I thought we had a pretty bad loss tonight (obviously points wise). I felt we got unlucky to catch the Grizzlies in a game where their shooting percentage was sy high. I also though Demarcus Cousins should've played more than he did, esecially how good Marc Gasol was playing. I think Paul Westfail is ruining our team, because you can tell the offense just doesn't look good and the defense has been terrible since season's start. Maybe I'm overreacting but I'd like to see Paul out. If we could replace him with a Larry Brown type coach... anyways, I'll be interested to see how much time DCuz gets versus the Denver Nuggets.
Question: Do you guys think Tyreke Evans can be our franchise Player? Or is he a Chris Bosh/Russel Westbrook type star? I, personally, think he's the franchise player for our future.
The loss was pretty bad for me as well. Our defense allowed the Grizzlies 100+ points. Just two days before the game, the Grizzlies were limited to 60+ points by the Bulls. What made the loss worst was that Zach Randolph did not play.
It seems Lionel Hollins made the adjustments by forcing a more uptempo approach via forward rush on which players like Rudy Gay, Sam Young, OJ Mayo and Tony Allen pushed the tempo and attacked the basket. They took advantage of the Kings' weakness: Transition Defense.
Rudy Gay scored 23 points. Sam Young had 20 points. Mayo had 16 and Allen had 14. They were scoring at will against the almost non-existent defense.
The Grizzlies also had numerous second chance opportunities.
It seems that the players for the Kings do not communicate via defense. All I saw was man to man defense.
On Demarcus Cousins, he did not start as a disciplinary measure. Westphal insisted with Thompson and Hayes against Marc Gasol.
Not all the blame should fall on Westphal, but I think he can do a much more better job. Whereas, Salmons was guarding Rudy Gay. Hayes and Thompson against Gasol for the game.
On the offense, there was no fidelity to Westphal's flex movements as our players freelanced as they were bewildered by the Grizzlies' uptempo offense. Another thing for the Kings to learn is to communicate on both ends of the floor.
As for me, I would like Westphal to stay as he did said that a year ago, he will be integrating more dynamics on the team offense if players progress on grasping the said concept. Meaning, the Kings should execute the offense with fidelity and with time, more and more sets will be integrated. At this point, if the players can't play within the system or even grasp it, the offensive system will still be played until they get it somehow.
To add, I think Westphal's old school approach and generation gap may also be a factor on why several players just won't listen. A lot of NBA teams on the past season have made progress in hiring much younger coaches; a generation or two behind the current crop of players. Westphal to me is like four generations back. Westphal may not be able to relate with the player culture and in turn, the players would not relate fully to the culture of Westphal.
Tyreke Evans has been the franchise player ever since the Kings traded away Kevin Martin and decided to build around Evans. The reason why Evans can't muster his 20-5-5 rookie average, his statistical best for his career; is because of the fact that he is making way for equally talented players in addition like the arrival of Demarcus Cousins and Marcus Thornton. Evans does not insist to be the top dog of the team and instead is adjusting within the presence of the said addition.
Evans need not score that much with Cousins, Thornton and Fredette in tow. For me, that is a sign of growth, wherein he would like to co-exist with his teammates. That itself is leadership.
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