Kings Media Day
- Thread starter Sac.Kings
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I always love to hear what Willie has to say. He's very cerebral. Perhaps too much at times on the floor. What was interesting is that when he described his performance at summer league, it was exactly what I was thinking at the time sitting in the stands. He was so excited to get a chance to showcase what he had been working on, that he tried too hard. Didn't know he had been working out with Peja. Should improve his shooting. Peja was a master of back door cuts. I'm expecting big things out of Willie this season.
I particularly liked what Matt Barnes says from :35 sec in to about a minute. Focusing on the task at hand, making sure energy is directed at the "enemy" and not at each other or the refs. SO glad he's back.
I agree with Bajaden about WCS. He is very thoughtful and I enjoy hearing what he has to say. I really think he and Demarcus are going to be a force in this league, hopefully for many years ( and titles
) to come.
Cant wait for some Kings basketball again...
I agree with Bajaden about WCS. He is very thoughtful and I enjoy hearing what he has to say. I really think he and Demarcus are going to be a force in this league, hopefully for many years ( and titles
) to come.Cant wait for some Kings basketball again...
You could easily make the case.
Lawson & Collison: If Lawson returns to form, you could see a lot of 2 PG lineups
SGs & SFs: We have Afflalo, Barnes, Casspi, Gay, McLemore, & Temple. That's 6 guys who could be in the rotation. I'm sure Barnes, Casspi, & Gay will see some time at PF to help some of these guys see the floor
Obviously we still have Cauley-Stein, Cousins, Koufos, & Tolliver as bigs which doesn't make it seem like we have a lot of room, but it's going to come down to some players getting cut out of the rotation. If Joerger is thinking we'll be playing a fair amount of smallball, I tend to think that will be our bigs.
Lawson & Collison: If Lawson returns to form, you could see a lot of 2 PG lineups
SGs & SFs: We have Afflalo, Barnes, Casspi, Gay, McLemore, & Temple. That's 6 guys who could be in the rotation. I'm sure Barnes, Casspi, & Gay will see some time at PF to help some of these guys see the floor
Obviously we still have Cauley-Stein, Cousins, Koufos, & Tolliver as bigs which doesn't make it seem like we have a lot of room, but it's going to come down to some players getting cut out of the rotation. If Joerger is thinking we'll be playing a fair amount of smallball, I tend to think that will be our bigs.
He might mean Gay/Casspi/Tolliver are potential starters at the four. Gay and Casspi are two of our better players, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them starting as such, but even Tolliver might be a better fit for the floor spacing if WCS doesn't bring something solid into camp.
I like WCS talent and potential upside, but he will not be given anything if he doesn't bring it. If Cousins/Koufos are taking up the C minutes there are a lot of bodies at the 4 potentially (Gay/Casspi/Barnes/Tolliver/Skal even who I consider a great prospect)
It's up to WCS to earn what he gets
I like WCS talent and potential upside, but he will not be given anything if he doesn't bring it. If Cousins/Koufos are taking up the C minutes there are a lot of bodies at the 4 potentially (Gay/Casspi/Barnes/Tolliver/Skal even who I consider a great prospect)
It's up to WCS to earn what he gets
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Over the past 2 years, a lineup of Collison/McLemore/Gay/Casspi/Cousins has been outstanding (even just Collison/Gay/Casspi/Cousins with the 5th player not being another PG). That lineup has produced an offensive rating of 119.8 and a defensive rating of 98.6 which is a 21.2 net rating. The Spurs led the league last year with a 11.8 net rating as a comparison.
I discussed this lineup in the other thread and opted to keep Cauley-Stein as the starter for more defense and to give our bench some much needed scoring punch, but with Lawson on the team, I think I'm leaning towards swapping Casspi for Cauley-Stein if Afflalo comes off the bench. Lawson & Afflalo coming off the bench would hide their weak defense and give us some bench scoring options to help balance out the team. I'd be looking at McLemore (if he's made strides this offseason and has EARNED the starting role) or Temple as the starter. Temple's presence gives us another above average defender in the lineup who knocks down C&S 3s at a similar efficiency as McLemore did in the Collison/McLemore/Gay/Casspi/Cousins lineup. It also gives you a guy who could effectively switch 1-3 and even switch onto some smaller 4s considering he has a 7'1" wingspan.
If we moved Koufos for a pick & TPE, our rotation would be pretty balanced and we'd play a fair amount of smallball.
