Tyreke Evans: Not A Point Guard?

[AriesMar27]

14-8 is a stat, it means nothing. DID YOU WATCH HIM PLAY? I did. I watched him win one with AZ and the following year when they should have won it again, and then to Vancouver. I wanted the Kings to draft him but 'couver got him. Oh well.

I don't care what his stats say, he was the third option on that 'couver team so he ended up getting a lot of assists passing to Dickerson (who was on fire at that point in his career) and SAR (who was also on fire at that point in his career). But his main inclination was to score, to hit open jumpers and run the 2 man game with SAR. And obviously if you are going to toss out stats instead of explaining, like I just did, how his game was at the time, well, you didn't watch him. Its obvious enough.

you described a pgs job perfectly... thats what pgs do... they shouldnt be first option on offense, their job is to direct traffic, find the open man and get easy buckets for their teammates. thats what bibby was doing...

 

[AriesMar27]

I have to agree with Gary and AM27, he isn't a "Pure" PG. The type that Rubio could turn out to be.

Instead we got a "Star" PG. You can call him combo or whatever but he's still a star playing the PG position and shining bright with each month.

very true... we have him, he's good, lets just enjoy it...

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

I hate the haters outside of Sacramento, I swear!!...Look, I know Tyreke isnt a 'true' point guard, but he's growing into it just fine for what we need and is providing for some incredible matchup problems for the opposition. Tyreke isnt a true PG, but Magic Johnson wasnt a true PF or C in 1980 for 'that team' yet he adapted and still played his best at whatever position they NEEDED him to play and helped win a championship, no one was whining about that, now were they? You do what you have to do for your TEAM...Respect...

 

[Kingsguy881]

you described a pgs job perfectly... thats what pgs do... they shouldnt be first option on offense, their job is to direct traffic, find the open man and get easy buckets for their teammates. thats what bibby was doing...

No sir, thats what TRADITIONAL pg's do, but we are not stuck in a TRADITIONAL time warp where everybody still wears short shorts and plays below the rim. This is a NEW AGE and Tyreke is redefining the position. He has the potential to be the most dangerous pg on the planet because of his all around capabilities, and for some odd reason you can't bring yourself to come to grips with that.

 

[Rookie]

And who cares? He's a star, a soon-to-be superstar that no other pg can stop. WHO ? CARES ?

Agreed, I really don't care. I'm just happy we got him.

I have high expectation of him. Who knows, one day he will redefine the PG position and everyone would want their PG to be like him. Plus he is developing nicely in his passing game and reducing the TO. He had improve in playing the PG position since the start of the season and I'm thrill to see what the end result for him as well as Casspi and Donte for this year will be. Go Kings

 

[hammystyle]

I don't hate on Evans.. He's a hell of a player, but the Kings will continue to lose as long as they think Evans will play PG effectively without another ball handler on the court to take some of the duties away from him.

I have always thought this would be a good idea, but bring in Antonio Anderson to play SG along side Evans at PG and this is a win-win situation. Anderson proved to be the best passer on the Memphis team, and just clicked with Evans if you saw them together at Memphis. More so than Anderson did with Rose imo. Plus they are great friends, and Anderson is in the D-League so we could get him pretty cheap. He's a 4 year college player so he has a lot of experience playing organized ball.

So bring in Anderson to play SG along side of Evans, and problem solved. They fit together REAL well and Anderson can ball.

Just to get this straight...this guy writes a funny, well thought out article comparing Tyreke with a number of people playing PG in the NBA today and this makes him an "idiot". A few posts later you advocate solving the problem by signing and starting an undrafted 24 year old D-League rookie who averaged 10.2 ppg and 4.5 apg as a college senior while shooting 25% from 3.

BTW - I'm not sure if you even read the article based off your criticisms. He basically said that in today's NBA Evans is as much a PG as a number of other guy's playing it, that he'd probly be better off at the 2, but for the most part who cares, because Evans is just a baller regardless where he plays. This isn''t really that far off from what you seem to be saying other than you're getting hung up on "combo" guard vs PG. His point is that doesn't matter.

 

[kennadog]

What I hope for, is that Evans will be playing the SS position for the Kings for a long time. (Super Star) "Pure" PG doesn't much matter to me. If he wants the ball, then give it to him. But he can clearly make a good pass now and I suspect he will get better at it. He's 20 friggin' years old!

 

[pshn80]

To be fair, Bibby didn't need to get as many assists when he came to Sacramento, because he had great passing big men, who racked up assists. Christie was no slouch in the assists department either. The Kings had lots of assists, but they were spread around back then.

