Why Tyreke MUST be the point guard (With Pictures)

[UK_King]

(I know this will be obvious/old ground/boring to some, appreciate that, only want to highlight the kind of impact Tyreke had in this game)

Well I'm re-watching the Pacer game and it's clear to me, as many have said, Tyreke needs to be the point guard of this team, or at least be the primary ball handler.

I've only looked at the first quarter but every time Tyreke has the ball, something good happens, or something good could potentially happen.

The only caveat is, yep, he still needs to improve his decision making, but with time on the ball he can easily become a elite guard no question.

** He's our best P&R option by a mile, his dribble commands so much respect he gets great separation.

P&R with cuz... He can dish to MT for a wide open 3, a reverse to cuz or drive the lane and swing. He actually manages to get a layup on this play. Unbelievable.



Here, look at the respect the pacers pay his driving ability. MT is wide open for a three or over the top to JJ sadly he turns it over driving into traffic



in transition he's able to use his speed to get all the way into the lane but again, makes the wrong decision missing a wide open MT instead dropping it off to cuz who fumbles it.



His length in the post draws a double, but again he misses MT wide open and dishes to JT who bricks it.



When we space it correctly he gets to the hoop without even breaking a sweat.



here he just blows by Hibbert (?) gets all the way to the hoop but instead of laying it in trys a drop off pass to cuz, thats fumbled.

add to all this that his two man game with Cuz is fantastic. Well, i have no idea why he's not our primary ball handler.

remember this is just the first quarter

All these niggles are solved by getting him in a film room and giving him the ball on the court... please give him the ball!

[Entity]

I think your pics just show us why he SHOULD NOT be the pg.

[UK_King]

I think your pics just show us why he SHOULD NOT be the pg.

Fair enough, opens up a debate at least, i just think his ability opens up good shots for the people we want to be shooting them.

Yes i accept his decision making has got to improve but if he hits the people in all these plays you can't deny he's doing what a PG should do, get to the hoop or find the open man.

considering how poor IT and Brooks have been i just think a solution is staring us in the face, but yeah, accept i might be wrong, often am!

[mac]

I think your pics just show us why he SHOULD NOT be the pg.

That's one way to put it. Another way to look at it is that we could be getting wide open shots if Smart were to let Tyreke be the primary ball handler and have guys in more fixed spots such that Evans' doesn't need to make as tough a decision. You show the team these clips and then have them practice, where Tyreke now takes note of where Thornton is spotting up for 3.

If you ask me it's worth a shot... it's not like our offense is excelling at the moment.

I would still have IT at PG because he does a much better job of getting guys in their spots and also passing the ball in transition, as well as to have Tyreke stick to guarding SGs and smaller SFs which he's done to great success in the 3 games so far. But run the offense through Tyreke more often. To Smart's credit, that's what we've been doing a lot more. The next step is to build upon the defense collapsing on Tyreke.

[Chupacabra]

Can you all imagine the negative impact that declining to resign tyreke would have on a team like the kings? When, where and how would his services be duplicated. he makes the team alot more aggresive on both end of the floor. If he keeps up this defensive effort i think hell be resigned.

[Section 101]

Fair enough, opens up a debate at least, i just think his ability opens up good shots for the people we want to be shooting them.

Yes i accept his decision making has got to improve but if he hits the people in all these plays you can't deny he's doing what a PG should do, get to the hoop or find the open man. considering how poor IT and Brooks have been i just think a solution is staring us in the face, but yeah, accept i might be wrong, often am!

I've been saying it forever. He can't make those passes. He needs the play to be in front of him. Now I'm sure someone can find a video or 2, but the point is the pay needs to be make over 50% of the time not 5%.

[Kingster]

No, no, no, no, no. Couldn't play pg to begin with. Can't play it now. Couldn't play the three last year. Everybody said he should go to the two. Now we're talking about him going to the one again? Look, he ran a three on two break last night and couldn't get it to a wide wide open Thornton on his left; instead he opted for the high risk alley-oop which was covered and it was a busted play (Thornton was pissed, and I don't blame him). He doesn't have the decision making ability for a pg. He's playing great D at the two guard and making a positive impact on the offensive side. Let him stay there.

I continue to believe that Tyreke isn't going to be consistently top tier on the offensive side of the ball until he can make the simple play; not the spectacular play. Just make the simple plays. The spectacular plays are nice, but if you rely on the spectacular high risk plays you're going to lose more times than not, especially against the better teams. Give me the easy-peezy bank shot off the glass on a fast break. The easy pull up at the free throw line on the fast break. The easy open shot off a screen. He needs to become more efficient with his game. Right now he's forced to try for the spectacular because he can't do the easy.

