[Game] Kings v. Suns - Friday, Dec. 29 - 7 PT

[Kings Faithful]

Suns have their centerpiece. Kings still need one.

It doesn’t matter that the Kings held Booker in Check for 3.5 Qtrs.

When the game was on the line. Booker delivered!
That’s what stars are made of.

I hate Bookers face and his haircut so much. He is destined to join the Lakers in a few years. Just watch.

 

[eMBarkat10n]

Lets see? I was 6 at the time. Should I really know or care? Is he friends with Popovich or Mike Fratello?

But you referred to Mitch Richmond in your other post/comment. His point is that if you know him, you should then also know who Pete Youngman is/was.

 

[Kings Faithful]

Harry Giles.... please be a rebounding God and save this team.

 

[eMBarkat10n]

I am afraid that this might be one of those games in which we "take the occasional step backwards".

Yeah.....pretty much sums up my postgame thoughts. In a nutshell. We came out looking as flat as we have ever looked out there, at least for the first 2.5 quarters of play. And then we started to pick things up a little to end the 3rd, and start the 4th. Actually made the game very exciting to watch for a while. But, as the 4th quarter came to a conclusion, we folded, once again. Guys that played well against Cleveland struggled. Shots weren't falling. The defense broke down way too often, IMHO. The Suns are a super athletic team. And that caught up to us.

 

[KingsSelecao]

But you referred to Mitch Richmond and Olden Polynice in your other post/comment. His point is that if you know those two, you should then also know who Pete Youngman is/was.

I did not reference Polynice at any point on this message board, ever. Please check my history of messages. You have me confused with someone else. Richmond, yes. Yes, you're right. I am a terrible fan, since I didn't know who the Kings athletic trainer was during their Halcyon daze. Really? Really?

 

[eMBarkat10n]

I did not reference Polynice at any point on this message board, ever. Please check my history of messages. You have me confused with someone else. Richmond, yes. Yes, you're right. I am a terrible fan, since I didn't know who the Kings athletic trainer was during their Halcyon daze. Really? Really?

OOOOOOOOOOooooops!!!! No, I do not have you confused with someone else. I have your reference to Oscar confused with another past Kings player, lol. I apologize. I made the correction to my original comment.

Not many Kings fans who were around in the early 2000's, or who know a thing or two about those teams like you do, don't know the name Pete Youngman...

And, no, you're not a terrible fan, why would I even think about saying something like that, lol. You're a Kings fan, why would you be terrible?

 

[kingdivac]

Way too many 3s given up by the Kings....some were good shots, some were poor defense. Kings went cold to end the game. Disappointing loss, but not nearly as bad as the recent loss to Clippers.

 

[kingdivac]

4:28, score was 97-97 when joeger brought in all the vets. I would have really liked to see him stick with the young guys to see how they closed out a tight game.

That shouldn't be surprising, deciphering Joerger's rotation is like breaking a mini enigma-machine.

 

[ppine]

Very disappointing loss. The Kings gave up over 30 points in two of the four quarters. The defense did not show up.
The rebounding was atrocious especially on the defensive end.
Maybe Skal reads what we post here. He came out firing on 8 cylinders, then disappeared.
How come Vince never stepped on the floor?
A game like this makes me wonder if the Kings really do tank some games on purpose.

 

[Blob]

There was NO reason to put George Hill back in the game. He was 2 for 10 and ended a team worst plus / minus of -18.

Even if Joerger did NOT want to play Frank down the stretch (since he was getting in trouble going to the rim a few times) he could have gone with Boggy, Buddy and Temple.

The lesson to be heeded from the Cavs win was the potential revelation of Boggy at the PG, and giving him more responsibility to run the show was worth pursuing.

The lesson was not heeded by this dense coach and it cost us a win.

Boggy can be a wizard dropping dimes, using the screen, shooting off the bounce, lobbing at the rim. Meanwhile Hill pounds the ball into the same spot as if he is drilling for oil.

Hill will often dribble the ball and the shot clock will often hit 10 seconds before he makes the first pass. Awful!

Here's another clue for this strategically-challenged coach: You could have kept Hill on the floor for defense and simply inverted roles, that is, let Boggy run the point.

I never thought after two weeks into the season that between the two vets of Z-Bud and Hill, I would come to favor Z-Bud over Hill, but that is what happened and its not even close.

Hill is a disaster.

31 year old PG make 20M not better than two rookies (Boggy or Frank) on many nights. What kind of sham is that?! And who should answer for that?! If I am Vivek, I am like "Who made this call and why should I not fire you?!" I am only half-kidding, I would want to know precisely what was the reasoning and thought process behind that contract, how and why it was justified, and where do we go from here. For a lot less money (3/21) we could have had Jonathon Simmons to play the 3, and lock down that position for years to come, or at least give the contenders stiff and respectable competition. The only positive thing I can say about Hill is that he can help us to get a high draft pick since he plays well 1 out of every 4 games. So he can help us win 25% of our games which makes him valuable to land us a Top 5 pick.

