[Game] Kings v. Pelicans - 1/13/16 - 7 PT, 10 ET
- Thread starter VF21
- Start date
yeah, now we have to smash these guys. With no A.D. tonight it would be very odd for them to play him on the 2nd game of the back to back, and this latest injury is shoveling dirt on their season. If we can beat them and drop them to 11-27...I mean at some point those numbers reach "its over". Be nice to have the Pels quit and focus on firing Gentry/rebuilding after the break so we could concentrate and the teams ahead of us, not behind us.
I am in favor of keeping Q in the starting line-up. I am thinking that one way to improve 27th ranked defense is to go one deeper in the rotation so that there is more fresh legs on the floor. How many games has Karl played 8 or 9 players then moaned about the defense? Maybe going 10 deep can improve transition defense and rotations just because guys are not pacing themselves. I have mixed feelings on this because Omri was so great as a starter but he can be great as a reserve too.
Starters
Quincy
Boogie
Rudy
Ben
Rondo
Bench
Koufos
Willie
Omri
Darren
Marco
This can be our playoff rotation with Quincy that extra element this team was lacking. Omri is the superior perimeter defender. Willie is the superior interior defender. But Quincy is the superior interior AND perimeter defender in the sense that he will bang in the paint, sky high for boards, and he is more comfortable than Willie guarding outside the key. He also has a decent shooting touch from 15 to 17 feet that Willie lacks.
It will be interesting to see what Karl does. He says he doesn't care about his starting line-up but I think whether to continue to roll with Q is a significant decision, especially from a guy who said this team didn't have enough defenders.
Starters
Quincy
Boogie
Rudy
Ben
Rondo
Bench
Koufos
Willie
Omri
Darren
Marco
This can be our playoff rotation with Quincy that extra element this team was lacking. Omri is the superior perimeter defender. Willie is the superior interior defender. But Quincy is the superior interior AND perimeter defender in the sense that he will bang in the paint, sky high for boards, and he is more comfortable than Willie guarding outside the key. He also has a decent shooting touch from 15 to 17 feet that Willie lacks.
It will be interesting to see what Karl does. He says he doesn't care about his starting line-up but I think whether to continue to roll with Q is a significant decision, especially from a guy who said this team didn't have enough defenders.
One of Acy or WCS should start, otherwise you have the case of having all three of Koufos, WCS and Acy on the bench, meaning at least one of the three will get no minutes and likely that two of the three will only see spot minutes. Its also the case of having three of maybe our top five defenders coming off the bench(if the consensus is that the top 5 defensive players on this team are Cuz, Koufos, WCS, Casspi, Acy).
The one thing I feel would help this team as currently constructed(but probably won't) is to move Rudy to the bench unit to bring balance to the units. I think Acy has shown that he is a legit rotation guy in this league now. No longer the deceptional energy guy we saw a couple of years ago that would have a huge dunk and make a lot of fundamental mistakes. He is now learning how to use his energy, and his defense has improved by miles since the last time he was here. Sometimes you forget he is only 24 years old. His quickness on the perimeter and length make him a plus defender and his improving outside jumper is a plus. Maybe you consider starting Marco also with more shots being there with Gay out. It just doesn't makes sense to me to have all three of Acy, WCS, Koufos coming off the bench when all three are proving to be good contributors to the rotations and all three have similar impacts. I'd like to hear other posters thoughts on Acy, he has really impressed me of late and feel he deserves to be in the rotation.
Starters
Rondo
Ben
Casspi
Acy
Cuz
Bench
Collison
Marco
Rudy
WCS
Koufos
The one thing I feel would help this team as currently constructed(but probably won't) is to move Rudy to the bench unit to bring balance to the units. I think Acy has shown that he is a legit rotation guy in this league now. No longer the deceptional energy guy we saw a couple of years ago that would have a huge dunk and make a lot of fundamental mistakes. He is now learning how to use his energy, and his defense has improved by miles since the last time he was here. Sometimes you forget he is only 24 years old. His quickness on the perimeter and length make him a plus defender and his improving outside jumper is a plus. Maybe you consider starting Marco also with more shots being there with Gay out. It just doesn't makes sense to me to have all three of Acy, WCS, Koufos coming off the bench when all three are proving to be good contributors to the rotations and all three have similar impacts. I'd like to hear other posters thoughts on Acy, he has really impressed me of late and feel he deserves to be in the rotation.
