Vladimir Radmanovic Opens the Gates to Nirvana
by Tom Ziller on Dec 22, 2010 12:48 PM PST
in Commentary
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Still painful to watch Vladimir Radmanovic's game-winning three to send Kings vs. Warriors into overtime? Here's a silver lining: imagine how much more stomach-turning it'd be if the Kings were in the playoff hunt.
Here's another silver lining: by watching this single play, you too can discover complete enlightenment as to why the Kings suck.
Situation: the Kings lead by three with two seconds left. The Warriors are out of time-outs and have hit 4-8 from the line in the final moments, so scoring a two and playing the free throw games is absolutely off the table. The Warriors need a three. With two seconds left, the options to get that shot involve no more than one quick pass after the inbounds, or 1-2 quick dribbles. In other words, if the Warriors inbound the ball to a player inside the arc, that player would have to make an immediate pass to a player outside the arc, or would need to able to take one dribble to behind the arc, turn and shoot. They say stuff like "two seconds is an eternity," but it's not. It's two seconds. Click-click.
Here is how the Warriors are set up for the inbounds.
Four three-ball shooters on the floor -- three in play, with Donte Greene guarding Dorell Wright on the inbound; Wright won't have time to get the ball back. DeMarcus Cousins has a hand on David Lee, the only non-shooter for the Warriors. Darnell Jackson is a solid 5-6 feet from his man, Radmanovic, with the No. 2 Golden State threat -- Reggie Williams -- and his defender (Beno Udrih) between them. Tyreke Evans is guarding the No. 1 option, Monta Ellis, closely.
Next slide.
Lee and Williams cause a scrum at the free throw line, effectively screening Evans as Ellis goes over the top toward the left corner. Greene is watching.
Let's count the Kings folllowing Ellis. There's Greene slipping over, as he should. One. Cousins, guarding a non-shooter, turns his attention. Two. Jackson, now 8-9 feet from his man as Radmanovic slides backward, is trying (in vain) to shove past Lee to get to Ellis. Three. Evans is still chasing (four), though he's having trouble getting over Udrih, who tripped, slipped or otherwise fell. Was Beno chasing Ellis too? Or did he see a Slovenian mob boss waving an Uzi in the stands? But Beno is looking at Ellis, so we'll count him as five. Five Kings completely focused on one Warrior, who does not yet have the ball.
Next slide.
Here comes the pass to a completely wide open Vlad 25 feet from the basket. There are two Warriors in three-point shooting position as Wright passes the ball, and all five of the Kings defenders are watching one of them and/or laying on the ground. As the passes come in to Vlad, Jackson tries to make up the 11-12 feet of distance to challenge the shot.
No chance.
"YEEEAHH!"
-- Vlad Radmanovic, Dec. 21, 2010
***
The Kings are surprised by the simplest things. Constantly. Five people do not need to guard Monta Ellis. No one needs to be hangin' in the paint, guarding David Lee. Vladimir Radmanovic -- Vladmir "The Space Cadet" Rad-farking-manovic -- outwitted the entire Kings team. Monta Ellis is a goat standing on a mountainside on the eastside of Highway 1, and Vlad Radmanovic is the Pacific Ocean, and the Kings just careened off the cliff and fell into the sea. :-(
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lowest bb iq in the league?
I find it amazing that the kings have somehow put together a team that doesn’t understand that you can’t let someone have a wide open three at the end of a game when its a three point game.
I mean seriously it is amazing to me. Guard the three, if they get a two you’re going to get fouled on the inbounds and have a good chance to put the game back to three.
by chri5 on Dec 22, 2010 12:53 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Add in Cisco's dumb ass play shooting to early in the shot clock
and the team IQ was flatlining
There are some guys dumber than me, some guys worse looking, I take umbrage at the fact that there is no guy that is both.
The highlight of this video:
Look at Omri and Luther Head(?) from 0:08-0:12.
In these times, you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you awake in the morning.
~Carl Sandburg
by PurpleLoco on Dec 22, 2010 12:56 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
and cisco stands there completely still.
by blowin'boogers on Dec 22, 2010 1:36 PM PST up reply actions
I told section last nite
before the game that even if we have a 10 point lead with 4 minutes to go I just don’t have faith that we will get it done this year. Lo and behold, the team makes me look like a prophet.
