Smart has had only a short time to work with this team. Whether you like small ball or not, the offense had really stepped up. Last night it looked like the Kings finally have figured out pick and rolls in practice. On the other hand, the defense is worse than before. I think it is the big issue with the Kings and always has been. What do you think will help slow down other teams? I am tired of watching lay-up drills by average teams like Detroit and Golden State. Prince and Monroe both got over 30 points last night. How do we stop teams like Miami, Los Angeles, or Chicago when we can't stop the Pistons?
Offense Way Ahead of the Defense
- Thread starter ppine
- Start date
kingsnation
All-Star
Playing a normal sized lineup for at least 98% of the game.
I like the way he plays, but how do you not be undersized when Hayes is on the floor? There is just no way around it with him. You'd have to start Hayes or Hickson so either Cousins or Thompson are on the floor at all times.
Half the time were giving up big points, it's on wide open 3's. I don't like Donte at PF as much as the next guy, but it's not the guy Donte is guarding that's racking up the points. It's our stupid guard play where they leave their man wide open to go run around a PF or C like an annoying gnat until the other team kicks the ball out for a wide open 3. Thorton is the worst when it comes to this.
Half the time were giving up big points, it's on wide open 3's. I don't like Donte at PF as much as the next guy, but it's not the guy Donte is guarding that's racking up the points. It's our stupid guard play where they leave their man wide open to go run around a PF or C like an annoying gnat until the other team kicks the ball out for a wide open 3. Thorton is the worst when it comes to this.
bluntsnbball
G-League
i am in total agreement. The wings are always left open and more times than not it appears to be thornton trying to help but he ends up leaving his man wide open every time.
We had chuck hayes at center and salmons at PF last night, theres just no way we are gonna win games like that. Small ball has got to end. Even if we have to bring some of our better guys off the bench, i think that would be a worthy experiment if we could just balance out the lineups more.
Thornton belongs in the game most of the time b/c hes one of our best scorers. But i think he needs to come off the bench. He offers nothing else but scoring. And im not high on donte either but he did do a pretty good job on dirk the other night and hes not out there looking to score too much anymore. I always wanted him to be a SF but maybe starting him at PF for a while might work out since he can guard the more mobile PF's while cousins bangs down low.
And also, ive noticed that the wings are often left open b/c keith loves the zone D which doesnt seem to be working at all. Id say for now, try playing our best man defenders out there and see if they can get something going, even if that means bringing starters in off the bench. Smart seems to have the philosophy that we are gonna win games based on our offense but thats just not gonna happen smart, not with this bunch.
I found this unintentionally funny.
I didn't mean to detract from the rest of your points, though. I thought they were pretty spot on.
IfAt1st
Starter
Can we PLEASE officially abandon the stupid double-teaming that has left countless shooters open this year?
The Kings have been absolutely SLAUGHTERED by that stupid double-team "help defense" crap.
It's not like the other team actually has to CREATE an inside threat before the guards leave their man and gamble by slapping at the opposing big guy who has the ball - the guards just do it, like it's an unconscious thing - like a reflex action.
Can we just staple the guards to their men and stop having them endlessly burned by questionable "double-teaming" that leaves their men wide open..... ALL YEAR LONG?!
Our big men don't exactly need a crapton of help defending down low - they aren't getting eaten alive down low night after night - Cousins, JT, and Hayes are collectively OK at defending IMO. Most of the opposing bigs score the majority of their points when our bigs have to rotate over to defend penetration that the guards are giving up.
It's the guards and SF who have submarined this team's defense and caused the vast majority of the problems there - they simply can not stay in front of their men, and get caught on every damn screen ever attempted.
Knowing this, why do the guards STILL help down low while leaving their men open, even after being burned countless times, even lost games because of the play?
The Kings have been absolutely SLAUGHTERED by that stupid double-team "help defense" crap.
It's not like the other team actually has to CREATE an inside threat before the guards leave their man and gamble by slapping at the opposing big guy who has the ball - the guards just do it, like it's an unconscious thing - like a reflex action.
Can we just staple the guards to their men and stop having them endlessly burned by questionable "double-teaming" that leaves their men wide open..... ALL YEAR LONG?!
Our big men don't exactly need a crapton of help defending down low - they aren't getting eaten alive down low night after night - Cousins, JT, and Hayes are collectively OK at defending IMO. Most of the opposing bigs score the majority of their points when our bigs have to rotate over to defend penetration that the guards are giving up.
It's the guards and SF who have submarined this team's defense and caused the vast majority of the problems there - they simply can not stay in front of their men, and get caught on every damn screen ever attempted.
Knowing this, why do the guards STILL help down low while leaving their men open, even after being burned countless times, even lost games because of the play?
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