How to Play the Kids

by Tom Ziller on Mar 31, 2008 7:46 AM PDT in Commentary

The latest tete-a-tete in Kingsland comes from Joe Maloof, who went to the media to insist youngsters Quincy Douby and Shelden Williams get more minutes down the stretch. Reggie Theus pushed back with this quote in The Bee:

"I want those guys to play, but ... it's very hard as a first-year coach - when I'm judged on a lot of different levels - it's very hard to put guys in a game that's going well and the game goes south. What am I supposed to do?"

I think many/most of us agree with Maloof -- we'd love to see QD and Shelden. But I can also understand Theus's angle. Remember: The Seattle win (which a TiVo malfunction kept me from viewing, dagnabbit) was the team's 33rd win of the season. Objective #1 for the season was to finish with 34 wins, to turn around this vessel, heading toward the edge of the Earth since 2005. One more win, however meaningless in the real world, would be hugely inspiring for these troops and these coaches.

Last night's game (judging by the play-by-play) seems to have been assured about midway into the fourth. QD and Shelden came in with two minutes to go. I'd argue those potential 4 lost minutes are useless -- garbage time isn't going to teach us more than we already know (which is that QD can shoot and occasionally drive and that's it, and Shelden can rebound and block shots and occasionally score and that's it). Meaningful observations need to come in the first quarter, the second quarter, the third -- whenever the game's in doubt.

If Shelden doesn't chase a ball up 12 with a minute left, that tells you nothing. If he doesn't chase a ball up 2 with a quarter left, you can record that note. You've got to put these guys in positions to succeed or fail...

... but you also need one more win, no matter what. The Kings have two more games against teams outside the playoff race: The Clippers at ARCO on Thursday, the Blazers at ARCO on April 11. Portland's good. The Clippers have smoked Sactown this year. The other foes are beatable (especially Houston tomorrow; the Kings have been strong in hosting the Rockets for two years now). It'd be fantastic if Theus got the win soon, so he could reasonably give Williams 20 minutes a night and reduce Kevin Martin to 20 minutes to fit in more QD and Francisco Garcia time (even though Flaco is older than Martin). Artest could probably use less playing time for the benefit of the kids... I'm not holding my breath. We know Brad Miller could use some rest this time of year; one more run with QD at the point while Beno Udrih's hurt wouldn't be a problem.

But he's got to get that win first. How do you blame Theus for refusing to risk a 33-win season in the name of more minutes for middling prospects? Let's revisit our preferred rotations once Win #34 is on the board. (I wish Joe would have waited, too.)

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I wonder what the incentive clause is like...

for that 34th win. I mean I am all for winning, but at this juncture with the west being so competitive it would've been nice to see if shelden can become a 3-Wil+ or a 3-Wil minus. I would've also liked to see how the young guys do against crappy teams like the Sonics as well as against good teams like the Lakers 2x, Hornets, Spurs, Warriors, Denver, Houston.

I guess my real point is I can see Theus burying guys like QD and Shelden since they play poorly against the NBA's best teams, when they never got a chance to show them that they could compete with the NBA's worst teams like the Sonics/Clippers.

I mean do we really think Shelden can stand with David West/Tyson Chandler, Tim Duncan, and Gasol, I just have a bad feeling about all this.

by moproblemz on Mar 31, 2008 10:29 AM PDT reply actions

Yeah, but...

After you get Win #34, what's the harm?

If Shelden gets in there and plays well against those beasts, that's a massive confidence boost. If he doesn't play well, he licks his wounds and learns from it.

He's going to have to face beasts at some point, if he's to have a fulfilling NBA career. The nature of the league (and this conference) makes it so.

by Tom Ziller on Mar 31, 2008 10:36 AM PDT up reply actions

Spencer

Theus has thrown Shawes into the fire just the same against the likes of shaq, duncan, etc. Granted Hawes is much more valuable at this point than Sheldon is, it's still worth seeing how Sheldon responds against the top as well.

Although I will go on record as saying I wasn't a big fan of Sheldon coming out of college and still not to excited. But only time will tell right?

NBA: Where your dreams are shattered happens.

by ChicoKing on Mar 31, 2008 11:31 AM PDT reply actions

34 wins isn't an improvement

I have to say, 34 wins looks better on paper, but it isn't a measurable improvement. This year's team isn't significantly better than last year's team. If the personnel stays the same, next year's team will be about the same. This isn't the Portland Trailblazers - a team that's building to a playoff run and maybe a championship run in a few years. It's a team filled with too many aging and mediocre veterans.

The Kings were poorly coached last year and underachieved a little bit. They were better coached this year, and the injuries about evened them out. In the Western conference, the ceiling for this group of players is .500. Does anyone think these guys are going to the playoffs in two or three years?

My point is that 34 wins looks nice on Reggie's resume, but it's meaningless in terms of the Kings. This team isn't building to anything. It needs big changes, which has been the case for two full years now.

One way for the Kings to get better is to see what they have with the young guys. These games are meaningless except for resume fodder for the coach. Reggie continues playing the vets to his own benefit and at the expense of the long-term future of the team. If he doesn't play Shelden Williams and Qunicy Douby now, when the games are meaningless, when DOES he play them?

Reggie thinks he knows what these guys can give him. I disagree. Practice is not a game, and more importantly, WE want to know. He's trying to tell me Shelden Williams couldn't put up Mikki Moore's 8 points and 6 rebounds in 28 minutes? I like Mikki and he does a lot of the intangibles, but give me a freaking break. Kenny Thomas could put up those numbers. We're fans, we pay Reggie's salary, and if these guys can't play, as Reggie seems to believe, then we want to see it for ourselves.

The team missed the damn playoffs by 12 freaking games. NO ONE is going to care if they win 34 or 37 games. PLAY THE YOUNG GUYS.

by Carl on Mar 31, 2008 12:49 PM PDT reply actions

To clarify

I want to clarify that last point. Obviously TZ and some other folks care if the team gets more wins than last year's squad.

What I'm saying is - in a couple of years are we going to say, "Boy I'm sure glad we won that 34th game two years ago instead of seeing if Shelden Williams or Qunicy Douby could play."

by Carl on Mar 31, 2008 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions