[Game] Kings @ OKC Thunder- 4/9/2024 - 5:00PM PDT/8:00PM EDT

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hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
You know what I mean. There isn’t a single player that turns it off and on more than Deaaron. It’s his MO since he was a rookie.
This is certainly not true over the course of the season. But even accounting for hyperbole, this comment feels like it's directed at whatever happened to Fox in January of this year not what happened tonight. I don't think missing jumpers is the same thing as showing poor effort. He started out this game 7 for 10 from behind the arc tonight so most coaches would have told him to keep shooting threes.

Speaking only for myself, wanting to see him drive to the basket or pull up from mid-range more isn't because he's shooting us out of games this year (he has a few times but not any more than other high volume shooters, Steph included). It's because we already saw last season how incredibly effective he can be in the fourth quarter without even taking a single three. I'm glad he's improved his three point shooting but I wish he found a more happy medium of mixing up his shot attempts more and only using the three either when he's wide open or when we've already tried swinging the ball to get a higher percentage shot and now we're in scramble mode.
 
Fox started 5 of 7. Finished 2 of 10. At least 4 of those should have been him driving BUT he wasn't getting any foul calls so I get why it ended up where it did. Fox is athletic in his drives, Shai is methodical. Should Fox get the same calls? Absolutely. But I think Fox is almost too quick for the refs to make the decision.

In any case, Fox should be given the benefit of the doubt. He is a veteran, an All Star, and all NBA player. But he doesn't get a whistle which I can understand frustrates him to no end. Making him settle for 3s.

I wish instead of settling for 3s he would pump fake and take an escape dribble for an 18 footer which is a higher percentage shot, but that'd in the staff to pound into his head.
I just wish this team had better IQ (or perhaps their head coach) once they shot themselves into a huge lead like they did tonight. Instead of shooting themselves out of the lead by settling for more threes, why not change things up and focus on getting to the basket a bit more? Or at least settling for higher percentage shots inside the arc?

While I’m not suggesting curling up into a ball and going overly conservative the entire second half, it would be nice to see them try to shorten the game a bit by taking more time setting up their possessions and relying upon the solid defense they’ve been working on and demonstrating.

It’s far easier for the opposition to erase these big leads quickly and gain momentum quickly when they continue to push the pace and shoot 3’s when it isn’t necessary.

I understand the idea of “keep doing what you did to get the lead”. But how often do we not only see the KINGS but every other team blow huge leads in the span of a quarter or less? Because, for the most part, the hot 3-point shooting isn’t sustainable.

I’d like to see a “blended” offensive strategy of playing at breakneck pace and shooting open threes until such time that protecting the lead makes sense.
 
Stop blaming Mike Brown for Sasha. I understand you are here because of Sasha but this is not the Sacramento Vezenkovs. We want to see Sasha do well but he has to earn it. Making almost every one of your posts about Sasha and him not getting PT is getting old.
I'm blaming Brown for Sasha too. And I'm not even a fan yet. I want to be, but I can't see him play enough. Point is why even sign this guy I'd we not going to play him? He's not a rookie. 21 year old earn they PT. He's 28 with plenty of game film to see what he can and can't do.

Again Mike brown flew in to see the guy dam near begged him to come, now he needs to wait? Make it make sense
 
I think I have figured this team out...They're just fooling us all. They're making us think that they're gonna choke down the stretch, and bow out early in the play-in tournament. But, in fact, they're about to shock the world, win the next (final) 3 games of the regular season, secure that 8th seed, and take down either the defending champs or the Timberpuppies...:p:p:p

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
 
That’s the dilemma we face. Deaaron is not a player you can build around. He’s Westbrook. You need a Durant or Kawhi type to complement him. The sooner we realize that the better off we’ll be
I think he's a bit above a WB intellectually but yeah, in the end you probably need another guy regardless.
 
This is certainly not true over the course of the season. But even accounting for hyperbole, this comment feels like it's directed at whatever happened to Fox in January of this year not what happened tonight. I don't think missing jumpers is the same thing as showing poor effort. He started out this game 7 for 10 from behind the arc tonight so most coaches would have told him to keep shooting threes..
It difficult to have a productive debate with those that invent their own facts or “m.o.’s”.

He simply can’t present any worthwhile evidence in support of his “opinion”. Which is why he hasn’t.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Maybe they could try not jumping out to huge leads and instead maintaining like 6-8 point ones?

I kid but also maybe refs buy into some nonsense to keep teams in the game by calling fouls and it snowballs?

Also now that the streak is over, we can stop protecting it and maybe give Domas a few 24 min nights and get Len more run (perhaps more Sasha too?)
 
This is certainly not true over the course of the season. But even accounting for hyperbole, this comment feels like it's directed at whatever happened to Fox in January of this year not what happened tonight. I don't think missing jumpers is the same thing as showing poor effort. He started out this game 7 for 10 from behind the arc tonight so most coaches would have told him to keep shooting threes.

