Queue the dark and foreboding music!

"In a city rich with rivers and miners...their will be peril and sacrifice and there will be redemption"...the Smart one will lead the way. Along with his Cousin, he will Reke out victory using Tons of Thorn and Purple Hayes. An Outlaw shall arise, but will defend and not take the 3 things he seeketh most. A Great Lake will deliver a messenger to Capitol. He shall shall sing the nylong song and speak to the people from long distances and with string music. Amidst it all, a great building will take root. Owned by a man both rich and poor it cannot be. So the people shall own and the people shall reap great riches from their building and for their city. The Great building will serve as the foundation. A family will be born and reared there. And they shall be Kings."

Here's how I see it in the near term.Offense, Defense, Leadership, Results...after the jump.

Backcourt:

Jimmer will start at PG moving Tyreke to the 2 and Marcus to 6th man. Salmons is on this team to defend and play an overall solid game. He and Tyreke are talented and flexible enough defensively to help Fredette when matchups are challenging.
Result - Better ball movement. More space on the floor. Improved team FG%. Improved 3PT%. A/T ratio better than 1/1! It's a humble goal. But we shall overcome!

Frontcourt:

Hickson and Demarcus round out the starting unit. Hickson focuses on hitting the boards at both ends and the Kings improve their rebounding dramatically. HIckson solidifies his spot at the 4. Momma said "Thompson is what Thompson does" He hustles, he fouls, and he can't be fun to play against! Hayes returns in 3 weeks and adds to the depth adn defense of the frontcourt. Cousins continues to improve his game and manage his emotions.
Result: DMC averaging 22 and 12 by March. Kings consistently winning the rebound results.

6th Man:

Marcus will come off the bench and play the role for which he's currently designed: Scoring assassin. If he and Coach Jackson aren't talking and implementing additions daily to Marcus' offensive game, we're in trouble!

Results: Thornton will be a top five 6th man by year's end. Maybe better.

Bench: Travis Outlaw and Francisco Garcia offer a variety of skills and some good team-defense abilities. Their game-to-game minutes fluctuate based on match-ups and their own individual hot streaks. Very flexible players able to balance a team's needs nicely. IT plays sparingly barring injury, but is consistently effective and disruptive.

Leadership:

Smart is an active, vocal, direct and positively passionate personality. He's calling out "3 seconds" when the shot clock is running down (unlike Westphal! that always pissed me off) He's successfully changed the offensive flow of the team and the Kings are now running right from the defensive board. Their filling lanes, getting the ball to the middle, and converting consistently. Their on court fundamentals have improved. Picks are harder, rolls are quicker. Bobby Jackson's role and influence increases.

Result: Kings will have a .500 month and play .500 basketball consistently by mid-season.

Immediate to do items:

Team: Fifty 3 on 1 & 2 on 1 breaks at every practice. Extra credit for no dribbling.

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