot blocking presence.
The above items are somewhat workable. The following are not:
8. NO HEART.
9. NO PHYSICALITY.
Excluding Fox and Bags, everyone (including Vlade) needs to go. I can be talked into keeping Walton.
I think Vlade deserves his fair share of criticism for some questionable transactions, but he also deserves credit for drafting Fox and Bagley - two talented young players who complement each other and who both have very “high ceilings”. If the Kings can hang on to these two and build around them, then the future looks bright for Sacramento. The process of becoming a legitimate playoff contender (and hopefully much more than just that) is the difficult and tricky part - acquiring the right kind of talent in the draft and through free agency, along with keeping the right pieces that we have already and dumping the ones that don’t fit via trades (if possible). Despite the slew of injuries that disrupted this season and made an accurate evaluation of the team’s trajectory difficult, I think we have seen enough to know that there are some glaring deficiencies with personnel that need to be addressed. We need a different group of role players to serve as the supporting cast for our two future stars - De’Aaron and Marvin. Some more length, athleticism, and quickness (particularly on the wings) would help the team match up better against the other squads in the League - I think these are the main areas where the Kings are lacking. Holmes has been a top-notch addition (as a reserve or as a starter) and there are a couple of others we should try to keep, but I think a significant re-shuffling of the roster is in order. Given the current situation with contracts and such, it’s not going to happen overnight. Granted, all of the preceding is just an opinion but I think there are other fans that feel similarly. Constructive, civil feedback is welcome.
Last edited:
I don't understand a lot of things right now. Maybe there are good reasons, but I'm not smart enough to see it. Most of what I don't understand is why, when this team's defense has been so poor of late, especially in the first half, does Walton play Hield and Bjelica as much as he does instead of more minutes for Joseph, JJ, and Ariza, who played 37 minutes? (JJ played zero minutes). Hield and Bjelica played a total of 73 minutes. In this game, Bjelica and Hield took a total of 35 shot attempts; they made 36 total points. Now if your "offensive" players, who have defensive limitations, are essentially only making a point a shot attempt, you are in deep trouble. At the minimum, in order to justify their existence on the floor, they need to be making 1.3 points per shot attempt, which would translate to 46 points, a differential of 10 or more points. If they aren't justifying their existence on the floor with their offense, you've just got to reduce their minutes on the floor, imo.
Another thing I don't understand is why no Dedmon after he showed he could be productive? Did Walton think that Bjelica would be better on D than Dedmon in the match ups? Or does Walton know that Dedmon is as good as gone in a trade so there's no point to playing him? And maybe the trade scenario has something to do with playing Hield and Bjelica all these minutes? Or maybe there's another reason.
I just keep thinking that if my team was continually getting destroyed on defense in the first half, I'd shake things up and put the best defensive lineup I could come up with for the first half. And like I've said before, I wouldn't play Hield and Bjelica together on the floor. That's 40% of your team being flat-footed and is just too difficult to overcome on the defensive end, imo.
Another thing I don't understand is why no Dedmon after he showed he could be productive? Did Walton think that Bjelica would be better on D than Dedmon in the match ups? Or does Walton know that Dedmon is as good as gone in a trade so there's no point to playing him? And maybe the trade scenario has something to do with playing Hield and Bjelica all these minutes? Or maybe there's another reason.
I just keep thinking that if my team was continually getting destroyed on defense in the first half, I'd shake things up and put the best defensive lineup I could come up with for the first half. And like I've said before, I wouldn't play Hield and Bjelica together on the floor. That's 40% of your team being flat-footed and is just too difficult to overcome on the defensive end, imo.
Last edited:
Not a major fan of Walton right now, but there is no denying he's been dealt a bad hand so far this year. Between the injuries, Buddy now thinking he is Lebron 2.0, and a very poorly constructed bench of inconsistent players, the chances of him exceeding our expectations so far were low. These next 41 games will give us the best picture yet of what he is as a coach now that everyone is healthy.
I used to not give Carlisle much credit for being a good coach. I’m a believer now, he picked the Kings apart last night. He calls every play and his squad ran his system very well last night. Many of the shot attempts were wide open. The Mavs Bigs are very adept at setting screens that punish the wing defenders. Some of them are illegal screens but they get away with a good percentage of them. This allowed one of the best passers I have ever seen to pick the Kings apart. The Mavs made their shots and played good enough D to where they deserved the win.
the Kings can’t give up as many points as they did and expect to win. These late game comebacks that fall just short of a win have to be taking a toll on team morale.
I would be curious to know what is on the owners mind right now? I’m not sure I can stomach another rebuild.
the Kings can’t give up as many points as they did and expect to win. These late game comebacks that fall just short of a win have to be taking a toll on team morale.
I would be curious to know what is on the owners mind right now? I’m not sure I can stomach another rebuild.
Whilst I generally enjoy your insightful and - on occasions - humorous posts, I will admit that your contribution to this thread (or anything Luka related, for that matter) leaves much to be desired.
There is no need to deflect. The Kings had the asset needed to get Luka and decided to pass on him. There is a person in the organisation that should be held accountable. Who that person is and where the buck stops - I guess that is up for discussion. But asking for accountability does not make anyone, in my view, less of a fan.
There is no need to deflect. The Kings had the asset needed to get Luka and decided to pass on him. There is a person in the organisation that should be held accountable. Who that person is and where the buck stops - I guess that is up for discussion. But asking for accountability does not make anyone, in my view, less of a fan.
Now that the information is out there that Dave wanted to draft you know who... It should be pretty clear that we need to somehow someway get Dave back here as GM/Coach and fire everyone on the current staff. I have always like Vlade as the player, but He should of stayed with Dave...... Sacramento deserves better than this...
- Status