[Game] Kings @ Wizards - Monday, March 11 - 4PT/7ET
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sactowndog
All-Star
Playing at the Kings pace and 36+ minutes a game wears this team down. They showed it in the first half, and the coaches talked about getting them rest. Then after the break Joeger went back to a 9 man rotation with heavy minutes. Lots of shots hitting the front rim.
FoxRocketFan
G-League
Bad loss if you want Kings to make the playoffs.
I think Kings are out of the playoffs race with that loss unfortunately. Unless Spurs / Clippers get destroyed by injuries.
Clippers / Spurs are on track for 46 wins now.
You would have to think a 13-3 finish isn't realistic.
But on the plus side Bagley Fox will be a year older and a year better next year.
Hield Bogdanovic and Barnes are entering their prime.
And Kings have salary cap space.
I think Kings are out of the playoffs race with that loss unfortunately. Unless Spurs / Clippers get destroyed by injuries.
Clippers / Spurs are on track for 46 wins now.
You would have to think a 13-3 finish isn't realistic.
But on the plus side Bagley Fox will be a year older and a year better next year.
Hield Bogdanovic and Barnes are entering their prime.
And Kings have salary cap space.
gunks
Hall of Famer
Dude still has major BBIQ issues, but I don't think it'll be an issue going forward. Once the pecking order gets settled after another season or two of development, the team won't have to rely on Buddy at the end of games, because if all breaks right with Fox and Bagley, he is gonna be the 3rd option.
Those two can really minimize the Bad Buddy Nights if they hit on their potential and become 20ppg players in their own right.
And +1 on giving the Wiz credit. They played some fiesty ball tonight, and really took advantage of every Kings mistake.
sactowndog
All-Star
Some fans underestimate the value of Bjeli in terms of boxing out, moving the ball. But I guess so did the coach and it possibly cost this team a chance at the playoffs.
Folsomkingsfan
Starter
So many bad runners and 3's without his feet set.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
I still don't think it's really the pace that's doing it, or at least not entirely, it's the half court sets combined with the streaky sections of full court blasting. You can look at it and see it if you track the players off the ball. Even giving Willie the ball up top for a simple hand off play involves wide sweeping screen plays sometimes. That works in college because you have a) more clock to work with, b) less offensive possessions per game, and c) less games per year.
Seriously, this team needs to continue to tilt to a more efficient offense with less wasted motion. I do think Joerger has done a good job adjusting from last year to this and while playing faster should have been the idea from day 1 I'm not sure at which point them simply leading the league in PACE was the true end goal. If you are doing so yet you are still barely scraping the top 10 in PPG it means something isn't working in your half court offense. It also means you probably aren't getting enough from the 3 point line and in the Kings case it specifically means you are also not spreading the floor enough. The Kings attempts between 25-29 feet have gone DOWN since the break and they currently sit at 25th in the league post All star break whereas their overall efficiency from there is still around 5th best. The Kings are around 7th in attempts per game in that so called "no mans land" of 10-23 feet. Their attempts 5 feet or in have gone up, but the efficiency has gone down by over 4% per game. In looking at the stats, the Kings deep 2's have jumped.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
It's a tough spot for Joerger to be in no doubt. People keep talking about how young this team is. The truth is all year a good chunk, in fact, the majority of the players the team relies on aren't that young. Bjelica is a cagey vet and plays like one. That makes a difference when you consider every game is seemingly right there at some point.
John Galt
Starter
Both teams were fighting for their playoff chances. Kings look like a horse running out of gas. I'm still excited - will still go to all the games... but I can't convince myself that we are better than Utah, San Antonio, or LAC. That's ok. We're 9th best in the West and better than LAL!
sactowndog
All-Star
Your points are well taken. I do think guys are shooting less as they struggle with their shot.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
It all depends on the intent. Is almost all of them turning down 3 point looks to pull a John Salmons and put the ball on the floor when the defense comes out the players call? Or the coach? Struggling is one thing but turning down open looks can't be that wide spread of a lack of confidence across the team. If so then somebody call the zen master.
SCKingsfan
Bench
And there were oh so many on which to take advantage
SLAB
Hall of Famer
When it’s all said and done this is a team I thought would win less than 20 games this season.
We still may end up .500 with Fox, Bagley, Giles, Barnes, Buddy, and a boatload of money in free agency to build with.
Still looking up, despite the recent disappointing (infuriating) losses.
We still may end up .500 with Fox, Bagley, Giles, Barnes, Buddy, and a boatload of money in free agency to build with.
