No more excuse!!!

[Since93]

From Yahoo:

Webber thinks the Kings will start playing a lot better when they start playing at home.

``Hopefully, the schedule will start catching up to some sort of sanity for us,'' he said.

Why our players always looking for excuse??? Home/away or not. Back-to-back or not. You are PAID to play hard. Suck it up and play!!!

 

[Bricklayer]

I mentioned this in another thread.

Our opponents so far:

Dallas 4-1
San Antonio 3-1
Houston 3-2
Toronto 4-1
Seattle 4-1
Total: 18-6


We are not playing well, but looking at that list I'd say we have also had about the toughest first 5 games of any team int he league (Toronto and Seattle wil not be there in the end, but both are hot teams right now).

 

[Rockmeister]

Why our players always looking for excuse??? Home/away or not. Back-to-back or not. You are PAID to play hard. Suck it up and play!!!

The Kings can't always depend winning at home. What an excuse! If they only win at home, who knows if they will even make it in the playoffs. C'mon Webber, you can do better than say something like that.

 

[Bricklayer]

Not too different from last year really -- need a good long homestand to get into rhythm and start to develop that swagger again. Can do wodners when you're out of synch.

 

[Since93]

We are not playing well, but looking at that list I'd say we have also had about the toughest first 5 games of any team int he league (Toronto and Seattle wil not be there in the end, but both are hot teams right now).

I am sorry to say that. But

THAT IS ANOTHER EXCUSE!!!

Playing good teams means we don't have to play hard and expect to lose? What concept is that? To both us as fans and them as players.

 

[Bricklayer]

I am sorry to say that. But

THAT IS ANOTHER EXCUSE!!!

Playing good teams means we don't have to play hard and expect to lose? What concept is that? To both us as fans and them as players.

Sometimes "excuses" are also the truth.

We are playing poorly, but if we were playing 1-4 teams at home with 2 days rest in between every game we'd probably be surviving this stretch. As it is, its amplified and we need a break in the schedule to get healthy and settled down.

 

[4cwebb]

Sometimes "excuses" are also the truth.

We are playing poorly, but if we were playing 1-4 teams at home with 2 days rest in between every game we'd probably be surviving this stretch. As it is, its amplified and we need a break in the schedule to get healthy and settled down.

It's a bit of a chicken / egg problem...the Kings are part of the reason those teams (except the Raptors) have such good records.

And, I don't understand the complaint about the scheduling too much...Rockets played four games in the first five nights, and they at least won two of those games.

And, CWebb needs to re-read his own clippings...I agree with Since93 here...this year was going to be different according to CWebb's rant/mission statement, yet already the team is leaning on the "tough" scheduling...

It just feels as if something has changed. Last year, the Kings were a better team than their first five opponents of this season, except for the Spurs. This year, the team can barely point to being better than two of it's opponents to this point, neither of which made any playoff noise last season.

 

[Since93]

It's a bit of a chicken / egg problem...the Kings are part of the reason those teams (except the Raptors) have such good records.

And, I don't understand the complaint about the scheduling too much...Rockets played four games in the first five nights, and they at least won two of those games.

And, CWebb needs to re-read his own clippings...I agree with Since93 here...this year was going to be different according to CWebb's rant/mission statement, yet already the team is leaning on the "tough" scheduling...

It just feels as if something has changed. Last year, the Kings were a better team than their first five opponents of this season, except for the Spurs. This year, the team can barely point to being better than two of it's opponents to this point, neither of which made any playoff noise last season.

Very well said 4cwebb!

I am a big fan of Webb also.
But I am sick of not being responsible to your own performance but to blame the schedule.

Is blaming the schedule a part of the 'tough mentality' we talked about in the off-season?

 

[Bricklayer]

Very well said 4cwebb!

I am a big fan of Webb also.
But I am sick of not being responsible to your own performance but to blame the schedule.

Is blaming the schedule a part of the 'tough mentally' we talked about in the off-season?

It is part of reality.

let me ask you this: If the Kings right now had the exact same record and the exact same scores/results and we had played all 5 games at home against New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Golden State, would you feel better or worse about where we were? Worse of course. It is NOT the same thing.

We are not playing well, but given our schecule thus far tonight was the first truly unexpected loss. And with us on a back to back, Seattle playing very well right now and having just thumped Finals-favorite San Antonio two days ago, its hard to call this one unexpected either.

 

[Since93]

We are not playing well, but given our schecule thus far tonight was the first truly unexpected loss. And with us on a back to back, Seattle playing very well right now and having just thumped Finals-favorite San Antonio two days ago, its hard to call this one unexpected either.

So you are saying we should expect to lose to the 3 Texas teams. Even now you said we expected them to lose tonight, because Sonics were hot, and it's back-to-back...

So how about the Suns? I guess they are quite a good team too. This is ridiculous.