[HereWeVivek]

i think he should be. it creates a HUGE mismatch for the opposing defense, and makes our defense very strong. his assisnt numbers may not have been super impressive when he was the PG his rookie year(a little over 5 per game) but he has improved as a passer, AND he would have had plenty more assists if anyone else on the team his rookie year could make a open shot.....

[Gary]

No....

Pretty much as simple as that. Evans position is SG. A SG shouldn't be playing PG. Especially when that SG does not have good enough PG instincts.

[kingjatt]

he's not a point guard he is a SG who cant shoot, but the PGs on the roster are so bad at creating that he is our only option so for this roster he must be handling/starting half court sets in critical parts of the game. He cant do it all game and continue to guard the other teams best perimeter player, it will wear him out by game 10.

[Bricklayer]

think DWade.

But the lineup and system has to stabilize so that he knows where Cousins, Thornton etc. will be on every drive. That makes a huge difference in efficiency.

[Gary]

think DWade.

But the lineup and system has to stabilize so that he knows where Cousins, Thornton etc. will be on every drive. That makes a huge difference in efficiency.

It would in theory, but I don't think Evans has the improvisational skills to create for others on the fly when things aren't working to the way the gameplan was designed.

[GoodOldDouwe]

think DWade.

But the lineup and system has to stabilize so that he knows where Cousins, Thornton etc. will be on every drive. That makes a huge difference in efficiency.

Amen

[swisshh]

I am assuming this is a joke post because it shows Evans making the wrong decision over and over?

[Gary]

I am assuming this is a joke post because it shows Evans making the wrong decision over and over?

Yah it looks like he's going 1 on 3 every time when having an open JT and an open MT for three each time. That's not what PGs are supposed to do.

[cuad]

You spend way too much time worrying about the Kings, OP. Just learn to enjoy how other teams crush them, like I have.

[UK_King]

I am assuming this is a joke post because it shows Evans making the wrong decision over and over?

sigh.

It's about the long game.

If i was the coach i'd have him in the film room showing him these plays and drilling him on where the open shooters are going to be, because he's getting into the right positions again and again and again, and this is without structure.

[UK_King]

Yah it looks like he's going 1 on 3 every time when having an open JT and an open MT for three each time. That's not what PGs are supposed to do.

In the play where JT is open he gives JT the ball who bricks it, so he did the right thing, he also drops the ball off to cuz who twice fumbles easy passes. He's looking for the pass again and again it's just about knowing the best one. Thats why with drilling he'd be our best option at the point very willing passer, unlike most on this team.

[Gary]

In the play where JT is open he gives JT the ball who bricks it, so he did the right thing, he also drops the ball off to cuz who twice fumbles easy passes. He's looking for the pass again and again it's just about knowing the best one. Thats why with drilling he'd be our best option at the point very willing passer, unlike most on this team.

After (correction: three) games you cannot make that assumption though. Evans isn't even a PG so I didn't want to get started on that debate again like we had a few years back.

We have two PGs that are better than Evans. If for some reason after 10-15 games they cannot get it together then we should start looking at other options. But one of those options SHOULDN'T be putting a SG into the PG slot. That would just create more headaches.

CORRECTION: Three games

[Prog]

Pretty much as simple as that. Evans position is SG. A SG shouldn't be playing PG. Especially when that SG does not have good enough PG instincts.

He can't shoot, so he's not a SG. That leaves PG and SF as two positions where he can contribute without being scrutinized so badly for his lack of shooting, but match ups are crucial. Against teams with high scoring SF's (e.g. Lebron, Durant, Melo) it makes a lot more sense to play Tyreke as a PG, as he's a decent passer and an overall better player than our other PG's. In such cases James Johnson is any way the best candidate to guard the opposing SF. Against teams with less offensively capable SF's (e.g. Batum, Deng, Ariza), Tyreke will do just fine playing SF, with Brooks or Thomas playing PG and (unlike Tyreke) actually having 3pt range. Together with Thornton at SG, spacing should be much better than what we're seeing now.

One thing for sure - when Tyreke plays PG, he needs to learn to make plays quicker. Currently he dribbles too much, but this is easier to fix than poor shooting form.

In short - against teams like Miami, OKC and NYC (all with great SF's and limited bigs) I'd go with the following lineup: Tyreke, Thornton, Johnson, Robinson, Cousins. Against more typical teams (less firepower at SF, more inside) I'd go with Thomas/Brooks, Thornton, Tyreke, Thompson/Hayes, Cousins. No matter how you look at it, Tyreke, Thornton and Cousins are our three best players and should all start.