[Game] Kings versus Rockets 12/19/10 Game Thread

Wow! Just listened to Westphal at the press conference after the game. Very testy. First he went off on Marty McNeal about the plays he drew up. And then I think he went off on the next question by who could have been Jason Jones. Not sure, but he asked what the identity of the team was going to be going forward, and Westphal gave him a diatribe of the kind of plays they want to run, spacing the floor etc. He went on for quite a bit and ended by saying is that good enough for you.

I actually thought it was a decent question, that had to do with how his best players were being used and how they would be used in the future. Me thinks Westphal's skin is getting thin. Not that I blame him. I was reading Westphal's lips after a blown play following a timeout. As Tyreke walked to the bench, Westphal asked him, what the hell were you doing?
 
I blame Westphal for the substitution patterns. Donte should have gotten back in the game in the 4th, and Cousins should have returned earlier. Also, with Landry in there, we got killed on the glass, and Darnell should have gone back in at some point.

But I won't sit here and blame Westphal for our players not running plays correctly, being selfish, and not recognizing mismatches. As a player you recognize mismatches in 7th grade for christ sake, and Cousins was a walking mismatch tonight, and guys didn't give him the ball.
 
Beno, Tyreke and Donte: 9/41 on a FGM/FGA! But Beno at least stop shooting when he realized it is not his shooting night as he couldn`t buy a bucket...
 
Wow! Just listened to Westphal at the press conference after the game. Very testy. First he went off on Marty McNeal about the plays he drew up. And then I think he went off on the next question by who could have been Jason Jones. Not sure, but he asked what the identity of the team was going to be going forward, and Westphal gave him a diatribe of the kind of plays they want to run, spacing the floor etc. He went on for quite a bit and ended by saying is that good enough for you.

I actually thought it was a decent question, that had to do with how his best players were being used and how they would be used in the future. Me thinks Westphal's skin is getting thin. Not that I blame him. I was reading Westphal's lips after a blown play following a timeout. As Tyreke walked to the bench, Westphal asked him, what the hell were you doing?

Jason Jones was absolutely blasting the play calling on his twitter. Just post after post saying that Cousins isn't getting the ball. Does anyone know if there's a link up yet for that post game interview?
 
Wow! Just listened to Westphal at the press conference after the game. Very testy. First he went off on Marty McNeal about the plays he drew up. And then I think he went off on the next question by who could have been Jason Jones. Not sure, but he asked what the identity of the team was going to be going forward, and Westphal gave him a diatribe of the kind of plays they want to run, spacing the floor etc. He went on for quite a bit and ended by saying is that good enough for you.

I actually thought it was a decent question, that had to do with how his best players were being used and how they would be used in the future. Me thinks Westphal's skin is getting thin. Not that I blame him. I was reading Westphal's lips after a blown play following a timeout. As Tyreke walked to the bench, Westphal asked him, what the hell were you doing?
Tough position to be in as a coach.
 
I blame Westphal for the substitution patterns. Donte should have gotten back in the game in the 4th, and Cousins should have returned earlier. Also, with Landry in there, we got killed on the glass, and Darnell should have gone back in at some point.

But I won't sit here and blame Westphal for our players not running plays correctly, being selfish, and not recognizing mismatches. As a player you recognize mismatches in 7th grade for christ sake, and Cousins was a walking mismatch tonight, and guys didn't give him the ball.

Exactly! I don't get why he starts Greene and DJ, and yet doesn't let them finish the game? It's like "thanks for giving us the lead to start the game, but we're not going to use you at all in the 4th because we don't trust you to get us the win".
 
I'll say this for Cousins, if he does mature and get himself under control and get a warrior's mentallity in which he doesn't lose focus because of his frustration, as strange as it may sound, I think he has major leadership potential.
Doesn't sound strange to me. I've been thinking the same for awhile. You need a guy on your team that will call guys out when they're ******* up.
 
I heard the Westphal interview. I didn't think he blasted anyone. But he is clearly frustrated. You get the feeling that he's telling these guys (especially Tyreke) over and over and over again what to do and how to do it and it just doesn't stick. He's probably getting a good idea of what it's like to teach the mentally challenged.
 
I heard the Westphal interview. I didn't think he blasted anyone. But he is clearly frustrated. You get the feeling that he's telling these guys (especially Tyreke) over and over and over again what to do and how to do it and it just doesn't stick. He's probably getting a good idea of what it's like to teach the mentally challenged.
That's why I will agree that while Westphal is far from perfect, how much of the blame actually falls on him. He can't physically go out there and run the plays himself. A veteran pg would do wonders for this team, and automatically make Westphal look like a better coach.
 
LOL at Westphal. "You think that's what I drew up?" Great response!

"I hope not!" -Was that Marty Mac?

