New faces

[funkykingston]

Hey,

I was posting here semi-regularly this summer and finally re-registered again. I also posted pretty regularly at the Bleacher Mob as TheBigO, but I've been unable to access their site for the last two months because of some problem with my computer.

Anyway, as far as my point goes, I thought of something fairly interesting during a nice stretch run of the Nuggets game. Of the five players on the floor, all but one of them was a player new to this team this season. And the fifth was Darius Songaila, who himself only joined the team last year.

Eddie House, Kevin Martin, Matt Barnes, Darius Songaila and Greg Ostertag was the lineup on the floor I believe, although it may have been Evans rather than Martin at the OG. Not only was it a completely new team on the floor, but these guys played very well in their stint as a group. House was unimpressive in his debut, and Barnes (as much as I like him) is inconsistent, but it does give me a good feeling about our bench to see guys 6-11 on the depth chart have a great showing when we needed them.

I really think the Mobley-Christie trade was about not getting hamstrung by DC's contract and will actually hurt the team in the short term. But after what I watched last night from Martin and what we've seen from Evans lately, I don't think the impact to the team will be as negative as I feared.

 

[NoBonus]

I really think the Mobley-Christie trade was about not getting hamstrung by DC's contract and will actually hurt the team in the short term. But after what I watched last night from Martin and what we've seen from Evans lately, I don't think the impact to the team will be as negative as I feared.

It's hard to say from last night's game because Webber was not on the floor. The Kings seem to play a different (and excellent) brand of basketball without Webber in the line-up.

 

[funkykingston]

Here's the thing with Webber though. He is really this team's ONLY low post threat and don't forget that Webber is also by far the best rebounder on the team. He infuriates me when he launches elbow jumper after elbow jumper when they aren't falling, but it doesn't take away from the fact that no other King can operate inside as well as he can. Hopefully, the addition of Mobley will spread the floor a bit more and encourage Webb to get into the blocks more often and utilize his jump hook.

Of course, I still think people are discounting Webber's contributions. If the Kings lost last night the excuse would have been, "well, they were shorthanded without DC and Webb." But when they win, the cry is "this team is better without Webber". It's a no-win situation. I also rarely see the praise for Webb after a good game, and he has had quite a few this year. It is just easy to focus on his bad shooting nights, his bloated contract and his comments this summer.

I think the young guys' growth is impressive and I am happy to see such positive contributions from them. But I still can't be convinced that this team is better without Webber than with him.

 

[mcsluggo]

I agree.

The young guys were all fired to go, and playing above norm (which teams are wont to due, for a stretch, when a primary ingredient is taken away). However, even so, they were tied with a few minutes to go against a team that is imploding, and has lost 10 of 11 (i believe).

the kids are fun. But does anyone think the Kings would go far with that line-up from last night...?

 

[bibbyweb]

Here's the thing with Webber though. He is really this team's ONLY low post threat and don't forget that Webber is also by far the best rebounder on the team. He infuriates me when he launches elbow jumper after elbow jumper when they aren't falling, but it doesn't take away from the fact that no other King can operate inside as well as he can. Hopefully, the addition of Mobley will spread the floor a bit more and encourage Webb to get into the blocks more often and utilize his jump hook.

Of course, I still think people are discounting Webber's contributions. If the Kings lost last night the excuse would have been, "well, they were shorthanded without DC and Webb." But when they win, the cry is "this team is better without Webber". It's a no-win situation. I also rarely see the praise for Webb after a good game, and he has had quite a few this year. It is just easy to focus on his bad shooting nights, his bloated contract and his comments this summer.

Good points!!

 

[Variant]

Welcome BigO... have enjoyed reading your posts over on the mob site. Definitely agree this trade was geared towards helping to keep the Kings competitive in the future. At the very lease we can use Cuttino to trade for another young guy if he doesn't pan out. DC's value was declining, and we now get a chance to develop our younger players.

 

[ZEKEDAWG]

Might as well let the new guys get some PT now so they can be ready when the time comes. Martin looks like he has potential, can't wait to see how the big shake up works out.

 

[piksi]

He is really this team's ONLY low post threat

Somebody needs to tell him that. Maybe it will get him to shoot more jumphooks instead jumpshots.