Phoenix (21-13) @ Sacramento (14-19)

[SacKingZZZ]

It's a problem, I agree, but it's a good problem to have, and it can be reduced by going small, the guys I'm satisfied with the least are Hawes and JT, they will suffer, I believe their minutes would drop to around 25-30, while Noc and Donte getting 10 PF minutes each, with another 5-10 at the 3. Guys that won't see court as much will be Udoka, KT and SRod.

Sure it is, unless you sit on your hands and watch the assets you have depreciate due to lack of playing time. If there were ever a time to make a move it would probably be now.

[SacKingZZZ]

Everyone seems to play under Paul westphal, and that's means when we play other teams we are just adjusting to their style of play. because we dont have a consistent style of play.

We lost so many close games. so I think the players lost confidence in their coach...

Time of death. Jan 5 2009, 12:40


Geoff Petrie assembled this team from the ground up, Paul westphal gets too much credit for the success of the kings team.

Does anybody remember the fact that they were down 20 at one point! This had the makings of a complete blowout, this team fought back and has done so on more than one occassion. No, this is a young team playing very well on it's way to another quality draft pick and a bright, bright future.

[Wolfay]

Everyone seems to play under Paul westphal, and that's means when we play other teams we are just adjusting to their style of play. because we dont have a consistent style of play.

We lost so many close games. so I think the players lost confidence in their coach...

Time of death. Jan 5 2009, 12:40


Geoff Petrie assembled this team from the ground up, Paul westphal gets too much credit for the success of the kings team.

You couldn't be any more wrong. Any person can see that the team has the utmost faith in Westphal's coaching, and he's the main reason why we've made so much progress in such a short amount of time.

I think you're being impatient in getting results. It takes time to get everything together. Either that, or you simply don't have a clue.

[KF10]

It's frustrating to see the Kings come out short again. I want to see this team be rewarded with success based on their heart and effort that they play every game. But with that said, I kinda expect from a young team that results will not be instantaneous. I think almost everyone would agree with me that this season is a huge improvement from last season. And I think that is enough to satisfy Kings fans no matter what this team does this year.

[longfellow44]

We do have a major problem here with our wing situation. We don't really want to cut into Casspi or Greene's minutes because of the potential that they are showing. However we really need to get Garcia and Martin Minutes because they are great players. Martin is going to come in and get like 33mpg. Garcia should get around 20mpg unless he unseats someone else. This means that our PG rotation is going to be cut back basically putting Sergio on the shelf. Nocioni hasn't really played well this year so I see him being the target of minute cuts as well. KT while decent probably experiences a bit of a minute crunch as well largely because he's mostly an expiring.

What we need to do is move KT for someone like Darko who can get a couple minutes in our rotation but is still expiring. We need to move Nocioni for scraps that likely won't play and expire sooner, If we can get value that's fine but the whole idea is to get him outta here. Sergio is expiring and he'll make a great 3rd pg until the summer when he's gone, likely won't get much playing time but thats not a big deal. Udoka's minutes are gone too.

Rotation when Garcia and Martin return
Evans35/Beno13
Martin35/Beno10/Garcia3
Casspi25/Garcia18/Greene5
Thompson25/Greene15/Nocioni8
Hawes33/Thompson10/Brockman5

The way i see it is it will come down to a showdown between Garcia and Nocioni to see who will get playing time. I think Garcia will win because he's a better overall shooter than nocioni and is also a better ball handler though he is capable of making really dumb decisions just like Nocioni so we will still have to live with those mental mistakes.

[KF10]

This is was an interesting quote from Nash from the recap:

"As far as talent and athleticism and size, they're better than we are in many ways," Nash said. "But experience and cohesion has got to be what allows us to beat a team like that."

It makes you wonder how good the young core of the Kings really is. I personally believe we are up there with the Thunder and the Grizzlies with young talent and an excellent core to build around.

[perezident]

We're better KF10! The difference between the Thunder, Memphis and us is, we're not fully healthy, but they are. I feel as if once we get fully healthy i.e, Martin and Cisco are back -- we'd be in the conversation for a playoff spot.

We're losing alot of close games due to defensive stops (Cisco), free throw making (Martin,Cisco) etc.

Once these guys come back we'll have more weapons to use and the MOST of the mistakes guys like Ime and Noc make will be limited to the nth degree.

[KingInExile]

Everyone seems to play under Paul westphal, and that's means when we play other teams we are just adjusting to their style of play. because we dont have a consistent style of play.