Agree. Great combo for ball handling. And, in my book Bibby was a true point guard. Evans is gifted as a playing PG for the KIngs right now.

 

[M_Barragan]

I don't blame Tyreke for not passing.... I've seen this team. No one can make a shot. And our all our wing players just sit around the 3 point line waiting to shoot the 3.

I there was some reseamblance of team offense i.e screens, pick n rolls, screen n cuts, and tyreke still did not pass the ball. Then one can trully make an argument that he either has no vision or refuses to pass the ball.

Im sure he sees omri or casspi or noci at the wings for the three. But he knows he has a better chance of scoring then they do. Especially the way they been shooting the rock lately...

 

[bajaden]

There seems to be a lot of blind people, or people who don't actually watch the games and just look at the stats and then decide what happened on the court. I'll try this again. In one game Tyreke had 8 assists. I sat and counted 9 other passes that he made to open players, who missed their shots. Add to that 4 other passes that the player for some unexplainable reason put the ball on the floor and dribbled a couple of steps to his right or left and then shot the ball, thereby robbing Evans of an assist. If I do my math correctly thats 21 passes he made that could have been assists. Sorry, but I don't keep track of regular passes that he makes where no assist was intended.

I've kept track for the last 10 games, and except for the one where he didn't play the second half, he's had a minimum of 9 passes per game that the player missed the shot. So those that say he doesn't pass the ball are wrong. Its stupid nonsense. And no Gary, basketball isn't complicated. There are kids with little education on playgrounds playing the game just fine. Its not rocket science. It is a game of talent though, and Tyreke has talent. And if someone thinks that if your the number one scoring option on the team you can't be a true point guard, then go tell that to Oscar Robertson.

 

[Kingstime]

I really dont see how Tyreke doesn't have the tools to be a PG. Lately I see him taking the first 3 quarters setting up teammates for open jumpers and drives, its just their jobs to knock down said shots. He makes alot of nice passes off his penetration and hes passing alot more now than he did early season. Its gonna be a fun time watching him progress over the years especially when that mid range jumper is money central.

 

[hrdboild]

There seems to be a lot of blind people, or people who don't actually watch the games and just look at the stats and then decide what happened on the court. I'll try this again. In one game Tyreke had 8 assists. I sat and counted 9 other passes that he made to open players, who missed their shots. Add to that 4 other passes that the player for some unexplainable reason put the ball on the floor and dribbled a couple of steps to his right or left and then shot the ball, thereby robbing Evans of an assist. If I do my math correctly thats 21 passes he made that could have been assists. Sorry, but I don't keep track of regular passes that he makes where no assist was intended.

I've kept track for the last 10 games, and except for the one where he didn't play the second half, he's had a minimum of 9 passes per game that the player missed the shot. So those that say he doesn't pass the ball are wrong. Its stupid nonsense. And no Gary, basketball isn't complicated. There are kids with little education on playgrounds playing the game just fine. Its not rocket science. It is a game of talent though, and Tyreke has talent. And if someone thinks that if your the number one scoring option on the team you can't be a true point guard, then go tell that to Oscar Robertson.

Thank you! Sometimes I just lose patience trying to discuss this but you basically said everything I wanted to. When I'm able to see the games, which unfortunately isn't as often as I'd like to, I see Tyreke consistently setting up his teammates with open looks again and again. They may not all come off of pick-and-roll plays like we're used to seeing from NBA point guards, but Tyreke is bigger than most point guards and he doesn't need a pick to get to the basket. Whether or not Tyreke is the team's leading scorer in the end doesn't really matter. He's not just forcing jumpers on every play, and he's not driving to the basket with his head down and then throwing desperation passes when he gets trapped. He's making smart passes to exactly the right place on the court which wouldn't happen that consistently if they weren't designing plays that way. He's not only a willing passer, he's good at it. And he can take it all the way and score when he wants to. What else do you want from a PG?

 

[Krunker]

he's not driving to the basket with his head down and then throwing desperation passes when he gets trapped

I'd say more often he will drive and get in a situation where he has to force up a a crazy shot. I think he's getting better at recognizing that and passing out, or when he does force things, it's more toward the end of the game where everyone else is sucking and he is trying to take over.

 

[Sac.1989]

theres a great quote from reke in the bee post game stating that if we lost the NY game last night he would have taken it on himself and that turnover pass he threw to omri late in the game because "im the point guard".

