[Game] Kings vs. Heat, 10/29/2022 3pm Pacific 6pm Eastern

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I will say that it's times like these when VF21's loss is really felt; even if I still considered myself a Kings fan, I don't really have the temperament to be the cheerleading type.
To be fair, I see most of us in the cautiously optimistic camp. There's a difference between being critical of certain things while still happy with it overall, and being just hateful in general.

I mean even kb02 gave Fox credit for his game. Just like the team itself, it takes time to warm up to reality and let the effect of Stockholm wears off.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
To be fair, I see most of us in the cautiously optimistic camp. There's a difference between being critical of certain things while still happy with it overall, and being just hateful in general.

I mean even kb02 gave Fox credit for his game. Just like the team itself, it takes time to warm up to reality and let the effect of Stockholm wears off.
I'm speaking from the macro view of nearly two decades moderating this message board, not just these first five games.
 
To be fair, I see most of us in the cautiously optimistic camp. There's a difference between being critical of certain things while still happy with it overall, and being just hateful in general.

I mean even kb02 gave Fox credit for his game. Just like the team itself, it takes time to warm up to reality and let the effect of Stockholm wears off.
1 game. Come on now.
 
Keegan is playing better D than he showed in the summer and has continued to show a sweet stroke. Not much of a creator, but that's as expected at this point. The one key area where I expected better from him: boards.

1 board in 36 min tonight.
6 in 39 against Memphis.
4 in 38 against the Warriors.
5 in 33 against the Clips.

The Kings are not a god rebounding team right now. He may be chief among the guys who need to pick it up.
I think a lot of what he does isn't showing up in the box score. The boxing out of his MSN and knocking the ball loose chief amongst them. His rebs are the least of my worries with him on the court. He does a lot of little things that go not noticed to make a bug deal out of counting stats.
 
I think a lot of what he does isn't showing up in the box score. The boxing out of his MSN and knocking the ball loose chief amongst them. His rebs are the least of my worries with him on the court. He does a lot of little things that go not noticed to make a bug deal out of counting stats.
Different players, but Steven Adams comes to mind when he played with Russ. Their actual game-plan was to go let Russ get the board so he could start the break quicker in transition. Adams was/is so good at boxing out his man and just a rebounder in general, but you only saw that reflect the scoreboard once he stopped playing with Russ.

Not necessarily saying this is happening with Keegan, but Sabonis is an elite rebounder and Fox has been crashing the glass super hard this year as well (13 boards! tonight). Usually when the guard is in there getting a bunch of boards, everyone else is doing their job boxing their man out.
 
Different players, but Steven Adams comes to mind when he played with Russ. Their actual game-plan was to go let Russ get the board so he could start the break quicker in transition. Adams was/is so good at boxing out his man and just a rebounder in general, but you only saw that reflect the scoreboard once he stopped playing with Russ.

Not necessarily saying this is happening with Keegan, but Sabonis is an elite rebounder and Fox has been crashing the glass super hard this year as well (13 boards! tonight). Usually when the guard is in there getting a bunch of boards, everyone else is doing their job boxing their man out.
I get it. And I hate Russ lol.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Passed out at my keyboard burning the midnight oil and got woken up by the Kings app telling me we won the game so I don’t want to say this victory is entirely on my shoulders but I guess I should probably just sleep through all the games from now on.
I went to TJ's last football game came home and fell asleep. I think I thought the game was on in the evening. So that's two of us. Started up the replay but went to dinner and will finish up later. Glad to know my time won't be wasted and I can watch the whole thing.
 
Big win in what I thought was a must win

Fox had a very impactful game despite having his first sorta labored offensive game. Had huge defensive possessions and smashed the boards.

Huerter was player of the game. He’s been the best shooting guard the Kings have had in a long time. Efficient. Seems to always make the right play. I remember somebody one here saying losing DDV and adding Huerter was basically a lateral move. Umm nope..