I can tell you I expect them to lose too. Given what they have always sucked in back-to-backs. But does it really have to be this way? 'Reality' so what??? We still have to play hard any given night. I don't think we are going to win anyhow with this kind of attitude.

 

[KingKong]

I would say Houston and Seattle were the two unexpected losses so far. But simply we are playing like crap and better get it together or else I fear we will miss the playoffs. These team just doesn't seemed prepared coming into this season.

 

[outsider62]

So you are saying we should expect to lose to the 3 Texas teams. Even now you said we expected them to lose tonight, because Sonics were hot, and it's back-to-back...

It was back2back for Sonics too. Our team core stayed the same (minus Vlade), so I would expect to take advantage of it early in the season.

Right now we depend too much on Webber and you can't count on him in second game of back-to-back. We need more production from Peja, Doug and Bobby. God help us if any of core players gets injured again. Peja may be right after all. Kings are going to be better this year, but for making noise in PO, they need miraculously injury free season. For that to happen we need different PT distribution from Adelman and a huge amount of luck on top of that.

 

[4cwebb]

It is part of reality.

let me ask you this: If the Kings right now had the exact same record and the exact same scores/results and we had played all 5 games at home against New Orleans, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Golden State, would you feel better or worse about where we were? Worse of course. It is NOT the same thing.

We are not playing well, but given our schecule thus far tonight was the first truly unexpected loss. And with us on a back to back, Seattle playing very well right now and having just thumped Finals-favorite San Antonio two days ago, its hard to call this one unexpected either.

You may be right. Maybe I'm just having difficulty transitioning from cheering for a team which in the past three or four seasons has been considered to be an "elite" team in the NBA (and had actually played like it) to cheering for the almost identical starting team (one might even say a "better" starting team with Miller replacing Vlade) that has to battle on the road just be competitive (witness the Houston game), or otherwise faces an almost blowout loss on each night, in some cases against teams which [edit] were previously bottom feeders in the Western conference.

Since when did Kings' fans write off losses to Dallas as a loss to a team which is acknowledged to be better than the Kings? Not in the last three years or so, at least from my recollection. And Dallas has many, many more excuses to be in worse shape than the Kings at the moment (starting a rookie PG after losing Nash, myriad of injuries, turned over half of its roster again this summer, etc.), yet they have only lost one game, and have only had one game where their offense looked out of sorts.

And, yes, I've been admittedly hard on the Kings' early season struggles before (witness last year), and maybe this is just another set of struggles, but I don't recall the Kings going on road trips and getting flat out dominated in three of their first four road games. I've typed it before, and I'll type it again...it's not the losses as much as the way in which the Kings are losing at this point --- they aren't even competing, and that is downright scary as a Kings' fan. I'm not ready for the run to end.

 

[Bricklayer]

So you are saying we should expect to lose to the 3 Texas teams. Even now you said we expected them to lose tonight, because Sonics were hot, and it's back-to-back...

So how about the Suns? I guess they are quite a good team too. This is ridiculous.

I can tell you I expect them to lose too. Given what they have always sucked in back-to-backs. But does it really have to be this way? 'Reality' so what??? We still have to play hard any given night. I don't think we are going to win anyhow with this kind of attitude.

This is reality -- LOT of good teams this year. Lot of parity. Sincerely doubt anybody will even win 60.

let's put it this way -- there is not a single team in the entire NBA this year that I would have expected to go even 4-1 with our schedule thus far this year. A couple would have had a chance. But nobody I would expect to have pulled it off. 3-2 would have been just fine for a start. If we beat Houston and are 2-3 right now it wouldn't have been a disaster.

And yes, the Suns are yet ANOTHER hot team right now. Wouldn't surprise, shock, or panic me if they beat us too. And wouldn't shock me if they don't. But that's kind of the line in the sand -- brutal start over, and then a nice long home heavy schedule (albeit with some tough games) stretching right up into mid-December when we have a brutal Minnesota/Milwaulkee/Indiana road trip. The homecourt is always where you get healthy and in rhythm (comfort/practice time) -- we'll know more by the end of that stretch.

P.S. And yes, BTW, I would expect if you were betting that the Kings may very well have been underdogs in all 4 of their road games this year(Seattle being the most likely execption, and that only if the betters haven't been paying attention). Losing any one of them is no shock at all. Only surprise is losing all of them (although we played well in Houston).

 

[Bricklayer]

You may be right. Maybe I'm just having difficulty transitioning from cheering for a team which in the past three or four seasons has been considered to be an "elite" team in the NBA (and had actually played like it) to cheering for the almost identical starting team (one might even say a "better" starting team with Miller replacing Vlade) that has to battle on the road just be competitive (witness the Houston game), or otherwise faces an almost blowout loss on each night, in some cases against teams which

Since when did Kings' fans write off losses to Dallas as a loss to a team which is acknowledged to be better than the Kings? Not in the last three years or so, at least from my recollection. And Dallas has many, many more excuses to be in worse shape than the Kings at the moment (starting a rookie PG after losing Nash, myriad of injuries, turned over half of its roster again this summer, etc.), yet they have only lost one game, and have only had one game where their offense looked out of sorts.