If there really are plays being drawn up and the play is falling apart then someone on the court is ****ing it up. This again points directly at management not getting a vet guard with leadership qualities on the team.

And Reke and DMC have no chemistry. That is not an argument to even be had. There are maturity issues and such, but unlike how Westphal claimed, recognizing that Cousins had an advantage and Cisco was iced out is not something you realize when "looking back". Cousins was making it obvious he had the chance to go at the Rockets, and the team defaults to selfishness, and that seems to pass on to the rook.
 
I dont know how much of this goes on Coach either.

Cuz was a maybe this game, I think Westphal keeping him out til midway through the fourth might have been a fatigue thing. Greene didnt get late game burn because Cisco was actually outproducing him tonight. My only issue with the rotation was too much Landry. Landry was getting murdered on the glass, I think a little D-block could have helped us out there. We missed JT tonight on the boards.


Reke made some terrible plays. I'm not blaming the loss on him, but he is definately hurting us. I think we may have created a monster last season by letting him do whatever the **** he wanted to on the court for his 20/5/5. Reke playing injured is one thing, but couple that with his crap BBIQ and selfishness...Yikes. I'm starting to think that the gripes of all the Curry/Jennings fanboys are legit. Reke is a ballhog. I still take him over Curry/Jennings of course, but he really needs to learn to share.
 
That's why I will agree that while Westphal is far from perfect, how much of the blame actually falls on him. He can't physically go out there and run the plays himself. A veteran pg would do wonders for this team, and automatically make Westphal look like a better coach.

Couldn't agree more. It's like the quarterback in football. Give a "lousy" coach Peyton Manning, and wow, the coach looks great.

All you have to do is watch the Kings through three quarters to know that they do have an offense and it does work when players actually run it. What I can't figure out is whether the "selfishness" that we're seeing is really selfish, as in "I'm going to be the star; I could care less about the rest of you," or just trying so hard to take it on your shoulders that you lose your poise and don't run the plays.
 
Reke is a ballhog. I still take him over Curry/Jennings of course, but he really needs to learn to share.

Tyreke is averaging 5.3 assists per game and leads the Kings in that category. He would have more assists if his teammates made a few more of their shots.

Beno is second on the team with 4.3 assists per game.
 
Tyreke is averaging 5.3 assists per game and leads the Kings in that category. He would have more assists if his teammates made a few more of their shots.

Beno is second on the team with 4.3 assists per game.

Yeah I don't get where people get the notion that your assist leader is a ballhog. Landry, now there's a ballhog!
 
AI got that many assists too.


Now, Reke doesnt seem like a **** offcourt, so I think theres hope. He might just have that "Its all up to me" mentality, more than the "I wanna get mine" mentality. He tends to ballhog it up in crunch time, moreso than the early game. So it might be more an issue of wanting to take over than wanting to stuff his stats.

As bad as he has been this season, I still havent given up on Reke as a franchise guy. His shot is (slowly) coming along, once he gets healthy and gets that driving game back he's going to be pretty unstoppable. Its just right now, when he's having trouble finishing, all those times he chooses NOT to pass are more glaring (especially that fastbreak where he blew the layup).
 
I dont have a problem with Reke shooting jumpers, because its going to make his dribble drive game a lot more effective once they start to fall in. what i DONT want to see, is him forcing shots and lay ups when he has nothing going for him, or when he dribbles up the court and decides to go one on one at the start of the possession.
 
And AI probably isn't quite the ballhog people make him out to be, either.

Oh come on. AI was one of the biggest ballhogs in NBA history. I'm not saying Tyreke is as bad as AI, but my point is that when you are the guy who dominates the ball on every play, you will inevitably get your assist numbers, because even the biggest ballhogs pass every once in a while, and their teammates will make a shot off their passes once in a while too.

I don't think Tyreke is selfish as a person, but he does have selfish aspects in his game. The most obvious one is his constant blatant refusal to pass the ball on a fast break when he's got two guys trying to stop him and his teammate is ahead and wide open. Other less obvious ones but still very common is when he dribbles around trying to create something while his teammates are wide open, and ends up jacking up a forced shot or passing for a desperation bailout shot with 2 seconds on the clock.

Tyreke's great talent is getting to the rim (and that aspect is also in a deep slump right now). Other than that he is a below average shooter and playmaker, and not a great defender. That's why I thought it was a big mistake to make him the face of the franchise so early in his career and deny him the chance to develop and acquire additional skills without the weight of the franchise on his shoulders. We were trying to get him to do things he couldn't do well enough in order to get the national attention of the 20-5-5 but in the process we hurt the team and lost what started out as a great rebuild with a group of young and talented guys who love playing with each other and push each other to be competitive. Instead we got a limited rookie "superstar" who was put on a pedestal and seperated from his teammates, and a bunch of "servants" put on the floor to help him pad his stats. That destroyed everything that seemed to be coming along at the early part of last season.
 
