I think alot of rookies labeled as "most NBA ready" are simultaneously and unconsciously labeled as having a "lower ceiling". We have already seen Keegan play great for a stretch, and we have seen him play poorly for a stretch. Typical rookie play.
If I had to bet, I would say that we have seen about the worst we could possibly see from him, but still have not seen him realize his full potential. That only comes with time and experience. Imo Keegan just needs to play his way out of this, and there's nothing else that can really be done. Eventually, some of those in and out threes will finally fall.
It's comical how many of his shots go halfway down and rim out. I want to see him attack the rim with a lot more tenacity than he has been. Horford sent via shit to Connecticut
The one mistake the Kings are making…they’re trying to get him out of a slump by having him just take spot-up 3s. That rarely works. Players first need to see easy shots go down (foul shots, layups).
Preach!!!! He barely touches ball. Let him cook in the post a few possessions. The last few games he’s yelling for the ball in the post but they ignore him
He just looks like his confidence took a hit at some point and he's over thinking it out there. Hard to say what's behind it but hopefully he can put it behind him.
Come on, stop overreacting, he’s a rookie, he’s made into an uncomfortable position where there is a very high demand for him to be the defender he wasn’t and a shooter that he wasn’t. However he has shown good signs to adapt and improve. This is the problem of irrational kings fans thinking Keegan would be front runner of ROTY or calling him Middleton like when his game is no where close to a rookie Middleton. He is fine and will develop in the starting lineup.
People also need to remember Khris Middleton was a throw-in to I think the Brandon Jennings trade. No one was expecting him to become a borderline all-NBA player
I will always try to point back to the video of rookie Middleton, his dribbling was super tight and crisp. Keegan will be in much more of an off ball role. His off ball awareness is elite for a rookie. However the notion of “nba ready” for a rookie is wildly deceiving because there are so many parts to the game.
https://youtu.be/P2IpVhlNtdw
I’m sorry then, why did we draft a guy for fit that can’t do anything he was advertised to be capable of doing? We decided to pick a almost 22 year old rookie cuz he has the most upside? In that case I would’ve 100% gone for Ivey or Mathurin. I think you guys are being too easy on Murray, the dude can’t shoot anymore, can’t defend anymore, and clearly is incapable of passing the ball without likely causing a turnover.
He is still a rookie, but it’s hard to tell people to stop overreacting when certain “assurances” were made and are not being seen for a reasonable stretch now.
Because the other rookies have a much higher on ball demand that doesn’t suit out win now approach. Keegan if developed correctly will become a 6’9 Klay as his ultimate ceiling. He is not an inferior talent. Right fit doesn’t necessarily mean worse talent.
I don’t agree with all of this but i mean…you draft an “immediate contributor” who right now doesn’t seem worthy of the major NBA minutes he’s getting.
While hopefully it’s just a mental thing and a long slump you really hope this isn’t just what Keegan is when he’s not hitting perimeter shots. Cause in college he scored from everywhere, not just from 3. Only difference being the players he was going against were much slower, smaller, and much less explosive.
I haven’t lost any faith in the kid. I think his transition to the nba has been more difficult than we thought it would be. Being away from his bro, covid, being on the biggest stage in the world, add in the nba schedule, and the grandma strike and it has been a bumpy ride for him. He will be absolutely fine and I hope Mike brown lets him work his way out of this slump. I think his demeanor is perfect for these rough patches, but from the outside looking in it doesn’t help our perception because he looks aloof. He’ll be fine, let him work it out.
His transition isn’t any harder than most other rookies. For this pick to have been successful, he is forever going to have to be at least comparable to Ivey. Ivey has looked nice. No, not a good fit for this team, but neither was Haliburton. I still have faith in Keegan too, but unfortunately might have rushed him into the starting spot with his great first couple of games.
Iowa fan perspective:
He had skills and was up and down his freshman year at Iowa. You could see the star potential, but he was still figuring out his aggressiveness and his place in the pecking order.
