Kings 96, Hornets 80: Tyreke Evans Explodes As Sacramento Gets A W

but it’s also impossible to say, like many have done, that Westphal is creating this conflict out of thin air.

I think it’s clear that Cousins has been a distraction on some level off the court. Was it enough to warrant being suspended with pay? We as fans will never know for sure. But we saw a team that actually passed and ran plays tonight. It’s not just about the end result and box score.

He didn’t say “This team is a lot more cohesive…” or “this team is better without DMC”.

I’m surprised anyone would disagree with this.

Or Jan Vesely (since you guys showed interest in the draft) and some pieces not named McGee or Wall.

I see why these men don’t respect him as their leader. Because PW is not a leader of men.

Westphal said in an interview there is a lot people dont know about

You can certainly find games where his numbers were better, but I think saying it was one of his better games is about right. A lot of those statbusters came in losses, too.

Showing leadership, making good decisions. The points were basically gravy.

And remember, I said it was one of his best games as a pro. It definitely might be his best game since his rookie year, though.

but Jimmer keeps track of guys out of his vision

Most guys were shooting pretty poorly in the four he played and low and behold, most still shot pretty poorly.

It’s a 16 point win over a really bad team missing their best player. As Blob said, they were running a lot out of the high post.

I fail to see how Cousins and his ability to pass the ball and rebound would hurt us in this game.

Here’s an idea. Maybe the reason he was only making 32% of his shots is the same reason the rest of the team has been shooting poorly. Maybe he just needs what they all need. A little time and patience to get his form back.

that a huge amount of Cousins’s shots were on rebounds from his own misses. Also, in the Knicks game almost every shot he missed still hit the rim in at least two spots before rolling out. His shooting percentage will NOT be anywhere NEAR 32% over the course of a month or a season. You’re distorting reality to bash on DeMarcus.

This is why I think it is easy for fans to point out DMC and his angry face and point the blame at him because the media and NBA made such a media circus out of his attitude last year. But I think is seeing how Westy has handled these situations in the past, I’m figuring Paul is just as much if not a bigger douche than DMC. We can’t see Paul cry foul on the court, but we can take a look at his smug holly A%^ now and it all makes sense.

He’s a manipulative son-of-a-gun, I’ll give him that. Put yourself in his shoes. Here he is with an expiring contract, and expectations for a turnaround year. There’s a lot of enthusiasm about the reprieve the city of Sacramento received, the seats are full because the NBA brought in their marketing wizards to put butts in the seats. And the Kings lay three eggs in a row, the team is bickering, the fans are booing, the offense and transition defense is putrid, worse than most pessimistically imagined.

So PW is worrying about his team, and in the back of his mind, his future as an NBA head coach.

A new three year contract might be worth about $5 million dollars. Versus what? A $75,000 job as a TV analyst, or low six figure job as an assistant? Westphal was out of the NBA for 10 years prior to be hiring by the Kings. His income increased 10X annually by conservative estimates, from 100K to 1 million.

He is fighting for his coaching survival, every win he can muster, and a $5 million dollar payday. If he has to bad mouth a promising player, shift the focus to achieve self-preservation, find a convenient fall guy for a disappointing start, and air his dirty laundry for all to see, so be it.

I just hope the powers that be eventually see through this smokescreen.

Memo to PW: Your boy (Spencer Hawes) is third in the NBA in rebounding.

…little shits like us, sitting on the internet talking like we know everything…

namely winning games and trying to save his job.

I’m really glad we have him for 4 years if we choose to keep him, which we most definitely should.

The team as a whole has taken 411 FGA’s and made 166. If DeMarcus were shooting at 50% the team would have made 175 out of 411 which would have brought the team up to 42% which still sucks. Yes, maybe he shouldn’t be trying to make some of those contested shots under the basket. In some cases he should be kicking them out to restart the offense. And, after an 82 game career he should know better, Right?

Everyone makes excuses for the coaching staff and the FO, but when a young player trying to find his game in the paint makes some mistakes we all want to hang him from a cross because he’s emotional. We have no patience and if it isn’t DeMarcus than it’s Tyreke that needs to go.

I didn’t come into this season expecting the Kings to be that much improved over last season. So, I’m fine with all our young guys performance so far. Jimmer, IT, and DeMarcus all need to be given a chance. They might not be starter material, but even on their worst performances the team isn’t losing strictly because of them.