We all pitch in to take out a full page ad in the Bee.

Maybe Reggie Theus has been instructed to do what he can to put this team in a position to get [a high lottery pick]…

I find this an odd, yet interesting, thought. Before the season, there were rumblings of letting the youth play and ending up with a high draft pick because of it. The theory was a win-win of developing youth and getting a high draft pick in the process.

What’s oddly interesting is that we may already be at the point where the youth puts the team in a better position to win than the vets. The question then becomes, if the Kings aren’t playing for Lottery Position (which I don’t believe for a second that they are), are they trying to showcase the vets for potential trades? There’s a lot to think about; I just hope there’s an underlying method to the madness.

Theus is in quite a pinch if so.

Har!

I hope you’re not still trying to sell some of your tickets, because that’s not exactly a glowing endorsement.

almost half of the Hawes/Thompson minutes came in garbage time.

Thompson didn’t play in the 3rd. It’s closer to “about 2/3 of their minutes came in garbage time.”

The past/future thing is right on. I don’t mind losing games this season. I don’t mind getting blown out, a lot. I do mind Miller/Moore/Jackson getting huge minutes at the expense of our youth’s development.

That was my first visit to Arco, and the first NBA game my son and I have attended. I’ve probably watched thousands of games on the tube. It was a great experience, watching Dirk warm up at close range, getting pics with the cheerleaders, checking out the Koz and Kayte show up close and personal, buying a Kings ball and a short for my son, and lots of other fun things you only experience at the game.

It’s too bad the Kings didn’t show up to play and that Reggie mismanaged the lineups. The crowd was decent, but there never was a real push by the Kings to get the fans fired up. It was embarassing, and Brad Miller’s imitation of defense looks even worse in person than it does on the tube.

After the game, while driving back towards our home near Fresno, I called in the KTLA postgame show and said basically what everyone here is thinking: it’s time to play the kids, the losing started when Moore came back, Miller and Moore can’t play D to save their lives, etc. And the two morons hosting the show said, “No, wait until Kevin Martin comes back, we should stick with the veterans, blah, blah, blah.” And I couldn’t help but thing, “What freaking planet are these buffoons from?”

Mikki could have received a DNP-CD and the Kings still would have lost by 20+. But Thompson and Hawes would have logged more important minutes.

As I have always said about Mikki, he is not the cause, nor is he the cure. While the current state of the Kings is not his fault, we know that he will never be the solution. The same cannot be said of Hawes and Thompson, as they are the great unknown. It’s time that we find out about them.

and more like a call to let the young guys play. Unless you think Moore and Miller are the future of this team, and Hawes and Thompson are not, there isn’t a real good reason to limit minutes. Yeah, winning is important. And Theus wants to keep his job, not develop guys who may be all-stars after he is shown the door. But you would think the coaching staff knows who are the more efficient scorers, rebounders and blockers.

The only real reason to limit minutes is if they pissed off coach during practice with half-assed effort or goofing around. But that doesn’t sound like these guys.

but I think you’re wrong.

so I don’t think he suddenly became a conservative coach

I think that’s exactly what happened, right about the same time his job security was put in play by Joe Maloof. Reggie seems to me like a coach who is trying anything to keep his job. “Fuck the youth, I can’t take their mistakes right now, I need a fuckin’ win, now!”

For perspective.

I agree. Hopefully he’ll work out of it.

I’m not sure what you base the ‘lack of work ethic’ by BMiller on, I haven’t seen it.

Not really defending him but he seems to be evryone’s favorite pick for fallguy/goat. I’ve seen him many times try very hard to ‘go to the hole’, not his strength I admit – and not get rewarded by the officials for it.

I also don’t think he’s in Hawes or JT’s way, unlike Mikki. Unless there is a really good reason to lighten payroll – I don’t get it.