Still looking up, despite the recent disappointing (infuriating) losses.
Livinthedream
All-Star
I don't know that the players are wearing down. It's just that pace is not an offense. If this team made the playoffs, the first thing that the opponents were going to do is slow the game down and make the Kings execute. In the thick of this run, that's what's happened. Teams are taking some things away, and the Kings can't adjust. Some of it is due to lack of experience. Some of it is due to limitations in ability. Smother Buddy and be physical with Fox in the lane and the Kings will struggle.
Bagley is someone that most teams don't have an answer for and is sorely missed. No one else on the team is consistent or talented enough to put pressure on the other team. Right now, the Kings are too easy to scheme against.
Bagley is someone that most teams don't have an answer for and is sorely missed. No one else on the team is consistent or talented enough to put pressure on the other team. Right now, the Kings are too easy to scheme against.
sactowndog
All-Star
Despite what many on this board think, Williams wasn’t the only front office person looking at Dave with a question mark. His decision to go with the small ball line-up and poor end of game calls may have cooked his goose. We shall see.
Heuge
Starter
I’m not a fan of the small ball but am willing to trust the myriad of factors that led to his decision.
Joeger has been a great end coach. Sure, not every lever pulled works. All and all he is far superior than average.
There is an unreasonable bias clouding your judgment.
sactowndog
All-Star
I have news for you. Nothing I posted was opinion. It was stone cold fact.
Heuge
Starter
Whoops, looks like you mixed up your definitions for facts and opinions. Happens to the best of us.
Saying a coach is bad at end game or saying you don’t agree with small ball lineups are both opinions. Sure, there are stats that help support your opinion but that fact remains, they are your opinions. Needless to say, I did not come on here to debate grammar with you.
Bummed with the loss, excited for the future, glad we have a coach to lead us there.
Kingz19
Hall of Famer
It was telling that Grant Napear opened the third quarter with the Kings up 1 and before a shot had been taken he asked Doug “How long do they wait here?”. Hold up. Wait for WHAT? Of course, we know he was referring to how long do they go with this ridiculous small ball lineup that has yielded nothing but disaster since it was ass pulled out of nowhere and inspired from zero data that was positive. He knew the Kings were going to start flat and fall behind because that’s what that lineup does. Sure enough they did. Then they traded baskets for awhile once a real lineup got put in and then they got to do what they do best in single possessions games. Kick the ball around, not get rebounds, and fail to get good shots in crunch time. That lineup has been complete sabotage.
Buddy has been terrible shooting since the break. I’m afraid to calculate what his three point percentage is since coming back. I don’t know what happened. It’s not really a concern going forward but it’s worth noting that the Kings lost probably 3 games during this stretch directly because of Buddys polar vortex. The announcers haven’t seemed to acknowledge it’s been a bad patch, not just “a rough night”. Buddy has been really struggling overall for some time now outside of the OKC game.
Bogdan has struggled. That blown rebound was probably the low point of the Kings season for me. Of course, his value as a playmaker is off the bench utility guy. He clearly doesn’t fit with the starting lineup at SF. Not just for the obvious reason of him not being a small forward. In the role, we need him to be a spot up shooter in that role and unfortunately Bogie has struggled with his outside shot this season. His spot up shot has really been no more reliable than Imans since he entered the starting lineup. The rotation has made Bogdans struggles an even bigger impact since Bogdan actually still plays pretty good with the bench unit because he can work what for the most part has stayed a reliable passing and mid range game..get to the line, get some assists...but he has been a square peg with the small ball starting lineup. As I predicted earlier in the year when there was a few who wanted to shoehorn him into the starting lineup. Turns out you get much of the same numbers but minimize his impact and value significantly. Plus I’m sure he’s injured. Maybe Buddy is too.
This is definetly one of the worst losses of the season. I don’t care about the playoffs at this point but they are not just falling short anymore. They are fading. Theyre about to fall under .500 and they play to the level of the competition now. So I don’t really see that upcoming 7 game stretch and think the Kings can actually rip anything off. There is no carry over from all the moral victories. Kings blow a game to Washington the same way they do to Golden State. It’s not watching them get over a hill but try to break down a wall with their head. You can only sell the learning experience if there appears to be learning. Suns have more high profile wins than the Kings and now the Kings can barely take out the garbage as evident by those alarmingly competitive games vs the Knicks(who weren’t even playing extremely well by their standards)
Needless to say, I found today’s game very very disappointing but I guess if you told me in August...