He might not have the natural tools to be seen as a one but its great to see that he himself sees himself as one and is working towards a brighter future. This debate will go on forever but its clear hes playing point for us and he sees himself as a point.

Personally i think hes doing a fine job as our 1, long may it continue

 

[Kingsguy881]

.....(in re: to Tyreke Evans) he really doesnt want to pass the ball...

45-45, tied in Detroit. Tyreke, 0-1. 13 minutes played. 3 assists. Everybody is shooting very well, Tyreke? not hogging the ball, sharing it, not looking to score but looking to WIN! Hey man, if you have hate in your heart.....wait, I guess I don't need to tell YOU to let it out, hunh?

 

[Bricklayer]

One thing that is obvious but not really talked about is how Tyreke used his offensive prowess to make up for any lack of creaticity. Most PGs create through nifrtiness, and they have to because they themselves are minimal threats, so they are only going to draw single covererage and everybody is going to be locked up 1 to 1 around them. Tyreke draws constant doubel team attention, and like a great post player he knows how to sue that to set guys up again and again. I think he may actualy create MORE good looks than a conventional PG just by making it basically a game of 4 on 3 for the rest of his teammates.

 

[Superman]

you described a pgs job perfectly... thats what pgs do... they shouldnt be first option on offense, their job is to direct traffic, find the open man and get easy buckets for their teammates. thats what bibby was doing...

Bibby was never a prototypical point guard. He's not the kind of guy who can create for his teammates. He'll hit the open man, and he'll run the pick and roll, but he's not a guy who's going to make his teammates better because of the way he runs the offense. He's going to benefit from the players around him, which is exactly what he was doing in Memphis before he got here. He was more of a facilitator than Tyreke is, that's for sure, but he wasn't a Steve Nash/John Stockton type point guard. He's always been at his best off the ball, and that's why he fit in so well when running the two man game with Webber and Vlade.

 

[Luv4Kings]

Evans isn't a John Stockton type of PG and that's ok. I like the mix-up when we go from Udrih to Evans.

The only think I'd like to see Evans do more is not walk the ball up the court and across as the clock goes from 18 to 17 and he barely makes it across. I know it's because he's tired. He looks like he's breathing hard. Hopefully he'll get in shape for a full NBA season and can run that ball up faster.

My only complaint about him and I fully expect him to conquer it.

 

[pshn80]

Evans when he brings the ball up court, usually very deliberately, he often dribbles to the top and sort of rocks back and forth looking for a way in. When he does that nearby defenders will tend to cheat towards him for a double or triple team in case he goes. At that point he has given teammates flanking him a slight edge to get a decent shot off. I think some of his slow approach is part of that strategy - it gets defenders looking at him.

 

[Bricklayer]

Evans when he brings the ball up court, usually very deliberately, he often dribbles to the top and sort of rocks back and forth looking for a way in. When he does that nearby defenders will tend to cheat towards him for a double or triple team in case he goes. At that point he has given teammates flanking him a slight edge to get a decent shot off. I think some of his slow approach is part of that strategy - it gets defenders looking at him.

I am not sure whether it is truly that or not at this young age, but if it is it should be noted that that is...just very advanced. You know with all the can Jason or Spencer play the post or can they not stuff is the fact that nither one has a bleeping clue what they are doing in there. They think they are in there to score, and so they are always in a huge hurry to get the shot off before the help comes. But what the great post players understand is that the true damage is caused by WAITING for the help to come, and then beating it with the pass. Like a great shotblocker who causes more damage via intimidation than he does the actual shotblocks, a great post player causes more damage by bending and breaking the opponent's defense than he does by his actual scoring. Reke is far far ahead of the game in that understanding, and if bringing it up slowly to let the defense come to him is actually intentional, he is even further ahead still.

 

[Luv4Kings]

Evans when he brings the ball up court, usually very deliberately, he often dribbles to the top and sort of rocks back and forth looking for a way in. When he does that nearby defenders will tend to cheat towards him for a double or triple team in case he goes. At that point he has given teammates flanking him a slight edge to get a decent shot off. I think some of his slow approach is part of that strategy - it gets defenders looking at him.

It also gets him trapped in a corner sometimes.

I'd agree if it looked like strategy, and that would be great. But it looks more like exhaustion because he's breathing so hard. Rookie wall thing.

 

[swisshh]

Tyreke's regular mode is not a passing mode. Passing is like an option he has to turn on for things to really happen. He makes the passes created by the attention he draws, but there is still much to be improved here.

