Malik Monk expert here ... to help you guys out. First: James, booooo. Malik played 4 (not 3) painful years in Charlotte. What made them painful? He always played with a very short leash. When he was yanked, it was the silent treatment from his coach- very little communication. His minutes vanished often, and DNP-CD were common. Borrego tried to develop Malik with "tough love" and by "keeping him hungry," but mostly by not communicating anything meaningful to him.; and, he often went back on his word and made empty promises. Fast forward to Monk's time with the Kings. I told Deuce Mason the day before this game exactly this: "Malik will make a couple of mistakes and MB will take his minutes away." How did I know this? Because it's a pattern of behavior by MB when Malik plays CHA. Malik gets sooooo excited to play against the Hornets (and the Hornets get super excited to play against Malik, hence partly why they keep beating the Kings). It might look like he's being lackadaisical, but it's actually Malik playing with an air of confidence and excitement ... he knows he can beat the Hornets and do it with a little cocky flair. So, yes, he pirouettes in the corner and shoots a quick 3. And, yes, he under hands a pass to Domas like it's an all-star game. He hadn't settled his nerves yet and he his excitement was getting the best of him. The end of the 1st quarter was a rough stretch for the team. Malik had 3 mistakes in that stretch. However, if you look at everyone else in that stretch, Malik was far from the worst offender. Fox bricked three after three after three. Sabonis had multiple turnovers. Huerter smacked the backboard with a horrendous three pointer. Having Len out there didn't help (part of the reason he didn't play the next night). That was a giant mess from all the guys. I went through each possession in that segment and Malik actually graded out the best of anyone -- Sabonis and Fox the worst. So MB benches Malik and only Malik. And he gives him the silent treatment. And, now, against the very team that gives Malik PTSD -- the team where he was terribly "coached" by Borrego and very regularly had his minutes chopped -- Brown does exactly what Borrego used to do. And this isn't the first time he's done this to Malik against CHA!!! Brown should not have benched Malik. Coach him on the spot, sit him for a bit, and then get him back in there. He wasn't playing any worse than anyone else, you needed him, and you a triggering his PTSD by acting like dumb Borrego. That's what a coach is supposed to do -- talk to your players, give them the critical feedback, pump them up, help them succeed. It's just like Sabonis with his turnovers and inability to hold onto the ball -- coach him and help him, don't just sit bench his ass without explanation. No, James, taking Monk's minutes isn't the only way to get through to him. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard from you. Don't portray Monk as that "type" of player. As MB and Malik explained and then exemplified, that's not how it should have been handled.
I feel the Kings are a few moves away from being a really good team, but they don't have the assets that anyone wants that they are willing to give up. Malik is their best asset, and there is NO WAY the Kings should let him run in free agency. They should do everything in their power to keep Fox and Monk together. They are lethal when they are both on, esp with Sabonis. They need one more player who can bring more consistency on both the defensive and offensive ends.
Sean, you're wrong. Hammer, you're right. kuzma was not that highly sorted out as a free agent. They want to dump salary. But still have to maintain spending salary.
Ham says the Kings didn’t have bad losses by this time last year. I remember two bad losses to the Wizards and, yes, the Hornets. And Kings media was probably hyperventilating at those losses this time last year.
Also, several teams at the top of the standings have had horrible losses. It's a long season where road trips, injuries, and fatigue take a toll on all players. However, I do think their resiliency has escaped them although Malik seems like the dawg of the team for the time being. Fox looked completely passive and out of it last night and that is concerning when you would like him to be really aggressive like Malik was last night. Hopefully, he becomes more consistent.
The moment that stuck out to me was Monk gets the ball in the backcourt, passes it to Fox to set up the offense, Fox immediately passes it right back to him. No big deal on its own, but the body language and the timing of it, I've never seen Fox so clearly communicate "naw, not me, you gotta do this" and it seemed to catch Monk off-guard too. Had me concerned but I'm hoping it was more Fox trusting Monk and seeing him with the hot hand and not his confidence taking a hit or anything like that. Got the W, so I'll take it, and obviously Fox is on 9 times out of 10, but it did make me nervous watching it live!
@eghawk27 Yeah....I noticed that, too. I like Fox's game, but he can be lackadaisical at times when you want him on the attack where he is being super aggressive with some nastiness to his game. It's like he's thinking too much as opposed to just doing it and trusting his work. IDK
Question to ham: which team do you take right now- this year’s team or last year’s team? Better record against an nba that has more video on them, slightly less healthy, and messily working through their biggest issues on d. Given the ton of work and extra practice brown is probably having them go through, I wonder how much the players are just managing energy. When they’re down big, we want them to fight back but they may just be balancing what’s in the tank. We want them to be consistent, especially in losses, but they’re still putting together good wins against good teams. A trade needs to happen and the team needs to move on to get the past this awkward part of the season (trade season).
Great job with getting the podcast out more often, I enjoy this podcast the most but I stopped listening because they were not put out at the best times during the season(if that make sense) so hats off to you.
Malik Monk expert here ... to help you guys out.
First: James, booooo.
Malik played 4 (not 3) painful years in Charlotte. What made them painful? He always played with a very short leash. When he was yanked, it was the silent treatment from his coach- very little communication. His minutes vanished often, and DNP-CD were common. Borrego tried to develop Malik with "tough love" and by "keeping him hungry," but mostly by not communicating anything meaningful to him.; and, he often went back on his word and made empty promises.
