[Game] Kings vs D-League select - 7/14/14
- Thread starter HereWeBoogie
- Start date
The first 5 or 6 minutes were pretty ugly -- but part of the problem is that starting lineup. Too many guys are playing out of position. McCallum hasn't made a shot yet but he's making plays. McLemore and Stauskas both look decent. Acy is who he is, he's an energy guy and under-sized but he competes. Williams continues to be the biggest disappointment. If he has any alpha dog in him at all, we should have seen it in this situation.
First quarter was ugly as hell. The Kings had their best quarter of the summer league in the 2nd, though.
Nik and Ben played well. Nik shot well from deep and made multiple good plays on offense for his teammates. McLemore had a few nice takes to the rim.
I thought McCallum did a much better job running the team in the 2nd, and really created a lot of good shots.
Moreland was a factor again defensively. He came in first off the bench and played heavy minutes. Solid indicator that the Kings want to take a good long look at him.
Williams was invisible.
Nik and Ben played well. Nik shot well from deep and made multiple good plays on offense for his teammates. McLemore had a few nice takes to the rim.
I thought McCallum did a much better job running the team in the 2nd, and really created a lot of good shots.
Moreland was a factor again defensively. He came in first off the bench and played heavy minutes. Solid indicator that the Kings want to take a good long look at him.
Williams was invisible.
More of the same, which is good! Didn't get credited for a block, but his help defense was very good. Had one nice Lebronish chasedown block that was called a goaltending but it was a good effort that displayed his speed for a player that big. He created a travel by being in the right position as the offensive player was trying to get to the basket. He was looking and attempting to block everything in his area, altering a few shots. The team settled down when he came in. Didn't show much on offense.
I came onto game in the first Q with us trailing by 6 and now at half we are one point ahead. Going in the right direction while I've been watching. Stauskas has a nice knack with most things he does and without the ball. Encouraging. Ben is playing more within himself where he should be. Encouraging.
For some reason we've put together a starting lineup where Williams is the tallest player on the floor for us. That's not going to play to his strengths, but he could seize the initiative here anyway and show he's an NBA caliber wing scorer by finding angles to attack from. It seems like Williams doesn't have any better understanding of what his position will be than the coaching staff which is not a good sign for the upcoming season. Looking at where he was at last season, I really don't understand why he doesn't just watch a bunch of Trevor Ariza tape and get in the gym perfecting his spot-up shot. There's a role for him here if he wants it. It's frustrating watching him waste his talent.
I don't want to see him create off the dribble -- I want to see him roll of picks and fly to the rim or catch the ball and take one quick move into space, or find a spot on the floor and make it his own. There are a lot of ways to produce points without isolating and breaking down a defender. He's got the length and athleticism to do all of those things and his jump shot actually looks good when he's got confidence in himself. He seems to go through periods where he forgets how to shoot though and he develops a hitch in his release.
