How are we feeling, Kings fans? After Monday’s win, do you feel better, worse, or nothing at all? Whatever you feel, I don’t blame you. I was not lying on Twitter when I said that I did not watch a single second of the win against the Detroit Pistons. I decided to take myself out of the equation and the Kings snapped their losing streak and seemingly saved Luke Walton’s job. So is it me? Am I the drama? I don’t think I’m the drama. Maybe I am. Well the case study continues because I had to tune in for the Kings’ final game of this road trip in Minnesota. Having lost eight of their last nine games, the Timberwolves are a team that the Kings should beat, but we all know how that goes. To find out if I am indeed the drama or if the Kings are putting themselves back on the right track, let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings lose, 107-97
Sacramento Kings: 97 pts, 36.6% fg, 26.3% 3pt, 76.0% ft, 19 ast, 47 reb, 16 to
Minnesota Timberwolves: 107 pts, 50.0% fg, 27.8% 3pt, 83.3% ft, 20 ast, 35 reb, 17 to
So I guess the evidence continues to point to me being the drama. I hate this case study. Let’s just forget about it.
I used to coach middle school basketball and this game really took me back to those days. The general scene from both teams was attempting some slow ball movement, giving the ball to their best player, and then hoping something good happens. There were a lot of missed shots, a lot of turnovers, and a lot of one on one action. All of these things you would expect from middle school basketball, as players are still learning the game and finding the rhythm of good basketball. So it was surprising to see extremely large, grown men who get paid millions of dollars and have dedicated their lives to learning this sport resemble 12 year-olds. But, here we are. A new low? I’ve lost track.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good
- Offensive Rebounding: This felt like a game of second chances. Up until the final stretch, both teams struggled to find any offensive momentum and instead capitalized on second chance opportunities. The Kings won the offensive glass tonight, securing 20 to the Timberwolves’ 10, and it was what kept them within striking range for most of the game. The Timberwolves often went into a zone defense, and the Kings capitalized on the scrambled coverage by crashing the glass and creating extra possessions for themselves. And, boy, did they need them. After scoring just 18 points in the first quarter, the Kings needed every chance they could get to cash in on points. Richaun Holmes and Tristan Thompson each had four offensive grabs, while Marvin Bagley III and Davion Mitchell each contributed three more.
The Bad
- If Not Now, LEN?!: The Kings did a solid job of containing Karl Anthony-Towns in the first half. We saw them be hyper aware of him on the defensive end, often running doubles and extra help side towards him whenever he had the ball in his hands. They managed to force some sloppy passes from KAT and held him to just nine points in the first half. But it didn’t last. In the third quarter, KAT doubled his point total and ultimately finished with 22 points by the end of the night. We saw him bully Chimezie Metu, Tristan Thompson, and Marvin Bagley III throughout the stretch of the third quarter, where the Timberwolves had their most successful scoring of 33 points. And I could hear just about every member of The Kings Herald screaming, “WHERE IS ALEX LEN?!” It seemed that it would have been useful to have a more mobile big man on KAT to stay in front of him from distance but also body up inside. Unfortunately, Alex Len never made it on the floor tonight.
- The Basketball: This was just bad basketball all around. It became clear we were all in for a long night when the box score after 12 minutes was 18-22. Both teams struggle offensively, in many of the same ways, and with the exception of a few well-executed plays, any highlights we got to ooh and ahh at were more from disappearing defense than any brilliant offensive sequence. The final four minutes came down to one on one showdowns where Anthony Edwards and De’Aaron Fox traded some big time shots. Edwards ultimately did more, scoring 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, while Fox only scored 10 of his 28 points. The Kings waited until the final minute to make a defensive adjustment and instead let Edwards cook and bury them. In a game of bad basketball, the Kings found a way to play the worst.
The Ugly
- Turnovers: I am actually shocked to see that the Timberwolves managed to have more turnovers than the Kings, who made it hard to beat them in that category, as they totaled up 16 turnovers for the night. Most embarrassing of these is the handful (I counted at least four) 24-second shot clock violations the Kings suffered from. Some credit is due to the Timberwolves for being feisty on defense and getting their active hands on the ball to cause deflections. But 99% of the credit can go to the Kings for lazy passes and a poorly spaced offense. A lot of the passes that were tipped off looked like players just weren’t valuing the ball. However, a lot of the turnovers were also caused by a lack of proper spacing and passing angles within the offense. So often we see a ball handler attack the paint, get stopped, and have no clear passing lane to keep the ball moving. This lack of effective spacing causes wayward passes and mid-air heaves to no one.
