I dont get it. It MUST be the coach. How are Thomas, Martin, Garcia, Williamson and Hart consistently contibuting under 10 points per game. If the bench contributes more points and if the Kings atleast keep from getting DESTROYED on the boards theyll win a whole lot of games.
It's funny how Sacramento fans always blame the coach whenever the this team is off to a poor start. I also remember reading several posts of the same topic last year.Rick Adelman has done a great job in Sacramento for years, and yet when they get off to a horrible start he's the first to get the blame. In reality this team is constructed very poorly, and that is the main reason for its struggles. Yes Sacramento has a great unit who can score on any team, but they lack the consistency and the killer instinct. They have plenty of vets but no veteran leadership, defense has always been their weakness, and in the clutch there is no one to really go to besides Bibby and other teams know that. The loss of Chris Webber has a much bigger effect on this team than anyone realized, and I don't care how they did without him in games in the past. He was their vocal leader and he is the reason they got as far as they did in the past. Until they can bring in a vocal leader can lead them through close games and hit the clutch shots they need, this team will struggle. Kings fans would assume I'm just a Laker fan who is enjoying this poor stretch of games by Sacramento, but I consider both L.A. and the Kings to be completely different teams now and I couldn't care less about the past "rivalry." I'm not trying to bash the Kings in any way so don't try to turn this into a Laker-King thing again...please..
^ So youre saying its constructed poorly because of the lack of a leader? Or its constructed poorly period? SAC is obviously an offensive team. If youre aware of the main idea behind the Kings offensive scheme then this team on paper would appear to have one of the highest powered offenses in the league. Sure they have zero defense. How long has it been since the Kings actually did play D? This team has won alot of games even while being incompetent defensively. The point is that when a team has as many high quality players as the Kings do and they dont win games you usually dont have to look further than the coach for someone to blame. I cant grasp how the Kings are 10-15 for the life of me. Even with the lack of leadership Im pretty sure NOBODY expected the Kings to struggle this much.
I agree with Phreeze, I think the GM has to shoulder the majority of the blame. The Kings lost all their veteran leadership after Christie, Divac, and Webber left. They might have over estimated Bibby's ability to lead, and didn't give him the proper time table to transition. Then you have Peja who's had one foot out the door all season long, plus his health has been up and down all year. I agreed with the Webber trade, and the moves to get younger, but the key loss appears to be Vlade Divac. He was the "glue" guy for this team and after he left no one has really replaced his presence. The original plan after the Webber deal was to unload Corliss and/or Skinner because they had contracts that were easier to trade. Unfortunately, both aren't playing much this year, so their trade value is at an all time low. They might have to wait until next season before they find any takers (both will be expiring contracts), so having those two taking up cap space and not playing much is hurting the depth of the team. I think some of it has to do with the schedule as well. The Kings hard part of the schedule has come early this season for Sac. Here's a list of teams they've played this month ... Charlotte San Antonio Detroit Minnesota New Orleans Seattle Houston Cleveland Minnesota Miami The only weak team was Charlotte, but the Bobcats are a very competitive team and can beat anyone on any given night. Their record is 3-7 for the month as a result. I expect the Kings will make a run in February and get back in the playoff picture.
Some hope for the bench after tonight's game? The Big Nasty had his best game of the season tonight, and the bench rallied the Kings back into the game. I thought an effective lineup was playing SAR & Kenny Thomas on the court at the same time. Those two caused some mismatches and it gave the Kings players to run the court and fill the lanes. SAR-KT-Price-Bibby-Martin was a nice unit on the court for the Kings tonight.
I don't get why Skinner isn't playing. He's been injured in recent years, but he's still a very servicable big man, as he displayed last year in Sacto, and in Milwaukee previously. This guy's a beast. He'll do all the dirty works, grab boards, play tough D and all, yet he gets no PT. Send him to the Raptors.
