Monday Morning Rush: Hey coach, can we get a steady rotation?
February 22nd, 2010 | by larryyocum |On this edition of The Monday Morning Rush, Blake Ellington, of bleedblackandpurple, just wanted to look at Paul Westphals’ decisions regarding the Kings rotation. Westphal has employed some curious decisions all season long and many Kings fans believe that it would be best to find a steady rotation and stick with it.
This is what Blake had to say:
After four losses in a row out of the All-Star break there isn’t much to say. The good news is that the Detroit Pistons are coming to Arco this week. The bad news is that the Kings failed to get any more breathing room from that 17-win mark. Carl Landry did live up to the hype in the game against the Suns, scoring 18 points and grabbing 7 rebounds, but it still did not translate into a win.
Here is something that Kings fans don’t necessarily need to look for this week, but are likely scratching their heads about.
Hey coach, can we get a steady rotation? – One night after Francisco Garcia started at shooting guard, he didn’t get off the bench once against the Suns, collecting zero minutes of playing time. Andres Nocioni also did not play in the game last night despite being the key factor in the brief, but impressive “comeback” against the Clippers. We know the Hubacher Homer is all about playing the players who are performing the best and create the best matchups on the floor, but one has to question if this just has more to do with uncertainty. Last week when Kevin Martin was waiting to come in at mid-court, he was the one (allegedly) who told Westphal that the team was playing well and that there was no need to put him in. It wasn’t until after a timeout several minutes later that the coach agreed with Martin and chose to keep him on the bench the rest of the fourth quarter. Does Westphal have a grip on the lineup? Granted, there have been some major roster changes, but it was going on long before that. Dominique McGuire gets zero points in 18 minutes? Come on Paul.
That was Blake’s question this week and here are my thoughts on the rotation and what I would like to see the Kings run out there on a regular basis:
The starting five: These are the players that probably give the Kings the best chance at winning on a regular basis.
Tyreke Evans- Evans seems to be the only untouchable at this point and for good reason. He is the only player that has performed consistently all season long even if it appears that he is running right smack into the rookie wall.
Donte Greene- Sorry Francisco, but Greene has played well for most of the season and deserves this shot right now. Until Garcia shows that he is 100% and draining his outside shots, he doesn’t need to be starting.
Omri Casspi- Casspi is in the same boat as Tyreke. He is the future in Sacramento and should not be out of the starting lineup for the remainder of the season.
Carl Landry- Landry finds himself as a starter for the first time in his career and is being asked to deliver the goods. He came off the bench in Houston, but was one of their steadiest performers. He is the Kings best post scorer now and they have to play him to justify the trade.
Spencer Hawes- This one could go either way in my view with Hawes or Jason Thompson starting, but I think Hawes is a better passer and would help the first unit with their spacing. Thompson can also play both positions and would probably make a better backup with that in mind. Both players seem to come and go, so playing the hot hand here might be the best option.
The rotation: Guys that should see consistent time moving forward and should know their role.
Beno Udrih- Beno should be the first player off the bench and has been one of the steadier hands this season when given consistent playing time. He is the only backup point guard on the roster now so it is probably better not to start him so you can have a reserve for the one and two.
Jason Thompson- As I said above, both Thompson and Hawes can be interchangeable here and this is a situation where the Kings probably should go with the hot hand.
Francisco Garcia- Garcia is another player that has never been given a full time gig and the jury is out on whether he is better as an energy player off of the bench or as a starter. He is going to be rusty for awhile as he tries to learn to play with a completely new team and get his timing back.
Jon Brockman- Brockman is out for a month with a knee injury, but he is a player that should get his 20 minutes in when healthy.
The specialists: These are players that should get time in and will play if the situation warrants it, but their playing time should remain inconsistent and both guys need to hit their open shots to stay on the floor or play tough hard-nosed defense.
We don’t know what we have yet, so they will probably play more than they should guys:
Dominic McGuire and Joey Dorsey
The roster filler: Guys that probably shouldn’t get off the bench in close games unless there is an injury situation.
Sean May and Larry Hughes
We will keep our eye on the rotation moving forward, but there is no reason to expect Coach Westphal to change at this point and we will likely see a new lineup and rotation out there every game.
Tags: Carl Landry, Donte Greene, Jason Thompson, Omri Casspi, Paul Westphal, Spencer Hawes, Tyreke Evans
