Marco Belinelli Interview With Italian Media

[bajaden]

I was going to vote, but when the term winning mentality was described as meaning results, instead of attitude, I decided not to. That's two entirely different things. You can have a winning mentality, without performing the way you want to. I think Belinelli has a winning mentality, but unfortunately, his results were terrible. I doubt he intended to miss shots. Maybe he just had a bad year. Maybe it was a combination of the system, conflict in the locker room, and his age catching up with him earlier than expected. I don't know, but I would prefer he move on to another team. Winning mentality and all.

 

[origkds]

That poll would just be a popularity contest. No way to verify or assess.

Okay, how about self-serving, biased opinions.

 

[Livinthedream]

Okay, how about self-serving, biased opinions.

That's what we do best.

 

[hrdboild]

I was going to vote, but when the term winning mentality was described as meaning results, instead of attitude, I decided not to. That's two entirely different things. You can have a winning mentality, without performing the way you want to. I think Belinelli has a winning mentality, but unfortunately, his results were terrible. I doubt he intended to miss shots. Maybe he just had a bad year. Maybe it was a combination of the system, conflict in the locker room, and his age catching up with him earlier than expected. I don't know, but I would prefer he move on to another team. Winning mentality and all.

I don't have a problem with a proven shooter missing wide-open shots, that's just bad luck on our part. But when he's pulling up off the dribble with a defender in his face while fading toward the baseline, that's not a smart shot for anybody. That's a situation where he needs to recognize the odds of success are very slim and he needs to pass the ball. That's where I think he needs to take a look at his own play. Part of having a winning mentality is trusting your teammates. Maybe this is a consequence of the endless search for a head coach or the constant roster turnover, but players trusting each other and passing up a shot to make the extra pass for an even better shot has been a problem for a long time on this team.

 

[John Galt]

That poll would just be a popularity contest. No way to verify or assess.

What's wrong with a popularity contest? What poll isn't one?

He proposed this poll: "which King's players they (forum members) believe have a true winning mentality."

Just as valid as any other poll. If it could be determined/verified from data, a poll would be dumb - the smartest guy on the board could just tell us the answer.

 

[VF21]

What's wrong with a popularity contest? What poll isn't one?

He proposed this poll: "which King's players they (forum members) believe have a true winning mentality."

Just as valid as any other poll. If it could be determined/verified from data, a poll would be dumb - the smartest guy on the board could just tell us the answer.

I don't agree. That's the kind of poll that proves nothing and almost guarantees player bashing at some point.

For the record, I think people are misunderstanding what Marco was saying. It's hard to have a winning mentality when you're on a team that hasn't won diddily squat in a decade or more. Bellinelli admitted it was a shock for him coming from the Spurs, arguably the best run organization in the league. Marco is rather odd in some regards, BTW. He blocks people on Twitter if they make even the slightest criticism of his performance in a game (and I do mean the slightest).

Personally, I think he's trying to make excuses for his less-than-stellar performance this past season because, based on what I've seen on Twitter, he isn't accepting any kind of responsibility.

 

[ParniValjak]

This comment from Marco is intriguing and a bit worrisome: "Coming from San Antonio I immediately noticed that several teammates in Sacramento hadn't a winning mentality. But I do have a winning mentality and I want to win now."

Besides talent, having a die for the team and the win mentality is paramount for success. Anyone, and I mean anyone, on the team that doesn't have this attitude needs to go, now.

I would like to get forum members opinions about which King's players they believe have a true winning mentality. Maybe even a poll.

Let's be honest here, if Marco did have a winning mentality as he says there, then there is no way he would have flopped as much as he did this season. If you have a winning mentality then you work hard and overcome form slumps and turn the season around. His form slump lasted a whole season with an odd solid patch of 2-3 games here and there.

Has he come out and taken any responsibility for his own form or is he too happy to slag off the franchise to Italian press?

 

[King Baller]

This comment from Marco is intriguing and a bit worrisome: "Coming from San Antonio I immediately noticed that several teammates in Sacramento hadn't a winning mentality. But I do have a winning mentality and I want to win now."

