Sacramento’s third preseason game ended in dramatic fashion, as Kyle Guy capped off a night to remember by drilling the game-winning three pointer at the buzzer to beat the Golden State Warriors 114-113.
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1339081306957701120
Guy’s night was about more than the buzzer beater however, as he showcased as a backup Point Guard in Corey Joseph’s absence. Guy finished with a team-high 20 points, including 6 of 10 from three, to go with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. We all knew Guy could shoot, but tonight he looked comfortable running the offense as well, and showcased moments with good playmaking and vision. With Sacramento adding three more rookies this offseason, many were quick to write off Guy, but if his performance in preseason is anything to go by, he’s making a real case to be a part of the team’s rotation.
This night was also special in that it featured the return of Marvin Bagley III to game action. Bagley hadn’t played competitively in almost a year and it was great to see him on the floor tonight. He finished with 9 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes and definitely looked to be in the best shape we’ve seen him yet. Hopefully he can continue to build on that as it looks like the Kings are ready to put him right back into a featured starting role.
Hassan Whiteside also made his Sacramento debut and while at times he looked slow and lackadaisical, he also offered a tremendous presence on the defensive side of the ball, cleaning the glass and protecting the rim. He finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks in just 14 minutes, stellar production from a backup big man.
No King played more than 25 minutes, and Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox led the starters with 18 and 17 points respectively. Hield in particular looked good tonight, consistently making the second effort on both ends of the court.
It was a mixed bag from the rookies. Tyrese Haliburton only played 15 minutes and finished with just 2 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and a rebound. He consistently looked for others on offense and he was doing a good job of playing the passing lane on defense. If the worst that can be said of him is that he’s too unselfish, that’s not a bad place to start. Jahmi’us Ramsey and Robert Woodard both only played during the 4th quarter with the rest of the Kings deep bench and didn’t really have any highlights to speak of. Ramsey had a nice up and under move to the rim for his only points of the game, and Woodard showcased solid defensive potential and weakside help protecting the rim, but the Kings offense ground to a standstill.
Sacramento once again made a conscious effort to play with speed and pace with Luke Walton in particular constantly telling his guys to run. At one point, even Hassan Whiteside took it coast to coast for a layup in one of those no, no, no, yes plays.
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1339061769294102531
On the Warriors side, Steph Curry led the way with 29 points and looked more and more like the Steph of old despite the new hairstyle. He was a little off on his three point shot tonight or he could have had even more. Sacramento-native Marquese Chriss also chipped in with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists off the bench.
The Kings have one more preseason game ahead of them as they face the Warriors one more time on Thursday before the regular season begins on December 23rd.
Check out the official game highlights below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHE7NpS9bA8
Hotter than fish grease
Thanks, I was trying to figure out wtf he said there.
Am I wrong to be confused by that statement? ð¤£
I’m guessing after you fry fish, that grease is hot. Yet Kyle Guy’s shooting was hotter, especially that game winner.
I once melted a microwave handle while frying fish.
How are you even possible let alone alive?
I’m like Mr Bean. I just go through life attempting to complete basic tasks *high jinks ensues*
Grant would then turn the sprinkler systems on and end up burning the arena down.
I would also like to preemptively submit myself for Nostradumbass of the year:
Blake should add a ’20 Nostradumbass medal to your handle!
Who hit the game winner?
my friends
Are folks noticing the same pattern that happened in the spring?
starters get immediately down, bench saves us (all spring, two out of three preseason games)
no starter is imprinting the game
if there are only robins and no batmen in that lineup, bring the best energy you can (at this point Haliburton)
i might try Buddy at sf than benching him though
I’m noticing an imprinting pattern, for sure.
Sacramento once again made a conscious effort to play with speed and pace with Luke Walton in particular constantly telling his guys to run. Like no one ever told him to do that last year or he never watch game tapes from joerger era or something
can we please stop with the Joerger mythologizing? He wasn’t this magical coach that unlocked his player’s strengths. Here’s how the team ranked in pace in Fox’s rookie year:
That was the year Z-Bo led the team in scoring. Can’t we just pretend that one never happened?
