What is Eric Musselman gonna do differently?
- Thread starter TheJoker
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One problem with a question like this is that no one really knows what he'll do in his second time as a head coach. He said in his interview with the Maloofs that he had a big book of notes, etc. on what he did wrong in Golden State and he expects to NOT make those mistakes again.
I think he will be more "in your face" than Adelman ever was. I think he'll be more animated and I think the young players may respond better to him, but that's just a guess.
All in all, I think we're just gonna have to wait and see...and that's just a small part of what's making the anticipation for next season so exciting.
I think he will be more "in your face" than Adelman ever was. I think he'll be more animated and I think the young players may respond better to him, but that's just a guess.
All in all, I think we're just gonna have to wait and see...and that's just a small part of what's making the anticipation for next season so exciting.
ParniValjak
All-Star
Going by his GS days (which is all we can go by at this stage) he will use his bench a bit more. Don't expect 10 man rotations or anything like that. He will have his 8 players that he will look to every night and 9th player that will come in every now and them but not on regular occasions.
He likes his veterans as well (just like every other coach) so don't expect major roles for rookies unless of course they are outstanding talents (see Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas).
Again this is going by what he did with the GS but I am sure he will change a few things this time around so no one really knows what to expect.
He likes his veterans as well (just like every other coach) so don't expect major roles for rookies unless of course they are outstanding talents (see Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas).
Again this is going by what he did with the GS but I am sure he will change a few things this time around so no one really knows what to expect.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
People pointing to Golden State as any sort of evidence are missing a key point -- G.S. was a franchise at a much different place than we are, and full of much less established players. With established players in a playoff push, things will not change as much as some would believe. Major established vets will play big minutes, just as they do for every coach not looking to be unemployed in the near future. Muss just had precious few of those in Golden State. Big big gap between experimenting with lineups and starters with young unproven guys, and doing it with Mike Bibby or Ron Artest. Those guys are going to be on the floor.
As for getting along with the kids -- it was something that Muss had a shaky record with in Golden State. But again, all he had was kids. And we will have to see whether he has learned from the problems.
As for getting along with the kids -- it was something that Muss had a shaky record with in Golden State. But again, all he had was kids. And we will have to see whether he has learned from the problems.
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Agreed, Brick, that's what I've said about GS in general.. different time and situation.
The problems though (that I know of), were understandable from Musselman's stand-point. And aren't likely to happen here because of our roster and front-office. Different time and situation, again.
The problems though (that I know of), were understandable from Musselman's stand-point. And aren't likely to happen here because of our roster and front-office. Different time and situation, again.
I'm cautiously optomistic about Muss's first year with the Kings. Not knowing what type of offense he plans to install, it makes me most curious to see how the Kings perform on that end of the court.
I do expect some dropoff offensively. That's not a knock on Musselman, just an indication of the regard I have for Adelman as an offensive coach. Still, this team has plenty of offensive weapons, so a little dropoff won't be the end of the world.
Indications are that the team will run a motion offense in the halfcourt, though Muss will call more plays. He won't hold the reins as tight as his former boss the Czar, but it will be more structured. From his time in Golden State it seems he has a good feel for matchups. I DO think he'll use his bench more than Rick, but I don't see him locking into substitution patterns. That may work well for some coaches (Sloan for instance) but Muss will play whoever he feels can best contribute on that particular night. He also seemed to be a little more flexible with the starting lineup, though not on par with Larry Brown's experimentation. That probably won't matter in Sacramento, because if Wells is re-signed and no major trades occur, the starting lineup is pretty well established with Bibby, Wells, Artest, Reef (likely) and Miller.
I expect to see quicker rotations on defense, and a better team defense in general. On the other hand, no amount of coaching will make Bibby or Miller good or even average man defenders. If he could get Bibby to at least exert the type of effort that Larry Brown got out of him with Team USA I will be happy. Still, he will need to do things like having Martin defend scoring PGs on the nights that they are lighting up the Kings and fronting the post with weakside help, something he's shown to do in the past. I don't know his particular tendency with this, but I'd like to see the team switching on more picks, something RA didn't do much of.
