Fresno King
Starter
And why call time out at the end of the game with no chance of winning?
AGAIN?
Simply stupid.
AGAIN?
Simply stupid.
Wizards @ Kings Game Thread
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We're using the vets to tank our way into the 11th draft pick, I assume. If you don't like that answer, you can take your pick of several answers which make no sense. Any of them, logical or not, seem about equally probable.
Widowmaker2k
Bench
I had the same thoughts as you. We take out Martin...we start losing. Logical solution? Don't put him back in! Ugh...
Maybe the Maloofs told Reggie to tank?
I didnt get to see the entire game, but if Mikki was ejected in 13 minutes only and Hawes reinjure his ankle in 5 minutes, then how did sheldon only end up playing like 7 minutes???
Basically, Shelden had three consecutive good possessions with Artest on the bench. Artest came back in and Shelden was gone...
Until very recently, if Mikki were unavailable, Reggie would put Salmons or Garcia in and play smallball, rather than play a kid. Much improvement may yet be needed, but his trying to play Hawes was a step in the right direction. He needs to continue the trend through what's left of the season. Our schedule from here on out is absolutely horrible, so better to lose while playing the kids, than while playing the vets.
In all fairness, I suppose, it didn't help that Beno was unavailable. BUT I would much rather have seen a line-up of AJ, Martin, Garcia, Williams and Miller than Salmons, Garcia, Martin, Artest and Miller. Way too much lack of team play, IMHO. And putting Salmons and Artest on the court at the same time just pretty much takes Kevin out of the game entirely.
Fear the Putin
Starter
Well that was fun, wasn't it? I hope Hawes isn't going to miss a whole bunch of games. Just as we finally see more of him, he's injured. I'd sure like to see Beno back out there. I guess his back is pretty bad.
just make him do the cobra stretch:
guarantee he'll be back out there after doing it
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
The Kevin thing. Yes...but no. We are having the Peja discussion in the other thread. This is all so very reminscient of that syndrome. He could have shot more, but we scored very well with the guys who were shooting, he scored 25, and he took 18 shots/possessions (11 FGs, 7 trips to the line for a pair). Not terrible.
Fact is we scored 108 points. We scored 29 in the 4th, which is the period Kevin was allegedly frozen out (again such a similar claim). We didn't lose this game because of lack of offense. We were scoring just fine, who ever was doing the scoring. We scored 108pts. We lost it, again, because we let the other team score 114, which makes it something like 28 of the last 30 games or some such that the opposing team has hit tripel digits against us. Even in the final minute Ron did just fine offensively, drawing a foul and hitting the FTs and then coming back to hit a shot. If we play an ounce of defense we are down only 3 or even 1 after that. But instead we gave up back to back hoops by Songaila and that was that (ironically I think Darius was Ron's man too -- the one guy who is supposed to get the stops did not).
Even Phoenix is a sub-.500 team if it allows 114 points every night.
Fact is we scored 108 points. We scored 29 in the 4th, which is the period Kevin was allegedly frozen out (again such a similar claim). We didn't lose this game because of lack of offense. We were scoring just fine, who ever was doing the scoring. We scored 108pts. We lost it, again, because we let the other team score 114, which makes it something like 28 of the last 30 games or some such that the opposing team has hit tripel digits against us. Even in the final minute Ron did just fine offensively, drawing a foul and hitting the FTs and then coming back to hit a shot. If we play an ounce of defense we are down only 3 or even 1 after that. But instead we gave up back to back hoops by Songaila and that was that (ironically I think Darius was Ron's man too -- the one guy who is supposed to get the stops did not).
Even Phoenix is a sub-.500 team if it allows 114 points every night.
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I've been following that trend too, pretty alarming.
Of the last 21 games, our opponents have scored 100 or more in 20. Only the Trailblazers, playing at Arco, failed.
And there's the crux of the matter, IMHO. Ron is focusing on his offensive game and his defense is suffering. He's being beaten by his man and on at least two plays I saw him actually back away from his man, leaving his help defender to wonder who he was supposed to be helping.
I'd like to know why exactly Martin was left icing on the bench while the 11-point lead disappeared to be replaced by a 10-point deficit. And yes, he did well - and could most likely have done better had it not become the Ron Artest superman show once again at the expense of defense.
But at this point, I'm not going to belabor it. I know what I saw - and more importantly and critically, I know what I didn't see. And that really bothers me.
bloom
Starter
Martin was probably left out because Reggie wanted to give Quincy some floor time
You know why Ron isn't really paying attention to defense? It's because he's playing for a contract, and he's said (if I recall correctly) in a article that defense isn't what gets big contracts or noticed. So either way he's playing to get big money, so defense takes a back seat. Or maybe he just can't play defense like he used to.
I think one of Reggie's biggest mistake was saying that Ron is our first offensive option. Leaving Kevin in the backseat...Does anybody remember how Kevin played in 4th quarter during last season? Wasn't he active and still producing like the other quarters or am I making a mistake?
The idea of Kevin fading in the 4th quarter is misleading. Sure, he fades when he spends large portions of time getting cold on the bnech and then coming back in after a 21 point swing. He fades when he suffers from the SIS (sudden invisibility syndrome) that seems to strike him without warning.
Get him the ball consistently and he'll find a way to score consistently. But that requires a good game plan and players willing to commit to it, even if it means giving the ball up. Artest is the biggest culprit in that regard. He'll make a pass or two right after a time out (almost as though someone pointed it out to him) but then quickly devolve back into his old ways and try and do it all himself).
I'm not placing all the blame on Ron Artest but using him as a prime example. The real problem is either the coach isn't making it clear about what should be going on OR he is making it clear and the players are ignoring him OR he isn't concentrating on getting the ball to the guy most likely to score.
Two of those are fixable. One, however, is much tougher. If the players (and yes, feel free to read "Ron Artest" into that statement) are ignoring Theus and the other coaches, then we have a MAJOR problem that isn't easily resolved. Dealing with Ron Artest is much more difficult than dealing with someone like Martin, who is much easier going and doesn't always speak up for himself as he should IMHO.
Get him the ball consistently and he'll find a way to score consistently. But that requires a good game plan and players willing to commit to it, even if it means giving the ball up. Artest is the biggest culprit in that regard. He'll make a pass or two right after a time out (almost as though someone pointed it out to him) but then quickly devolve back into his old ways and try and do it all himself).
I'm not placing all the blame on Ron Artest but using him as a prime example. The real problem is either the coach isn't making it clear about what should be going on OR he is making it clear and the players are ignoring him OR he isn't concentrating on getting the ball to the guy most likely to score.
Two of those are fixable. One, however, is much tougher. If the players (and yes, feel free to read "Ron Artest" into that statement) are ignoring Theus and the other coaches, then we have a MAJOR problem that isn't easily resolved. Dealing with Ron Artest is much more difficult than dealing with someone like Martin, who is much easier going and doesn't always speak up for himself as he should IMHO.
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