kb02
All-Star
The quick timeouts were encouraging. I thought the best Kings player last night on both sides of the ball was HB. Attacked the rim all night, moved the ball, played great individual and team defense.
[Game] Preseason Kings vs. Blazers 10/9/2022 6pm Pacific 9pm Eastern
- Thread starter Tetsujin
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The quick timeouts were encouraging. I thought the best Kings player last night on both sides of the ball was HB. Attacked the rim all night, moved the ball, played great individual and team defense.
kb02
All-Star
kb02
All-Star
Dude thinks it’s fine to compare preseason stats against 10+ years of nba data, so not sure it’s going to get through. Buddy looked great for the first five games last year, before regressing to his buddy self. I think it’s the first game since the Boogie and Matt Barnes era that the Kings were the tougher team last night. Brown’s accointability is good, but that Blazers team should tank.
I love Dame, but dude didn’t look like himself last night. Jones and Kate we’re like Dame has his burst back. I didn’t see any burst.
Insomniacal Fan
Starter
This is the first Kings game I've enjoyed watching since Joerger's 2018 team. (When we were running the Buddy system.)
- Lots of people on the team seem to be able to hit open jumpers
- 34 assists; no one player with more than 5 assists
- I didn't see any back to the basket game from Keegan Murray, maybe it's best to think of him as a tall wing rather than a small big?
- Barnes with a lot of reverses and circus shots. Getting crafty in his old age
- Davion still trying to make his case for minutes as a defensive guard specialist. Made some impact plays defensively, but paired with a 4 pt game, it might be challenging to find a place for him.
- Basically every big man we brought in off the bench was effective. I'm thinking that might be more of a reflection on Portland than it is on us. It will be difficult to make cuts if everybody keeps performing like this.
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MizzouKing
Starter
Same... Len's pretty darn mobile for someone his size, and he's not a bad shooter either. I'm over all the Len dissing, the guy's an asset.
Good to see TD playing well. I don't know why but I always root for him a little more than most players. I personally think he can be a better player than Monk but we'll see what happens. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him take some of Monk's minutes as the season goes on.
During the season, you're gonna see teams crowd the hell out of him alot more. Not gonna let him snipe to the extent he's been doing in these preseason games.
sactowndog
All-Star
I think Brown has a luxury others coaches didn’t have. The team is deep enough that any player not playing defense is going to find a spot on the bench.
That has to include and start with Fox.
4/6 of the first 6 games against strong opponents. 3-3 would be satisfactory for this group. And in fact as I've noted awhile earlier - Benchmark
1 is being .500+in February, Benchmark 2 is .500+ at of the end of the season, Benchmark 3 is Playoffs. See if this team is as good as the 2018-2019 team who had the best team chemistry since the last playoff era team.
I want Moneke, Spanish League MVP and an intangibles player - and ,yes, I'm massively biased. See how much inside pull/loyalty if any Brown has for his ex-Nigerian team player. The DNP- Coaches Decision SUCKED.
TaxMan
Starter
Joerger and Brown both seem to have a bit of a tough tell it like they see it mentality that I love. The difference seems to be Brown is also a likeable guy that seems to have very quickly garnered respect with the team, and it seems like there's clear unity with the front office. He seems more in the mold of a Popovich in the second half of his coaching career. Complete love for his players, but still a super tough fighter.
I know im in the minority here, but im ok for now, with KZ starting and Murray coming off the bench for now. Murray, no doubt, will be getting the majority of the minutes, but it KZ starting gives the roster tremendous balance. You have plenty of offense in the starting unit but KZ can defend 5 spots with the exception of large bruising centers. He can be used on the best perimeter player (did a great job taking Dame out of rhythm). Having him start with Barnes and Huerter gives a lot of defensive flexibility to the unit. Bringing Murray in with the second unit also helps give them some needed offensive firepower. He along with monk really open up the floor for Holmes and Mitchell to operate too. He can be a good pressure release valve with the second unit and can also close the game on most nights.
Which means the paint opens up more for Fox, Sabonis etc.
And Murray will adjust. If they are going to play him tighter and close out hard on his curls, he'll learn to back cut for easy opportunities.
But he is also a good teacher. I dont think ive ever seen a coach actively teaching technique during a game. Not just Xs and Os but actual body movement and technique like he was teaching Fox after he committed a foul while guarding Dame.
With respect to who to Keep vs Cut. I keep Moneke, Bazemore and Okpala. Cut metu, and Merrill (maybe stash him in Stockton). Need to see more of Delly and Cook yet before i make a decision about them. Either way, so far i play Monk as my third string point (he is a better creator than i realized he'd be). Ellis and Questa are on 2 ways so no need to worry. But i'd cut cook/delly before moneke at this point given the depth at guard. Stash Merrill in Stockton in case you need to call someone up. In the even that both Fox and Mitchell are injured, i start Monk at PG (i think he can fill in in a pinch) and go get Cook or delly then (they arent likely to be gone).
Fox/Mitchell/Monk/(cook or delly)
Huerter/Monk/TD/Ellis
Barnes/Murray/Baze/KZ/Moneke
KZ/Murray/Lyles/Moneke
Sabonis/Holmes/Len/Queta
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I think there are a lot of us pulling for Moneke for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that he's a local product and would be the first UC Davis player in the NBA. But given his lack of playing time in the preseason thus far, I think the writing is just about on the wall for him.
On paper it's not even close. And that team really had a ton of hype on Fox and Bagley's potential + above average results for the drought.
