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JB
I
really don't know what rattles around in Webber's
mind. Logic would indicate that the Kings have a big
leg up on re-signing the guy. But I wouldn't bet a
dollar that he would stay. Stay or go, the Kings are
going to be a good team for many years to come. Only
Chris knows if he wants to be part of that.
On
Jason: No need to panic and trade the guy unless a
no brainer trade comes up (Kidd, Payton, etc.). The
point position is fine with Jason and Bobby covering.
If the Kings keep seeing steady improvement in the
areas they have asked him to work on, time is not
a problem. I have seen the improvement in the areas
of defense, driving to the basket and general decision
making. Consistency in those areas is going to come
as he
Wyo
I
agree that Jason HAS improved.
I
will disagree that his "general decision making"
has improved.
It
is true that players have to learn certain aspects
of the NBA game, however, most of these guys have
had a basketball in their hands since they could walk
and, IMO, they will continue to act and react as they
always have when at full speed or under pressure.
Jason
may take fewer threes from 30 ft with 20 seconds on
the clock than he used to but I don't think that's
a reflection of the way Jason plays the game as much
as a desire not to get yanked.
Jason,
IMO, will still go out of his way to make a no-look
behind the back pass when a simple solution is staring
him right in the face. I expect a cancer cure before
Jason's tendency to hot-dog the pass goes away.
And,
I could be wrong on this (I get up and forage for
snacks and stuff a lot during the games) but I have
a hard time recalling Jason diving on the floor for
a ball.
It's
not my intention to put Jason down. In spite of his
flash, I think he's a team guy, not a prima donna.
I just think we've seen the best of his game already.
Jason's
Place in the Kingdom and in the Offense
Critic
IMO,
they'll keep him because he no longer has enough trade
value to tempt them to trade him. He is improving,
just not at a particularly fast pace.
I'm
still not sure that he is being asked/allowed to penetrate
enough and he definitely doesn't have the ball in
his hands as high a percentage of the time as he would
if I were coaching him. In my mind's eye I still see
his current role in the Kings' 1/2 court offense as
dribbling across midcourt, tossing the ball to the
left wing and then trotting towards the lane (as if
running a play, only slower) and then jogging back
outside to be an outlet for a doubleteamed player
and otherwise watch CWebb and Peja work to get shots.
Without the ball in his hands, he is a VERY ordinary
player at both ends of the court.
Jason
only becomes special when he has the ball in his hands,
his mouth forms that little "O," his eyes
get big, and you KNOW something cool is about to happen.
I'd try very hard to find a way to work that excitement
into the 1/2 court offense. Sometimes a coach has
an offense that "ve VILL run, Komen Hades oder
High Vasser." (No Hitler-analogies intended,
just having some fun with words to make a too-rigid
point.) Sometimes, a coach is dead set against having
offensive differences depending on who is in the game
and so they won't design it to depend on a magic man
because when he rests the rabbits all die instead
of hopping out of the hat. I'm not sure any modification
of the offense RA wants run has been made to accomodate
or get the most out of Jason. Neither Gar Heard nor
Leonard Hamilton seemed willing to let Rod Strickland
wheel and deal with the ball in the way we all knew
he could from having seen him do it and it hurt their
1/2 court offense. It may be the same for the Kings.
If you have a fungible, modest-ball-handler/good-shooter
at PG, RA's system (or GH's or LH's) is fine. BJ seems
to fit that description. If you have a ballhandling
magician at PG, you need to put the ball in his hands
so he can make it appear as if by magic in open shooters'
hands, even if that means changing your offense from
the one you've run (successfully) for 20 years. All
this is just my speculation, and it's stuff I've said
here before, but it's still what it looks like is
going on to me.
As
to facing him on another team, until his D improves
a lot more than it has (and -- to be fair to him --
it has definitely improved) any guard's eyes would
light up at the prospect of having a shot at 50 points
for the first time since grade school. AT the other
end, it might depend on who he played for and would
only be scary if he were playing for a coach who gave
him the ball and said "U-D-Man; make it happen;
don't jack stupid 3's, but otherwise do your magic
act." A coach has to have the stomach to watch
a few spectacular turnovers to get to watch him dominate,
but I'd sure be giving it a try until I ran out of
Alka Selzer. Tonight, for example would be the
finest of laboratories to "beta-test" such
an approach.
