Nik & Ben's perimeter shooting...

[VF21]

Your making my point....a ready to contribute rookie. We really could use a vet backing up that spot....a vet who can play defense and shoot right now. The fact is the kid is a year away from contributing so why not add a guy. How many games have we put in the reserve backcourt and our lead has just gone away? There is no reason why we can't be patient with Nik sitting more than he is. Heck, I was being patient with Ben last year because the goal was not making the playoffs...we weren't ready. This year this team has the chance to make the playoffs. We need a better reserve backcourt. That has nothing to do with being patient with Nik, that has more to do with being better now. Everyone knows Nik isn't ready, I'm not going to HOPE that Nik turns it around. HOPE is not a plan. You have to consider that the kid doesn't get it going, let alone turn it around....because he hasn't produced at this level and may never produce at this level.

This whole "ready to produce" rookie myth is crap. VERY FEW first-year players come in ready to do it all. That doesn't mean they need to be shipped to the D-League. It means they need to learn how to be part of the team, to find ways to contribute. Nik is already showing improvement on D, which is a lot more important than him putting up meaningless numbers in Reno.

Give the kid a chance. Quit acting like he's already a bust. To quote others, way too many around here - and elsewhere - were writing Ben off. It takes time and right now we want to make sure ALL our players buy into what Malone's selling. Nik cannot do that from Reno.

 

[dude12]

This whole "ready to produce" rookie myth is crap. VERY FEW first-year players come in ready to do it all. That doesn't mean they need to be shipped to the D-League. It means they need to learn how to be part of the team, to find ways to contribute. Nik is already showing improvement on D, which is a lot more important than him putting up meaningless numbers in Reno.

Give the kid a chance. Quit acting like he's already a bust. To quote others, way too many around here - and elsewhere - were writing Ben off. It takes time and right now we want to make sure ALL our players buy into what Malone's selling. Nik cannot do that from Reno.

Putting words in my mouth...did I ever say he was a bust? If I said those exact words, please point it out.

 

[206Fan]

Kings would be better for this season at least, if they drafted KJ McDaniels with the 8th pick.

I was really hopping that the Kings would trade back with either Phx or Philly to draft someone like PJ Hairston and KJ in the 1st, or Payton in the 1st and KJ in the 2nd.
I've watched KJ at Clemson.. I'm such a huge fan of his. I wish we could've picked up a 2nd rounder from Philly. I think there were a lot of SGs in last years draft that would be good.... I'm happy we drafted Stauskas though. I just wish we would use him a little more. Play the offense through him sometimes.

 

[dude12]

Nik isn't the problem with this team. Why are we focusing on someone that plays around 5 minutes a half, and takes about one shot a half. His defense, while not perfect, is hardly responsible for our losses. Our main problem is the lack of a legit backup center. Last night Malone took a different approach to the problem and it worked. At least for one night. He went to a three man rotation of Cousins, JT, and Landry. Trying to keep either JT or Cousins on the floor at all times. It worked, and will continue to work as long as neither Cuz and JT don't get into serious foul trouble.

Prior to that, we got killed when the second unit was on the floor because the tallest players we had on the floor were 6'8"tall. Evans trying to guard Gasol or Nowitzki is a disaster waiting to happen. I agree, getting nothing out of Stauskas doesn't help, but if you want something out of him, then pass him the ball. Get him involved. Sessions is the bigger culprit, many times ignoring everyone else and constantly driving to the basket, many times into a crowd and throwing up wild shots. I've lost count of how many times Stauskas has been open on the perimeter and was ignored. A shooting guard has to, by definition, shoot the ball. If you don't touch it, you can't shoot it. How can you get into a rhythm when you only take one shot. If you miss, your suddenly a bad shooter. Eventually your collar will start to get tight because if you miss that one shot, your probably not going to get another one. Cousins, Gay, Collison, etc don't have to worry about that. Neither does Sessions, since he has the ball everytime it comes up the floor.

It's hard for me to say what Stauskas should do, because I don't know for sure what their asking him to do when he goes out on the floor. It appears as if he's being used to open the floor by setting up in one corner or the other. As I said, he's excellent at running the pick and roll, but for some reason they don't go to him, despite the few times he's done it, its been successful. In short, Stauskas has a lot to learn, and he needs to get a lot stronger, but he's not the main problem with this team. Lack of talented height in the second unit is.