1. Quicker passes

This may help a lot of the subset problems that come from this. Namely that he often gets guys the ball too late, they are in bad positions and end up missing. I guess this is part of the arguing that the team "costs him assists" but that is just a statistical way of looking at it. If he makes the pass sooner and it gets it to the right guy in the right spot, then those are less likely to be missed assists. He has this bad habit of driving to the lane, being cut off and just dumping it to the guy closest to him. Often in these spots, the three point shot is wide open and there are guys open for jumpers which he just doesn't see. Instead he drops it to a guy like Spence or JT, who have the ball near the paint, but are facing all the defenders Tyreke has drawn there. They have to put up a junk shot and it of course fails about 70% of the time.

 

[bajaden]

Tyreke's regular mode is not a passing mode. Passing is like an option he has to turn on for things to really happen. He makes the passes created by the attention he draws, but there is still much to be improved here.

1. Quicker passes

This may help a lot of the subset problems that come from this. Namely that he often gets guys the ball too late, they are in bad positions and end up missing. I guess this is part of the arguing that the team "costs him assists" but that is just a statistical way of looking at it. If he makes the pass sooner and it gets it to the right guy in the right spot, then those are less likely to be missed assists. He has this bad habit of driving to the lane, being cut off and just dumping it to the guy closest to him. Often in these spots, the three point shot is wide open and there are guys open for jumpers which he just doesn't see. Instead he drops it to a guy like Spence or JT, who have the ball near the paint, but are facing all the defenders Tyreke has drawn there. They have to put up a junk shot and it of course fails about 70% of the time.

Actually in the nine shots that were missed, seven were wide open three pointers. One was to Nocioni who was wide open under the basket and missed and the other was to Martin wide open right under the basket and he missed. I'm not saying what you described doesn't happen. Of course it does. But its not necessarily the norm. Is the timing off sometimes? Yeah, probably. But that will improve in time just from getting familiar with his teammates and where they like the ball.

Look, people can sit around and nit pic any player they want to death. Especially if its a player on the home team because we see him all the time. My response was to someone that said he doesn't pass the ball. Well he does. So then we go to, well he does, but only because he has to. Or well, he does, but his timing is off. I mean sometimes I feel like, why don't we just shoot him and be done with it.

 

[pshn80]

Actually in the nine shots that were missed, seven were wide open three pointers. One was to Nocioni who was wide open under the basket and missed and the other was to Martin wide open right under the basket and he missed. I'm not saying what you described doesn't happen. Of course it does. But its not necessarily the norm. Is the timing off sometimes? Yeah, probably. But that will improve in time just from getting familiar with his teammates and where they like the ball.

Look, people can sit around and nit pic any player they want to death. Especially if its a player on the home team because we see him all the time. My response was to someone that said he doesn't pass the ball. Well he does. So then we go to, well he does, but only because he has to. Or well, he does, but his timing is off. I mean sometimes I feel like, why don't we just shoot him and be done with it.

That can be said about almost all our "analysis" here. And that is what i'm doing - sitting around and nit picing - and mostly it's fun - and sometimes if I think about it a little I'm half full of ****.

 

[Kingsguy881]

Actually in the nine shots that were missed, seven were wide open three pointers. One was to Nocioni who was wide open under the basket and missed and the other was to Martin wide open right under the basket and he missed. I'm not saying what you described doesn't happen. Of course it does. But its not necessarily the norm. Is the timing off sometimes? Yeah, probably. But that will improve in time just from getting familiar with his teammates and where they like the ball.

Look, people can sit around and nit pic any player they want to death. Especially if its a player on the home team because we see him all the time. My response was to someone that said he doesn't pass the ball. Well he does. So then we go to, well he does, but only because he has to. Or well, he does, but his timing is off. I mean sometimes I feel like, why don't we just shoot him and be done with it.

Kinda sorta. I said previously that even if Tyreke brings a championship to Sacramento there will still be at least 4 posters here who won't be satisfied.

 

[Tetsujin]

Kinda sorta. I said previously that even if Tyreke brings a championship to Sacramento there will still be at least 4 posters here who won't be satisfied.

If Reke got us a championship, Voldemort would have got us two.

 

[Luv4Kings]

If Reke got us a championship, Voldemort would have got us two.

Love that.

 

[Spike]

If Reke got us a championship, Voldemort would have got us two.

This guy?

...it was the best I could do under such short notice.

 

[AriesMar27]

This guy?

...it was the best I could do under such short notice.

he who shall remain nameless...

 

[Tetsujin]

This guy?

...it was the best I could do under such short notice.

Gee Rubio's really let himself go since the draft fiasco.