Kings 106, Knicks 113: Gotta Play 48 Minutes, Not 36.

JT at the 3 makes no sense at all. He just isn’t quick enough and he doesn’t have an outside shot. JT should be the backup 4. Donte made me nervous in the first few minutes but really picked it up. I hope he gets back into the rotation and can provide a spark for us.

Overall, a disappointing game. I wish Dalembert could’ve shut down Amare, but not many players can when he’s having a good game like he did tonight. Let’s hope Friday’s game goes better.

• When I heard there was a lineup change, I thought, great Cisco in. But it wasn’t. Casspi and Beno to the bench instead. I honestly have no idea what rotation were going with. It does appear that PW is randomly choosing people to put in there. Donte played a lot of the 3-4th, and I thought he did a good job. Are we going to have x starting rotations again this year? I would rather us just pick our guys and run with it.
• While Lex Luther did come out playing well, there are times where he just dribbles out the clock and then passes it off, forcing whomever to force up a terrible shot. Its just really ugly.
• What’s up with Tyreke? There were a few times where he looks like he can just take over the game by shaking everyone in his way and taking it to the rim. Other times he looked plain ol lazy. This kid needs a bit of fire. I’ve observed over the last few games, whenever we have an urgent situation warranting him to get a quick shot or bring the ball up quickly, he still does that slow jog up. Can someone please get him the memo to play with some urgency/anger?
• Opposite to Tyreke, DeMarcus looked like he was sick of losing and was willing to do whatever he could, to get a win tonight. He provided the energy I would like to see from all of our players. He had a few silly things, but WAY more good than bad tonight.
• Beno’s defense was atrocious. So many times people ran right past him forcing help defense, or he wouldn’t switch off a screen which lead to the other player being wide open. I don’t know what it is, but it sucked.
• I hate that JT starting at the 3, some might say “Worked” tonight, because we had a 1st quarter lead. Overall I dont think it will. JT has been pretty solid in the amount of mins hes been gifted this year, and I hope to see more of him. Just not at the 3.

This was a winable game, and we lost again. Its frustrating to see. I think we have the talent to do better, but I dont have any answers. So lets move on to the next game, and get better. Please.

or does Paul Westphal not call enough timeouts when teams are on runs.

and somewhat annoyed about JT starting at the 3.

But, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the team looked in the 1st. Head’s defense was much better than Beno’s and it made a big difference. He’s not as good a shooter off the dribble, which makes his over dribbling even worse. But, he at least as good of a ball handler and that really surprised me.

JT on the other hand, was pretty inaffective on the offensive end, and I would have much rather seen him defend Amare than Galinari. We needed Dalembert at the rim protecting the basket, not out trying to defend STAT, at the FT extended.

So, I’ll give PW a B+ for his new starting lineup. But, could someone please explain how the 11th or 12th man on the team, enters the game at 3:30 secs into the 3rd quarter and plays the enter rest of the game? ;)

Sat 2nd row center. Saw some slight limping at moments. I played soccer for ten years, I know that walk. Those “you play through it despite pain” gestures. It does hamper your game. With these problems, his jumper seems to get more important every day.

Donte was good, forced some quality turnovers.

Watching DMC from that close is amazing. Not missing Brockman’s arm hair one bit.

I really felt this team would find it’s pride – and even if they didn’t play well, they would play with enough energy to beat a really bad Knicks team. I couldn’t have been more wrong. At this point, you can’t assume they can beat anyone at any time, and they are clearly regressing. This can’t bode well for PW.

A few things I noticed last night:

Donte’s energy was a nice lift for the team. But let’s not get too crazy here – when he entered the game, the Kings were down 9. Mr. Greene played the remainder of the game, and the team ended up losing…by 7. Not Donte’s fault necessarily, as he was one of the few Kings that was bringing it last night. And if he could always handle the ball the way he did on the fast break to Beno…wow, what an addition that would be to his game!

This team reminds me a lot of the Natt teams, only they have more talent yet don’t play as hard on a nightly basis. If there is some kind of specific offensive or defensive “plan” happening here, it’s not readily apparent.

When you are a bad team, losing at home to bad teams while changing your lineups every game to react to the other team’s strengths…why not change your philosophy a bit, set your starters and rotation for 15 or 20 games, and see if you can establish some consistent mismatches on offense that will force the other team to adjust to YOU? Or allow guys to develop some chemistry on the defensive end? You’re losing anyways, why not actually develop a TEAM?

Lastly, the game thread last night was great fun. I don’t get to hang out in those very often, but it was nice to shoot the sh#t with everyone. Our team may suck, but our passion is still there.

I know it is early, and I am probably crossing the line, but players do need consistency and PW does not seem to foster it. The ball movement is horrible, atrocious, bad, ugly, and nonexistent. I think that the players are trying to do too much on their own, which means either they are really, really selfish or they have no faith in the player they are out there with, or they have no respect for the coach and the sets he calls. I think it is the latter.

I wonder how the team would do with Mario Elie leading them, could it have the same effect that Scott Brooks had on the Thunder

but last night’s lines did illustrate some actual play on the court. I think I said it in the other thread but Darnell was a terrible matchup for the knicks and it showed both on the floor and in the stat sheet. He floundered out there. He has no idea how to get through a screen on the perimeter – and he was not alone. You complain about JT not being equiped to stay with quicker line-ups? DJ was wretched.
Sammy had the worst game he’s had as a King, his turn last night I guess.
There were/are just too many guys in the rotating in/out to expect the defensive rotations Not to get confused – yet they should have done a lot better.
DMC had a much better night than the stat sheet showed, I think he was the best interior defender, switched very well, used his feet and size excellently and did not get all the calls he will in the future. If he continues to play with the confidence and control he showed last night – it was just the beginning.
Cisco had a terrible game against a team you’d think he’d match up well with, wtf.
Beno deserves a little grief but at least he balances what he gives up with what he scores against the opposing PG.
Does anyone on this team know how to switch off a screen and stay with their assignent without getting fooled b the slightest twitch?

New season still awful! we need to do some trades to save our kings or hire a new coach?
I love my kings but if this keeps up no one will go to games and the kings will leave sacramento and thats the bottom line.

But I really liked what I saw from DMC. He had several good hustle/energy plays (including where he knocked the ball off the Knick player and got robbed on the call) and he seemed to keep his emotions in check after some borderline calls went against him. Thought he played very well in the 4th, but didn’t see other quarters.