Oh come on. AI was one of the biggest ballhogs in NBA history. I'm not saying Tyreke is as bad as AI, but my point is that when you are the guy who dominates the ball on every play, you will inevitably get your assist numbers, because even the biggest ballhogs pass every once in a while, and their teammates will make a shot off their passes once in a while too.

I don't think Tyreke is selfish as a person, but he does have selfish aspects in his game. The most obvious one is his constant blatant refusal to pass the ball on a fast break when he's got two guys trying to stop him and his teammate is ahead and wide open. Other less obvious ones but still very common is when he dribbles around trying to create something while his teammates are wide open, and ends up jacking up a forced shot or passing for a desperation bailout shot with 2 seconds on the clock.

Tyreke's great talent is getting to the rim (and that aspect is also in a deep slump right now). Other than that he is a below average shooter and playmaker, and not a great defender. That's why I thought it was a big mistake to make him the face of the franchise so early in his career and deny him the chance to develop and acquire additional skills without the weight of the franchise on his shoulders. We were trying to get him to do things he couldn't do well enough in order to get the national attention of the 20-5-5 but in the process we hurt the team and lost what started out as a great rebuild with a group of young and talented guys who love playing with each other and push each other to be competitive. Instead we got a limited rookie "superstar" who was put on a pedestal and seperated from his teammates, and a bunch of "servants" put on the floor to help him pad his stats. That destroyed everything that seemed to be coming along at the early part of last season.

I totally agree with you on the bolded part, but except for the very last part of the season I didn't see Westphal sacrificing anything for Tyreke's stats. It wasn't mutually exclusive. Westphal rode the biggest baddest horse he had, and that's the way it should be. That said, I think that the losing the Kings are going through now, and Tyreke trying to play with a sore foot and not having the health of last season, could end up being the best thing that ever happened to him. One way or another, he's going to get forced to playing "the right way." If he has superman powers, he doesn't have to play "the right way", just his way.
 
I totally agree with you on the bolded part, but except for the very last part of the season I didn't see Westphal sacrificing anything for Tyreke's stats. It wasn't mutually exclusive. Westphal rode the biggest baddest horse he had, and that's the way it should be. That said, I think that the losing the Kings are going through now, and Tyreke trying to play with a sore foot and not having the health of last season, could end up being the best thing that ever happened to him. One way or another, he's going to get forced to playing "the right way." If he has superman powers, he doesn't have to play "the right way", just his way.

Have you surpressed the fact that pretty much our only play last season was 1-4 flat?...
 
Oh come on. AI was one of the biggest ballhogs in NBA history. I'm not saying Tyreke is as bad as AI, but my point is that when you are the guy who dominates the ball on every play, you will inevitably get your assist numbers, because even the biggest ballhogs pass every once in a while, and their teammates will make a shot off their passes once in a while too.

I don't think Tyreke is selfish as a person, but he does have selfish aspects in his game. The most obvious one is his constant blatant refusal to pass the ball on a fast break when he's got two guys trying to stop him and his teammate is ahead and wide open. Other less obvious ones but still very common is when he dribbles around trying to create something while his teammates are wide open, and ends up jacking up a forced shot or passing for a desperation bailout shot with 2 seconds on the clock.

Tyreke's great talent is getting to the rim (and that aspect is also in a deep slump right now). Other than that he is a below average shooter and playmaker, and not a great defender. That's why I thought it was a big mistake to make him the face of the franchise so early in his career and deny him the chance to develop and acquire additional skills without the weight of the franchise on his shoulders. We were trying to get him to do things he couldn't do well enough in order to get the national attention of the 20-5-5 but in the process we hurt the team and lost what started out as a great rebuild with a group of young and talented guys who love playing with each other and push each other to be competitive. Instead we got a limited rookie "superstar" who was put on a pedestal and seperated from his teammates, and a bunch of "servants" put on the floor to help him pad his stats. That destroyed everything that seemed to be coming along at the early part of last season.

Get out of my head !
 
Just checked ESPN and here are the assists numbers thus far:

Tyreke Evans 5.3

Stephen Curry 5.6

Brandon Jennings 5.5
 
Well obviously Curry and Jennings aren't point guards.

Dude I was at the game and its obvious he's not a PG. I love Reke, he's my 2nd fav player on this team after Cousins, but he needs a PG to set the plays up for him. You would be surprised at how much better he's able to get open and how well he moves without the ball if you saw it in person.
 
Dude I was at the game and its obvious he's not a PG. I love Reke, he's my 2nd fav player on this team after Cousins, but he needs a PG to set the plays up for him. You would be surprised at how much better he's able to get open and how well he moves without the ball if you saw it in person.

I have been to many games this season actually.

If anything, I was simply slandering the good names of Curry and Jennings with my statement thanks to the power of internet based anonymity.
 
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