Super Happy Fun Time!, Starring Paul Davis, Jason Hart, and ... Kevin Martin

by Ziller on Dec 31, 2008 6:21 AM PST in Recaps Comment 31 comments

Breadcrumb mode. BREADCRUMB MODE!

* With the team at 7-24 heading into the game, I'm not of the mind to give away a win. But the last three minutes ... the Kings did not grab that game by the haunches. Numerous breaks for the Kings throughout the fourth, woeful offensive execution, lucky defense. But victory erases circumstance, I suppose. At least for a bad team.

* It's obvious Kevin Martin was absolutely gassed in the fourth. He's only had a couple practices with the team, and while he's a tireless worker on his own (he lives at the practice facility, no joke) there's no substitute for the speed of team practice and actual games. Martin came in four minutes into the third ... and didn't exit until seven minutes passed in the fourth. And then, he got a two-minute breather before coming in to finish up. That's 18 of 24 second half minutes, just a touch under what Martin would normally play and with the breather much shorter than it'd usually be. For a guy coming back after six weeks in a suit. He made at least one questionable play late, but his lungs and legs must have been burning.

* There's a long-running joke among Kings fans about opposing unknown bigs going off against our favorite team. The providence extends prior to Jerome James, I believe, but he and Kwame Brown are the main actors. Paul Davis has joined the Mt. Rushmore.

* If you ignore Paul Davis' career night, helluva game by Brad Miller! I have no clue how he grabbed six offensive rebounds given Marcus Camby's presence, but I suppose there were a metric ton of opportunities. But hey, Miller looked great in looking for Martin. Well done, sir.

* Jason Thompson got his swagger back, at least for one night. Exciting game, and he got most of the fourth quarter minutes at the four.

* John Salmons turned out a decent boxscore, but he didn't have it this night. Francisco Garcia turned out an awful boxscore, and he definitely didn't have it this night. It's too bad Garcia thrives so much more off the bench, because it'd be cool to let Martin be the sixth man for a little while, until his legs come back.

* Bobby Brown can do just what he feels. I love that kid.

* Inspired first quarter for both Beno Udrih and Mikki Moore. Beno became utterly invisible in the third (when the team needed him most), but Moore hung around and did a decent job on the boards and on defense. Beno's inconsistency is rather concerning. It's not as if Baron Davis actually tried to defend him in the third. He just stopped trying to do anything, like he forgot there was a basketball game going on. So bizarre and disconcerting.

* Eric Gordon, right now, might be the best player on L.A.'s roster. At least he looks that way every time he plays the Kings.

The Kings are now only one game behind L.A. in the standings. 12th place in the conference can be ours!

0 recs | Comment 31 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

In regards to point #3...

How could you leave out Joel Przybilla? I think the only reason Portland’s kept him on their roster for as long as they have is that his presence all but insures victory over the Kings…

by rbiegler on Dec 31, 2008 6:49 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Correct

He is a charter member.

by Ziller on Dec 31, 2008 7:01 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Regarding Mt. Flushmore -

That’s gotta be one crowded mountain side. I think Sean Rooks was one of the first faces carved. That guy ate us (and only us) up!

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Dec 31, 2008 9:41 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I expect a toilet with all those faces carved into them shortly

No, actually, dammit, I demand it!

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Dec 31, 2008 9:46 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the recap

Makes it easy to oversleep & miss the game (again).

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Dec 31, 2008 6:53 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

That wasn't a WIN...

That was a Non LOSS. If ever there was a game that smelled like a loss despite the final score, it was that putrid game. The Kings didnt win that game so much as the Clips just refused to compete. One for the few teams more futile than the Kings this season. Hope Kings fans enjoy that win, because the way the Kings are playing there wont be another win any time soon. Hoping for a major trade to right the ship, but who will take our trash and give us back treasure?? Things look bleak for the Kings, but we will perservere….

by FaStRmAn on Dec 31, 2008 9:52 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Funny thing -

We have one more win in the win column than we had before the game, so I think that it was a win. Point taken, though.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Dec 31, 2008 9:54 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

ONLY...