The King of Kings
I’m starting to regret creating this segment because it’s getting harder to find those silver linings I promised. I’ll just go with the easy one here because I am in pain and it is still only Wednesday. Tonight’s King of Kings goes to De’Aaron Fox for leading the team with 28 points and five assists. It was promising to see him look more comfortable again down the stretch, as he attacked the basket and scored 10 of his points in the final quarter.
Up Next
Friday, November 19th vs. Toronto Raptors – 7:00 P.M. (PT)
Dance!
Tanks, for the (future) memories.
That was worse than watching Fateful Findings
This is just the beginning. The next very scary stretch of games is just about to begin.
Goodbye Luke
All eyes will no be on you Monte. Good luck.
Who do you think Monte will draft?
The Detroit Pistons!
Ham said on 1320 today, “if they lose tonight, things will be VERY interesting in Sacramento over the next couple days….”
If they’d win some games things would be interesting.
This drama and losing is faux-interesting.
Is faux interesting really just boring and played out like a wolf in sheep’s clothing?
“I’m getting paid whether I watch that tape or not, suckers!”
Is that Luke or Fox?
Mark, Kayte and Kyle…
It makes one wonder of TT was acquired to call out the shit and be the enforcer that Monte needs to blow things up.
https://twitter.com/JandersonSacBee/status/1461186915844038663
This video needs its own thread. TT withholding no punches.
https://twitter.com/SeanCunningham/status/1461191206319243266
Make Tristan Thompson the coach.
Or Mirann. She says she coached intermediate players as well. Either one is better that the coaching I saw In The 4th quarter.
So has vivek.
It was worth trading for TT just for this 2 minutes and 18 seconds of fire.
Seriously. I just heard more honest feedback on the team in two minutes than in 2 years from Lose.
Couldn’t agree more with what he said honestly..
I can’t remember hearing a nba player speak so honestly in a post game presser. I never watch them because usually:
1. The questions are bad, and
2. The answers are just as bad. ‘The better team won tonight.’ ‘gotta go watch the tape.’
3. I’m asleep.
I don’t even remember the last interview I heard with that level of candor. And his comments were spot on.
We’ll see how this plays out. (probably with more losing than winning)
“C Webb and Bibby aren’t coming through that door….”
.
.
.
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BREAKING: KINGS REPLACE WALTON WITH NEW COACH MIKE BIBBY
As great as that press conference was, that line about Webber and Bibby was my favorite.
He’s been here 4 months and already can see this entire franchise is living off 2001-2004 and has been for the last 17 years.
Bless his heart.
Every year a different cast-off veteran rants about the culture. Who will it be next year?
Yeah, I don’t really care to hear any more talking from anyone in the organization. If they don’t start winning it’s just talk.
Yup.
When was it that Trevor Ariza stopped a training session to rip into the team?
If only the Kings were as good at basketball as TT is a press conferences!
Tristan had some other words that got picked up by national media, and some people seem shocked and impressed.
I personally don’t give two shits. Thompson or whomever can make all the great speeches they want. More power to em. To me, it’s blah, blah, blah. Just win. I don’t care about a stirring honest talk. Just fucking get the W’s. Any words are irrelevant to me.
I give a shit because NO ONE within the organization or team ever seems to call out the terrible execution and weak ass mentality of the players and coaching staff. NO GRIT on this team. They need a leader to push them, challenge them, disrupt their happy go lucky attitude. Tristan is doing his best to do that but that’s not really his job.
Hmm. Bad team, good talk? Sounds familiar! 🤔
https://mobile.twitter.com/WillGuillory/status/1461177754267926530
Only thing that got me to take notice was that he said what I’ve thought for a while now. Fox is nice but he’s not gonna be that guy. He’s not our all star he’s not gonna be the savior. As much as we all have wanted him to be.
I know he didn’t call him out by name but that’s what he was alluding to by saying there isn’t a Lebron or Kawahi on this team.
