I enjoy reading your posts in the grades threads and respect the time you put into this board. But WHY do you consistently defend both Tyreke and Westphal to no avail day in and day out? Are you just blind to seeing that this team is terrible and in need of a coaching change? We have THREE legitimate NBA players (tyreke, beno, and JT) and NONE of them have proven that they could be legit starters on every single team in this leauge (reke, maybe... beno and JT no). I've been going to Kings games the past 12 years, and this I think is the worst I have ever seen the team. Terrible execution, no sense of an offesnse, no "go to guys" whatsoever, and no telling who will be on the core of this team in the future (go ahead and say reke, jt, cuz, greene, and casspi... i'll give you 1 starter and four bench players on a championship caliber team).
I think your overstating you case a little. First off, Bricky hasn't always defended Westphal. I believe he took a shot at him in this thread, which I think you quoted, and misunderstood. Secondly, he's never excused Tyreke's play. He's been critical when necessary and has praised him when deserved. He has been critical of some insane comments about Tyreke on this fourm, which is entirely different than defending Tyreke's play, which is where our comments should spring from.
As to who are, or will be legitimate starters in the NBA are two entirely different issues. Because some of our players may not meet the standard of what you and others might perceive as NBA starters right now, doesn't mean they won't grow into NBA starters in a year or two. When you build through the draft, thats the process you have to go through. There are only a handful of players that can come into the league at age 19 and be totally qualified to start in the NBA. Even those that do, have flaws they have to improve on. Derrick Rose is a much better player today than he was two years ago.
Also, I might add, that who is, or is not a starter, many times depends on the needs of the team. Its all about fit. With the right team, JT is a legitimate starter. But if you want him to be the 1st or 2nd option on a team and thats your need at that position, he's probably not for you. On the other hand, if all you want from him to play defense, and rebound, and give you 8 to 10 points a night with an occasional 15 to 20 pt game, then he fits right in. Its a sad statement on the team when JT is one of the few players on the team that can play both ends of the floor. But the team is in such disaray, that its hard to know for sure what the total abilities of any player on the team is.
Is anyone sure just what Greene can, or can not do. How can you really tell when he goes from starter to DNP to starter to bench player to starter to DNP. I watch a lot of college basketball. The one thing I refuse to do is pass judgement on any player based on just a couple of games. The reason, is because the nature of the competition is so varied, and you may have just watched his two best, or perhaps two worse games of the year. There are other reasons as well. But the point is you have to see a player play many times at the same position, against good competition to get a clear idea of just how good, or bad he is.
Having said that, I have no idea how Westphal makes his judgement. Its almost as though he changes is mind on a game by game basis. If so, thats simply insane. Every player is going to have off nights. I'm sure everyone of us has gotten up on the wrong side of the bed at times. We have those days where we feel like were swimming upstream all day long. Do you think that because these guys are NBA players that they're immune to that? Sometimes I think some of the people out there think these guys are just robots. Machines! No feelings either physical or mental. Sorry, not true. They feel pain just like we do. They go to the bathroom just like we do. And they make mistakes just like we do. Its just that they're mistakes are magnified.
OK, I'm done rambling for now. And may the new year be a better year. Its still not too late to turn this around into something positive. Me thinks!