Who will start at PF (2014-2015 edition)

Who will start at the power forward position?


  • Total voters
    70
#1
So it looks like our PF personnel is what it is despite much speculation that at least one or two of last seasons mob would be moved to upgrade the position. Rather than complain about it we might as well assess the crop to see who fits best in our rotation.

Many thought that JT would be backing up the 5 but with the signing of Hollins it seems that is no longer the case. JT seems like a prime candidate to start as he is a sort of jack of all trades master of none PF. Good rebounder, solid defender, isn't a liability on offense, great engine. If this Kings team indeed buys in to more ball movement, less selfish play, JT seems like the guy that will benefit from that. If you hear his recent interviews, that did seem to be the thing that bothered him the most last season. Then again he could have put himself in the doghouse with those same interviews and is only still around because PDA couldn't find the right suitor or any suitor. We will find out very quickly where JT stands.

Next we have Reggie Evans and Carl Landry. The only other true challengers to start. Landry is coming back from an injury plagued season and at this point we don't know how long it will take him to get back to the Carl Landry of old(lets hope thats still possible). If he does, he seems like a much better fit coming off the bench where he isn't sharing post space with Cousins and even Gay at times. He also becomes a more focal point of the offense and going against second unit bigs somewhat masks his defensive weaknesses. Reggie Evans became the starter last season in a lost season. The guy is an all time great rebounder and and a very good hustle/energy guy. I see him playing a similar role to what he has in past teams, come in for 10-15 minutes, gobble up rebounds and bully around the opposing bigs. If Reggie Evans is your opening day starter, there is something wrong. Despite his rep Reggie is actually a pretty poor defender, a bit undersized and with his age doesn't have the quickest feet anymore.

Lastly we have the longshots in Eric Moreland, Derrick Williams and Omri Casspi. Moreland is a long active rookie who is a shot blocking specialist. This is exactly what we need from the 4 spot, but we shall see what if anything he can contribute in year one. If he is a part of the rotation in any way this year, it should be considered a success for him, but it will also mean we are probably losing a ton of games. Derrick Williams is in his contract year and will almost surely never make more money for one season than he makes this year. He will most likely be getting the backup SF minutes and spot PF minutes if we are going small and athletic. At the very least we can expect to see the best Derrick Williams the NBA has seen to this point, at least for his sake and hope of staying in the league. Casspi is another guy that should get minutes when we are going small and athletic. Houston used him as a stretch 4 last year, and while he isn't a deadly 3 point shooter, he is a solid one. He is also active and agressive, traits that Malone seems to love in his players. I wouldn't be surprised if Casspi beats out Williams for the backup SF minutes.

The other thing to consider is that we could see some Rudy Gay at the 4. Fresh off of his World Cup gold medal playing exclusively at the 4, Malone might be tempted to play him there at times to change things up and push the pace against slower teams. A lineup of Collison, Sessions, McLemore, Gay, Cousins is extremely fast and athletic in positions 1-4. Collison, Sessions, Mclemore would probably be amongst the quickest trio any NBA team could play together. I don't know if that trio could actually be any good together, but you have to certainly say they are damn quick.
 
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kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#3
I'm going with JT on this one. He's been here with DeMarcus through the fire sale and them two should have plenty of chemistry playing together at this point. Question now lies is are we going to continue seeing a inconsistent JT committing silly fouls still or is he going to flourish with a new coach in place with proper defensive philosophies? Either way, I like the big line up we can throw out there with JT and Cuz, plus JT can hit the midrange J to spread the floor rather than putting Reggie out there to clog the lanes.
 
#6
I think JT starts. He's the best option at the 4 paired next to DeMarcus Cousins. He's not the shot blocker we need, but he does everything else pretty good. I can see Reggie Evans better as a PF off the bench for the Kings. He brings a lot of energy that will help the bench. Carl Landry can stretch the floor out, but I'm confident that we have enough scoring in our starting lineup that we won't need him there. I think Moreland is a guy we shouldn't count out. I think he will impact the game, but I'm not sure if it'll be enough to warrant the starting lineup. We've become really deep at PF and C, but what we're missing is a starting shot blocking PF.