JB
Well,
my definition of improved decision making is taking
less high risk three point shots and taking more mid
range jump shots. His assists to turnovers is a respectable
2.62 - so he isn't as impulsive about throwing the
ball away as in the past. He is driving to the basket
more often and is trying on defense. He really was
way off target in those areas in previous years. Again,
I don't see the point guard spot as big problem for
the Kings. They have versatility with Bobby and Doug
that makes up for what Jason is weak at. Trading him
will bring nothing of value in return and the Kings
can afford to be patient with him.
sbelmont
The
assist to turnover ratio is decieving due to Jason's
reluctance to take chances with his court vision this
year. How many turnovers are you going to make if
you just dribble up court and just feed the post player?
Jeff McInnis of the Clippers has almost a 4 to 1 ratio
doing that.
While
the combination of Williams/Jackson is adequate. I
definitely feel that PG is the weakest position on
the squad. There are very nights when Sac's PG output
exceeds that of the opponent.
Since
Jason have very little value as far as trades are
concerned, the kings might as well give him another
year to see if he finally can make a large step forward.
However IF some team would be willing to offer a good
deal to acquire Jason for marketing/economic reasons
this off-season then IMO Petrie should consider it.
Geoff isn't afraid to admit one of his draft picks
was a mistake. After all, Wahad got shipped out after
his 2nd year.
Public
Enemy
On
JWill: I don't think the Kings'll drop JWill b4 the
start of the season. If he doesn't improve b4 the
trade deadline and he has ANY trade valoo, I think
they'll send him to his next team, UPS next-day. I
agree that he has great talent and much untapped potential,
but his problem, imo, is his maturity (lack thereof).
At some point he's going to have sit back and say,
"ok, I DO want to be the best PG in the league,
and I'm intent on improving/proving myself."
I heard at some point that he refuses to look at game
film. If true, that's discouraging.
On
CWebb: Others have mentioned this b4 - his decision
to re-sign or not may not be basketball-related. He's
said many times that he wants to start a large family.
He may decide to sign with whatever decent team he
thinks plays in a city with a large pool of ladies.
There are few people in the world more passionate
than a young adult male in rut. I just hope he realizes
that there are women in Sacramento, too.
Hallama
Thrilliams
has been anything but this season.
This
team would be so much better off with a veteran PG
running the team, a guy who can knock down the mid-range
jumper (not that JWill can't, he just doesn't).
Like
you said, a team looking for tix sales might trade
for JWill, like say, a new NBA city like Memphis?
Don't they have a kid with a matching salary? Bibby.
It is just my opinion, but I'd love to have a solid,
penetrating PG like Bibby.
But,
it is playoff time, and I think it is only fair to
let JWill have his run. However, I think his minutes
will decrease the further the Kings make into the
playoffs.
OhSC
HAHA,
couldn't BELIEVE that KMAX played a close up
of
Jason forming the sounds m, th, r and f at the end
of
the broadcast! Hilarious! (yet disturbing)! Now
I'm
no lipreader, but there's no mistaking the
labiatdental
unvoiced fricative that
is
an integral part to that overused expletive (F).
What
a card! I love that guy. He sure has some tools
there,
wonder if he's got the brain, well, savvy's
probably
a better word, to figure it out. My friend at
the
group home for severely emotionally/psychologically
disturbed
youth (yeah, I worked there) used to say "figure
it
out" all the time. If the ward wasn't figuring
it out,
he'd
call them a "dome," signifying that crap
was spinning
around
upstairs, preventing progress. Gotta love verbal
shorthand;
once the concept is cemented in, a one-syllable
referent
is all that's needed. A' course, it's a largely
a
cultural thing, but effective.
Jason
obviously practices the physical skills; what about
mental exercise/visualization/study/preparation/imaging??
Figure
it out. Dome. ')
Season
summary -- Grades
Hutch007
With
one game remaining I feel it's time to hand all the
King's men their grades this year. OVERALL, they have
maximized their talents, while others are just beginning
to realize their potential. Basically, these grades
reflect what the player is capable of compared to
what they did on the coart.
