[Game] Sacramento Kings @ Boston Celtics, 2/7/14 4:30 PST, 7:30 EST

[Padrino]

Anybody. Everybody. I reject that line of thinking. I mean, it would be one thing if he weren't moving the ball, but was also shooting 45+ percent. But he compounded a bad shooting night and his usual below average defense with being selfish and not moving the ball. There were at least half a dozen possessions where nobody touched the ball on offense except Thomas, and I think he only actually scored on one of them. That's annoying, even if it's in transition; in the halfcourt, it's un-goddamned-forgiveable.

i agree. in my opinion, it's the chicken and the egg; the supporting cast around cousins/gay/thomas is fundamentally flawed, but thomas is also generally uninterested in making his teammates better, no matter how flawed some of them may be. sure, IT will pile up a handful of assists on any given night, but the team isn't better for it. he doesn't regularly involve those outside of the "big three." he doesn't play to the hot hand. more often than not, he has trouble throwing simple entry passes to cousins, and he's been godawful in a great many fourth quarters this season...

you can't have your floor general, your self-proclaimed team leader, playing selfish, craptastic basketball, especially in the fourth. that's crunch time. we know DMC isn't going anywhere. i'd like to think that rudy gay isn't going anywhere, either. so IT either needs to have a religious experience that transforms him into the kind of player who believes in keeping his teammates involved, or he needs to be returned to a sixth man's role, or he needs to be traded. but continuing to stuff a square peg into a round hole in the starting unit is just untenable across the long term...

 

[KingsFanSince85]

he doesn't play to the hot hand.

The greatest example of this was the Indiana game when Thornton scored 42 and, except for a short little stint, seemingly couldn't miss. I think Marcus only had 2 or 3 shots in the 4th and DIDN'T get the final shot of regulation because guess who took it himself.

As hot as Thornton was that game, everyone on the team should have kept forcing the ball to him until he missed several shots in a row and proved the hot streak was over ...... And, no matter what, Thornton deserved the ball a few times down the stretch of that 4th quarter and certainly on the final possession of regulation. But Thomas made certain that didn't happen.

 

[Padrino]

The greatest example of this was the Indiana game when Thornton scored 42 and, except for a short little stint, seemingly couldn't miss. I think Marcus only had 2 or 3 shots in the 4th and DIDN'T get the final shot of regulation because guess who took it himself.

As hot as Thornton was that game, everyone on the team should have kept forcing the ball to him until he missed several shots in a row and proved the hot streak was over ...... And, no matter what, Thornton deserved the ball a few times down the stretch of that 4th quarter and certainly on the final possession of regulation. But Thomas made certain that didn't happen.

well, one perturbing element of the kings' fourth quarter execution this season seems to be in malone's lack of creativity while drawing up plays. both paul westphal and keith smart were roundly and fairly criticized for their unimaginative employment of the 1-4 flat in late-game situations when tyreke evans was the team's primary ballhandler. things haven't changed too much since malone took over, except now it's thomas having space cleared out for him to go to work when up against the clock. the problem is that thomas doesn't have the height to shoot over the top of his man, nor does he have the strength to plow through a defense. he's got the tenacity, i'll give him that, but he's limited by his size, and while malone occasionally goes elsewhere for a final shot (rudy gay should be a primary option down the stretch), it's disconcerting to me to see how often we isolate thomas at the end of games...

 

[KingsFanSince85]

things haven't changed too much since malone took over, except now it's thomas having space cleared out for him to go to work when up against the clock.

while malone occasionally goes elsewhere for a final shot (rudy gay should be a primary option down the stretch), it's disconcerting to me to see how often we isolate thomas at the end of games...

You can pretty much count on the Thomas clear out each and every time the Kings have the final shot of a quarter or half. Unless he's already proven himself exceptionally hot in any particular game, it's really irritating to continue to see.

 

[whozit]

You can pretty much count on the Thomas clear out each and every time the Kings have the final shot of a quarter or half. Unless he's already proven himself exceptionally hot in any particular game, it's really irritating to continue to see.

This has become an irritant to me also. There are exceptions of course and surprisingly they seem to have as good or better success rates (personal bias and memory here). It can't be good for team morale over the long term.

 

[enigma99a]

Jimmer is the most consistent scorer with the least minutes. Shooting above 47% from the field and from 3. I just want to see one game with Jimmer starting and logging decent minutes with Gay and Cousins. He's going to figure it out and get an opportunity somewhere else.

I'm ok with Jimmer playing a combo of backup SG and PG, while we go get a good ball handler to start who can set up players.