Your feelings on this season?
- Thread starter K F Jay
- Start date
Been a Kings fan far, far too long to see a season like this as a huge negative. Here is why:
1. New arena close at hand!
2. Young prospects, actual good young prospects fill the roster and are developing
3. Not a ton of dead weight on the team
4. Happy with Coach Smart
5. The Kings didn't mortgage the future this past summer with any big name moves.
6. Some inconsistent play, but the team has gotten better and better as the season progressed
Not a championship season, but a hopeful and exciting one for me; that is what I was hoping for this season going in and I am happy with it.
1. New arena close at hand!
2. Young prospects, actual good young prospects fill the roster and are developing
3. Not a ton of dead weight on the team
4. Happy with Coach Smart
5. The Kings didn't mortgage the future this past summer with any big name moves.
6. Some inconsistent play, but the team has gotten better and better as the season progressed
Not a championship season, but a hopeful and exciting one for me; that is what I was hoping for this season going in and I am happy with it.
I don't see much difference from the year before so this year has been a waste of time. Cousins emergence as a star has been balanced nicely by the horrible small ball lineups and Tyreke at SF. In short, I have little faith that our owners know how to own and our coach knows how to coach and these are the people in charge going into next year. Being the youngest team in the league is not a positive. This continued effort to become a team without spending money is proving to be a failure.
The season was wrong from the get go. Lousy FA period, idiotic Salmons/Jimmer trade. The only thing that salvaged the personnel mistakes was IT. We need more talent, through our draft pick, FA, and/or trades, and we need for our young guys to take a big step up in improvement. That doesn't mean just improvement in their skills. That means improvement in basketball IQ. I'm hoping that Smart can have an influence on that improvement. I'm done with the rebuild. I'm done with low expectations for this team. I'm done with minor tweaky FA acquisitons or trades. I'm done with excuses. We should expect nothing less than the playoffs next year.
In my opinion we have not progressed overall much as a team from last year, the only bright spot is cuz and sometimes i feel we arent using him properly and smart(being a smallball guy) doesnt put the ball in his hands enough or run enough set plays for him when we can't get out on the fastbreak. Yes our offense has improved but our defense has equally regressed.
I badly want this team to be in the playoff hunt next year but sadly i dont see it. If we had shown some chemistry and consistancy this year from start to finish and finished anywhere from the 9-11 seed i could see it happening next year. The fact is next year will have at least 2 new starters a different looking bench and we will be back to square 1 AGAIN in terms of forming team chemistry and guys becoming familiar with eachother.
Our FO/Ownership is a trainwreck, they seem to run an organization based on finding diamonds in the rough and (hickson)(hayes) etc basically anything to aviod spending money, although you can find one here and there you cannot make it your primary approach for putting together a winning basketball team. I absolutely hate how we overreact on small sample sizes of brillance and reward guys who havent earned it completely. In my eyes those are only a couple of the many things wrong with the organization. They have a tremendous and passionate fan base who are ready and willing to pay insane prices to see and support our only team, Everyone (burkle) knows when the kings are doing well we are a great market to make money in. All the maloofs have to do is spend and put their money where there screaming mouths are at every home game and get a few free-agents. If they cant then sell.
I badly want this team to be in the playoff hunt next year but sadly i dont see it. If we had shown some chemistry and consistancy this year from start to finish and finished anywhere from the 9-11 seed i could see it happening next year. The fact is next year will have at least 2 new starters a different looking bench and we will be back to square 1 AGAIN in terms of forming team chemistry and guys becoming familiar with eachother.
Our FO/Ownership is a trainwreck, they seem to run an organization based on finding diamonds in the rough and (hickson)(hayes) etc basically anything to aviod spending money, although you can find one here and there you cannot make it your primary approach for putting together a winning basketball team. I absolutely hate how we overreact on small sample sizes of brillance and reward guys who havent earned it completely. In my eyes those are only a couple of the many things wrong with the organization. They have a tremendous and passionate fan base who are ready and willing to pay insane prices to see and support our only team, Everyone (burkle) knows when the kings are doing well we are a great market to make money in. All the maloofs have to do is spend and put their money where there screaming mouths are at every home game and get a few free-agents. If they cant then sell.
exceptionally dissapointing season. We played great down the stretch last year against a brutal schedule, had all the markers of a team that was turning the corner towards relevance, had the biggest team in the league, with a stingy defense, and tons of capspace and a high pick to take us to the next level.
