Kings - Bobcats: The view from Section 204

And I have to agree with pretty much everything you posted. Dead on.

My observations this season are that the Kings offense tends to grind down to a snail pace. It generally happens in the 2nd quarter. It is very consistent and a problem. In the past, quite a few games ago, PW would then put in Sergio at PG and the tempo went up, people started running and moving, and the ball was passed by all, not just Sergio.

The past games where Sergio has not played have been pretty brutal and I have to wonder if they would have been any better with him in. Maybe not because shooters were missing and passes don’t always help that… but getting the perfect pass in a sweet spot can make all the difference. So, I think maybe it would have helped. The thing is that this team plays with more energy when Sergio is inserted. It picks up and changes the game in a way the gets the players back into it. We need more Sergio…

Time to play a tune from the broken record:

Big, athletic, strong guys kill us. We have no answer. If they are quick and too strong for Donte’ we can’t slow them down. JT and Spence are, unfortunately, not the answer. They can handle big and strong guys OK, but they can’t deal with the quick, strong, and long guys. Brockman can handle the strong and moderately quick, but if that can shoot over him then that doesn’t work. Milsap, Wallace, and others of this type are the kind of players that hurt us the most. They look like stars when they play against ups

The sad truth about a sign:

My brother in law went with me and he saw a fan with a sign on the monitor. The sign said “A King-sized Comeback”. I didn’t see it, but he told me about it. I really didn’t give it much thought until he said “That is really fucked up when somebody brings a pre-made sign to a game about having to make a comeback.” That really hit home for me and made me feel like throwing up… Thankfully the 4th quarter finally saw the team start to make that comeback and it made me feel better.

An exciting comeback that should not have been needed, but was welcome none the less. Just wish it would have gotten a win.

I really don’t think the offense was good all night. In the 1st quarter, we got a lot of loose balls and fast breaks point. We won the fast break points 30 to 19. But, the Cats offense seemed to be more efficient all game.

Tyreke made a lot of good plays when he got doubled, but as you pointed out most of the easy baskets came off back door cuts and passes by Hawes. He had a 8pt lead when PW pulled JT & Spencer and went small. But we were only down by 12 when PW pulled Tyreke in the 3rd. With Beno and Martin running the point they each had a turnover, and the Kings were out scored 17 to 8 in the final 5 minutes of the 3rd. Just too big of a hole to climb out of especially with Tyreke sitting out the 4th.

We gave up 10 too many points and scored 10 too few in the third. So, we needed better offense and defense. But, I don’t think I’m too far of base when I say, that without a PG that can breakdown defenses, the Kings have a enimic offense. Beno has some skills but he’s really not a good replacement for Tyreke. Martin, yes.

And, I think the other players know that if Sergio is at the point, and they move to get free, Sergio will get them the ball. But, Beno is most likely going to curl into the left foul line extended and put up a shot.

I was also at the game, Sec 103, two rows from court side. The first quarter was nice. Some of Spencer’s passes reminded me of Vlade’s old bounce passes from the high post. Hawes needs time to develop. Can’t believe he’s only 21 years old. Wow. He’s got a rare skill set for a 7 footer.

Gerald Wallace looked unstoppable. He’s not a good shooter, so when he’s hitting that outside shot, maybe he IS nearly impossible to guard, especially if he’s getting bailed out on those reckless drives to the hoop where he crashes into bodies, a la Maggette.

I was disgusted by the team’s performance in the 3rd quarter. The comeback was nice but the 3rd quarter was horrific.

As the young Kings develop, let’s hope for more of the first quarter & less of the third…

He played very well in the first half, just beautifully distributing the ball, and making things happen. I was noticing that the hip really seems to be hindering his ability to make that quick move into the paint, and get baskets. Definite signs of maturity for him not chucking up long jumpers, when it seemed the hip wasn’t going to allow him better shots, but he may need to take a few games off and let that thing improve. 4 points on 5 shots just isn’t what he’s capable of, and I’d like to see him get healthy, even if he does still make things happen playing injured.

