kingsboi
Hall of Famer
what's the point in doing it now? they might as well wait until the season is done with and do a proper head coaching search
The Road to catching the Spurs
- Thread starter sactowndog
- Start date
what's the point in doing it now? they might as well wait until the season is done with and do a proper head coaching search
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
Man, if that fluky play against the Celtics hadn’t happened. SMH.
Showtime
Starter
If they think he's lost the team and want to make a late season rally for the 8th spot, they might do something like that. It is Magic afterall.
Hoovtrain
All-Star
I think tomorrow is the biggest game of the year. Going against one of the leagues best teams in an incredibly tough place to play to start off a brutal stretch right in the middle of a tight playoff race with 26 games remaining. If they can pull this out it should be a huge boost to start this stretch and really for the remainder of the year
Showtime
Starter
Well crap doesn't flow uphill. Magic can fire whomever he wants.
steelevt
All-Star
Well if AD puts up another 3 point 1/9 shooting night like he had tonight, that's 3 games the Lakers will get.
ockingsfan
Starter
Well, if AD wants the Lakers to get a good high Lottery Pick in this draft, so the Lakers can pick up a good rookie or to use the Lottery pick in a trade for him, then AD should be motivated to put the beat down on the Lakers.
The rest of the NO team should be motivated to beat LA. The better AD shows against the Lakers, the more motivated the Lakers will be to up the proper package to trade for him this summer.
gunks
Hall of Famer
Truth, but lord knows they're gonna need a fall guy!
TaxMan
Starter
I just can’t see how a road game in Denver, playing at high altitude against the best home team in the league, can be expected to be anything but a loss. Of course if they win it’s a huge win, but I’ve got this one chalked up as an L and won’t let myself get bent out of shape if they don’t play well.
sactowndog
All-Star
The Laker loss was huge. They have 25 games left and need to go 16-9 to get to 44.
Likely losses: Houston, Milwaukee, Denver, @Toronto, @Milwaukee, @OKC, Golden State
That means they can only lose 2 of: @NO (NOB2B), @Memphis, New Orleans, @Phx (LALB2B & PHXB2B), LAC (LACB2B), Boston, @Chicago, @Detroit (LALB2B), @NYKnicks, Brooklyn, Sac (SacB2B), Washington, @Utah (LALB2B), Charlotte, @NO, @LAC (LALB2B), Utah, Portland
Likely losses: Houston, Milwaukee, Denver, @Toronto, @Milwaukee, @OKC, Golden State
That means they can only lose 2 of: @NO (NOB2B), @Memphis, New Orleans, @Phx (LALB2B & PHXB2B), LAC (LACB2B), Boston, @Chicago, @Detroit (LALB2B), @NYKnicks, Brooklyn, Sac (SacB2B), Washington, @Utah (LALB2B), Charlotte, @NO, @LAC (LALB2B), Utah, Portland
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sactowndog
All-Star
Exactly. This game is an expected loss. If we win it bonus and takes pressure off elsewhere but not one to count on.
Kingfanpaul
Starter
Thankfully the players have more confidence in the team than you fellas
. Is Denver good, and at home too? Of course. But, I think our team can play with anyone. Will they? We'll see. I'm not counting any games as an expected loss.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
When the KINGS were rudderless and talentless and weren't vying for a playoff spot, perhaps losses should be expected. But c'mon now, this team has talent, is 4 games over .500 and in the thick of a playoff race. They've been off since Sunday evening. No excuses. This is a game they need to compete for a W right down to the wire with the expectation of winning. Anything less is a disappointment.
FWIW, it looks like Isaiah Thomas might make his season debut against his former team: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...-isaiah-thomas-return-wednesday-vs-sacramento
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
Nor should you.
Except maybe back-to-backs on the road or games played at Noon.
lol j/k
rosa u podne
Bench
Denver was hit by injuries a lot. Jokic is tired as hell sholdering shorten rotation. So, there is a chance. OTOH, Beasly and MM (point guard, not the coach) improved a lot. I agree they are favorits, but with our depth we can compete. Just keep fighting, keep the pace, try to tire them.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
I wouldn't expect much from WCS. He doesn't usually fare well at high altitude. IIRC, he even was excused from the trip to Denver once or twice during his career.
