Kings @ Blazers (Pre-Season) Game Discussion

It isn't just about who's the best. It's about which 5 players present the most balanced team on the court at any one time. Because of this, I think Ben just might keep the starting slot for a while.
This. It's not like we are forced to play him 30 minutes since nik is the only sub. For the games he isn't on, he plays less minutes. But his game is better suited to our starters and vice versa with marco
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
you can't decide on one game.

That said I have never been a Benbelieber. If he comes out and sucks a few more times Belinelli is a damn GOOD option. With Rondo and Koufos/WCS out there, our starting lineup is going to be a very stark 3 weapons and 2 roleplayer group. That 3rd weapon absolutely HAS to be able to knock down shots and make smart decisions. Its a 100% no arguments heard necessity.

As far as this sort of bench explosion, its not Bels' normal thing, and Ben frankly is about as likely to come up with the occasional big game. Ben's always had those. But he's never consistently played the night in and night out sort of game of a winner.

A:

Perkins = Koufos/WCS
Garnett = Cousins
Pierce = Gay
Allen = Bellinelli
Rondo = Rondo

Balance makes plenty enough sense to consider it.
 
J

jdbraver

Guest
It isn't just about who's the best. It's about which 5 players present the most balanced team on the court at any one time. Because of this, I think Ben just might keep the starting slot for a while.
Maybe if the other four players in the starting lineup could shoot it wouldn't be a need but who in the starting lineup can space the floor? Let's not ignore the facts and stick our heads in the sand and hope for Ben to change
 
J

jdbraver

Guest
you can't decide on one game.

That said I have never been a Benbelieber. If he comes out and sucks a few more times Belinelli is a damn GOOD option. With Rondo and Koufos/WCS out there, our starting lineup is going to be a very stark 3 weapons and 2 roleplayer group. That 3rd weapon absolutely HAS to be able to knock down shots and make smart decisions. Its a 100% no arguments heard necessity.

As far as this sort of bench explosion, its not Bels' normal thing, and Ben frankly is about as likely to come up with the occasional big game. Ben's always had those. But he's never consistently played the night in and night out sort of game of a winner.
who is basing a decision off one game. I've seen plenty of both.
 
Maybe if the other four players in the starting lineup could shoot it wouldn't be a need but who in the starting lineup can space the floor? Let's not ignore the facts and stick our heads in the sand and hope for Ben to change
Marco shot 37% from 3 last year in one of the most structured offenses in the league. Ben shot 36% in utter chaos. Marco has done it better and more consistently but it's not like it's a giant difference.
 
We have seen tons of Ben to know he disappears all the time. You can't have a starting 2 guard that other teams can leave wide open. As for his defense it didn't help much did it. Belli earned the right to start the next game it's up to Ben to take it away.
8 years in the league with 6 different teams. We didn't just discover an unknown commodity. We know that Marco can shoot. We also know that this is one preseason game. Rudy isn't all of a sudden horrible. Marco isn't all of a sudden the second coming of Reggie Miller. We won't know what we have as a team until about 20 games into the regular season. If Marco earns the nod, great. But.......preseason....
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Maybe if the other four players in the starting lineup could shoot it wouldn't be a need but who in the starting lineup can space the floor? Let's not ignore the facts and stick our heads in the sand and hope for Ben to change
I'm not hoping for Ben to change...and i'm not sticking my head in the sand. But I know the drill. If I disagree with you, I have to be wrong.

So be it. I'm in too good a mood after tonight's game to argue about who's going to start at the 2 after one pre-season game.
 
J

jdbraver

Guest
I'm not hoping for Ben to change...and i'm not sticking my head in the sand. But I know the drill. If I disagree with you, I have to be wrong.

So be it. I'm in too good a mood after tonight's game to argue about who's going to start at the 2 after one pre-season game.
Well that's any easy out and I suppose I can do the same. But I'm not into that passive aggressive crap I will defend myself however
 
Marco shot 37% from 3 last year in one of the most structured offenses in the league. Ben shot 36% in utter chaos. Marco has done it better and more consistently but it's not like it's a giant difference.
I agree the sloppyness of the starting unit affected Ben the most of all of them.
 
J

jdbraver

Guest
8 years in the league with 6 different teams. We didn't just discover an unknown commodity. We know that Marco can shoot. We also know that this is one preseason game. Rudy isn't all of a sudden horrible. Marco isn't all of a sudden the second coming of Reggie Miller. We won't know what we have as a team until about 20 games into the regular season. If Marco earns the nod, great. But.......preseason....
The point is other teams respect his shot. Bens man will leave him to double cuz all day
 
J

jdbraver

Guest
I agree the sloppyness of the starting unit affected Ben the most of all of them.
sorry if u r an nba starting 2 guard u shouldn't blame the rest of the team for not scoring. It is your job. Play with confidence and consistency of step aside
 
Brick made a lot of sense with his comment about Cousins or Koufos needing to be on the court at all times due to the lack of muscle from the other big men. There were a ton of lanes to drive through when it was WCS and Acy. WCS had a solid showing but Acy looked like the Acy I remember. A poor mans Mikki Moore. Are there any PF's on the scrap heap right now? We need someone who can either rebound the ball or shoot from the elbow. Cousins and Koufos starting probably wont work unless they're playing Memphis or the 1994 Knicks.

Belinelli was Kobe and Gay was awful. They kind of evened themselves out since Marco won't play like that often and neither will Gay.

