Discussion on the 2010-2011 Kings Season

[ADoaN17]

So, what did you guys think about the season?
What predictions did you get right/wrong?

Lets try to not talk about the move but focus on the previous season.

- I expected Cousins to be 15/9, almost got it but didn't expect him to have trouble with his efficiency/fouls/TO. Overall, I thought he did good and will learn alot from this season.
- Tyreke.......
- Knew Landry was ganna be trade, also thought Dally would be as well
- Greene/Casspi were very disappointing this season, Donte stepped up towards the end tho.
- Beno stayed the same
- Marcus Thornton is a boss. Hope to see him work on his 1v1 defense.
- Dally/JT were frustrating and expected more out of JT. I knew Dally would be frustrating on offense but he was better than I expected.

[pillwenney]

Tyreke needs to figure some sh*t out. I know he was hurt for a lot of the year, and we can't forget that, but there were a lot of other things about his play that concerned me.

[City of Trees]

Agreed, Tyreke definitely took a couple steps backwards. Looking past the injuries there are a couple issues i have with his progress.

One, his shot never came to form this year. There was so much talk about Reke finding his shot in the offseason, well if he found it he surely didnt share it with the rest of us, his form improved but i didnt see the type of improvment % wise that we all hoped to see. Teams stiill cround the paint when he has the ball and it has proven to be effective with tyreke struggling to finish at the rim.

Second, I think his passing improved slightly but its still nothing special. The offense doesnt flow through Reke like a point guard. It is still pound the ball away until you cant find a shot, then drive and kick. Not as much ball movement as id like to see here.

Thirdly, i feel he can improve moving without the ball. I think this area in his game lacks due to his ability to utilize his shot. Once his shot starts to fall and he gains confidence, he will learn the importance of this skill.

And last thing that kinda irks me and its probably not his fault but i still think its mentionable, The inability to consistently run the pick and roll with DMC. Once these guys figure out how easy life is with this play we will see a tandem formed.

Some areas of Reke's game i liked:

His ability to rebound and push the ball. He can really get after it in the open court and is still deadly as ever even with the inuries.

Defense looked sharp, seems like he took less plays off

The Dunk on Neal.. why is he not dunking more often if he can get up like that? Forget a layup, put the ball down hard and stop with so much finesse .

[sackings916]

I agree about Tyreke. I think this team would be a lot better if Tyreke took the role as a playmaker first and scorer second. Tyreke can break defenses down consistently he needs to move the ball more. Every pass you make doesn't have to be an assist and I dont know if Tyreke understands that.

Cousins had a good year and has all the tools to get better. I want to see him lighter next year as I think the added quickness will make him that much more dangerous offensively.

[KF10]

The thing about Tyreke this year was injuries, injuries and injuries. He missed 20+ due to injuries. Notably plantar fascitiis. As fans, we really never saw him at his optimal, healthy self at all this season. So, I think it's fair we give him another year before we make a decision about him. With that said, here are my concerns about Evans:

-His jumper.

It's still not at the level that he can consistently use as a major offensive threat. Sure, it's a little better than last year's but not enough that he can use over and over again, which he's been doing at times throughout a game. Although, his three point shooting has improved: his spot up 3s.

-His decision making during a period of time.

In general, his decision making is alright but there is a period of time that his decision making is simply awful. From taking an ill-advised shot to not passing the ball for opportune situations: 1 on 3 fast breaks.

-So, is he a 1 or a 2?

This is the most asked question about Tyreke in the last couple of years. Personally, it isn't a major concern for me because under the Kings offense, the 1 and the 2 are interchangeable. What I mean by that is that both positions are not really defined. Most of the time, Tyreke handles the ball, creates for himself or creates for others. By traditional standards, Tyreke is a 2 with very good passing, playmaking abilities for his position. Think of a Wade/Roy mold-type of player. To me, I'm ok with that.

Here are some things I liked about him:

-His ability to get to the basket

Injuries or not, he was still lethal breaking down defenses of all kinds. It's still amazing that teams in the NBA can't stop Evans, knowing that he has a weak jumper, going to the basket and convert from there. Most people here already acknowledged that his ability to get to the basket is his best asset. He has the ability to see angles and openings in the defenses that only a handful of players in the league has. I remember at one point I said to myself, 'he was a better finisher than last year even WITH his foot problems!'

-His defense

I thought his defensive effort was awesome this season. I didn't see him blowing off assignments: most notably off the ball frequently anymore in comparison of last year. He is getting around screen better and sticking to his man better too. His man to man defense is already spectacular. Like always, he has the 'shutdown' defense potential.

-Off the ball movement

I thought his off the ball movement has improved. Sure, he has the tendency to stand around the perimeter once he passes the ball but this year I see him making cuts to the basketball, setting off the ball screens, making himself a post option etc etc more frequent now. When he gets his jumper at the appropriate level, his off the ball movement will be more valuable.


I still think Evans has room to improve. He is only 21 years old! I'm still under the notion that when he gets his jumper down and fine tunes a couple of things, he is going to be a HUGE star in the L.

============

Personally for me, this season has been a disappointment in the sense of improving last season's record. I predicted this team would end up with mid-30 wins this season. This year, they were one win shy of tying last year's record. They had a horrible start of the season. But redeemed themselves of having a good second half of the season. With that said, this team is still very, very promising. A full season of Thornton, improvements of Evans & Cousins, top-5 pick, cap space etc etc, we as fans shouldn't be down. It's only going to be better.

I think there shouldn't be ANY reason to think that this team ISN'T a potential PLAYOFF TEAM next season or at the latest, the season after. If things click well enough (barring injures), I could see this team in a similar pathway ala this year's Grizzlies (flirting with the 6-7-8 seeds) as early as NEXT SEASON.