Game 68: Sacramento Kings (21-46) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (39-29) - 8:00 PM ET
Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2018 7:48 pm
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Popovich wrote:Bogi can get cold from outside, just like against Slovenia in Euro-basket final .
Popovich wrote:Popovich wrote:Bogi can get cold from outside, just like against Slovenia in Euro-basket final .
But can go from cold to hot quickly too.
KF10 wrote:Dave is a win-now coach.
I wonder if there is a disconnect between the coaching and the front office? Does Vlade prefer his team to tank for a better lotto positioning or win games in the last stretch of the season? Almost every team in the bottom 10 are actively tanking and it looks like we are the only team that is actively searching for wins.
SacKingZZZ wrote:KF10 wrote:Dave is a win-now coach.
I wonder if there is a disconnect between the coaching and the front office? Does Vlade prefer his team to tank for a better lotto positioning or win games in the last stretch of the season? Almost every team in the bottom 10 are actively tanking and it looks like we are the only team that is actively searching for wins.
From what I recall around the trade deadline it sounded like Vlade is very hands off, which is not a good thing considering the way the year has turned out so far.
KF10 wrote:SacKingZZZ wrote:KF10 wrote:Dave is a win-now coach.
I wonder if there is a disconnect between the coaching and the front office? Does Vlade prefer his team to tank for a better lotto positioning or win games in the last stretch of the season? Almost every team in the bottom 10 are actively tanking and it looks like we are the only team that is actively searching for wins.
From what I recall around the trade deadline it sounded like Vlade is very hands off, which is not a good thing considering the way the year has turned out so far.
I get how the front office is letting Dave do his thing without too much hand-holding from the upper management but if they are not in the same page (e.g. different goals), why let it continue to happen?
Here is a snapshot of Dave's Kings team:
PTS/G: 99.2 (29th of 30)
Opp PTS/G: 107.2 (17th of 30)
SRS: -7.54 (29th of 30)
Pace: 95.1 (29th of 30)
Off Rtg: 104.0 (30th of 30)
Def Rtg: 112.3 (29th of 30)
Expected W-L: 17-51 (29th of 30)
FT rate: .197 (30th of 30)
3PAr: .277 (28th of 30)
This team stinks -- even if Dave's goal is to win every game. I get it. His job contains pressure and he is looking out for his own interest when it comes to future jobs but I don't like it because it jeopardizes lotto positioning. And given how close clustered the bottom teams are, we can't afford too many (if at all) "moral victories" imo.
Is Dave the right guy for the job? A good coach is able to play to his player's strength not the other way around. Which is what Dave is doing. He is putting his incompatible system to a bunch of players that are antithesis to the slow, grind basketball. It may work for Z-Bo but not for the rest of the team.
Dave's system when it comes to FT/3PA rates are outdated. The league is all about the 3PT shot and the ability to get to the line (& converting). Dave's Kings are doing neither. Even if he tries to slow down the pace to a snail rate, his team is still hemorrhaging when it comes to defense -- specifically giving up 3s (dead last).
codydaze wrote:Yet despite being last or almost last in all of those categories, we probably end the season with about as many wins as we got on average during the Boogie era. Looking at the remaining schedule, I see maybe 6-7 more wins which would put us exactly at Boogie's average. Now who that says most about, I don't know, but I do know we beat Cleveland, Golden State, Denver, Philly (twice) and New Orleans (twice) which I would put on the back of Joerger's coaching so I think we just need to patient with this season and not overreact.
Hell, we didn't even know which young guys would be a part of the young core going forward until like January/February evidenced by the moves we made at the deadline and then trade rumors swirling around some of them during that time. The pace has picked up in February/March so far too, both months have been our team's high in FGA and 3PA, attempts from deep specifically have really seen a jump.
KF10 wrote:Squeezing out 6-7 games due to coaching is a positive thing but I wonder how much more Dave could have gotten if he played to his player's collective strengths? Let's not forget a good handful of those wins were always supplemented with vets playing a great game. The youth do get their own share of credit but it's mostly Dave and the vets that propelled the team to victory in most nights.
The problem that I have is to what end we continue to rely on the vets and Dave's archaic system? The Kings are getting left behind when it comes to style of play and most (if not, all) of vets are ancient. It's a double no-no in today's league.
Which youngsters were question marks? Papa G? Malachi? Those players were easy to recognize that they were definitely in the outs. Everyone else are practically in the youth core. It doesn't took a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
February stats:
Pace: 98.2 (28th out of 30th)
http://stats.nba.com/teams/advanced/?sort=PACE&dir=1&Season=2017-18&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&Month=5
3PA: 26.3 (24th out of 30th) -- despite Kings being 10th in 3P%
http://stats.nba.com/teams/traditional/?sort=FG3A&dir=1&Season=2017-18&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&Month=5
March stats:
Pace: 96.7 (29th out of 30th)
http://stats.nba.com/teams/advanced/?sort=PACE&dir=1&Season=2017-18&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&Month=6
3PA: 27.3 (20th out of 30th) -- 3P%: 33.5% (28th out of 30th) They are shooting more despite increasing more 3PA. The opposite from previous month.
http://stats.nba.com/teams/traditional/?sort=FG3A&dir=1&Season=2017-18&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&Month=6
Where is the jump? I don't see it.
codydaze wrote:...
But is that what we want? Don't we want to lose as much as possible and get a good pick? Maybe playing the guys out of their comfort zone so they improve in areas that are outside of their strengths is the development plan for this season, it's a bold claim but something I actually believe may be the best case. You aren't always going to be able to play the game super fast, so having these guys learn to play in the half court set will be valuable. All the ZBO isos aren't valuable but I think it's been exaggerated as a problem. He gets 13 FGAs per game, it's not like he's putting up 16-17 shots a night.