And, yes, I've been admittedly hard on the Kings' early season struggles before (witness last year), and maybe this is just another set of struggles, but I don't recall the Kings going on road trips and getting flat out dominated in three of their first four road games. I've typed it before, and I'll type it again...it's not the losses as much as the way in which the Kings are losing at this point --- they aren't even competing, and that is downright scary as a Kings' fan. I'm not ready for the run to end.

1) we always made fun of Dallas for totally ignoring its lack of interior presence. Well, they finally went out and did something about it this year. They've got some new questions now after losing Nash, but we didn't have disdain for Dallas because they happened to be Dallas, it was because of the makeup of the team, which has changed now. And Dallas on its homecourt has always been a war in the best of times.

2) We competed just fine in Houston and at home vs. Toronto. If we had played well tonight, even in a loss, we'd be well on our way. That Dallas/San Antonio back to back to open the season on the road in those teams home openers was just too big of a shock for a shorthanded team struggling to find itself out of the preseason. tonight sucked. But whether it is isolatd incident or part of a larger trend is yet to be seen.

3) These have not been just any road games. They have been road games against elite or potential elite teams, and then an early season surprise who just crushed San Antonio a couple of days ago too. Those types of road games are a challenge in ANY season. We haven't exactly been dropping games to patsies.

 

[sloter]

It's probably too early, but I'm curious: Brick, do you the Kings are contenders this year ?

 

[Bricklayer]

It's probably too early, but I'm curious: Brick, do you the Kings are contenders this year ?

I do not know. Its too early. But there is absolutely no reason why they should not be. The whole team that has contended in the past is basically back except replace Vlade with Brad. But there are questions that have to be answered: 1) Webb's knee; 2) Peja's head/heart; 3) age/athleticism (have Webb and Doug lost too much -- Bibby/Peja/Brad(Vlade) haven't changed); 4) leadership/chemistry.

 

[4cwebb]

1) we always made fun of Dallas for totally ignoring its lack of interior presence. Well, they finally went out and did something about it this year. They've got some new questions now after losing Nash, but we didn't have disdain for Dallas because they happened to be Dallas, it was because of the makeup of the team, which has changed now. And Dallas on its homecourt has always been a war in the best of times.

2) We competed just fine in Houston and at home vs. Toronto. If we had played well tonight, even in a loss, we'd be well on our way. That Dallas/San Antonio back to back to open the season on the road in those teams home openers was just too big of a shock for a shorthanded team struggling to find itself out of the preseason. tonight sucked. But whether it is isolatd incident or part of a larger trend is yet to be seen.

3) These have not been just any road games. They have been road games against elite or potential elite teams, and then an early season surprise who just crushed San Antonio a couple of days ago too. Those types of road games are a challenge in ANY season. We haven't exactly been dropping games to patsies.

But does the quality of the competition completely explain the utter lack of competitiveness in those three games? My thought would be no, and that is what is bothering me at the moment. In fact, I'm just glad that a) Charlotte already has its first franchise win, and b) they didn't invite the Kings to town during this first week of the season.

 

[piksi]

It's probably too early, but I'm curious: Brick, do you the Kings are contenders this year ?

We are a play off contender. Nothing more. If things do not change quickly we will be a lottery team this year. I do not see how we are going to win a single back to back game. Most of us are still delusional and hope that the team will turn on. There is no Vlade in the whole equation. 5 games into the season we are missing the hell out of him for so many reasons. In 2 years Kings will only have Bibby, Miller and Webber and very good position in the draft.

 

[keflanag]

But does the quality of the competition completely explain the utter lack of competitiveness in those three games? My thought would be no, and that is what is bothering me at the moment. In fact, I'm just glad that a) Charlotte already has its first franchise win, and b) they didn't invite the Kings to town during this first week of the season.

No, but like Brick said, with an 82-game season there are stretches where you can get away with playing that poorly and still win. However, against the teams they've been playing ... they would have to be playing in top form to win those road games. They will most likely lose to Phoenix, but then I expect nothing less than 5-0 on that homestand. So, if the Kings are 6-5 having won 5 in a row going into the Lakers road game ... everything will be fine. The players know it, C-Webb knows it, and that's what his point was.

