Run'N'Gun vs. Half Court

[Nicky Nix Nook]

Westphal wants to run'n'gun with a "motion" offense, but that doesn't seem like it fits our strengths. Not only that, but it is well documented that run'n'gun teams don't win rings.

With our size, strength, physicality, and defensive potential, I think we should be more half court oriented. I'd also like to see us become a defensive juggernaut because of how much potential we have on that end (Evans, Whiteside, Greene, Dalembert, Garcia, and Cousins, Casspi to a lesser extent).

Also I KNOW it's just preseason, but our offense has looked so discombobulated (<--awesome word). I mean I'll wait for a few games into the regular season to make a final judgement, but I see way too much isolation plays out there. I'm actually not opposed to Tyreke dominating the ball as long as he gets others involved (which I think he's been doing a better job at), but there isn't much fluidity out there. (Please don't interpret this an pre-season panicking; it's more of a side-thought)

Anyway, my main question is, what offense do you think we should run? Run'n'gun or half-court? What do you want our identity to be?

[KF10]

I think playing in the half court will take away some of the Kings' strength. But in any case, yeah, I would like to see a resemblance of a working offense.

From what I seen, it's been everywhere from multiple ISOs with specific players to ineffective sets of offense (like relying on Landry in the post against bigger guys lol).

Maybe Westphal is still experimenting with the lineups and matchups though. If so, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Probably within the first couple of games, Westphal will have a set rotation already and an stable offense too.

[OGSactownballer]

R & G won't work without having a traditional control PG to orchestrate things (a la a Nash, Williams, etc.). It would be especially bad with a young team and hit hard at their confidence going into the future.

Controlled break or push advance as it is feasible combined with a more control oriented half-court set is much more appropriate to the roster we currently have.

[KiNgSbOi]

I don't think we have the personnel to play a half court offense just yet. Tyreke needs to first get that jumper down and pat and we need to have a legit post threat before we talk about having a good half court offense. I don't consider throwing the ball down to Landry good enough, though he can score at times, he can't do it on his own and not tall enough to do it consistently. I think a run n gun system, for now suits us best until we find an identity. Not just watch Reke drive into traffic and either turn it over or kick it out to shooters who can't shoot.

[SacKingZZZ]

Getting up the court as fast as you can in order to set up your offense is good. The problem is what do you do when you get there? Easy baskets is also a very good thing but it's not the only thing. As time goes on Westphal needs to put his players in a position to succeed and I think as time goes on he eventually will.

I think "motion" offense is fine, but that obviously needs to be narrowed down into a more concise definition. Whatever "motion" we run better eventually be based around other guys "moving" around Reke and Cousins waiting for them to be clamped down into a double team so they can get the ball and shoot it or rest the offense.

[Wolfay]

What did Westphal use in his time in Phoenix? I was too young to remember, nor did I know much about basketball then either. I know it doesn't necessarily mean he'll use the same thing here in Sac, but coaches tend to use the same schemes from place to place.

[SacKingZZZ]

The Suns were "my team" back in the day, and honestly, I don't really know what they necessarily "ran". I know the players all did what they did well and he let KJ and Barkley do what they did. Different team in a very different phase of development and experience so it's hard to compare but I think that could be a very good role model for how this team should be handled. The thing with Westphal is I've never really heard of him being a really big game planner type. He might be better suited for a more established team, but I think having a players coach could be a real positive for a guy like Cousins especially.

[OGSactownballer]

That was a veteran team with a top 50 all-time player (Barkley) in the post. Every position was filled two to three deep on that squad. There is no comparison.

The problem with R & G also is that you have to have really good shooters (like PHX and GS) and we don't have that.

[pillwenney]

I'd argue that shooters are even more important in the halfcourt, but I digress.

JT is really our only big that is more well-suited for an up and down pace. And what others said is also true--that strategy really only works when you have the kind of PG that can orchestrate it all. We really don't. Aside from being generally unproven as a way to win championships (mostly because run and gun teams tend to go small, which just doesn't work in the POs), it's just not really a good fit with our team as a whole. Pushing the ball is fine. Any smart team is going to push the ball when the right opportunity comes. But run and gun? No thanks.

