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Kings putting last year behind with surprising start

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Charley Rosen

Charley Rosen is FOXSports.com's NBA analyst and author of 17 sports books, the current ones being Bullpen Diaries: Mariano Rivera, Bronx Dreams, Pinstripe Legends, and the Future of the New York Yankees and Crazy Basketball: A Life In and Out of Bounds.

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Updated Nov 14, 2009 3:55 PM ET
     
 

Game Time: Kings 109, Rockets 100

Forget about Phoenix, Milwaukee, Atlanta and Miami. The one team that's enjoying the most surprising success thus far this young season is the Sacramento Kings. After having won only 17 games last season, their home-standing win over the scrappy Rockets Friday night was Sacramento's fourth in a row, raising their current record to 5-4. And they're doing this without the 37.3 points per game that had been totaled last season by a pair of currently injured players: Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia. Who are these upstart Kings? Tyreke Evans was able to successfully take his right hand to the basket four times. He also knocked down two critical scores in the clutch — a pull-up 15-footer and an accidental 20-foot banker from straightaway. He's quick and tricky in the paint and also looks to pass the ball. But he forced several shots — including a 1-on-4 foray — shot one airball and one brick, and showed poor balance (leaning too far forward) in missing his only two free throws. His left-hand dribble is a bit shaky, and he seems to be absolutely incapable of finishing with his left hand. Worse, his defense was atrocious. Whomever he was guarding — Aaron Brooks or Kyle Lowry — repeatedly left him in the dust on their way to the rim. Give the young man a full season to learn the league, learn how to overcome his weaknesses, and he'll certainly evolve into a more well-rounded player who can consistently impact the game at both ends of the court. Beno Udrih is unselfish and sees the floor well. With sufficient time and space, he's also a deadly shooter. But he can't finish in a crowd, is a step slow for a point guard and is an abysmal defender. Once Martin and Garcia return to action, Udrih will best be used as a backup at both guard spots. Andres Nocioni is an energy player who sometimes plays with too much energy for his own good. Accordingly, he forced several passes, gambled too often on defense and looked to force a resolution on too many sequences. For example, every time he drove to the hoop, he looked for a body to hit and was therefore involved in several questionable charge/block situations. Against Houston at home, he got the benefit of every close call. But he hit a pair of critical jumpers in the endgame. And his all-out hustle makes him an extremely valuable player. Jason Thompson is as active in the lane as anybody else in the league. A relentless offensive rebounder, he often jumped three and even four times trying to capture one — and, in fact, he had nine of these. Thompson also moves well without the ball, shows a shaky but effective mid-range jumper, runs the court like a guard and executed several exemplary rotations on defense. But he lacks a go-to move on offense, and his post-up defense is bad. How bad? After Luis Scola had abused him on several occasions, the Kings sent two extra defenders to assist Thompson. Thompson is another young player who — with some hard work on his fundamentals — will have an outstanding career. Spencer Hawes was simply awful. He's slow with the ball (two of his shots were blocked), weaker than centers are supposed to be, reactive on defense (even Chuck Hayes attacked him for profit in the pivot) and for a supposedly good shooter, Hawes airmailed a trey and bricked a 20-footer. He did have some highlighted moments though: Some alert passwork. And he moved his feet well in denying Aaron Brooks the baseline after a high screen-and-roll forced Hawes into what appeared to be a disadvantageous switch. It's difficult to project Hawes as anything more than a career backup. Ime Udoka is the team's primary defensive stopper. After Trevor Ariza had his way with everybody else, Udoka put the squeeze on his offense. Moreover, Udoka hustled on every play, rebounded and consistently made good decisions at both ends. This guy's an extremely valuable player off the bench. Kenny Thomas always looked to move the ball, and he also rebounded with a passion. If he was consistently out-quicked on defense, thereby getting himself in disadvantageous positions, he used his veteran smarts to recover and turn deficits to profits. A useful experienced hand with the second unit. Jon Brockman is a smart, but undersized power player. He can pass, rebound and make excellent defensive rotations. But his shot needs work, and he lacks sufficient athleticism and quickness to be a meaningful player. Omri Casspi is quick with the ball and has a tricky release on the drive. However, his court time was cut short when he turned an ankle. Donte Greene only played five minutes, yet he stymied Shane Batter's attempt to score in the post, demonstrated outstanding athleticism and looks to be an iso-guy on offense. When they were in synch, the Kings showed excellent ball- and player-movement with sharp cuts, curls, hand-offs and screen-and-rolls. However, as the game progressed, their offense grew stagnant. Also, except for one basket each by Casspi and Thompson, the Kings showed an absence of post-up offense. Indeed, it was Thompson's offensive rebounding and Udrih's perimeter shooting that carried their offense. To continue being competitive over the long haul, Sacramento needs to find more consistency here. Getting Kevin back will help considerably. In addition (or rather in subtraction), the Kings' passing is extremely inefficient. Too many forced passes coupled with unforced turnovers plagued them throughout the game. The defensive futility of Evans and Udrih allowed the Rockets' guard to penetrate the paint at will. Fortunately, head coach Paul Westphal has instituted a collapsing defense that reduced the interior damage. At the same time, by sending so many defenders to protect the rim — on several occasions, all five defenders were grouped within the charge-block arc — Houston's outside shooters were frequently wide open. For the game, the Rockets were only 8-for-27 from the outlands, but most of their misses were uncontested. On the plus side, the Kings simply pounded the Rockets on the glass for a 54-35 overall advantage, including a 16-9 edge on offensive retrievals. For the time being, the Kings' perpetual hustle is more than compensating for their shortcomings. Once the league adjusts and pushes Evans left, makes Udrih put the ball on the floor, makes a concerted effort to seal Thompson off the offensive glass, jumps Hawes' every dribble, attacks their post-up defense and load their lineups with 3-point shooters, then the Kings either will or will not make successful counter-adjustments. Here and now, however, the Kings are an interesting, young team.

