Westphal the Rallier

[Bobo the King]

Hey, I'm a long time lurker who pops up every now and then.

I just wanted to say that while Westphal isn't perfect, I've been really impressed by his ability to rally the team when they're down. I think of the Chicago game last year where we came back from a 35 point deficit, plus these last two games, with Cleveland on Saturday and Toronto today. In the few games I've watched, I've seen the team perform very well coming out of timeouts. What more could you want from a coach? (Aside from playmaking. *Cough*.)

Having followed this team for over a decade, I think it's a welcome change from Adelman. I liked Adelman a lot and, truth be told, I think he's a better coach than Westphal. But Adelman had this way of turning a two point deficit into a fifteen point hemorrhage with his timeouts. I also recall that the Kings did really poorly in the third quarter of their games under Adelman, which hasn't been the case at all lately with Westphal.

I just thought I'd point that out since I haven't seen anyone else acknowledge it and I think it's Westphal's strongest point. What do you guys think? Do you agree?

Okay, back to lurking.

[twoolfork1]

Yes I like the way Westphal stands up for his guys too. I think its okay for a head coach to get a tech early in the game like he did today against Toronto because it shows hes emotionally invested in the team and in the game. I like how he got his early tech today.

[SacKingZZZ]

While Westphal is good in that area I think it should also be noted that having some of the better "closers" in the league on the roster helps a bit. Landry's MO in Houston was 4th quarter play, Tyreke has already shown how hard he is to stop for an entire game, Cousins is showing his potential in the clutch down low, and Omri has that same "unshakable" quality that Cisco has shown for years. All in all you've got quite a selection of clutch performers. I would still love to see a team that plays that way for the first 3 quarters.

[longfellow44]

I gotta say i like his ability to be an emotional leader of the team, but he truely does lack in the x's and o's department. I would like to have an assistant coach that can be the x's and o's guy and help institute a better offensive scheme, and teach our guys how to rotate properly on defensive assignments. We frequently over rotate and leave a 3pt shooter open, a better defensive teacher could help us prevent that. But as far as being a vocal leader and a guy that inspires our team to put in more effort.