This was, to this point, the biggest glimpse into Keegan Murray as far as him being challenged.
In the second half the Heat started really chasing him off the line. He made a few mistakes but he also didn’t look like a fish out of water after those mistakes. He also didn’t avoid going off the dribble after they forced him into some errors. He didn’t shut down and even made a few positive plays off the dribble after that rough couple minutes where some mistakes piled up quickly. I think that is a part of his game they will easily come along with experience. He’s got the tools. The shot and the size. He’s a smart player. I don’t think he’s a finished product in the slightest bit.

The 22 points from Murray doesn’t even seem like a big deal. So he’s already seamlessly made himself a high double figures starter player by his 4th game. He plays defense. He hustles.

Murray also had a major couple of possessions after the Heat cut it to one. Hit an ice cold three and then got to the line and made the shots. Settled the Kings down and they didn’t look back.

Sabonis had his best performance of the season minimized by the refs rooking him. It’s a shame he doesn’t get any respect. A lot of the stuff called on him is stuff the refs let go one way or another on almost every possession of the game where a foul isn’t called. Atleast a couple per game are pure phantom. One Brown already had to get overturned and they still ran him up. It tells me the refs don’t review their work after the game as commentators always assure us they will. Otherwise Sabonis would’ve started getting the benefit of the doubt some time ago.

Barnes turned a Houdini game into a very good one. Kept the Kings afloat in that third.

Trey Lyles was big. He’s a good player. I think he should be a bit more than a part time player.

the bench in general is still lacking an identity though and isn’t giving us big games. Mitchell is struggling. Monk needs to be a consistent double figures scorer off the bench but the kings may need another facilitator type guy off the bench.

Mitchell isn’t it and Monk is a bit wild with the ball. Like, even somebody like a Joe Ingles-esque player off the bench would open things up for Monk, Davion, even Holmes. I don’t know who that player could be and how they can be acquired. Probably not Ingles himself. They need somebody who can handle the rock and create a bit off the bench though otherwise I expect this trend to continue.

Holmes had a couple good moments. Had a couple nice defensive possessions on Bam which explain why he still gets minutes with his horrid rebounding. Made a couple big baskets.

The pieces are there offensively. Kings just need to have the same energy defensively every night that they showed in this game for significant stretches to start winning consistently.
Where has this poster been all year? That was the most accurate and succinct post since preseason game 1. Kudos.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
Thirteen freaking rebounds by Fox. Absolutely great defense. He finally seems to be realizing his amazing potential. Is it Brown? McNair with the Sabonis deal? The passage of time? Maturity? Marriage? All of the above? I just love what I'm seeing from him. His play has truly been great. Just stay healthy, De'Aaron, and keep playing with this effort and you're headed to a lot of All Star games.

In the presser Brown made mention of four players, all deserving. The first one was Lyles. I was so glad he mentioned him, and particularly he mentioned him diving on the floor for that key loose ball in the final two minutes. I hope very much Brown awards Lyle some consistent minutes going forward. Rewarding toughness begets more toughness.

Barnes played tough. Literally. He got crushed by a crack-back block, promptly got up to the free throw line, made two throws, then got the ball on the possession and drove in the paint and shoved another two points up where Miami doesn't shine. Absolutely loved it. (Murray and Heurter are also deserving of a lot of praise, but I don't want to make this post too long).

Now, the player that I find disappointing so far this year is Mitchell. I'm disappointed because I really expected he would take a step forward and be even better than last year, which I thought was pretty darn good. What I don't understand, and I think Mitchell is 1000% more frustrated than I am on this, is how his jump shot got all screwed up. You know that he took 1,000 shots a day and probably 1,000 shots a night in his dreams over the off-season. But instead of a tight, efficient, quick, confident shot I see a long wind-up of a shot, almost like he's in slow motion, like he's taking out his surveyor's gear to triangulate before he hoists it up. This needs to change, pronto. Is this wind-up of a shot what he's been practicing over the off-season? :eek: Or has he had a recent crisis of confidence that has destroyed his shot motion? Whatever it is, I hope the coaches can rectify the situation and get him on the right track.
 
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