Rebounding still trouble spot for Kings

[jcassio]

This is where Petrie is to blame. Why the heck would you get a seven footer that cant rebound when you already have one in Brad? Seriously.. Brad or Moore in the game they will give you pretty much the same thing. And playing them together? Brad does a lot better when he plays next to a guy that can board. Not a clone of himself. You don't hide someones faults by putting a guy next to him that has the same faults. That just magnifies it!

Are you kidding? Sorry, but I just don't see Brad and Mikki has having 'pretty much the same' game. Brad is a better shooter and passer. Brad is a weaker rebounder (in a crowd) and a weaker shot-blocker than Mikki. Mikki plays with energy and enthusiasm and some athleticism. He has a decent shot, but lacks the physical strength needed to compete with the top centers. I suppose the lack of physical strength is what they do have in common, IMHO.

 

[fnordius]

I have to agree, Brad and Mikki are not clones. Brad and Spencer are probably clones. Mikki is a really tall SF.

 

[Bricklayer]

Brad and Mikki might be closer than Brad and Spenser. Hawes is weak in a lot of areas, but his whole game, the only reason you would draft him, is his post game. Its very distinct, and makes him look nothing at all like Brad while he's playing, even if his reboudning and shotblocking numbers may look oh so familiar. He plays box to box. Or will until we Princetonize him out to the 3pt line.

As an aside, Brad is actually a better rebounder than Mikki. Both favor face up jumpers. Neither is much of a shotblocker at this point. I would never have called them clones, but certianly in playing best 18 feet out facing the hoop, not rebounding, and only occasionally getting an excuse me block, there is a considerable similarity. They certainly don't cover up for each other's weaknesses. After that it breaks down hoever, with Brad the more skilled guy, and Mikki a better athlete.

 

[fnordius]

Okay, okay, so I oversimplified. We have no clones. We have Larry, Curly and Shemp. We need Moe.

 

[jcassio]

As an aside, Brad is actually a better rebounder than Mikki.

I beg to differ. We may or may not see that in the stats, but I don't see that when I watch these two guys try to rebound in a crowd. Mikki is active and actually gets his feet off the ground. But maybe I just notice that more so than the sort of player who gets good positioning but can't jump.

 

[Kingster]

the kings are not--i repeat--ARE NOT a run and gun team. this is a team with brad miller (i'd rather be hunting guy), kenny thomas (i'll hustle when i'm damn ready to hustle guy), shareef abdur-rahim (i'm getting too old for this **** guy), mike bibby (i'm "deceptively quick," which means i'm not very quick at all guy), and spencer hawes (i've had four knee surgeries before playing a single nba game guy). ron artest is a much better half court player than an on-the-break player, and his decision-making in the open court has never impressed me. mikki moore has some length and some mild athleticism, but he's turning 32 soon. he's definitely slowing down. john salmons doesn't have incredible footspeed, either. kevin martin is really the only member of this kings team with the speed and athleticism to actually play a run and gun game. quincy douby has some quickness, but he's one of those guys that will probably act as a trailer in a fast break situation, camping out on the wings for the kick-out so he can shoot a jumper. francisco garcia has some quickness, as well, but he's rarely shown an ability to make good decisions in the open court.

in short, reggie theus may very well want to turn the kings into a fast break team, but he's about 5 athletic players shy of being able to pull it off. eric musselman said the same things when he got to sacramento. he wanted to turn the kings into runners and gunners. that didn't work, and he spent the next 3/4 of last season fiddling around with systems that didn't work. reggie needs to be careful that he doesn't find himself in the same position. seriously. i know how excited everybody is over the charismatic and no-nonsense reggie theus they've seen during the preseason, but so far the comparison to last preseason is eerily similar. there's just a few minor new players on the court. the rest is the same. theus needs to assess his team's strengths and weaknesses, and play to those strengths and weaknesses. he's gonna have a helluva time turning this team into either a) a run and gun team or b) a good rebounding team. he just doesn't have the personnel he needs, and this is truly unfortunate.

DITTO. His first 7 games without Artest could be pretty rough unless he can marshall an incredible effort from this team with everyone playing nearly as good as they can play.

 

[Kingster]

How's that for run & gun:

F.Garcia
R.Artest
J.Williams
M.Bibby
K.Martin

I don't think either Artest or Bibby are run and gun players. And Williams isn't around.

 

[Kingster]

I have to agree, Brad and Mikki are not clones. Brad and Spencer are probably clones. Mikki is a really tall SF.

Spencer has an inside and outside game. Much better post moves than Miller.