Jason
Williams = C+
With
the addition of B.Jax, it is difficult for JDubb to
get into the grove of a game, and make a difference
at the end. Williams has tons of talent, but is not
given lots of opprotunities to succeed -- when he
is, he often doesn't capitalize on them.
Needs
to improve: penetration, mental toughness (late game
decisions and fan restraint), and offensive/defensive
awareness.
Doug
Christie = A+
Another
poster mentioned that Christie should be the team's
MVP; I must agree. He has maximized his potential
by utilizing speed, tenacity, endurance, and toughness
to catylize a "new" Kings defense. One of
the leagues tops in steals and ft%. At least as big
as a steal as CWEBB for ROCK. Not in terms of making
the Kings commercially viable, but just improving
their play. Great chemistry guy, comes through in
the clutch.
Improvements:
Forget about it...
Peja
Stojakovic = A
Peja
is still young (23), but has proved to be a offensive
force to be reckoned with in this league. A team could
be built around this kid. His defense has improved
as has his penetration and late game heroics. A star
in the making.
Impovements:
shooting consistency
Chris
Webber = B
Remember,
these grades are comprised of what a player is capable
of compared to what they are doing. Although an MVP
candidate, CWEBB played better last year. A lot of
it may not be his fault since he's been injured and
played lots of PT. But, it is his responsibility to
the team -- as the team leader -- to rest when needed.
Lots of the MVP recognition for CWEBB has come with
the Kings success, but we all know that the Kings
improved dramatically after BJAX, CHRISTIE, and HEDO
came on and PEJA moved to the starting position. For
someone who demands a warrior-like mentality, CWEBB
has played rather uninspired basketball of late and
IMHO is a 4th quarter liability.
Improvements:
Less 20 foot jumpers, needs larger variety of post
moves, move feet on defense, no bone head fouls (lots
of lately), move the ball more in 4th quarter, and
of coarse BOX OUT!!!
Vlade
Divac = B-
Lade
proves that he doesn't always play to his potential.
Whenever CWEBB is out to lunch, Lade picks up his
game. I realize Lade is old, but imagine how good
the Kings could be if he played up to his potential
all the time. Physical conditioning would help him
age like wine instead of vinegar. Fortunately, this
Serbian has tons of charisma and is part of the glue
of the Kings.
Improvements:
consistency, conditioning, decision makings (mostly
wild Lade passes)
Bobby
Jackson = A
Along
with Christie, this guy is just a flat out warrior.
The level of intensity he brings to the court is consistent
and breaths new life into the "bench mob".
He is a perfect contrast with Williams. I can't blame
Adelman for putting him in at the end of games because
Bo.Jax. plays big when it counts with timely shots,
few turnovers, killer defense, and unbelievable rebounding
for a man 6 foot.
Improvements:
should distribute the ball a little more.
Jon
Barry = D+
This
is hard for me: I'm a fan of Barry. The fact is he
has had an off year full of injury, inconsistent shooting,
and sloppy decision making. His niche into the benchmob
has disintegrated with the emergence of Hedo Turkoglu.
At times it appears as if the Kings are growing without
him. Unfortunate, but true.
Improvements:
health, decision making, shooting consistency, and
most importantly he needs to rekindle his personality
-- he needs to lead the team's bench again! Remember
those chants... BARRY, BARRY!
Hedo
Turkoglu = A-
For
a rookie who was passed by many other teams, he has
played extremely well. His qualities are diverse,
including: height, shooting, toughness, confidence,
rebounding, passing, dribbling, etc. His developement
rivals Peja during his rookie year. I see him as another
Peja-quality player, but with a game that emphasizes
his complete, well rounded game.
Improvements:
attitude (toward refs and team play)
Lawrence
Funderburke = incomplete
He
simply gets no PT anymore, suprisingly. With CWEBB's
injuries and poor play of late, one would think Adelman
would utilize Funderburke more.
Scot
Pollard = A-
This
samurai is tough and smart. He never plays outside
of his abilities, but conversely emphasizes that which
he can do. Tough rebounder, can change shots, and
has improved his offensive game quite a bit.
Impovements:
more conditioning, keep working on offense (post moves
and passing).
DMART,
ANDERSON, SMITH, are incompletes like Fundy.
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