Jerichoholic
Bench
When watching the Kings game to game the stats really mean little to me. The Kings of 2002 would see Peja go for 25 on one night and then for 10 on another but they won both games, it just meant someone else picked up the slack or someone else was hot and they just went to him more, that's the mark of a good team. So it doesn't bother me to see Kevin go for 25 on one night and then 10 on another...it bothers me when Kevin is aggressive one night and then passive on the other and we lose that game.
What I'm saying is that stats mean very little when compared to how the team is playing together, how the team flows. Well the problem is that this team does not flow well with the current players it has. Sure, they can flow well against Atlanta at home but let's get real...this team in its current form has grown together about as well as it will, about a .500 team. I don't think any of the guys are poor players, Martin & Artest are all-star caliber, Beno, Cisco, Douby, & Salmons are solid players, Miller is having a career year, and Hawes & Sheldon have plenty of potential. This isn't an individual problem, this is about team chemistry. So let's look at the main problems and find causes.
1. Offensive Inefficiency & Turnovers: The main cause I see to this is pretty obvious...poor floor spacing. The poor floor spacing causes players to stop moving without the ball, it clogs the lane so you can't penetrate, and screens fail to get anyone open because help defense is an arm length away.
2. Lack of Transition Baskets: This team is built to run and gun and therefore they rely on a lot of easy baskets, if they don't get them then they're done for. Right now the team feels very sluggish and rarely beats any opponents' transition defense down the floor. Add that to the fact that their defense is so poor right now that they get near as many opportunities to run as they did earlier in the year.
3. Defense, Defense, Defense: Earlier stopping the opponents perimeter game was the biggest problem for our defense, now they've focused on that and as a result the interior defense is a problem and for some reason the perimeter defense hasn't gotten better either. It looks to me as if Theus has abandoned his zone defense (team defense) to help against the three but the problem with that is that these players are not good enough man on man defenders to play that way. The wings get driven against on a regular basis and our big men aren't strong enough to defend down low. This team needs to play team defense to win.
Love me or hate me here is the main culprit...Ron Artest. I don't mean to pick on the guy but he doesn't fit here, I'm telling you that just getting rid of him would make this team better, here's why problem by problem.
1. Offensive Inefficiency & Turnovers: Artest kills our floor spacing every time on offense. He's either filling the lane with defenders so Beno and Martin can't drive or he's on the perimeter standing right next to one of our other wings. How many times have you seen that? At least go to the other side, this causes immediate double teams and turnovers because two defenders are basically playing the ball. Artest does this because he needs to dominate the ball.
2. Lack of Transition Baskets: Again, I see this team is built to run and gun... except for one player. Artest is a slow player who loves to lead our breakouts down the floor. If you remember our fast breaks with Martin, Beno, and Salmons were always effective and they occurred a lot. You throw Artest in there and usually the fast break stops short as the defense catches up.
3. Defense, Defense, Defense: You would think that this would be where Artest shines, I don't know about you but have I have seen something missing from Artest's game this year. (Except for the two weeks he was auditioning to be traded). I've seen Artest get routinely beaten by his man all year long and his help defense is a joke. He certainly is not the only problem on defense but I'm not about to give him credit for what I've seen this year.
In summary, Artest is for the most part a very good player, a borderline all-star player. He just doesn't fit what we're trying to do here. When did Martin stop being aggressive, when did Salmons' confidence disappear, when did Beno stop producing, when did Brad Miller stop making his jump shot consistently? It was when Artest & Bibby came back, well Bibby is gone but one problem still remains. We were so close but yet so far from truly rebuilding this team.
What I'm saying is that stats mean very little when compared to how the team is playing together, how the team flows. Well the problem is that this team does not flow well with the current players it has. Sure, they can flow well against Atlanta at home but let's get real...this team in its current form has grown together about as well as it will, about a .500 team. I don't think any of the guys are poor players, Martin & Artest are all-star caliber, Beno, Cisco, Douby, & Salmons are solid players, Miller is having a career year, and Hawes & Sheldon have plenty of potential. This isn't an individual problem, this is about team chemistry. So let's look at the main problems and find causes.
1. Offensive Inefficiency & Turnovers: The main cause I see to this is pretty obvious...poor floor spacing. The poor floor spacing causes players to stop moving without the ball, it clogs the lane so you can't penetrate, and screens fail to get anyone open because help defense is an arm length away.
2. Lack of Transition Baskets: This team is built to run and gun and therefore they rely on a lot of easy baskets, if they don't get them then they're done for. Right now the team feels very sluggish and rarely beats any opponents' transition defense down the floor. Add that to the fact that their defense is so poor right now that they get near as many opportunities to run as they did earlier in the year.
3. Defense, Defense, Defense: Earlier stopping the opponents perimeter game was the biggest problem for our defense, now they've focused on that and as a result the interior defense is a problem and for some reason the perimeter defense hasn't gotten better either. It looks to me as if Theus has abandoned his zone defense (team defense) to help against the three but the problem with that is that these players are not good enough man on man defenders to play that way. The wings get driven against on a regular basis and our big men aren't strong enough to defend down low. This team needs to play team defense to win.
Love me or hate me here is the main culprit...Ron Artest. I don't mean to pick on the guy but he doesn't fit here, I'm telling you that just getting rid of him would make this team better, here's why problem by problem.
1. Offensive Inefficiency & Turnovers: Artest kills our floor spacing every time on offense. He's either filling the lane with defenders so Beno and Martin can't drive or he's on the perimeter standing right next to one of our other wings. How many times have you seen that? At least go to the other side, this causes immediate double teams and turnovers because two defenders are basically playing the ball. Artest does this because he needs to dominate the ball.
2. Lack of Transition Baskets: Again, I see this team is built to run and gun... except for one player. Artest is a slow player who loves to lead our breakouts down the floor. If you remember our fast breaks with Martin, Beno, and Salmons were always effective and they occurred a lot. You throw Artest in there and usually the fast break stops short as the defense catches up.
3. Defense, Defense, Defense: You would think that this would be where Artest shines, I don't know about you but have I have seen something missing from Artest's game this year. (Except for the two weeks he was auditioning to be traded). I've seen Artest get routinely beaten by his man all year long and his help defense is a joke. He certainly is not the only problem on defense but I'm not about to give him credit for what I've seen this year.
In summary, Artest is for the most part a very good player, a borderline all-star player. He just doesn't fit what we're trying to do here. When did Martin stop being aggressive, when did Salmons' confidence disappear, when did Beno stop producing, when did Brad Miller stop making his jump shot consistently? It was when Artest & Bibby came back, well Bibby is gone but one problem still remains. We were so close but yet so far from truly rebuilding this team.