Starters
Rondo
Ben
Casspi
Acy
Cuz
Bench
Collison
Marco
Rudy
WCS
Koufos
Q brings more of a post and interior presence to keep loose balls alive off the boards. He also is an opportunistic scorer in the paint.
His talent is less than Omri because Omri is so great spacing the floor and breaking out in transition, and his length is inferior to Willie, but it is all about team synergy. If Q can help set a tone for how the team is going to defensively, including stuffing pick and rolls and boxing out, this is more significant than whether he is the better overall player.
Our defense is not working so Karl can sit over there like a MOMA statue or he can proactively address the flaw. Options include (1) playing Seth more (2) playing Q more (3) trading for Kawhi or Jimmy B. Since (1) and (3) don't seem tenable because Karl has love affair with Marco el Bricko and power ball odds are better than (3), I'd say (2) is worth a shot.
I am not even suggesting Q play more than 15 minutes just hustle his butt off for the limited minutes he gets. Maybe play him 5 or 6 minutes to start each half then roll with him more if he gets a game going. If not his minutes are relinquished to Omri and Willie.
His talent is less than Omri because Omri is so great spacing the floor and breaking out in transition, and his length is inferior to Willie, but it is all about team synergy. If Q can help set a tone for how the team is going to defensively, including stuffing pick and rolls and boxing out, this is more significant than whether he is the better overall player.
Our defense is not working so Karl can sit over there like a MOMA statue or he can proactively address the flaw. Options include (1) playing Seth more (2) playing Q more (3) trading for Kawhi or Jimmy B. Since (1) and (3) don't seem tenable because Karl has love affair with Marco el Bricko and power ball odds are better than (3), I'd say (2) is worth a shot.
I am not even suggesting Q play more than 15 minutes just hustle his butt off for the limited minutes he gets. Maybe play him 5 or 6 minutes to start each half then roll with him more if he gets a game going. If not his minutes are relinquished to Omri and Willie.
Last edited:
Who do you bench then? Im of the thinking Casspi should always be in the same unit with Cousins and Rondo. With Cuz's ability to get doubles combined with Rondo's to find guys in rhythm, it makes Casspi's great stand still shooting a big weapon. Im fine with keeping Rudy as a starter, but that also means lesser to no role for guys like Acy and WCS.
I am not in favor of benching anyone. Just going from a 9 man rotation to a 10 man rotation. I listed to the 10 guys in my post above. Like I said I have mixed feelings about sending Omri back to the bench because he spaces the floor so well in our dribble drive offense, but we are not going to be a playoff team unless our defense improves.
This notion that the effort needs to be more consistent is fine, but it about skill sets too. With Quincy you add a player to the rotation not so concerned with getting his points and "looking cool" which was a accusation Karl levied at a few of his players (Ben, Rondo, Rudy IMO) but doing the dirty work....hustle, loose balls, deflections, etc.
Historically teams play 10 players more often than 9 during the regular season. There is room for Q in the rotation without limiting the opportunity for Omri and Willie to excel.
This notion that the effort needs to be more consistent is fine, but it about skill sets too. With Quincy you add a player to the rotation not so concerned with getting his points and "looking cool" which was a accusation Karl levied at a few of his players (Ben, Rondo, Rudy IMO) but doing the dirty work....hustle, loose balls, deflections, etc.
Historically teams play 10 players more often than 9 during the regular season. There is room for Q in the rotation without limiting the opportunity for Omri and Willie to excel.