Straight Shooting

There was an interesting subplot to Dallas' 121-103 spanking of Houston on Tuesday, one that highlights an often-ignored aspect of a coach's job description: Judicial freaking out as a motivational tool. Midway through the second quarter of that game, the Rockets held a 17-point lead, and the defense of the home-standing Mavs was virtually non-existent. During the halftime break, Rick Carlisle went off — screaming street-corner insults at his players, kicking large inanimate objects, and throwing smaller ones against the walls. And it worked. However, there's an accepted protocol that governs a coach's locker room tirades. If the following rules are not adhered to, an offending coach can antagonize his players to a point that's beyond repair.
  • The coach must already have a good relationship with his players. If so, his players will be upset at themselves. If not, the players won't take his rantings seriously and will laugh at him behind their hands.
  • The players have to be deserving of such over-the-top abuse. Missing easy shots doesn't warrant a tirade. Not hustling and/or not executing does.
  • No one or two players should be singled out lest their teammates have an excuse to avoid their own culpabilities.
  • Veteran teams are more liable to react positively, simply because they've been through the same scenario many times in their respective careers and won't take even the most vicious abuse personally.
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  • Younger players/teams might get sullen and resentful so that the coach's tactic could be counterproductive.
  • Halftime hysterias should be limited to perhaps two or three occasions per season. Otherwise, the players will simply tune out whatever worthy suggestions the coach does make.
  • Above all, the coach has to be careful not to hurt himself. Don't kick anything solid that might result in a broken toe. Never throw anything made of glass. If something is thrown, make sure it misses by a considerable margin hitting either a player or something easily breakable. When such a tactic does succeed — as it did in the Dallas-Houston game — the players involved will tend to be proud of their coach's antics, and their respect for him will deepen. Sometimes understanding psychological warfare is more useful to a coach than a thorough knowledge of Xs and Os.

    Vox Populi

    How would you compare Bob Cousy and Steve Nash? Both have great basic skill and great court awareness but I remember Cousy as being a better defender and dribbler than Nash. Cousy, of course, was surrounded by a greater array of talent. But what's your take? — Spero Theodore, Fort Wayne, IND Cousy was much stronger than Nash, which made him a better rebounder and enabled him to attack the basket with greater verve. For their careers, Cousy averaged 6.2 free throws per game as opposed to Nash's 2.8.