Because there is no Ugly Win Column… they have to keep track some how. If there was an Ugly Win Column, how many REAL wins would the Kings have??

by FaStRmAn on Dec 31, 2008 10:00 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

7

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Dec 31, 2008 10:12 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs

Pook, I am always amazed with your facilities with numbers

"We are in the business of kicking butt and business is very, very good." - Charles Barkley

by Bluejohn on Dec 31, 2008 11:08 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm always pontificating

And yet, I’m brief, and no one gives me any kind of notice for the irony. I’m disappointed to tell you the truth.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Dec 31, 2008 11:09 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, I was being slightly ironic in response to your ironically (sp) short and to the point answer

"We are in the business of kicking butt and business is very, very good." - Charles Barkley

by Bluejohn on Dec 31, 2008 11:11 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I know man

I was sorta kidding myself, and the jab was not at you.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Dec 31, 2008 11:15 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

My bet

is that the Kings have fewer “ugly” wins than (say) the Lakers, Hornets, Spurs… It’s not the ugly wins that have been adding up, but the ugly losses.

SACTOWN ROYALTY - Try our thick creamy shakes!

by section214 on Dec 31, 2008 10:22 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, and lets not forget...

Rodney McCray was the First member of the the Mt. Flushmore statue status. He would KILL the Kings, and only the Kings over and over. A sad commentary on the ineptitude of the Post defense of the Kings over the years… First Vlade (he of famous flopper status), and then Brad (the B52 Bummer) Miller. Does anyone else have bile rising in their throats when they show the Brad working out halftime special? I mean, you know that is the only time he even touched the weights, and the only reason the strenghining coach would visit Brad in Indiana was to be sure he wasnt high….

by FaStRmAn on Dec 31, 2008 9:57 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Lacking Belief & Trust

They just don’t believe in themselves as a team, it showed at the end and they almost lost this one – again. Even in that win last night the team constantly reverted to each player loooking for his own shot. Now, that may change some with KM back, it sure looked like it made a difference to BMiller who had an excellent game.

Salmons has been around long enough that he should know who the hell he is playing. Against a team with a shot blocker like camby he just can’t keep trying to manuever so close to the basket. We’ve seen him try, and fail, against all the good shotblocking teams in the league. He’s very capable of the pull-up jumper, he’s shown it a lot lately and he’s got to know that he just has to rely on his jumper more when those guys are at the hole. He did lead the team in assists last night, especially the one to JT which was at a critical moment.

Boxing out. Its basic stuff man. There’s no excuse when we have two big men under the basket that at least one of them doesn’t occasionally box out and give the other a cleaner chance for the rebound. I know, I know, they’ve been told to go after every rebound – or else, But part of going after every rebound is TEAM rebounding. Allowing the one of the offensive guys to penetrate past two bigs for the offensive put-back is a sign that everyone is out for themselves. No one is boxing out.

Isolation plays: I’ll pick an obvious example. JT gets the defensive rebounds and starts driving down the court and no King runs with him to give him any options – he ends up in a sprawl on the floor, surrounded by four defenders, nary a King in sight – almost (he was lucky) turning it over. Why was everyone just watching? Is Cisco the only one who will follow and help? (as he did with Beno)
TEAM PLAY dammit!

Z’s point about Beno dissappearing at times is all too true. I think it confuses/bothers him when Brad takes the ball in the half-court, he decides he’s not involved, not needed. Another sign of lack of trust.

BobbyJ was just as guilty as salmons has ever been of over dribbling last night. There was a lot of it from a lot of guys. We almost dribbled our way out of the game. When salmons over dribbles, he’s usually trying to get into his game, whether you like that or not, when everyone else does, its because they don’t have any trust that if they pass the ball around anything good will happen (or sometimes that they’ll see it again). Sometimes the other guys encourage that by just standing and watching a teammate dribble instead of moving to get into a position to receive the ball should our dribble crazy players have the inclination to give it up!
Lack of Trust, Lack of Team

"You keep on using that word
I do not think it mean what you think it means"

by lietothegirls on Dec 31, 2008 10:20 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I think you're right

When beno came back early in the season he was desperate to drop some dimes and it wasn’t that he wasn’t passing, it was whoever he passed to didn’t make their shot. I think it got to the point with him that he just made the decision he was better off just taking the shot himself, hence you have him dribbling through traffic, heading to the left and going for a contested layup rather than distributing the ball. I think that plays into his preference anyway, but when he came here last season (after bibby) he looked practically like a pure point guard.

