Playing the youngsters more?

[Warhawk]

Just wondering if this team (Muss? Petrie? Maloofs?) have come to their senses and got the word to play the youngsters more?

I know the starters were stinking it up but usually they find their way back in. Against the Nets they sat almost the entire 2nd half (except for Ron - who was playing well). Is this going to become a trend? Or, is it a one-time deal because of the peculiar level of suckitude 4/5 of the starters had for one random game?

 

[6th]

I think it was the degree of sucktitude. Don't expect this to mean that Muss has come to his senses. Not much chance of that.

 

[SacTownKid]

The thing that scares me is what will it take for them to play the youngsters?! I mean the Kings got blasted by the Nets for 48 minutes and guys like Douby and Williams still got no time!

I am not so sure even if the Kings were statistically eliminated from the playoffs the young guys would get time. I hope I am wrong about that because the time may come here in the next couple of weeks.

 

[SacKings384]

I think Sacramento needs to get to a point like many other team have. Get to a point where you realize that the vets need to sit and the youngster need to play. It gets to a point where gus like Price, Douby, and Justin need to be given significant (maybe 10-15 minutes a game) to hone their skills. There is no better time to do it. The season is down the drain. Even if they perform well it most likely won't be enough to win a significant amount of games, in fact the experimenting with lineups and PT may cause losses in many cases which at this point is what the teams need. Team like Boston, Portland, and Memphis have shipped off their vets in favor of younger players. Boston and Portland have just been riddled with bad trades and poor contracts. But Memphis is well on their way to rebuilding. Shipped off a class act and a beloved player in Shane Battier (but a vet who was taking up playing time and did right by him by shipping him off to a great franchise in Houston) for Rudy Gay who looks like he's going to be a stud. They got another big draft pick coming up this season. This is what the Kings need to do in order to return to respectibility.

 

[gunks]

I think it was the degree of sucktitude. Don't expect this to mean that Muss has come to his senses. Not much chance of that.

Yes, but there is a good chance that certain starters will continue to suck. So we might see the youngsters yet!

 

[Bricklayer]

There are at least three major problmes:

1) the almost pathological refusal to admit the season is down the drain evinced by the powers that be
2) Muss, like most coaches BTW, is going to feel that the best way to save his job is to win games, and that if he plays the kids and loses, it will only accelerate his departure
3) the trade value fo our vets, already in the toilet, might become moreso if their minutes/stats decline even further

 

[CruzDude]

Quite a Catch-22 situation the Kings are into.

Play to win but barely make the playoffs, get hammered by Dallas or Phoenix and end up drafting 15-16. Then loose the prospective of what the kids on the bench can do for us: Williams, Douby and to lesser extent Price.

Play the kids, not make the playoffs, get draft position around 8-10, break a playoff streak (bragging rights, respect, etc), not showcase vets much and possibly loose more of their trade value.

Makes me feel like I just had a double rum and coke for breakfast and the hangover doesn't go away. arrggghhhhh

 

[vfettke]

i wanna see Douby develop. the story about him breaking all of Peja's records at tryouts amazes me. we all know what Peja was able to do.

if done properly our youngsters could be a serious force out there

 

[KINGSFAN-FROM-L.A.]

aint gonna happen as long as we're in striking distance of the playoffs

 

[HighFlyingMonkey]

Ronnie and Cisco came in today and played really well. They were hustling on defense, and I was impressed with the way Ronnie ran the team at the point. Way to go!

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

i wanna see Douby develop. the story about him breaking all of Peja's records at tryouts amazes me. we all know what Peja was able to do.

if done properly our youngsters could be a serious force out there

Unfortunately our youngsters all pretty much play the same position, so we'll never get to see more than one flourish.

 

[tyrant]

rookies and second year players dont get minutes unless they were a top pick and have major game or they earn it like martin did in place of wells last year. at THIS particular point? i say no! especially if this team wants to make the playoffs. im not concerned with rebuilding through the draft. i'd rather make a few trades and bring in an all-star. we would be a contender again. right now i believe its time to shorten the rotation to squeak into the 7th/8th seed! and that's my 99 cents!!

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Getting to the 7th/8th seed would classify this season as a failure of epic proportions. The only outcome worse than fighting for that last playoff spot would be fighting for that last playoff spot and *just* missing.

Management needs to have the courage and conviction to allow the team to be worse in the short term so that we can be better in the long term; this treading water nonsense is driving most of us crazy.

 

[tyrant]

we've sucked for the entire season so far. that doesnt mean we have to keep sucking. we should still fight to get a playoff spot. though we dont have the right men for an inside game they can still play like paid professionals.

 

[Warhawk]

im not concerned with rebuilding through the draft. i'd rather make a few trades and bring in an all-star. we would be a contender again.

And, uh, exactly which all-star are we reeling in? And with what bait? Easy to say, since every team wants one....

 

[thedofd]

All of this was being discussed in the "Kings rev it up in Indy thread." In fact, I opined that there ought to be a separate thread. Kind of feel hijacked.

 

[thedofd]

There are at least three major problmes:

1) the almost pathological refusal to admit the season is down the drain evinced by the powers that be
2) Muss, like most coaches BTW, is going to feel that the best way to save his job is to win games, and that if he plays the kids and loses, it will only accelerate his departure
3) the trade value fo our vets, already in the toilet, might become moreso if their minutes/stats decline even further

4) Whether you want to ackowledge it or not, there are always going to be fans who want to see their team do well in the present. Not saying they're right and you're wrong, but it's something management has to consider.

5) Not everyone views the lottery as a panacea.

 

[VF21]

we've sucked for the entire season so far. that doesnt mean we have to keep sucking.

Well, considering the current roster it's more than likely we're going to continue to be less than a true playoff contender.

we should still fight to get a playoff spot. though we dont have the right men for an inside game they can still play like paid professionals.

No one is saying they shouldn't play like professionals. I know this is apparently something you're not willing to accept, but the young guys are paid professionals, too. And whether you believe it or not, they deserve a chance to hone their skills.

 

[Kingster]

Just wondering if this team (Muss? Petrie? Maloofs?) have come to their senses and got the word to play the youngsters more?

I know the starters were stinking it up but usually they find their way back in. Against the Nets they sat almost the entire 2nd half (except for Ron - who was playing well). Is this going to become a trend? Or, is it a one-time deal because of the peculiar level of suckitude 4/5 of the starters had for one random game?

I think it's putting the coach in an impossible situation when you ask him play young guys over vets when the vets are clearly better. A coach is paid to coach for *THIS* year, not next. How can he possibly play Douby/Price for 32 minutes and Bibby for 16, for example? It would destroy the ethic of his team. Now if management would have stepped up and traded Bibby, leaving Muss with only Douby and Price at point guard, that's another story entirely. Management could then declare in the press that they are in fact rebuilding, that they want Muss to play the younger guys, that they will make moves, get picks, blah, blah. Then obviously Muss would give them considerably more minutes. If blame is to be had, it's on management for not getting Douby/Price significantly more playing time this year, as well as giving us some salary cap room and a #1 for next year. Now if Petrie makes some super-duper deal with Bibby over the summer that dwarfs anything that we heard about prior to this trade deadline, well then,all, including me, who wanted him to do something, look like idiots. But I'm willing to take that bet...

 

[Warhawk]

I think it's putting the coach in an impossible situation when you ask him play young guys over vets when the vets are clearly better. A coach is paid to coach for *THIS* year, not next. How can he possibly play Douby/Price for 32 minutes and Bibby for 16, for example? It would destroy the ethic of his team. Now if management would have stepped up and traded Bibby, leaving Muss with only Douby and Price at point guard, that's another story entirely. Management could then declare in the press that they are in fact rebuilding, that they want Muss to play the younger guys, that they will make moves, get picks, blah, blah. Then obviously Muss would give them considerably more minutes. If blame is to be had, it's on management for not getting Douby/Price significantly more playing time this year, as well as giving us some salary cap room and a #1 for next year. Now if Petrie makes some super-duper deal with Bibby over the summer that dwarfs anything that we heard about prior to this trade deadline, well then,all, including me, who wanted him to do something, look like idiots. But I'm willing to take that bet...

But see, it's not an either/or situation. You don't need to cut Mike's minutes to 16. What if you did announce what I bolded above and gave Douby and Price say 8-10 consistent minutes apiece and Mike about 30 - this would do wonders for their development and still give Mike decent minutes. Again, this is just a hypothetical example and not what I think should be a final minute breakdown - it would depend on what guys you want to play and who you want to evaluate. It would just be nice to give the youngsters a consistent set of minutes each game to see what they can do with them. For instance, say Douby gets his minutes at the end of the second quarter and Price the start of the third. Mike gets two full quarters (first and fourth) as well as some minutes in the second and third. However you want to break it up, it is the knowledge for the youngsters that with good plays and bad you won't get yanked immediately and will get a set number of minutes.

 

[Kingster]

But see, it's not an either/or situation. You don't need to cut Mike's minutes to 16. What if you did announce what I bolded above and gave Douby and Price say 8-10 consistent minutes apiece and Mike about 30 - this would do wonders for their development and still give Mike decent minutes. Again, this is just a hypothetical example and not what I think should be a final minute breakdown - it would depend on what guys you want to play and who you want to evaluate. It would just be nice to give the youngsters a consistent set of minutes each game to see what they can do with them. For instance, say Douby gets his minutes at the end of the second quarter and Price the start of the third. Mike gets two full quarters (first and fourth) as well as some minutes in the second and third. However you want to break it up, it is the knowledge for the youngsters that with good plays and bad you won't get yanked immediately and will get a set number of minutes.

I agree with you totally that it would be good for Price and Douby's development. I think it would be great. But just look at this board. If Muss decidedly unilaterally to play Bibby only 30 minutes to develop his young guys for next year, he'd get absolutely crucified. People would be screaming that we were losing because Bibby is only playing 30 minutes while Price/Douby are making turnovers, mistakes -- exactly what happens when young guys get playing time. It's not a coache's decision. It's management.

 

[BawLa]

You know it's time to play your youngsters when your starters lose to the Sixers.

 

[Warhawk]

I agree with you totally that it would be good for Price and Douby's development. I think it would be great. But just look at this board. If Muss decidedly unilaterally to play Bibby only 30 minutes to develop his young guys for next year, he'd get absolutely crucified. People would be screaming that we were losing because Bibby is only playing 30 minutes while Price/Douby are making turnovers, mistakes -- exactly what happens when young guys get playing time. It's not a coache's decision. It's management.

A. We're losing anyways so what's the difference?

B. I said the statement from management should come first. Give Muss the green light to fasttrack some development for the young'uns.

 

[mcsluggo]

There are at least three major problmes:

1) the almost pathological refusal to admit the season is down the drain evinced by the powers that be
2) Muss, like most coaches BTW, is going to feel that the best way to save his job is to win games, and that if he plays the kids and loses, it will only accelerate his departure
3) the trade value fo our vets, already in the toilet, might become moreso if their minutes/stats decline even further

4) the team attitude in Kingsville recently has not been quite the happy-happy love fest it used to be in the early 2000s. Sitting vets will be very unlikely to lighten the dark clouds that semi-permanently hang 2 inches in front of most of their faces right now.

 

[mcsluggo]

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