The scary part about Vivek has always been how he puts crazy value on players that don’t deserve it. I think the lack of movement has been on him because he just knows that “his guys” especially buddy and fox are just the super team just young guys still.
Fox may be guilty of what TT is talking about (attn. to detail / my bad moments, etc.) but its not Fox’s job to be something he’s not (some outspoken task master / on court coach.)
Many players on this team are guilty of what TT is talking about, not just Fox. In fact I kinda doubt TT was talking about Fox at all, tbh.
Ok, Fox scored 26.
But watch him after a made basket.
So flatly emotion-less. No meanness in him that a true leader should have.
He should be screaming “Let’s Go” here and there for example, pulling teammates for more grit and energy.
And? Harrison is the same, so is Kawhi. What you’re talking about is a personality trait and not everyone shows emotion the same way. Weird complaint.
And I stand by my observation.
Harrison is not really the leader. Kawhi is an exception. And he wasn’t really the leader in San Antonio.
This is actually what I’ve been most concerned about with fox. Personally, I replace Luke before fox because I think this roster is better with a competent coach, but has fox always been this dour and ornery with the media? I know it sucks to lose and get asked the same questions, but he just seems so unhappy
Going on the 4th season with a lame duck coach who runs a shit system and expects you to bail the team out every 4th qtr, you’d be pretty pissed too…
Walton had no bigger fan than Fox last season, even going public with his support. No excuses from De’Aaron.
That’s what I mean. He publicly supported Luke, perhaps because he still had some semblance of hope that they could improve this year, but it’s clear Luke is not the coach to be able to do it. People tend to fall in 2 camps:
1 side says that no coach could do well with this roster (and they generally say that no matter the year/season we’re addressing)
Other side says that this team could easily be better with the current roster with a better coach. I side more with the latter, but I know we’re not a serious playoff contender or anything.
It’s just sad to see Fox so miserable
yes, I agree, which is why i wish he didn’t defend walton last year. Still though, the biggest problem besides his horrible offensive system (or lack thereof) is the culture that Luke builds. No accountability, being everyone’s friend, soft shit. Luke doesn’t have the competence to back up a stricter culture
So Davion’s constantly level-headed visage and demeanor must really eat at you, then. I’ll pass on the screaming, “rah-rah” bs, especially if its devoid of any substance. Give me a guy who can produce and do what’s asked of him. The problem I think Fox is having, if any (its definitely the problem I’m seeing as a fan watching the games) is more with what the players are being asked to do. The offense / system this team is being told to execute is absolute trash.
I definitely agree with the offensive scheme being garbage. Again, I don’t know why Fox so vehemently supported Luke last year. We’d have been better off finding a new coach in the offseason, but I guess Monte probably wanted to give Luke another chance and to make the franchise look more stable than it has in a long time lol
Straight to the comments.
No offense.
Just like the Kings!
For the love of God, this team sucks!
Kyle is the perfect broadcaster for this shitshow ! Just a goofy cheerleader !
I actually think he’s pretty funny, but he is a total clown haha. Kayte is smart but sometimes she tries too hard to be analytical or sound smart. Tbh, I would rather Kayte be our coach than Luke. That way she could actually apply her acumen in a meaningful way instead of just having to dress up the team’s performance with sugar coated positives all the time
Mc: “That is not a good coach.”
V: “Well, that’s not a good roster.”
Mc: Well….you hired me.”
V: “…touché.”
Truth. It all boils down.
V your not a good owner ! Double touché !
V: “I BLAME INDIA”
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This game killed what was left of my hope for the season. 15 games is a good enough sample size to show that this team isn’t better than any during the last 16 years.
I WISH this team was just “not better” than before. But somehow, we honestly look worse than last season. This is after two offseasons and a trade deadline with a new front office that has been publicly stating they are very earnestly trying to make the playoffs. Knowing that this is the product of their sincere efforts to become a better basketball team is what makes it all the more embarrassing. At least if we were tanking there would be some underlying point to us sucking so much!
I love these podcasts but u all absolutely went so soft and left the coaching staff off the hook… what has Walton done to bring Any value to our record, or any aspect of the team for that matter?
Monte shouldn’t be off the hook. This roster is a mess.
Fire him and Luke.