In one off season we've become the smallest team in the league, with defensive liabilities everywhere, we have significantly less capspace, our ROY has regressed due to the franchise jerking him around and sending him mixed messages. Not only have we lost, but we're losing playing a rediculous lineup that can't succeed long term and hence really not developing anything, once you get past IT, Jimmer isn't seeing any court time, Whiteside isn't seeing any court time, and a guy like Salmons is getting more court time than Donte. Those guys may not be better right now, but they certainly deserve the development time on the court if we're going to be a loser (which clearly we've established we are this year). If Terrance Williams can get as much court time as he has in the past 2 games, Hassan deserves more and Donte deserves a legitimate look at the 3 spot before we decide whether or not he's worth keeping around this off season.
I honestly think Petrie needs to go. He is a phenominal drafter, but beyond that he's shown little ability with trades, FA signings, and especially with coaching decisions. Secondly, we need an established coach.
We keep scraping the bottom of the barrell in our coaching hires every time. It hurts my head to say that the best coach the Kings have had since Adelman might very well be Eric Musselman! Of course they're all so terrible that I think he's the best in my head because I remember the least of him. The sad thing is, I think we'd make loads of progress if a coach came in and was average. Normal rotations, normal matchups, common sense offense, common sense defense. No smallball, no full lineup switches. Let that guy come in, spend 3 years just being average and this is a playoff team (probably in year 1). There's a lot of advantages personnel wise on the Kings roster, from day 1 this season, however, it's seemed our coaches have gone out of their way to mitigate those.
In one off season we've become the smallest team in the league, with defensive liabilities everywhere, we have significantly less capspace, our ROY has regressed due to the franchise jerking him around and sending him mixed messages. Not only have we lost, but we're losing playing a rediculous lineup that can't succeed long term and hence really not developing anything, once you get past IT, Jimmer isn't seeing any court time, Whiteside isn't seeing any court time, and a guy like Salmons is getting more court time than Donte. Those guys may not be better right now, but they certainly deserve the development time on the court if we're going to be a loser (which clearly we've established we are this year). If Terrance Williams can get as much court time as he has in the past 2 games, Hassan deserves more and Donte deserves a legitimate look at the 3 spot before we decide whether or not he's worth keeping around this off season.
I honestly think Petrie needs to go. He is a phenominal drafter, but beyond that he's shown little ability with trades, FA signings, and especially with coaching decisions. Secondly, we need an established coach.
We keep scraping the bottom of the barrell in our coaching hires every time. It hurts my head to say that the best coach the Kings have had since Adelman might very well be Eric Musselman! Of course they're all so terrible that I think he's the best in my head because I remember the least of him. The sad thing is, I think we'd make loads of progress if a coach came in and was average. Normal rotations, normal matchups, common sense offense, common sense defense. No smallball, no full lineup switches. Let that guy come in, spend 3 years just being average and this is a playoff team (probably in year 1). There's a lot of advantages personnel wise on the Kings roster, from day 1 this season, however, it's seemed our coaches have gone out of their way to mitigate those.
Disappointing!
The disappointment started with the off-season and as a result the season itself was a major disappointment for me. We made stupid decisions in the off-season and we are paying for them today. I despise the type of team that we are tuning in to. The small ball run and gun teams give me the ****s. The only bright spot for me has been Cousins who has clearly improved and has been by far our best player this season.
The disappointment is even more prominent when you consider that as an organization we are happy with the direction we are heading in and nothing will change until sometime next season when we fire Smart and yet again miss out on a good coach in the off-season (McMillan) just like we did last off-season (Adelman).
We have arguably the most mismatched roster in the league. We have young talent but its mismatched and will never work well together. We are a team without clear direction or road map on how to succeed and if anything, we will blow up the good things we have going for us so that we turn into more of a run and gun midget team going nowhere.
The Kings for the Arena and its not time they got serious about mattering in this league and that means spending money on quality staff and players and having a clear vision and direction of what it takes to be a genuine contender in this league. I don't believe we have that and have not had it in over a decade. If anything we seem to be getting worse at it with every passing season.
The team itself is not far off but there needs to be some CORRECT changes made in both personnel and the direction in which we are choosing to go and I don't think we have the proverbial to make those because we are more concerned about the bottom line that mattering in this league. I am bracing myself for another disappointing off-season. Welcome to the new Clippers of the NBA. That is what happens when you have no direction, you are unwilling to spend to win and all that matters is the profit and loss statement at the end of each year. As a fan I feel violated by those in charge and to be brutally honest they do not deserve the sort of support from the great people of Sacramento that they have been getting and continue to get. Its time to return the favor but I am not sure they have what it takes.
