Positive signs from Smart?

[The_Jamal]

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/25/507...increased.html

He notes the chronic need for an elite facilitator, for a locker room craving a dynamic, established star, along with the fact that his assembled cast – which is not devoid of individual talent – consists of too many small guards and not enough frontcourt length.

But I know my team, what they can do. We have to eliminate the 'me' syndrome.' I call it the 'drum major instinct.' I don't think they're selfish, but they all want to be out front. These are one-on-one players. You can't just say, 'Be a passer.' Timing, setting a guy up, the triangle. I tried that. But who's my best read (defenses) guy? Who sees the floor? Chuck (Hayes). I want to get into a motion offense just so they will move the ball."

These two quotes from Smart really caught my attention. Whether he's just blowing smoke or not, he knows the exactly what the issues are with our roster and acknowledges the major problems we are facing. While he still obviously has his issues, it's nice to know he's not in complete fantasy land as to where our roster is

[HereWeVivek]

oh wow. this is pretty crazy. its nice to see that he's aware of the issues with the roster. its too bad that apparently Petrie is not.....

and it still doesnt explain some of the things he does. but at least like you said, he's not in complete fantasy land

[Bricklayer]

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/25/507...increased.html






These two quotes from Smart really caught my attention. Whether he's just blowing smoke or not, he knows the exactly what the issues are with our roster and acknowledges the major problems we are facing. While he still obviously has his issues, it's nice to know he's not in complete fantasy land as to where our roster is

Funny thing, I saw those exact same quotes over on Hoopshype, and thought the same thing...except for this. Without even clicking the link at that site, I knew that writing style, and I knew it was Voison. And Voison has a long and glorious history of substituting hee own analysis/feelings on things and using writing tricks, like the above, to attribute them to others. You will note we have no quotes from Smart to that effect. She likes to quote a guy earlier about something else to establish that she's talked to them, then make a statement like the above with a "Smart knows" or some such, rather than a "Smart says", and then let your own mind do the connecting. Technically she isn't lying. She's just letting your mind do the deceiving for her.

By training she's a fellow lawyer btw, I know the trick.

Now all of that said, as I mentioend when I first read those lines I was thinking exactly the same thing you were. IF those were actually Smart's sentiments, then there would be hope for him, and the blame would really begin to accelerate on Petrie and the Maloofs for being the source of our idiocy. I'm not convinced though. Seems basically every fan, columinst, opposing player, coach, and blue haired granny knitting in front of the fire knows and understands what we've done wrong here better than anybody inside our "orgnization". Its really quite sad. So...would need to hear it from the horse's mouth. Unfortunately the horse's mouth is in such constant use it would be hard to sort out any hopeful tidbits form the surrounding dredge.

[ppine]

We are all a little presumptuous on the forum and we believe that we can help a coach figure out what the next move should be. If any one of us could have lunch with Smart we would probably stop hating on him so much and we would understand his vision a lot better.

[kingsnation]

We are all a little presumptuous on the forum and we believe that we can help a coach figure out what the next move should be. If any one of us could have lunch with Smart we would probably stop hating on him so much and we would understand his vision a lot better.

No one should have to "have lunch" with a professional sports coach to understand their vision.

This far into his tenure, and his vision is still undefinable? That's a problem.

[CruzDude]

There was another interesting comment buried in article about Cuz/Kings/Smart: "Smart is more consumed with matching up against opponents than imposing his team's own style." True but not sure he can make a "team style" with the odd lot he has and without Tyreke and with Cuz being Cuz. If those two lived up to their abilities and both got 5-7 assists a night and 10-20 pts, then we could talk about developing a "style" for this team. But as pointed out above, too many "drum majors" and not enough band members on particular instruments (roles!).

So it seems up to Cuz and Tyreke to get their acts together and help set a team "personality" at least then a "style" that wins some games. But everyone has to acknowledge and carry out a "role" to play from Tyreke and Cuz on down. That's the tough part. Not sure there is any trade out there that can accelerate this happening.

[The_Jamal]

Since we're stuck with Smart for another year at least, I'm just happy that he possibly knows the real problems with the roster. I'm still slightly intrigued to what he can do with Reke/Thornton/Cousins healthy/not suspended.