Fast forward to Monk's time with the Kings. I told Deuce Mason the day before this game exactly this: "Malik will make a couple of mistakes and MB will take his minutes away." How did I know this? Because it's a pattern of behavior by MB when Malik plays CHA. Malik gets sooooo excited to play against the Hornets (and the Hornets get super excited to play against Malik, hence partly why they keep beating the Kings). It might look like he's being lackadaisical, but it's actually Malik playing with an air of confidence and excitement ... he knows he can beat the Hornets and do it with a little cocky flair. So, yes, he pirouettes in the corner and shoots a quick 3. And, yes, he under hands a pass to Domas like it's an all-star game. He hadn't settled his nerves yet and he his excitement was getting the best of him.
The end of the 1st quarter was a rough stretch for the team. Malik had 3 mistakes in that stretch. However, if you look at everyone else in that stretch, Malik was far from the worst offender. Fox bricked three after three after three. Sabonis had multiple turnovers. Huerter smacked the backboard with a horrendous three pointer. Having Len out there didn't help (part of the reason he didn't play the next night). That was a giant mess from all the guys. I went through each possession in that segment and Malik actually graded out the best of anyone -- Sabonis and Fox the worst.
So MB benches Malik and only Malik. And he gives him the silent treatment. And, now, against the very team that gives Malik PTSD -- the team where he was terribly "coached" by Borrego and very regularly had his minutes chopped -- Brown does exactly what Borrego used to do. And this isn't the first time he's done this to Malik against CHA!!!
Brown should not have benched Malik. Coach him on the spot, sit him for a bit, and then get him back in there. He wasn't playing any worse than anyone else, you needed him, and you a triggering his PTSD by acting like dumb Borrego. That's what a coach is supposed to do -- talk to your players, give them the critical feedback, pump them up, help them succeed. It's just like Sabonis with his turnovers and inability to hold onto the ball -- coach him and help him, don't just sit bench his ass without explanation.
No, James, taking Monk's minutes isn't the only way to get through to him. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard from you. Don't portray Monk as that "type" of player. As MB and Malik explained and then exemplified, that's not how it should have been handled.
Communication is key in just about every facet of life
and if you think I'm making too much of this, you don't get what playing CHA means to Malik
@@DanMars27 ohh no, I agree with you 100%. I know Cha was a dumpster fire when Malik was there.
Solid take and insight. I thought Mike Brown's comments in the presser were spot on, without even realizing all that background
Excellent discussion. I'm w/ James on this debate.
I feel the Kings are a few moves away from being a really good team, but they don't have the assets that anyone wants that they are willing to give up. Malik is their best asset, and there is NO WAY the Kings should let him run in free agency. They should do everything in their power to keep Fox and Monk together. They are lethal when they are both on, esp with Sabonis. They need one more player who can bring more consistency on both the defensive and offensive ends.
32:45 FACTS
Frozen ham... always a great time😂😂😂
Sean, you're wrong. Hammer, you're right. kuzma was not that highly sorted out as a free agent. They want to dump salary. But still have to maintain spending salary.
Ham says the Kings didn’t have bad losses by this time last year. I remember two bad losses to the Wizards and, yes, the Hornets. And Kings media was probably hyperventilating at those losses this time last year.
Also, several teams at the top of the standings have had horrible losses. It's a long season where road trips, injuries, and fatigue take a toll on all players. However, I do think their resiliency has escaped them although Malik seems like the dawg of the team for the time being. Fox looked completely passive and out of it last night and that is concerning when you would like him to be really aggressive like Malik was last night. Hopefully, he becomes more consistent.
The moment that stuck out to me was Monk gets the ball in the backcourt, passes it to Fox to set up the offense, Fox immediately passes it right back to him. No big deal on its own, but the body language and the timing of it, I've never seen Fox so clearly communicate "naw, not me, you gotta do this" and it seemed to catch Monk off-guard too. Had me concerned but I'm hoping it was more Fox trusting Monk and seeing him with the hot hand and not his confidence taking a hit or anything like that. Got the W, so I'll take it, and obviously Fox is on 9 times out of 10, but it did make me nervous watching it live!
@eghawk27 Yeah....I noticed that, too. I like Fox's game, but he can be lackadaisical at times when you want him on the attack where he is being super aggressive with some nastiness to his game. It's like he's thinking too much as opposed to just doing it and trusting his work. IDK
Every team in the NBA has had blowout losses. Multiple of them. Even the best teams have been blown out a few times. Just a weird season this year
Wizards not giving Kyle Kuzma away that easy…he’s their best player
Question to ham: which team do you take right now- this year’s team or last year’s team? Better record against an nba that has more video on them, slightly less healthy, and messily working through their biggest issues on d. Given the ton of work and extra practice brown is probably having them go through, I wonder how much the players are just managing energy. When they’re down big, we want them to fight back but they may just be balancing what’s in the tank. We want them to be consistent, especially in losses, but they’re still putting together good wins against good teams. A trade needs to happen and the team needs to move on to get the past this awkward part of the season (trade season).
They shoot like 40+ 3s on like 99 possessions a night. There's the reasons why they either blow out or get blow out.
This. They get blown out when they are cold, and look like a great team when the 3s drop.
Great job with getting the podcast out more often, I enjoy this podcast the most but I stopped listening because they were not put out at the best times during the season(if that make sense) so hats off to you.
I have this feeling we are going to trade Monk and it’s going to upset me greatly if I’m right
Monk is the Kings real asset and he's a free agent next year. However he is a pivotal player and I believe Monte will do everything to keep him.
@@edbrewington3 he better lol. I will go batshit crazy if Kings lose Malik 😂
Bring in Kuz for 60 games a year and a worse record, sure 👍
Throw in another 2 round kevin Davion 1Round and 2 Seconds they will do that
Long intro today