We lost so many close games. so I think the players lost confidence in their coach...

Time of death. Jan 5 2009, 12:40


Geoff Petrie assembled this team from the ground up, Paul westphal gets too much credit for the success of the kings team.

Petrie also assembled last year's team that only won 17 games. Yet it was Theus and eventually Natt that were let go for that disgrace and not Petrie.

Be careful about singling out anyone for "credit" when things are looking up unless your prepared to single out that same person with "blame" when things are down.

[darkadun]

Don't get me wrong, you need talent. But Coaching is a big aspect of success. Players have to respect their coach and want to play for them. Theus had a Ok first year, but they certainly didn't respect him last year, or Natt afterwards. Westphal and his staff have experience playing basketball and coaching it. Players respect that and play hard for him.

Look at the difference in Beno. Beno fully admits that last year in Theus/Natt's system he had no idea what his role was, he it certainly showed on the floor. This year, total opposite, and Beno's play has been great. Westphal seems like he communicates very well with his players. He isn't perfect, but he is a big aspect of the current success (compared to last season) we're having.

[pillwenney]

Yeah Westphal deserves a ton of credit for the team's play this year. And to say that this team can't close out close games because they don't have faith in the coach is ridiculous. It's a young team. That stuff is going to happen--a lot. These losses are wearing on me, but I understand that it's part of the process.

Having said that, I do agree with the criticism of adjusting to the other teams style of play. I thought we could have benefited greatly from staying big tonight and posting Spencer inside. This is Channing Frye and Amare. This front line is stopping nobody. Feed it to Spencer in the post. He gets blocked way, way less often when his back is to the basket.

Having said that I think I figured out what we need from our bigs offensively--we need a finisher. So many times last night Tyreke penetrated at will and got Spencer and JT great opportunities around the basket. But inevitably, Spencer would get blocked or JT would fumble the ball. That just isn't their strength. So that's really what we need from a big offensively right now. We need a guy that can really finish around the basket.

Two other things I have to say though - First, Tyreke is really awesome. Outside of a shaky start, he really carried the crap out of the team last night. Having said that...

Right now, Steve Nash is really really awesome. You can argue about where he ranks in the league over all, and when you factor in defense, but offensively, he's one of probably about 5 guys in the league where you can see him make a play and just kind of have your mind blown. If there is any hole in your defense at all, he will find it, and he will exploit it. He's just one of those guys who you watch and think "well I don't know what my team can do differently." I really hope Amare like, I don't know, pays for Nash's house or something. Nash has absolutely made Amare's career what it is. I thought one of the worst aspects of our game last night was not taking enough advantage when Nash was out of the game. Because when he was in, there just wasn't consistently much we could do.

[KF10]

We're better KF10! The difference between the Thunder, Memphis and us is, we're not fully healthy, but they are. I feel as if once we get fully healthy i.e, Martin and Cisco are back -- we'd be in the conversation for a playoff spot.

We're losing alot of close games due to defensive stops (Cisco), free throw making (Martin,Cisco) etc.

Once these guys come back we'll have more weapons to use and the MOST of the mistakes guys like Ime and Noc make will be limited to the nth degree.

Well, I meant by "young core". Martin and Garcia is part of the core but they are considered as veterans at this point. But I do agree that once both Garcia and Martin is fully (and successfully) integrated into the starting lineup, this team can make some noise.

[darkadun]

I agree about Nash, mitch. What he does for the suns is unbelievable. You can see why he is a two time MVP. When he is not in the game, it's abundantly obvious. And what you said about Amare is interesting, because I wonder if he leaves or if Nash would leave, how good would Amare be? Don't get me wrong, the guy has talent, but he might not be "as good" as he appears to be. Who knows tho? I think it'd be funny if he went somewhere else and totally tanked.

[cdt3]

Yeah Westphal deserves a ton of credit for the team's play this year. And to say that this team can't close out close games because they don't have faith in the coach is ridiculous. It's a young team. That stuff is going to happen--a lot. These losses are wearing on me, but I understand that it's part of the process.

Having said that, I do agree with the criticism of adjusting to the other teams style of play. I thought we could have benefited greatly from staying big tonight and posting Spencer inside. This is Channing Frye and Amare. This front line is stopping nobody. Feed it to Spencer in the post. He gets blocked way, way less often when his back is to the basket.