[Glenn]

I know that part of Smart's style is to want PGs who distribute the ball. Unfortunately, part of Petrie's style is to get shooters and Petrie in general can identify shooters. It's perhaps his best skill. But what good does it do us when he has forgotten team fit, SIZE, etc. Certainly coaches and GMs get together and plan the next move. I'm waiting. If Petrie makes no moves before the trade deadline, I will be convinced he has already retired and simply shows up at games because he has free tickets.

As to Smart's amazing insight into the team's problems, note he does not include his contribution to the problem. I am not sure if he doesn't know but if he is going to pick on other players, staff, etc., he has to come clean about himself. I'd also like to hear what he thinks of the Maloofs. There is no simple answer Everybody is a problem.

I am so sad to hear what Voison's education is. Wonder if she passed the bar.

[ESP47]

So we're down to complimenting a million dollar coach because he recognizes the same problems the fans have been talking about for years now?

It doesn't matter what Smart realizes, the fact that he can't implement an offense or defense means he's a terrible coach.

A good coach comes in and forces everyone into a role and doesn't care whether the players are mad or not.

[spudfan]

I stopped having trust in what Smart said a long time ago. He is the kind of person who says so many different things it would be hard to NOT find something plausible. It always seems to end up being empty chatter.

[Npliam]

A good coach comes in and forces everyone into a role and doesn't care whether the players are mad or not.

This is just plain myopic.

[CruzDude]

So we're down to complimenting a million dollar coach because he recognizes the same problems the fans have been talking about for years now?

It doesn't matter what Smart realizes, the fact that he can't implement an offense or defense means he's a terrible coach.

A good coach comes in and forces everyone into a role and doesn't care whether the players are mad or not.

Hmmm. So, given a bunch of incompatible pieces, you say FORCE everyone into a role and make a team. Interesting. There is not a coach in history who has FORCED professional athletes into anything much less a successful team. I give you Mike Brown down at the Lakers earlier. I give you Westphal last year. And a puzzle with incompatible pieces.....you say just force them together to make them fit. Interesting. Not.

[bajaden]

At the moment, I think there's a lot of conflict within the orginization. As James Jones pointed out in his brief article on Cousins being reinstated, Smart immediately said that doesn't mean he's going to play right away. That doesn't sound like a comment from a coach that was on board with the reinstatement. And, no one in the orginization took responsibility for taking Cousins off suspension. Who authorized it? Petrie? The Maloof's? Did Cousins new agent apply some pressure related to Cousins future with the team? I don't have any answers to those questions, but the fact that you can ask them, shows what a mess the Kings have become.

I've heard rumors from within the orginization that Petrie, and the Maloofs are in disagreement on the direction the franchise should take. Apparently one wants to bring in more experienced players, and the other wants to keep building through the draft. I've heard there are other issues as well. Petrie's contract ends this year, and unless some major changes take place within the orginization, I don't think he'll be around next year, and I suspect its more his choice than the Maloofs. My personal opinion is that he's tired of having his name dragged through the mud. Having his name attached to the Kings is not doing his reputation any good.

Smart isn't a stupid man. He knows basketball. So its no surprise to me that he would know the deficiences of the team. Lets be honest, he inherited a poorly put together team. Too many guards, and a thin, undersized frontcourt. Some of the players function better in a halfcourt game, which I think best suits Cousins. And some of the players function better in a up tempo game, which I think best suits Tyreke. So there you have one of the problems to start with. Two stars, but each one plays better in a different style than the other. Can either of them play both styles? Sure, but its not their strength, and a good coach tries to design an offense that allows players to play to their strengths. Just how do you do that with this team?

Plus, this is a very young team. Yeah, I know some of you don't want to hear that, and regard it as excuse making. But facts are facts, and this is a young team, and, a young team needs a teaching coach. Someone that can mold them together, similiar to what the Thunder have done. Of course, in the case of the Thunder, all the pieces fit together well. There's a nice balance to their team. Doesn't hurt to have Durant on you team though. So while I don't think Smart is stupid, I also don't think he's a good coach. He makes hairbrained moves that just astound me at times. Like having four players on the floor at the same time that can't shoot the ball. Like having JT sitting on the bench with just a couple of fouls in the fourth quarter, and were getting murdered on the boards and second chance points with Hayes and Robinson in the game.

