Starting PF?

[Telemachus]

You failed to read my post. I talked about rebounding RATE. As you pointed out, he was rebounding at around 5 or 6 a game...in 15-20 minutes as a reserve, not the starter minutes of well over 30 that he's been with the Kings. So, again, his rebounding production in Houston was that of around 8-11 per 36 minutes, which is well over his production with the kings. He's actually grabbing less rebounds in way more minutes with the Kings than he was in Houston.

The problem with "rebounding rate" is that it is rarely accurate. It is much easier to play at high energy and go after every loose ball and rebound when you are playing 20 mins a game. When you know that you are going to play 35 mins a game, you have to pace yourself a lot more. There are a lot of players who can grab 4-5 rebounds in 15 minutes a game. However, you will be hard pressed to see one average 8-10 if they started averaging 30 mins a game. They would be more likely to grab 6-7. Rebounding becomes much harder with tired legs.

 

[Showtime]

The problem with "rebounding rate" is that it is rarely accurate. It is much easier to play at high energy and go after every loose ball and rebound when you are playing 20 mins a game. When you know that you are going to play 35 mins a game, you have to pace yourself a lot more. There are a lot of players who can grab 4-5 rebounds in 15 minutes a game. However, you will be hard pressed to see one average 8-10 if they started averaging 30 mins a game. They would be more likely to grab 6-7. Rebounding becomes much harder with tired legs.

That is true, however, it's just one of many factors to consider. It seems people here totally dismiss Landry's abilities as a rebounder, when he's proven to be more than capable in the right circumstances. If the Kings want him to be that kind of player, then they need to put him back as a frontline reserve garbage man. Otherwise, you are going to get different results, so fans should really stop crying about it.

And one more thing: it's kind of hard to grab defensive rebounds when there aren't any. The Kings are one of the worst in OPP FG% in the league.

 

[Bricklayer]

That is true, however, it's just one of many factors to consider. It seems people here totally dismiss Landry's abilities as a rebounder, when he's proven to be more than capable in the right circumstances. If the Kings want him to be that kind of player, then they need to put him back as a frontline reserve garbage man. Otherwise, you are going to get different results, so fans should really stop crying about it.

And one more thing: it's kind of hard to grab defensive rebounds when there aren't any. The Kings are one of the worst in OPP FG% in the league.

That would be a lot better excuse if the rest of our frontcourt guys weren't all averaging about twice as many drebs as Landry is:

Per48s:
Landry 4.2 Dreb/48
Cousins 9.6 DReb/48
Jackson 5.9 DReb/48
Thompson 6.9 Dreb/48
Dalembert 12.8 DReb/48

He's just simply got to pick it up.

 

[Entity]

Only problem with that is Daly isn't a threat outside of the paint and Cuz would have constant double teams. JT is the best Idea to start next to Cuz and Landry best to start next to Daly. With Casspi now the starting SF and his offense now we have to have the role player at another position. JT is that role player. Greene was supposed to be defensive role player but who the hell knows what happened to that. So not JT can be the rebounding hustle role player and Landry the offense off the bench when Daly is in.

 

[Telemachus]

Only problem with that is Daly isn't a threat outside of the paint and Cuz would have constant double teams. JT is the best Idea to start next to Cuz and Landry best to start next to Daly. With Casspi now the starting SF and his offense now we have to have the role player at another position. JT is that role player. Greene was supposed to be defensive role player but who the hell knows what happened to that. So not JT can be the rebounding hustle role player and Landry the offense off the bench when Daly is in.

Personally, I think that was Westphal's plan for the season. I think he was going to start Cousins and JT with Dalembert and Landry coming off the bench. When Delembert got injured, it disrupted everything. It made almost impossible to start JT because he would have to be the primary back up at center, and there was no way we could risk both JT and Cousins getting into foul trouble at the same time. Now that Dalembert is starting to get back to the point where we need him to be, it should be interesting to see how the lineup starts to play out.

 

[Entity]

I think if we face another 7 footer that shoots threes the whole game. Donte should guard him. I mean if the guy isn't going inside might as well put somebody that used to guarding on the perimeter that is the same size.

