SB Nation User Blog: Exhibit G

Hoopdata.com Takes Quantum Leap

Exhibit G — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:28:57 -0000

Hoopdata.com Takes Quantum Leap

This link takes you to Blazer's Edge, because they've described this quite well. Follow their link to hoopdata.com for the actual boxscores. Stat nerds rejoice!

I’m so hard on myself, I think I could be doing better. I set a goal to average a double-double t...

Exhibit G — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:29:04 -0000

I’m so hard on myself, I think I could be doing better. I set a goal to average a double-double throughout the season and I had it, but I’ve been going up and down. I want to be more consistent and be an automatic double-double each game. To achieve that I have to get through some adversity with foul trouble and injuries[.]

JT's Blog

Worth reading the whole thing, it seems like JT really has a good head on his shoulders.

Hollinger's Playoff Odds (No Insider Needed)

Exhibit G — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:49:56 -0000

Hollinger's Playoff Odds (No Insider Needed)

Things about the Kings from this link:

Projected Win-Loss: 36-46
Best Case Record: 52-30
Worst Case Record: 20-62
Odds of Making Playoffs: 15.7%

Yet Another Post About Tyreke Evans

Exhibit G — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 02:23:41 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

about 1 month ago: Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans, right, deflects the pass away from Oklahoma City Thunder center Etan Thomas during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

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I consider myself a man of the people. I thought to myself the other day, what are people craving? What does the average Kings fan feel like they are lacking. Like Iverson to Philly, the answer came to me. The people want an article about Tyreke Evans, our rookie that has had absolutely nothing written about him recently.

Much is being made of Tyreke Evans' stats. Scoring, rebounding, assists, Evans has been filling the stat sheets. It's been quite impressive. As the recent fan shot showed, the stats have compared well to other NBA stars.

But equally impressive, and lost amongst our fantasy sports existence, has been Tyreke's defense. I'm not going to try to explain Tyreke's defense to you, because that would go completely against the rest of what I'm going to discuss. I'm going to explore the potential crossroads that Tyreke faces.

You can be a star in this league without playing defense. You can be an All-Star. You can be an MVP-candidate. Ideally, and NBA superstar is dominant on both ends of the floor. Realistically, most offensive stars only turn it on defensively when the absolutely must.

A star like LeBron is capable of being a lockdown defender, but rarely does he fully exert himself defensively unless he's in a marquee match-up. I'm not trying to single out LeBron in particular, quite a few stars do this. And honestly, it's hard to blame them. It's a long season, and playing all-out on both ends of the floor is exhausting.

Some stars gave up on defense a long time ago. Players like Tracy McGrady have earned reputations as guys who do not put effort into their defense at all. The live on offense, put up gaudy numbers, and have been rewarded. It's tough to remember now, but McGrady was recently in conversations for MVP consideration, and is still amongst the top-paid NBA players this season.

The other thing to remember is that offensive stats are notoriously more correlated to new contract dollars. Nobody is lining up to give a max contract to Shane Battier. The financial incentive in this league is directed towards offense.

Some stars have dedicated themselves to offense and defense. The first player that jumps to my mind is a guy like Kevin Garnett. To be honest though, I haven't watched him a lot recently and he might be riding on his reputation these days. The trap of these stars is that there will be times when effort on defense results in a decrease in offensive stats. A player only has a certain amount of energy. O

Right now we don't know what kind of player Tyreke will become. He could become a player who dominates both ends. He could become a guy who only turns up the defensive effort for marquee opponents. Or he could abandon his defensive intensity altogether.

Personally, I don't see him abandoning his defense. It doesn't seem like the type of guy he is.

But I do wonder if he'll maintain his intensity. I hope he does. I'd rather have a dominant player on both ends, even if it means the offense is slightly less potent.

Comparing Tyreke's first month to other NBA stars

Exhibit G — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:31:32 -0000

Comparing Tyreke's first month to other NBA stars

Fun breakdown of how Tyreke's first month went.

Kings Things I'm Thankful For

Exhibit G — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:20:03 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

Nate Robinson is thankful he got out of the way and won't be prominently featured on Donté Greene's next poster. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

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As I sit here watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade, I can't help but wish that it was dangerously windy in New York. It always make the parade more interesting.

But I also can't help but reflect on how enjoyable the beginning of this season has been. As I read the recap from last night's game, I couldn't help but to think of a few Kings things I'm thankful for.

The Kings are 6-8. A lot of teams wouldn't celebrate a losing record, but after a 17-win season it's nice to have experienced 6 wins already this season.
Tyreke Evans. As someone who was among the most vocal advocates for some kid named Rubio, I have become completely enamored with Tyreke and his game. I really like what he brings to this team, I think he can become a star, and I he's a fun player to follow.
Sam Amick and Jason Jones. It's truly something to be thankful for that there are two quality reporters giving us Kings news.
Donté Greene's rebirth. As a guy who many had written off, it's really nice to see Donté making a positive impact in games.
Kevin Martin. Even though he's injured, I feel thankful to be a Kings fan so I can understand just how good Martin is, even if casual fans of other teams don't fully understand.
Jason Thompson. It's a lot of fun watching JT come into his own and becoming a true force down low.
Beno Udrih. Yes, that's right. I'm thankful for Beno Udrih, specifically how he's back to playing well and working on earning that contract. We should all be thankful that his play has improved from last season.
Coach Westphal. The guy deserves a lot of credit for some of the early changes we've seen. Just how much credit is still unknown, but I'm thankful that we've got a coach who seems to have a clue what he's doing, and it getting the players to buy in and play hard.
Sactown Royalty. I've said it before, but I am so very happy that this site and this community exist. I'm thankful for guys like TZ and Section who keep things running, and I'm thankful for all of the folks that read and contribute. The level of discussion here is so far above and beyond anything else out there, and it make me proud to be a part of it. Much thanks to everyone who discusses, argues, debates, and jokes about our favorite team, the Sacramento Kings. You're what makes a 17-win season tolerable, and what makes a 6-8 start feel so rewarding.