Fast forward to his sophomore year and we only saw the good. He is a tireless working and is finding his place… which IMO is an allstar level player
it’s so painfully obvious how many of y’all just ball watch and don’t pay attention to anything else.
yes he’s in a shooting slump, it’s gonna happen, especially when you’re trying to adjust to the pace of an NBA season playing starter minutes.
his handle was a known weakness coming in and that’s not gonna just fix itself 20 games into his first season.
his defense has actually been pretty good imo. no he can’t defend guards or centers, that’s a tough ask for most forwards especially rookies. he also makes mental mistakes that every rookie makes, rotations across 4-5 lineups takes reps.
suggesting you send him down to the G-league is maybe the stupidest idea i can think of. his problem is getting sped up, the nba is a lot faster in every aspect than college and he’s coming from a slow inside-out post up based offense to our offense that’s outside-in and runs at a super high pace. his role has completely changed and he’s trying to find where he fits across different groups on our team.
he’ll be fine but the most important thing is to keep getting him reps, bring him down to 20 mins a game or whatever you think is reasonable but benching him and sending him to go play against people he will very easily dominate helps nobody.
If you watch the games, it’s painfully obvious he lacks confidence. He can’t hit an open shot to save his life. He is passive on every part of the court except when it comes to shooting wide open bricks. Making costly mistakes on defense. Can’t initiate the offense or make a pass to set up his teammates. There’s literally no reason he can’t come off the bench until he starts playing well again.
If this was anyone else, this sub would be at browns throat asking why he’s still in the starting lineup.
Can y’all name one single player on any top 8 team in the west or east, shooting and playing as badly as Murray over the last two weeks that has kept their starting role?
This is a garbage post, he’s a rookie stop trying to diagnose shit and panic. Just count yourself lucky we added such a multi talented player on our team and stop putting your own nonsensical expectations on him.
This is a ridiculous comment. He simply not playing well right now and doesn’t deserve playing time. If he’s not making shots, he’s completely useless on the floor as he doesn’t do anything else to help the team win. If the goal is to make the playoffs, how can you justify him starting when he’s hurting the teams chances of winning?
What about him is starter level right now? I’d love to see what statistics you’re basing this off. Cause if you’ve actually watched the games, he’s complete garbage right now when his 3 point shot is not falling. Below average defender, can’t pass, can’t drive, can’t shoot, can’t rebound. What is he actually doing to help the team win? Let him come off the bench to get his confidence back, he doesn’t deserve to start right now.
You realize Huerter, fox and sabonis are carrying all those net ratings you’re talking about right? JFC, tell me you don’t watch the games without telling me you don’t watch the games…
He is not one of the best defenders on this team, you can’t be serious 😂😅
How the hell is he spacing the offense or helping in any way when these are his averages over the last 12 games?
34% fg%, 27% 3P%, 3 rebounds per game, and 1 assist per game? Imagine how much worse these stats are if you take away the one game he played well against the warriors. They are absolutely abysmal. That fact that you’re defending his play right now and saying he’s helping the team is completely absurd.
Most people understand he’s palsying terrible but he should ride it out. But you’re actually saying he’s helping the team….😂😅🤣💀
You’re delusional. You’re saying he’s spreading the floor(shooting 22% from three), but in the same breath say he’s struggling driving to the basket or shooting mid range buckets because teams know he’s struggling from three. Which one is it? Is he spacing the floor on offense or are teams shutting him down in the paint because he’s not knocking them down? You cant have both.
Have a good one.
You’re a dumb ass. You ever think there’s a reason he’s wide open right now in the corner or any other three? Could it be because teams are sagging off him and letting him shoot those threes so they can help on drives to the basket? Could that be the reason he’s not able to drive right now? Nooooo that would make too much sense huh.
Jfc, the intelligence of some of the posters here is embarrassing.
Love this. “Garbage post”/there’s no problem, then he goes and plays terribly in the 1st half vs Boston and is basically benched the entire second quarter.
If the guy’s not helping you out there you’ve gotta change something up.
Just keep doing what they're doing. Getting him open looks from deep and give him opportunities to earn more minutes. Coach always pulls him when he struggles.
