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When the Kings stopped playing with pace they lost their identity

No matter what changes happen this offseason, a goal toward establishing a true identity again will be important.
By | 66 Comments | Aug 24, 2020

Credit: Kimani Okearah

De’Aaron Fox is fast and the Kings play fast around him to maximize his skill sets €“ or at least this used to be the case. A blistering pace (third highest in the league) was the identity of the 2018-19 Sacramento Kings. It worked for most of the season before the team sputtered out toward the end of the year. The Kings ended the season with 39 wins though, which was the most since 2005-06 €“ the team’s last playoff appearance.

They finished as the ninth seed in the Western Conference.

Dave Joerger was fired and replaced with Luke Walton. With Walton, whose job is reportedly safe in the immediate future even with the front office realignments underway, came a change to the team’s identity. Walton aimed to spend time teaching the Kings how to execute in the half court because he wants the players to realize that being able to get defensive stops and follow the game plan is how you win games. In December, he said, €œPace is important, I think the game should be played fast. We have things we have to get good at before that becomes our top priority. €¦ We have to continue to realize our defensive execution and execution in the half court is important to us.€

This is true and a legitimate goal, but without trying to learn this while still maintaining the pace they had success with the previous season, it seemed to throw the team off. In general, the Kings appeared to play very confused and one-dimensional for much of the season.

During the Orlando Bubble, De’Aaron Fox was asked about the team’s identity, and this was part of his answer:

Well, that’s not good.

How about their other key component, Buddy Hield? Comparing last season to this season, Buddy Hield’s field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw attempts, free throw percentage, points per game and rebounds all decreased, while his turnovers increased. Hield thrived in the up-tempo offense that allowed him to get a lot of open opportunities from the beyond the arc in transition.

His comments after the final game in the bubble seem to suggest a general unhappiness with the direction of the team.

And then at one point during the bubble, Kent Bazemore said this.

The Kings finished this season with 31 wins, which works out to 35 wins if extrapolated to an 82 game season.

Following the Kings final game in Orlando, Walton was asked to define the team’s identity.

€œI think as a team, when we’re at our best we’re a selfless group. We have a lot of skill and we have joy when we’re out there playing. I think that we did that tonight, we’ve done that throughout the season,€ he said. €œI think the bubble got the better of us, especially after losing that first game. I felt like it just took the wind out of our sails. But overall, I’m very proud of this group and how they continued to fight all season long.€

To be fair, injuries and COVID-19 are likely a part of why the offense and defense often looked disconnected, but considering the team is full of veterans, that shouldn’t have been that much of a hindrance to getting consistent effort and defensive intensity on the floor, and they certainly should have been able to bounce back mentally from a tough loss to the Spurs in their first game in the bubble.

As for the efficiency of the offense, the Kings dropped from an offensive efficiency rating of 15th in 2018-19, to 18th this season. Additionally, the Kings finished this season 19th in the league in Pace and 19th in Defensive Rating. For context in terms of how it fluctuated throughout the season, at the end of December, the Kings were last in Pace and 17th in defensive rating. At the All-Star break, they were 25th in pace and 20th in defensive rating. (In 2018-2019, the Kings finished 21st in defensive rating.)

The Kings are not an efficient offensive team.

They are not a team that plays with pace.

They are not a team that is defensive minded.

They are a team full of veterans just good enough to not be one of the absolute worst teams in the league, and also not good enough to be a playoff team. (Possibly a fringe playoff team when everyone is healthy and things are clicking on all cylinders.) This is where you don’t want to be if incremental improvement is expected.

Ultimately, when Fox ended up getting healthy and on the floor more this season, the pace picked up slightly, but not near the levels it was last season. And not much changed between December and the end of the bubble when it comes to the team’s defense.

Walton discussed the lack of defensive awareness the team had in Orlando.

“It’s been pretty clear out here that we’ve got to get much better on defense,” he said. “Between sending other teams to the foul line, and just our overall defense and what that has cost us out here, I would hope the awareness is pretty high going into the offseason and eventually next season.”

The positive that can be pointed to this season was the team starting to click leading up the shutdown in March. The Kings were 7-3 at this time and closing in on the 8th seed. Walton mentioned this when asked if this season was a success.

€œParts of it €“ parts of it were a success, yes. Things we want to see the team get better at as the year goes. I feel like you’re always trying to play your best basketball late into March and April and I thought we were on our way to doing that. So that part of it I thought it was a success,€ he said. €œWe hit a bunch of lows this year too €“ some came from injuries, some came from the way we were playing and that, we don’t want to see. As long as you’re always looking for the opportunity to learn from our failures then yeah, you can take the season as a whole and make it a success as long as we come back next year much better and cleaning a lot of that stuff up.€

From the fans’ point of view, this season was not a success and the continuous €œlearning experiences€ of the last decade-plus for this team is draining on them. There is, however, a renewed cautious optimism in the air now that a search for a new general manager is underway. Hopefully, with the hiring of a new head of basketball operations the Kings recognize that to succeed a team needs an identity that maximizes the talent. (Quite honestly, the front office needs to establish its own identity and culture as well with a clear path forward.) And if the new general manager takes a completely different direction with the roster, hopefully they have a plan for what the team’s identity will be once their plan comes to fruition.

If Walton does remain as the head coach moving forward, it will be important for him to establish a true identity, maximize the talent on the roster, stick to it and teach while that is taking place.

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Marty
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August 24, 2020 4:09 pm

I feel comfortable saying this franchise definitely has a well-defined identity.

02kingsfan
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August 24, 2020 5:42 pm
Reply to  Marty

€œAll over the place€ identity that is….

Amonk81
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August 24, 2020 5:55 pm
Reply to  Marty

Identity -Worst organization is Basketball or worst organization in sports?

All the excuses from Walton are laughable. He’s not a good coach and everyone knew that except Vlade and Vivek.

Vivek may keep this train rolling in the wrong direction by keeping Luke. Let’s hope not…somehow.

L-Train3.1
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August 24, 2020 11:42 pm
Reply to  Amonk81

To be fair Magic and Steve Kerr also seemed to sing Luke’s praises. I wonder if they still do?

AirmaxPG
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August 25, 2020 8:32 am
Reply to  L-Train3.1

I remember Magic in an interview at the end of the 2018-19 season saying “We need to get a good coach.”

1951
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August 24, 2020 4:10 pm

“When the Kings stopped playing with pace they lost their identity.”
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Kosta
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August 24, 2020 4:18 pm
Reply to  1951

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Klam
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Nostradumbass 18
Nostradumbass 19
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August 24, 2020 4:34 pm
Reply to  Kosta

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Dougscott
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August 24, 2020 4:13 pm

This is a big reason why I think trading Fox is a prudent option.

Playing with constant pace is fun, but it is not sustainably reliable over the course of an NBA season, especially the playoffs.

If this is true, then you have to ask yourself, can Fox succeed in any other system other than run n gun? I think because of his lack of shooting ability, it’s tough.

Now, I know a lot of that is coaching, but I think this argument has merits.

Thoughts?

Greg
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August 24, 2020 4:18 pm
Reply to  Dougscott

The team with the highest pace in the regular season was the Milwaukee Bucks. I’d say pace can be sustained.

Dougscott
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August 24, 2020 5:47 pm
Reply to  Greg

Not my point. It is that we arent built to sustain that pace. The Bucks can play great offense in the Half court. The Kings? Not so much. It’s not Fox’s fault, but his lack of shooting hurts us

Bbmuteman
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August 24, 2020 4:20 pm
Reply to  Dougscott

7 seconds or less worked until steve nash and amare’s bodies broke down. I’m not against trading fox mind you. It’s just a matter of what’s the new front office want the team to be.

Carl
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August 24, 2020 5:09 pm
Reply to  Bbmuteman

I mean, Nash’s last year in Phoenix, he was 37 and averaged 12.5 points, 10.7 assists and .390 from three, and that was his second season without Stoudemire. The year Stoudemire left, they lost in the conference finals.

Last edited 3 years ago by Carl
Bbmuteman
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August 24, 2020 5:18 pm
Reply to  Carl

I consider 7 seconds or shaq a separate period, but your point about nash being the catalyst for that suns team is valid.

anan1234
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August 24, 2020 6:01 pm
Reply to  Dougscott

I felt last year playing fast was what unlocked what makes this team scary to play. Think of what Draymond has said and recently Dwayne Wade has said about the team last year. It felt sustainable under Joerger.