    Of course, the game is much different now than it was then. Players are bigger, faster, and as a whole more athletic. Also, shooting has become more of a refined art — so it's totally understandable that Nash is a much better shooter. Also contributing to the vast difference in their career shooting percentages — 37.5% for Cousy to 48.7% for Nash — is that the confrontational, hands-on defensive tactics that Cousy faced have been outlawed. Excluding his first four years in the league when he was a backup with Phoenix and Dallas, Nash's points-per-game average is 14.8, appreciably less than Cousy's 18.4 ppg. However, Cousy attempted 17.8 shots per game, while Nash only puts up 10.7 shots. Contrary to your remembrances, however, Nash has a trickier handle and can therefore score in a wider variety of self-created situations. All things considered, Nash is a superior scorer. Assists are awarded more liberally these days, so Cousy's 7.5 lifetime assists per game is roughly equivalent to the 9.5 assists that Nash averaged in his peak seasons. Cousy did lead the NBA in assists for eight consecutive seasons (1953-60), while Nash led in only three seasons (2005-07). However, Cousy's primary competitors were the likes of Dick McGuire, Andy Phillip and Bob Davies — great players, yet not in the same class as Jason Kidd and Chris Paul. Also, as far as pure passing ability is concerned, Nash has a very slight edge only because his left hand is more developed than was Cousy's in this category. Neither was an adequate defender in man-to-man situations. For most of his career, Cousy had Bill Russell prowling the lane to erase all of his own defensive mistakes. But Nash is more on his own, so his defensive lapses are more evident and more damaging. Overall, neither player has an advantage here. It says here that Nash's advantages in speed, quickness, athleticism and shooting make him the superior player. In fact, Cousy's inadequacies in these departments would disqualify him from even making a modern-day NBA roster.

    Travels with Charley

    Speaking of coaches' halftime tantrums: Unless they can scream and yell at their kids, their spouses, their dogs or whatever during the offseason, coaches usually suffer some degree of throat soreness once training camp begins. And that's exactly what happened to Phil Jackson early in my first season as his assistant with the Albany Patroons in the CBA. During the training camp and the first two or three games, I had never addressed the entire team. Instead, during the games and the practice sessions, I spoke only to individual players — mostly the big men — and to Phil. Meanwhile, as the season moved into the second week, Phil's voice kept getting weaker and raspier. We were playing at home, and after a miserable first half that had us trailing by 15 points, the players filed into the locker room while Phil and I briefly lingered in the hall. Having had to shout corrections and chastisements throughout the half, Phil's voice was totally gone. Even as he pushed through the door into the locker room, he turned and whispered this to me: "Charley! Give them hell!" Instantly, I was transformed from a silent partner into a howling, curse-spewing maniac. And we wound up winning the game. Fast forward to a road game in midseason. Once again, the Patroons had played a shameful 24 minutes and trailed by double digits against an inferior ball club. Once again, Phil and I lingered in the hall while the team entered the locker room. But Phil's voice had fully recovered. Indeed, his throat felt good enough for him to smoke half of a cigarette before we rejoined the team. While he was puffing away, he initiated a conversation about what and where we could eat after the game. Wasn't there all all-night diner near the hotel? Or maybe we should have a pizza delivered to our room? Half-onions and half-anchovies? Extra cheese? Or what? We even laughed at ourselves for being so blase. However, as soon as Phil stormed through the door and faced the players, he let loose a torrent of gutter-type abuse that would have caused an all-out fight had he said the same things to them in a civilian context. "You #@&)*%#@! You played like %&*)^+$#@&!" And so forth for about 10 minutes, literally working himself into a frothy sweat. With a final curse on them and all of their progeny, Phil finally chased them out of the room. Once we were alone, Phil lit another cigarette, proposed all-mushrooms, half-sausages and half-meatballs, then — with a smile — said this: "Do you think they believed me?" The point being that an important part of a successful coach's repertoire is being a convincing actor.
    • Tagged: Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Suns, Mavericks, Rockets

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