Totally embarrasing!! Who's first to go if things don't look up?

[SacTownKid]

Wow, I would say there's hope but dang! Every game we have lost has not only been a loss but a demoralizing beatdown. In Houston we blew a huge lead so that may be even more demoralizing than the stompin' we got tonight. I don't care what yall say, these losses are going to effect the confidence of the team. I hate to say it but Adelman is signing his own release forms a letter at a time with each blowout.

The question is who's gone first and when? (that is if things continue the way they look to be headed.)

I say Adelman by Dec.

It sucks though b/c that means the beginning of a whole new team and bye bye Kings we now know (the good and the bad). A new coach will bring in his own guys.

The next pieces on the block are obiviously BJ and Peja. I say they go in a package deal but maybe not until the offseason. That all depends on whether the Maloofs give up on this season though. They may work something out during the season if they don't.


I for one would hate for any of this to happen but I think we have to discuss all the possibilities of what may happen.

 

[Andriod_KiNg]

My question is was it the Sonics who were better than us or did we just play below our selfs ?

 

[SacTownKid]

My question is was it the Sonics who were better than us or did we just play below our selfs ?

Easy one. The Kings played way below themselves. Thats what makes it so frustrating!! In every loss the team didn't even try to set up a good offensive set. They played way different tonight than last night. Just look at the assist numbers. 14 tonight compared to 31 last night. Webber shot ugly shot after ugly shot without dishing the ball, for the most part he didn't even try. Last night it wasn't his offensive game that was impressive it was the passing. This team has no good one on one players yet they continue to play that style for some reason.

 

[Bricklayer]

One does wonder if there was a "let's trade somebody" thread over at Spursreport after the Sonics got done whipping them a couple of days ago too.

 

[SacTownKing4Life]

I was at the game. A complete embarassment. Bibby was bricking FT's Greg Ostertag 3 fouls in 2 minutes. The Sonics played horrible too. The Kings were worse. At one point the Kings were at 24% FG at 11-45. This is horrible. This is not the Kings of years ago. We lost our "coach." A coach is who keeps the team together who gets them pumped who leads them up to victory and keeps them playing hard. Vlade left, Adelman is no coach. It was an embarassment. I was embarassed in KeyArena because I went to opening night there and watched the Atlanta Hawks play better than us. Tis a sad day for Kings fans.

 

[SacTownKid]

One does wonder if there was a "let's trade somebody" thread over at Spursreport after the Sonics got done whipping them a couple of days ago too.

Totally different situation. The Kings have been blown out 3 out of 5 games thusfar and more dating back to the preseason. The Spurs have played well this season. Blowouts happen but 3 out of 5 times is a bit outrageous

 

[Bricklayer]

Totally different situation. The Kings have been blown out 3 out of 5 games thusfar and more dating back to the preseason. The Spurs have played well this season. Blowouts happen but 3 out of 5 times is a bit outrageous

The point would be that the Sonics are playing really well right now -- even a team that IS playing reasonably well can go in there and get blown out.

Put another way, here are the records of the teams we have played so far this year:

Dallas 4-1
San Antonio 3-1
Houston 3-2
Toronto 4-1
Seattle 4-1
Total: 18-6

Now I'd hazard a guess that that is the toughest (by record/how hot teams are) openign schedule of any team in the league. Hard to imagine anybody else with a tougher start.

 

[Whit Eboy]

One does wonder if there was a "let's trade somebody" thread over at Spursreport after the Sonics got done whipping them a couple of days ago too.

Don't forget Spurs have 2 title with TD, and don't forget Spurs didn't get 1-4 this season.

 

[sloter]

I think the worst thing about this loss was that the Sonics really did have a HORRIBLE game. Rashard Lewis was average, but noone else was hot at any point after the 1st quarter.

 

[Bricklayer]

I think the worst thing about this loss was that the Sonics really did have a HORRIBLE game. Rashard Lewis was average, but noone else was hot at any point after the 1st quarter.

Ridnour and big men rebounding (in particular Fortson).

They also have Mateen.