 

[Evenstar]

i'm on the same boat as 4cwebb. i'm disappointing is losing, but it's maddening how they have lost 3 of the 4. just flat out BLOWN out. yes we made that little run in the dallas game, but other then that, we just flat out got wiped out. we started hot in the SA game, then the outside shots didn't fall and we lost.

i get concerned that when outside shots don't fall, we just keep shooting them. it's like no one even tries to go inside. well it seems like that to me, then again, i've only seen one game on TV this year, so feel free to set me straight those who have watched all the games yes in the SA game duncan is one of the premier shot blockers in the game, i know. but he's not going to block everysingle shot. it's like why not try to go inside, try to draw a foul, get to the line, make something happen. seattle has no shotblocker. and eric dampier.. no. i've watched a bit of him when he was at GS and the guy was not great outside of last year when he wanted to get paid.

the efforts in the road games are what get me down. yes i know the spurs are considered a team that will win the championship, but the kings shouldn't get blown out like they did. they have to compete like those teams if they have asperations to be a team like the spurs. the sonics are probably not going to be a team that will be in it at the end, so i think we should have won last night. i don't care if they are hot or not, or if they just blew out the spurs, we should compete better then we did. the sonics were also on the 2nd end or a back to back, they sure didn't look like it. they played HARD all 48 minutes. brad miller looked like he cared last night, he was getting just beat up by that brute fortson ( btw, when did he become tim duncan.....) and at least trying to score and get rebounds. everyone else looked like they were still in sacramento.

this just didn't look like the kings of the past 5 years.

but i gotta have faith this team can get it back togehter. they have too many talented players to be doing as bad as they are. we just need a spark. who'sgoing to give it to us??

 

[quick dog]

I tend to become morose when the Kings lose games, but that said, I think some of you are being too pesimistic. The Kings will come around in a few weeks. They will again be top-dogs. I think too many fans and casual observers dismiss the importance of Vlade Divac to the Kings. I am continually surprised at how important player-attitude is to a team. We took a torpedo amidship when he left.

Peja didn't touch a basketball this summer, probably for the first time in ten years. He sucks now, but he is trying. I think that he will be in top form by Christmas. He seems depressed now. I suppose most observers assume that Peja is mad about not being traded and not having Vlade around. Instead, perhaps Peja is angry and depressed because he is stinking up the court. If you were Peja, what would bother you most? I think he will be a new man when his shots start dropping.

 

[uolj]

It's probably too early, but I'm curious: Brick, do you the Kings are contenders this year ?

I do not know. Its too early. But there is absolutely no reason why they should not be. The whole team that has contended in the past is basically back except replace Vlade with Brad. But there are questions that have to be answered: 1) Webb's knee; 2) Peja's head/heart; 3) age/athleticism (have Webb and Doug lost too much -- Bibby/Peja/Brad(Vlade) haven't changed); 4) leadership/chemistry.

Yep, that's about right. No reason they couldn't be, but things obviously must improve.

 

[VF21]

Whoa. Sure a lot of hostility on the part of some fans...

It's too early. That pretty much says it all.

That and our abysmal shooting. Our defense actually was pretty good at times last night, and was even commented upon by Tom Tolbert...

What I find objectionable is taking a comment Webber made and somehow, for whatever reason, using it as another EXCUSE to bash the man...

Whatever rocks your boat, I guess...

I'm gonna wait a little longer before I start pointing fingers.

GO KINGS - Now and forever!!!

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

That and our abysmal shooting. Our defense actually was pretty good at times last night, and was even commented upon by Tom Tolbert...

It was nice of Tom to say something nice about us

 

[VF21]

Well, in all honesty it was shortly after his "Whoa. I'd like to know how it feels to shoot 1 for 12 and still be on the court" comment.

 

[BigWaxer]

Well Peja has been telling the press for months that the Kings have had there chance. I would think its hard to play at the top of your game when you don't believe in what your doing.

It also looks like Adleman has lost the team. If thats the case then were in trouble this year.

 

[VF21]

To be fair, Pedja made the comment once or twice. It has been QUOTED by the press for months...and months...and months.

IF, and that's a big if for me at this point, Pedja genuinely feels that way, then we need to cut him out of our future ASAP. The old rotten apple in the barrel and all that...

I honestly don't think Pedja's problem is in not believing in what he's doing, however. I still think he's rusty and that he'll come around.

 

[Viking]

I think I said it before, but last year the Kings started out around 4-4, then ended up around 15-4 at one point, and, albeit choked, ended up with a shot at the number one seed. Whether those first four losses come alternating after wins or all at once, the record will be the same and the Kings should have just the same potential to go for the best record. It's a long season, and teams can win 11 or 12 straight without winning the championship.

 

[MDOT]

It seems like this season the Kings are still awaiting Weber to return, its obvious his knee is a problem and he will use this season to rehab. On top of all that, the Kings acquire a "so, so " center....Ostertag...c'mon. Plus you have Peja playing less then all-star potential. The Kings are off to a slow start, only the chemistry between them will make them top playoff contenders again.