While I don't disagree with you as far as needing talented height in the second unit....it's been part of the problem, I think it's our 2nd unit guards that are just getting broken down to easily. I think it starts there. We are a better defensive team this year and mainly it's because we have a different PG and our SG, Ben is improved. It does help that they play with Cuz and JT but they are also stopping penetration. And I don't think it's a main problem with the team but the 2nd unit guard defense has been problematic...No?

 

[kingsboi]

when Nik is in he shoots some tough shots but it's all a learning curve for him and he needs to continue to get minutes or just go out and get a veteran and let him learn from the sidelines for the year.

 

[lawlman91]

Nik isn't a problem going forward. He will learn.

 

[Gary]

Ben seems to be doing a lot better this year in terms of %s.

 

[Kingston Jamaica]

This whole "ready to produce" rookie myth is crap. VERY FEW first-year players come in ready to do it all. That doesn't mean they need to be shipped to the D-League. It means they need to learn how to be part of the team, to find ways to contribute. Nik is already showing improvement on D, which is a lot more important than him putting up meaningless numbers in Reno.

Give the kid a chance. Quit acting like he's already a bust. To quote others, way too many around here - and elsewhere - were writing Ben off. It takes time and right now we want to make sure ALL our players buy into what Malone's selling. Nik cannot do that from Reno.

This is exactly right. Kids coming from college need to learn a whole new system. In the college they were probably the go to guy with OK to shoot at any time. In the NBA they become the 3rd or 4th scoring option, which takes a lot of their confidence away. Great teams have the patience to build their rookies to great players. I hope the Kings have become such a team too.

 

[Prince_XY]

For that matter the Kings would also be better off had they drafted Payton and signed Terrence Williams instead of Sessions.

I was a big proponent of McDaniels. And the Sixers screwing around trying to get him to commit to a bargain 4 year deal that gave McDaniels no leverage led to him signing a one year deal at the minimum so he'll be a free agent this summer.

This kid KJ McDaniels is awesome.

A 6' 6" SG with 1.4 blocks per game/24 minutes. That's roughly 2.1 blocks per 36 minutes which means this kid is a very active and fearless defender. His 3-pt shooting percentage is at 40% will turn heads too.

 

[Prince_XY]

Dude, those 15 minutes per game are not a key part? Maybe not starting but 15 minutes is a big chunk of the game.....enough to help blow leads and lose games. Sessions and Nik have been bad to this point......especially on defense. Real hard to have a 2 bad defensive guards in the same time.

I agree. Most fans see this problem and the front office have had a clue regarding this problem. In fact, earlier through the season PDA had anticipated this problem because he had Terrence Williams called to work-out. But what else can we do but wait what happens? Just like Chubbs is saying we are probably capped-out and we cannot just sign a veteran.

And I also agree that you never insinuated or acted as if Stauskas is a bust. I don't know why anyone would say you were making a point that Stauskas is a bust. I know it is strange, but what can we do with those kind of "straw-man" posters? But as Chubbs was saying, Stauskas may benefit more playing at NBA than in Reno while we wait for a better option to come in. That is ""IF" PDA will get one and "IF" we are serious in considering a run for the playoffs.

 

[Gilles]

This kid KJ McDaniels is awesome.

A 6' 6" SG with 1.4 blocks per game/24 minutes. That's roughly 2.1 blocks per 36 minutes which means this kid is a very active and fearless defender. His 3-pt shooting percentage is at 40% will turn heads too.

You can guess, that he's a rookie by the fact, that he sends almost all of his blocks to the 8th row. He has enough lift and hang time to just collect the ball most of the time. He's bigger, than Ben, but has similar foot speed. Work with the ball is also reminiscent of Ben - just don't ask him to dribble in traffic. I missed the fact, that from sophomore to junior college seasons he put in massive work on his shot, but at first it only showed in his FT% (.160 increase), while due to poor shot selection his 3pt% actually got worse, plus he relied too much on his ability to block attempts instead of playing positional defense and contesting shots on the ground (still does), because with him leaving his feet every time savvy offensive players would foul him out in a matter of minutes.