If John Salmons stopped two dribbles short of the collapsing defense he would have a perfect opportunity for a jumper or a pass but there’s rarely anyone to pass to and I don’t believe that he thinks anyone on the team can shoot better than him anyway so might as well take the shot, or more realistically take those two more dribbles and then try to make the shot through a thicket of big bodies and arms.

You’ve identified what my biggest frustration with the team this season. After the reality check of the first four games and the death of our homer optimism I expected the losses and could accept the losses if we were playing more team ball. Our best players are not good enough to win games on their own, heck, KG was not good enough to win games on his own in Min and I know our players and none of them are KG. Ultimately, this has to come down to coaching.

I would rather see our kids MMoore, Sheldon, QD and any 10 day contract we can get come February (?) play team ball and lose rather than see Beno, John Salmons and Bjax try and win it on their own playing mediocre one on one ball. A team is always better than the sum of it’s parts and while obviously we need better parts to get to the next level (respectable mediocrity) until this group of players learns to trust each other and play team ball we are going to lose more games than we should and continue to play bad ball.
For me the most frustrating part of this is that in this environment our kids don’t learn to play and won’t develop as fast as they could. Since we are going to lose anyway, since giving the players that will likely be traded playing time to showcase them hasn’t increased their trade value maybe coach natt should just bench anyone who won’t play team ball and play the kids and whoever is willing to listen and as L Brown says “play the right way.”

"We are in the business of kicking butt and business is very, very good." - Charles Barkley

by Bluejohn on Dec 31, 2008 11:50 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

There are people who believe

That young players playing, and losing, is not necessarily that valuable a tool either.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Dec 31, 2008 12:00 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I've said it before

and just discussed it with pook on another thread. One of the big problems is not talent, its the mix of talent. Beno, Speed and Salmons are all basically penetrators who get thier shot off the dribble. KM is by far the most versatile in-out but relies on penetrating, drawing contact ect..

That lack of variety from our swing players (and PG) makes is easy for teams to prepare for us and I think explains why those players and the team tend to struggle down the stretch of games.

Thats why though he is the teams best defender, I think we should probably trade Salmons for a more ‘catch and shoot’ SF who compliments KM better. Martin is untouchable I think and we’re stuck with Beno unless he starts playing a lot better – then we’d want to keep him anyway(?).

The lack of a consistant perimeter threat that the other players have confidence (and defenses must respect) is part of why the passing around of the ball is lacking.

All the best teams play in and out, have a Starter who is almost purely a ‘catch and shoot’ guy that keeps defenses from collapsing in everytime someone tries to penetrate. Think SA, Dallas, Boston, NewOrl, Orlando, LA. They all have a guy who’s job it is to mostly wait for the 3 pt shot – and who can hit it at key moments of the game.

Its not just the talent I think, its the mix, the complimentary mix that is missing that is keeping us, will keep us, from being an efficent offensive team throughout a game and a season.

"You keep on using that word
I do not think it mean what you think it means"

by lietothegirls on Dec 31, 2008 12:33 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Salmons is a GOOD player

and would be better playing with say, a Micheal Redd type SG, who also would compliment him.

"You keep on using that word
I do not think it mean what you think it means"

by lietothegirls on Dec 31, 2008 12:39 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

We just don't spread defences

Which causes problems penerating And for our bigs inside when they do get the ball, its usually crowded in there.

It also may partially explain why we struggle against teams with good perimeter shooters and give up a lot of 3s. Instinctive perimeter shooters understand other perimeter shooters, and what ever else thier flaws may be, do instinctively understand how to defend out there.

Mike Miller is a mediocre defender but he does his best work out there on 3 pt shooters. he understands thier game.

"You keep on using that word
I do not think it mean what you think it means"

by lietothegirls on Dec 31, 2008 1:08 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry, one more point

perimeter shooters, catch and shoot’ guys are also easy assist chances. It could help explain why our assists are so low.

"You keep on using that word
I do not think it mean what you think it means"

by lietothegirls on Dec 31, 2008 1:11 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I think you have the cause and effect wrong

Calling Speed a penetrator and not a jump shooter seems off to me.

If we could get Speed open jump shots all night, he would shoot 100 times a night and our offense would be great. Jump shooters are needed on teams that have other legit threats, usually post up players. We don’t have enough legit threats right now, so even if we had more shooters, they wouldn’t be open consistently.