Walton started the season wanting to play fast then he decided he wanted to slow it down and then in the bubble he wanted to play fast again. Just unclear direction from the coach this year which caused a lot of headaches.

BestHyperboleEver
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August 24, 2020 6:09 pm
Reply to  anan1234

Fun fact!

2020 Offense
18th in the NBA
110.2 ORtg

2019 Offense
16th in the NBA
110.4 ORtg

The point last year’s offense wasn’t meaningfully more effective than this year’s. Do with that what you will.

anan1234
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August 24, 2020 7:09 pm

Yeah my point was less about offense and more about identity.

The numbers are the numbers due to a variety of reasons. I think we had a more well rounded deeper team which helped but as Blake mentions in the article it felt very disconnected this year.

oshima9
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August 24, 2020 4:24 pm

An aside about Walton, from Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN:

After years of steady growth, compensation packages for head coaches are expected to diminish as revenue projections crater due to the fallout from the coronavirus. While a couple of teams might splurge for a candidate they feel they can’t live without, robust four-year deals for $5 million to $6 million a year for coaches who have never paced a sideline late in the postseason will be harder to come by”.

Walton lucked out, he’s going to cash out on the Kings after the new GM is hired. Although, maybe the Kings are crazy enough to make the new GM accept him as the coach. That might be another reason for Perry.

RobHessing
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August 24, 2020 4:30 pm

If you’re going to build around/with Fox, you have to play up-tempo. Otherwise you are just wasting one his elite skills. This is also why I like Kira Lewis at #12. This team has to be able to push the tempo even when Fox is not in the game. I think that Lewis can accomplish that.

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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August 24, 2020 4:36 pm
Reply to  RobHessing

Agreed. If Fox is the cornerstone, then you had better play with pace.

BestHyperboleEver
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August 24, 2020 6:02 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

It certainly plays to Hield and Bagley’s strengths as well. Heck, even Barnes. We have a whole team of guys that aren’t especially good in half court sets. Obviously, that personnel issue needs to be solved, but as long as we hear at least play a system that takes advantage of it.

Dougscott
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August 24, 2020 5:49 pm
Reply to  RobHessing

Definitely, and I had not considered Lewis at 12, it definitely would help us keep that pace

Dougscott
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August 24, 2020 5:52 pm
Reply to  RobHessing

And it would follow the OKC approach

BestHyperboleEver
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August 24, 2020 5:59 pm
Reply to  RobHessing

Though this is where I beat my old drum that playing fast doesn’t necessarily mean running fast. A pass moves faster than any player can run. Good up-tempo basketball begins with rebounders that are great outlet passers or grab-and-goers. It also depends on dedication to smart movement and usage of secondary break opportunities.

RobHessing
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August 24, 2020 8:04 pm

Absolutely. But at the end of the day, if you don’t have guys to push it, then you’re not playing up tempo.

I figure Lewis could log 1,700 minutes directly behind Fox. That would place him 5th-6th in minutes for the Kings each of the past five years. And as Doug notes, Schroder would have gone over 2,000 minutes this year had the season been full – and that was with Paul and Gigeous-Alexander both logging a huge number of games and minutes.

This team has a lot of needs, but I think Lewis is the one guy that could have the biggest positive impact on the players on the existing roster.

Wonderchild
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August 25, 2020 9:09 am

Ideally you’d want to match the “play fast” mentality used in transition within a half court offensive system. That includes a lot of off ball movement and cutting. Something that neither Joerger or Walton haven’t been able to do.

BestHyperboleEver
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August 25, 2020 9:23 am
Reply to  Wonderchild

Yeah, any team without a truly elite half court creator (Harden, Doncic, etc.) should always be looking to attack in transition (that includes the fast break AND the secondary break). For almost all teams, the later in the shot clock you get the worse the shots are. So, especially for a team like the Kings that lacks half court creators and overall passing, walking into a half court set should be the absolutely last thing they do. The Kings literally shouldn’t be walking the ball up unless they’re killing the clock.

As for the style of half court set, well, unfortunately, I don’t think they have the BBIQ or passing for an effective motion based offense.

Last edited 3 years ago by BestHyperboleEver
eddie41
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August 25, 2020 9:39 am

I think they do if they play Fox, Bogi, Bjelica, and Giles.

