Corbin says he wants to return the focus to defense, but is it too little, too late?
Tyrone Corbin wants the team to return its focus to defense, according to Jason Jones' latest latest column in the Sacramento Bee. This desire to return to defense mirrors the wishes of DeMarcus Cousins and Kings fans. Cousins has made statements after recent games that the team needs to get back to defense. Since Corbin took over for Michael Malone on December 15th, the team's effort has been missing in both ends of the floor, especially on defense. Corbin told Jones:
"We’ve tried to change a couple calls," Corbin said before the Kings played the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday at Target Center. "We’re probably going to go back to where we were before. The communication has slacked up some (with) the miscommunications in some pick-and-roll coverages. It’s just to clarify some things and make sure we’re on the same page there."
The question at this point is whether it's too late. The focus on defense never should have gone away in the first place. Management, ownership, or some combination of the two, mandated a focus on offense, a focus on pace. It was a mistake. It wasn't a change Corbin was equipped to handle, through no fault of his own. But the issue with the defense goes beyond coaching focus. The locker room is lost. The players are lost. That more than anything is why the team has suffered. We'll now see if Corbin can salvage the season through defense. He has a tough task ahead.