The disappointment started with the off-season and as a result the season itself was a major disappointment for me. We made stupid decisions in the off-season and we are paying for them today. I despise the type of team that we are tuning in to. The small ball run and gun teams give me the ****s. The only bright spot for me has been Cousins who has clearly improved and has been by far our best player this season.
The disappointment is even more prominent when you consider that as an organization we are happy with the direction we are heading in and nothing will change until sometime next season when we fire Smart and yet again miss out on a good coach in the off-season (McMillan) just like we did last off-season (Adelman).
We have arguably the most mismatched roster in the league. We have young talent but its mismatched and will never work well together. We are a team without clear direction or road map on how to succeed and if anything, we will blow up the good things we have going for us so that we turn into more of a run and gun midget team going nowhere.
The Kings for the Arena and its not time they got serious about mattering in this league and that means spending money on quality staff and players and having a clear vision and direction of what it takes to be a genuine contender in this league. I don't believe we have that and have not had it in over a decade. If anything we seem to be getting worse at it with every passing season.
The team itself is not far off but there needs to be some CORRECT changes made in both personnel and the direction in which we are choosing to go and I don't think we have the proverbial to make those because we are more concerned about the bottom line that mattering in this league. I am bracing myself for another disappointing off-season. Welcome to the new Clippers of the NBA. That is what happens when you have no direction, you are unwilling to spend to win and all that matters is the profit and loss statement at the end of each year. As a fan I feel violated by those in charge and to be brutally honest they do not deserve the sort of support from the great people of Sacramento that they have been getting and continue to get. Its time to return the favor but I am not sure they have what it takes.
Good:
JT and Cuz continuing last years strong finish
Thomas emerging as at least a legit backup PG, maybe a 6th man type
Meh:
Garcia/Greene/Hayes are what they are, and kind of unfortunately the same for Evans/Thornton.
Bad:
Thought Beno/pick to Salmons/Ferdette was a sideways move, turned out to be a big step back
Hickson.
I was more hopeful before the draft than after, just because I couldn't see how Jimmer/Salmons would help this team more than Beno and a young SF.
Now that Isaiah has stepped up it makes the move even worse in hindsight. I still think Jimmer can be a valuable player, but it would pretty much the same value as what Thomas can become.
And as much as Dalembert bugs me, that 3 headed combo was working really well, and a Chuck Hayes type would have been nicer at small forward.
JT and Cuz continuing last years strong finish
Thomas emerging as at least a legit backup PG, maybe a 6th man type
Meh:
Garcia/Greene/Hayes are what they are, and kind of unfortunately the same for Evans/Thornton.
Bad:
Thought Beno/pick to Salmons/Ferdette was a sideways move, turned out to be a big step back
Hickson.
I was more hopeful before the draft than after, just because I couldn't see how Jimmer/Salmons would help this team more than Beno and a young SF.
Now that Isaiah has stepped up it makes the move even worse in hindsight. I still think Jimmer can be a valuable player, but it would pretty much the same value as what Thomas can become.
And as much as Dalembert bugs me, that 3 headed combo was working really well, and a Chuck Hayes type would have been nicer at small forward.
Very disappointed overall, with occasional thrills that give us a glimpse of the future. Or so I'd like to think.
We've definitely got talent, including 2-3 of the major puzzle pieces.
But we've taken a half-step back this year rather than a full step forward.
The biggest barrier for us to improve in a big way is our basketball IQ. We've had a low IQ for years now. That has to change!
We've definitely got talent, including 2-3 of the major puzzle pieces.
But we've taken a half-step back this year rather than a full step forward.
The biggest barrier for us to improve in a big way is our basketball IQ. We've had a low IQ for years now. That has to change!
The Good:
1.) Kings staying in Sac and new arena is coming
2.) DMC already a monster on his sophomore year
3.) Keith Smart's awesome relationship with his player.
Exhibit A: DMC's maturity
Exhibit B: Salmons playing well from the bench
4.) JT becoming a legit contributor
5.) Evans being a true professional going from PG-SG-SF to bench and back.
The Bad:
1.) We got Smart without any preseason games with the team.
2.) We had the worst possible schedule in early season, a very bad timing for a young team that needs all the time in the world to develop chemistry and learn.
3.) The likes of AK47 decided not to come to Sacramento.
The Ugly:
1.) We actually have a good bench but we lack at 2 quality starters.
