Grizzlies 102, Kings 85

There have been quite a few games this year where a bad stretch of offense has killed us (especially when that stretch lasts a quarter or a half!). I’ve plead with the tv screen on more than one occasion: “please, please run a good set and get a good shot!”

Didn’t see the game, but checked the box at the end of the 3rd and the free throw disparity was pretty significant. What up with that?

however, we need top 5 pick this year in the draft. So… I was not all that dissapointed. 8th pick in this years draft does not sound very sexy!

I actually have to disagree a bit with TZ here: Tyreke does kill ball movement when he consistently goes 1 on 4/5. It also takes his teammates out of the game. Regardless, in the 2nd half, when nobody could or (in Landry’s and Beno’s case) would throw it in the ocean, you need somebody who can get his own shot or force fouls. Tyreke is the man for that. Beno is much more effective than Tyreke at moving the ball and working the pick and pop, but when the offense breaks down Beno can’t consistently get his own shot. He’s a rhythm shooter and, for the most part, must square his body and get a good look before he’ll shoot. I have not problem with that; he understands his limitations. However, that limitation hurt us last night when they really locked into Beno and were forcing other people to make shots. Tyreke, I suspect, would have found a way to score where other’s could not.

Of course, it didn’t help that PW yanked Spencer and gave us JT instead for a good part of the 3rd and 4th. Predictably, the offensive flow stagnated and the defensive side turned into a hack fest. (Why is it that JT will run straight into an offensive player or hack an offensive player and then argue every call with the ref? They guy just needs to move his feet and keep his arms straight up. He’s got the athleticism to be a good defender. But sometimes slowing down is better than speeding up.) Without Spencer at the high post working with Beno, the offense turned into a lot of one-on-one play, the turnovers mounted as players started trying to do too much instead of just taking what the defense was giving.

I didn’t’ like PW’s rotations at all last night – especially in the 2nd half.

well Cisco is my guy but this one had had bad Cisco’s fingerprints all over it – then it got away.

PW did what he always does (I’m not complaining) he trys to win with defense. Ime got 18min. and was 1-6 (had to laugh when JR mentioned Ime liking the corner 3), and then when we are losing in the 4th PW goes small and puts in a lot of shooter. Noc was in there to shoot and that’s what he did, so it’s not Noc’s fault.

In my Game Keys, I said I was worried about conditioning. Beno & Cisco played a lot of minutes in back to back games, and Cisco hasn’t been back from his injury that long so I expected his shot to fall off. A note on Beno: in the Clips game he finished the 1st half with 4 assists. His first 6 assists in the 3rd were mostly in transision for easy shots at the rim. Most of the assists in the 4th were from long shots. In the Memphis game we didn’t get any transision easy baskets because we didn’t rebound as well, and we couldn’t get any easy baskets at the rim with Memphis’ big’s defending the basket. So, the only thing left was the long ball and we just aren’t that good of a 3pt shooting team.

I also had Donte as one of my game keys. Gay outscored him by 13, but Donte only took 3 shots. For the most part he defended Gay well, but we needed him to rebound and that falls on him. I’ve said this before, the Kings do not run plays for their SF’s. We set them up at the 3pt arc and feed them the ball. They have to create on their own, and Donte isn’t as good of a ball handler as either Noc or Omri. Until he improves, he needs to be set up in the paint, because he’s a pretty good post up player. If we don’t, only expect defense and an occasional hot streak from the 3.

Spencer did his job on the defensive boards. he had 3 blocks and he held Thabeet to 1 offensive rebound by blocking him out. On Offense, Spencer’s job was to pull his man away rom the basket, and never was really in position to rebound without fouling. And, as usual his foul trouble came when he had to give help on penentration when someone else lost their man.

Finally, the Kings are just starting to run plays for each other. Beno’s pick & pop has always been there, but we added Cisco’s curl into the lane off the screen. Beno had a back screen and even Tyreke has set some picks in recent games. Other than that, it’s Evans orLandry one on one. When we actually see movement off the ball leading to an easy basket, it’s so astounding that you have to ask, why they don’t do that more often.

The truth is we’re not playing good team basketball. The defense has gotten better, but the offense is just now showing signs of life. There are so many needs; a rebounder and a high percentage SG, and better scoring from the SF that I really believe we can’t help but improve through the draft. We’re not as good as we looked against the Clippers and were not as bad as we looked against Memphis. With better team offense we have the personel to compete with them now. We just can’t playing one on one.

Rodney Mott #71 just killed the Kings the first three quarters and Joey Crawford followed through in the last 12 minutes. The disparity was embarassing and upsetting. It changed the whole game. JT had 5 quick fouls, and if it weren’t for the fact that the Griz were missing so many FT the score would have been much worse. That the Kings could have the game at 80-80 despite this disadvantage speaks well to the players and coaching staff tenacity.

The lows: Cisco was out there too much but his replacements were equally ineffective – Donté was invisible, Omri is trying but not doing. Ime is a beast, if the world were fair he would have a reliable jump shot, it isn’t, he doesn’t.. Noce is a terror – I was surprised Rudy Gay didn’t turn around and smack him. I like Noce on the Kings because I would hate the guy if they played against him.

The highs: Landry is smooth and strong. TZ better describes his patient, smart game. Beno’s stop and pop in the midrange is spectacular. Spencer has a good grasp of the game but not on how to best assert himself. He handles the offensive well but has not made the connection between when and where and how. Defensively his effort is there, he seems to be following coaching but athletically he is limited. In regards to last night, he defended well and was called for breathing wrong.

The game came down to OJ Mayo scoring ten straight, assisting on another and the Kings going O fer. Also the Grizz just out sized the Kings. Thabeet was not Thabust last night. He is slow. He tries to block everything and is often out of plays but his height had him alter a few shots and his length was good for some alleys (he ddn’t oop) and some boards. His hips were about 3-4 inches higher than Spencers’. The guy has a wide torso and shoulders, he is all arms and legs and his legs are thick. He still looks like a project but less so. He is so far more advanced than Hassan Whiteside…( a bit of a poke at lttg there).

Yes, I would not be surprised if the Tyreke-less Kings struggled and lost to the Nyets.

God I can’t even stand to look at the Bee’s sportspage anymore. I’m personally offended they allow a F#ker fan to be the paper’s writer for the kings.