Thoughts on Kings first 11 games

[Chupacabra]

We either need a full sized, good defensive backup center otherwise Thompson needs to see most of those minutes. We need our backup point guard, whoever it may be, to take care of the ball and play respectable defense. Ramon Sessions is killing me.

 

[lawlman91]

We either need a full sized, good defensive backup center otherwise Thompson needs to see most of those minutes. We need our backup point guard, whoever it may be, to take care of the ball and play respectable defense. Ramon Sessions is killing me.

Thompson has been solid on defense... except for that one instance. But that shouldn't take away from all of his defensive efforts.

I agree with the back-up point guard part. Sessions is perfectly capable of doing what we want him to do, but just hasn't done it yet. He will be more effective once our shooters get into rhythm, when driving lanes are open. Right now, they aren't; that limits his ability to drive, which is his skill.

 

[CruzDude]

Looking at the comments so far:

- biggest need is backup center who can defend AND score 8-10 a night;
- JT fills this need IF, and a giant IF, there can be a good defending, rebounding PF who scores 8-10 a night to start as our short stretch 4's (DWill, Landry, Evans) aren't working;
- need a backup PG who can control, move the ball and defend, which we may have in RayMac but think Malone is giving Sessions a length of rope to see what he can do with the bench;
- need a reliable 3-pt shooter off the bench like a Korver, Ray Allen type
- its early and coach is still experimenting and so far working out ok, next 3 road games will tell a lot.

 

[miltonap]

Yea thatd be pretty sweet if Moreland came along. Would solve all our bench big problems. I don't think we need the guy to score a lot of points off the bench.

Everyone else in that lineup can score theoretically

 

[Kingster]

My first thought is that Malone's coaching is taking hold this year. The defensive principles that he taught last year are manifest on the floor. Also, Collison has been a very consistent point guard, Cousins has taken a fairly large step forward in maturation and leadership, McLemore is better defensively and offensively (though still at the bottom of the barrel of NBA starting 2 guards), Casspi is a nice reserve, and Landry is healthy. And speaking of health, the Kings have been fairly fortunate in the injury department so far this year, despite the tweaks of Gay, Collison and Cousins.

Is this team good enough to make the playoffs? Yes. Would it be incredibly surprising if it didn't make the playoffs? No. This team is on the cusp, in terms of its talent, depth, and experience. So where is the surprise on the upside? Could it be the trade of D-Will by the trade deadline for some offensive firepower? And the surprise on the downside? Injuries to either Cousins, Gay, or Collison. Other teams may be able to sustain if one of their big three gets injured. This team just can't.

 

[Chupacabra]

Thompson has been solid on defense... except for that one instance. But that shouldn't take away from all of his defensive efforts.

I agree with the back-up point guard part. Sessions is perfectly capable of doing what we want him to do, but just hasn't done it yet. He will be more effective once our shooters get into rhythm, when driving lanes are open. Right now, they aren't; that limits his ability to drive, which is his skill.

I can't tell if you thought that I was saying that Thompson should come off the bench or not. That's not what I was saying. What I meant to express was that if we can't have a suitable, full sized center come off of the bench then Thompson should get those minutes in addition to being the starting PF. Find a way to divide up the minutes so that either Thompson or Cousins is on the floor. There should never be a situation where both Cousins and Thompson are both on the bench at the same time.

 

[CruzDude]

Yea thatd be pretty sweet if Moreland came along. Would solve all our bench big problems. I don't think we need the guy to score a lot of points off the bench.

Everyone else in that lineup can score theoretically

Also would like to see Moreland BUT he is shooting FT at a 33% clip and that is dangerous for a bench big. Until he improves that Reno may be his residence for quite awhile.

 

[Bricklayer]

Also would like to see Moreland BUT he is shooting FT at a 33% clip and that is dangerous for a bench big. Until he improves that Reno may be his residence for quite awhile.

You really don't worry about FT% for a nonshooter unless we're talking tight game down the stretch. Our own coach is one of the only coaches cheap enough to start randomly hacking-a-whoever at random points in the game. Moreland is like Reggie otherwise. He's not going to have it or be shooting it except for follows, so whether he can hit a FT or not might come up once or twice a game tops, if that.