Gay cannot guard PFs, but I think there will be some starting lineups where Gay will be the PF depending on match ups.

If there was another option, I'd say a player who's not on this team yet.. I would love to see the Kings trade for Timofey Mozgov. He's a great rim protector and can score. I think we have the pieces to nab him considering the depth Denver has at both C and PF. Hopefully Pete can mesh with his connections in Denver and grab that guy. I'd do something like Ben+DWill or Ben+JT. Or maybe even someone like Jeff Withey. I think the Kings will trade for a starting PF, or potentially slide Cuz over.. they've been preaching a lot about position less basketball though.
 
#7
It's not looking like we need a poll, I see JT starting. I do have a feeling that PDA and Malone could start "padding" JT's stats and make him look marketable. If nobody bites on him till the trade deadline. I'm moving up the revitalized Carl Landry in the second half of the season.
 
#11
you'll be mad if we trade him? are you serious? he doesn't want to be here, the franchise doesn't want him here, we just cant find any buyers

why haven't we amnestied him?
I'll be upset there but you trade landry before you trade JT he is a solid 3rd big I doubt we find a better backup C/PF. When we start winning there won't be a problem.
 
#12
I want Reggie to start at PF. And here's why:

1.) We never dominated teams with a JT/DMC frontline that we have for ages. So why try it again?
2.) Reggie is solid veteran and pro at punching his opponent's balls without getting a technical. :)
3.) Reggie boxes out pretty damn good which is all DMC need to pull a rebound, which should inflate my fantasy team.
4.) Hollins should not play more than 7 mins a game because he's the sort of player who turns himself into Lebron once he gets into 7:01 mark. So keep JT as the main back-up C.
5.) JT and Landry as bench bigs would be a big plus to the hustle-dazzle bench mob. History dictates that a JT/Landry pair will be fine with a back-up role. Landry can keep the offense alive down low, while JT feeds on his missed shots over any back-up C/PF in the league.
 
#14
Malone is sort of talking like Hollins is going to play minutes.

If this is the case, and Hollins is the backup center, than yea, Jason Thompson should start. If Hollins isn't really in the rotation, start Evans.
 
#15
In my opinion Carl Landry should be the starter, I really love Jason Thompson and I also believe that he is a great basketball player but truth is Landry is better.
The way I see it Landry shoots the ball better than Thompson not by a wide margin of course but yet he has better percentages, Landry is also more physical than Thompson, of course Reggie Evans tops both of them in this category.
And I also believe Landry has higher basketball IQ which I reckon that is very important part in deciding who is going to achieve the starting role.

JT is really a decent player, he is very ecstatic and enthusiastic while playing which brings a lot of lust in watching his style of play, in addition he is also more athletic than both Landry and Evans, and I think that this is why he should come off the bench after Landry, because he brings a lot of enthusiasm from the bench he can revive the game and the atmosphere in the crowd when the game seems lost.

Evans should be the last from those players to play in the PF role since he can't really shoot the ball, post up or do anything which revolves around putting the ball in the hoop, other than that he has good qualities like grabbing massive amounts of rebounds and put his body and weight on the defenders, a very physical player, which can be a very essential asset on a team.
 
#16
I'm not sure why this is a question, but hey, it's what the offseason is for, right?
JT is the better man defender, and he has a more complementary game on offense. Landry doesn't fit with Cousins on offense, and Evans needs a little more offense to keep defenses honest. He's also the only one who can slide over to the 5 if need be.
 
