IT definitely looked very good last night. these kinds of games make marcus thornton seem more and more expendable, which is a useful notion, because his contract could net a better-fitting piece down the line. personally, i'd prefer to keep little buckets over little thomas, but ultimately, you have to make choices as a franchise. it would be more cost effective to keep thomas, and thornton has value around the league as a prolifically streaky scorer...
in "the now," yes, the kings have gone 5-4. and in that stretch of 9 games, they've swayed between inspired and awful, as has been the case since the all-star break. the fact of the matter is that they suit up demarcus cousins, tyreke evans, marcus thornton, isaiah thomas, and jimmer fredette, all ball-dominant players with an eye for scoring. of late, tony douglas has managed to snatch most of jimmer's minutes, and that's a move in the right direction, because douglas knows how to play a passive role in the offense while also contributing on the defensive side of the ball. but that still leaves one too many players in the regular "rotation" who require an active role in the offense to be effective, and 'reke is still the only one among those ball-dominant kings who plays relatively consistent defense. so, once again... choices. and when i say "choices," i mean the right ones, the kind that seek to maximize the talents of your best players...
just think about the kings of old. chris webber was the only fish in the ball-dominant pond. peja was primarily a stand-still shooter, which is no slight. he was among the best of all time. christie was a defensive-minded utility player. bibby was great in the pick and roll. as was divac. they all helped make chris webber look incredible without requiring the ball. webb was the superstar that made the kings a contender, and peja acted as an incredibly efficient all-star-level second option. it helped that the team also played consistent defense. they weren't world beaters on that side of the ball, but they were good enough. and where did rick adelman stash bobby jackson, a ball dominant combo guard? he came off the bench as a sixth man, a role in which he was free to catch fire whenever he wanted...
that team had balance, and while i would certainly not expect this mismatched kings team to reach that upper echelon of team play, i do believe in forward-thinking. so i retain a duo of cousins and evans (because you need at least two all-stars or young talents with all-star potential to have a shot at contending in the contemporary nba, particularly out west), with an eye on a starting caliber PG who can initiate the offense, hit the occasional stand still jumper, and stay mostly out of the way, with an eye on a starting caliber SF who can play solid wing defense, hit the occasional stand still jumper, and stay mostly out of the way, with an eye on a starting caliber PF who can play solid post defense, block the occasional shot, and stay mostly out of the way. i bring isaiah thomas and patrick patterson off the bench. i consider keeping toney douglas and cole aldrich as 12th man types, but really, everybody else is expendable in pursuit of the pieces that fit. yes, in "the now," the kings have gone 5-4. they do look better. but they're not going anywhere in the long run with their current configuration. i certainly hope they continue to play .500 or better for the remainder of the season, because progress is progress, but even if the team wasn't changing ownership hands next month, i'd still be calling for massive overhaul...