Joerger did make the adjustment in year 2. Can Walton do the same?
Hopefully!
Joerger ran as fast a system as having Z-bo would allow that first year.
Walton ran as fast a system as having Joseph as a starting pg would allow.
Year 3 joerger was pretty good because he had them play fast. My problem with Walton has always been when he took over and immediately reverted back to play slow like our offense was still featuring Z-Bo in his twilight years. Can he make adjustment? Sure hope so. But based on what I’ve seen in Los Angeles that answer is a no.
I’d still rather have Joerger than this mush-mouthed coach, though.
Dick Motta, Bill Russell, and on and on.
The problem with Walton is that he was too dumb to build on what was being (successfully) built before him. He had to re-break it first.
Exactly. Joerger was in year 1 of a full rebuild. Walton was supposed to come in and build upon what was already (somewhat) successful. “Take us to the next level”…
Like what I’m seeing from Buddy lately on both ends.
Whiteside has cinder blocks for hands and is clumsy on offense. Dat rim protection though..
Defense looked lost a lot but improved.
Has Bjelly lost a step? More like lost a leg. Bye-Bye, please trade.
Fox… Hang in there buddy. Liked the aggression seeking fouls. The free throw line is crucial for his play style.
Kyle Guy, just wow. Impressed with his improvement. He can stay in front of his man and you can tell he bulked up.
Haliburton just needs experience. My cause for concern is he seems reluctant to shoot off the dribble. There were a few screens he came off of with the ball in his hands that should have been 3 point attempts. Overall though he is a net positive.
Progress is looking like its happening with this team. And that’s all I ask for this season.
I’ll add, Harrison Barnes with another Houdini game, can you believe he led the team in minutes tonight? I can’t remember anything he did.
Exactly. I would lump him with CoJo and Bjelly as logjam vets. They hold us back more than they help. The younger guys defer to him too much I feel. I would like to see a Bagley, Barnes, Hield, Haliburton, and Fox line up trotted out though. The Warriors are a smaller team so the next game is the perfect time to try it out.
Agreed on CoJo because there are other guys (ha) his minutes could be going to like Hali and Guy who probably can compete at the NBA level but need the development time.
But I’m not quite there yet on Barnes cause I think he’s still a notable upgrade over any of our other wing forward types. I’m not as worried about taking minutes from Robinson, Jeffries, or Woodard at this point.
Bjelly did look slower than usual on D today. Hopefully that’s not going to carry into the season. But he’s our only big that can really shoot which is useful if he can be a serviceable defender.
Joseph has to be on the trade block, as he clearly had no place on this team now.
No one wants him
One again agreed. My thing with Barnes and Bjelica is more about the ball stopper in them. Bjelica has no business taking anyone off the dribble and his lack of athleticism means there will be matchups where he should be sat. Barnes shouldn’t take anyone off the dribble too actually. That’s just not their game.
Barnes is not a terrible one-on-one out of the high post. He got a lot of practice at it when he was in Dallas. But yeah, that should be like your 8th best go-to play when he’s on the court.
Agree on Bjelica. But Barnes can absolutely take his man off the dribble, not sure what you are seeing to say he can’t.
I never said he can’t, I said he shouldn’t 
Is this really an issue in a game that doesn’t count?
If Guy keeps this up, he will certainly crack the rotation. I like him a lot as a secondary ballhandler.
I enjoyed this game tonight. I hope Bagley can provide around 15 and 8 over 70 games this year.
He earned a spot on the rotation already. There’s no “if” about it. The spot should be his to lose.
This is good
wrong
Bagley, per 48 min: 27/12. That’s all-star stats. Guy rules, trade Fox!!!
Bagley, per 96 min: 54/24. MVP stats!
C’mon man, admit that the kid has game.
Yes, 15-30 of them per year.
Just a bunch of haters! All of you know the kid’s got serious game!! Put some respect on his name!!!
