[Game] Kings vs. Blazers, 11/8/2023 7pm Pacific 10pm Eastern

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I think something worth noting was the play of Len tonight. He gave us really solid minutes without some of the dumb plays. McGee has been great on offense but I’d take the less mistake prone minutes of Len. He provides just as much rim protection, can still catch a lob and doesn’t do a sky hook.
I’d love to see the two of them on the court together sometime, twin towers guarding the sky.
 
It's so early in the season, the Harden, Kawhi and George geriatric led Clippers got smacked by Brooklyn, Lakers got creamed by 40 in Houston + Dallas, Utah and Memphis all lost. Meanwhile we got Fox AND Lyles coming back soon. :cool:
 
Really? Like who? Outside of the Wizards game right around Christmas, what game did we lose to a bottom dweller?
I was actually curious, so I ran the numbers. Last year, our record against the 14 teams that didn't make the playoffs was:

Home: 12-6
Road: 16-3

So I think it is very safe to say that we lost WAY too many games to bottom dweller teams at home last year.
 
I recall getting our ass kicked by Washington and Charlotte last year iirc
Charlotte at the beginning of the year. Washington at the game I was at. The Washington was exceptionally embarrassing. Beak and Kuzma, and ecen Hachamura, were clowning us and we had zero fight.

I wanted to throw my phone onto the court. It was that ugly.
 
I was actually curious, so I ran the numbers. Last year, our record against the 14 teams that didn't make the playoffs was:

Home: 12-6
Road: 16-3

So I think it is very safe to say that we lost WAY too many games to bottom dweller teams at home last year.
OR we need to go 16-1 after crapting the bed against the Rockets unless the magically become a playoff team.
 
I am remembering home losses to the Wizards, Hornets, Hawks, Spurs, Blazers, Raptors, and Wolves. That is just off the top of my head. Did any of those teams make the playoffs? Maybe the Hawks and Wolves. But you should be expecting to win all of those games at home.

I also remember incredibly close games (like tonight) against bad teams like the Bulls and Pistons as well.
Ufff yah that Spurs game was bad (forgot about that one). Same with Hornets but that was when they had Ball, and Trailblazers was when they had Dame playing. But the point was we won most of the home games when we were heavy favorites, like tonight. Losing tonight after our performance against the Rockets would raise major red flags that Brown was already starting to address
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
He's fine. Don't worry. His scoring last season and his 40 pt average in the summer league is no fluke. His defense has been special. He's going to be a very good two way player.
I think he's put a lot of pressure on himself to be the consistent #2 option for us this season and he's finding out that what works in Summer League and on the practice court doesn't necessarily work during an NBA game. Especially when Fox isn't there to be the #1 option. As long as he stays aggressive and keeps refining his mechanics the shooting percentages will bounce back up.

This whole team is a work in progress in a lot of ways. I was just happy to see Domas back in All-Star form this game and K'Von hitting shots. It's way too early to panic. The ultimate goal is just to get all of this figured out by next April. Keegan struggling early isn't necessarily a bad thing since he's expanding his toolset and figuring out other ways to score.
 
I think he's put a lot of pressure on himself to be the consistent #2 option for us this season and he's finding out that what works in Summer League and on the practice court doesn't necessarily work during an NBA game. Especially when Fox isn't there to be the #1 option. As long as he stays aggressive and keeps refining his mechanics the shooting percentages will bounce back up.

This whole team is a work in progress in a lot of ways. I was just happy to see Domas back in All-Star form this game and K'Von hitting shots. It's way too early to panic. The ultimate goal is just to get all of this figured out by next April. Keegan struggling early isn't necessarily a bad thing since he's expanding his toolset and figuring out other ways to score.
THIS!! The bigger picture is what we all need to step back and see. There isn't a single team in the NBA competing for a title in November, damn near everyone is in the figure it out stage right now. Winning games along that path is just fine by me, ugly or not.
 
I’m hopeful Huerter has broken out of his slump. Is it just me or does it seem like he still has this hitch right before he releases the ball? He had it last year after starting out hot then when into that prolonged slump, but then got out of it after the all star break.
It isn’t just you. That hitch is definitely there. It looks so odd, and always makes me believe the shot is no good before the end result.

