Alright, so all those 0 and whatever without Cuz, 0 and whatever when Isaiah shoots 20+ shots stats moved another tick tonight, but it was closer than that, largely due to Derrick Williams, I think for the 2nd time in 3 tries vs. Minny this year, trying to make Wolves fans regret losing him. Just had nobody to handle him, and he put up big stats in not so big minutes. Isaiah hit a couple of hero threes int he last minute that unfortunately will probably just encourage him, but we sniffed around, and just didn't quite make the plays again.
Meanwhile one of our SGs put up another 26-4-4 night tonight, the other scored 19pts in 23min yesterday, and the one our braintrust preferred got outscored 31-4 tonight. And yet such has Ben's season been that you were watching the beatdown and going, well, hey that was a good play, there was some good defense there, good hustle Ben! and all the rest. But we had a chance to win, and we have now entered the go get a draft pick portion of the schedule as I think our loss tonight may have officially eliminated us from the playoffs. Yippee.
Let's go with Buddhist Rock Carvings for a theme. Been many busy little monks over the millennia.
Your Consoritum Graders tonight:
Bricklayer
Bajaden
Rainmaker
Capt. Factorial
MassacheusettsKingsFan
Boxscore
Stats: 26min 14pts (6-15, 0-1, 2-3) 6reb 2ast 0stl 1blk 3TO
Gay ( D ) -- Rudy Gay just wasn’t good tonight. It’s unfortunate, too, because had he given the Kings anything of value in this one we could be talking about a win right now. There was so much of this performance that I didn’t like, but the worst part may have been the overall lack of energy and effort. Maybe he was tired because of the back-to-back? Lets hope it was that. Offensively, there was a lot of forcing. Corey Brewer is a pretty good defender, sure, but this wasn’t just about Brewers defense. He was settling for jumpers, and when those weren’t falling he was forcing drives to the basket that just didn’t look like serious basketball shots. I don’t know how else to explain it. He was clearly driving for contact instead of driving to make the basket, and considering he only went to the line three times I’d say that didn’t work. He only had 3 turnovers, but it felt like more. A few little statistical indicators that he just didn’t have it tonight – He was blocked at the rim by Gorgui Dieng three times, and I mean blocked. We’re talking confidence killer-type blocks. Malone also only played him 26 minutes tonight, and in a game where the Kings were without DeMarcus Cousins … you’d certainly expect more than 26 minutes out of Gay. And the fact that Cousins didn’t play in this one highlights how bad Rudy was tonight, because the Kings needed him to step up and instead he stepped down. As poor as he was offensively, he wasn’t much better defensively. Brewer was running up and down the court all night and Gay just couldn’t keep up. He was getting beat in transition consistently, and while transition baskets aren’t always the matchups fault (because teammates need to pickup and help in those scenarios) Rudy just wasn’t getting back with any urgency. He had one big time block on Kevin Martin late in the game, so I’ll give him credit for that. Rudy Gay is a good basketball player, so even when things aren’t going for him you’re going to see those flashes of talent. We saw a few of those tonight. A nice And 1, a good-looking dunk, a few tough jumpers, but it just wasn’t nearly enough. A player of Rudy’s caliber is allowed to have games like this during a season. It’s bound to happen, but now he’s had two of these in a row. I’m sure he’s happy this road trip is over. --Mass
Feilai Grotto, China located in a grotto behind Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, China, this popular tourist attraction features Buddhist carvings dating back to the 10th to 14th centuries A.D.
Stats: 19min 8pts (4-6, 0-0, 0-0) 5reb 1ast 1stl 0blk 2TO
Evans ( D- ) -- ***Disclaimer - if you look at the box score and do not read the grade write-up, the power forward grades will not make sense to you. Read the write up!*** Reggie Evans started the game with the primary defensive assignment on Kevin Love, and it did not go well at all. Evans was not particularly interested in guarding Love on the perimeter, and it showed. In addition to an early possession where Evans left Love completely alone on the perimeter forcing a rotation from IT which left Rubio open for a made three, Love made a total of three jumpers on Reggie on three attempts AND got fouled by a helping McLemore to make three free throws on another shot that Evans was not in position to contest. The post D wasn't any better, as Evans completely failed on a pick-and-roll, gave up an easy basket on a cut, and, on the first possession of the second half absolutely inexplicably...oh, let me just copy my notes: "JUST STRAIGHT UP LEFT HIM UNDER THE BASKET I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS DOING". Mercifully, Evans was yanked with 7:30 left in the third and never saw the floor again on the night, after putting up an impressive defensive line against Love, allowing 17 point on 7 shots. I'm dead serious. Love missed zero FGs against Evans. So while Reggie had a decent offensive night - even once going coast-to-coast pushing the ball up Love's throat for a fast break dunk - there's simply no excusing his defense. We lost by two points. Even defense in the "pathetic" range would have had us up at the end. But Reggie was able to come in and lay down defense more in the "nuclear apocalypse atrocious" range, and hence, the grade. --Capt.
Swat Valley, Pakistan -- a number of ancient 7th-9th century carvings in the Swat Valley (i.e. trouble) in Pakistan are said by local archaeologists to be in danger. You see, they are currently being defaced. The most common form of defacement? Urination. The explanation? The locals who routinely hit and deface the sculptures say they have been told its virtuous to do so by their mullahs. Sigh. Meanwhile the government says its powerless to stop the idiot monkeys from throwing their feces because the sculptures are on privately held land. I should send them a brief I once wrote on eminent domain.