He’ll get one coaching hire, although Luke should count imo.
Monte definitely needs to be accountable, but I don’t think a full judgement can be rendered yet. Give him his own head coaching hire and a year or so to build a roster around the new coach’s system and then a final verdict can be made.
Wasn’t this done with Vlade too? I think the core issue with Vivek. He needs to go, and the better process would be to fire the front office and coaching staff, then hire a GM and let that person hire their own coaching staff and then make roster moves.
They seem to be making adjustments on the fly and not doing a full house cleaning job. 8 years with Vivek and he is still making the same blunders.
Now that I live in the eastern time zone, I will find a team I like out here to root for and follow until the Kings cam get shit together. Just watch the kings failures from afar and and have no emotional ties to what they do. Just shake my head when make moves and give a little chuckle as I say “that’s the Kings for ya”.
Which team, Hobby916?
Idk, maybe the Raptors? They seem like they have their shit together and some nice young players to root for.
He’s had two drafts, two offseasons and two trade deadlines. How much more time does he get to put his imprint on the team?
Monte has to start making moves. We need to stop being the only team who gets deals blown up. We need to stop holding out until the “perfect time”. I’m not saying to make stupid trades, I’m saying show some spine and get some deals done. That’s his job.
I keep going back to the Bulls. Their new GM was hired just a few months before Monte and he as completely reshaped that roster (just 2 players remain from when he took over) while also hiring a quality coach in Billy Donovan.
The Bulls are the perfect comp. They were us and we were them at that point in time.
“…he as completely reshaped that roster (just 2 players remain from when he took over) while also hiring a quality coach in Billy Donovan.”
Addition by subtraction. We need all the losses we can get to get Waltdumb’s lame ass fired. Hoping he’d gone by end of the day tomorrow.
Bad- Bagley
Badder- Metu
Badderest- Kyle Draper
Worst- KAT’s passing
Draper is unlistenable.
Bang! Wet!….continues stringing together random words.
Haha! I loved it when Metu shot a horrible airball from behind the backboard, and Draper said, “Wow! I didnt know Chimeze had that in his game!!”
Just a goofy cheerleader that rants on every ref call ! Kozmor was screwed for political correctness !
He can’t drop a catchphrase after every single basket…well, I guess he can….
Metu > Bagley and it’s not particularly close!
Metu knows which basket to defend.
I didn’t think Metu was bad at all. He didn’t shoot well. It happens. He had 8 RB’s a couple of assists and a block. I also thought he played respectable defense all game. Got burned by KAT a couple times but so does everyone. Guys like Barnes, Haliburton, Mitchell had hardly any impact on the game. No need to call out Metu in this game when in reality he had one of the better performances in a collective pathetic performance by the entire team.
No impact? In 22 minutes Mitchell had 7, 4, 4 and 3 steals for a +10.
I stand corrected. Watching the game though I didn’t feel his presence like I have grown accustomed too.
You weren’t entirely wrong. Eddie called out the 1 distinction…lol
This is a talent problem much more than a coaching problem. Luke doesn’t have a power forward, his max player has regressed and Davion has become a liability.
If Luke is replaced by Gentry, that’s a cap on the season. Monte needs to finally make some moves and shake up this roster.
Agreed. This game is a new low only if you believe that this team is talented enough to make the playoffs. It’s not.
Yes. Minnesota is a more talented team, I fully expected them to lose tonight. Our boy Jason Jones said it best abt MN, “who on the kings would you rather have than Anthony Edwards? How about KAT? How about deangelo?”
I was thinking the same. The Kings don’t have anyone on the roster with the potential superstar upside of Edwards.
Jones is right. I might take Fox over Russell, but not by a lot, and certainly not over the other two.
Davion better get better because he’s about to be handed the keys when Fox gets traded.
In principle I understand the comments that if you make a coaching change now, it’s a lost season. But letting Walton continue to (not) do, what he’s currently (not) doing isn’t a lost season either?
Obviously, it would have been better to do it oin the offseason, like every average basketball fan could see, but here we are.
Just letting a bad coach stay not teaching much and instilling bad habits in the players is not very attractive to me.
Luke is a problem, no doubt, and should be gone in the offseason. In season coaching moves rarely lead to anything positive.
I think it’s a really bad idea to keep a coach who does not make individual
players or the team better.
