Hoops

Kings v Hawks 5/12/2016

A letter to the Kings fans explaining his family situation. Nothing more.

Isaac Turner IA definitely more of a two, but I think that's good if it means none of this combo guard BS & Lisch is THE POINT guard every minute he is on the floor.

He runs the team & IS the best player in the league.

Isaih Tueta did a pretty good job for Breakers. Is he allowed to sign with another team after playing as an injury substitute for NZ? I don't see why not.

If it's not an import, not sure who else is out there as far as backup PGs go? Is Isaac Turner still on the practice squad? Not sure he is a PG as much as a 3pt shooter, but he's technically an import who could maybe play spot minutes and give us some insurance on ball handling duties if Lisch or Cadee pick up an injury.

And F@#$K YES Kings need another PG ASAP - whether it be an import or Aussie, for when Cadee has an off night or someone is injured. We have only Prewster, who looks so unsure all the time.

First time Powell played serious D and rebounding, and what a difference.. Cadee, Whittington and Garlepp also stepped up. How many blocks did we get when Powell and Whittington played serious ball? Lisch and Newley awesome as usual. Well done Kings !!!!

Blake really commmented on the type of ball the NBL uses? Yikes, a man searching for answers! Check your birth certificate, it's in there. NBL is solid now product wise, you can't take a night off in this league. Blake would've had minimal motivation and was too old.

Kendall is and A/Coach.

Seemed like a good game from the bits and pieces I caught between replays and close-ups.

Noticed Luke Kendall sitting on the bench with the coaching staff, in what looked like Kings gear, Is he on staff or could he be being considered as a replacement for Blake? I've no Idea if he is fit or still playing. etc. Anyone know what he is up to these days?

Yeah I don't think we can blame the results on Blake, but his involvement isn't a coincidence... The Kings looked like the team before his arrival tonight and not just because he wasn't there... Greg was back to form, still had one or two silly fouls (and I agree about his running along side his player, so frustrating!) but still amazing to watch... Those few inbounds plays were nice...

Great win from the guys tonight, weathered the predictable barrage of threes, leaving Oscar open to nail his first one was a BIG mistake, I don't care if he's missed his previous 20...

I reckon that business about Blake not being able to adapt to a game without athletic teammates is a bit weak and unlikely. He made an excuse about the different game balls at one point. A point guard out of any position should be able to adapt their game to suit. His percentages were poor and you can't blame that too much on teammate athleticism.

Realistically, I think our league is reasonably strong for a guy on his way out of the NBA, and I think our locals and established imports are at points in their careers where they have more drive and motivation.

That is, assuming rumours are true and Blake isn't likely to return

Indeed interesting that Cadee finds form again with Blake out of the picture. Kings will be thinking very carefully about their next move. Maybe a strong defender and passer who doesn't demand a lot of the ball might be the right way to go.

Yeah I agree that the Kings are in a nice position as it is. They've got the luxury of not needing anyone else at the moment, so I think they'd be wise to keep the extra import spot up their sleeve as injury insurance just for the time being.
As the playoff qualifying deadline approaches they can reassess any areas of need before making their move, possibly allowing a higher-value player for the same money since they're paying for a shorter time.

Great game tonight!

Kings shouldn't sign anyone new. It'd stuff their rotation. Gaze is gonna have enough trouble finding minutes once Khazzouh is back.

And who we kidding, Gaze won't play deeper than 8 or 9 anyway, so may as well invest the $$$ in youth & energy.

IMO its not as simple as saying Blake's defence stank or he was in a shooting slump, etc etc. The problem with Blake was the differences in style of play and types of players between NBA and NBL. The old adage "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" aptly fits the situation.

I think for most of his playing career, Blake was used to having team mates that were far more athletic, able to move up the court faster and finish spectacularly in offense. He fed off offensive juggernauts that can draw multiple defenders when they penetrate.

In defense, he's more likely to have bigs that are very intimidating in both size and ability to protect the rim so his responsibility was mainly to shadow his man at the perimeter and funnel their path towards that paint enforcer.

He was trying to do what he's been doing all his career but it wasn't working without those playing environment or types of team mates he needed. Changing his play style was probably too much to ask at this stage of his career in a foreign country with different sets of rules and conditions.

I would imagine it might be update on Blake and his families circumstances.

I'm sure Rosen said the Kings were expecting to make an announcement tomorrow on Blake, during the 3rd or 4th Q.

Travel weary Hawks was the difference in this one

"They said that the Kings have an announcement to make on Blake tomorrow, and I imagine it's either his replacement or that an announcement of a replacement will be made shortly."

who said that?

It's not about blaming Blake, just acknowledging he wasn't getting the job done. His defence was poor and oppo went at it consistently. When your import is being shown up by Adam Doyle and Damon Heuir it's time to look elsewhere.

I don't think it's a simple as blaming Blake, but it would be nice to get a reliable backup 1/2 guy who isn't ex-NBA and won't be a distraction.

Kings 4-5 with Blake, 5-1 without him. Don't think they're holding their breath, especially with Lisch and Cadee combining for 45 tonight.

They said that the Kings have an announcement to make on Blake tomorrow, and I imagine it's either his replacement or that an announcement of a replacement will be made shortly.

Steve Blake has a net worth of around $30 million back end of his career he didn't need the NBL lol

Is Blake coming back to Aus eventually, or are the Kings replacing him?

Kings fans would have to be pretty pleased with that.
When you can cop some runs from a quality team in their own building and still come away with the win, that's a good sign.

Wonder who kings will sign, could be hard to beat with a good 3rd import

Travels and illegal screens seems to be the emphasis this year. Maybe carries will be next year.

Since when has there ever been a carry rule? Never.

Yeah, entertaining, and always felt like Hawks were going to work there way back in with some crazy shooting from Oscar and Clarke. A real relief to pick up the W to be honest, not feeling good about the Cairns or Melbourne games coming up.

Great game by both teams. The Hawks chucked the kitchen sink at the Kings and Sydney picked it up and threw it back! :)

Well, that was a pretty huge block.

And again.

Reports of the death of Rotnei Clarke have been greatly exaggerated.

Kings doing a great job of leaving Oscar open tonight.

Rotnei Clarke... jeezus.

Never seen Tommy challenge so many shots around the basket.

Why wasn't Lisch called for that carry?

I don't get why the Kings guard non-shooting 5s and 4s so tight at the 3pt line.

"No Cad... YES CADEE!" = all Kings fans most the games the past couple of years.

Cadee's had a couple of awful turnovers this quarter.

yep, sure does

Ha ... and after I write that the Hawks go on a 12-2 run. You're welcome ;)

The press really kills the shuffle when it takes us all 8 seconds to get it over the half way line.

What game are you guys watching? It's been pretty much one way traffic since quarter time.

16 point turnaround from the Hawks. Could get interesting.

How good is this game? It seems almost every game is high-quality over the past month. Love it.

For someone with his size and bulk, Jeromie moves very very well. A lot of his mistakes come from his urgency to try and make strong, energetic plays. Its hard to blame him with the few minutes he's been given. I just feel that if he can switch it on and off, it'd give him better control and feel for the game. That deceptive quickness can work to his advantage when his big man match-up is caught off-guard and to do that he needs to keep them guessing his pace.