If you take the time to read the newspapers around the league, you find that the Kings are the laughing stock of the NBA. People are flipping coins to decide which team is worse, the Kings or the Wizards. Sacramento has become a joke, and its a damm shame. I don't have any answers other than Stern stepping in and bringing some sanity to the whole affair by forcing the Maloofs to sell, and hopefully to a local owner. It will be interesting to see how this latest Cousins saga plays out. Last season Smart hung his star on Cousins. The last coach that butted heads with Cousins lost. Normally, I'd say that Smart is safe in this area, but if he keeps losing, who knows?

[bajaden]

So we're down to complimenting a million dollar coach because he recognizes the same problems the fans have been talking about for years now?

It doesn't matter what Smart realizes, the fact that he can't implement an offense or defense means he's a terrible coach.

A good coach comes in and forces everyone into a role and doesn't care whether the players are mad or not.

That sounds good, but you can't put a square peg in a round hole. What a good coach does, is look at the talent, and decide which style of basketball best fits the overall strength of the roster. You can't have a running team with slow plodding players. You can't run a motion offense with players that aren't good passers or shooters. And if you have a very young, low basketball IQ roster, your in serious trouble. The Kings right now have a lot of players that love to play in isolation. Now that might be OK if it was Jordan or Kobe out there, but beyond a couple of players, most of them just aren't very good in isolation. Marcus Thornton is a scorer. He's not known as a passer. I will give him credit for trying, but when others stop trying, like Johnson, Thornton is going to stop trying as well, especially since he's better in isolation than Johnson is.

My point is, that good coaches always find a way to get the best they can from a team. Case in point. When Pat Riley took over the Lakers with Magic Johnson, they became showtime. They ran you off the court, and he realized he had the players to do that. Later, when he took over the Knicks, he realized he couldn't play the same game with that team. Ewing's knees were starting to show some wear, and the Knicks just wern't a very athletic team, but they were a very skilled team. So he changed styles and made them into a tough, defensive, grind it out offensively team. And once again, he was successful. Now he didn't win a championship with the Knicks, but he came damm close. If it wasn't for the dammed Alonzo Mourning.

[Glenn]

At the moment, I think there's a lot of conflict within the orginization. As James Jones pointed out in his brief article on Cousins being reinstated, Smart immediately said that doesn't mean he's going to play right away. That doesn't sound like a comment from a coach that was on board with the reinstatement. And, no one in the orginization took responsibility for taking Cousins off suspension. Who authorized it? Petrie? The Maloof's? Did Cousins new agent apply some pressure related to Cousins future with the team? I don't have any answers to those questions, but the fact that you can ask them, shows what a mess the Kings have become.

I've heard rumors from within the orginization that Petrie, and the Maloofs are in disagreement on the direction the franchise should take. Apparently one wants to bring in more experienced players, and the other wants to keep building through the draft. I've heard there are other issues as well. Petrie's contract ends this year, and unless some major changes take place within the orginization, I don't think he'll be around next year, and I suspect its more his choice than the Maloofs. My personal opinion is that he's tired of having his name dragged through the mud. Having his name attached to the Kings is not doing his reputation any good.

Smart isn't a stupid man. He knows basketball. So its no surprise to me that he would know the deficiences of the team. Lets be honest, he inherited a poorly put together team. Too many guards, and a thin, undersized frontcourt. Some of the players function better in a halfcourt game, which I think best suits Cousins. And some of the players function better in a up tempo game, which I think best suits Tyreke. So there you have one of the problems to start with. Two stars, but each one plays better in a different style than the other. Can either of them play both styles? Sure, but its not their strength, and a good coach tries to design an offense that allows players to play to their strengths. Just how do you do that with this team?

Plus, this is a very young team. Yeah, I know some of you don't want to hear that, and regard it as excuse making. But facts are facts, and this is a young team, and, a young team needs a teaching coach. Someone that can mold them together, similiar to what the Thunder have done. Of course, in the case of the Thunder, all the pieces fit together well. There's a nice balance to their team. Doesn't hurt to have Durant on you team though. So while I don't think Smart is stupid, I also don't think he's a good coach. He makes hairbrained moves that just astound me at times. Like having four players on the floor at the same time that can't shoot the ball. Like having JT sitting on the bench with just a couple of fouls in the fourth quarter, and were getting murdered on the boards and second chance points with Hayes and Robinson in the game.

If you take the time to read the newspapers around the league, you find that the Kings are the laughing stock of the NBA. People are flipping coins to decide which team is worse, the Kings or the Wizards. Sacramento has become a joke, and its a damm shame. I don't have any answers other than Stern stepping in and bringing some sanity to the whole affair by forcing the Maloofs to sell, and hopefully to a local owner. It will be interesting to see how this latest Cousins saga plays out. Last season Smart hung his star on Cousins. The last coach that butted heads with Cousins lost. Normally, I'd say that Smart is safe in this area, but if he keeps losing, who knows?