Stats: 19min 4pts (2-3, 0-0, 0-0) 4reb 1ast 1stl 1blk 1TO
Gray ( C ) -Figuring out what to give Gray is the hard part. When you figure that he did what he was supposed to do with the god given talent he has, its hard to be too harsh on him. He really only has one talent, and that's size. Everything else is just average or below average. So when he takes up space, grabs 4 rebounds and scores 4 points on 2 of 3 shooting, you almost have to say, "Well Done" ! Hell, he evern stole the ball once. His shot, which resembles a line drive floater, is very ugly looking, but two of them went in. He did make a very nice bounce pass to Evans for a basket and a assist. He surprised me to be honest. I thought at the time, wow, he has some hidden talent. But when he tried the same pass later in the game, it had a different result. I won't give you a blow by blow, because describing nothing doesn't really take many words. I'am feeling a little negative tonight. I finally get a chance to grade Cousins, and he doesn't play. You'll understand if its a bit of a letdown for me. I have other thoughts on Gray, but I'll keep them to myself. He seems like a nice guy.- --Baja
Udono-Iwaya, Japan an extensive series of carvings of Buddhist dieties in caves and cliff walls in Eastern Japan, the earliest carvings are dated at 806 A.D., the youngest appears to be some modern graffiti scratched with a knife saying "Tetsu was here".
Stats: 19min 4pts (2-4, 0-0, 0-0) 4reb 0ast 0stl 0blk 1TO
McLemore ( D+ ) -- got one score early, but Kevin was ligting him up again, and while fouls were an issue, more than anything else I felt like we just didn't want to play him in that matchup as he ended up sitting much of the first half. Started the third running the baseline and taking a pass from IT and hitting the jumper, but Kevin started scoring over him again. Wasn't getting blown by, just outsaavied. Drove inside and got swatted by Dieng, then went down the other way and got blown by by Rubio for the +1. That was enough to get him out of the game. Played better defense after returning in the 4th, and it helped that the refs weren't going for the cheap touch fouls Kevin always tries to create. Made a great offensive board in the final 25 seconds to save a possession and get us an extra three point attempt, but when we missed that too committed an offensive foul trying to come up with another one. Thought/assumed that Kevin had flopped on it, but no, Ben had legit pushed off. Still a good effort as he fouled out. And that was kind of the overall feel somehow. We lost the SG matchup 31-4. Our guy fouled out. And yet somehow it felt like a better effort. Might not be a compliment as it means expectations are cratering, but still just felt like a few little positives, and at the right time. --Brick
Seosan, South Korea -- Buddhist triad from the 6th to 7th century along a prominent pre-Korean/Chinese trade route.
Stats: 33min 26pts (11-21, 4-10, 1-2) 6reb 7ast 1stl 0blk 2TO
Thomas ( B- ) -- I'm beginning to think no one knows what to expect from Isaiah when he walks out on the floor, which version will show up, from game to game, half to half or quarter to quarter, whether it be fans, coaches or even Isaiah himself. Tonight was another example of the roller coaster which seems to go up and down without reason. Isaiah I thought started this one off well, shooting when it was there, going 2-4 for the quarter but more importantly looking for and setting up his teammates. As other members of the consortium have done occasionally, tonight I tracked how many passes which led to an assist opportunity Isaiah made tonight and the results weren't all that positive if we're being honest. In the 1st quarter when the ball was moving and Isaiah was looking to set guys up, I recorded 8 passes which could have led to an assist. That's good! Those opportunities however plummeted quickly going forward. In the 2nd quarter, Isaiah didn't register a single pass which was an assist opportunity. Actually, as good as he was in the 1st, he was just as bad in the 2nd. Shaky decision making. Came down, went baseline and Rubio fell down, raised up for the jumper, then made a beautiful pass right to Kevin Martin who went the other way and got two FT's. Passed the ball to Outlaw who had two defenders on him and resulted in a turnover. Why would you pass it right into a near double team? Then came down on a 3 on 2 break and dribbled right into the two defenders, losing the ball. The 3rd was also a mixed bag. In regards to the assist opportunities, he had a total of 3 in the quarter. One to Ben which was an assist on a corner 3 and two others to Rudy and Outlaw. What he did plenty of was shoot as his shot started dropping. Went 6-11 in the 3rd. Yes, he took 11 shots in the 3rd. At one point Isaiah took four straight pullup jumpers with 17 or more secs on the shotclock on four consecutive possessions. They were not good shots but they did fall. He started cooking from the field but froze out his teammates in the process. I personally don't think it's that great of a thing when our PG takes more pullup jumpers with 17+ secs on the shotclock in a quarter than creating assist opportunities for teammates. Had five quick pullups in the 3rd, only three assist opportunities. The 4th was also an up and down affair. Had two assist opportunities in the quarter, one to DWill, other to Acy. Subbed in late in the quarter but we again saw the shaky decision making. With 51 secs left and dribbling from the left wing to the right, Rubio literally just walked up and took the ball from him with no resistance. Just took his dribble right off him. On the other end, in a two point game, Isaiah decided to hack Rubio 25ft from the basket and send him to the FT line. Then he sought redemption by banging in back to back 3's in the final 15 secs. Added a FT. Struggled guarding Rubio much of the night who pretty much had any passing lane he wanted as Isaiah doesn't have the height or length to bother him. So why the B-? Because he started off pretty well in the 1st quarter and his streak in the 3rd kept us in the game. Those two stretches right there were B+/A- stretches. The rest however was considerably worse. Poor game management. Poor defense on Rubio. Did a poor job of setting up his teammates for scoring opportunities(only one assist opportunity to Rudy the entire night, which is inexcusable). His decision making down the stretch when the game was tight also left a lot to be desired.--Rain
Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka -- one of the many carvings and statues in the ancient Sri Lankan palace of Polonnaruwa, capital of the island during the middle ages.
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