Obviously they need more practice but the fast paced stuff had these guys looking terrible. McLemore looked especially bad but I still want him starting because we need that 1-2 punch of Collison and Belinelli off the bench. Belinelli is the better player right now but he doesn't get to showcase his shooting as much when Gay and Cousins are taking most of the shots. To me it seems more effective to bring him off the bench so he can be utilized better. At the end of the game you can keep him in if need be for an extra dose of shooting.
 
WCS lack of rebounding is a bit worrying. Otherwise he has had a very solid game.
The kid had 5 rebounds in 21 minutes. Or 2 less that Cuz who played 23.

I think those criticizing WCS's rebounding in game 1 of the preseason when he nearly matched our best rebounder is a bit worrying.

Some of you guys just like to complain for the sake of complaining.

What's next --- that he only had 2 blocked shots? Sheesh.
 
I wasn't very happy with our starting lineup today. They showed 0 chemistry and unity. We played at too much of a fast pace even when we started the game 6-0. There were too many times where Rondo dribbled the ball and automatically fed Cousins. I understand that it's the way we will win games, but to start off with lack of ball movement and player touches really hurt the chemistry. Rudy was forced to be out further in the perimeter than he's used to being. He didn't look comfortable being a spot up guy. I didn't see him get the ball enough in his preferred spots. Rudy just couldn't get anything going right for him..not to mention that Mo Harkless lit him up.


Ben missed about 2 open 3's, but he didn't have a very good game all around. He just couldn't because our entire offense on the floor just looked clanky. Spacing on the floor was terrible.

I think our starting lineup should be:

Rondo
McLemore
Anderson
Gay
Cousins

with a bench of

Collison
Belinelli
Casspi
WCS/Acy
Kofus

I promoted Anderson because he offers a 3pt threat and plays decent defense. Belinelli would net a - on defense as a SF, and Casspi's overall game fits the bench much better. With this lineup, we space out more for Rondo, Gay, and Cousins. Maybe if Butler can still play defense, we can start him at SF instead.

I wouldn't play the entire 1st quarter with that starting lineup, but I think that's the group we should start with.
 
Kind of funny on radio with G-man following game Napear said chucking, "tomorrow my show will be full of calls wanting Belinelli to start over McLemore." G-man laughed back and said won't be tuning in (with all due respect he said) - me neither. But still seemed both get why and not necessarily all mindless knee-jerk reaction.
 
The kid had 5 rebounds in 21 minutes. Or 2 less that Cuz who played 23.

I think those criticizing WCS's rebounding in game 1 of the preseason when he nearly matched our best rebounder is a bit worrying.

Some of you guys just like to complain for the sake of complaining.

What's next --- that he only had 2 blocked shots? Sheesh.
Did you get a chance to see the game? I think he had an overall good game, with the exception of rebounding. It was pretty bad, however, I think a lot had to do with him going for the block rather than the rebound. Even with that, there were a few times where the offensive player just beat him to a rebound. I'm very surprised he even ended up with 5rebs today.

I think he'll need to continue improving as a rebounder. I even remember a possession late in the game where Karl had to pull him out for a while because the entire rebounding guys were abysmal. WCS is a 7ft guy, he can't let a 5'10 guard grab the rebound..
 
I personally don't give a damn who starts... I care who keeps us competitive and finishes.

Marco has something that Ben has yet to show us and that's confidence. If you're going to be a big time scorer, you need to be aggressive and believe in yourself. Ben doesn't get another year of potential in my book. It's time to step up and show this league what we all know you can do.
 
K

KingMilz

Guest
# I thought WCS played great considering it was his first ever proper game, he altered/blocked shots played good D and fouled hard so there was never a chance for a and1. Unlike our past 3-5 rookies WCS looked like be belonged at the NBA level right away I actually am very optimistic about him.
#Belly was terrific and if we start Kosta/Cuz he almost has to be the starting SG
#Collison was basically what we saw last year when he was healthy and thats a really solid PG
#Rondo on D looked crap but his pick n roll game with Cuz had my mouth watering, offensively during the first half it was only when him and Cuz had the ball that something positive occurred
#Cuz looks a bit more explosive this year not a fan of him watching at the 3 point line at all but. His rolling to the rim today was terrific now that he finally has a PG who can deliver it.
#Kosta: exactly what I expected and that positive plays with little things that add up
#Ben/Acy/Rudy/Omri were all crap in particular Rudy he was just disrupting our offense

One issue we might have if our PG's are not playing all that well is we have zero wing guys who against a quality defender can put the ball on the floor.


Side Note: Portland slaughtered the Bobcats in the Batum for Hendo/Vonleh deal, while both teams imo won out the Blazers got the better end.
 
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This. It's not like we are forced to play him 30 minutes since nik is the only sub. For the games he isn't on, he plays less minutes. But his game is better suited to our starters and vice versa with marco
Let's not forget that we'll be seeing a lot of Rondo-Collison lineups this year too. Ben should be the starter this year, but he will have the shortest leash on the team with 2 quality veteran guys behind him who can take minutes at the 2.
 
Koufos is basically what everyone hoped JT could be. Post defense, great on rotations, knows his limitations, sets good screens, great motor, great at verticality. Cuz and Koufos vs Gasol and Z-Bo will be must watch. Just four bruisers going at it down low.
 
how Marco? nice highlight package of todays game:

that behind the back pass to WCS was pretty. Been a long time since we've seen things like this, but it looks pretty familiar
;)