 

[4cwebb]

People seem to point to Vlade's lockerroom contribution being gone as a reason for the Kings demise thus far this season. While I think Vlade made a valuable contribution in the lockerroom, I think what the Kings really miss this year is Vlade's low post game, especially early. Miller and CWebb working the high low with CWebb in the block isn't nearly as effective, largely b/c CWebb has never in his entire career preferred to play with his back to the basket. Sure, he's developed a reasonable jump hook through the years in the NBA, but he doesn't have Vlade's craftiness.

And, it's not exactly about how many points Vlade would score in the post, but the threat he posed, and the legitimate option he provided on offense if the shots weren't falling from the outside. The Kings at that point could at least go inside to Vlade and let him a) force a double team and kick it out to a much more open shooter, or b) work one on one and probably get to the free throw line to stem the tide of any runs the other team was making while the Kings were bricking shots from the perimeter.

And, while I think that if any big man in the league can rival Vlade's court vision, it's CWebb, CWebb is much more comfortable passing the ball further away from the basket than the low block, and since he only shoots the jump hook over his left shoulder, it's much easier to double team him in the low post than it was to double team Vlade (who could spin either way and go to the basket or pivot toward the baseline and shoot a little fadeaway).

Edit: And herein lies the problem with moving Peja and/or BJax midway through the season --- it's going to be difficult to get back size in exchange for these players, and even if the Kings can get a low post threat, do they sit CWebb or Brad in favor of that player? Probably not. A slasher would be nice, but the floor won't be as open without Peja on the team, so it's a bit of a catch 22 in that regard. Not to mention that the contracts of both of those players are so low that it will be *very* difficult to get equal value in return for either or both of them.

 

[KA_2]

The Kings are just flat out getting outhustled, outboarded, and outmuscled. Funnily enough, while Miller is considered a banger, he is also considered soft by a lot of NBA players apparently. Don't really understand it, maybe it's the injuries.

Either way, Kings need an enforcer in the worst way.

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

Ridnour and big men rebounding (in particular Fortson).

They also have Mateen.

Oooooh, is Mateen still playing his old position at the back of the bench?

 

[ReinadelosReys]

Totall embarrassing!! Who's the first to do if things don't look up?

Uh, how about the bandwagon/fair-weather fans who decided to jump on a couple of years ago.

 

[sloter]

Ridnour and big men rebounding (in particular Fortson).

They also have Mateen.

Ridnour was hot ? I thought he hit the top of the backboard on one layup and airballed another floater ? I don't think that pointguard being hot means hitting a wide open jumper. Well, unless it's Mateen

 

[sloter]

And, it's not exactly about how many points Vlade would score in the post, but the threat he posed, and the legitimate option he provided on offense if the shots weren't falling from the outside. The Kings at that point could at least go inside to Vlade and let him a) force a double team and kick it out to a much more open shooter, or b) work one on one and probably get to the free throw line to stem the tide of any runs the other team was making while the Kings were bricking shots from the perimeter.

And, while I think that if any big man in the league can rival Vlade's court vision, it's CWebb, CWebb is much more comfortable passing the ball further away from the basket than the low block, and since he only shoots the jump hook over his left shoulder, it's much easier to double team him in the low post than it was to double team Vlade (who could spin either way and go to the basket or pivot toward the baseline and shoot a little fadeaway).

Edit: And herein lies the problem with moving Peja and/or BJax midway through the season --- it's going to be difficult to get back size in exchange for these players, and even if the Kings can get a low post threat, do they sit CWebb or Brad in favor of that player? Probably not. A slasher would be nice, but the floor won't be as open without Peja on the team, so it's a bit of a catch 22 in that regard. Not to mention that the contracts of both of those players are so low that it will be *very* difficult to get equal value in return for either or both of them.

GREAT POST!!! I was thinking the same during the Sonics game, and judging by the statistics the other games were probably the same. The commentators during the game mentioned a couple of times while the Kings were struggling from the outside that they should try getting the ball to the hole. Only Bibby went to the hoop a couple of times, and drew some (questionable) calls, but the Kings need someone to do that from SF/SG position as well. Pedja never really drove, but at least he used to cut to the basket often, Bobby used to be excellent at backdoors as well, and I seem to recall that Christie used to score some buckets as well once upon a time. I think that this, together with horrible rebounding is the key problem that Adelman needs to address.