 

[Prog]

You can guess, that he's a rookie by the fact, that he sends almost all of his blocks to the 8th row.

This is true for most shot-blockers, even specialists. This is why I think blocks are overrated. So many times they don't end up with a possession, just (some) intimidation. I'd take a steal or a charge every time over a block.

 

[206Fan]

You can guess, that he's a rookie by the fact, that he sends almost all of his blocks to the 8th row. He has enough lift and hang time to just collect the ball most of the time. He's bigger, than Ben, but has similar foot speed. Work with the ball is also reminiscent of Ben - just don't ask him to dribble in traffic. I missed the fact, that from sophomore to junior college seasons he put in massive work on his shot, but at first it only showed in his FT% (.160 increase), while due to poor shot selection his 3pt% actually got worse, plus he relied too much on his ability to block attempts instead of playing positional defense and contesting shots on the ground (still does), because with him leaving his feet every time savvy offensive players would foul him out in a matter of minutes.

He's basically a SF version of Ben coming in with defensive skills, rather than potential of defense skills. He will be amazing in a few years on the right team. I really want him on the Kings. If he can develop his offensive game, he'd be a great 3&D guy. He's a RFA next year because he only signed for a 1 year on his rookie contract. Maybe the Kings could make a run for him? Philly is a terrible place to be..

 

[Gilles]

He's not long or strong enough for a 3. Most SFs can just shoot over him. With his foot speed his much better suited at SG, if his team can afford not having ballhandling from that position.

 

[DeMoN]

Ben has been coming closer to last season averages for the last couple games, need to figure whats going on with outside shooting so we can get him back on track. Gotta ride that confidence and not let it slip due to team errors.

 

[dude12]

I agree. Most fans see this problem and the front office have had a clue regarding this problem. In fact, earlier through the season PDA had anticipated this problem because he had Terrence Williams called to work-out. But what else can we do but wait what happens? Just like Chubbs is saying we are probably capped-out and we cannot just sign a veteran.

And I also agree that you never insinuated or acted as if Stauskas is a bust. I don't know why anyone would say you were making a point that Stauskas is a bust. I know it is strange, but what can we do with those kind of "straw-man" posters? But as Chubbs was saying, Stauskas may benefit more playing at NBA than in Reno while we wait for a better option to come in. That is ""IF" PDA will get one and "IF" we are serious in considering a run for the playoffs.

This is a thought out post and not a knee jerk reaction...thanks. Look at the Rockets and Cavs looking into acquiring Corey Brewer within the last 24 hours. Both teams are doing well but also see a possibility that they can improve their roster. Brewer won't be a starter at either place but can play those backup minutes. He would be a good vet here off the bench...a guy that is not trying to find his place in the league but you know what your going to get...some 3 point shooting and some good defense and a guy that can get out on the FB. I'm just saying that if we could swing a deal we could get better as a team....personally, instead of 6-4 I want us to be 8-2 or whatever.

 

[Chubbs]

Hey, my posts are rarely "knee jerk reactions." . The conclusions may not be perfect, but I am indeed a thinker.

There are significant issues well before you even think about Nik. Boogie's foul troubles with no backup center loom largest and would be the primary reason if the kings miss the playoffs. Like 10-20 times more critical than anything Nik would ever do in his limited minutes. And the bad defense on the second unit is really impacted by the two undersized PFs trying to play Center. That is more significant than Nik's defense. Normal sized big men can erase bad guard defense.

I'm not opposed to looking at possible short term fixes while Nik adjusts, and of course the front office is always looking at possible scenarios that could help the team without hampering the long term. What I am opposed to is giving up on a rookie in mid November of his rookie year. The problem with short term fixes is that they can only be done if they don't put a strain on anything long term. And right now, Nik is still part of the long term. It's just way too early. They also have to consider Nik's confidence. Bringing someone in could potentially hurt Nik in the long term. It's a balancing act when dealing with humans.

They also have to very careful with finding the right personalities. Corey brewer might not be that kind of guy. Same for Terrence Williams. The role players need to be very carefully chosen.

Frankly, something nice is being built here. This offseason we might see guys WANT to come here. It might be wise to wait and see.