I liked what I saw from Bagley tonight
I’m officially on the assist watch for Bagley. I think we may see one by game 7.
You’re such a h8r Adam!!!!!
I wasn’t particularly impressed. He produced off putbacks and awkward-looking isos off the left block where you knew passing was the furthest thing from his mind. We already knew he could do that.
I don’t care how much he does or doesn’t produce posting or facing up and taking it himself. I’d rather not them build a team around that style at all.
He hasn’t really earned that yet.
Great to see him back in action, looked like he was moving well and generally making the right plays. A little early to start calling for respect and redemption though.
9 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes, making 4-of-7 shots without any assists, steals or blocks.Im happy he’s back, but really need to see some growth in his game before I’m putting respect on his name ð
I agree. Too much hating the young kid because he’s not luka. I’m still excited to see him growing personally.
Bagley’s inability to stay on the court or show team-oriented skills has nothing to do with Doncic. Honestly, I think the Bagley assessment has officially transitioned from unfair comparison to Doncic to using the veil of unfair comparison to Doncic to hand wave his inability to make a positive impact on the court for the Kings.
Forget Doncic comparisons. That ship has long since sailed. The question is if Bagley can develop his team-oriented skills and awareness enough to be a key contributor to a theoretical good future Kings team.
Anything the Kings get from Bagley at this point should be seen as an unexpected bonus. He has been injury-riddled and barely on the court at all in a year and a half. The team should be planning for a future without his contributions. If they end up getting something out of him, it’s a pleasant surprise! (And note that I am really rooting for him. The injuries are obviously not his fault, and being picked ahead of Luka was not his fault. If he were picked from 5-10 like he should have been, he’d be a sentimental fan favorite.)
Game winner aside, the player of the game for me had a stat line of 2 points, 3 assists and 1 board. Anticipating that being a somewhat regular occurrence this season.
Love that Guy!
I will say this for Kyle Guy, he’s a great shooter and he knows how to play. As a 9th man spark plug, why not? He will get torched on defense but for this season why not?
He’s like Seth Curry on a budget, who himself is a homeless man’s Steph Curry.
I’m feeling a Hali/Guy/Robinson/Bjelica/Whiteside bench lineup. His defensive struggles aided some by our last line of defense brick wall. Offensively shooters and a big to grab boards and get putbacks.
Should be a starter. Trade Fox!!!
I don’t know why you think Guy will get torched on defense. He is active and he has added strength. Cory Joseph is a joke on defense and yet everyone buys into this fake narrative he is a defender.
Do not be fooled by a guy who has defensive fundamentals down but lacks the athetic and physical profile to be an effective defender.
Cory Joseph had a defensive rating of 114 last year same as Buddy. We are losing little to nothing defensively with Guy over Joseph and our offense will be much more potent and dynamic with him.
Agree with this, he’s fighting through everything on defense and seems absolutely up for the challenge of team defense.
If hitting the stop and pop 3 on breaks is truly a skill of his, then it seems to me he should be playing with Fox.
Reminds me of Redick a little bit.
And that’s exactly how he should be used. Like Redick…off the bench of course.
The Microwave 2.0
Kinda like Buddy (on a good team).
Ok we’ll see if he gets torched once the games are real. My bet would be that he will. I’m really enjoying Kyle Guy’s play at the moment but I’m just guessing he won’t look quite as effective in real games on defense.
Whiteside’s stats don’t contribute to winning!
Why would you sign Whiteside if you want to play with pace!
(Don’t question my minutes restriction. I’m just having fun with stats)
On a one game sample size? That take is hotter than fish grease. Also fishier than fish grease. Probably slipperier than fish grease, too.
(Don’t question my response, I am just having fun with fish grease).
speaking of fish grease, is John Salmon the best fish-named player in nba history?
They should rename the Halibut “Haliburton”, in honor of Tyrese.
He’s better than Brandon Bass. But Michael Finley gets my vote.
Ooh, good ones. Also : Kendall Gill?