2.) We got something out of the 60th pick but sadly our 60th pick is outplaying the 10th pick.
1.) Kings staying in Sac and new arena is coming
2.) DMC already a monster on his sophomore year
3.) Keith Smart's awesome relationship with his player.
Exhibit A: DMC's maturity
Exhibit B: Salmons playing well from the bench
4.) JT becoming a legit contributor
5.) Evans being a true professional going from PG-SG-SF to bench and back.
The Bad:
1.) We got Smart without any preseason games with the team.
2.) We had the worst possible schedule in early season, a very bad timing for a young team that needs all the time in the world to develop chemistry and learn.
3.) The likes of AK47 decided not to come to Sacramento.
The Ugly:
1.) We actually have a good bench but we lack at 2 quality starters.
2.) We got something out of the 60th pick but sadly our 60th pick is outplaying the 10th pick.
I'm disappointed. Though I never believed for one second before this season started that the Kings would be in the playoffs this season I thought they would at least have a winning record at the end of the season or worst case be a few games under .500. Any improvement the Kings have achieved this season is marginal compared to last season. I know the front end loaded road schedule and the strike may have affected the young team but it was still a disappointing season. The off season acquisitions- or lack thereof- were disappointing and extending Coach Smart was rushed. The few bright spots have been DMC beasting and maturing, Isiah Thomas' flash and the fact that Tyreke has been healthy all season long. Hopefully his foot problem is a thing of the past. I'm not worried about Jimmer. He'll come around or be a flop. At this juncture he's the least of the FO's worries.
Hope springs eternal.
Hope springs eternal.
Disappointed in the Thornton/Evans back court being utter trash on the floor I was hoping that would work out.
Disappointed in the draft. (The 1st round part of it). I didn't want Salmons back, and I didn't want to trade Beno for him.
Disappointed in the Hickson deal. We got jobbed. Casspi isn't any good, but Hickson isn't even on the team anymore.
If Evans does not get a jumpshot I think at the point "he is what he is" meaning he's a 17/5/5 combo guard without a true position. Thornton is the same way kind of. He's a PG sized SG who can't play D, who would probably be a better fit off the bench. Thomas is an undersized PG.
The top 6 or so picks are all PFs and SFs it seems so we could possibly get a Harrison Barnes or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. We still need a PG because I think IT would be better suited to be on the 2nd team.
So......... Not very optimistic and kind of disappointed.
PG - ?
SG - Evans
SF - ?
PF - ? (Thompson)
C - Cousins
Disappointed in the draft. (The 1st round part of it). I didn't want Salmons back, and I didn't want to trade Beno for him.
Disappointed in the Hickson deal. We got jobbed. Casspi isn't any good, but Hickson isn't even on the team anymore.
If Evans does not get a jumpshot I think at the point "he is what he is" meaning he's a 17/5/5 combo guard without a true position. Thornton is the same way kind of. He's a PG sized SG who can't play D, who would probably be a better fit off the bench. Thomas is an undersized PG.
The top 6 or so picks are all PFs and SFs it seems so we could possibly get a Harrison Barnes or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. We still need a PG because I think IT would be better suited to be on the 2nd team.
So......... Not very optimistic and kind of disappointed.
PG - ?
SG - Evans
SF - ?
PF - ? (Thompson)
C - Cousins
PG: Hinrich / IT
SG: Evans / Thornton
SF: Batum / Greene / Cisco
PF: Davis (dreaming) / JT / Hayes
C: Cousins / JT / Whiteside
In fact, I would trade Thornton for a right player at SF or PF. Batum for Thornton? Where do I sign.
Thornton could be a FANTASTIC 3rd option or a perennial 6th man of the year type player IF he wanted to do it. I doubt he is prepared to sacrifice for the good of the team. His attitude is I need to score for this team to win which is a completely wrong way to go about it.
SG: Evans / Thornton
SF: Batum / Greene / Cisco
PF: Davis (dreaming) / JT / Hayes
C: Cousins / JT / Whiteside
In fact, I would trade Thornton for a right player at SF or PF. Batum for Thornton? Where do I sign.
Thornton could be a FANTASTIC 3rd option or a perennial 6th man of the year type player IF he wanted to do it. I doubt he is prepared to sacrifice for the good of the team. His attitude is I need to score for this team to win which is a completely wrong way to go about it.