Very disheartening last night. We had about seven or eight opportunities to ice the game and flubbed every one of them.
"every once in a while a kernel of truth...uhh... corn is revealed in my usual pile of poop" - betweentheeyes
Brilliant, hope PW adds that one to the repertoire
I think it all goes wrong when Tyreke decides to go under the scrum instead of chasing Ellis. Donte had to leave to cover Ellis, leaving no one to contest the inbounds pass.
"If you don't have anything good to say, LIE" - Mom
The greatest impact player in NBA History - Tim Donaghy
I don't want to point fingers at anyone over the events of the last minute of play.
We didn’t lose the game just on account of those last few plays. We had 8 pts in the first 6 minutes of the 1st quarter. With any reseasonable offense or defense in the 1st half and we could have been up by 20+ in the 4th and any thing that happened in the end wouldn’t have made a difference.
"If you don't have anything good to say, LIE" - Mom
The greatest impact player in NBA History - Tim Donaghy
Yeah, the 3 ball was icing on the cake
Watching turnover, fast break layup, turnover, fast break layup over and over was just as frustrating.
THIS
I could not belive how horrible EVERYTHING looked those loast few minutes. It was an absolute joke.
Wait....Why is everybody clapping? Everyone around me is clapping.... I guess I should be clapping too... GO LAKERS!!! I hate living in So Cal
by 27freethrows on Dec 22, 2010 1:27 PM PST up reply actions
You should have been sitting with us
my program and stat sheet went flying up into the air in dismay well before that last play.
"But screw your courage to the stiking place - and we'll not fail"
Macbeth Act I, Sc VII
by lietothegirls on Dec 22, 2010 1:46 PM PST up reply actions
When you witness the utter lack of bball IQ
It makes you wonder how they were able to get up to 5 wins at this point.
Your friendly neighborhood Purple Drank retailer.
by ajd1083 on Dec 22, 2010 1:27 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Maybe we're actually overachieving
Extend Westphal’s contract!!
by otis29 on Dec 22, 2010 1:36 PM PST up reply actions 5 recs
Extend it foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
I predict JT will never breathe through his nose.
by wallywagon11 on Dec 22, 2010 2:03 PM PST up reply actions
At some point
we are going to have so many different head coaches on our payroll at one time that it will make the trade that brought us K9 look like a great idea.
Maybe we could set the record for most coaches on one payroll and then we can make a banner about it, and put it on Interstate 5 somewhere?
Your friendly neighborhood Purple Drank retailer.
I'm shocked we started the season 3-1
Author of the Pick and Scroll. Follow me on Twitter here.
by Aykis16 on Dec 22, 2010 1:56 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Frankly, I dont understand why that lineup would be on the floor.
Westphal can get on his players for staying in the key, but there is really no reason for DeMarcus or Tyreke to be on the floor.
Even though it doesn’t make sense to guard people inside the three-point line when the only thing that can hurt you is a three, when somebody cuts toward the basket (our defenders) take steps toward the basket. Why? I don’t know.
DeMarcus is a big man, pegged by most to be our center. So why is he on the floor in a situation where we need to guard against the 3 pointer? His defensive strength (if any) would be down low in the paint. If there was 4 or 5 seconds left and a potential rebound could be involved, I would be all for Cousins in the game. But with 2 seconds left, I am puzzled by that decision.
Next, theres the case of Tyreke. Tyreke has plantar fascitis. I don’t care if he was warmed up by this time, because when you have 3 able bodied substitutes
I’m not trying to point the finger at Westphal for the loss, because its definitely not his fault. But next time, he shouldn’t be so quick to criticize his players before looking at what he could have done too.
"Morrison beats Casspi 1 on 1". - MarcusC
Hmmm....
I dont think Westphal was “quick to criticize his players”. Listen to his post game comments again. He takes it fully as a team loss and includes himself in that.
http://www.nba.com/video/teams/kings/2010/12/22/postcoachwarriorsCustomYoutubemo-1501582/
I was uncool before it was cool
No just the IQ
But the passion and desire to win.
Losing doesn’t seem to affect anyone on this team outside of DMC, Omri, Pooh and Westphal. Those 4 guys are the only ones I can look at and see them getting pissed that the losing keeps happening.
I want someone to step up and lay some wood to the rest of these guys and say “Enough! Time to stop being pushed around, we are better than this!”. We just seriously need a leader or some veterans on this team.
I was uncool before it was cool
Stuff like this
“It’s nothing new,” said Kings forward Carl Landry. “It’s the same thing that’s been happening all season.”
Such apathy drives me nuts!
I was uncool before it was cool
Watch the video instead of reading it
If that’s apathy, you can take all my money.
Author of the Pick and Scroll. Follow me on Twitter here.
Towards the middle
I could see that he cared. So its kind of a split. Therefore I am entitled to half your money! Deal?
I was uncool before it was cool
Note
I am only referencing Carl. As I stated before, you can definitely see that DMC takes every loss hard.
I was uncool before it was cool
I suggest
that if I was on the court and we lost that a) PW should be fired and B) you would not be able to tell how hard I took the loss by my demeanor.
We are not all the same.
There are some guys dumber than me, some guys worse looking, I take umbrage at the fact that there is no guy that is both.
True, we are not all the same
But as a person with pride, and dignity, would you not show a bit of frustration after a loss like this? A loss that puts your season at 5-21& during your worst season statistically in your career?
I was uncool before it was cool
A Tim Dincan amount
the camera would have to get to me quickly.
There are some guys dumber than me, some guys worse looking, I take umbrage at the fact that there is no guy that is both.
Duncan's cousin
There are some guys dumber than me, some guys worse looking, I take umbrage at the fact that there is no guy that is both.
by ElRonToro on Dec 22, 2010 3:52 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
LOL
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985...... On Twitter
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Not True
I attended an early game against my hometown Nets, and the whole (Kings) team, including literally every player on the bench, were demonstrably passionate about the game – standing up whenever a three point shot went up, ect, ect.
"I hate all sports as rabidly as a person who likes sports hates common sense."
-H.L. Mencken
Had a similar reaction over a different loss.
I think it’s all greed upon around here, we gotta bring in leadership.
"Where I come from, being a fan isn’t measured by how many posts you make on a blog, or how much of a condescending jackass you can be, so take the disrespectful internet-cool-guy routine that you love to employ and shove it." ~ lchristmas
2 seconds
A lot can be said about the current state of the Kings in these two seconds.
If you want to be your best, you have to do your best, otherwise you are only second rate.
______________________
People Who Live In Glass Houses Should Not Throw Stones - English Idiom
It seemed like Tyreke was not playing as well as he did last week.
SOOOO many missed layups. No bursts of acceleration, save for one sweet spin move in the lane for a fade-away runner. He just wasn’t the same person we saw last week against the Hornets—and may need to rest more than just a few days.
Look at it this way!
…Usually we blow a big lead and lose in regulation! This time we lost in OVERTIME. An obvious improvement.
I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues. To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one’s self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one’s own powers.
--Holmes, on Modesty
I could see a conversation with these guys going on something like this
Tyreke: Hey guys, I got an idea. When we line up for the last play, why not everybody except Beno, you slip and fall down bro, hang around Monta Ellis like he’s the only Warriors who can beat us. Dude, it’s a failsafe plan!
Donte Greene: DUUUUDDDEEE!
DeMarcus Cousins: Okay.
Beno Udrih: The Yeti do not approve.
Darnell jackson: And I thought Milwaukee was bad in the wintertime….
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985...... On Twitter
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Ziller's writing cracks me up.
Vladimir Radmanovic – Vladmir “The Space Cadet” Rad-farking-manovic – outwitted the entire Kings team. Monta Ellis is a goat standing on a mountainside on the eastside of Highway 1, and Vlad Radmanovic is the Pacific Ocean, and the Kings just careened off the cliff and fell into the sea. :-(
Thumbs up man, thumbs up.
"Where I come from, being a fan isn’t measured by how many posts you make on a blog, or how much of a condescending jackass you can be, so take the disrespectful internet-cool-guy routine that you love to employ and shove it." ~ lchristmas
Just remember, this was NOT a playoff game.
It’ll ease the hurt inside.
"Where I come from, being a fan isn’t measured by how many posts you make on a blog, or how much of a condescending jackass you can be, so take the disrespectful internet-cool-guy routine that you love to employ and shove it." ~ lchristmas
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