[Game] Kings vs. Hornets, October 30, 7 PM

[SacTownKid]

16 pts, 7 rbs, 10 asts (5 to, though several of those of the pass-that-sails-through-an-open-guy's-hands variety), 2 stl, 1 blk. He certainly didn't have a great game but De'Aaron is pretty far down on the list of reasons we lost.

I miss the days of being able to point to a few different players and think if the team could only upgrade. Now the Kings finally have some legit talent depth and can't seem to put it together as a team. It's still super early but with every loss that pressure is going to mount. Now it's time to start worrying about the kind of hole your digging. If this turns into a 7+game losing streak to start the season then there may indeed be concerns about having a shot at the playoffs this year.

 

[SacTownKid]

I see the guys over at sactown royalty are already working hard to run another star out of town.

https://twitter.com/statuses/1189798572776022016

Fox needs to stay off of twitter and worry about what's going on in between the lines. No need to defend himself to raging fans, lol. Partly because there is no defense that anyone will accept anyway. The players egos should be officially in check now so keep your feet on the ground before the teams chances end up in it.

 

[Tetsujin]

I miss the days of being able to point to a few different players and think if the team could only upgrade. Now the Kings finally have some legit talent depth and can't seem to put it together as a team. It's still super early but with every loss that pressure is going to mount. Now it's time to start worrying about the kind of hole your digging. If this turns into a 7+game losing streak to start the season then there may indeed be concerns about having a shot at the playoffs this year.

Yeah, I completely understand and agree with the coaching complaints but at the same time every single player on the team not named Richaun appears to have gone into a tailspin where they're pressing so hard to break the slump that they're only making things worse. Now, a lot of that comes from little systematic issues like having our guys sag off of the other team on defense or arbitrarily aim for a 3 pt shooting benchmark rather than an actual offensive playbook, but some -a little, to be sure- of it is just plain bad luck (or a chemically imbalanced DeAndre Ayton somehow injuring our three best players over the span of a single minute).

 

[Okas2001]

I remember before the draft last year tweeting @vlade and begging him not to take bagley and to please take doncic because it would be the same old story. I don't think bagley would have made any difference in this losing streak. Last year I was attacked for putting down de'aaron fox as overrated and not an all star caliber player. In this offseason I hated the trevor ariza signing and the barnes extension

time for vlade to go. I don't like his style and he doesn't have a good eye for talent whatsoever. I'd be terrified of what we'd do with the number 1 pick ( we're getting it folks) next year with him and this entire FO to be honest.

we've been the biggest joke for the longest period of time in NBA and even the NFL. I've given up on this team for the first time ever since i started supporting them in the turn of the century.

 

[Chupacabra]

Lost the 3rd quarter 32-18 to the 1-16 Hornets.

 

[burekijogurt]

we mostly lost because of poor shooting:

Bogdan 4-14
Fox 6-16
Buddy 8-22

 

[LPKingsFan]

I see the guys over at sactown royalty are already working hard to run another star out of town.

https://twitter.com/statuses/1189798572776022016

let it be a reminder to all of us, though, that while we can analyze what we see on the court, we fans don’t always have the complete picture. Small inaccuracies in assumptions (Fox wasn’t available to the media, therefore he had already left the locker room) can lead to false narratives (Fox left the locker room and is a bad leader giving up on his team).

 

[dude12]

how about PJ Washington calling out Sac for not being able to match them in pushing pace? They also picked us up in the backcourt. This team had no desire to do that.
problems start and end with the coaching staff not having them prepared and or not being able to coach to players abilities.
I don’t buy the narrative that Cojo, Dedmon and to a point Ariza are bad signings, they are capable rotation players brought in as upgrades to the bench or rotation. And Bagley being out is a big thing so There is that for an excuse but these guys are ill prepared.

 

[kb02]

how about PJ Washington calling out Sac for not being able to match them in pushing pace? They also picked us up in the backcourt. This team had no desire to do that.
problems start and end with the coaching staff not having them prepared and or not being able to coach to players abilities.
I don’t buy the narrative that Cojo, Dedmon and to a point Ariza are bad signings, they are capable rotation players brought in as upgrades to the bench or rotation. And Bagley being out is a big thing so There is that for an excuse but these guys are ill prepared.

Preparation? Sure.

But CoJo, Dedmon, and Ariza were bad signings. Instead of doubling down on a strength (our pace, athleticism) from last year, we went the other direction, turning our previous advantages into below league average.

CoJo and Bogi, in theory, should be able to play with each other, but both fail to realize that cutting and running for your back court partner is a part of the game. Instead they take turns pounding the air out of the ball while the other watches from the wing.