Speaking only for myself, wanting to see him drive to the basket or pull up from mid-range more isn't because he's shooting us out of games this year (he has a few times but not any more than other high volume shooters, Steph included). It's because we already saw last season how incredibly effective he can be in the fourth quarter without even taking a single three. I'm glad he's improved his three point shooting but I wish he found a more happy medium of mixing up his shot attempts more and only using the three either when he's wide open or when we've already tried swinging the ball to get a higher percentage shot and now we're in scramble mode.
You call it hyperbole. I call it statistically factual. Compare his month-by-month production vs. those who are by consensus above him: SGA, Luka, Brunson, Curry
 
It difficult to have a productive debate with those that invent their own facts or “m.o.’s”.

He simply can’t present any worthwhile evidence in support of his “opinion”. Which is why he hasn’t.
Very passive aggressive. Why don’t you prove it yourself. We have 3 playoff wins over Deaaron’s 6 year tenure. We are worse this year than last year. Don’t give me wins/losses as an explanation when you have a bunch more bottom feeders than ever before
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
That’s the dilemma we face. Deaaron is not a player you can build around. He’s Westbrook. You need a Durant or Kawhi type to complement him. The sooner we realize that the better off we’ll be
I'll reply to one more of these and then I'm calling it a night. :)

I find it a little ironic that the knock on De'Aaron for his entire career has been that you can't build a team around him because he's a guard who doesn't shoot threes effectively and now for some reason we've done a complete 180 and we can't build a team around him cause he shoots too many threes? I also think everyone in the Kings organization does realize that you need a standout two-way wing player to win in the modern NBA which is why Monte drafted Keegan. We're in year 2 with Keegs. That's way too early for this kind of "all is lost" talk imo.
 
I think he's a bit above a WB intellectually but yeah, in the end you probably need another guy regardless.
WB was a MVP and averaged a triple double. Twice! Fox can only dream of reaching thar ceiling. I'd take a prime Westbrook any day and I love fox (most times). I never understood the hate towards Westbrook. We witnessed greatness, even if he didn't win a championship
 
You call it hyperbole. I call it statistically factual. Compare his month-by-month production vs. those who are by consensus above him: SGA, Luka, Brunson, Curry
I think if the expectations for Fox is to be as good as those guys you’ll be disappointed. MAYBE Brunson, but Brunson has been better than Fox this season. Fox is a fringe all star top 20ish guy and will get paid like one. I think it’s highly unlikely he makes an all NBA team this season, so he won’t be making what those guys make either.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
You call it hyperbole. I call it statistically factual. Compare his month-by-month production vs. those who are by consensus above him: SGA, Luka, Brunson, Curry
Maybe just one more...

I call it hyperbole because you said "not a single player" turns it off and on more than De'Aaron. You're cherry picking MVP front runners and All-NBA guys now as your proof that De'Aaron is the single most inconsistent and/or lazy player in the NBA?

How's this for a hypebole -- not a single player gets more unearned free throws per game than SGA. The guy is a very good player who has been puffed up into an MVP candidate primarily because of incompetent and/or malicious tampering by NBA officials.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Fox and Keegan both have raised their games this season but have lost something from what they were best at last year.

We're not worse than we were last year, statistically speaking and allowing for margin of error, we're more or less the same team. But it's been a historic West campaign and we're likely going to see two teams miss the playoffs with the 2 of the 3 best records of a missed playoff team in NBA history. Just facts.

Ideally, the new tools Fox and Keegan added are scaled into what they were great at last season and the team makes moves around the total package. We saw teams we wrote off after last year come back and other teams that looked emergent are now in complete disarray.

Tonight without even watching the game sucked. Basically everything has sucked since Luka flopped onto Monk. It is extremely annoying watching that behavior rewarded consistently while the Kings can't buy a break.

But please let's not disparage the players who are fighting. If you think they aren't, well knock yourself out I guess.
 
Whats killing Kings is Momentum. When they fouls start coming we start complaining and it completely takes us out of the game (rightfully so at times) the foules they let go early they now call with vengeance. Easier to call fouls on a team with a lead. Human nature.

It's a catch 22. We are just not built to be a ft shooting team. We now have more defense but less offense and we have not adjusted and season is ending. Terrible time to tinker with the lineups. Yet here we are. With coby jones getting PT
 
Maybe they could try not jumping out to huge leads and instead maintaining like 6-8 point ones?

I kid but also maybe refs buy into some nonsense to keep teams in the game by calling fouls and it snowballs?

Also now that the streak is over, we can stop protecting it and maybe give Domas a few 24 min nights and get Len more run (perhaps more Sasha too?)
This is exactly what's happening. Keeping teams in. We get frustrated and it snowballs. By the time we get prime for calla we start jacking up 3s. Then lose
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
Maybe just one more...

I call it hyperbole because you said "not a single player" turns it off and on more than De'Aaron. You're cherry picking MVP front runners and All-NBA guys now as your proof that De'Aaron is the single most inconsistent and/or lazy player in the NBA?

