[Game] Kings vs. Nuggets, 12/29/20, 7PM PST, 10PM EST
- Thread starter Tetsujin
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It's not an issue with Bagley. It's a choice by Walton. Walton defaults to safety and comfort (Cojo). Not necessarily best player. Bagley never really played meaningful time last year under Walton. Holmes did and that's where the comfort is.
If we were to look at coaching choices last year, it would seem that Buddy was absolutely unplayable in crunch time. Until Bogdan is let go and now Buddy looks like the piece you want out there. You can say Buddy is playing defense now, but objectively speaking, Bogdan was terrible on D as was most of the team last season.
So yeah, Bagley can do the things Holmes can do and more. It's just that Walton is conservative and it is reflected in his rotations. Holmes played well and did what he had to do to stay on the floor, but Bagley not playing is not a reflection on him.
If we were to look at coaching choices last year, it would seem that Buddy was absolutely unplayable in crunch time. Until Bogdan is let go and now Buddy looks like the piece you want out there. You can say Buddy is playing defense now, but objectively speaking, Bogdan was terrible on D as was most of the team last season.
So yeah, Bagley can do the things Holmes can do and more. It's just that Walton is conservative and it is reflected in his rotations. Holmes played well and did what he had to do to stay on the floor, but Bagley not playing is not a reflection on him.
The fourth quarter defense gave up 15 points, after giving up 38 in the third. That is a huge recovery, that won the Kings the game.
Leading rebounder last night was Buddy. He is working harder at both defense and rebounding.
Fox is giving a lot of teams fits at both ends. I still don't think the 3 is that important to his game, because he is so effective at breaking down defenses.
Halliburton got more minutes than Bagley, although Bagley had a great first half.
Holmes is very effective from 12 feet in.
Barnes is playing really well.
Most of the fourth quarter was 3 guards, Barnes at the 4 and Bjelica at the 5.
The fourth quarter was really good.
Leading rebounder last night was Buddy. He is working harder at both defense and rebounding.
Fox is giving a lot of teams fits at both ends. I still don't think the 3 is that important to his game, because he is so effective at breaking down defenses.
Halliburton got more minutes than Bagley, although Bagley had a great first half.
Holmes is very effective from 12 feet in.
Barnes is playing really well.
Most of the fourth quarter was 3 guards, Barnes at the 4 and Bjelica at the 5.
The fourth quarter was really good.
I don't get the gripe about Bagley. He had a great first half and was a big reason why the Kings went up double digits and he had a terrible start to the 3rd quarter and was one of the reasons why they went down double digits. Walton found a lineup that worked and he rode that to victory.
Bagley isn't even remotely as good as Holmes on either end of the court. He can do one thing Holmes can't and that's put up 25 or 30 points on any given night. Problem is that in between those good games, he's going to hurt the team more than help. Holmes almost always helps the team in some way or another because he is an above average player. If you're trying to win games and there is a glimmer of hope for the playoffs, you go with what works and then you turn toward development later on if things start falling apart.
The Kings don't win that game without Bagley's first half performance but they might not have won it by playing Bagley big minutes in the second half. They did win it with Holmes at center so apparently that was the correct decision. So go.....Walton? Ugh, feels gross to say
Bagley isn't even remotely as good as Holmes on either end of the court. He can do one thing Holmes can't and that's put up 25 or 30 points on any given night. Problem is that in between those good games, he's going to hurt the team more than help. Holmes almost always helps the team in some way or another because he is an above average player. If you're trying to win games and there is a glimmer of hope for the playoffs, you go with what works and then you turn toward development later on if things start falling apart.
The Kings don't win that game without Bagley's first half performance but they might not have won it by playing Bagley big minutes in the second half. They did win it with Holmes at center so apparently that was the correct decision. So go.....Walton? Ugh, feels gross to say
I don't think Buddy and Bogdan had issues with each other in the locker room last season. I think that the biggest difference from last season is that half the team is not injured. This has secondary effects such as not needing Buddy to play point guard and playing him to his strengths for example. After the non injured part, the differences are renewed focus on playing fast, improvement of Fox on defense, Hassan's presence in the middle defensively, Barnes' new aggressiveness on the inside.
They didn't and that was another reason why it was annoying. In the end the roles weren't good enough for either which was always the issue. It made Buddy mad and made Bogdan want to leave. As some on this board predicted it would eventually go down. If anything in theory the injuries should have quashed the issues at SG, but it didn't. The injuries didn't cause a shaky gameplan and substitution pattern to subside. The bubble run was a microcosm of all the issues. These first games are a good sign but also point to some other issues when you break down the matchups and possiblities. We'll see, talent still wins out sometimes and the team has a lot of talent regardless of what last season told us and what their usage against certain types of teams is telling us now.
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