Game Thread GAME# 34: KINGS @ BLAZERS - DECEMBER 28, 2016 - WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM (PDT), CSNNW

Boogie just flat out owns Ed whenever he plays him...bad matchup..

 

Let's not get too carried away. Two words: Ben McLemore. The Kings weakest position is SG and they were missing their starter. We could have started Pat Connaughton, he would have outplayed McLemore and somebody would have already started a thread demanding we trade Crabbe because his production can be replaced by Connaughton.

The biggest difference in our defense the last two games has not been the personnel, it's been the adjustments Stotts has installed. As Orlando Williams said on Talking Ball, before you proclaim this team is better without Damian Lillard, let's see how they do with these defensive schemes with Dame back in the line up.

BNM

 

buzz kill! not lettin' ya suck the joy out of this win! ..I like length at the 2.....we can what if all day but I'll take the win.. Crabbe is better starting at the 2 defensively whether with Dame or CJ ...Crabbe, Mo and Aminu played team defense all night on a string for the last two games...I like the result

 

I've never proclaimed any such thing, nor really heard most posters proclaim it.

 

Not sure if anyone else saw this, but Boogie shook hands (slapped hands, fist bump, etc.) with every Blazer after the game. Meyers included.

 

Respect that game FAMS!

 

respect!

 

this needs a caption game.....Boogie.."no kidding? She's married to him?"

 

I didn't say you did, and that wasn't my point. My point was the sample size is small and influenced by new defensive schemes. Well, that and Ben McLemore.

Orlando's comment was in response to some stats thrown out by Jason Quick that we've given up 8 fewer points per game in the 9 games Dame has missed compared to the 107 games he's played. In addition to the ridiculous mismatch in sample sizes, there was also no mention of the quality of the opponents. We've actually only played two teams with winning records in those nine games.

So, that's my tie in here. Don't read too much into Crabbe's "success" in these two games. He shot poorly in the TOR game and outplayed Ben McLemore tonight. That's hardly reason to justify starting him and moving C.J. to the bench.

It was this same time last year that Stotts made defensive adjustments and the team took off. We played pretty decent defense over the second half of the season with Dame and C.J. starting, and played at a 53-win pace after Christmas last year. So yes, it is possible for that combo to work.

BNM

 

Not trying to suck the joy out of the win, but I'm pretty sure we would have won tonight if we would have started Dame at PG and C.J. at SG. The difference tonight wasn't about shutting down the Kings perimeter players, it was the adjustments that made it much harder for Cousins to dominate the way he did 8 days ago.

To me, that's much more to get excited about than who started and who didn't. The fact that Stotts is no longer dogmatically adhering to his defensiveness schemes that have us last in the league in team defense is the big news here. Obviously, the new schemes are having a big positive impact, and that's more important than who starts and who doesn't.

BNM

 

Hey @Boob-No-More that's a lot of crazy talk. Stotts making adjustments? Not according to this forum!

 

That's Cousins. Do we think he wouldn't do the same thing if he played for us?

 

But he'll have them manufactured overseas.

 

Pretty much.
He had the same issues when he was at Kentucky.
Being 26 now, it's time for the man to grow up.
But unfortunately I don't see him ever growing up. Especially with the money being available to him when he resigns in Sac.
Kudos to the guy for being able to take care of his family needs for the rest of their lives.

 

Of course we're not better without Dame

what can be argued is that we are better defensively, and therefore ultimately better overall if Dame and CJ are not playing together.
The last two games seems to show that but again, let's see what happens when Dame gets back first.