More Forum "Buzz Words" that really don't mean much when you break them down.
Last I checked Dunks still count as two points and they are points in the paint. So if those 2 points involve DeMarcus or anybody else on the team dunking on someone's head I will gladly take them and so would anybody else here. If the goal is to win you take points however you get them. Most of the time when you get a dunk it's either because of a great defensive play that led to a fast break or a great ball movement that lead to a great pass and a wide open dunk. Either way dunks are often a sign of a team playing well, their not the same as chucking 3's with a hand in your face or forcing ISO shots into double teams.
Defense, I won't argue with you there and that's the major thing lacking from the team since Malone was fired. Fact is this isn't a roster with very many good defensive players and Malone was able to get them to buy into a good defensive system and play good team defense. Without Malone the players are back to playing defense the way most of them have in their careers.
"Smash Mouth" the most ridiculously over used buzz-word on this forum from so many members who sure seem to like the sound of it even though it never actually applied to this team. People give PDA crap for using buzz-words yet a large percentage of this forum is stuck on the "smash mouth" buzz-word that doesn't accurately describe the players on this team or the style of play that they had before Michael Malone was fired.
Does this team have a bunch of shot-blockers? No they really don't even have any shot blockers.
Does this team have elite defenders that beat you up (guys like Tony Allen or Marc Gasol)? Nope
Does this team have multiple players that beat you in the low post or run you over to score (like Ron Artest and Bonzi)? Nope just DeMarcus.
There are only a few players on this team that could even be considered "smash mouth" players. The obvious answer is DeMarcus Cousins but Cousins is way too skilled and has too many moves in his offensive repertoire to refer to him as a smash-mouth player. He's taking dudes off the dribble, hitting 18 foot jumpers, spin moves, etc. When you are the best offensive big man in the world, a term like smash-mouth should be considered an insult. Shaq was a smash-mouth player, DeMarcus is tremendous offensive talent that has elements of smash-mouth to his game.
Is Rudy Gay a smash-mouth player? No.
Ben McLemore? No
Derrick Williams? Hell no
Darren Collison? No
Jason Thompson? About once every two or three weeks he has a smash-mouth game
Nik Stauskas? No, he's afraid to even shoot
Carl Landry? No
Ramon Sessions? No, although he does play with the attention span of a 12 year old with ADHD on a sugar-high to where you want to smash him in the mouth.
Omri Casspi? Yes he actually kinda is
Reggie Evans? No that is unless you count only rebounding while otherwise being completely lost on defense and offense.
Ray McCallum? No
When Michael Malone was coaching the team were they constantly grinding teams down and winning with scores like 92-78, 86-80, 78-72, etc. in their wins?
No on the contrary they were scoring anywhere from 94 to 131 in their wins with most of their wins between about 101-110 points.
Their opponents were scoring anywhere from 88 to 112 in these wins with most of their opponents scoring in the low 90's to low 100's when the Kings won.
So essentially under Malone the Kings were usually beating teams something like 104 to 98, 110 to 105, 98 to 91, stuff like that.
What that indicates is a pretty solid offensive team and a respectable defensive team. Other than 3 point shooting they were pretty well balanced offensively from about 20 feet and in and defensively they were respectable and very good on the boards but hardly a team that would beat you up on defense.
What the scores in their wins under Malone doesn't indicate is a smash-mouth style of play. They were not winning low scoring grindouts. They never were a smash-mouth team under Malone and they were never going to be a smash-mouth team under Malone nor should they have been based on the roster.
So instead of constantly talking about "smash mouth" which is term that doesn't even apply to this team, how about wanting a well balanced team that beats you on both ends of the floor? A team that beats you with DeMarcus inside, Rudy in the middle, and guys like Ben on the outside and cutting to the basket. How about beating you on defense with solid team defense, guys that rotate and help their teammates, and great rebounding? I'll take that formula that actually wins as opposed to yet another buzz-word that sounds cool to say but doesn't actually exist with this team.