Isn’t Finley more fish-themed than fish-named? 🙂
Matt Fish.
Jarrett Jack?
Jerry Tarkanian “Tark the Shark”
C’mon guys, don’t you all remember the other fishy King Travis “Trout” Outlaw?
The executive committee on fish named players met last night and made a final ruling. Oscar Robertson is the best NBA player to share a name with a species of fish.
Not Goby Bryant?
Kobe has the rare title of being the best meat/legume named player.
Well done.
Also
Not Magic Johnson?
Would Kobe’s dad be in the running for best legume named player?
Bobby Chickpea had that one good year for the Cavs
Wow, nice work, BHE!
Medium well.
Because there’s a defensive side of the game too. Duh.
Do your stats from the couch contribute to winning??
Yeah
Happy for Bagley to be back on the court again.
Very happy for Guy, but then there’s coach Walton with the cold shower:
obligatory gif for Luke Walton:
And its a Christmas themed Debbie Downer? Well done.
The Kings Herald literally published an article about how the Kings needed to sign another PG like a couple days ago. I think we all need to reevaluate the Kyle Guy situation.
Dude was hot, I give you that.
Like fish oil!
Walton was just keeping it real.
The timing and the way to tell it publicly was not very kind.
There are times to keep it real and times to be diplomatic.
Yeah, real stupid
He’ll have a different take once he watches the tape.
Can we just end the season there? Kyle Guy with the game winner over the Dubs in a game that means nothing is all I want for Christmas. Thanks, Santa!
Keep up this sizzling .667 winning percentage and we’re a good 5-6 seed. Would like to kindly request a change to the way the upcoming schedule is displayed up top. Maybe just show the next 2-3 games or link to a calendar. Thanks.
It will be highly suspicious when that winning percentage suddenly drops as the season wears on.
STOP THE COUNT!
Nice
Not to bring down the energy of a win, but I really don’t want Whiteside taking us from the 4th pick to the 9th, really
he’s going to start in a contract year… just..
The tank is still rolling. No competitive spirit.
McNair will just strategically place more and more Vince Carter cutouts in the stands to distract Whiteside.
Kyle Effin’ Guy.
Kyle Cold-blooded Guy.
Kyle The Style Guy.
Kyle Bogdan Who? Guy.
Kyle That Guy
BoGUY Bogdonavic!
Metu has looked good. I hope he sticks around.
I’m surprised he has looked this good, he should at least be given a 2-way so that we can monitor his progress, maybe get spot minutes once Bjelica is gone.
To be honest, I don’t think I ever watched Metu until this preseason. He’s more skilled than I expected.
He’s a product of Spurs development. Given some more time I think he can contribute to winning basketball.
That being said I’m a developmental big guy fan. Still bummed Papa G and Skal didn’t work out.
Have others asked why I cannot view “all comments” if I don’t login ?
No, I don’t think it’s been an issue. I can see the comments, whether I’m logged in or not.
I had the same problem. Forced me to make an account instead of just lurking like usual.
And now I’m commenting, so whatever it is they’re trying to do it’s working.
NotSoJankyAfterAll
Does anyone else see a logjam at center? Will Bagley be the starter backed up by Whiteside with Holmes being the odd man out or…….? Another potential problem I see is when Whiteside has it going down the stretch by rebounding and protecting the paint, do you play Bagley at the 4 or do you go with Belly because of his shooting. One more thing, this team might be better than we all think. It looks like they finally have the right mix of youth and veterans.
Yeah, I am not sure what is going to happen with the frontcourt this year. I could even envision Bagley and Parker starting at the 4 and 5. I don’t think Bagley fits very well next to Holmes unless at least one of the two is hitting 3 semi consistently.
Too many big men! An unbalanced roster! Shades of Vlade!
What’s Monte’s plan for C next season though? All our C’s are currently on 1 year contracts.
he’s taking a wait and C approach.
The team had swagger tonight, haven’t seen that in a long time. The team is playing like a group that has been together longer than a month. Is Luke Walton actually doing a good job this preseason??