We need development of our young guys into better players, so we’re not play 2 on 5 or 3 on 5 offense all the time. Once we put 4 or 5 offensive threats on the floor, I think you’ll find Martin/Hawes/Bobby Brown/Cisco can shoot it,

The more you guys work the trade machine, the happier I am GP is our GM.

by ForThree on Dec 31, 2008 1:36 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Watch the next game, count how many times KM just catches and shoots vs

times he penetrates for the jump shot. You’re right, he jump shoots, but he relies on penetrating to 8-12 ft to do it more often than not.

We have NO ONE who ‘kills’ from the perimeter, who scares teams. Yes, we hit them but we don’t have a guy or ability to beat teams from there, to put them in a hole – to scare the hell out of them so its spreads the defence.

Defences collapse, collapse, collapse on us late in games, clogging the interior

More, our players dribbble, dribble, dribble thier way into traffic – which works because we have no scary perimeter threat.

"You keep on using that word
I do not think it mean what you think it means"

by lietothegirls on Jan 2, 2009 4:45 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Bobby Brown

Bobby Brown vs. Beno Per 36 minutes:
Brown 15.2 points, .432 FG, .364 3p, 1.8 RB, 5.2 AST, 2.5 TO, 0.9 ST
Beno 13.6 points, .469 FG, .255 3p, 3.4 RB, 5.6 AST, 3.1 TO, 1.6 ST

I’m not suggesting Brown is better than Beno (yet) but that he’s at least a legitimate backup NBA point guard and is already better than former Kings Jason Hart and Ronnie Price, to name two.

Shut up and Coach

by Carl on Dec 31, 2008 11:04 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah Bobby B is a legitmate backup

And a cheap one, although, I fear that won’t be the case after this season.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Dec 31, 2008 11:08 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Beno's overall FG %

Is surprisingly good considering how bad his outside shooting has been – 15th in the league among guards (and directly behind Kobe-bean). Everyone seems to be off the Beno bandwagon, but I think the guy just needs to shoot the ball better from three (evidence would suggest he’s a better perimeter shooter than we’ve seen this year), and limit the turnovers a bit. I’m not quite ready to give up on him.

Also, note that he rebounds and steals the ball at nearly twice the rate of Brown. So he does give us a dimension we aren’t currently getting from the backup position.

Now, I think Brown will improve since he’s a rookie, but Beno is young as well. Both guys could still be part of the ultimate solution for this franchise.

Are we gonna live together? Together are we gonna live?

by otis29 on Dec 31, 2008 1:23 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Hmmm that's interesting

Have to look at Beno’s career #‘s, and I really haven’t. But, that is interesting.

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Dec 31, 2008 1:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Is surprisingly good considering how bad his outside shooting has been – 15th in the league among guards (and directly behind Kobe-bean). Everyone seems to be off the Beno bandwagon, but I think the guy just needs to shoot the ball better from three (evidence would suggest he’s a better perimeter shooter than we’ve seen this year), and limit the turnovers a bit.

Agreed.

I’m not quite ready to give up on him.

Beno is just a limited player. He doesn’t have the quickness or court awareness to be a good, pass-first point guard. He really ought to mimic Mike Bibby and look for his own shot more, since that’s his strength.

Also, note that he rebounds and steals the ball at nearly twice the rate of Brown. So he does give us a dimension we aren’t currently getting from the backup position.

Agreed. My point was how fast Brown has improved in a really short amount of time.

Both guys could still be part of the ultimate solution for this franchise.

I don’t agree here. It’s looking more and more like both guys are backups. I think Brown has more room to grow because he’s so new to the league. Beno looks to me like he’ll make incremental improvements (better 3 point shooting, a few less turnovers) at best.

Shut up and Coach

by Carl on Dec 31, 2008 4:32 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Good point

I doubt they can both be part of the long-term solution. Petrie loves guys that can play multiple positions, so you’d have to think Brown would be the guy that would stay – he’s got a better chance to log minutes at the 2 than Beno IMO.

Are we gonna live together? Together are we gonna live?

by otis29 on Dec 31, 2008 8:11 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

What were you doing staying home as late as 8pm on New Years?

What are you? A parent or something? Geesh. (I’m not a parent, and I hate New Years. I hate all drinking days. As someone told me recently, it’s a lot like amateur night, only these folks can’t handle their alkiehol.)

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. It's simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get tangled, you tango on

by pookeyguru on Jan 1, 2009 10:22 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs