Kings 109, Warriors 117: Kings Inventing Ways to Lose Previously Unknown to Mankind

Yikes

MLC or if you wanted to get cute MLK!

on 29 shots. Beno’s defense was not bad enough to offset his great offense. If Beno was a problem tonight, he was the 50532th problem down on the list.

wow

to some of you guys. Tough night to be a Kings fan.

Same with nobody giving Beno the damn ball in OT when he basically carried us the whole game. How many times did Tyreke or Cousins try to do something late and turn it over or miss a shot? You could tell Westphal was just absolutely heartbroken after the game. This team is not running what he’s calling for whatever reason down the stretch.

You and I were sitting at the same game, in the same row. The avalanche of 4th quarter turnovers is on the players, not the coach. Cisco jacking up that shot late with the Kings up five and lots of time left on the shot clock – that’s on the players. Fouling two different Dubs shooting 3 pointers late – that’s on the players. Beno fouling under the basket with the Kings up 4 and less than 5 seconds left – that’s on the players. Inability to secure the missed free throw – on the players. Yielding the game tying free throw – on the players.

These guys had to do virtually everything wrong down the stretch of this game to lose it, and they did. But thanks for making me a prophet – I told Aykis and bte that in spite of the players making fatal error after fatal error after fatal error, that many would attempt to lay the blame upon Westphal. At some point, you have to hold the players accountable for playing the freakin’ game.

I do not blame Coach Westphal at all for this loss. This is 1,923,235,023% on the players on the court.

We agree that it was a mistake to not involve Top Hat more. I just don’t think it’s all on Westphal.

Am I sure you know High Tops, a lot of these posters need to be reminded, Carl Landry led the NBA in 4th quarter scoring last year. He is not immune to making plays in the clutch. But if he is ignored and stands on the weak side of the floor and no one makes the entry pass, WTF he is he supposed to do?

Westphal needs to go. It is obvious. If you advocate him sticking around, you may as well be in favor of handing out lifetime contracts to every coach in the league. Good coaches, even average coaches, make an imprint on their team. He hasn’t done it.

I didn’t really see any coaching tonight. I saw catatonic standing and sitting around on the sideline waiting for the other shoe to drop. The way a team plays is a reflection of their coach, and the personality of their coach. Westphal has a degree of competence that landed him the job. But in these challenging times he lacks certainty, decisiveness, trust, resolve, creativity, strategy and passion. And this Kings team plays in a way that lacks certainty decisiveness, trust, resolve, creativity, strategy and passion, especially when the game is in the balance.

I think the age gap is showing too. I think the players need a coach in the 40s. Not in his 60s.

I stated in last post game thread the next time the Kings are in a crunch time situation their collective confidence would be approaching nil, and that’s what we saw. When players lack confidence, they get hesitant, and when you are hesitant with the ball in traffic you get picked, and thats what happened repeatedly to Cuz and Reke. Fault the players, of course. But this also reflects glaringly upon the coach to allow such a mounumental collapse.

And take a look at the Warriors roster! No Curry, no Beidrins. We got beat by Vlade Radmonovic, Dorrell Wright, and Reggie Williams. And Monta Ellis barely made a third of his shots. (12-29)

A team needs to bond, grow, build chemistry, establish cohesiveness, devise a competent strategy, have fun playing together. Regardless of the talent level, a coach has primary responsibility to facilitate these attributes. PW has failed.

And for those who want to defend Westphal, I would suggest that change for the sake of change is mandated when circumstances are spiraling downward to inconceivable levels of ineptitude as means to create a fresh start, a new perspective, a new level of optimism and personal accountability by the players. It is arguable as to whether PW deserves to be fired, and certainly he is not solely to blame, but to generate new hope, attitude and outlook, something needs to be done in the next 1 to 2 weeks.

In fact to argue for his retention is almost to be a masochistic fan! It doesn’t get worse than this.

I’d hire Lawrence Frank.

Absolutely, it was the fault of coaching. If a man is hot, get him the ball. Why wasn’t the team told to get Carl the ball? If you’re playing poorly, warm the bench. Reke should have been benched. His decision making is horrendous and PW still keeps him in. I’m having real second thoughts about his ability to be a team player. Playing time is the carrot. Does anybody still believe PW should stay? “Deer in the Headlights’” was absolutely apt.

Cousins and tyreke made LOSING PLAY AFTER LOSING PLAY and he stood there and let it happen. There are 7 nba players to your left, coach. Send two of them to the scorers table.

Come on. Don’t be an idiot.

you need a pair of glasses and learn about basketball=fire westphal

He knows in his heart, and so should his players for that matter, know that the players lost this game. The fans should get it too.

Blame him. I don’t care. You blaming the coach or not blaming the coach is not going to change ANYTHING.

What did you think he’d say? It was only the players’ faults? Trade the whole team?

And no it isn’t PW’s fault one little bit.

I kinda hope Kyrie Irving returns from injury than he has to be rumored to at this point.

If any of the players are going to walk away with this loss as a humbling experience? Demarcus seems like he could use some humble pie after that display during the free throw.

I feel terrible for the players. I also hope that they’re utterly humiliated.

I don’t lump Beno & Landry in with the players tonight. They did so many things right that even though they aren’t perfect players, on a grading curve they are tonight.

Was going to rant like this too, but I think when you lose like this, I don’t even know how to get mad about it.

Anyways, Aykis did a fine job summarizing everything.

If you root for the Kings these days, you just about have to expect everything that can go wrong to go wrong. That doesn’t mean you have to accept it. But, bottom line, there’s more to life than basketball.

That is all.

(This post was not approved by Section 214 as of this writing…..)

This game was ridiculous. Tyreke & Cousins were garbage. Their body language, turnovers & bricks made me wonder if they’ll ever amount to anything resembling NBA "stars."

I know it’s awfully early to reading the tea leaves on these players, but the truly great players generally make an impression on you. Mostly it’s how they don’t play like rookies even when they are rookies, how they approach the game, how they pick up things and don’t keep repeating the same dumb mistakes. Cousins I will give a pass to for now, but Tyreke?

GS fans were mostly muted until the Kings gave them plenty of reason to voice – and no reason for Kings fans to shout them down.

What’s up with that new avatar, LOL.

for use of word transmogrification, lol

except for injuries, that is still thrown out as an excuse for firing him. You don’t want a consistent starting lineup, you want a consistent starting lineup that wins. And right now, nobody is winning. A consistent starting five is not our problem. Consistency from our starting five is.

tell about the meet and great with Jackson.

No doubt, the team stinks right now. But kneejerk reactionism is the last thing this franchise needs right now.

The Dubs had committed their first foul in the last 2 minutes that resulted in the inbound play. Prior to that foul, there was about 6 or 7 seconds left on the shot clock.

Is it possible that Cisco had a brain cramp and didn’t realize that the shot clock resets to 14 seconds for an inbounds play in that situation?

/str groupthink

Anyone who thinks that a coach of a team that runs no offense, can’t guard anybody, is getting worse (although already being the worst in the league) and finds new and exciting ways to lose nightly, should be fired? Well you, sir, are practicing “abject stupidity.”

/of course westphal should be fired