#17
JT will start at PF, we need his height, experience, offense and also split backup C with Hollins
Landry if healthy needs to be backup PF for his offense off the bench (Can be matched with either JT or Hollins)

I see Cuz, JT and Landry getting the most Big minutes

I see spot minutes depending on what we need and the matchups
Hollins (If we need size at C)
Evans (If we need tough D at PF)
Casspi (If we need Shooting and running at PF)
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#18
I'd start Evans with Cousins and have Landry be the backup in matchups we need him. I'd have JT or Hollins backup Cuz...doesn't matter to me. I'd use Casspi as the stretch 4 when needed. I'm a bigger fan of Evans and Landry than JT and Hollins. And I get others are bigger fans of JT still and I have no beef with that, I just personally think he has got to go.

Seems like its a question of would you rather have a guy who is average at everything (JT) or guys who are above average at some things and still about average in other areas. Landry can score and I personally think he plays as good of team defense as JT, which is to say they are both just ok. Evans is a rebound machine. I'd start him.
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#19
I don't see how we can get around starting JT. Landry makes a nice punch off the bench but has no real ability to guard most 4's. I love the nasty that Evans brings but he can't bring the scoring and flexibility I'd want in a starter. It seems to me until abetter option is found JT is our starting 4 once again.
 
#20
I would start with something like this, see how it goes, and make adjustments from there.

1st Quarter
12 - 6 Cousins and Thompson
6 - 2 Cousins and Evans
2 - 0 Thompson and Evans

2nd Quarter
12 - 8 Thompson and Landry
8 - 4 Cousins and Landry
4 - 0 Cousins and Thompson

This assumes that Landry is close to what he's been in the past. More Evans and less Landry if matchups dictate it, and sometimes Evans in place of Thompson at the end of the half. Work in Moreland on occasion to give him some experience. Hollins is cover at center in case of foul trouble.
 
#21
It really depends which version of JT are we going to see?

If it's the JT who converts quite a few of his tough shots in the paint, and hits his outside spot-up jumpers, then play him.
If it's the JT who can't score a bucket and is slow/stupid on defense, then I wouldn't want him on the court at ALL.
I think Evans and Landry are smarter players and more reliable than JT.
But I've seen enough good from JT the past 2 years to hope he can be more consistent and make some shots, to balance out his low BB IQ.
But if he regresses, yank him quick.
 
#23
I really don't see why we would start anyone other than Evans. He took the spot from JT last year and never relinquished it. As of right now starting PF is Evans's to lose.
I hope not. His one strength is rebounding which duplicates a skill of our center. It helps us shut down the boards but I don't know that it makes up for his offensive and defensive issues.
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#24
I really don't see why we would start anyone other than Evans. He took the spot from JT last year and never relinquished it. As of right now starting PF is Evans's to lose.
I am not so sure that starting Evans over JT was as much about preferring Evans in the starting line up as it was about being desperate for a back up center. Probably a bit of both. Things look a bit different this year.
 
#27
I voted for Thompson because I think he will start but I'm not sure he is the best fit. I think a more curious question than who starts is how the minutes break down. We have the guys who really are PFs in Thompson, Evans, Landry, and Moreland; then you have Casspi who played a "stretch 4" with Houston last year and Rudy Gay who Malone has mentioned will could be used as a stretch 4 at times. That doesn't include Williams or Cousins (who it was mentioned could play some PF along side Hollins).

I feel fairly confident at this point that Thompson will start, but I have no idea how the PF rotation turns out this year.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#28
Thompson may not be the best fit out of all the power forwards in the NBA, but I'll go to the bank about him being the best fit out of all the power forwards we have in training camp. He's the only guy who can - at least, potentially - stretch the floor to open the lane for Cousins and also play defense on the other end.
 
#29
JT isn't the smartest defender around. He often gets rotations wrong and after 7 years still hasn't learned how to use the verticality rule consistently to defend the interior yet. However, we were better defensively with him on the floor last year than off, mostly because he has the physical tools to be a really good defender. He's the best defensive option we have at the PF spot and supposedly his jumper is better this year, and has come into camp in great shape. I'm going with him.