 

[piksi]

The point would be that the Sonics are playing really well right now -- even a team that IS playing reasonably well can go in there and get blown out.

Put another way, here are the records of the teams we have played so far this year:

Dallas 4-1
San Antonio 3-1
Houston 3-2
Toronto 4-1
Seattle 4-1
Total: 18-6

Now I'd hazard a guess that that is the toughest (by record/how hot teams are) openign schedule of any team in the league. Hard to imagine anybody else with a tougher start.

Sonics shot amazing 41 % and killed us by 30

 

[Diabeticwonder]

1-4 with an upcoming game at Phoenix...we're looking at 1-5. It is amazing how this team can look so good one night (Toronto) and so bad the next (Seattle). It wouldn't be so numbing if they played similar styles each night, but they looked like a completely different team in Seattle then the night before against Toronto and it's not just because they missed a ton of shots. Against Toronto they played a great team game, but then it's as if they forgot how to play the team game against Seattle. Although it's the players who are acountable for this the ultimate responsibilty for this type of inconsistency falls on Adelman's shoulders.

 

[natedizzle]

The point would be that the Sonics are playing really well right now -- even a team that IS playing reasonably well can go in there and get blown out.

Put another way, here are the records of the teams we have played so far this year:

Dallas 4-1
San Antonio 3-1
Houston 3-2
Toronto 4-1
Seattle 4-1
Total: 18-6

Now I'd hazard a guess that that is the toughest (by record/how hot teams are) openign schedule of any team in the league. Hard to imagine anybody else with a tougher start.

Man, how things have changed in just a year. We used to be the team that everyone feared. Now we are fearing other teams. We used to be the team that ended hot streaks. Now we are the team that continues them.

Even given that tough schedule, an elite team should not be 1-4.

 

[Bricklayer]

Sonics shot amazing 41 % and killed us by 30

People on this board have this incredible fascination with shooting. THE GAME IS NOT SOLEY ABOUT SHOOTING! The Sonics fast start this year has largely been because of dominant rebounding -- they are the best in the league so far. And they did it again.

 

[Bricklayer]

Man, how things have changed in just a year. We used to be the team that everyone feared. Now we are fearing other teams. We used to be the team that ended hot streaks. Now we are the team that continues them.

Even given that tough schedule, an elite team should not be 1-4.

Nope, but an elite team in a slump could easily be 2-3, which we nearly were. As I mentioned, if I cloned the San Antonio Spurs and had them play those games the best I would really expect would be 3-2 (given that Seattle just got done pummeling them this week, and that my Spurs on the road would probably lose to the real Spurs at home).

We aren't playing well at all, but the schedule is amplifying it.

 

[jahhluv]

The point would be that the Sonics are playing really well right now -- even a team that IS playing reasonably well can go in there and get blown out.

Put another way, here are the records of the teams we have played so far this year:

Dallas 4-1
San Antonio 3-1
Houston 3-2
Toronto 4-1
Seattle 4-1
Total: 18-6

The thing you have to worry about tho is Toronto and Seattle are flukes niether team IMO is going to make the playoffs,just like I think it was a fluke that Seattle beat the Kings last night, but someone infered to it earlier Vlade was the real coach on that team last year. Kings are gonna miss him just walking into the lockerr room and suiting up even if not playing.If the Kings season doesnt get any better I would blame it on dropping Vlade for Osterfat
thats the only real variable from last year isnt it?Chemistry is EVERYTHING ask the Pistons and ask the Lakers who had the MDE and still got their skulls beat into an unrecognizable pulp.

 

[Diabeticwonder]

There is no way that the subtraction of Vlade is the root cause of the Kings' problems right now. Although it may be one of a number of causes, it is way down the list behind things like selfish play, lack of inspiration and hustle, and the fact that I believe that the players have and/or are tuning out Adelman.

 

[Bricklayer]

Toronto and Seattle may be flukes, and won;t be there come May. But the way they are playing right now is NOT flukish.

