[Grades] Grades v. Celtics 12/2/2016

Assuming no trade, who is the best candidate to step up and give us the extra punch we need?

  • Rudy bringing it every night

    Votes: 13 33.3%
  • Afflalo showing up

    Votes: 2 5.1%
  • Collison

    Votes: 9 23.1%
  • Lawson remembering Denver

    Votes: 5 12.8%
  • Casspi

    Votes: 6 15.4%
  • somebody else

    Votes: 4 10.3%

  • Total voters
    39
  • Poll closed .

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#1


It continues to feel like we are better than a 7-12 team. We have toughness, resilience. We scrape and claw...and then never quite have enough. And the gods haven't been smiling. Tonight we are in a 4th quarter dogfight, Joerger almost waits too long to put back in Cuz for the final 7 minutes, then he does and we will win or lose on whether he carries us home (given Rudy completely letting us down again)....and in under a minute he's out of the game after his own man (Ty) cuts open his eye and sends him tot he lockerroom. While he's out the lead balloons, threatens to get out of control, but he returns just in time to lead us right back into the dogfight, and hits a three to make it a one possession game again in the final minute. At which point we again come up short. We just need some extra spark, one extra player with the offensive talent to give us a critical boost.



Link to Boxscore

Starters

Featured Grade
Gay ( C- ) -- Rudy really struggled tonight with his shot, especially anything outside of 12 feet. I'd like to say that Jay Crowder had a lot to do with it, but in fact, Rudy missed a lot of wide open shots. He started the game by missing an open three from the left wing and followed that by driving from the top of the three point line and getting the ball stolen. He finally scored by attacking from the left wing and hitting a floarter. At the other end, he lost Crowder, found him, did a run out which Crowder side stepped and hit a fifteen footer. Gay then answered by missing a fifteen footer at the other end. He finally scored his second basket by blowing past two defenders and slamming home a dunk. I won't bore you with more of the same. Gay did manage to hit a timely three at the 4:49 mark of the fourth quarter, but that was the last of his few contributions on the night. I thought he looked a step slow all night on defense. He did pull down eight boards. On a night when Cousins was struggling, we really needed Gay to step up. Didn't happen! --Baja

34min 28pts (10-26 2-7 6-8) 9reb 3ast 1stl 4blk 2To
Cousins ( B- ) -- largely walled off from the paint and could not shoot, and with no Rudy option, it hurt. But this grade was bolstered by strong interior defensive work, some good passes to beat the doubles, and a second half offensive surge that you could really feel, In fact when he had to leave the game in the 4th for his eye, those minutes may have lost us the game.

9min 0pts (0-0 0-0 0-0) 3reb 0ast 0stl 0blk 1To
Koufos ( F ) -- complete fish out of water gave us absolutely nothing as we got off to our customary bad start. Bad enough that Joerger trusted Willie with the backup 5 minutes instead of Kosta.

17min 5pts (2-4 0-0 1-2) 3reb 2ast 2stl 0blk 0To
Afflalo ( D+ ) -- guarded tightly, but just not giving us anything offensively. Played solidly enough other than the scoring, but part of low energy starting crew spotting the C's our nightly lead.

28min 13pts (4-8 1-3 4-4) 0reb 3ast 2stl 0blk 1To
Collison ( C ) -- remains oddly reluctant to attack offensively, and when Rudy is sharing in Ty's stash, we need him. Just minimally involved on offense for long stretches. On the other end part of a PG trio that did a nice job harassing IT, but was the one finally vicitmized int he 4th as IT started flopping and getting calls.


-------------------------------------------------------------------

Bench

31min 12pts (3-11 1-4 5-6) 16reb 5ast 2stl 1blk 2TO
Barnes ( A- ) -- could not hit his shots on a night when we needed somebody to, but this was good Matt giving us a big boost of energy from the moment he arrived. He got on the glass (tying his career high with 16), and made a number of good plays saving shots and disrupting.

27min 7pts (2-9 1-2 2-3) 5reb 1ast 0stl 1blk 0TO
Casspi ( C ) -- brought energy as part of the bench crew who picked us up, but not necessarily competence. The 2-9 shooting holds the grade back but is a little deceptive as no fewer than 4 of those misses came on one possession as he blew layups, and he blew another one later in the game.

12min 6pts (3-5 0-0 0-0) 1reb 0ast 0stl 0blk 0TO
Cauley-Stein ( C- ) -- we're starting to find him now for athletic dunks and it gave him something to do in the first half here as he was the center of the comeback bench. But everything else was shaky again, the only rebound literally fell right at his feet with nobody within 8 feet, and late in the game he looked clumsy as Horford rejected another attmpt at a finish at the rim.

21min 8pts (3-7 0-2 2-2) 3reb 4ast 1stl 1blk 3TO
Lawson ( B+ ) -- eventually ran out of steam and lack of shooting began to damage us, but a key guy in setting the scrappy tone here as he came in, got right up in Isaiah's shirt, and along with Barnes was a prime reason the bench led us back in this one.