You are throwing away an entire year. Maybe with an interim some growth could happen. A real offense could be run. Maybe one that better suits players talents.
It’s ridiculous he’s still around.
Firing Walton now sends the team’s on-court leaders a much-needed message: Play well or else. It doesn’t matter if you like the coach, if the locker room is cohesive, if “chemistry” is still good, etc. If you play/coach like a loser, you’re going to get treated like a loser. Fired, benched, traded, bought out. Fire Walton today, give Fox 2 weeks to get the message and step up, then put him on the trading block if he doesn’t. It’s okay to not win every game. It’s not okay to collect a max contract and then regress to the league mean. At this point, it’s not about what’s best for the W-L column this season; it’s about what’s necessary to finally break the LOSER culture of this franchise. Michael Malone was the guy to do it–he was doing it–and then a loser fired him. It’s time for this F.O. to finally pick up where Malone left off.
And to the people who say “but there’s nobody available to replace Walton with,” that doesn’t even matter. The firing itself is what’s important. The point is not to get a better coach, it’s to show what happens in Sacramento to losers.
Gentry may suck, but he has lead three different teams to the playoffs!
He has coached multiple 50 win teams in this league!
As a interim, he is fine being “not Luke Walton.”
That would be an epic Scott Moak intro: “And the head coach of the Kings is not Luke Walton.”
The Atlanta Hawks would disagree with you…
Luke is A Man (deserving to be fired) for All Seasons.
And for all reasons.
This season was lost when the coach and roster stayed the same. There was (and is) a slim possibility that the team could have an outlier season and win 40 games, but if your strategy going into Monday Night Football is to win via the hail mary, you’re not going to succeed very often, and if you do happen to hit one, you’re more lucky than good.
Davion a liability? That’s funny, he’s been one of the best players on the team this year.
His offense is a total liability ! Check the stats – bad M
He started slow, but check out his last 8 games:
37% from 3, 100% from the line, and 41% from the floor, with 5 assists in 25 minutes a game.
Not exactly a “total liability.”
Indeed, his plus/minuses during that stretch:
+12
+15
+6
+11
-13
-15
+11
+10
So, he has been a negative asset on the floor twice in the last 8 games, but let’s go with “total liability.”
his defensive pressure disrupts opponents, which carries over to the offense, not necessarily on his own stat line. His confidence and effort is contagious. He has good court vision on offense and makes the right play. (And sometimes makes the impressive play) The impact is visible on the court. He changes the game.
No, its a coaching problem. Fully.
If Luke is replaced by Gentry you’ve maybe upgraded the coaching position from a 58 out of 100 to a 68 out of 100. No offense to AG but my guess is he’d be expected to maintain the status quo and see what we can squeeze out of these guys to try and make the play-ins.
But, if you were to hire someone who’s actually going to come in and change the system and hold guys accountable, someone like Thibs, Joerger (who I hope heals up and gets back to business asap) or any other number of coaches with actual success under their belts, or even a Becky Hammond up and comer type, you’d send a message to the players that its time to grow up or go out.
This team has been fed a shit system for so long the players’ apathy has metastasized into a malignant cancer of the win column. Luke. Has. Got. To. Go.
The time Walton opt to play Bagley over other guys, he should be gone !
If we need rebounding, then play TT/Len.
I just don’t know what to say about this game.
Walton need to go, along with Bagley.
Here’s my plan: Trade for Simmons, tank, draft Chet Holmgren. We’ll have 2 of the tallest point guards in the NBA.
We need more guards.
I’ve gotten a lot of use out of this graphic over the years.
Kudos to those of you still dissecting the game-by-game comedies of this pathetic franchise.
I was pissed after OKC, but surprisingly numb after this one. It’s probably the vodka.
I’ve been numb since 2019
I have become
comfortably numb
I’ve been numb since
20192009I mean, now we got Doug in the coach depth.
but he still not able to guide our players to play decent or average defense.
So, it’s all on the players ? Or Coaching staff ?
and who else can inspire or motivate our players to play defense ?
Uh, Ben Simmons?
I think the defense is way better than it has been in years. I’d argue its probably closer to average / slightly above average. We’re in games we wouldn’t have been in last year because we can actually hold teams to respectable percentages and get stops when we need one.