Last night was good for The Lins Crowd:

• MEM (11th Win)
• DAL (12th Win)
• ORL (12th Win)
• CHA (13th Win)
• PHX (14th Win)
• CHI (13th Win)
• SAC (LOSS - 12 Wins)

I don't see us catching the Hawks in the Race for the Bottom but when the Lakers (Lopez) and Grizzlies (Conley) get healthy, I can see them passing us.

We have a decent to good shot at second worst in the NBA with Joerger calling the shots and Hill running the show!

What kind of lame coach does not put Skal back in to end the half after he was lighting it up to start the game?!

Answer: A very lame one!

To end on a positive, I think Willie is playing with more presence lately, that is, he is in the right spot more often.

I was looking up Willie's usage stats and came across this article by Aileen with some intriguing quotes, and kind of affirm what my eyes have been seeing.

Willie is less out of place then he usually is. He is more where he is suppose to be. There is still the issue of execution but he is reading the game better.

“These last games, I’m seeing what I was hoping for when I drafted Willie,” Kings general manager Vlade Divac said. “He runs, he scores, he blocks shots, he scores in the post. He does everything. And we noticed last summer how much harder he was working. There were questions, but I don’t think so anymore. If he keeps developing like this, he will be an elite center in this league.”

“Willie, we talk a lot,” Bogdanovic said. “Everyone here says, ‘be aggressive,’ but I think they use the word in the wrong way. They think it means, ‘I have the ball and it’s my time.’ No. You have to recognize the game. Willie just needed someone like me to help him a little bit because I had the same problem when I first played in Europe. I try to tell him, ‘You are a big guy and a crazy athlete. Keep the game simple. Just read the game. If you have a mismatch in the lane, yell at me quickly to find you. You don’t need to do crazy moves, maybe only at the end of shot clock or game clock. Be patient.’ That will be more effective. And from what I see, he has only shown 10-20 percent of his potential.”

This is a really smart quote by Boggy.

Link

Anyway, even though Willie was an old rookie and a lot of have concluded by Year Three he should have figured it out by now and he absolutely pales in comparison to my choice at the time (Myles Turner) who is 2-3 years younger and leading the NBA in shot blocking, Willie has NOT had a lot of reps.

In Year One, playing behind Boogie , he only had a 11% usage rate and missed 16 games. I think he broke his finger on the rim. In Year Two, his usage rate went to 20% but he only got real significant experience and extended playing time after the Boogie trade. In Year Three, he is being afforded his most minutes (26 MPG) most shots (5 > 6 > 9) and currently having his best month. So I guess you could argue he is still on course to blossom given this trajectory. I am not necessarily arguing this (because I need to see a lot more to be convinced he will be "elite" per Vlade) I am just saying you could if you want to.

 

[sactowndog]

Very disappointing loss. The Kings gave up over 30 points in two of the four quarters. The defense did not show up.
The rebounding was atrocious especially on the defensive end.
Maybe Skal reads what we post here. He came out firing on 8 cylinders, then disappeared.
How come Vince never stepped on the floor?
A game like this makes me wonder if the Kings really do tank some games on purpose.

Hard to say Skal disappeared when Dave had his a$$ on the bench.

Skal went out at the 4:05 mark and didn’t play at all in the rest of the first half. Then basically the same in the third. Both times he was productive with 4 buckets in the first and a bucket and an assist in the third.

 

[Larry David]

The most likely reason that we have Hill and not Simmons is probably that Hill would come to Sacramento for well over his market value, whereas Simmons would not.

Vlade over paid Hill and ZBo at the time to land them. Hill has been trash and the contract looks horrible. But ZBo has been the best free agent in years and is on a good contract. ZBo’s deal was a home run

 

[kingdivac]

The most likely reason that we have Hill and not Simmons is probably that Hill would come to Sacramento for well over his market value, whereas Simmons would not.

Vlade over paid Hill and ZBo at the time to land them. Hill has been trash and the contract looks horrible. But ZBo has been the best free agent in years and is on a good contract. ZBo’s deal was a home run

I dont know about a home-run but definitely good and certainly so in comparison. If Hill were paid the same as Randolph, it would have been poor but not horrendous.

 

[dude12]

George Hill is shooting 46% from the field as well as from 3 point range.....all of his other numbers are near career norms except he's shooting less and his assist numbers are down and that is due in part to him playing SG most of the time. His defense is the same as its always been which is solid. He is on a short term contract. Unless Kings find a match on expiring contracts, George is going to be here until at least the Summer I suspect.

 

[upinsmoke]

I hate Bookers face and his haircut so much. He is destined to join the Lakers in a few years. Just watch.

I can totally see that happening.