[SacKingZZZ]

Shooters are important regardless of style and I agree, maybe even more so in the half court depending on personnel. The thing with run and gun teams is that shooting is even that much more important since they typically don't have any post game/high percentage offense they can rely upon.

The argument of running, at least from the coaching staff, seems to be predicated on the fact that Tyreke is so hard to stop in the open court. Yes, it's true and in some ways he really reminds one of Magic Johnson chugging his way to the opposite rim. I just don't think that's how this team should play. Slow the game down a little bit, and use your strengths, the most obvious is size and skill. I don't think you have to call every play from the sidelines either, motion is perfectly fine and a player like Cousins is clearly skilled and talented beyond any 20 year old big I've seen in a great while, but start utilizing your talents and defining who does what and how you attack the other team. Hey, it's barely the start of the season, we'll see if Westphal can get that under control. If Cousins isn't put in a position to average 3-4 assists a game that will mean he's not being utilized properly. You can already see he has that rare ability to make players better and he pairs that with court vision the likes of which I can only compare to players like C-Webb, Vlade, Shaq, etc. Granted it's completely unrefined, but it's there.

[SacTownKings4Life]

Westphal wants to run'n'gun with a "motion" offense, but that doesn't seem like it fits our strengths. Not only that, but it is well documented that run'n'gun teams don't win rings.

To be fair, most other run & gun teams didn't have the mount of shot blocking big bodies that we currently have at our disposal. It's not necessarily the style, but the personnel to maximize your strengths as well as covering most of your weaknesses. Other run & gun teams usually can't guard anybody, which shouldn't be the case with us.

A good mixture of styles should suffice though. Motion and good ball movement will pick apart any team. We should know that better than anybody.

With our size, strength, physicality, and defensive potential, I think we should be more half court oriented. I'd also like to see us become a defensive juggernaut because of how much potential we have on that end (Evans, Whiteside, Greene, Dalembert, Garcia, and Cousins, Casspi to a lesser extent).

With guys like Evans, Udrih, Garcia, Casspi and Donte, I don't think we should necessarily be EXCLUSIVELY half court. We should at least mix it up, depending on the lineup. The Lakers are a good example (as much as it PAINS me to say that). They have guys so that they can run when they need to AND they can go half court. (yeah, different systems, but still)

Also I KNOW it's just preseason, but our offense has looked so discombobulated (<--awesome word). I mean I'll wait for a few games into the regular season to make a final judgement, but I see way too much isolation plays out there. I'm actually not opposed to Tyreke dominating the ball as long as he gets others involved (which I think he's been doing a better job at), but there isn't much fluidity out there. (Please don't interpret this an pre-season panicking; it's more of a side-thought)

Anyway, my main question is, what offense do you think we should run? Run'n'gun or half-court? What do you want our identity to be?

That'll happen when your whole team gets injured at the same time throughout the preseason. I wouldn't put too much stock in that. We STILL haven't seen the entire team together yet.

[longfellow44]

Honestly based on our player personnel I think that Jeff Van Gundy would be the perfect coach for us, he knows how to create a dominant defense, and how to work a very good offense in a half court system. Those Knick teams that he coached were awesome to watch because they made very good passes and created a lot of opportunities for their spot up shooters.

[SacKingZZZ]

I think my disdain for Jeff Van Gundy's style of play is well known, but I think with this team now, it could work. I still like Westphal though, and I would like to see what he can do in time. I don't think he's "the guy" but he's a good type of coach to have just from a players coach standpoint.

[Wolfay]

I wouldn't mind bringing in JVG as an assistant coach, and I think he even said that he would be fine with being an assistant.

[longfellow44]

^^If JVG would come in and be an assistant coach and let Westphal continue to run the team as Head Coach I would be very happy. Van Gundy as the defensive coordinator would be amazing. His experience would be a major asset to our team.

[Nicky Nix Nook]

I highly doubt JVG would leave ESPN to be the assistant coach of the Sacramento Kings. Now, maybe if we start winning...

[pillwenney]

Yeah. JVG has been turning down interviews to be a head coach.

Supposedly he loves his broadcasting job, but would possibly come back for the perfect job. We're not the perfect job right now, but we could be in a couple of years.

[longfellow44]

^^agreed its just outside of adlemen he is my favorite coach.