This offense badly needs Giles. Someone who can take the ball at the high post area and distribute, drive, or make a shot. A Jokic type. The Kings thought (and I thought as well) that Dedmon could operate this role, but it's obvious that he can't. He has hands of stone and struggles to distribute--assisting seems almost unnatural. Without a competent big in that role, our offense is mostly pounding the ball on the perimeter, with four out, and a big who screens and rolls for the person pounding the ball. Once teams adjust to the screen and roll in the 2h, the Kings have sucked, leading to the recent blowouts.

As for Ariza, the Kings signed the retirement version. That was a gigantic, gigantic mistake.

 

[jellyfish]

how about PJ Washington calling out Sac for not being able to match them in pushing pace? They also picked us up in the backcourt. This team had no desire to do that.
problems start and end with the coaching staff not having them prepared and or not being able to coach to players abilities.
I don’t buy the narrative that Cojo, Dedmon and to a point Ariza are bad signings, they are capable rotation players brought in as upgrades to the bench or rotation. And Bagley being out is a big thing so There is that for an excuse but these guys are ill prepared.

Every single year it's the same story wait till player X is back (last year Bogie missed like first 5-10 games and we were all like wait till Bogie is back he's a X-factor) and we will be good and it never occurs. There was a point in DMC tenure where it's wait till WCS/Collison comes back and we still sucked. It's the same excuses over and over.

 

[kb02]

Every single year it's the same story wait till player X is back (last year Bogie missed like first 5-10 games and we were all like wait till Bogie is back he's a X-factor) and we will be good and it never occurs. There was a point in DMC tenure where it's wait till WCS/Collison comes back and we still sucked. It's the same excuses over and over.

Agree, missing Bags is huge. Kings would likely be at least 1 - 4 with a healthy Bags. Maybe even 2 -3.

But that doesn't excuse the fact that the team has played like sh*t on both sides of the ball and the new additions, outside of Holmes, were gigantic mistakes.

 

[Cojc]

That was one heck of a game last night!
They never gave up, fought back in the most important game of their life.

It had me hanging on watching every Play feeling lucky I could be watching it on TV.

But now that the World Series is over and reflecting on the $199 I spent on nba League pass. I now can plan on a few trips to my local library to pick up a few good books to read on those long winter nights.

 

[kb02]

let it be a reminder to all of us, though, that while we can analyze what we see on the court, we fans don’t always have the complete picture. Small inaccuracies in assumptions (Fox wasn’t available to the media, therefore he had already left the locker room) can lead to false narratives (Fox left the locker room and is a bad leader giving up on his team).

The funny thing is Fox is low on the list of players, who deserve the most blame for the 0 -5 start. Buddy's horrible play of late is a bigger issue.

Instead of doing what the offense needs--cutting, running, moving the ball--he's been playing Buddy 1.25 ball. Volume shooting, hero ball, mental mistakes, and turnovers. Instead of griping about getting paid, he should've spent more time doing what he needed to do to kill it in this offense. And let's be honest, this offense, if executed properly, is perfect for Buddy's game.

 

[ppine]

Listening to Walton is totally underwhelming. He does not even seem interested in coaching. I see little enthusiasm, no talk of Xs and Os and little leadership. The Kings jumped at the chance to hire him without even talking to anyone else.

Some people are seeing how important the play of Holmes is to a team like the Kings. I am glad.
The rest of the signings over the summer seem to be a step backwards.
When the shots aren't falling, then you go inside. The Kings like to pass once or twice and throw up a shot.
The way to slow down a hot shooting team is to get in their faces and contest shots. Pick them up at half court.
The Kings played a decent first half. That is something to build on. They can't put together even a half decent third quarter.
This is going to get worse, before it gets better.
I miss Dave Joerger and I even miss Willie.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

16 pts, 7 rbs, 10 asts (5 to, though several of those of the pass-that-sails-through-an-open-guy's-hands variety), 2 stl, 1 blk. He certainly didn't have a great game but De'Aaron is pretty far down on the list of reasons we lost.

He hasn't been a bright spot but he's the player I'm least worried about at this point. The shooters who suddenly can't shoot are much more concerning.

 

[dude12]

Preparation? Sure.

But CoJo, Dedmon, and Ariza were bad signings. Instead of doubling down on a strength (our pace, athleticism) from last year, we went the other direction, turning our previous advantages into below league average.

CoJo and Bogi, in theory, should be able to play with each other, but both fail to realize that cutting and running for your back court partner is a part of the game. Instead they take turns pounding the air out of the ball while the other watches from the wing.

This offense badly needs Giles. Someone who can take the ball at the high post area and distribute, drive, or make a shot. A Jokic type. The Kings thought (and I thought as well) that Dedmon could operate this role, but it's obvious that he can't. He has hands of stone and struggles to distribute--assisting seems almost unnatural. Without a competent big in that role, our offense is mostly pounding the ball on the perimeter, with four out, and a big who screens and rolls for the person pounding the ball. Once teams adjust to the screen and roll in the 2h, the Kings have sucked, leading to the recent blowouts.