How's this for a hypebole -- not a single player gets more unearned free throws per game than SGA. The guy is a very good player who has been puffed up into an MVP candidate primarily because of incompetent and/or malicious tampering by NBA officials.
He’s pretty much James Harden without the three point shooting but infinitely better on defense. Extremely good on offense but gets a 20% boost from reputation free throws.
 
I'll reply to one more of these and then I'm calling it a night. :)

I find it a little ironic that the knock on De'Aaron for his entire career has been that you can't build a team around him because he's a guard who doesn't shoot threes effectively and now for some reason we've done a complete 180 and we can't build a team around him cause he shoots too many threes? I also think everyone in the Kings organization does realize that you need a standout two-way wing player to win in the modern NBA which is why Monte drafted Keegan. We're in year 2 with Keegs. That's way too early for this kind of "all is lost" talk imo.
I hear you. I love Fox and have spent more money on his jersey for my family and friends than anyone on this board. crap, I was a fan during his UK days. But we need a true #1 to lead this team. I’m pissed right now but here’s what I’ll say. I will donate $1k to your charity of your choice if we make the WCF in the next 3 years. I hope I get proven wrong
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
Also by the end of the game, we were rocking with three guys on some variation of rookie contracts (Davion, Keegan, Keon) with Fox, who had essentially played the entire 2nd half uninterrupted, and Domas (mesmerized by the total eclipse). The Thunder get a lot of rightful press for being a young team but they really weren’t all that much younger than the lineup the Kings were rolling with.
 
Maybe the other teams are just spotting us points knowing the team will get lazy and fade. I could see this loss comming when we were up by 20 because I've seen this so many times this year. The Kings play much better defence but can't sustain thier play for more that two and a half quarters.
After 2 or 3 terrible foul calls. I littersly saw our defense intensity turn down. I was guys just driving to the bucket with our players in the (I didn't foul) pose. As if giving up free layups is better than fouling. It's Not!
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
Maybe the other teams are just spotting us points knowing the team will get lazy and fade. I could see this loss comming when we were up by 20 because I've seen this so many times this year. The Kings play much better defence but can't sustain thier play for more that two and a half quarters.
The issue the Kings have right now is shockingly the complete opposite of what it was at the start of the season and last season. We now have a good to great defense capable of stopping other teams’ runs but when things are less than perfect offensively things just stagnate to the point that we can’t actually take advantage of the good defense we’re playing. It’s the opposite of last season where the Kings were historically explosive offensively but would find themselves trading baskets or hoping teams just missed shots to build any real sort of momentum.
 
I'm blaming Brown for Sasha too. And I'm not even a fan yet. I want to be, but I can't see him play enough. Point is why even sign this guy I'd we not going to play him? He's not a rookie. 21 year old earn they PT. He's 28 with plenty of game film to see what he can and can't do.

Again Mike brown flew in to see the guy dam near begged him to come, now he needs to wait? Make it make sense
I don't think his game has translated to this team, the way they had envisioned it
 
That’s the dilemma we face. Deaaron is not a player you can build around. He’s Westbrook. You need a Durant or Kawhi type to complement him. The sooner we realize that the better off we’ll be
Provide evidence to support what you say. Because it’s a lot of unsubstantiated nonsense.

I mean, I can play that same game by suggesting the same exact thing about SGA, #77, Embiid, Tatum, Lillard, Ja, or any other player that hasn’t ever won jack. I can even make a cogent argument about KD who didn’t win $#/t until joining forces with an already proven champion.

At one time people like you said the same about Giannis, until he finally won a title.

So, in all seriousness, what’s your justification for making such a claim about De’Aaron? Because he‘s spent most of his career to this point playing for what was once a dysfunctional franchise? The kid is only in year 2 of this organization (and team) finally getting it’s act together. But you wanna place all the blame on him?

You think the state of this team having yet to win a playoff series would be any different had you swapped De’Aaron with SGA, Jimmy Butler, Ja Morant, or Anthony Edwards? Give me a break.

This team still didn’t qualify for the postseason when they had the great Tyrese Haliburton on the squad for nearly 2 seasons. And when they did break the 16-season drought it was largely on the back of the “clutch player of the year” closing out games for them in final minutes.

I got news for you. EVERY player needs complimentary talent around them and can’t do it by themselves or even largely by themselves. It’s hard to put the right pieces together. Which is precisely why most players come into the league and play 10-15 years and leave w/o being part of championship. De’Aaron is no different in that regard.

KD is supposed to be an all-time great. But couldn’t win with other all-star talent until joining a proven title winner. LBJ is supposed to be the 2nd coming of Michael Jordan, yet he couldn’t win until joining forces with another former champion and another all-star. Why? I mean, those guys are otherworldly more talented than De’Aaron, right?

If De’Aaron began his career playing for the Nuggets or Celtics or some other perennial 50-win team that goes deep into the postseason without actually winning a title — he’d still be the same player he is now except that you wouldn’t be able to cite lack of postseason success against him.

It’s just a bunch of smoke-filled coffee house crap!
 
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