Besides talent, having a die for the team and the win mentality is paramount for success. Anyone, and I mean anyone, on the team that doesn't have this attitude needs to go, now.

I would like to get forum members opinions about which King's players they believe have a true winning mentality. Maybe even a poll.

Basketball is a simple game. I know there are lots of new strategies. But one fundamental thing that has not changed is the ball needs to go through the hoop. Marco would impress me more if he was talking about the thousands of shots he was putting up each day to rediscover his shooting touch.

 

[dude12]

Karl put Marco into the position of chucker off the bench and he wasn't very good at it. Needs to be put back into the right role or traded.

 

[Livinthedream]

What's wrong with a popularity contest? What poll isn't one?

He proposed this poll: "which King's players they (forum members) believe have a true winning mentality."

Just as valid as any other poll. If it could be determined/verified from data, a poll would be dumb - the smartest guy on the board could just tell us the answer.

It's perfectly fine to have a popularity contest. It's just hard to debate those. This kind of poll would be akin to asking which Kings player has the nicest smile. It will confirm our personal preferences or biases based on the emotional response we get when we see or hear the players.

Wasn't trying to kill the poll. Just providing context as I saw it.

 

[Hansel]

Let's be honest here, if Marco did have a winning mentality as he says there, then there is no way he would have flopped as much as he did this season. If you have a winning mentality then you work hard and overcome form slumps and turn the season around. His form slump lasted a whole season with an odd solid patch of 2-3 games here and there.

Has he come out and taken any responsibility for his own form or is he too happy to slag off the franchise to Italian press?

Agree. I heard the interview, it was bad... but not THAT bad.
He talked about the problem in the locker room, the poor training sessions (blaming coach and assistants as well),... but he said that these problems don't have to justify his poor performance as well.
Anyway, if you knew how Sky Sports Italy manages NBA basketball you wouldn't be surprised by the interview.
Basically all the broadcasting team is pretty close to the Spurs organization, so I'm not surprised by the comparison between the Kings and the Spurs.
And if you listened any match with italian commentary, you'd think that even Ailene Voisin is on Cousins side compared to it. I don't pay too much attention to it anymore.
There was one interesting part, and I have to say I agree with Belinelli... He said that all year long in Kings offensive system, whenever the ball left his hands... never came back, pointing out there was no team basketball. Honestly it's difficult to disagree.

 

[IfAt1st]

Agree. I heard the interview, it was bad... but not THAT bad.
He talked about the problem in the locker room, the poor training sessions (blaming coach and assistants as well),... but he said that these problems don't have to justify his poor performance as well.
Anyway, if you knew how Sky Sports Italy manages NBA basketball you wouldn't be surprised by the interview.
Basically all the broadcasting team is pretty close to the Spurs organization, so I'm not surprised by the comparison between the Kings and the Spurs.
And if you listened any match with italian commentary, you'd think that even Ailene Voisin is on Cousins side compared to it. I don't pay too much attention to it anymore.
There was one interesting part, and I have to say I agree with Belinelli... He said that all year long in Kings offensive system, whenever the ball left his hands... never came back, pointing out there was no team basketball. Honestly it's difficult to disagree.

Cool story, Hansel.

 

[bajaden]

I don't have a problem with a proven shooter missing wide-open shots, that's just bad luck on our part. But when he's pulling up off the dribble with a defender in his face while fading toward the baseline, that's not a smart shot for anybody. That's a situation where he needs to recognize the odds of success are very slim and he needs to pass the ball. That's where I think he needs to take a look at his own play. Part of having a winning mentality is trusting your teammates. Maybe this is a consequence of the endless search for a head coach or the constant roster turnover, but players trusting each other and passing up a shot to make the extra pass for an even better shot has been a problem for a long time on this team.

I could use your description on just about every player on the Kings last season. You think Cousins didn't force some shots? You think Gay didn't force some shots? Maybe that's what Belinelli was talking about. After a while the mentality of,"well, their getting there's, I better get mine while I have the chance" becomes the norm. I find it amazing that you'll nit pic Belinelli, but will overlook the mistakes Rondo makes. Wouldn't be a little bias would it?