I will be giving the assistant coaching staff most of the credit if the Kings have a good season.
I will be personally taking credit for the Kings success this season due to sending out positive vibes.
I’ve created my vision board and have been manifesting a Kings playoff appearance. I think you should share SOME credit.
you must apply for the Willing Kings Things Into Existence Credit by 12/22.
Scores are back baby!
*Whispers* Hopefully
If the Kings lose every game but are that fun to watch then I am cool with it.
Just started watching a recording of the game, having trouble getting over TH’s short, shorts…LOL
I dig the style, different, funky even
He REALLY wants to be Magic Johnson. I ain’t mad.
Whiteside, still shaking off rust, was spectacular last night, where the haters at ?!? I envisioned him as equal to better than Len, and guess what he’s better!
Here’s how we make Whiteside a force for us. We surround him with speed high energy high activity . He’s a relatively immobile player. Imagine you put him on the floor with slugs like Bjum and CoJo, it won’t work, that is when things grind to a halt.
As long as you are limiting his low post touches, use him as a high post pick setter, let him do his thing at the rim then you are golden. He was swallowing up rebounds too. His picks last night opened up plays for our guards makes it easy for them.
The second quarter defense we played was the best I can remember. We were trailing 27-22 or thereabouts, put Whiteside in with Guy, then towards the end of the half it was like 53-30. We limited them to like 13 points for most of that quarter. Whiteside was shutting down or intimidating with his presence every play at the rim.
I said before, the combination of Holmes and Whiteside for 48 minutes makes us elite defensively, and the best we have been at that position. We have had trash defense at the center spot forever, Cousins and before him, I can’t remember ever having two good to great defensive players like we have.
And the beauty is it allows Bagley to slide to PF and not ask him to anchor the defense.
I can say “I told you so” about Kyle Guy w/o being a jerk because I will also say I was wrong about Woodward. Woodward has protypical size to be an elite SF but problem is he lacks the mobility . His hips are tight. The tape did not reveal this issue. He ought to train with Ron Artest and get that sorted out. Until he does, Woodward is a PF.
Woodward got scorched by Bazemore. The defensive versatility, guarding inside and out, I anticipated with Woodward is not there. He’s also not a comfortable shooter. I am down on him but if he can make some progression maybe he can get minutes behind Bagley later in the year. More likely he will spend the year in G-League.
Haliburton was spectaular too! He guarded Curry a few plays as well as you could ask.
The emergence of Hali and Guy is extremely encouraging because it complements the weak spots of our other rotational players, namely their inability to handle and create shots and space for themselves. Suddenly instead of one playmaker we have three. This can transform the fortunes of our team.
In the other thread fans were trying to come up with a comp for a Kyle Guy. I say he is a mix of:
> J-Will
> Seth Curry
> Tyler Herro
Guy is a better shooter than White Chocolate, not the passing wizard. But Guy will drop dimes and he will move the ball. Guy is a sneaky athlete but one difference that limits his upside is he is a two-footed jumper. J-Will could drive and finish better off one leg.
I disagree Guy is a combo guard. He is a PG who happens to be a great shooter. Kyle Guy is also the 2nd best shooter on our team, maybe the best! It is important that we add shooting with the loss of Bogi and rapid decline of Bjum. Guy is unfazed by pressure when he goes up to shoot, gets good elevation, smooth and quick release.
When things started to unfold in 4th, the only stabilizing influence on the floor with James, Metu, Woodward and Ramsey, was Guy.
The half court and 3/4 trap works well for us, and again reinforces we cannot have Bjelica and Joseph and Parker and Frank and expect to implement this scheme. The trap is not intended necessarily to force turnover, but to delay the opponent by 3-4 seconds from getting into their offense.
When we drop back into man-to-man maybe there is only 12 seconds left on the clock than 16 seconds. Good teams will destroy a trap with shooting and passing which means we have to be selective when we use it and make sure we have the combination of athletes than can read and react. Again, this eliminates the aforementioned veterans from the mix.