26min 0pts ( 0-3 0-1 0-0) 3reb 1ast 0stl 3blk 0TO
Temple ( C ) -- teamed with Barnes and Lawson to really lead the bench defensive charge, but in this game when Cuz was struggling and nobody else stepped up, Garret's complete lack of offense became an issue. Blew another layup early, missed an open corner three late, and was posing no threat in between.
 
Last edited:
#2
Joerger....stop....starting....Kofous....next.....to Cousins.

Every single game these guys are down 10-15 points in the first quarter and have to claw their way out of it. We'd be .500 right now if he would just play Kofous at backup C. How are you supposed to win basketball games when you spot your opponent over 10 points every game? We might as well just start the game -10 to 0.
 
#4
Yeah, one extra player that has an offensive savvy would make a big difference.
We might have him next year in Bogdan, or we might have him already riding the pine in Richardson.

Correct me if Im wrong but I have a hard time believing Richardson would bring less than Afflalo.
 
#5
I want Temple and Aflallo in the starting lineup, and Gay coming off the bench. Don't care if we start Barnes or Casspi. We've got to get off to better starts DEFENSIVELY.
 
S

sactownfan

Guest
#6
Dave Joerger when asked if there's anything he can do about the slow starts: "No, no."
When asked if it's all on the players: "Yep."
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#7
Kosta plays in the first quarter and never returns after that, coach continues to give Trill opportunity after opportunity but he doesn't really do much with it. That is the reason why he won't be starting with Cousins so I suppose you continue to trot that line up out there and hope it eventually works out, or not.
 
S

sactownfan

Guest
#8
Kosta plays in the first quarter and never returns after that, coach continues to give Trill opportunity after opportunity but he doesn't really do much with it. That is the reason why he won't be starting with Cousins so I suppose you continue to trot that line up out there and hope it eventually works out, or not.
He started the 3rd... and we went down again early
 
#12
You think Barnes was an A- performance? Ha, same analysis that thinks 53% TS and 0.8 assist to TO equates to superstar.
 
#13
Broken record here, BUT NO MORE CUZ AND KOSTA!!!!
What options do we have? (1) Barnes is not a PF. (2) Willie has NOT got a tough rebound since pre-Vegas. (3) . Tolliver is a 30 year old journeyman and never-was. If there was an obviously more compelling option I would be on board with you, but (pending a trade) the choices are not pretty.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#15
What options do we have? (1) Barnes is not a PF. (2) Willie has NOT got a tough rebound since pre-Vegas. (3) . Tolliver is a 30 year old journeyman and never-was. If there was an obviously more compelling option I would be on board with you, but (pending a trade) the choices are not pretty.
That's basically the way I assume Joerger sees it too. Willie is not ready to start and hasn't earned it quite frankly, you don't go out and just randomly start Tolliver when he barely even plays on most nights. Playing small ball with Barnes,Gay or even Casspi at the 4 leaves your rebounding in shambles so Kosta it is until a move is made.
 
#16
Bring back Sammy D to start next to Cuz! The problem here is we simply don't have enough talent on this team to be a .500 team, let alone a winner. There are just too many holes.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#17
Bring back Sammy D to start next to Cuz! The problem here is we simply don't have enough talent on this team to be a .500 team, let alone a winner. There are just too many holes.
and that is why you need to hit on your draft picks or you end up in our situation...sigh
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
#18
What options do we have? (1) Barnes is not a PF. (2) Willie has NOT got a tough rebound since pre-Vegas. (3) . Tolliver is a 30 year old journeyman and never-was. If there was an obviously more compelling option I would be on board with you, but (pending a trade) the choices are not pretty.
I'd rather have not pretty and scrappy than not pretty and not competitive.

This happens every single game. Something needs to change, and this is the obvious problem. ESPECIALLY when Joerger went away from for a few games to better results (for everyone! Kosta himself included there), but then went crawling back. It makes zero sense to me.
 
#19
That's basically the way I assume Joerger sees it too. Willie is not ready to start and hasn't earned it quite frankly, you don't go out and just randomly start Tolliver when he barely even plays on most nights. Playing small ball with Barnes,Gay or even Casspi at the 4 leaves your rebounding in shambles so Kosta it is until a move is made.
Or you roll the dice with Willie for 5 games as a starter....I think that's what I'd do. And I'd replace A-Slow-o with Ben. When you have a borderline SUPERSTAR like Boogie you need to switch out parts until you find the right mix, and if Joerger is going to insist on being stubborn, he does so to his own detriment and that of the team and playoff prospects. I am not suggesting Willie and Ben as starters will succeed, but I am suggesting A-Slow-o and Koufos have done nothing to retain their status. Experimentation due.
 