Next season when the younger guys are ready to take on bigger roles and the vets move to the bench.
Skal's name was thrown around quite a bit too. Jackson's fluctuations in minutes lead me to believe they were getting a feel for him as well.
February and March have been team highs in FGA and 3PA by 3-4 attempts, that's the jump I'm talking about. They've even increased from February to March too. I'm also not a proponent of Pace will lead to wins. Boston, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Utah and San Antonio play with paces of 96.1, 95.9, 95.7, 95.4 and 95.1. Then you have Lakers and Phoenix both in the top 4 of pace. Again, I'm not worried about Joerger this season, I think he's doing a fine job. If we're still rolling out Koufos, Zbo and Temple 20+ minutes a night next year on the other hand...
codydaze wrote:KF10 wrote:SacKingZZZ wrote:
From what I recall around the trade deadline it sounded like Vlade is very hands off, which is not a good thing considering the way the year has turned out so far.
I get how the front office is letting Dave do his thing without too much hand-holding from the upper management but if they are not in the same page (e.g. different goals), why let it continue to happen?
Here is a snapshot of Dave's Kings team:
PTS/G: 99.2 (29th of 30)
Opp PTS/G: 107.2 (17th of 30)
SRS: -7.54 (29th of 30)
Pace: 95.1 (29th of 30)
Off Rtg: 104.0 (30th of 30)
Def Rtg: 112.3 (29th of 30)
Expected W-L: 17-51 (29th of 30)
FT rate: .197 (30th of 30)
3PAr: .277 (28th of 30)
This team stinks -- even if Dave's goal is to win every game. I get it. His job contains pressure and he is looking out for his own interest when it comes to future jobs but I don't like it because it jeopardizes lotto positioning. And given how close clustered the bottom teams are, we can't afford too many (if at all) "moral victories" imo.
Is Dave the right guy for the job? A good coach is able to play to his player's strength not the other way around. Which is what Dave is doing. He is putting his incompatible system to a bunch of players that are antithesis to the slow, grind basketball. It may work for Z-Bo but not for the rest of the team.
Dave's system when it comes to FT/3PA rates are outdated. The league is all about the 3PT shot and the ability to get to the line (& converting). Dave's Kings are doing neither. Even if he tries to slow down the pace to a snail rate, his team is still hemorrhaging when it comes to defense -- specifically giving up 3s (dead last).
Yet despite being last or almost last in all of those categories, we probably end the season with about as many wins as we got on average during the Boogie era. Looking at the remaining schedule, I see maybe 6-7 more wins which would put us exactly at Boogie's average. Now who that says most about, I don't know, but I do know we beat Cleveland, Golden State, Denver, Philly (twice) and New Orleans (twice) which I would put on the back of Joerger's coaching so I think we just need to patient with this season and not overreact.
Hell, we didn't even know which young guys would be a part of the young core going forward until like January/February evidenced by the moves we made at the deadline and then trade rumors swirling around some of them during that time. The pace has picked up in February/March so far too, both months have been our team's high in FGA and 3PA, attempts from deep specifically have really seen a jump.
SacKingZZZ wrote:And have also utilized quite the crop of win now veterans for most of the year. When considering that the Kings reeeeally shouldn't be that bad. Bogdan and Fox are barely scraping the top 10 in mpg for rookies this year. The Kings beat Golden State with no Curry or Durant and saying you beat a team 1 out of 4 times or largely due to their injuries is like considering an 8 point loss "close". It's perception based. The style part has gone different ways. There have been moments where they seem to finally commit to it, then you have the last couple of games where he's literally standing on the side calling play after play in garbage time.
KF10 wrote:If I were to give Dave a grade, it would be a C...maybe C-. I wouldn't say he was doing a "fine job"
codydaze wrote:SacKingZZZ wrote:And have also utilized quite the crop of win now veterans for most of the year. When considering that the Kings reeeeally shouldn't be that bad. Bogdan and Fox are barely scraping the top 10 in mpg for rookies this year. The Kings beat Golden State with no Curry or Durant and saying you beat a team 1 out of 4 times or largely due to their injuries is like considering an 8 point loss "close". It's perception based. The style part has gone different ways. There have been moments where they seem to finally commit to it, then you have the last couple of games where he's literally standing on the side calling play after play in garbage time.
A team on the backs of a 36 year old Zbo, Garrett Temple and Kosta Koufos, the "win-now" vets really shouldn't be this bad? So you're saying this team should have been as good, or better, as any of the Boogie led teams?
codydaze wrote:KF10 wrote:If I were to give Dave a grade, it would be a C...maybe C-. I wouldn't say he was doing a "fine job"
It's been abundantly clear from day one that Joerger is an "earn your minutes" coach and has the young guys on a short leash. Guys like Zbo, Temple, Koufos, VC have proved they are NBA players so they'll get their minutes. I like the approach, I know you and a lot of other posters don't like it but I honestly think that's the best for development, it keeps them hungry. These guys are pros and if they're sulking about minutes then maybe that's not a guy you want around. Buddy goes through lapses of really bad defense, being turnover prone and then gets pulled and plays short minutes. I'm fine with that. Skal is a black hole on offense and gets pushed around on defense so he gets pulled and plays short minutes. I'm fine with that too.
I understand wanting to play the young guys more and play faster but there isn't one, single development plan that works for every coach/team/player. Phoenix plays their young guys a ton and, in my opinion, to what their perceived strengths as a team should be and look where they are.