 

[bajaden]

ani

You failed to read my post. I talked about rebounding RATE. As you pointed out, he was rebounding at around 5 or 6 a game...in 15-20 minutes as a reserve, not the starter minutes of well over 30 that he's been with the Kings. So, again, his rebounding production in Houston was that of around 8-11 per 36 minutes, which is well over his production with the kings. He's actually grabbing less rebounds in way more minutes with the Kings than he was in Houston.

Well actually I did realize you were talking about his per 36 rate. But after the fact, and I was too lazy to go back and do a re-do. Point is, you could make a case for just about anything else about Landry, but you chose the one thing he's just not good at. If he were playing SF, his rebounds per game would be just fine. But he's not, and compared to most starting PF's around the league that are worth their salt, he's below average. Stats don't always tell the story. You have to use your eyes as well. Next game, watch how many times you see Landry under the basket blocking out. I've re-watched some games where I didn't see him block out one time in the entire game.

I'm aware that you can't be under the basket at all times. I knew that this last game was going to be a tough rebounding game for Cousins because of Bargnani living beyond the three point line. I also knew it would make defending the basket more difficult without proper help defense. And, in my humble opinion, Landry isn't the best help defender on the team. And it showed.

If I had to choose a player that most reminded me of Landry in skill set and stature, I would settle on Paul Milsap. Milsap is probably a little better athlete, but their games are very similar. But Milsap, who is a little shorter than Landry averages 13.3 boards per 48 minutes, while Landry is at 10.6 for his career.

 

[Kingster]

I agree his rebounding is only a part of the reason for slow starts. But his lack of rebounding really stands out right now, and heavily contributes to our slow starts. Are others at fault? Of course. But Landry is a leader on this team, and one of our vets. Cousins has played 4 games, he gets somewhat of a pass. Tyreke, even when coasting at the begining of games, is outrebounding our starting pf. Transition def has been horrible, but this thread isn't about every reason for our slow starts. It's about Carl either deciding to rebound like a starting pf, or putting him back in his more natural role as a 6th man.

I'm dissapointed that Thompson hasn't been able to decisively take that starting job. Then we could give Landry bench minutes and he could be extremely good off the bench. Unfortunately, Thompson hasn't taken that decisive step forward.

 

[bajaden]

I'm dissapointed that Thompson hasn't been able to decisively take that starting job. Then we could give Landry bench minutes and he could be extremely good off the bench. Unfortunately, Thompson hasn't taken that decisive step forward.

I've been a supporter of Thompson. Not so much because I have a love affair with him, but because of his potential, and the fact that the team has an investment in him. So I'm not so quick to just get rid of a player because he hasn't lived to fans expectations. I try to look for the little improvements as a sign of possible bigger improvements. Its sort of a taffy pull with JT. I have no doubt that if he can just get his head straight, he can be a productive PF in the league. He runs the floor, and has amazing lateral movement for a 6'11" player. He has all the tools to be a very good defender in the NBA. And in truth, if he can defend and rebound, I'm not that worried about his scoring. So far, those are two big if's. For some reason, JT never seems to get into the flow of the game offensively. By that, I mean everything appears to be a little bit forced, or perhaps thought about before reacting. He's at the stage of his career where it should start to come naturally for him. I'm willing to give him the rest of the year.

As for Landry. I just think he is what he is. And I don't mean to make that sound like a bad thing. I think we just need to embrace what he can do and not expect him to be something he's not. If he's not a good rebounder, then we need to find a way to compensate somewhere else, instead of expecting him to suddenly become a Dennis Rodman clone. Personally I think one of the reasons that Casspi got the nod over Greene is because Casspi is a much better rebounder than Greene. I don't think Westphal was willing to have two players in the starting unit that wern't good rebounders. I could be wrong, but logically it makes sense.

Back to Thompson for a minute. Tonight is a perfect time to give him some minutes. Thompson is very good at defending players that like to play away from the basket. He was the Kings best isolation defender last season according to Synergy.com. I was surprised that Westphal didn't put hin on Bargnani in the last game. He played well against Bargnani last year. Thompson's weakness is in low post defense, and thats only because he can't keep his hands in his pockets.