Carl Landry Questions Paul Westphal, Makes Total Sense

Landry does not start the next game, but will start the game after that, preceded by a thunderous chest bump. Then, and only then, will Landry understand his role.

On a more serious note, I’ll be intrigued to see how this plays out. It is very difficult to see any flaws in Landry’s reasoning. Perhaps even more interesting, to me at least, is that Landry has been the role model of a good soldier up to this point. He went from a good situation to a bad one, but he’s never complained. He’s been bounced in and out of the line-up just as much as anyone, but he’s never made a fuss about it. He’s been the guy who showed up, worked hard, took his lumps early in the season, but just kept doing his job. I really, really like Landry and his professionalism. So when Landry begins questioning the system, everyone should listen.

but I HATE it when players feel like they need to vent to the media. I mean, your only here for another half a season (if you don’t get traded). And its not like you’re Steve Nash yourself, even when you were in Houston, never having averaged 1 assist over a year. It’s been bad, and most of the things he said were true, but there is no need to blast people like that.

because I’m not confident that at this point Westphal can really affect change in Tyreke’s game.

with “at this point”, do you mean that PW should have done it sooner and now it is too late, or that PW will have to wait for the off-season until he can change Tyreke’s (and the team’s) game?

He has a personality, he doesn’t speak clichés in a monotone, he’s a real joy in interviews. I know these aren’t reasons to offer him a fat free agency deal, but I am going to miss the man when he’s gone.

And about this topic, he appears to be right. If Evans can play a more team-oriented game, Westphal and Petrie will both get smarter overnight.

It seems like he has been reading some of the more astute posts on this site for months

- the low talent level on this team has been exaggerated
- the offensive system either sucks or is not being run per instructions- on a remarkably consistent basis
- this coaching staff cannot and\or will not influence our young star to play team ball

Summary: the coaching is a major problem on this team and the coach should have been fired 2 months ago.

I have been saying westphal is a awful all year,and you just made my point.westphal is here on the cheap.(money)maloofs do not want to spend money on a great coach so they hire coaches like westphal and hope for best.also they will not spend for big time players and they sure in the hell are not going to pay for a arena.so it is what it is.i say they will leave sacramento in 2012 i hope not but it is all about the money…

we are halfway through another awful season and this is one of the few hiccups in terms of team dynamics we’ve seen. This is minor, minor stuff so let’s all keep that in mind.

Now for the over-analyzing – I LOVE what Carl had to say about the current team/offense/coaching. The win streak mention is pie in the sky – but the fact that a player is calling out how crappy this coach’s system is gives me hope that these guys aren’t willing to bend over and take the blame for what I see as Westphal’s ineptitude. We’ve broken down last-second plays, rotations, etc – but the underlying point to all of that is this team does not move the ball well and are not held accountable for not moving the ball.

our starting guards combine for <10 assists a game. we are all excited about DMC’s passing ability but that is translating into 1.7 assists a game – not exactly Vladesque – more like Kamanesque. Landry, Greene, OC, SD, JT all with <1 assist a game – if you are moving the ball on offense guys would be getting at least 1 assist per game. Check out Houston’s roster by comparison and you see every player in their rotation avgs. at least 1 asst a game and most of them are over 2. that’s the ball movement Landry is talking about.

I guess they are somewhat critical of his teammates and the coaching staff but at the same time I don’t think this is the type of stuff that burns bridges really. Curious if PW reacts reasonably or goes the route he went last year.

and had a sign that reads_FIRE WESTPHAL_will they let me took it in arco?

but choosing Ailene Voisin as your platform is an extremely questionable choice. And that’s not a shot at Voisin. I just don’t understand how a bench player with an expiring deal that is very likely on his way out of town thinks that he is going to improve the situation by going public.

And 1 – I wonder if the primary issue for Landry is not wins and losses, but touches. This year is potentially costing Landry millions, so it is understandable that he has become frustrated.

And 2 – After all of this is said, I would love Landry to explain to me how Adelman made him a 10%+ better free throw shooter than Westphal.

You can read as much as you want into it, but it didn’t strike me so much as Carl taking shots at the coaching staff or fellow players as Carl implying that a young team needs to stop making dumb mistakes and start playing smarter basketball.

Which is really a big “no duh”.

He’s so much more eloquent than 90% of the league that it’s impossible to be angry at him for the criticism.

…It also helps that he’s completely correct. And it really could not have come at a worse time, when he’s playing considerably better than the past couple months. I’d hate to see him in the doghouse with Westphal simply for being candid. At this point, I would be very happy to see him stay and be our sixth man. His offense really is impressive when he isn’t settling for jumpers.

Sad panda.

And let’s just focus our attention on making fun of cowboyron!

There are teams out there that have a couple of the best players in the world – they’re able to defeat other teams simply because they have better players. The isolations, the stutter steps, the pull up threes – those are signs of the most elite tier of player that (almost otherworldly) can connect time after time after time.

Tyreke isn’t that dude. He thinks he is that dude, but he’s not there yet. DMC thinks he can brute force anyone in the post, and while he could be that dude, he’s not. They have to play excellent TEAM basketball to win games, and of all the games I’ve watched, it looks like everyone wants to be a superstar. Adelman enforces excellent team basketball – that’s why his teams are usually successful. Dude knows what he is doing – his record proves that

Paul Westphal has failed. Plain & simple. I really don’t see how anyone can argue this. Don’t get me wrong. I understand another coaching search on a budget is terrifying. It scares the hell out of me too but something has to change. They should have hired Thibideau in the 1st place but he’s taken now. So wait for the offseason & do some major homework & for God sakes don’t be afraid to spend a few bucks. Find the best assistant on a great team. The Spurs or Celtics most likely. Probably stay away from the Lakers. A triangle offense might be too complicated for a young team.

lead to losses and the Kings take more shots when leaning backwards then any team I have witnessed. WP should bench anyone shooting fade shots to reinforce the issue so these guys square up to the basket.

is officially on the menu. Comes with your choice of Fire (Wesphal) or ’Reke Sauce….

Tyreke has ball hog tendencies for a few weeks, and have emphatically stated PW has done a poor coaching job all year. And this team has significantly underachieved.

If you review the games so far, and relatively easy schedule, you will count 20 to 21 games where the Kings were at home within striking distance, on the road with the lead. They repeatedly squandered away quarters and possessions, underperformed and could not execute.

Strategic coaching, effective play sets, key substitutions, cohesive play would have made all the difference. If half of those games have different outcomes, the Kings are close to a .500 team.

As far as Landry calling out the coach, I think the job PW has done is pretty pretty self-evident. PW doesn’t need Landry to point out he has coached ineffectively. He has shown that all by himself.

Preseason was squandered by PW and not put to best issue, either, with inattention to detail and a bunch of nonsensical lineups leading to opener. The level of play we are witnessing now, improved competitiveness, could have been achieved 15 to 20 games into the season, not 40 games.

If PW is the coach next season, he was a feline in a previous life.

As he complains about this team is playing, he’s played much better recently (especially in hitting his FT’s). He’s gotten to the line 71 times this month, and that’s 16 more than December (where he got to the line 55 times). Oh, but this month also has 2 more games to increase that total.

His FG% for the first 2 months of the season was around 45%. Now for January it’s around 53%.

His TS% is now 59.7% for the month. Of all the guys who seemed to have turned a corner this month, Landry is absolutely one of them. He’s also one reason the Kings have been more competitive and in many close games (although they pretty much have been lost at the end with some kind of meltdown). It’s not an accident that the Kings have been better recently in FT shooting because Evans and Landry are shooting better percentages from there. Since they are among the 3 best Kings at drawing fouls and getting to the line (Cousins being the other), it’s incredibly important they convert.

I guess my point here is that while I understand Landry’s frustration, I’m not sure you can skip the process of growing up in the NBA and speed it up to where you start to win consistently. That’s the goal, and I don’t think it’s changed. But in the meantime, you’re sure gonna have a lot of frustration.

I don’t care what Landry says. Westphal is using him the best way he can, but the problem here is that your 2 best players are 21 and 20 years old who are nowhere near being polished products. Sure, I can see why Landry’s frustrated in all of this. It’s frustrating to play with youth, even talented youth, and thus the losing. The name of the game, after all, is winning and the Kings haven’t done that.

I think reading this as pointing the finger at Tyreke is completely off-base. Landry IS NOT saying that Tyreke is selfish or a ball hog at all.

He is saying that his coach is running a slow half court, one-on-one offense that focuses on isolation plays instead of an up tempo style that would capitalize on their youth and on the ability of their players on the fast break.

Evans is awesome getting into the paint before the other team has time to pack the paint. We have wings that can cut to the hoop and big men that can come in for the dunk or the offensive rebound and follow-up dunk.

This team would be much better playing a more up tempo style, but they don’t because that IS NOT the offensive system. That is what Carl is saying. Can’t argue with that.

Adelman is a great coach – one of the best of all time in terms of wins. Not coincidentally, he already has a job. What coach that would be interested in taking over a bad team in a small market is on Adelman’s level? Saying PW should coach more like Rick Adelman is like saying Carl Landry should play more like Tim Duncan. Just because it’s true, doesn’t mean saying it in the press is going to make the team better. So what is Carl’s motivation for saying it?

It’s crazy to me that people don’t see losing and making coaching changes as a self-perpetuating cycle. Like players, coaches must be given time to develop – not just their own skills, but also their relationship with the team. If an undeniably great coach isn’t waiting in the wings (looks around), and the present coach hasn’t “lost” the team, why set the franchise back by starting from scratch? It’s funny that Carl should use the example of Adelman to make his point, since the coaching carousel created by letting him go has been such an obvious destabilizer for the Kings. What’s even funnier is that Carl should bring this to the table when the team is clearly playing better of late. I ask again, what IS Carl’s motivation for saying it?

The point is, if you replace the head coach with every disappointing season, you’ll remain a loser forever. Let’s let the basketball IQ and chemistry improve with experience, and raise the talent level with another high pick and our oft discussed cap space. Then – assuming we’re still not satisfied with the “system” or the wins and losses – we might actually be able to attract a great coach, instead of one who’s simply shiny and new.

Carl Landry apologizes to teammates. Says his comments about players being selfish were taken out of context

It’s not the players, it’s the coach

It’s more the players not following the coach’s system than it is the coach not having a strong game plan.

It’s more the awful coahes not developing the young players on the team.

I just can’t sort this out, everyone has a finger pointing at someone else. Something needs to change, someone has to go.

this is brilliant