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Back before the season, Zach Lowe of Grantland reported that the Kings new owner, Vivek Ranadive had an idea that would revolutionize the NBA ... he thought.
The Kings are going to be entertaining! Owner Vivek Ranadivé has pitched the idea to the team’s brain trust of playing 4-on-5 defense and leaving one player to cherry-pick, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The Kings aren’t actually going to do that, but their D-League might, and it shows Ranadivé is committed to pushing boundaries in his search for an offbeat brand of "position-less" ball.
Nah, you say, that's biddy league stuff (and yes, that's where he saw it work). Then, Ranadive fired Mike Malone for his lack of innovation and got a more compliant Ty Corbin to fill in. So, Monday night in Brooklyn, did Corbin run his boss's favorite play. Some, like Eric Freeman of Yahoo! and Devin Kharpertian think he might have. But the sake of the game's continued integrity, the King of Bosnia made sure it --whatever it is-- didn't work.
Freeman explains...
With 8:25 left in the second quarter, guard Ray McCallum was called for a palming violation to send the ball to the Nets. Veteran big man Reggie Evans appeared to be subbed out for DeMarcus Cousins on the same play and headed to the bench at that end. Except Cousins never officially entered the game, so Evans jumped from his seat in time to catch a pass from McCallum in transition. He appeared to have an easy dunk, but Mirza Teletovic caught up in time to block the shot and deny the Kings. Watch a video of the whole thing here...
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As Kharpertian writes, it may not have been "cherry picking." rather "not intentional, or a cunning act of subterfuge." Or considering it was Reggie Evans doing the alleged deed, it may just have been, well, Reggie.
- Kings possibly tried 4-on-5 cherry-picking idea, failed badly - Eric Freeman - Yahoo! Sports
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Reggie Evans Benches Himself (Accidentally?), Tries To Cherry-Pick, Misses Wide Open Dunk (Video) - Devin Kharperterian - The Brooklyn Game