Successful Season?
- Thread starter The_Jamal
- Start date
How would you define TEAM basketball? By assists? By off ball movement? Team defense? Equal shots all around? My idea of team ball is when every player buys into the coach's system and sticks to his role. This means of course that the coach has to have a system with roles in place. It could be an iso heavy offense like OKC, but each guy has to do his job and it should be pretty darn clear what his job is because he's always doing it.
I will call the season a success if we establish an identity that I believe will sustainably win games and that will make us a contender when honed and refined.
I will call the season a success if we establish an identity that I believe will sustainably win games and that will make us a contender when honed and refined.
K
a). Good ball movement/Smart basketball
b). The right people taking the right shots (e.g Cousins not settling for middies all the time)
c). Effort on both ends of the floor for the majority of the time, giving that 2nd extra effort to force maybe a extra dribble/pass.
d). Having a set rotation where the main 8-9 guys are comfortable
Just something more than waiting and hoping Cousins/Big Mac do something amazing while being miserably the rest of the time. I want to watch the Kings because they are a TEAM worthy of watching not just 1-2 individuals like I found it to be last season. I just want to see the little things being done and the team taking pride in what they put out.
I agree with your points as well that I bolded
b). The right people taking the right shots (e.g Cousins not settling for middies all the time)
c). Effort on both ends of the floor for the majority of the time, giving that 2nd extra effort to force maybe a extra dribble/pass.
d). Having a set rotation where the main 8-9 guys are comfortable
Just something more than waiting and hoping Cousins/Big Mac do something amazing while being miserably the rest of the time. I want to watch the Kings because they are a TEAM worthy of watching not just 1-2 individuals like I found it to be last season. I just want to see the little things being done and the team taking pride in what they put out.
I agree with your points as well that I bolded
Not for nothing, but I'm still not comfortable with "smart basketball", especially with the word smart being capitalized. Maybe we should use the word intelligent for a while. 
Other than that, I'm pretty sure what you said resonates well with the rest of us, regardless of win/loss totals.
People want the team to have an identity - my goal is for the team to establish some sort of defensive identity. It doesn't have to be top 10...yet. It's
not going to happen this year, and it certainly isn't happening with the roster as constructed. We're giving away too much size already, and have no advantage on the boards. Depending on how the roster looks going into training camp, my guess is that we could be middle of the pack, depending on if Malone is the real deal and is given something to work with. I'll definitely give him some leeway on that, especially if this (+ Ellis - I just threw up in my mouth a little) is our opening day roster. Like I said, it's not about numbers, it's not about awards. It's about real, tangible, growth. I want to see structure on both ends of the court.
Offensively, playground style ball didn't cut it. Players looking out for themselves instead of understanding the pecking order didn't cut it (and much of that landed on the coach, but that's a discussion for another time.) Will we identify ourselves as a half-court team? Will we have the ability to run half-court sets when we have to? As slow of foot as Vasquez is, and as talented at the elbows Cousins is, there might be reason there. To run foolishly would negate their strengths.
Sometimes kids and parents look at the grade, and not so much about the effort or ability. "Why didn't you get an A?" Hell, maybe the kid busted his *** off to get that B, or maybe he's currently a C level student, and that was the best he could do. Maybe the kid floated by, slept on his books, and still got an A. Maybe we shouldn't focus on the grade. It's harder to do, but more rewarding in the end.
That's what I'm looking for.
Other than that, I'm pretty sure what you said resonates well with the rest of us, regardless of win/loss totals. People want the team to have an identity - my goal is for the team to establish some sort of defensive identity. It doesn't have to be top 10...yet. It's
not going to happen this year, and it certainly isn't happening with the roster as constructed. We're giving away too much size already, and have no advantage on the boards. Depending on how the roster looks going into training camp, my guess is that we could be middle of the pack, depending on if Malone is the real deal and is given something to work with. I'll definitely give him some leeway on that, especially if this (+ Ellis - I just threw up in my mouth a little) is our opening day roster. Like I said, it's not about numbers, it's not about awards. It's about real, tangible, growth. I want to see structure on both ends of the court.
Offensively, playground style ball didn't cut it. Players looking out for themselves instead of understanding the pecking order didn't cut it (and much of that landed on the coach, but that's a discussion for another time.) Will we identify ourselves as a half-court team? Will we have the ability to run half-court sets when we have to? As slow of foot as Vasquez is, and as talented at the elbows Cousins is, there might be reason there. To run foolishly would negate their strengths.
Sometimes kids and parents look at the grade, and not so much about the effort or ability. "Why didn't you get an A?" Hell, maybe the kid busted his *** off to get that B, or maybe he's currently a C level student, and that was the best he could do. Maybe the kid floated by, slept on his books, and still got an A. Maybe we shouldn't focus on the grade. It's harder to do, but more rewarding in the end.
That's what I'm looking for.
It's all about Cousins. Does he buy in or does he not? If he does buy in, I can see a team turning the corner, still probably not making the playoffs (unless there are some great trades between now and the season opener), but showing signs of an imminent turn. If he doesn't, then I see a complete rebuild.
x2
If Cousins improves and moves toward becoming the star center that most believe he can be, and that in turn helps this team become more competitive and make a huge stride towards getting back into the play offs, then I think that will be a successful season if Cousins buys into his future being tied to this team.
Another factor for a successful season will be the development of our other young players like Vasquez, McLemore, Thompson etc. If they can all improve their game at both ends of the court, then I see decent production coming from them.
Not sure I would want to say that we should aim for 'x' more wins, but I think if all goes well another ten wins and progression towards .500 is possible. But right now it is difficult to tell how good we will do in the win loss column, especially since this team still has needs to be filled.
If Cousins improves and moves toward becoming the star center that most believe he can be, and that in turn helps this team become more competitive and make a huge stride towards getting back into the play offs, then I think that will be a successful season if Cousins buys into his future being tied to this team.
Another factor for a successful season will be the development of our other young players like Vasquez, McLemore, Thompson etc. If they can all improve their game at both ends of the court, then I see decent production coming from them.
Not sure I would want to say that we should aim for 'x' more wins, but I think if all goes well another ten wins and progression towards .500 is possible. But right now it is difficult to tell how good we will do in the win loss column, especially since this team still has needs to be filled.
At this point, I really want us to tank for a top-5 pick - while also playing some semblance of enjoyable (and promising) basketball. Remember the 09-10 season? People were actually excited about Kings basketball again: Tyreke was 20/5/5'ing, Omri brought sweet shooting and passion from the wings, and the Kings - for a few games - played really enjoyable and promising basketball. Unfortunately, as we all know, things never got better in following seasons. However, I could settle for that '09-'10 level of excitement (and unfortunate W/L) again - with the hope of a top 5 pick as well.
However, if there's a way that we can win a few more games and still find a way to land in the top-5, I'm all for it.
However, if there's a way that we can win a few more games and still find a way to land in the top-5, I'm all for it.
