man, i'm away from kingsfans.com for a couple of days and everybody loses their goddamn minds...
i have no idea how tyreke evans is the scapegoat after four games when the entire team is playing terribly, and when evans' shots/game in those four games are down significantly from his average across the last two seasons. beyond that, i'd say that there is a real lack of basketball acumen in this thread, at present. people are throwing around the word "selfish" as if they actually believe that's the problem with this team right now, which is ludicrous, by the way. selfishness at the nba level first requires that a player is self-aware enough to react outside of the flow of a particular offense. however, i see no such trends through four games with the kings. instead, i see mass confusion. one-on-one play is not "selfish" under these circumstances. rather, it is habitual by inexperience. it is unfortunate, of course, but it is neither self-conscious nor self-sabotage. these players simply do not know what they are doing out there, and when we are discussing the state of the youngest team in the nba, you all would do well to recognize the very clear and distinguished line between selfishness and inexperience...
it is likewise ludicrous to expect high assist totals with this team. they're not a team set up to pass in the same fashion as the kings of the early '00's. and you know what? that's okay. believe it or not, kings fans, an offense can succeed without a "pass first point guard." i don't know where this obsession with pass first point guards has come from. the kings haven't had one in... well, ever. they certainly didn't have one in their heyday. the lakers haven't had one since magic, but they've still managed to win championships. its not always necessary. often, its detrimental for a team to place so much of an offense's responsibility on a single player. those players who are up to the challenge are far and few between. that said, isolation plays are healthy for a team built like the kings. they should certainly not be the only weapon in the team's arsenal, but if you have iso talent, you should exploit it. but isolation offense is not the one-on-five-fest that so many of you make it out to be. it is still a team effort. spacing must be considered. cuts must be made. forceful screens must be set. off-the-ball movement is necessary for successful iso plays. there are so many things a coach can do to help talented offensive players succeed, particularly those who are strong at the rim. the kings have two: tyreke evans and marcus thornton. neither is having much success at the rim this season. they have had great success in the past, and as recently as the end of last season. so what's changed? there are some new additions to the kings, but that appears to be less the issue than the new "offense" westphal and co. are attempting to install...
this is very clearly a coaching problem. everybody on the team keeps talking about needing to "run the offense," yet i don't see anything that resembles an "offense" out there on the court, and the players can't seem to describe it if it exists. its an amorphous thing. its "the offense," but what does that even mean? westphal delights in describing it as "read and react," which might be the dumbest installation of such an offense i've ever witnessed. the youngest team in the nba has not been exposed to nba defenses long enough to understand how to adapt to defensive schemes designed to take away easy baskets. its important that they learn how to get around certain kinds of defensive pressure, but more importantly, it is the coach's job to read the defense, and react with play calls that put his players in a position to succeed, offensively. i see no such coaching. i never see westphal with whiteboard in hand. and its not that hard. for example, with a great high post talent like demarcus cousins, and improved outside shooting, you'd think the kings coaching staff could get their team to execute very simple, very fundamental pick and rolls. however, through four games, i have yet to see significant use of the pick and roll in the kings' "offense." really, i have yet to see significant use of any fundamental offensive principles. you don't need to get cute with young teams. you need to get young teams attuned to successful modes of scoring in the nba...
now, i'm well known for my attempts to swat people's hands away from the big, red, shiny panic button, attractive though it may be to so many of you. so, i've said it before and i'll say it again: a shortened "offseason" with no summer league, a two-week "training camp," and a "preseason" of exactly two games against a weak division rival is hardly sufficient when a coaching staff is attempting to establish a new team offense to, once again, the youngest team in the nba, and one that has added five new rotation players. there were always going to be bumps in the road. it was always going to be a difficult grind. this was never going to be the breakout season. i've been thinking of it as the precursor to the breakout season. i've been hopeful that it will be the allotted time for this team to get the wrinkles ironed out. i have to admit that even i was surprised at just how big those wrinkles have shown themselves to be after four games, but i maintain that it is clearly a problem at the intersection of inexperience and bad coaching, which is a lethal combination, for the record. westphal needs to be active as a coach. more to the point, he needs to be a coach. he can't expect this young team to succeed without a tremendous amount of hand-holding. repeat after me: youngest team in the nba. the "read and react" stuff is for veteran squads who know what they're doing. this team doesn't. if westphal can't help them learn, then he's not the coach for this team. perhaps keith smart will have more success.
but i'll give westphal the benefit of the doubt. for now. my patience will wear thin past a certain point, but my point regarding the shortened offseason still stands, and its hardly refutable. so, let's back away from that ledge for twenty more games. and let's not trade away one of the team's most exciting prospects four games into his third season, shall we?
It slipped to another page and I'm not ticked enough to look for it any further. We are reaping what we sowed and although we tried to sow some seeds, trying doesn't give an end product so here we are.