I may be one of the few on here, but im actually happy with the season. I didnt really expect us to make the playoffs with the midseason coaching change and the backwards moves we made in the offseason. Paul westphaul is finally gone and Keith Smart is developing our players and instilling an actual offense. We might be a fast paced team but i think that we have improved in the halfcourt set as well and will only continue to improve. if we are able to keep most of our core players, not make more backwards moves and add some more size in the offseason im excited to see where this team can go next season.
I'm just happy that there is a season at all given the lockout. A new arena is more than icing on the cake. Everything on the court is very much secondary given what we were up against earlier.
If I do have a take on the team itself, I guess I'll just add that if there is ever a year to be no good, it's this one. Lockouts will always have asterisks next to them and since bad seasons always come with high lottery picks, I'm good with that also.
If I do have a take on the team itself, I guess I'll just add that if there is ever a year to be no good, it's this one. Lockouts will always have asterisks next to them and since bad seasons always come with high lottery picks, I'm good with that also.
L
The only thing that I'm really happy about is that I feel like we finally have a legitimate nucleus with DMC, Reke, Thornton, and IT. It's also pretty clear that DMC is going to be a big time star in this league. He can do things at the C position that I've never really seen before. The thing that makes this season so frustrating are the moves that were made in the off season. They were absolutely pathetic. Most of us here knew the moves were terrible yet GP still made them. I felt like bringing Salmons back was a nightmare I was going to wake up from. I never would have guessed they'd bring that guy back. That along with signing Hayes (who is a great guy but is absolutely awful), signing Outlaw, trading for JJ, and drafting Jimmer. Every single move has backfired. We would have been 5-10 wins better if we would have just kept Beno, Dally, and drafted just about anybody BUT Jimmer.
I think having IT and a gunning Thornton also hindered Jimmer's progress in a sense. No doubt that Jimmer has to earn his spot and playing time, but there's really no substitute for real-game experience.
I don't think the FO thought they were going to get this much out of IT. I'm pretty confident that if they knew they wouldn't have drafted Jimmer OR wouldn't have traded away Beno to draft Jimmer.
I don't think the FO thought they were going to get this much out of IT. I'm pretty confident that if they knew they wouldn't have drafted Jimmer OR wouldn't have traded away Beno to draft Jimmer.
Overall, I'm happy. I'm happy because some of our players are getting really better. JT is becoming a very nice role player, and he is showing he will be perfect as a 3rd big in a good Kings team. Tyreke is improving his decision making, is not forcing like he used to do, and he is shooting better lately. DMC is just on his way to become a beast. I've not seen many bigs so dominant at 21. Can you imagine what he will be in 5/6 years? He has everything. He is our superstar and this team must be built around him. We are beginning to see who can be part of the future, who can have a role in this team when we finally will be in the playoff.
I think that last year's team was better. Considering we have a better record right now, I believe it all depends on the improvements our top players have made. If you think how bad we started the season under Westphal, I think it's a little miracle that we are where we are. We couldn't hit a shot, no ball movement, 10 assists and 22 turnover games. Just horrible. I might be one of the few here, but I like what Smart has done so far. He is developing our young core. Thornton, Evans and Cousins are playing much better under his coaching. Especially Cousins, he really is a different player. At this point, I think this is the most important thing for our coach. Westphal has never done anything like that, so this is a big step forward. Of course I get pissed when I see the IT-MT-Reke-Salmons-Hayes lineup, but I believe he is trying to do his best with the personnel he has.
Now I really hope we don't screw everything up next summer. We are a couple of right pieces away to be playoff contenders. A defensive big, and a small forward. Maybe also a PG, but a real SF and a defensive big are the priorities.
I'm not happy with Petrie, that's the only one I blame for the bad moves and the disaster of last summer. I'm going to give him another summer to prove he still has it, but this is the last chance for me.
I think that last year's team was better. Considering we have a better record right now, I believe it all depends on the improvements our top players have made. If you think how bad we started the season under Westphal, I think it's a little miracle that we are where we are. We couldn't hit a shot, no ball movement, 10 assists and 22 turnover games. Just horrible. I might be one of the few here, but I like what Smart has done so far. He is developing our young core. Thornton, Evans and Cousins are playing much better under his coaching. Especially Cousins, he really is a different player. At this point, I think this is the most important thing for our coach. Westphal has never done anything like that, so this is a big step forward. Of course I get pissed when I see the IT-MT-Reke-Salmons-Hayes lineup, but I believe he is trying to do his best with the personnel he has.
Now I really hope we don't screw everything up next summer. We are a couple of right pieces away to be playoff contenders. A defensive big, and a small forward. Maybe also a PG, but a real SF and a defensive big are the priorities.
