I was supposed to be off for a few days, but given the Kings' shocking collapse, it's hard to stay away. I will address their issues at noon today on The Bee's live chat, but here are a few early thoughts:
• That death-by-dribbling offense is killing me. Twelve assists against the Denver Nuggets? After 13 assists against the Memphis Grizzlies? The only semblance of offensive structure was a basic give-and-go featuring DeMarcus Cousins and Jimmer Fredette. When your rookie and your second-year center are acting like veterans, you're a team in trouble.
• The body language displayed by John Salmons, Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton, etc., was almost as offensive as the lack of energy/effort/offensive fluidity. When did basketball become a 9-to-5 grind working with widgets on an assembly line? Even the respected Chuck Hayes, who is still significantly overweight, by the way, was inexplicably sloppy.
• For all the flak DeMarcus Cousins has taken nationally since Paul Westphal "suspended" him for the game against New Orleans, partly because he was perceived as being "selfish" for yelling at teammates, the similarly expressive Thornton barks at teammates all the time, often expressing visible displeasure when someone fails to convert one of his passes. Just wondering: so why is that okay?
• More to come. Based on NBA protocol and the Maloofs' growing restlessness, Westphal has an increasingly limited time frame to turn this mess around.
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