Entity
Hall of Famer
I thought the same thing. So I looked back at game logs. He played about normal 12-14 pts 7-8 reb
sactowndog
All-Star
Thankfully the players have more confidence in the team than you fellas
No one’s given up. If anyone has given up it’s those marking @Denver as a must win to make the playoffs. It’s just not.
sactowndog
All-Star
Willie is a sickle cell carrier. That genetic trait makes him struggle in high altitude. Especially if the team is running a high pace offense like the Kings. We need Giles to step up this game and give WCS a break.
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TaxMan
Starter
What do you mean by "no excuses"? If they don't win we should blast them? They are playing a far superior team. Of course I expect them to play with effort and try to win the game, but I don't expect it. Doesn't mean I won't be cheering for them and if they lose by a point I will probably be ticked off to no end.
The original point I was responding to was that this was the "biggest game of the year". I just don't agree with that.
HndsmCelt
Hall of Famer
I think this oversimplifies and really mistates the reality that from the fourth place down you have an essential dog fight with no guarantees for anyone.Looking at the numbers, two teams will be left out in the cold between 6 teams that are all within five games of each other. While I wouldn't rule any of them out I certainly wouldn't count any of them in at this stage of the game. I think Vlade did a great job of reloading the team and giving us a real shot at the playoffs but in many ways this was a last-minute effort to respond to a team that has performed much better than expected and put it together much quicker than I think even Vlade thought they could get it. The way I see it, if the Kings can pull one win out of the next 4 games they might not be treading water numerically but given we are facing 4 top 6 teams in a row, 1 win is not bad, two wins is crazy good. But the real pressure starts after that stretch where the Kings have to win all the games they are supposed to win, as well as picking up some surprise victories along the way. There's no way to sugarcoat it making the playoffs is going to be tough but these kids do not seem to have any quit in them and do not accept the narrative written before them as their fate.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
No excuses as in we should expect a competitive game with the chance to win. Didn't I say that already?
The game isn't on a back-to-back and they've had several days rest.
No they aren't. Denver isn't back-to-back champs with 5 all-stars in their lineup. Denver is merely a good team that any team in the playoff hunt can beat, KINGS included.
You act as if this damn team is the Warriors -- who the KINGS have competed quite well against BTW. They're the only proven 'far superior' team in this league. Numerous other teams might be better, but the difference isn't far superior. Denver fits into that category.
FWIW, I seem to recall the KINGS playing Denver down to the wire last time they met. The Nuggets needed a late game hot finish by Jamal Murray to hold them off. There's no reason to expect anything different this time around, in terms of a competitive game.
Sure, the KINGS could get blown out too. But the KINGS could blow out the Nuggets as well, considering that those things sometimes happen over 82 games. Point is, every KINGS fan should go into this game expecting a competitive game with a good shot to win it. If it doesn't happen, c'est la vie.
sactowndog
All-Star
If you want to target a top team I would target OKC. The play Utah the night before playing us. It’s not at altitude and WCS plays well against Adams. OKC has limited depth our second unit can make hay against.
OKC is a game we could and hopefully will get a win. My 3 are @OKC, @Minne, Clippers. If we get those three we will be well positioned.
KingsFanSince85
All-Star
AND Jamal Murray caught fire. That type of thing happens from time to time, but can't be counted on each and every game. Assuming it doesn't happen again, the KINGS should have a good chance as long as they play hard and smart.
The one thing I worry about most is defense. The KINGS were already shaky from time to time but with all the new guys, the Nuggets are a team that can take advantage of miscommunication and indecision.
TaxMan
Starter
You're right. We better win this game.
You know what I notice with our back and forth here and other places, is that you like to spin a statement into a condemnation against the Kings. I never said they can't win this game or insinuated that we were a crap team. I would love for a win tonight, but I'm not going to lose sleep on this one if we come out with an L. That's not the same thing as saying I don't have faith in our team. 38-18 (24-4 at home) vs. 30-28 (11-15 on the road). We played them on the road once and at home once. On the road we lost by 14 and were down 27 at one point. At home we were outscored by 17 in the second half and lost 4. Nuggets have won 7 of the last 8 games against the Kings. On the road at mile high, before the all star break. If I was a betting man, this wouldn't be the game I put my money down on.
Now, you can respond and tell me what an awful fan I am and I need to have more faith.
