[Game] Kings v. Spurs - Sunday, Jan. 28 - 4 PT

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VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#1
I was kind of looking past this game and towards the one on Tuesday, but now...

The Spurs today aren't the Spurs that filled me with dread every tine we played them. Having said that, I must acknowledge that they're 32-19 and we're 11.5 point underdogs.

I think they're beatable, partially because we're a big question mark. They don't what to expect from our kids. Heck, we don't know to expect from our kids! ;)

My favorite Kings-Spurs moment? Watching Rick Adelman get so excited when Kevin Martin hits the game winner in game 3 of the first round of the 2006 playoffs.


GO KINGS!!!
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#2
From the injury report: WCS will be out; Manu is a game-time decision.

So, I'm guessing our starting lineup will be:
Fox, Bogs, Temple, Skal and Koufos
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#3
No Trill?

Time for Papa to finally get a chance to foul out of a game!

I keed, I keed!

I'm hoping Fox builds upon that superstar finish from last game and puts together a dominant performance against SA!
 
#6
While a lot of us will love to change positions with Spurs, I feel that they are headed towards the dreaded no man's land. With KL, LA, Pop, they will continue to be good most nights, and great some, but will not see much post season success. Plus, for the first time in forever, there are reports of discontent, that too from their star player.

They have picked very smart at the bottom of the draft in the past, and they are a great organization, so can never rule them out. Will be tough for them to reinvent themselves soon though. And if Pops retires, they might drop down fast.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#7
While a lot of us will love to change positions with Spurs, I feel that they are headed towards the dreaded no man's land. With KL, LA, Pop, they will continue to be good most nights, and great some, but will not see much post season success. Plus, for the first time in forever, there are reports of discontent, that too from their star player.

They have picked very smart at the bottom of the draft in the past, and they are a great organization, so can never rule them out. Will be tough for them to reinvent themselves soon though. And if Pops retires, they might drop down fast.
There's every reason to think KL may not be in a Spurs uniform much longer. If that happens, the Spurs are in trouble.
 
#8
I was kind of looking past this game and towards the one on Tuesday, but now...

The Spurs today aren't the Spurs that filled me with dread every tine we played them. Having said that, I must acknowledge that they're 32-19 and we're 11.5 point underdogs.

I think they're beatable, partially because we're a big question mark. They don't what to expect from our kids. Heck, we don't know to expect from our kids! ;)

My favorite Kings-Spurs moment? Watching Rick Adelman get so excited when Kevin Martin hits the game winner in game 3 of the first round of the 2006 playoffs.


GO KINGS!!!
I was at that game. The postgame atmosphere was unbelievable. Not as unbelievable as the one after game 5 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. But it was unbelievable.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#9
I was at that game. The postgame atmosphere was unbelievable. Not as unbelievable as the one after game 5 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. But it was unbelievable.
It was that game that had most of us around here amazed at Adelman's obvious elation. We actually thought the Maloofs would renew his contract. It was not to be ... and the Kings have not been back to the playoffs since.
 
#10
It was that game that had most of us around here amazed at Adelman's obvious elation. We actually thought the Maloofs would renew his contract. It was not to be ... and the Kings have not been back to the playoffs since.
Yeah, and I was that idiot who actually thought we would end up doing better the next season under Eric Musselman. I stress the word "idiot".
 
#11
While a lot of us will love to change positions with Spurs, I feel that they are headed towards the dreaded no man's land. With KL, LA, Pop, they will continue to be good most nights, and great some, but will not see much post season success. Plus, for the first time in forever, there are reports of discontent, that too from their star player.

They have picked very smart at the bottom of the draft in the past, and they are a great organization, so can never rule them out. Will be tough for them to reinvent themselves soon though. And if Pops retires, they might drop down fast.
I hear ya, but I feel like we've been saying this about the Spurs for the last 10 years.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#12
I hear ya, but I feel like we've been saying this about the Spurs for the last 10 years.
To be fair, the Spurs still had the greatest power forward of all time on their team for the majority of those ten years and the duct tape apparently binding together Kawhi's body still hadn't completely come undone yet.

LMA suddenly remembering he's a multiple time All-Star has helped them weather the storm but the Spurs have made a couple of puzzling moves over the last several season (randomly re-signing a geriatric Pau to a huge contract while simultaneously letting Simmons walk for nothing being chief among them) and with Manu and Parker not getting any younger, the Spurs, while probably not ever outright sucking, may wind up like those weird Bibby/Brad Miller squads of the post-Webber era Kings.
 
#14
We are going to find out how much Willie affects the defense. He always defends the other teams best Big so I think it will be a substantial difference. Kosta can play that role and therein lies Kosta's primary value. Defending the other teams Bigs. Kosta is a good defender but does not have Willie's lateral quickness. LMA and Pau are tall and long and at this point in their careers are wily vets. If Papa gets minutes he will get a great opportunity to learn at the hand of a couple of NBA masters:) I think this is a perfect game for Papa to play.

The Spurs have a bench full of players who can hurt you on any specific night. Manu and Tony could light it up. Pop is letting them coast and will use them when needed. Bertans went for 28 back on Jan. 8.
 
#17
It’s disappointing that Willie going to be out. It seemed that the team defense took a big step forward last game and I wanted to see if it carried over to the next game, especially against a well-oiled ball movement machine like the spurs.