PG - Collison (30 min) / Lawson (18 min) / Farmar
SG - Temple (22 min) / Afflalo (26 min) / McLemore / Richardson
SF - Gay (34 min) / Casspi (8 min) / Barnes (6 min)
PF - Casspi (20 min) / Cauley-Stein (14 min) / Barnes (14 min) / Tolliver / Labissiere
C - Cousins (36 min) / Cauley-Stein (12 min) / Papagiannis
Cousins - 36 min
Gay - 34 min
Collison - 30 min
Casspi - 28 min
Afflalo - 26 min
Cauley-Stein - 26 min
Temple (or McLemore) - 22 min
Barnes (or Tolliver) - 20 min
Lawson - 18 min
McLemore could replace Temple in the rotation if he's looking like the 3&D player we've been hoping for and you can alternate or mix & match Barnes' 20 MPG with Tolliver depending on matchups, hot hand, etc.
I discussed this lineup in the other thread and opted to keep Cauley-Stein as the starter for more defense and to give our bench some much needed scoring punch, but with Lawson on the team, I think I'm leaning towards swapping Casspi for Cauley-Stein if Afflalo comes off the bench. Lawson & Afflalo coming off the bench would hide their weak defense and give us some bench scoring options to help balance out the team. I'd be looking at McLemore (if he's made strides this offseason and has EARNED the starting role) or Temple as the starter. Temple's presence gives us another above average defender in the lineup who knocks down C&S 3s at a similar efficiency as McLemore did in the Collison/McLemore/Gay/Casspi/Cousins lineup. It also gives you a guy who could effectively switch 1-3 and even switch onto some smaller 4s considering he has a 7'1" wingspan.
If we moved Koufos for a pick & TPE, our rotation would be pretty balanced and we'd play a fair amount of smallball.
PG - Collison (30 min) / Lawson (18 min) / Farmar
SG - Temple (22 min) / Afflalo (26 min) / McLemore / Richardson
SF - Gay (34 min) / Casspi (8 min) / Barnes (6 min)
PF - Casspi (20 min) / Cauley-Stein (14 min) / Barnes (14 min) / Tolliver / Labissiere
C - Cousins (36 min) / Cauley-Stein (12 min) / Papagiannis
Cousins - 36 min
Gay - 34 min
Collison - 30 min
Casspi - 28 min
Afflalo - 26 min
Cauley-Stein - 26 min
Temple (or McLemore) - 22 min
Barnes (or Tolliver) - 20 min
Lawson - 18 min
McLemore could replace Temple in the rotation if he's looking like the 3&D player we've been hoping for and you can alternate or mix & match Barnes' 20 MPG with Tolliver depending on matchups, hot hand, etc.
Don't sleep on Barnes.
Guy is a warrior (not meaning Golden State) and has been a lot of places where he wasn;t supposed to be the starter, yet there he was in the playoffs, playing a key role with big minutes.
The way he fights, scraps, out-works, out-hustles and out-thinks the other guys, I'd be very surprised if he ends up playing only 20 minutes a game.
He easily could take significant amounts of Rudy's minutes if Rudy isn't effective this year.
Same with Omri. If Omri's 3-ball isn't falling, Barnes is a much better overall player.
And since Matt has the relationship and history with Joerger, he's guaranteed to get his chances to prove himself, and his whole career is filled with him succeeding at that and pushing other guys further back on the depth chart.
Guy is a warrior (not meaning Golden State) and has been a lot of places where he wasn;t supposed to be the starter, yet there he was in the playoffs, playing a key role with big minutes.
The way he fights, scraps, out-works, out-hustles and out-thinks the other guys, I'd be very surprised if he ends up playing only 20 minutes a game.
He easily could take significant amounts of Rudy's minutes if Rudy isn't effective this year.
Same with Omri. If Omri's 3-ball isn't falling, Barnes is a much better overall player.
And since Matt has the relationship and history with Joerger, he's guaranteed to get his chances to prove himself, and his whole career is filled with him succeeding at that and pushing other guys further back on the depth chart.
Yep, they have a new facility and that's where their holding their training camp. As to who will start or come of the bench, or how much small ball we'll play, it's anyone's guess. But lets say right now that WCS gets the start at PF with Gay at SF. When Cuz gets his blow, you could move Willie to the center position and then move Gay to the PF position and then fill in the rest however you want. Because of Willie's athleticism, you can keep him on the floor and essentially still play like a small ball team.
Lets say that you wanted to play Collison and Lawson together along with McLemore. Having Willie out there with Cousins would certainly help make up for the lack of height on the perimeter. I'm not endorsing that lineup, just saying...
Lets say that you wanted to play Collison and Lawson together along with McLemore. Having Willie out there with Cousins would certainly help make up for the lack of height on the perimeter. I'm not endorsing that lineup, just saying...