Lastly it was good to see Buddy play closer to his potential after two bad games.
thanks for your thought, but the bad news is Walton is not going to play Guy any minutes..(he mentioned that during post-game),
I agree some minutes should be rewarded to Guy, as he seems to be a elite 3 pts shooter..
and I do love Whiteside…he is just a BIG defensive presence inside the paint…and the opponent are unwilling to go inside the paint is a real welcome sight to see
Nice thoughts, I agree with a lot of what you’re saying.
I’m not sold on Guy as a point guard over combo guard, yet. His handle is still a little too loose for me, the vision and playmaking is there but the dribble can get a bit high at times and things feel out of control.
I have a similar, lesser concern for Hali. Specifically when he was dribbling the ball up slowly for a half court set, he was turning his back on Nico a lot to shield the ball. If he could tighten the handle a little that would be amazing for his already great playmaking game.
Hopefully Bobby J and Lindsey Harding can help with the ball handling skills.
I didn’t get to watch the game, only highlights, but I saw guy throw a jump pass to a warrior that led to a fastbreak and him getting picked clean by mannion leading to a dunk. He seems like a better shooting tj McConnell to me.
I’m not sure if you were wrong about Woodward, but you were definitely wrong about Woodard.
I’m fine with one year, vet minimum Whiteside. It’s full-MLE Whiteside (you know, what we would have done if Vlade were still here) that would have bugged the living shit out of me.
That’s a spicy meatball take on Woodard after so little time – are we now at the point where we cast off 2nd round projects if they are not NBA core rotation ready?
I think that Guy needs to be on the floor with another ball handler to be effective – he would do well with Haliburton, for example. I don’t see him as being any more capable of running an offense than (say) Cory Joseph right now, but he certainly has more upside than CoJo.
Whiteside moves like driving through mud, go slow don’t stop.
My favorite parts of preseason games:
Agreed! And the game threads are absolutely delicious.
I generally stay out of the game threads. I can’t handle the bipolarism.
I’m not in there during the game, but I like to read it the next day. It’s like reliving the emotion of the game a little bit. … I must really have an appetite for misery 😉
I noticed a disturbing new trend in the first quarter. Twice I saw Fox pass the ball to Buddy in the backcourt so Buddy then started the offense. Then, many offensive sets ran through Holmes in the high post, which was awful. Fox and Buddy were attempting cuts and off ball screens and it just failed miserably.
Notice Holmes’ TO count? That was him attempting to pass out of the high post.
Get your fucking head out of your ass, Walton.
Hopefully that’s a pre-season thing
Noticed that too. It’s like Walton still thinks he’s coaching the Warriors and/or just can’t adjust to the fact that not every player on the court is a positionless all-star.
He tried the same thing with Whiteside and Metu with similar terrible results. It’s part of the reason the TO count was so high.
Yup, 11 TO between the three of them. He’d better abandon that strategy quick.
Why is it so hard for Luke to understand that all he needs to focus on is the PnR game with Fox and Holmes while Buddy is popping out with off ball screens for a catch and shoot jumper. It isn’t rocket surgery.
The difference between what I saw yesterday and last season with Buddy was he would run the PnR vs now he is getting the ball immediately to the high post big.
I would like that high post big to be Bjelica, Barnes, or Bagley.
Personally, I’d like to see Bagley up top because he needs to be put in a position to develop. I do believe Bagley can make scheme passes but once plays break down, he probably won’t pass. I felt like he was being used like Montrez Harrell yesterday which I was ehh about.
Is this team a good team-NO. They hung with the Warriors who didn’t play Draymond, Wiseman, and Curry got limited minutes in the 3rd.
BUT…man that was a lot of fun. The boys were running up and down the court, ball was moving, shots were going in and most importantly smiles were all around. This team looks like they are finally having fun playing basketball with each other again. Dare I say- The Scores Are Back!
The tank is still rolling, but at least the games will be fun.