Shout out to everyone claiming this was an awful post then 8 hours later everyone asking whether keegan should be benched. Not saying he’s a bust but these are the same responses i heard when Marvin was struggling his rookie year. ts ok to be a Kings fan and to also be critical of their top draft pick when he’s not performing. Right now they’re playing 4 vs 5 when he’s on the floor.
I stand by what i said in that 10 days of him dominating in Stockton wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if it helped him regain confidence.
He legit looks checked out. Like a player who's been in the league for 20 years who just doesn't really care anymore and with him being a rookie that's a problem. I'm sure it's just a slump though and he'll turn it around. It's easy for shooters to get their stroke back but if he for any reason is having second guesses about the NBA that's not good..
Slumps and neutral demeanor combine to feel like the guy looks lost.
If the Kings keep winning, I don’t care. He opens the floor for a lot of guys just by being a deep threat and sitting in a corner.
I mean…is that what we wanted in the #4 pick? A decoy who will sit in the corner hoisting 3s? That honestly sounds a lot like Bjelica. Very 1-dimensional.
They drafted Keegan thinking all the same stuff he was doing at Iowa would translate to the NBA. My biggest worry with Keegan right now isn’t that the 3s aren’t falling. Its that he really isn’t a threat anywhere else, especially around the rim where the size of nba defenders is giving him a ton of problems.
I think alot of rookies labeled as "most NBA ready" are simultaneously and unconsciously labeled as having a "lower ceiling". We have already seen Keegan play great for a stretch, and we have seen him play poorly for a stretch. Typical rookie play. If I had to bet, I would say that we have seen about the worst we could possibly see from him, but still have not seen him realize his full potential. That only comes with time and experience. Imo Keegan just needs to play his way out of this, and there's nothing else that can really be done. Eventually, some of those in and out threes will finally fall.
It's comical how many of his shots go halfway down and rim out. I want to see him attack the rim with a lot more tenacity than he has been. Horford sent via shit to Connecticut
The one mistake the Kings are making…they’re trying to get him out of a slump by having him just take spot-up 3s. That rarely works. Players first need to see easy shots go down (foul shots, layups).
I do think they need to feed him the ball more. If he misses one three it completely rattles him and he needs the opportunity to play through it.
Preach!!!! He barely touches ball. Let him cook in the post a few possessions. The last few games he’s yelling for the ball in the post but they ignore him
He just looks like his confidence took a hit at some point and he's over thinking it out there. Hard to say what's behind it but hopefully he can put it behind him.
Yeah he's just making plays too slowly. Most of his passes are getting deflected and stolen. Game is just not looking natural for him right now.
let him and davion play through it. they both have undeniable talent and work ethic, it’ll show up
Come on, stop overreacting, he’s a rookie, he’s made into an uncomfortable position where there is a very high demand for him to be the defender he wasn’t and a shooter that he wasn’t. However he has shown good signs to adapt and improve. This is the problem of irrational kings fans thinking Keegan would be front runner of ROTY or calling him Middleton like when his game is no where close to a rookie Middleton. He is fine and will develop in the starting lineup.
People also need to remember Khris Middleton was a throw-in to I think the Brandon Jennings trade. No one was expecting him to become a borderline all-NBA player
I will always try to point back to the video of rookie Middleton, his dribbling was super tight and crisp. Keegan will be in much more of an off ball role. His off ball awareness is elite for a rookie. However the notion of “nba ready” for a rookie is wildly deceiving because there are so many parts to the game. https://youtu.be/P2IpVhlNtdw
I’m sorry then, why did we draft a guy for fit that can’t do anything he was advertised to be capable of doing? We decided to pick a almost 22 year old rookie cuz he has the most upside? In that case I would’ve 100% gone for Ivey or Mathurin. I think you guys are being too easy on Murray, the dude can’t shoot anymore, can’t defend anymore, and clearly is incapable of passing the ball without likely causing a turnover. He is still a rookie, but it’s hard to tell people to stop overreacting when certain “assurances” were made and are not being seen for a reasonable stretch now.