One of the biggest issues with the Kings team defense is the constant need for help, because of not stopping the ball on the perimeter. The opposition guards and wings blow by our guards and wings and are getting into the lane and finishing, kicking out, or dishing down at will.

Our bigs may have the most defensive responsibility in the league because of the team’s inability to guard out on the perimeter. Kings’ bigs just have a huge amount of ground to cover because of poor team defense.

But I believe I saw improvement in this area the last game and I was looking forward to seeing if they could maintain that.

Willie is a big part of the defense, and there is a perception (supported by stats and counting numbers – blocks mainly) that he’s regressed into a poor defender. But the Kings are a team riddled with poor defenders and this does impact Willies defensive numbers and I believe it also indirectly affects his rebounding by forcing him out of position away from the basket.

Willie’s agility and ability to switch and stay in front of smaller players is part of his unique skill set and makes him an elite defender, but it can go for naught if his team mates don’t play their part well. But when they do play well, Willie's defensive abilities become more apparent.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#19
I have to throw a couple of tidbits out there about the Miami game.

Fox's Revenge. In the first half Dragic had the ball, dribbled toward the basket, and gave Fox a lightning-quick elbow to the midsection. Fox doubled over in pain and Dragic went in for a layup. In the second half after Fox made life hell for Dragic on the defensive end and made the winning slam over Dragic, Dragic stood there dumbfounded and said to nobody in particular, G__dammit.

Of note on the final play of the Miami game: Both Fox and Hield went to the basket to get a possible offensive rebound. Zach fell down trying to get position for the offensive rebound. WCS was actually at the 3 point line and was backing up when Bogs put up the shot. Go figure on that.:eek:

As far as the Spurs are concerned, because they are the Spurs they never seem to take the Kings lightly. This will be a tough game for the Kings because of the experience of the Spurs.
 
#23
I have to throw a couple of tidbits out there about the Miami game.

Fox's Revenge. In the first half Dragic had the ball, dribbled toward the basket, and gave Fox a lightning-quick elbow to the midsection. Fox doubled over in pain and Dragic went in for a layup. In the second half after Fox made life hell for Dragic on the defensive end and made the winning slam over Dragic, Dragic stood there dumbfounded and said to nobody in particular, G__dammit.

Of note on the final play of the Miami game: Both Fox and Hield went to the basket to get a possible offensive rebound. Zach fell down trying to get position for the offensive rebound. WCS was actually at the 3 point line and was backing up when Bogs put up the shot. Go figure on that.:eek:

As far as the Spurs are concerned, because they are the Spurs they never seem to take the Kings lightly. This will be a tough game for the Kings because of the experience of the Spurs.
Yeah, I saw that, too, and was what the heck. Ideally, you would like for Willie to be crashing the board in that situation as soon as the shot went up. He was at the 3-point line because he had just set a high screen for Bogs (that he didn’t really use). Fox set the first screen that freed Bogs up then Fox rolled to the left corner.

Willie set a 2nd screen, but Bogs dribbled to the right of that screen and took the shot. Willie probably should have started to break to the basket at that point. Adebayo and Johnson were just in front of the free throw line blocking out. Willie would probably have had to go through or over them. However, they left a lane open on the left side and Fox shot that gap.

I think Willie got caught ball watching and I really believe both he and Bogs thought the shot was going in. One thing, and even Fox mentioned this, it was normally Fox’s responsibility to get back on defense, but considering the situation he saw the opening and crashed the board. Willie’s instincts may have kicked in because he didn’t just stand there, he was back pedaling like he was going to get back and prevent a breakaway basket.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#24
Yeah, I saw that, too, and was what the heck. Ideally, you would like for Willie to be crashing the board in that situation as soon as the shot went up. He was at the 3-point line because he had just set a high screen for Bogs (that he didn’t really use). Fox set the first screen that freed Bogs up then Fox rolled to the left corner.

Willie set a 2nd screen, but Bogs dribbled to the right of that screen and took the shot. Willie probably should have started to break to the basket at that point. Adebayo and Johnson were just in front of the free throw line blocking out. Willie would probably have had to go through or over them. However, they left a lane open on the left side and Fox shot that gap.

I think Willie got caught ball watching and I really believe both he and Bogs thought the shot was going in. One thing, and even Fox mentioned this, it was normally Fox’s responsibility to get back on defense, but considering the situation he saw the opening and crashed the board. Willie’s instincts may have kicked in because he didn’t just stand there, he was back pedaling like he was going to get back and prevent a breakaway basket.
As you know, you just can't assume the shot is going in. That's a brain-dead play by the center, who of all people should be crashing the boards in a situation where you are behind by a point and have only a few seconds on the clock.
 
#28
As you know, you just can't assume the shot is going in. That's a brain-dead play by the center, who of all people should be crashing the boards in a situation where you are behind by a point and have only a few seconds on the clock.
Agreed, but everyone has their brain dead moments, including Miami in this case who didn't put a body on Fox. Adebayo and Johnson were both in position to block out Willie, but nobody put a body on Fox. It turned out in the Kings favor this time. Who knows, maybe if Willie was not back they take the in bounds and throw it full court for a buzzer beater. Sometimes you screw up but come out ahead anyway.
 
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