Beno – Beno is the only other shooter on the team. With Kevin Martin as an injury concern, Beno is insurance. He may duplicate some of Kevin’s game, but with no Martin who do you have to shoot the ball?
Tyreke – I don’t believe it is fair to say that a passing, cutting (Princeton) offense is not compatible with Evans game. It is not at this point, but he is a rookie and still learning. The Kings are a Tyreke oriented offense right now, but in my mind, it is up to Tyreke to adjust to a team offense, not the other way around. This is a league of stars and a game that is team oriented. He needs to find more weapons to share the ball with and this team is limited in that department. Yes, it is simpler for Evans push the ball and be “me first” but if he is off, or well defended than everything else is shut down if he is the first option every time.
Spencer and JT – their inability to defend has been the one consistency all year. They will improve and eventually, more help will be brought in.

Ed, as always, I enjoy your game posts. Your passion for the team resonates in your writing. Thanks for sharing. Rec’d.

from section 204 as opposed to Comcast at home. However, you did miss out on the Poker Face song and Subway commercial. You probably missed the “I don’t believe in the (rookie) wall” pre-game interview between Reke and Peaches. Reke also shared that his hip was still bothering him and he was still getting treatment for it. There are a few perks of watching the game from the comfort of your own living room.

I found myself nodding in agreement as I read through your summary. Watching them almost coming back from a substantial hole is not all that much fun, unless they can seal the deal. Kings did play a good first half, too bad they had to spoil it with that ugly third quarter.

An analysis could be made, focusing solely on the 3rd, just tearing apart what went wrong.

As you say, watching Kevin Martin on the offensive end is a sight to behold. It is a thing of beauty and grace, sort of like leaps you would see in a ballet. (Meant in a good way.) He did miss some of his first shots, but at least he didn’t quite on himself. He got that 3 pointer about four minutes into the game and the fast break with JT about one minute later.

Agreed about Sergio coming in and running the team. He brought a huge lift when he came into the game at the end of the third quarter, making shots. The game got pretty exciting after his arrival. He is a sight to behold on the floor. He quickens the pace and helps make the other players better. He is great in small doses, just wish PW would use him more often. No question about him, he is a point guard.

I do differ with you somewhat about Beno. He did perform better earlier in the season, but I wouldn’t want to put him up for trade, just yet. I do not agree with your statement, “Beno brings something to the table that could easily be replaced by Kevin, a returning Cisco, and Sergio.” When Beno is on the top of him game, he does a great job distributing the ball, making shots, and a factor on defense. Kevin is not as good at defense, and Sergio makes more TOs. Cisco is a possibility, but I don’t feel that overall he does as good a job as Beno. IMHO

JT did come out smelling like a rose on this double double stats. It is interesting that his game from your Section 204 didn’t match what his stats would suggest. Clearly, being at the game gave you a much better perspective of his overall play. He didn’t pout as much or make faces as he usually does.

Sorry to hear that Arco was fairly empty. That does not help our guys.

You are right about Wallace, he was the best player on the floor.

I really like what you said, “These guys have no quit in them and that’s good to see because character and fight is not something you can teach a player.”

The best offense for the Kings, IMO, happened in the first quarter when we were running things through Spencer. The ball movement was great, Spencer was making for the most part good decisions, and everything seemed like it was flowing nicely. This got me thinking: this team we have right now was not built for Tyreke Evans.

So did anyone else here, when reading this, think “Holy crap the Lakers game!” Spence had the best game of his career against the frickin Lakers and tyreke was out with an injury.

Seems to me that it’s either (a) spence and evans don’t mix or (b) spence and beno really mix together well. Seems to me that Spence loves having the ball in his hands (so does tyreke) and beno is excellent at cutting to the basket and giving Spence good passing lanes. I still remember one of the first games of the year where Spence and Beno went nuts on the grizzlies too.