But we also saw early the coach was in a power struggle with the FO and a lot of the team leadership came from a player (Shump) the franchise decided to ship. Ironically, one of the biggest question marks this season is what to do with Barnes, who was presumably the catalyst for the Shump move, and has now settled into the vet leadership role.
But yeah, in my head, that 2018-2019 was a 42 win team but Joerger threw in the towel the final ten games knowing it was over. So this team is a 44-46 win team in my mind. Worst case I'd say 36, potential to maybe win 50?
Volblorx8634
Bench
I had lots of the same takeaways. The shooting and defensive effort on this team are much improved. I was particularly impressed with the team defense. Great defensive rotations and I really was impressed Sabonis' team defense. Thank God Brown isn't having them switch every screen no questions asked. It has been one of the Kings' biggest defensive blunders over the last several years, in my opinion.
I agree about Davion, the defense is incredible, but he just seems like too much of a negative on offense, not only because he isn't a reliable shooter but also because his style of play is so ball dominant that it kind of goes against the flow of what the team is doing offensively so far. I think he needs to improve his off ball play.
I don’t necessarily agree that the lack of playing time is a bad sign (but it might just be my Moneke colored goggles). I think the Kings need to decide between Metu and Lyles. And they need to see what Bazemore and Delly have in the tank. And this is the time to get Ellis and Queta NBA looks before they head to the G League. And to figure out if KZ or Murray will be starting. I think Moneke will get his chance to show some stuff next game.
In hindsight, the problem that year was trading Shumpert who was much more important to team chemistry than I thought at the time - he was an offensive liability but the best defensive player on the team. The team didn't seem to compete aa well following that trade. We dont know what this team will be yet, but the 2019 team was very good offensively, and terrible defensively. For this season, I'll believe it when I see the Kings actually make it into the 2nd half of the season competitive.
macadocious
Starter
Shumpert was not the best defensive player on the team. Stop it.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
In preseason I'm not looking so much at wins and losses, but rather at how certain Kings' lineups play against opposition lineups.
I think there is good reason to see better than .500 for the season. If they play with the disciplined, well-coached ball we saw against Portland, then they should be able to win a boat-load of games against OKC, Houston, Utah, SA and Portland. If they do just ok against the decent-outstanding teams, above .500 ball should be doable.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
Which will be a good thing for the team. It's going to open up the floor a ton for Fox and others to drive to the basket and also for Murray to cut to the basket and get passes from Sabonis.
PorchSurfin
Starter
Well if Mike Brown's intent was to show them that team defense can be accomplished with effort, focus, and desire, he is damn sure proving his point.
macadocious
Starter
And, he wasn't satisfied. He thinks some of that can be attributed for off nights for the other teams.
See_Hanks
Bench
Wasn't it last year or two years ago we were blowing teams out in the pre-season, and we started the season at like 10-6 or something weird only to have everything fall apart?
This year seems different. We have people that can shoot 3pt at a high clip, who take a lot of shots. If we aren't in the top 5 3pt% and 3pt makes then I will be disappointed.
See_Hanks
Bench
1.8 - 4.7 - 39.4% (Barnes)
0.6 - 2.2 - 27.2% (Sabonis)
1.3 - 4.2 - 29.7% (Fox)
2.2 - 5.6 - 38.9% (Huerter)
1.9 - 4.7 - 39.8% (Murray college)
0.4 - 1.2 - 34.6% (KZ)
2.3 - 5.8 - 39.1% (Monk)
1.3 - 4.3 - 31.6% (Mitchell)
1.0 - 3.1 - 30.6% (Metu)
1.6 - 5.0 - 32.9% (T. Davis)
1.0 - 2.6 - 36.5% (Lyles)
15.4 - 43.4 - 35.4%
35.4% would put us in the middle of the league % wise at #16... As for the makes and attempts we would be at #1 in makes and #1 in attempts for 3pt shooting. Hopefully we improve on the %, but I have a feeling we will be in the top of the league for attempts and makes.
In the preseason games we shot 45 3pt shots and 39 3pt shots. Avg 42 3pt shots which is way up from 33 that we took last year on average.
0.6 - 2.2 - 27.2% (Sabonis)
1.3 - 4.2 - 29.7% (Fox)
2.2 - 5.6 - 38.9% (Huerter)
1.9 - 4.7 - 39.8% (Murray college)
0.4 - 1.2 - 34.6% (KZ)
2.3 - 5.8 - 39.1% (Monk)
1.3 - 4.3 - 31.6% (Mitchell)
1.0 - 3.1 - 30.6% (Metu)
1.6 - 5.0 - 32.9% (T. Davis)
1.0 - 2.6 - 36.5% (Lyles)
15.4 - 43.4 - 35.4%
35.4% would put us in the middle of the league % wise at #16... As for the makes and attempts we would be at #1 in makes and #1 in attempts for 3pt shooting. Hopefully we improve on the %, but I have a feeling we will be in the top of the league for attempts and makes.
In the preseason games we shot 45 3pt shots and 39 3pt shots. Avg 42 3pt shots which is way up from 33 that we took last year on average.
TaxMan
Starter
God help us if Metu is getting a chance to hoist up 3 a game again!
macadocious
Starter
My expectations
]1.8 - 4.7 - 37% (Barnes)
0.6 - 2.2 - 30.00% (Sabonis)
1.3 - 4.2 - 33% (Fox)
2.2 - 5.6 - 40% (Huerter)
1.9 - 4.7 - 40% (Murray college)
0.4 - 1.2 - 32% (KZ)
2.3 - 5.8 - 38% (Monk)
1.3 - 4.3 - 34% (Mitchell)
1.6 - 5.0 - 35% (T. Davis)
1.0 - 2.6 - 35% (Lyles)
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