 

[bajaden]

I don't agree. That's the kind of poll that proves nothing and almost guarantees player bashing at some point.

For the record, I think people are misunderstanding what Marco was saying. It's hard to have a winning mentality when you're on a team that hasn't won diddily squat in a decade or more. Bellinelli admitted it was a shock for him coming from the Spurs, arguably the best run organization in the league. Marco is rather odd in some regards, BTW. He blocks people on Twitter if they make even the slightest criticism of his performance in a game (and I do mean the slightest).

Personally, I think he's trying to make excuses for his less-than-stellar performance this past season because, based on what I've seen on Twitter, he isn't accepting any kind of responsibility.

I would say that at least 50% of every sport is mental. You have to approach your sport with confidence. You have to believe in yourself. If you don't, I can guarantee failure. In that regard, I would advise any player in any sport to not read anything on social media, facebook, twitter, etc. I would advise not listening to sport talk radio, and not reading the local sports page. You'll get your share of applause, but you'll also get your share of negativism. That stuff can get in your head, and pretty soon you start doubting yourself. That's a downward spiral you don't want to begin.

So I can understand why Belinelli blocks those with negative comments. I've found that most professional athlete's are harder on themselves than anyone else can be. And if they're not, then you don't want them on your team. Why does Donte Greene suddenly leap into my mind?

 

[hrdboild]

I could use your description on just about every player on the Kings last season. You think Cousins didn't force some shots? You think Gay didn't force some shots? Maybe that's what Belinelli was talking about. After a while the mentality of,"well, their getting there's, I better get mine while I have the chance" becomes the norm. I find it amazing that you'll nit pic Belinelli, but will overlook the mistakes Rondo makes. Wouldn't be a little bias would it?

You got me At some point it's more of a visceral reaction than anything else. If a guard dribbles up the court and hoists a shot, it drives me nuts. If a center or a forward forces up a shot through a double-team, I mentally register that it's a bad shot but I don't have the same visceral reaction. I'm sure this factors into why I like a dedicated passer at PG like Rondo so much. He plays the way I think a PG is supposed to play. What drives me crazy about the guard with poor shot selection is that it's almost always a wasted possession. With the center maybe he can draw a foul, maybe he's still in position to get an offensive rebound, maybe the next time down the floor he can pass out to an open player in that situation because getting the ball into the post at least accomplishes something for you offensively even if it's ultimately just a bad shot that comes out of it. But those are rationalizations. The truth is one of them causes me to curse at the screen and one of them merely causes me to shake my head disapprovingly. Of course when it's Cousins firing away from the three-point line on consecutive possessions as the fourth quarter winds down, I don't know what to think. My circuits are crossed, but I'm certainly not happy about it.

 

[bajaden]

You got me At some point it's more of a visceral reaction than anything else. If a guard dribbles up the court and hoists a shot, it drives me nuts. If a center or a forward forces up a shot through a double-team, I mentally register that it's a bad shot but I don't have the same visceral reaction. I'm sure this factors into why I like a dedicated passer at PG like Rondo so much. He plays the way I think a PG is supposed to play. What drives me crazy about the guard with poor shot selection is that it's almost always a wasted possession. With the center maybe he can draw a foul, maybe he's still in position to get an offensive rebound, maybe the next time down the floor he can pass out to an open player in that situation because getting the ball into the post at least accomplishes something for you offensively even if it's ultimately just a bad shot that comes out of it. But those are rationalizations. The truth is one of them causes me to curse at the screen and one of them merely causes me to shake my head disapprovingly. Of course when it's Cousins firing away from the three-point line on consecutive possessions as the fourth quarter winds down, I don't know what to think. My circuits are crossed, but I'm certainly not happy about it.

Like you, I tend to give big men more lee way. They have to battle for position time and time again, and sometimes never get a look from the ballhandler. It takes a special post player to be totally unselfish and look for the open man. So we don't blame them for taking bad shots as much as we do a guard on the perimeter with a hand in his face. Unless his name is Steph Curry of course. But the truth is, a bad shot is a bad shot, regardless of who takes it. Winning is the elimination of mistakes. Usually when two teams are equally talented, it's the team that does the little fundamental things the best that will win.