The offense, however, is a shit sandwhich on butthole bread.
Most of these players aren’t going to play defense, at least not markedly better. Hield is the exception, but even his improvement will be limited. It’s not a question of motivation.
Both teamz looked like the Pistons to me but my impression was that Minnie wanted the win just a little bit more. I don’t feel comfortable rooting against the Kangz but every loss possibly brings us closer to the day that Luke is no longer the Head Coach….or maybe not.
I can’t believe that some of you (or is it only SexyNapear) jumping on Davion. Shit he’s a rookie who to date has played in less than 20% of his first season games and at times has played well and at times less than his best. He has provided defense, energy and grit in every single game he played in, which is more than many on this roster. He’s a rookie, he’s not a savior. Cade Cunningham played a good game against the Kings but couldn’t stop the lackluster Kings from waxing his team’s ass,
Remember SuperBarnes?
Well, that was fun while it lasted.
Barnes is trying, but man, he is surrounded by morons!
He has done pretty well playing 1 vs 5.
Imagine him on a real team.
Or imagine a coach coming up with a game plan to emphasis his efficiency.
Instead, we have on offense that allows him to disappear, like a fart in the wind!
Honestly, I think we have low bball IQ players who don’t follow the plan. A good player realizes when their go-to game isn’t working, they need to do something different. Our players don’t understand that, or don’t have the skill-sets to do anything different.
And who holds them accountable when they don’t execute the game plan?
I am totally serious. People railed on Buddy’s shot selection last year and at times this year.
If a dude is just going rogue, then what is coach doing? Where is the accountability? To the contrary, on the Buddy example (and it’s just an example), Luke has consistently stated, “we want him to shoot.”
The team lacks leadership and accountability. And if you don’t get it from the players, then you need it from the coach. You can’t have no leadership from both the roster and the head coach.
I imagine Luke saying we want Buddy to shoot is more b/c he is a player’s coach (one of his main problems in my opinion).
The question is, who does Luke fall back on when Buddy goes rogue? Terrance Davis? He tried that and TD was terrible. How about when Mo is a complete non-factor as a starter? Metu is not the answer. This team does not have enough talent to mix and match, and that’s a Monte problem.
I don’t care if you have to go to Ramsey.
Without accountability and leadership from a HC, a leaderless roster is going to suck.
I watched the game. I regret doing so.
The Kings are not good. They do not execute.
I really don’t like Deangelo Russell. I can’t stand K Towns.
the Kings would be an even bigger joke without Buddy bailing them out of terrible possession after terrible possession.
How sad sad is that?
Bright spot, Metu had a bad game but still looked good out there with his energy and rebounding. How sad is it that that’s my only bright spot.
I gave up on any hope for an offense and resorted to rooting for Buddy to jack up as many 3’s as possible.
That’s the best offense the Kings have. Let buddy shoot from anywhere and all the time. Kudos to buddy for being such a great shooter but this should not be the one thing that gives us hope EVERY SINGLE GAME.
WHy the hell didn’t Len Play at all is a great question. Every game there is a head scratcher of a rotation decision. Towns abused all our big men Lame Walton through at him. That’s partly just what Towns does to everyone who guards him but maybe tonight was a good night to have bagley sit entirely and only use Thompson as relief with foul trouble between Holmes and Len. 🤷♂️
This game changed me. What a disappointment. Yet again.
Keep Mitchell, Haliburton, Holmes and Barnes. Trade EVERYONE ELSE!!!! Has a GM ever traded 12 player and fired a coach before the trade deadline before? This is all I will be hoping for moving forward.
I really like fox fox but after tonight, i’m Fine with him being traded. He sadly isn’t a difference maker. I thought he was but it’s sadly not the case. He can get a good return and maybe flourish somewhere else. This sucks.
That actually makes more sense than pretty much any other move they could make (aside from the coach). Fox could likely be traded for at least one good talent, and we have all the other players which might fetch something in the trade market. I’m guessing come the deadline, we’ll see a lot of movement. Not a big fan of having Alvin Gentry take over, even on an interim basis. My gut tells me Christie would light a fire under everyone’s collective asses, but his relative lack of experience makes it doubtful, and we have no clue what kind of X’s and O’s guy he is
What the hell is he waiting for, then?