Toronto knocked off the Pistons last week, and flew out of Sacto to go take out the hottest team in the league (Utah) last night. And all Seattle did was knock off San Antonio and Sacto within 3 days of each other. I don't think those teams are going to sustain, but right now they're beating everybody.

 

[jahhluv]

Looks to me like Vlade leaving compounded by Webber running his yap and Peja playing like doodoo are more than just coincidence cause if I remember right Kings were spanking everybody last year without Webber.So now Webber is back and healthier than last year and you got rid of the "old" guy Vlade for the young Brad so shouldnt that make the Kings WAY better or is bad chemistry kicking in?Brick you are right I concede that point parody goes both ways.

 

[vladetomiller]

Its a number of reasons i would think. Many vocal fans here would say that things are allright and that we just have to find old kings style that was so successfull. But the old kings style is no longer there because of so many reasons.

1. No movement without the ball - The thing that used to keep the opponents on their toes the whole game is no longer there. No back door cuts and when there is some movement the players are not able to find the man. So many passes that are defelected and/or just thrown away because the player is not there or the pass is errant. A few of those missed passes and then solo or two man game starts, with webb and bibby or webb and peja. Other teams are much more adapted to countering that since most other teams do that two man game.

2. Bench - People might still believe that the bench is strong and can keep comparing the bench of today with the best of the league or could say that it is average. Bench was a huge reason why the kings were successfull earlier, they used to come in and erase an opponent lead or hold on to the teams lead or in most cases build on the lead and give the starters a huge lead when they come back. Bobby is not playing at the level he used to, tag/songaila/martin are not the same as the ones before. They just dont have the offensive talent or the defensive mentality to stop the opponents from scoring

3. Slow start - Kings dont play well catchup ball and need a quick start to keep things flowing. But so far the offense has been stagnant and the opponents are better prepared to shut down the main options that it has always been a slow start.

4. Vlade - As much as people can say that tag is the same as vlade in different areas, its not the same. Vlade was not good defensively and thats a truth but he had his own veteran tricks to hold his own and he was easily in the top 5 centers in the league. His passing and low post presense kept the defense honest and now you cant see players leaving the shooters when tag has the ball (well when he can catch a ball ).

But on the positive side, kings have always been a bad road team and a good home team, they have maintained their home winning style and we can hope that they can start winning some road games soon. Pacific division as kerr said is really bad and even after the slow starts by the supposed power house kings and dark horse lakers, it is still open and it could easily be won even in the last weeks of the season.

 

[piksi]

But on the positive side, kings have always been a bad road team

I think we have been one of the best road teams in the past 3 seasons. You do not win 55 games as a bad road team

 

[Lamar_Odom]

The point would be that the Sonics are playing really well right now -- even a team that IS playing reasonably well can go in there and get blown out.

Put another way, here are the records of the teams we have played so far this year:

Dallas 4-1
San Antonio 3-1
Houston 3-2
Toronto 4-1
Seattle 4-1
Total: 18-6

Now I'd hazard a guess that that is the toughest (by record/how hot teams are) openign schedule of any team in the league. Hard to imagine anybody else with a tougher start.

I know the Sonics are playing well but would it really matter if their hearts and minds were into it?

 

[vj9999]

I think we have been one of the best road teams in the past 3 seasons. You do not win 55 games as a bad road team

Wasn't our home record 36-5 last year and we just about broke even on the road?!

 

[RangerC]

The point would be that the Sonics are playing really well right now -- even a team that IS playing reasonably well can go in there and get blown out.

Put another way, here are the records of the teams we have played so far this year:

Dallas 4-1
San Antonio 3-1
Houston 3-2
Toronto 4-1
Seattle 4-1
Total: 18-6

Now I'd hazard a guess that that is the toughest (by record/how hot teams are) openign schedule of any team in the league. Hard to imagine anybody else with a tougher start.

Don't forget that the first 3 games were the opponents' HOME OPENER (brutal), and the Kings have already had 2 back-to-back games ending away (toughest situation). The Kings aren't as bad as their record would indicate (just as they weren't as good as their record indicated early on last year, when they had that ridiculously easy stretch of 80% home games for a month with almost no travel). I am, however, extremely worried about back-to-backs this year with the Kings' horrific bench.