As for Ariza, the Kings signed the retirement version. That was a gigantic, gigantic mistake.

A coach is responsible for putting pieces in workable positions. The vets brought in were fine with other teams, Walton’s job is make it work here. Even Joerger zigged from grind house to a faster pace. He needs to figure it out.

 

[Entity]

He hasn't been a bright spot but he's the player I'm least worried about at this point. The shooters who suddenly can't shoot are much more concerning.

14-46 from 3. if we just hit 4 more of those its a different game. problem was like Doug was saying if its not going in try something else. 46 3's is a lot. maybe the lack of post presence causes this. looked just like last year down the stretch of games when Bagley was out.

 

[Albatros]

Bagley isn't really a post player though imo.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

As for Ariza, the Kings signed the retirement version. That was a gigantic, gigantic mistake.

Ariza is a backup forward on a one-year deal added to a young team that everybody and their mother thought was going to improve by five games on last year's record. Even if he's a dud all year and brings no veteran leadership, there's just no way to assign "gigantic, gigantic" to it. Not even one "gigantic".

 

[Kingster]

Ariza is a backup forward on a one-year deal added to a young team that everybody and their mother thought was going to improve by five games on last year's record. Even if he's a dud all year and brings no veteran leadership, there's just no way to assign "gigantic, gigantic" to it. Not even one "gigantic".

At this point they should just cut him and find someone else. He's certainly not bringing the defense he used to play.

 

[SLAB]

Fox needs to stay off of twitter and worry about what's going on in between the lines. No need to defend himself to raging fans, lol. Partly because there is no defense that anyone will accept anyway. The players egos should be officially in check now so keep your feet on the ground before the teams chances end up in it.

I fully believe he’s demanding out of Sacramento before too long. I’m doubling down on my take.

 

[macadocious]

Do people really think Ariza is the issue with this team?

Also, holy crap at Walton basically benching Dedmond. They have to be grasping at straws in the back ground. Another week of this and Vlade better hold a press conference.

 

[Kingster]

I fully believe he’s demanding out of Sacramento before too long. I’m doubling down on my take.

It would be cowardly if he did so. If he wants to be a leader it's not by running to another team. I really like Fox and his talent and his intelligence, but I did not like it last night when he was having a few smiles with his Kentucky bud after having his team demolished by a bottom dweller. That's not what I want to see at all.

 

[Sactown ExPat]

I fully believe he’s demanding out of Sacramento before too long. I’m doubling down on my take.

I think he’ll demand other guys get shipped out before he tries to leave. Long term, Fox’s leadership style is the type to set a foundation for a decade. However, he’s 2-3 years away from rounding into his full form...very Conley-esque.

 

[Albatros]

Do people really think Ariza is the issue with this team?

Also, holy crap at Walton basically benching Dedmond. They have to be grasping at straws in the back ground. Another week of this and Vlade better hold a press conference.

And say what?

All he will do is excuse the coach and team and say how much he believes in everybody and we need patience.

 

[Albatros]

I fully believe he’s demanding out of Sacramento before too long. I’m doubling down on my take.

He seems pretty laid back tbh. Like in life and on the court. I don't see him being a drama queen but who knows. He ain't buddy.

 

[macadocious]

And say what?

All he will do is excuse the coach and team and say how much he believes in everybody and we need patience.

It cannot go unaddressed. It's not my job to figure out what to say or do, that is literally his job.

 

[Chupacabra]

That was one heck of a game last night!
They never gave up, fought back in the most important game of their life.

It had me hanging on watching every Play feeling lucky I could be watching it on TV.

But now that the World Series is over and reflecting on the $199 I spent on nba League pass. I now can plan on a few trips to my local library to pick up a few good books to read on those long winter nights.

Trae Young has been fun to watch so far, in case you feel like checking back in on the NBA.

 

[Chupacabra]

I miss the days of being able to point to a few different players and think if the team could only upgrade. Now the Kings finally have some legit talent depth and can't seem to put it together as a team. It's still super early but with every loss that pressure is going to mount. Now it's time to start worrying about the kind of hole your digging. If this turns into a 7+game losing streak to start the season then there may indeed be concerns about having a shot at the playoffs this year.

I already consider the season to be lost. The way we started the year is among the worst case scenarios. Everyone forgot how to shoot, defend, what their strengths and weaknesses are. One of our top players is out for 2 months or so on the very first game of the year. We were aiming at a low playoff seed as our best case scenario. I dont see how we get there if we are immediately conceding the first 5 games of the year.

 

[NewArena]

Bagley isn't really a post player though imo.

but he WILL attack the basket and score inside

AD isn't a post player either. that's outdated