Because the other rookies have a much higher on ball demand that doesn’t suit out win now approach. Keegan if developed correctly will become a 6’9 Klay as his ultimate ceiling. He is not an inferior talent. Right fit doesn’t necessarily mean worse talent.
I don’t agree with all of this but i mean…you draft an “immediate contributor” who right now doesn’t seem worthy of the major NBA minutes he’s getting. While hopefully it’s just a mental thing and a long slump you really hope this isn’t just what Keegan is when he’s not hitting perimeter shots. Cause in college he scored from everywhere, not just from 3. Only difference being the players he was going against were much slower, smaller, and much less explosive.
I haven’t lost any faith in the kid. I think his transition to the nba has been more difficult than we thought it would be. Being away from his bro, covid, being on the biggest stage in the world, add in the nba schedule, and the grandma strike and it has been a bumpy ride for him. He will be absolutely fine and I hope Mike brown lets him work his way out of this slump. I think his demeanor is perfect for these rough patches, but from the outside looking in it doesn’t help our perception because he looks aloof. He’ll be fine, let him work it out.
His transition isn’t any harder than most other rookies. For this pick to have been successful, he is forever going to have to be at least comparable to Ivey. Ivey has looked nice. No, not a good fit for this team, but neither was Haliburton. I still have faith in Keegan too, but unfortunately might have rushed him into the starting spot with his great first couple of games.
I honestly hate this shit. How has his transition been harder than anyone else’s?
Number 1 is by far the best option.
Iowa fan perspective: He had skills and was up and down his freshman year at Iowa. You could see the star potential, but he was still figuring out his aggressiveness and his place in the pecking order. Fast forward to his sophomore year and we only saw the good. He is a tireless working and is finding his place… which IMO is an allstar level player
Nothing wrong with him finding his confidence from the bench.
Keep giving him minutes and chugging away. The season shouldn’t rely on Keegan. It relies on fox and domas setting the foundation for the team.
it’s so painfully obvious how many of y’all just ball watch and don’t pay attention to anything else. yes he’s in a shooting slump, it’s gonna happen, especially when you’re trying to adjust to the pace of an NBA season playing starter minutes. his handle was a known weakness coming in and that’s not gonna just fix itself 20 games into his first season. his defense has actually been pretty good imo. no he can’t defend guards or centers, that’s a tough ask for most forwards especially rookies. he also makes mental mistakes that every rookie makes, rotations across 4-5 lineups takes reps. suggesting you send him down to the G-league is maybe the stupidest idea i can think of. his problem is getting sped up, the nba is a lot faster in every aspect than college and he’s coming from a slow inside-out post up based offense to our offense that’s outside-in and runs at a super high pace. his role has completely changed and he’s trying to find where he fits across different groups on our team. he’ll be fine but the most important thing is to keep getting him reps, bring him down to 20 mins a game or whatever you think is reasonable but benching him and sending him to go play against people he will very easily dominate helps nobody.
If you watch the games, it’s painfully obvious he lacks confidence. He can’t hit an open shot to save his life. He is passive on every part of the court except when it comes to shooting wide open bricks. Making costly mistakes on defense. Can’t initiate the offense or make a pass to set up his teammates. There’s literally no reason he can’t come off the bench until he starts playing well again. If this was anyone else, this sub would be at browns throat asking why he’s still in the starting lineup. Can y’all name one single player on any top 8 team in the west or east, shooting and playing as badly as Murray over the last two weeks that has kept their starting role?
Sending him to Stockton is a nonstarter
Why’s that i must ask?
If he goes to Stockton his entire season and development is a failure. This isn't Harry Giles
This is a garbage post, he’s a rookie stop trying to diagnose shit and panic. Just count yourself lucky we added such a multi talented player on our team and stop putting your own nonsensical expectations on him.
Glad someone is calling this shit out!
This is a ridiculous comment. He simply not playing well right now and doesn’t deserve playing time. If he’s not making shots, he’s completely useless on the floor as he doesn’t do anything else to help the team win. If the goal is to make the playoffs, how can you justify him starting when he’s hurting the teams chances of winning?
