Kings Week in Review: Week 1

What will the Kings record be after next week? (@Hawks, @Heat, @Orlando, @Bucks)


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The Kings have a brutal opening few weeks of the season. Not necessarily in terms of who they are playing but 3 back to backs, limited days off, east coast road trip and on the road for 75% of their games. If they can get through this initial stretch, it will say a lot about this team.

The Kings have a hellish first month schedule. Things get a little easier at the end of the month when the Wizards and Nets show up on the schedule but I'd be really happy if the team came out of the stretch at .500
 
This is a telling stat from the other site:

"Per NBA.com, when Cousins is on the floor, the Kings have an offensive rating of 109.9 which would put them among the top tier of the NBA. That offensive rating drops to an abysmal 84.6 with Cousins off the floor, a net difference of 25.3 points per 100 possessions. By comparison, the NBA’s worst offensive team last season, the Philadelphia 76ers, had an offensive rating of 98.8."
 
This is a telling stat from the other site:

"Per NBA.com, when Cousins is on the floor, the Kings have an offensive rating of 109.9 which would put them among the top tier of the NBA. That offensive rating drops to an abysmal 84.6 with Cousins off the floor, a net difference of 25.3 points per 100 possessions. By comparison, the NBA’s worst offensive team last season, the Philadelphia 76ers, had an offensive rating of 98.8."

I think some of this has to do with Joerger's rotations. If we consider Cousins, Gay, Afflalo, & Lawson as our players that are capable of scoring/breaking down a defense, the majority of the minutes when Cousins is off the floor has one or fewer "scorers." 28% of the minutes w/o Cousins on the floor has 0 scorers, 35% of the minutes w/o Cousins on the floor has 1 scorer, 23% of the minutes w/o Cousins on the floor has 2 scorers, and 15% of the minutes w/o Cousins on the floor has 3 scorers. Compare that to when Cousins is on the floor: 3% of Cousins' minutes has him as the lone scorer, 11% of Cousins' minutes has him & an additional scorer, 25% of Cousins' minutes has him & 2 more scorers, and 60% of Cousins' minutes has him & 3 more scorers.

As you can see, when Cousins is on the floor, he's much more likely to have multiple scorers on the floor with him based on Joerger's current rotations. If Joerger was better about balancing the amount of scorers we have on the floor, I'd venture to guess that we wouldn't be seeing such a discrepancy. It will also probably go up once we have a guy like Collison to mix into the rotation.
 
I think some of this has to do with Joerger's rotations. If we consider Cousins, Gay, Afflalo, & Lawson as our players that are capable of scoring/breaking down a defense, the majority of the minutes when Cousins is off the floor has one or fewer "scorers." 28% of the minutes w/o Cousins on the floor has 0 scorers, 35% of the minutes w/o Cousins on the floor has 1 scorer, 23% of the minutes w/o Cousins on the floor has 2 scorers, and 15% of the minutes w/o Cousins on the floor has 3 scorers. Compare that to when Cousins is on the floor: 3% of Cousins' minutes has him as the lone scorer, 11% of Cousins' minutes has him & an additional scorer, 25% of Cousins' minutes has him & 2 more scorers, and 60% of Cousins' minutes has him & 3 more scorers.

As you can see, when Cousins is on the floor, he's much more likely to have multiple scorers on the floor with him based on Joerger's current rotations. If Joerger was better about balancing the amount of scorers we have on the floor, I'd venture to guess that we wouldn't be seeing such a discrepancy. It will also probably go up once we have a guy like Collison to mix into the rotation.

Nice analysis. Cuz is friggin beast. If it weren't for him I can't imagine how bad our record would be over the past 3 years...
He's a different kind of leader--a general that inspires his troops through combat. If I was a player I'd feel safe knowing he's on the floor with me, and vulnerable if he was off. I think that's why it's so important for our team to have a "player's coach" to cover Cuz' weakness, by bringing order and communication to the army.

I'm hoping that the discrepancy you mentioned will shrink a little bit when Collison gets back and things gel. I really like where our team is going right now. It's such a shame though that the current NBA paradigm is so gentle. I wonder how Cuz would have handled Shaq?
 
Nice analysis. Cuz is friggin beast. If it weren't for him I can't imagine how bad our record would be over the past 3 years...
He's a different kind of leader--a general that inspires his troops through combat. If I was a player I'd feel safe knowing he's on the floor with me, and vulnerable if he was off. I think that's why it's so important for our team to have a "player's coach" to cover Cuz' weakness, by bringing order and communication to the army.

I'm hoping that the discrepancy you mentioned will shrink a little bit when Collison gets back and things gel. I really like where our team is going right now. It's such a shame though that the current NBA paradigm is so gentle. I wonder how Cuz would have handled Shaq?

When Shaq was old and pressing 400lbs in Boston I remember young Cuz running into and just bouncing off of him like a pinball hitting a bumper. Big Cuz is big and about as powerful as anybody in the NBA. But nothing compared to Shaq.

On the other hand, no way in hell Shaq could guard Cuz in space or on the perimeter. In his youth he was a remarkable athlete for so strong a man, but he was still 300+lbs of beef trying to move out there.
 
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When Shaq was old and pressing 400lbs in Boston I remember young Cuz running into and just bouncing off of him like a pinball hitting a bumper. Big Cuz is big and about as powerful as anybody in the NBA. But nothing compared to Shaq.

On the other hand, no way in hell Shaq could guard Cuz in space or on the perimeter. In his youth he was a remarkable athlete for so strong a man, but he was still 300+lbs of beef trying to move out there.
I guess the question then becomes: can massive, slow, poor shooting centers win a championship in today's NBA? I'd like to think that the fundamentals of the game have never changed so yes... But then where is it?
 
I guess the question then becomes: can massive, slow, poor shooting centers win a championship in today's NBA? I'd like to think that the fundamentals of the game have never changed so yes... But then where is it?

Put young or prime Shaq in this current league and watch Al Horford try to guard him and you might have your answer. :)