Buddy has been terrible shooting since the break. I’m afraid to calculate what his three point percentage is since coming back. I don’t know what happened. It’s not really a concern going forward but it’s worth noting that the Kings lost probably 3 games during this stretch directly because of Buddys polar vortex. The announcers haven’t seemed to acknowledge it’s been a bad patch, not just “a rough night”. Buddy has been really struggling overall for some time now outside of the OKC game.
Bogdan has struggled. That blown rebound was probably the low point of the Kings season for me. Of course, his value as a playmaker is off the bench utility guy. He clearly doesn’t fit with the starting lineup at SF. Not just for the obvious reason of him not being a small forward. In the role, we need him to be a spot up shooter in that role and unfortunately Bogie has struggled with his outside shot this season. His spot up shot has really been no more reliable than Imans since he entered the starting lineup. The rotation has made Bogdans struggles an even bigger impact since Bogdan actually still plays pretty good with the bench unit because he can work what for the most part has stayed a reliable passing and mid range game..get to the line, get some assists...but he has been a square peg with the small ball starting lineup. As I predicted earlier in the year when there was a few who wanted to shoehorn him into the starting lineup. Turns out you get much of the same numbers but minimize his impact and value significantly. Plus I’m sure he’s injured. Maybe Buddy is too.
This is definetly one of the worst losses of the season. I don’t care about the playoffs at this point but they are not just falling short anymore. They are fading. Theyre about to fall under .500 and they play to the level of the competition now. So I don’t really see that upcoming 7 game stretch and think the Kings can actually rip anything off. There is no carry over from all the moral victories. Kings blow a game to Washington the same way they do to Golden State. It’s not watching them get over a hill but try to break down a wall with their head. You can only sell the learning experience if there appears to be learning. Suns have more high profile wins than the Kings and now the Kings can barely take out the garbage as evident by those alarmingly competitive games vs the Knicks(who weren’t even playing extremely well by their standards)
Needless to say, I found today’s game very very disappointing but I guess if you told me in August...
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Gibberish
sactowndog
All-Star
Nope I said Williams wasn’t the only person with a question mark.... that is a fact.
I also said his decisions may have cooked his goose. That is not definitive one way or another and therefore can’t be evaluated as true or false.
FoxOnTheRun
G-League
Can we get pre-All Star Break Buddy back?
Section 101
All-Star
Question, who out there is better? Unless the arey getting Pop or Stevens it would be stupid. Walton? huge step backwards.
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Maybe Eric Musselman could cook up a powerpoint or two.
sactowndog
All-Star
Perhaps and I can’t say. I didn’t give my opinion on whether DJ should be fired or not. DJ has certainly done some good things but he also made some pretty bad decisions down the stretch. Ultimately it will be up to the front office.
Golden State went from Jackson to Kerr. Toronto went from Casey to Nurse. There are reasons to support DJ and reasons to move on. We shall see what the off season brings.
Section 101
All-Star
They all were in the playoffs a few years. Griz went to Fizzdale. How did that workout for them?
Also, the issue with Jackson was he was too preachy. It wasn't x's and o's.
And Nurse hasn't done anything yet.
. Next goal, over 0.500 ball to end the year
sactowndog
All-Star
We can play what if’s all day. Any coaching change has risk. Both upside and downside.
Dave clearly added to the question marks with the small ball line-up. It’s not anyone’s call but Vlade’s but if he does make a move he will have un-ambiguous reasons for doing so.
Kings_of_California
Starter
Playoffs are out, no question. I'm not even that mad about it. However what I do find concerning is our play of late. It doesn't feel like the Kings we've been seeing for the majority of the season. I hope this current iteration isn't the real Sac Kings.
Come back Bagley, please. And for gods sake stop this small ball lineup. My eyes are starting to bleed.
Come back Bagley, please. And for gods sake stop this small ball lineup. My eyes are starting to bleed.
Tizzy Flip
Starter
I think Joerger is a solid coach. Players seems to like him and we’ve seen good development albeit most of the key players being high lottery picks (we have seen WCS and Bogey regress though). He also deserves credit for having a team that has strong chemistry and genuinely want each other to do well.
He has some big flaws though. His in-game coaching and adjustments are subpar. He seems like a “my way or the highway” type of guy, very set in his ways and resistant to outside feedback. This small ball lineup has proven over and over again to not work. How many more quarters of digging yourself into a big hole before you realize it simply won’t work? He deserves another year or 2 but if we don’t make the playoffs next year, we should be looking elsewhere
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