I think having a guy like Whiteside is necessary with this style to help with defense and rebounding.
I also really like the amount of depth the Kings do have, which is going to be necessary with Covid this year. It may not be great top tier players but you can throw in Kyle Guy or GR III or Bjelly and they can help you get out of a game.
The kid that makes me scratch my head is Justin James-he just doesn’t look comfortable.
Exactly
James got called for back to back ticky-tack fouls. He needs to be more assertive when defending and not allow the offensive player the chance to complete the shot. On offense he was firing away with poor results. Definitely not a good showing from him last night
Preseason or not, that was a fun game to watch. I haven’t texted back and forth with a Kings friend like that in a while. And whoever that Guy was who hit the last shot, we should play him some more!
First, I want to give a thumbs up to the Kings Herald team. Admittedly, I was getting tired of the rancor that many of the commenters that have come over from Sactown Royalty were displaying especially on top of the political climate in our country. However, I accept that sports fans are going to be fanatical because that is what we do. In this thread I enjoyed the humor of the fish grease and fish names give and take. The gifs add great humor too. I always enjoy the solid comments by members like Rob Hessing and RikSmits too.
Second, I wanted to tip my hat to Buddy Hield this pre-season. I have been critical of his defensive effort in the past. Thus far, he seems to be playing with more joy this season. I appreciated his focus on defense and his extra effort to share the ball too. I especially liked how he looked for Kyle Guy last evening. Way to go Buddy!
Didn’t watch this one. It looks like some changes are being made to the way they play, so I’m holding out hope that this season may be fun to watch compared to last season. Don’t care about wins, I want to see development from players mostly. (Yes, wins help but being realistic here)
As much hating as we’ve done on him, I was glad to see Buddy being the first person running out and jumping on KG. He seemed super excited for him.
Yeah that was good to see. I think Buddy’s a good dude. I wonder if a lot of his frustration comes from just being in this crap organization. I mean, he signed the contract but it’s gotta suck playing for the worst coach in the league.
Kyle Guy is the *next* “KG” 😉
Agreed, I do think Buddy is for the most part a good teammate. But really really needs a PR makeover or handler, whether he stays in Sac or gets moved.
Is Whiteside still the only player to have come out with ADHD?
I generally don’t like to make big judgements off preseason, but Fox’s lack of progress shooting is more than a bit concerning at this point. He has stated it has been a major focus of his. I have no doubt that he is working on it as anyone can see what it would open up for him offensively if he can shoot even average. It’s not just that he is shooting poorly this preseason, but the misses are bad…like not even close to being on target.
Stretching back to include the bubble and this preseason he is shooting 22% from 3 and 68% from the line, on both 50 attempts from each. It’s still smallish sample size, but I would imagine with the time off before both the bubble and preseason he was working on shooting. The question is why is it not translating?
He doesn’t need to be great, just average to even slightly below average (34-35%). Until then his lack of shooting will negatively affect the whole team because teams are going to start to dare him to shoot going underneath screens. I worry it’s going to become psychological if it hasn’t already. He looks reluctant at times to shoot the 3, but feels he has to because he is so wide open. He should be hunting trying to figure out how to get those shots, because he has confidence…not pulling the trigger because he feels he has too.
I’m not saying the contract was a mistake because I would have done the same thing. But if this shooting doesn’t get better, the Kings have a 163 million dollar problem.
I have no idea who has his ear, but I think one issue is that he needs mechanical adjustments but all I keep hearing is that his form is fine. It really isn’t. Both his footwork and his form need work that doesn’t seem to be getting done. Without being in the gym, I don’t know what exactly he’s doing, but I kinda get the impression because nothing has changed that he’s just getting up a lot of 3s. And probably working on his off-dribble pull-ups. But not doing the foundational work that, IMO as a know-nothing non-pro, needs to be done.
My comps for Guy:
Dj Augustin, Derek Fisher, Seth Curry, J.J. Reddick
If he keeps developing, dare I say Beno or Fred VanVleet !?
Badge Legend