Musselman has also said that he will press and trap at different times this season. I have advocated occasionally using the bench kids (Martin & Garcia and now maybe Douby) as a trapping unit. Maybe move Ron to the 4 and let Garcia be the second man on the trap with Martin and Douby applying ball pressure. I could see Muss doing that from time to time, especially against teams with one primary ballhandler or a lack of good passers on the floor for the opponents.
Most of all I expect Muss to be more demanding of his players. This isn't a knock on Adelman. His philosophy was to treat the players like men and let them live with the consequences of not getting the job done. Almost any criticism of his players happened behind closed doors. I definitely respected his approach. But Musselman will be very clear with the players in terms of their role and what he demands of them.
It's an approach that has worked well for Popovich and I think it will work with the players he has here. I was concerned about Bonzi, but it appears they have a good relationship. Now my only concern is how he will mesh with Brad Miller.
Finally, one thing I expect Musselman to do is to bond with players. He is still close to some of his former players from Golden State (Arenas, Claxton, Cardinal, even Dampier I believe) but he clearly alienated guys like Richardson and Dunleavy during his time there. I think he will have learned from that and attempt to get in good with all his players, not to mention management. Adelman, fairly or unfairly, was often criticized for being aloof, and obviously he and the Maloofs had problems co-existing.
Next year should be full of changes, and I'm interested to see how the season plays out.
I do expect some dropoff offensively. That's not a knock on Musselman, just an indication of the regard I have for Adelman as an offensive coach. Still, this team has plenty of offensive weapons, so a little dropoff won't be the end of the world.
Indications are that the team will run a motion offense in the halfcourt, though Muss will call more plays. He won't hold the reins as tight as his former boss the Czar, but it will be more structured. From his time in Golden State it seems he has a good feel for matchups. I DO think he'll use his bench more than Rick, but I don't see him locking into substitution patterns. That may work well for some coaches (Sloan for instance) but Muss will play whoever he feels can best contribute on that particular night. He also seemed to be a little more flexible with the starting lineup, though not on par with Larry Brown's experimentation. That probably won't matter in Sacramento, because if Wells is re-signed and no major trades occur, the starting lineup is pretty well established with Bibby, Wells, Artest, Reef (likely) and Miller.
I expect to see quicker rotations on defense, and a better team defense in general. On the other hand, no amount of coaching will make Bibby or Miller good or even average man defenders. If he could get Bibby to at least exert the type of effort that Larry Brown got out of him with Team USA I will be happy. Still, he will need to do things like having Martin defend scoring PGs on the nights that they are lighting up the Kings and fronting the post with weakside help, something he's shown to do in the past. I don't know his particular tendency with this, but I'd like to see the team switching on more picks, something RA didn't do much of.
Musselman has also said that he will press and trap at different times this season. I have advocated occasionally using the bench kids (Martin & Garcia and now maybe Douby) as a trapping unit. Maybe move Ron to the 4 and let Garcia be the second man on the trap with Martin and Douby applying ball pressure. I could see Muss doing that from time to time, especially against teams with one primary ballhandler or a lack of good passers on the floor for the opponents.
Most of all I expect Muss to be more demanding of his players. This isn't a knock on Adelman. His philosophy was to treat the players like men and let them live with the consequences of not getting the job done. Almost any criticism of his players happened behind closed doors. I definitely respected his approach. But Musselman will be very clear with the players in terms of their role and what he demands of them.
It's an approach that has worked well for Popovich and I think it will work with the players he has here. I was concerned about Bonzi, but it appears they have a good relationship. Now my only concern is how he will mesh with Brad Miller.
Finally, one thing I expect Musselman to do is to bond with players. He is still close to some of his former players from Golden State (Arenas, Claxton, Cardinal, even Dampier I believe) but he clearly alienated guys like Richardson and Dunleavy during his time there. I think he will have learned from that and attempt to get in good with all his players, not to mention management. Adelman, fairly or unfairly, was often criticized for being aloof, and obviously he and the Maloofs had problems co-existing.