I'm not happy with Petrie, that's the only one I blame for the bad moves and the disaster of last summer. I'm going to give him another summer to prove he still has it, but this is the last chance for me.
I'm disappointed. But not because of the way GP handle the team but the way the players that were expected to perform did not perform up to their own standard.
Salmon who performed way lower than what he did last year. A little bit off I wouldn't mind but horrible when you're that fall off from last year as a veteran.
JJ Hickson who performed very well last season, similar to JT playing at his best but Hickson done it more consistantly last year. If you asked a GM would they give their first round pick for a young double'double PF more than not the answer would be yes. He came over and disappeared and became the worst PF in the NBA.
Jimmer was suppose to be able to shoot and should be able to play in the nba because of the year experience at the college level. If you saw him earlier this season you might think STK with the highschool remark may be valid. (Still harshed and not warranted IMO
).
PW didn't handle coaching well when it comes to young player with big ego. This I would point to GP. He mismanage PW.
Smart, while I don't like his small ball and rotation, he got this team to playing decent NBA game and is improving team effort and chemsitry. Salmons finally showing sign that he is worthy of playing at the SF. Jimmer is shooting a better % and lucky for us IT is showing sign of being a PG we need as well.
Cuz is a beast after PW gone.
Evans??? Evans couldn't play PG was a big disappointment to me. I guess I have no problem with him at SG/SF. He still can't shoot and that is another disappointment. But overall his ability to get to the basket can take over a game. Can't live with him can't live without him is how I feel about Evans. People can biatch all they want about SF but he is 6'6", if he can't play SF and TWill can then we have a big problem IMO.
Disappointment yes...but I'm still hopeful and can see a better tomorrow if team chemistry continue to improve.
Salmon who performed way lower than what he did last year. A little bit off I wouldn't mind but horrible when you're that fall off from last year as a veteran.
JJ Hickson who performed very well last season, similar to JT playing at his best but Hickson done it more consistantly last year. If you asked a GM would they give their first round pick for a young double'double PF more than not the answer would be yes. He came over and disappeared and became the worst PF in the NBA.
Jimmer was suppose to be able to shoot and should be able to play in the nba because of the year experience at the college level. If you saw him earlier this season you might think STK with the highschool remark may be valid. (Still harshed and not warranted IMO
). PW didn't handle coaching well when it comes to young player with big ego. This I would point to GP. He mismanage PW.
Smart, while I don't like his small ball and rotation, he got this team to playing decent NBA game and is improving team effort and chemsitry. Salmons finally showing sign that he is worthy of playing at the SF. Jimmer is shooting a better % and lucky for us IT is showing sign of being a PG we need as well.
Cuz is a beast after PW gone.
Evans??? Evans couldn't play PG was a big disappointment to me. I guess I have no problem with him at SG/SF. He still can't shoot and that is another disappointment. But overall his ability to get to the basket can take over a game. Can't live with him can't live without him is how I feel about Evans. People can biatch all they want about SF but he is 6'6", if he can't play SF and TWill can then we have a big problem IMO.
Disappointment yes...but I'm still hopeful and can see a better tomorrow if team chemistry continue to improve.
i am truly satisfied with only one thing this season: the exponential growth of demarcus cousins. but this growth also annoys me, as well, because often demarcus' excellence rears its head in spite of his coaches and teammates. often smart does not utilize him naturally or effectively, and often his teammates refuse to feed him the ball when he's hot or has a matchup advantage, particularly in fourth quarters. one can only imagine what a player like demarcus would be accomplishing with a head coach like rick adelman...
apart from cousins revealing his superstar potential, i'm either "meh" or *furious* about everything else. isaiah thomas has been a surprise-and-a-half, but his rookie success has served to highlight the kings' glaring issues, while making a top-ten pick irrelevant. its a net positive, i suppose, but this incredibly guard-heavy team is going to have to shed some of these redundant pieces, at some point, in favor of complementary talent...
oh, and DOWN WITH SMALLBALL...
apart from cousins revealing his superstar potential, i'm either "meh" or *furious* about everything else. isaiah thomas has been a surprise-and-a-half, but his rookie success has served to highlight the kings' glaring issues, while making a top-ten pick irrelevant. its a net positive, i suppose, but this incredibly guard-heavy team is going to have to shed some of these redundant pieces, at some point, in favor of complementary talent...
oh, and DOWN WITH SMALLBALL...