Wonderchild
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August 25, 2020 9:56 am
Reply to  eddie41

I was pleasantly surprised how well the “Bjelica at Center” minutes went. Especially after we acquired Baze.

BestHyperboleEver
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August 25, 2020 10:06 am
Reply to  eddie41

Absolutely, but of course, that’s only one end of the court.

Wonderchild
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August 25, 2020 9:55 am

Agree, and the half court creators look worse in Walton’s offense because there’s absolutely nothing going on off the ball. This team ran very basic 2-man game plays with the other 3 guys camping at the 3pt line. It’s pretty easy to defend, and teams knew it.

Kingsguru21
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August 24, 2020 10:10 pm
Reply to  RobHessing

Guess I should look into Lewis……

eddie41
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August 25, 2020 10:20 am
Reply to  RobHessing

I don’t think speed is necessarily the answer. Just get back to basketball. Draft basketball players. Surround Fox with guys who know how to play basketball. Kira Lewis is a nice prospect and I have him in my top 20, but I think this idea that foot speed = fast pace = better team is a bit oversimplified.

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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August 24, 2020 4:35 pm

I really worry about getting a quality GM if the mandate has already been set that he can’t fire Walton and hire his own coach. Yet again, cart before the horse.

Bbmuteman
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August 24, 2020 4:47 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

Same thing over in chicago. I hope whoever comes in “evaluates” walton for a week or two then cans him.

Carl
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August 24, 2020 5:13 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

Vivek always makes the same mistake at least three times, making his his saying technically true.

RobHessing
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August 24, 2020 5:17 pm
Reply to  Carl

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Amonk81
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August 24, 2020 6:01 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

Me too. This smells like the Knicks, The Washington Football Team etc€”horrid owners continually destroying the team, inside and out, because of massive ego.

Vivek needs a real GM who will Fire Walton. Maybe 30% chance that happens?

RORDOG
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August 25, 2020 12:36 am
Reply to  Amonk81

I was just thinking it would be rather Kangzy to fire Vlade then replace him with a GM who’s team performed worse than than Kings each of the last two years.

CoreyBrewersD
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August 25, 2020 8:43 am
Reply to  RORDOG

On the surface for sure. But Vlade built a house of cards at best. The best plan of action is to TANK this season. Next draft is loaded, save $$ with Walton (sunk cost) and pay SCOUTS, RUN (play fast) to inflate the numbers and VALUE of your trade assets. Sell at the deadline, for picks/young pieces. Can only hope it is only this simple.

AmateurNerd
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August 25, 2020 2:22 pm
Reply to  CoreyBrewersD

A single-story house of cards!

LandParkJimmer
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August 24, 2020 4:49 pm

I just can’t imagine any of the current kings players actually want to be on this team after this season. If Fox demands a trade, I won’t blame him one bit.

02kingsfan
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August 24, 2020 5:42 pm

Brett Brown just got fired. I wonder if he would like to coach this team through another €œprocess€.

9sac8
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August 24, 2020 6:28 pm
Reply to  02kingsfan

Brent Brown – Sam Hinkie reunion anyone???

RobHessing
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August 24, 2020 8:05 pm
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Sacto_J
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August 26, 2020 7:34 am
Reply to  9sac8

Yes, I love poop sammiches…

keith_kar
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August 24, 2020 6:59 pm

When the Kings picked up Harrison Barnes, they lost their identity.

Carl
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August 24, 2020 10:05 pm
Reply to  keith_kar

I feel like overpaying middling veterans is as close to an identity as the Vlade era had. Really like Barnes as a person though!

cbrody
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August 24, 2020 7:35 pm

The most frustrating part of this season was listening to the talking heads tell us that pace wasn’t an issue.

The narrative was Joerger ran a gimmick offense and Luke was setting us up for sustained playoff success. We were just a bunch of simpletons and should just shut up and watch because we couldn’t wrap our heads around the next level shit Luke was on.

I wonder if Doug and Peaches still stand by that.

RobHessing
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August 24, 2020 8:07 pm
Reply to  cbrody

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Doug: (I can’t believe that I went along with this guy)
Grant: Hey, ALL offenses matter!

Last edited 3 years ago by RobHessing
Carl
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August 24, 2020 10:07 pm
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Grant certainly has a lot of experience with offenses at this point.