If I've forgotten anyone or anything, or there are other things about the Kings that you'd like to share you thanks for, let's open it up in the comments.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Tyreke Evans twisted his ankle in practice today. X-rays taken were negative. He is questionable...

Exhibit G — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:27:32 -0000

Tyreke Evans twisted his ankle in practice today. X-rays taken were negative. He is questionable for the Kings-Knicks game on Wednesday.

Sacramento Kings Official Twitter

Crazy Thoughts About Coaches

Exhibit G — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:40:21 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

"Wait, Exhibit G said that? He's crazy. Don't listen to bananas." (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

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The recent meteoric rise of the Kings to a record of 4-4 got me thinking. In lietothegirls' entertaining post, pookeyguru made a comment about how there is no reason to believe that Paul Westphal has gotten through to the team this quickly. My first thought was that pookey's statement was probably accurate. Luckily for you, the reader, I have never allowed a reasonable idea prevent me from exploring a tangent in the complete opposite direction.

What follows is an unscientific exploration of ideas that cannot be proven true or false, only argued endlessly about. I figure a few of us might be nostalgic for these types of arguments now that the offseason is over.

Pookey's comment is that there is no reason to believe that Westphal has already gotten through to this team. On the surface, this makes sense. Westphal was hired June 10th, just over 5 months ago. He was able to work with some of the younger members of the roster over the summer, and has only been working with the full roster for a month or two. Hell, he's still trying to figure out what the starting line-up looks like, and has already given up on the Desmond Mason expiriment.

Pookey is right, there is no reason to believe that the team has had a chance to fully adapt to Westphal and his system. Not yet. No way.

And yet the team just won three straight games. Without Francisco Garcia. Without Kevin Martin.

Obviously the players have made strides since last season, and the additions of Tyreke Evans and Omri Casspi have helped the team considerably.

Nonetheless, it defies explanation. Until now. I present to you my random coaching theory, which includes giving credit to Eric Musselman, Reggie Theus, and Kenny Natt. Before you throw your computer out a window, hear me out. I promise I'm not giving them credit in the traditional sense of the word.

This roster has been devastated by inconsistency. Rick Adelman was the last reputable coach of this team, and that roster bears little resemblance to the current team. Martin spent two seasons under Adelman, Garcia one, and Kenny Thomas was here too but he doesn't really count.

Aside from that, this roster has been "coached" by Muss, Theus, and Kenny Natting Natt. During the last three seasons, we often lamented that there was talent on this roster, and yet the wins could not be found.

My theory is simple. My theory is that this team finally has a bonafide NBA coach, and we're seeing the difference. This team had more talent than a 17-win team. The team may not have had time to fully adjust to the system, but even something as basic as a knowledgeable coach can make this kind of a difference.

So how do Muss, Theus and Natt get any credit from this? Well, I think the coaching carousel broke down existing habits. If a coach takes over for another experienced coach, he needs to get the players to buy into his system, and to move away from the habits of the previous system. This takes time. But as anyone who watched the Kings over the past three seasons knows, the Kings haven't had a system! They're a blank canvas. They're a block of unsculpted clay. They were ready for a system. So even if the new system isn't completely in place, there's something.

We'll see over the course of the rest of the season if I'm right. I hope I am, but I don't know for sure. This is just an idea.

Even if I'm wrong, I'll still enjoy the fact that right now we're .500, and that the team has played well enough for me to even consider such a theory.

We Salute You

Exhibit G — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:20:39 -0000

Sorry I'm a day late weighing in on the Amick/Martin/Jackson/Peaches issue.

To the tune of AC/DC's "For Those About to Rock"

Stand up and be ready
For the flak you are about to receive
They are the dealers
They'll give you every opinion you need
Hail hail to the good ones
'Cause Amick has got the right of way
You ain't no legend, ain't no cause
You're just playin' for today

For those who've been called soft, we salute you
For those who've been called soft, we salute you

Shoot the rock at dawn on the front line
Like a bolt right out of the blue
Arco's alight with the bright lights
Heads will roll and rock tonight

For those who've been called soft, we salute you
For those who've been called soft, we salute you
For those who've been called soft, we salute you
Yes we do
For those who've been called soft, we salute you
Oooh, salute!
Oooh, ooooh yeah

They're just a battery for hire with a opinion fire
Ready and aimed at you
Pick up your balls and load up your cannon
For a twenty-one point salute

For those who've been called soft - fire
We salute you
For those who've been called soft, we salute you
For those who've been called soft - fire
We salute you
Fire
We salute you
We salute you

Come on, whooa
For those who've been called soft, we salute you
Shoot, shoot (x2)
For those who give
For those who take
For those left high
And those on the make
We salute you
Yeah
Ain't gonna get tired, won't take a break, we salute you.
We salute you
Fire (Peaches)

Nocioni Arrested on Suspicion of DUI

Exhibit G — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:35:11 -0000

Nocioni Arrested on Suspicion of DUI

Lietothegirls broke the news in the recap thread, Sims found the link. Posting this here so we can discuss it separately from the game recap.