New Kings Starting Line-Up
- Thread starter crutonimo
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SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
Thomas at the 4 PLEASE RICK!!! He is just too interesting a match up for other teams.
Thomas and Corliss create matchup probs for other teams, so I like them coming off the bench to create havoc. Thomas is too quick for 4s and Corliss too strong for 3s. Skinner is your best backup center since Ostertag has been a bust, so you can't start your backup. I like Mobley off the bench, but egos and leadership dictates he start. I just worry that guys like Evans are one average game away from seeing junk minutes.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
swisshh said:
I worry just as much that a return to Miller/Songaila/Peja/Mobley/Bibby starting lineup means we go right back to beign just as bad defensively and on the boards as we have been all year with that lineup. Get a little help from the bench of course, but its limited minutes everywhere but at the "4" and for 3/4 of the game we're right back to soft.
Bricklayer said:
Yeah, there is not a name on that lineup that makes me think defense. I don't know what you can do with Miller and Darius, they move on defense but they just aren't that quick or athletic no matter what you do. Peja watches far too many balls instead of going after them. Bibby seems to have some defensive pride, but then you see him make the biggest defensive blunder like he did tonight. Out of all those guys, I hope Mobley will take it on his shoulders to expend a little more on the defensive end rather than offensive end. I'd rather Mobley try to be an energy guy instead of a star. Less threes, more drives. More defensive pride and basic hustle. As long as he brings the offense at the end of games then I don't mind him plugging holes the rest of the game. It's a matter of realizing that scoring 20 ponts through a game and giving up 105 and losing doesn't matter as much as scoring 7 points in the fourth and winning the game.
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4cwebb
Starter
Bricklayer said:
The solution could be to just replace Songaila with Skinner. It doesn't matter if he starts at PF or C, really. He can defend either position against just about any PF or C in the league (put in a good effort against Shaq in the Miami game), and he instantly improves the defensive interior with his shotblocking ability.
Sure, Skinner can't really hit the jumpers that Darius can, and we aren't yet certain whether he can pass like Darius can b/c he hasn't really had that much time to adjust to the offensive movement, but with the other four guys that would be starters (Bibby, Mobley, Peja and Miller), offense is really the least of the teams concerns.
In fact, Skinner is basically a shift from the Kings at the beginning of the season in that he can replace, in a way, DC's spot. He's the one guy on the floor who is an above average defender, but he helps more than DC because he actually serves as a last line of defense. And he knows his range on offense, and scraps for offensive boards, so teams just can't really ignore him on the offensive end (or else they risk giving up a lot of layups and second chances).
I said it the day of the trade and I'll say it again: Skinner is no all star, star, or even a starting PF on a fair number of teams in the NBA, but he's turning out to be the perfect fit for this Kings team, and I've no doubt that Terry Porter gave him a good recommendation to GP and Adelman prior to the trade going down. He did exactly these types of things in Milwaukee (and in some cases even kept Dan Gadzuric coming off the bench --- not that Gadzuric is an all star or star, either, but he's a solid C in this league).
And this does leave a problem with KT and Darius coming off the bench, but I don't really have a problem with Darius defending most of the backup Cs in this league...it's not like many teams are trotting out 7 footers off their bench. I think Darius and KT can be mixed and matched as needed, and Skinner doesn't necessarily need to play 35 minutes per night, either. Probably more in the range of 25 to 30 would be perfect.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
4cwebb said:
That would be exactly the idea. But I sincerely doubt that Brian Skinner can have anywhere near the same impact DC did in his prime. Perhaps as much as old DC had this year though. Big thing will just be whether the rest of the lineup "gets it". Years ago DC used to inspire heightened effort from all of the rest of his teammates, he was the defensive captain. And last year our defense sucked all year long until the playoffs, when two guys in particular led the charge (DC and Webb) and the rest of the guys followed their lead, fought, buckled down. Both of those players are gone now, and we don't so much need a solitary strong defender so much as somebody who can inspire the Bibbys, Brads, Mobleys and Pejas of the world to fight and scrap for everything.
4cwebb
Starter
Bricklayer said:
At this point, GP has to hope that one or two of those four you mentioned step into the void left by DC and CWebb. I think Bibby is certainly a prime candidate, as its largely his effort that seems to cause problems for him on the defensive end.
I think Mobley has the mental makeup to do it as well. It would be Brad and Peja that I wonder about --- Brad largely because he hasn't really been asked to do that before on any team he's been on from Purdue on, and Peja because he's had his opportunities, and just hasn't done it yet. With both players, though, there's always the chance that they just haven't been called upon to do so yet, and now that the bell is tolling for them, they will step forward. I know I'd much prefer to see Brad banish the pouting face and just play with a constant scowl.
AleksandarN
Starter
4cwebb said:
Sadly the last person in our current starting lineup to worry about defense is Pedja(our only above average defenderin the starting lineup). That is how badly our starting lineup is defensively. That is way I think we need Skinner in the starting lineup badly, because he has the ability to effect everyone shots that go in the paint when they blow right by our guards(Bibby and Mobley). The great thing of having a guy like Skinner on defense we can direct the penetration of the opposing players towards Skinner that way we have some control of our defense and makes defensive rotations easier.
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Peja is a slightly above average one-on-one defender but his inability to gaurd the post, rebound, or deliver a meaningful foul brings him back to slightly below average. Mobley has let his definse slip since his first games as a King when he was chasing sown guys for blocks and stealing the ball. Bibby is a matador. We need these guys to stop dribble penatration so that our big guys dont need to leave the block, thus opening up the glass for offensive rebounds. I like a startikng lineup with the four regs plus Thomas with Mo and Skinner first in. Darius just isnt strong enough on the boards right now, but is a good fill for Miller (w/ Skinner in) to play the high post (ala Webb)
gilly420 said:
Pedja is actually a good one on one defender but its his team defense that leaves something to be desired. As far as the issue with having Kenny Thomas and Darius Songaila being the backup big men, it should not be a problem. Reason is Kenny Thomas is versatile enough to play the 3 spot on occasion and is a pretty quick guy. We need Skinner in the starting lineup because of his defense. When Brad gets back this offense is going to be very smooth.
At this point I would have to say there is not that much room for Corliss Williamson in the rotation. Does not play good defense and is neither a 3 or a 4. I guess time will tell how he falls into the rotation.
Andriod_KiNg
Starter
Look they had a good game but they Skinner and Mo Evans arnt starters yet... they are good role players that step up when thier number is called... we should just leave the line up the way it is because i know once Bibby and Peja get cold , we wont make a basket for another 10 min strech, like we did yesterday...
PFFFT!!
Starter
Against quicker, smaller teams, thats not going to work. I would say Skinner would have a field day in blocks. Miller is too much of a shooter and not a penetrator to be a PF. Thomas penetrates more and can rebound. So the only change I would do is insert Thomas to start and Darius off the bench. To be truthful both Thomas and Darius are almost neck and neck in my preference. Darius is a better shooter and knows the system better, but Thomas is the better rebounder. A toss up.
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