Next year should be full of changes, and I'm interested to see how the season plays out.
bajaden
Hall of Famer
HI, new to the board, actually used to belong a long time ago with my son Chris. I agree Muss will probably coach a little differently here than with GS. It all comes down to talent. Addleman had a little more suscess here than with GS didn't he? I think Muss will too. I would love to get rid of KT but if not it won't be the end of the world. No matter what, SAR should start. One comment on Brad. When with the Bulls he was more of low post center. He almost led the league in rebounding there. His first year with us he regularly had double digit rebounds. I just think that he got too comfortable in our offense playing the high post. Something he can correct. By the way, on one of the sites, patricia's I think, it shows the Kings having a trade excemption. Didn't say how much though. Anyone else know anything about this.
LPKingsFan
All-Star
Great thread idea. Nice to spend the offseason making some other sort of predictions than trade ideas--although I'm as guilty as anyone on that front.
And great post funkykingston. I agree on a lot of fronts there. I do think Muss will use the starters a lot, particularly Mike and Ron. But I think--barring trade--that he'll be a little more flexible with SAR/KT and Bonzi/Kevin depending on matchups. And I think he'll sub more when he runs the full court press to keep guys fresh.
Not sure what type of offense he'll run, and I'm not sure if we'll see a lot of changes in playcalling. I think much will depend on matchups and mismatches, like we saw in the playoffs with Bonzi and Ron in the post. As for D, I do remember being impressed with his defensive sets, and I think we'll be much improved there.
I really hope to see him--as well as Ron--light a fire under Brad. An inspired Brad Miller can really be an x-factor for the Kings this year, especially in the playoffs. I'm optimistic.
And great post funkykingston. I agree on a lot of fronts there. I do think Muss will use the starters a lot, particularly Mike and Ron. But I think--barring trade--that he'll be a little more flexible with SAR/KT and Bonzi/Kevin depending on matchups. And I think he'll sub more when he runs the full court press to keep guys fresh.
Not sure what type of offense he'll run, and I'm not sure if we'll see a lot of changes in playcalling. I think much will depend on matchups and mismatches, like we saw in the playoffs with Bonzi and Ron in the post. As for D, I do remember being impressed with his defensive sets, and I think we'll be much improved there.
I really hope to see him--as well as Ron--light a fire under Brad. An inspired Brad Miller can really be an x-factor for the Kings this year, especially in the playoffs. I'm optimistic.
jacobdrj
Bench
Really, it doesn't matter, as long as Musselman gets into the POs. That is where he will earn his check. If he wilts under pressure, it doesn't really matter that Adleman was fired. But if he makes the right decisions, even if he doesn't win it all, it is worth upgrading the talent...
Ryle
Starter
I just want to see players given minutes that are earned and not just because they are starters. Why Kenny Thomas was starting when Reef was healthy is beyond me.
Kenny Thomas reminds me a lot of an old pickup truck my dad had back in the 60s. I used to watch with disbelief as my Dad went through what I thought was a totally bizarre routine to start the truck. But, every time Dad did the routine, the truck started. And, once started, he never had a problem with it. He needed the truck so he put up with having to handle it a little differently.
I, on the other hand, would always try to start the truck simply by pressing on the gas pedal a couple of times and then turning the key. And the truck would NEVER start.
KT may have his idiosycracies, one of which is that he simply has convinced himself that he can only perform well when he starts. We're paying KT a lot of money. If we want to utilize KT fully, we pretty much have to do what my Dad did with the truck. Put up with the nonsense for the end result. Either that, or we simply trade him away for a model that isn't quite so fussy. And - unfortunately - it doesn't seem like there's much of a demand for fussy old trucks or tempermental undersized, overpaid PFs.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Rebounding.
And we were winning.
That's where the silliness with Reef really gets me -- I argued all last year that Reef was not only a better player than Kenny, but of an entirely different class of players than Kenny. But the fact is that he did NOT consistently outperform Kenny last season, and just as importantly, the team didn't respond to him in the lineup as well as it did KT. The whole roleplayer freeing up others thing. And when you are supposed to be a player of significance, losing your minutes and spot to Kenny Thomas does not reflect well on you.
Sac.Kings
All-Star
Fresno King
Starter
Hopefully win us a championship.
Kingzrool
Starter
This seems odd to me as well. In my limited observation of them (with the Kings and I saw that fight too), SAR seems a "classier" player. Before the Jaw thing he was getting into a good groove. Even KT's playoff groove was inconsistant as VF has pointed out.
I expect more out of SAR and less out of KT for the coming year. But I get most of my info from this board.
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