Hippity_Hop_Barbershop
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August 25, 2020 11:21 am
Reply to  Carl

If you don’t like that you don’t like NBA career suicide!

9sac8
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August 25, 2020 5:58 am
Reply to  RobHessing

And 1!!!!

rff
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August 24, 2020 10:18 pm

No more trips to India during the middle of training camp. What Walton is trying to do takes a full training camp at the Golden One facility with no distractions (except for preseason games).

RikSmits
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August 24, 2020 10:42 pm

I’ve been complaining about the lack of identity for years, and the importance of that is clear. But I think to get there we also need a radical shift away from the over-reliance on physical traits and really focus on finding people with the right profile: high BBIQ, ability to read the court, willingness to pass, to have each others back, accountability, to take pride in D and team play and with a hunger to improve and be the best.

We too often took guys mainly based on their athletic ability or size, and we see these guys on the floor not playing winning basketball. Athletic ability can only take you so far, and I think that we just thought that if we brought together guys with great size and/or athleticism and mix them in with some smart veterans, it would be okay.

So I guess my argument is that the identity is very much based on culture, and must derive from it. The culture here has been rotten; the lack of accountability, the sense of entitlement, thinking to be smarter than the rest when we weren’t, people looking out for themselves, being busy with getting paid etc. If you don’t change that first, starting with the FO, if you do not tear it down and build it up on the right foundation, you will not be able to establish a healthy, viable identity in the mid- and long term. IMO.

Last edited 3 years ago by RikSmits
Dougscott
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August 25, 2020 7:07 am
Reply to  RikSmits

Spot on.

SmallBallReject
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August 25, 2020 12:41 am

2019/20 Mavericks 3rd in pace behind Bucks and Magic … running offence through slow Slovene boy has not seemed to hurt their pace or identity … 🙁

BabalooMagoo
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August 25, 2020 6:52 am

Do you mean the slow Slovene boy that went 43, 17 & 13 on a bad wheel?

BestHyperboleEver
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August 25, 2020 7:58 am

As far as I can tell, the Mavs were 18th in Pace during the regular season. I think you may be looking at their playoff stats.

That said, I agree with your point. High pace is more about team system and commitment than it is about foot speed.

RobHessing
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August 25, 2020 8:27 am

Justin Jackson is Slovenian?!?

Wonderchild
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August 25, 2020 9:19 am

I think the free agent signings of the offseason hurt the identity just as much as changing coaches. We spent a ton of money on players who don’t thrive in a high paced offense (Ariza, Joseph, Barnes).

Another thing Vlade consistently didn’t value is playmaking ability, which is weird because he was such a good playmaker in his playing days. You literally had 1-2 guys on the court that could actually pass the ball and create for others. That’s a big reason why Walton had to play Bjelica so much, even at Center.

eddie41
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August 25, 2020 9:50 am

Pace is a symptom of the real problem with the Kings last year. Lack of playmakers. With Fox injured, and the Kings going with a backcourt of Hield and Joseph, (and Luke Walton not playing Giles because he has nightmares of getting schooled by Kenny Thomas), they could barely do anything. They couldn’t do anything in 24 seconds and would have needed about another minute to get a decent shot. It’s not because they can’t run and weren’t trying. It’s because they were playing out of position. Buddy Hield is a shooter, not a ball handler. Corey Joseph is a combo guard, not a lead guard. No-one will be complaining about pace, offense, points, etc. if the team just plays Fox, Bogi and Giles together. That means we resign Bogi. And to resign Giles, I propose that clear the logjam at center. trade Holmes, do not resign Len and tell him “look, no matter which coach we hire, he won’t have any choice but to play you. You are starting.”

Wonderchild
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August 25, 2020 9:58 am
Reply to  eddie41

a lot of that is on Vlade too. Signing one dimensional players to overinflated contracts was his specialty.

Inthestarz
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August 25, 2020 10:52 am

Fox’s lack of motor

Luke was telling them to push the pace at some point mid season, and said so in the media

Kings_Life_Sentence_86
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August 25, 2020 5:21 pm

I was watching the highlights from last seasons SAC-GSW matchup and jesus Buddy Hield was lighting it up. Those games were so fun to watch. Can’t believe that was just a season ago.

Sacto_J
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August 26, 2020 7:33 am

FIFY –
When the Kings hired Luke Walton they lost their identity.

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