K

KingMilz

Guest
#20
What options do we have? (1) Barnes is not a PF. (2) Willie has NOT got a tough rebound since pre-Vegas. (3) . Tolliver is a 30 year old journeyman and never-was. If there was an obviously more compelling option I would be on board with you, but (pending a trade) the choices are not pretty.
Bring back Quincy Acy
 
#22
It makes zero sense to me.
You are being a little dramatic, since as I have said the other options have not made compelling case for themselves (Willie, Tolliver, Barnes). Those guys have been collectively terrible, or if we want to be generous, bad, so when you say more or less, "how dare you Joerger start Koufos?" I think he would respond "look at my choices". Allow me also to add Boogie is off to the BEST start of his career with Koufos as his fellow starter, so his teammates sporadic play has not inhibited him greatly, and a lot of Koufos problems amount to missing makeable shots, so do we want assign that to the combination of players on the floor with him or assign blame to said individual for missing makeable shots?!
 
#24
What options do we have? (1) Barnes is not a PF. (2) Willie has NOT got a tough rebound since pre-Vegas. (3) . Tolliver is a 30 year old journeyman and never-was. If there was an obviously more compelling option I would be on board with you, but (pending a trade) the choices are not pretty.
I would like to see Willie get some more minutes. He was an easy shot away from 4-5 shooting in 11 minutes. Rebounding is a problem with Willie but he can still develop game.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#26
Or you roll the dice with Willie for 5 games as a starter....I think that's what I'd do. And I'd replace A-Slow-o with Ben. When you have a borderline SUPERSTAR like Boogie you need to switch out parts until you find the right mix, and if Joerger is going to insist on being stubborn, he does so to his own detriment and that of the team and playoff prospects. I am not suggesting Willie and Ben as starters will succeed, but I am suggesting A-Slow-o and Koufos have done nothing to retain their status. Experimentation due.
I can't see Joerger being stubborn here but if the Kings aren't winning anyway, something does need to change no doubt. We obviously see that in order for a younger player to be in the starting unit, they need to earn it, Afflalo/Koufos are veterans so Joerger feels more comfortable playing them and having them figure it out rather than rolling the dice on Willie/Ben figuring it out through prosperity...either way, what it boils down to at the end of the day is the roster outlook, that's on the GM and he and Joerger are supposed to be in sync prior to assembling a roster before the season, let's call this a trial and error phase and hope to all heavens above that it gets figured out more strategically next time.
 
S

sactownfan

Guest
#27
What options do we have? (1) Barnes is not a PF. (2) Willie has NOT got a tough rebound since pre-Vegas. (3) . Tolliver is a 30 year old journeyman and never-was. If there was an obviously more compelling option I would be on board with you, but (pending a trade) the choices are not pretty.
It's not like we have been playing Zach Randolph and Marc gasol in their primes every night. If we were then Koufos and cousins makes sense.

The wiz had Gortat and Morris (who Rudy can guard) and BOS had al horford and Amir johnson(who Rudy can guard) to start the 3rd cousins was having to guard crowder... but in almost every game koufos and cousins doesn't match up with what teams have...it's ridiculous that the coach can't match up correctly
 
#28
I can't see Joerger being stubborn here but if the Kings aren't winning anyway, something does need to change no doubt. We obviously see that in order for a younger player to be in the starting unit, they need to earn it, Afflalo/Koufos are veterans so Joerger feels more comfortable playing them and having them figure it out rather than rolling the dice on Willie/Ben figuring it out through prosperity...either way, what it boils down to at the end of the day is the roster outlook, that's on the GM and he and Joerger are supposed to be in sync prior to assembling a roster before the season, let's call this a trial and error phase and hope to all heavens above that it gets figured out more strategically next time.
Joerger has already shown to be stubborn by reinserting Koufos despite mixed results....and sticking with Affalo in spite of his underwhelming production. You could make the argument Affalo is better off the bench to feature him as a low post threat when Boogie rests....and Koufos will thrive more as a center with second unit, instead of combo center with Boogie. So willingness to experiment would include new starting line-up instead of sticking with one that has led to 7-12 record. Again, I am not saying Joerger is not justified in his decisions, because his options are not compelling, but his decisions over 19 games speak for themselves. They haven't worked.
 
S

sactownfan

Guest
#29
Via ESPN

Kings coach Dave Joerger banished the Israeli forward to the end of the bench to start this season. However, Zach Lowe recalls the Kings' small-ball lineup from last season that featured Casspi, Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins forcing mismatches all over the court.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#30
It's not like we have been playing Zach Randolph and Marc gasol in their primes every night. If we were then Koufos and cousins makes sense.

The wiz had Gortat and Morris (who Rudy can guard) and BOS had al horford and Amir johnson(who Rudy can guard) to start the 3rd cousins was having to guard crowder... but in almost every game koufos and cousins doesn't match up with what teams have...it's ridiculous that the coach can't match up correctly
I thought Rudy had that responsibility? You probably say this because it happened once in the game where Cousins ended up on Crowder and make it sound as if it was a constant occurrence.