Having said that I think I figured out what we need from our bigs offensively--we need a finisher. So many times last night Tyreke penetrated at will and got Spencer and JT great opportunities around the basket. But inevitably, Spencer would get blocked or JT would fumble the ball. That just isn't their strength. So that's really what we need from a big offensively right now. We need a guy that can really finish around the basket.

Two other things I have to say though - First, Tyreke is really awesome. Outside of a shaky start, he really carried the crap out of the team last night. Having said that...

Right now, Steve Nash is really really awesome. You can argue about where he ranks in the league over all, and when you factor in defense, but offensively, he's one of probably about 5 guys in the league where you can see him make a play and just kind of have your mind blown. If there is any hole in your defense at all, he will find it, and he will exploit it. He's just one of those guys who you watch and think "well I don't know what my team can do differently." I really hope Amare like, I don't know, pays for Nash's house or something. Nash has absolutely made Amare's career what it is. I thought one of the worst aspects of our game last night was not taking enough advantage when Nash was out of the game. Because when he was in, there just wasn't consistently much we could do.

This is not fair to the big guys. I have watched every game myself on NBA.com. Tyreke has been great at penetrating but right now only kicks it out for jumpers. JT played as a center for 4 years in college and knows how to recieve passes. Every big man goes through the same pains because the NBA is at a different speed thna college.

None of the big men get enough touches in a place they can score by Tyreke right now. So when Tyreke attacks the paint of course JT thinks he won't pass. JT spends every game getting out of Evans way. These are the little things this team needs to iron out.

These wins do not come over night. When Bibby came here he was 23, Webber was 25. Right now Evans is 19 and JT 23. It will take time to get to become NBA vets. And the only way people learn in NBA or life is failure. The Lakers in Kobe's rookie year routinely got killed by the Kings, he even threw up airballs in the clutch. Tyreke and JT and the rest of this core will get to this point in 2-4 years. They may even make the playoffs when Martin/Garcia get back.

[SacKingZZZ]

Petrie also assembled last year's team that only won 17 games. Yet it was Theus and eventually Natt that were let go for that disgrace and not Petrie.

Be careful about singling out anyone for "credit" when things are looking up unless your prepared to single out that same person with "blame" when things are down.

Yet, on the other hand it was Geoff that finally realized it was time to suck our way into a legit star. Done and done.

[pillwenney]

This is not fair to the big guys. I have watched every game myself on NBA.com. Tyreke has been great at penetrating but right now only kicks it out for jumpers. JT played as a center for 4 years in college and knows how to recieve passes. Every big man goes through the same pains because the NBA is at a different speed thna college.

None of the big men get enough touches in a place they can score by Tyreke right now. So when Tyreke attacks the paint of course JT thinks he won't pass. JT spends every game getting out of Evans way. These are the little things this team needs to iron out.

These wins do not come over night. When Bibby came here he was 23, Webber was 25. Right now Evans is 19 and JT 23. It will take time to get to become NBA vets. And the only way people learn in NBA or life is failure. The Lakers in Kobe's rookie year routinely got killed by the Kings, he even threw up airballs in the clutch. Tyreke and JT and the rest of this core will get to this point in 2-4 years. They may even make the playoffs when Martin/Garcia get back.

It's completely fair. They're getting plenty of opportunities around the basket. If Tyreke is guilty of anything, it's that he takes too long to make his move towards the basket. But once he penetrates, he's a more than willing passer if the situation calls for it. JT and Spencer get plenty of opportunities because of Tyreke's passing in traffic. They just don't capitalize on them like other bigs would. They might improve, but as of right now, that's a real weakness of the team.

[10B10]

This is just another game where we didn't quite close it out. I feel like its a recurring story where we can point to one or two plays that really hurt us. What I like is that we are at least playing constantly competitive. It hurts now but will pay off in games to come as the young guys learn how to execute down the stretch.

I am getting excited to have Kevin back soon for a couple of reasons. First, how many wide open jumpers did Tyreke set up for guys like Udoka & Noc & Beno last night that they just weren't able to hit? I remember quite a few and a healthy Kevin Martin will hit those shots. Seriously, though, Tyreke should have had a triple double last night, but thats basketball I guess. Second, free throws really are killing us. It wasn't so prevalent yesterday, but a great free throw shooter like Kevin will be a breathe of fresh air. Whether or not you think he should be here long term, it should be exciting to see what we can do with a completely healthy team.

Also, an offensively relevant Jon Brockman is exactly what this team needs at 5. I don't know who that player is or where we can get him but that's what I want.