As far as I can remember he’s always shot with a hitch since joining the KINGS, but my memory isn’t what it used to be. :)
 
Charlotte at the beginning of the year. Washington at the game I was at. The Washington was exceptionally embarrassing. Beak and Kuzma, and ecen Hachamura, were clowning us and we had zero fight.

I wanted to throw my phone onto the court. It was that ugly.

Yes the Washington game was the worst game of the season. last year.
 
This whole team is a work in progress in a lot of ways. I was just happy to see Domas back in All-Star form this game and K'Von hitting shots. It's way too early to panic. The ultimate goal is just to get all of this figured out by next April. Keegan struggling early isn't necessarily a bad thing since he's expanding his toolset and figuring out other ways to score.
Too early stats for FG%: Murray 33.7%, Huerter 33.8%, Vezenkov 38.2%, Monk 39%.
 
It isn’t just you. That hitch is definitely there. It looks so odd, and always makes me believe the shot is no good before the end result.

As far as I can remember he’s always shot with a hitch since joining the KINGS, but my memory isn’t what it used to be. :)
I just pulled up some footage from last year when he was prepping for the 3pt contest. He didn’t have the hitch. But he was just spot shooting. It’s very apparent when he’s in a catch and shoot and he’s trying to square up in the air
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
Too early stats for FG%: Murray 33.7%, Huerter 33.8%, Vezenkov 38.2%, Monk 39%.
Other players struggling with their shots are unrelated to the growing pains that Keegan is going through. In the case of Huerter, if he'd made 5 more three pointers and 5 more two pointers he'd be right where he was at last season with his shooting splits. I'm not going to rate 10 shots over 3000+ in his career. The same is true with Monk. Vezenkov is adjusting to a new league but he's only taken 34 shots in 6 games so it's too early to draw any conclusions about his shooting performance.
 
Really? Like who? Outside of the Wizards game right around Christmas, what game did we lose to a bottom dweller?
I mean it depends who you define as teams we should have beaten at home (as the ultimate 3 seed in the west). Scanning the game log I would argue these were all bad home losses:

Portland
Charlotte
Wizards
Atlanta
Toronto
Dallas
Minnesota (twice)
San Antonio

I'm not going to try to figure it out, but I recall there were also a handful of games (like last night) where we let bad teams hang around only to pull it out in the end.
 
Didn’t catch the full interview but sounded like the morning crew and Sam Amick were rightfully unimpressed with last nights win.

Like I said earlier on, a win is a win... But it’s as concerning a win as you can have.

Get well soon, Foxy!
The issue for me is that Fox's absence can't explain the high number of bad decisions being made out there. The overall play was just sloppy, undisciplined, and at times downright silly. There are some bright spots, such as better defensive efforts from some players, but something seems very out of whack with our offense - and it's not just that shots aren't falling.

At this point I'd start Keon and give him at least 50% of Davion's minutes. We need a proper PG out there who can lead the decision making in the flow of our offense.
 
I thought Davion actually looked good on offense last night. When he broke down the defense, it usually led to good things.

It was giving up so much booty to Skylar Mays that concerned me (I didn’t even know he was an NBA player). Also - Grant had it going and was still getting good looks.

And the offense looked like wings going through the motions around Sabonis. A lot of 3s without touching the paint first. The crowd at the game was pretty quiet until the end. It was hard for the Kings to build any momentum.
 
I thought Davion actually looked good on offense last night. When he broke down the defense, it usually led to good things.

It was giving up so much booty to Skylar Mays that concerned me (I didn’t even know he was an NBA player). Also - Grant had it going and was still getting good looks.

And the offense looked like wings going through the motions around Sabonis. A lot of 3s without touching the paint first. The crowd at the game was pretty quiet until the end. It was hard for the Kings to build any momentum.
I've now started to stare at Davion on defense. He obviously makes some hard nose defensive plays, etc., but for all of his efforts it feels like his man is constantly getting downhill into the lane and he is losing players off ball. Taller players easily shoot over the top of him regardless of how solid his defense is, which is why I'm now not so sure it's a great idea to have him sub in at the end of games for key defensive possessions. This is all irrespective of his hot and cold offensive play.

The upshot is... I think we desperately need a new backup pg.
 
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