I still root for the Kings, but their current incarnation is about as opposite as you can get from the Kings who had a great chance to be champions back in 2002. Both teams were/are talented. But the 2002 Kings were smart. They were unselfish and played as a team.
What I find so frustrating with our current team is the lack of smart and unselfish playing - particularly on offense. Is that because we're a young team? I don't think so. Yes, we are a young team, and that's a fact. But if you take an objective look at the individual players, you find players who often don't play smart and don't play as a team. JJ, JT and Cuz all shake their heads from side to side throughout the game, indicating either disagreement with the last call or (perhaps) self-assessed criticism about something they just did wrong. In either case, you're telegraphing your emotions to your opponents to use against you. You're also spending too much time and energy thinking about something that has already happened instead of thinking about what is happening right now, and in the next minute. It's just not smart basketball. And although Tyreke has a pokerface, his one dimensional focus on offense (driving to the basket come hell or high water) is not indicative of a smart or unselfish player. Nor a player who makes his teammates better.
So I'm sorry fellow Kingsfans, but I think what we've got is a poorly constructed team. Too many players who don't play smart and who don't play unselfishly. How best to overcome this problem? Better coaching? More players who are smart and unselfish? Better management? How about... ALL THE ABOVE?
What I find so frustrating with our current team is the lack of smart and unselfish playing - particularly on offense. Is that because we're a young team? I don't think so. Yes, we are a young team, and that's a fact. But if you take an objective look at the individual players, you find players who often don't play smart and don't play as a team. JJ, JT and Cuz all shake their heads from side to side throughout the game, indicating either disagreement with the last call or (perhaps) self-assessed criticism about something they just did wrong. In either case, you're telegraphing your emotions to your opponents to use against you. You're also spending too much time and energy thinking about something that has already happened instead of thinking about what is happening right now, and in the next minute. It's just not smart basketball. And although Tyreke has a pokerface, his one dimensional focus on offense (driving to the basket come hell or high water) is not indicative of a smart or unselfish player. Nor a player who makes his teammates better.
So I'm sorry fellow Kingsfans, but I think what we've got is a poorly constructed team. Too many players who don't play smart and who don't play unselfishly. How best to overcome this problem? Better coaching? More players who are smart and unselfish? Better management? How about... ALL THE ABOVE?