Many people are telling how great Rico Hines and Christie are, yet player development and the defense are pretty shit. Are people thinking that Walton has such personality that he drowns them out/keeps them back? I doubt it.
So either they are not that good or the roster is not listening/understanding what they tell…
Somewhere in the last few days a Tweet was posted here saying Rico would get the interim gig if Luke is fired, not Gentry. If Luke goes (and I’m not there yet), I am all for Monte shaking things up in a major way and bringing in Rico instead of Gentry. Lets see what this roster can do with a completely different philosophy, that would sure help show us if coaching or talent is the problem.
Its both, but mostly talent. I’m hoping we don’t have to wait into next season for the Kings front office to either figure that out or do something about it.
I don’t know why we’re overthinking this. This roster has no All-Stars and no potential All-Stars. I would think .500 would be the loftiest of goals.
This. Walton is a bad coach and the roster is bad. Coaching is a problem, but the primary issue is not coaching or leadership. The issue is talent.
The longer this goes on, the more McNair will be pressured to actually make a meaningful move. This team goes nowhere until that happens.
Yes. Compare the Kings top 5 players to the rest of the teams in the league. The Kings are in the bottom quarter, perhaps the bottom fifth.
“So it was surprising to see extremely large, grown men who get paid millions of dollars and have dedicated their lives to learning this sport resemble 12 year-olds.”
OUCH. And right on the money. Well played, Mirann, well played.
Today is a great day….to fire the coach. The season will not be wasted if we do what needs to be done. It will be liberated. Bobby Jackson, new interim coach, lets go!
It is hilarious this coach has “a lot to think about” on the plane ride home. So after 15 games he is back to Square One and the team is a mystery to him?
And it is hilarious he puts his foot down in regards to defensive rebounding, 2nd to last in NBA at 69.5%, ahead of only the team we lost to, then we thrash the Wolves by 20 on the boards and still lose by 10.
This is how you lose a team as a coach. You tell them what they need to do, they do it, and you still suffer an embarassing defeat.
You can play three guards and address your rebounding issue by sliding Holmes to the 4 with Len or TT. You would have two non nonsense nasty bigs to throw their weight around box out and carve out space and if they don’t get the ball it better enables the guard to fly in and get it. The player who would get squeezed in this approach is HB. I am not saying it would definitively work because your spacing is sacrificed but this is a lineup that should have been tinkered with long ago. Holmes is not good enough to defend on the perimeter, but Bagley is?
It is also flawed thinking to throw out three guards a pencil thin forward in Harkless and an undersized center then be surprised when the defensive glass is not controlled. That is why I said sarcastically that this coach said in the presser Spud Webb needs to do a better job of boxing out Shaq. The coach asks the impossible then gets miffed when the impossible is not manifested.
The way you make a small lineup work is play aggressive swarming defense to offset your disadvantage on the glass with forced TOs and fast breaks. You know you are going to lose the battle on the boards, you concede that; what you should not lose is the deflection and steal game and first to the 50/50 balls. Ideally you want to force the opponent to play your way to match your speed and quickness and take their size off the floor.
It is a fallacy Marvin is one of the best rebounders. Watch the tape from last night and you will see he is constantly out of position, bullied and disinterested. He does not have the mental and physical fortitude to secure prime position in the paint. He also does not want to help off his man, even though he does a bad job of guarding his man, and this leaves him out of rebounding position, that is, having such poor instincts of where to be on the floor.
Regardless, this coaches “solution” is to play his best rebounders. Does the fact Marvin is one of the worst defenders in the league and one of the worst player on his roster factor in his decision making? And you can contend that Marvin is quicker to the ball or off his feet than Len, but you cannot reasonably contend that Len is not going to take up and carve out more space and deter offensive rebounders with his sheer size and physicality.
This is another issue of not knowing your personnel, poor intuition, like starting Buddy over Davion when Ty was hurt.
Or not putting Davion back into the game when Ant (over Ty) was on fire. Inexcusable!
I see this coach trying to elevate a beaten down player, the black sheep of the family, so to speak, being coddled and embraced, after he shunned the group by refusing entrance into the game. Marvin needs tough love, not charity. This coach probably has his Dad in his ear, spouting platitudes, bring Marvin back into the tribe with love and caring, never mind he sucks at basketball.