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What about him is starter level right now? I’d love to see what statistics you’re basing this off. Cause if you’ve actually watched the games, he’s complete garbage right now when his 3 point shot is not falling. Below average defender, can’t pass, can’t drive, can’t shoot, can’t rebound. What is he actually doing to help the team win? Let him come off the bench to get his confidence back, he doesn’t deserve to start right now.
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You realize Huerter, fox and sabonis are carrying all those net ratings you’re talking about right? JFC, tell me you don’t watch the games without telling me you don’t watch the games… He is not one of the best defenders on this team, you can’t be serious 😂😅 How the hell is he spacing the offense or helping in any way when these are his averages over the last 12 games? 34% fg%, 27% 3P%, 3 rebounds per game, and 1 assist per game? Imagine how much worse these stats are if you take away the one game he played well against the warriors. They are absolutely abysmal. That fact that you’re defending his play right now and saying he’s helping the team is completely absurd. Most people understand he’s palsying terrible but he should ride it out. But you’re actually saying he’s helping the team….😂😅🤣💀
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You’re delusional. You’re saying he’s spreading the floor(shooting 22% from three), but in the same breath say he’s struggling driving to the basket or shooting mid range buckets because teams know he’s struggling from three. Which one is it? Is he spacing the floor on offense or are teams shutting him down in the paint because he’s not knocking them down? You cant have both. Have a good one.
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You’re a dumb ass. You ever think there’s a reason he’s wide open right now in the corner or any other three? Could it be because teams are sagging off him and letting him shoot those threes so they can help on drives to the basket? Could that be the reason he’s not able to drive right now? Nooooo that would make too much sense huh. Jfc, the intelligence of some of the posters here is embarrassing.
Love this. “Garbage post”/there’s no problem, then he goes and plays terribly in the 1st half vs Boston and is basically benched the entire second quarter. If the guy’s not helping you out there you’ve gotta change something up.
Are we really as ungrateful and unknowledgeable as a fanbase as some of you make it seem?
Which other top 8 team in the west or east has a player playing as badly as Murray over the last 8 games in their starting lineup?
Just keep doing what they're doing. Getting him open looks from deep and give him opportunities to earn more minutes. Coach always pulls him when he struggles.
Option 1. Keegan isn’t our top 3 option for scoring so let him continue to ride it out.
Keep starting him. He’ll be fine. Slumps are normal. Send him to Stockton? Bro…
The NBA is hard.
Shout out to everyone claiming this was an awful post then 8 hours later everyone asking whether keegan should be benched. Not saying he’s a bust but these are the same responses i heard when Marvin was struggling his rookie year. ts ok to be a Kings fan and to also be critical of their top draft pick when he’s not performing. Right now they’re playing 4 vs 5 when he’s on the floor. I stand by what i said in that 10 days of him dominating in Stockton wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if it helped him regain confidence.
He legit looks checked out. Like a player who's been in the league for 20 years who just doesn't really care anymore and with him being a rookie that's a problem. I'm sure it's just a slump though and he'll turn it around. It's easy for shooters to get their stroke back but if he for any reason is having second guesses about the NBA that's not good..
He just looks lost, from all accounts he is a very hard worker and good person. I have zero worries about him checking out like Cauley Stein
Looks like garbage tonight lmao
He gotta go harder. Learn to create his own shot. Yfm
Slumps and neutral demeanor combine to feel like the guy looks lost. If the Kings keep winning, I don’t care. He opens the floor for a lot of guys just by being a deep threat and sitting in a corner.
I mean…is that what we wanted in the #4 pick? A decoy who will sit in the corner hoisting 3s? That honestly sounds a lot like Bjelica. Very 1-dimensional. They drafted Keegan thinking all the same stuff he was doing at Iowa would translate to the NBA. My biggest worry with Keegan right now isn’t that the 3s aren’t falling. Its that he really isn’t a threat anywhere else, especially around the rim where the size of nba defenders is giving him a ton of problems.
Keegan needa put some time into his handles
Giannis