I'm glad you always find the energy yo put together good notes.

[SacTownKid]

Smart officially has no idea what he's doing. First he says this team needs more motion and a team game, which is TRUE. Then he says the strength of this team is STILL the pick and roll game, which is the complete OPPOSITE of a MOTION OFFENSE. It's a two man game that relies on a distributor, a finisher, and shooting, things that aren't anything close to the strength of this team from a roster standpoint. Wow, I really hope these players don't have to deal with this kind of knowledge from the coaching spot for another whole year.

[spudfan]

Smart officially has no idea what he's doing. First he says this team needs more motion and a team game, which is TRUE. Then he says the strength of this team is STILL the pick and roll game, which is the complete OPPOSITE of a MOTION OFFENSE. It's a two man game that relies on a distributor, a finisher, and shooting, things that aren't anything close to the strength of this team from a roster standpoint. Wow, I really hope these players don't have to deal with this kind of knowledge from the coaching spot for another whole year.

Pretty much agree with you here. I think his main problem is that he is very indecisive. So he often says one thing, changes his mind to something else, and does another completely different thing. What he says often sounds good, but his actions are normally completely different or short lasting.

[ESP47]

I'm not saying the coach has one style (ie run and gun, triangle etc) and just imposes it on the roster regardless of who the players are. This guy is paid millions of dollars to coach this team and it's like he's 2 years behind the fans in terms of assessing the mess of a roster he has. Regardless of whether we have the roster we have now, or 12 Mateen Cleaves', he should be able to get the maximum potential out of them whether that's 20 wins or 40 wins. As of right out, I think we can all agree that Keith Smart is not able to reach the full potential of our players.

We do in fact have players that can shoot. Brooks, IT, Jimmer, Thornton and Garcia. The problem is 4 of them are midgets and one of them is a scrub. Either way our coach should exploit this to it's fullest extent.

We have players that can pass. Brooks, IT, Tyreke, Salmons and Hayes. Tyreke should have 4-5 assists a game. Brooks and IT with 3 a piece, Salmons with 2.5 and Hayes with 2. These numbers are all easily obtainable with good coaching. Throw in the rest of the teams assists and we should at least be in the 22-23 a game area.

What we don't have is any sort of sustainable offense. We play "it's my turn" offense and then when the game is on the line at the end we play hero ball. This isn't the players fault. Poorly coached players go rogue and do whatever they want. Good coached players buy into the system and do what their coach tells them to do by running the play that is called. We may have selfish players but they aren't so selfish that they are going to pass up known easy set up passes to jack up an ill advised shot. The problem is that there is no play being ran so they are just forced to improvise for most the game.

Most good facilitators are good 1 on 1 players. They rack up assists by breaking down the defense and once help comes from another player, they dish to the now open teammate for hopefully an open shot or easy lay in. They can also rack up assists by their teammates running off of screens. The Kings are the worst screening team I've ever seen. Our bigs lay the most half assed screens in the league. This is coaching. Also we hardly ever run guys off screens that don't have the ball. Again, coaching. In the end it all comes down to coaching. I'm not saying we are a playoff team, but we certainly shouldn't be 9-18 with the talent we have right now.

[VF21]

I know that part of Smart's style is to want PGs who distribute the ball. Unfortunately, part of Petrie's style is to get shooters and Petrie in general can identify shooters. It's perhaps his best skill. But what good does it do us when he has forgotten team fit, SIZE, etc. Certainly coaches and GMs get together and plan the next move. I'm waiting. If Petrie makes no moves before the trade deadline, I will be convinced he has already retired and simply shows up at games because he has free tickets.

As to Smart's amazing insight into the team's problems, note he does not include his contribution to the problem. I am not sure if he doesn't know but if he is going to pick on other players, staff, etc., he has to come clean about himself. I'd also like to hear what he thinks of the Maloofs. There is no simple answer Everybody is a problem.

I am so sad to hear what Voison's education is. Wonder if she passed the bar.

Yes.

[HereWeVivek]

And yet another team has fired a coach whos better than Smart (Brooklyn)
Must be nice to root for a team that doesn't accept awfulness.