It is a pathetic and desperate ploy to think Marvin is some sort of savior for the team. The pall of failure and pending doom is cast when Marvin enters the game. I know it sounds harsh, but only a loser would trust this loser.
The other problem easy to diagnose is that it is difficult to establish team consistency when there is so much variance to Buddys game. It is too much. At least 2-3 games this trip he is a train wreck, an unconscious ball hog, then the hottest player on the floor. This extreme variance is enabled when the coach is emphasizing quantity over quality. Who condones this?
When you say you want the player to shoot unlimited of shots from deep, you lose the right to get upset when he is indiscriminate and undiscerning, launching within 5 seconds of checking into the game.
Buddy is shooting 76% of his shots from 3s after 73% from 3s last year. For context Curry is shooting 66% on his shots from deep after 59% last year. Buddy is moving better but that improved agility is not translating into better shot distribution. When did Buddy decide he wants to be a shooter instead of a scorer? Isn’t the idea of being a mutlidimensional scorer, unpredictable, savvy, being a decoy and cutter, and nifty passer, borrowing from the best of the game, more appealing than shooting your team OUT of games as often as you do in.
This reflects on the coach. The coach allows this. He is fostering this extreme variance.
And if you want proof of this assertion look down the road to GSW. Bjelica is playing the game completely different than he did with us. He is making modest contribution, the glaring defensive issues are there, but gone are the wild attempts from 30 feet, the indiscriminate launching. Their coach does not stand for it! And their record reflects it.
I don’t understand why Bagley refused to play one game, then gets run in the next few games. What is that showing the rest of the guys on the team? It’s bad culture.
It’s Kangz culture; par for the course.
Bagley has been responsible for a bad culture since he arrived by getting playing time he didn’t deserve, and not being held accountable. He believed he was entitled to it. Not a way to motivate team performance.
No logical progression for this team in the near future.
No consistent game plan.
No strategy change.
Bagley is out of the rotation…Bagley is back in the rotation….Bagley is still on the team?
Clearly need a power forward without any hope of one in sight.
The list goes on….
That Bagley guy is hurting this team, whether he is on the court or on the bench……..
Like I said above, Bagley need to be gone ASAP, along with Walton…….
Change coaches, GM ‘s and players and the major problem still exists ! OWNER !
Turned this game off after the first quarter. Every day that Walton remains the head coach of this team is another day the Kings are not seriously committed to improving.
From Vivetikus 8 (soon to be Vivetikus 9): And Carl and his top hat begat Andre, who begat Caron, who begat Garrett, who begat Vince, who begat Iman, who begat Kent, who begat Cory, who begat Tristan. And lo(ttery), even though these were indeed among the best players in the world, it was proven time after time after time that team leadership cannot successfully emanate from the lower reaches of the roster.
And Kangz fans were banished to the desert, where they wandered for 5,952 days and 5,952 nights (and counting) in search of their next playoff game, some even settling for the mirage of a play-in game, only to find themselves sifting through the sands to find their next draft pick, and head coach, and general manager. And God looked down and proclaimed, “This. This is not good.”
Beautiful Rob, just beautiful.
Don’t forget the Plague of Lukas come to these lands a least once (and sometimes twice) a year and devour all in their sights.
Yes. I believe that is also from the Kangz Shames Bible.
Book of (Mass Kangz Coaches) Exodus.
Time to blow it all up with the Holy Hand Grenade
“Throw out your lottery picks.”
Hahahaha!
I appreciate that Thompson is trying, but leadership is not the problem. The roster and coach are the problem.
Ham was on 1320 yesterday talking about Luke’s “deal” with the guards, that basically said he would play a 3-guard lineup if those guards would rebound. Granted, its a small sample size, but here are yesterday’s rebound numbers from the guards:
Hali: 5 (avg less than 4 a game right now)
Fox: 1 (avg less than 4 a game right now)
Hield: 3 (avg 4.4 a game right now)
Mitchell: 4 (avg less than 3 a game right now)
Again, rebounding for your job takes more than talent, that takes effort and heart. This roster does not have either.
The team needs to be torn down and rebuilt. Every year of tinkering just delays the inevitable.
Badge Legend