Because I, er, hopped a plane to L.A. to catch this one on the hotel tellie. Yeah, that's the ticket.
Greene ( C+ ) -- had a couple of good defensive possessions in the early early going, but otherwise a big fat (ha!) nothing for the first 3/4. Just again was not dynamic, and blame the weight, or the 2nd night of a back to back, whatever. Did not look happy. But slowly lurched to life in the early 4th (facing the Lakers backups rather than Kobe/Artest on the wings may have helped). First he started attacking the basket 1 on 1, drawing fouls and after an 0-3 start finally knocking down some FTs. Then he followed that by being maybe only the second King of the night (Landry the other) to effectively play off of Tyreke's penetration, and splashed in 2 threes off of Reke kickouts as we started to come back. So 3/4 of nothing, and then a quarter that if not great, was at least effective, and helped our comeback. Still can't go higher than a C+ for that kind of thing though.
Landry ( B ) -- the numbers by the end of this one looked good, breakout game quality in fact. But the actual game was somewhat less, and hence the B. Grabbed some rebounds early, although its always unfortunate when you have to note that about your PF like its a surprise. Not effective offensively at all against the Lakers size however. Got overpowered by Caracter on defense and kncoked right back under the hoop. Unable to get anything going against Odom either. Just a struggle. Was even rather rudely involved with Barnes in an attempt to kill a Laker Girl over on the sideline as they ran her over and smashed her head into a table. Hate the Lakers all you like, but there has to be a limit at some point. Scantily clad hotties are off limits. Did at least play a little help defense making up for his stubbiness by sneaking in behind on several Lakers to knock away shots. And got the little layup from Reke on the break just before the halftime buzzer to give us the lead going into the break. And maybe that one play helped turn things for him after half. Not sure whether he figured it out, or the coaches, but after the break, excepting one ugly forced shot to start the 3rd, he largely simplified things and rather than trying to create in the post himself, he just played off of first Reke on the drive and kicks, and then Cousins on nice interior passes. Stepped up to knock down long jumpers on kickouts, and moved to the front of the rim to hit layups off quick interior feeds. And voila, by the end of the night the anemic numbers suddenly sparkle. Had a good tough defensive board inside a minute to go in a 4pt game that could have mattered, but Head wasted the ensuing possession with a brainless quick chuck.
Cousins ( B- ) -- grading DeMarcus is going to be a real challenge in the early going. Not only do I not have a baseline to compare him to, but just a lot of stuff seems to happen to him and around him at all times, both good and bad. He's nothing if not dynamic, and if they would just remove that damn foul limit might be the first player to record a quintuple double (Pts/Rebs/Ast/TO/Fls). Did not look at all prepared to defend Pau Gasol, and showed some very shaky defensive fundamentals while picking up fouls and getting blown by. Did return the favor the other way though, again showing off ridiculous quickness and handle for such a big man. Was quickly in foul trouble though on just silly, unnecessary stuff, and had to sit. Very active attacking inside after returning late in the quarter, but there was lots of slop along with the flashes of talent and by the time he picked up his third foul (again just a sloppy thing) he really hadn't done much, and in particular only had 1 reb, whether it was because Pau was just beating him to the ball, or because he was tired going on the second night of a back to back. Did almost all of his damage after a dramatic return to action down the stretch of the 4th -- dramatic just in that we lost Reke to an ankle injury, and all of a sudden Cuz, who has been ineffective all game, stepped up and took the leadership reins and played well enough to give us a shot to win it. Dropped in several nifty passes to Landry on top of the hoop for easy layins. Hit some long jumpers. Struggling to finish inside with that stuck to the ground problem he has, but chased the rebounds when denied hard all the way out to the 3pt line. Not only a strong rebounder, but a big hustle guy with mobility around the edges (of course all that movement also contributes to the foul problems). On one of those sequences in the last two minutes he outfought two Lakers guards for the ball out there, recovered it, turned, saw the clock running down, and canned a desperation three. Could see he was gassed too. Heaving for breath, bent over holding his jersey. We actually drew up a play for him to shoot a three at the 30 second mark down 5, and that was just unfortunate on many levels. He airballed it. Also ended up as the third option or so taking ANOTHER three heavily contested by Gasol, that was also airballed. Lots of talent and interesting things going on, but its a fail to end up with your 6'11" 270lb+ center taking three threes in the final two minutes of a close game (actually he's only credited with 2, so that Gasol one must have been foot on the line). Maybe, or maybe not, eyebrow raising that he was ineffective in there with Reke, and took over with Reke out as well. No idea if that is a one game thing, or has been a trend. In any case, struggled against the champs, then led a late run that was messy, wild, and dripping with talent. Calling this a B- until I have seen him some more and can judge more fairly.
Wright ( C+ ) -- was paired with Greene off the start to contend with the Artest/Kobe duo, and given that Kobe was trying to out-awful Tyreke in the early going maybe it worked. Of course on the other hand Ron Ron was unconscious and largely carrying the Lakers in the early game, and overpowered Wright when matched with him, so maybe not. And those periods of the game made you realize how much we miss Beno (or more precisely and critically here, Beno and Cisco). Without them our guard lineup was Reke and the scrubs, and while it was Wright we only scored 20 in the early going and 12 in the third, and could have desperately used a second ballhandler/creater who was not 5'11" (Pooh) or a chuck and ducker (Head). Then again maybe it wasn't Wright's fault at all, as in the early going his deadeye shooting (you read that right) was what was keeping us afloat. Canned two early threes, and knocked down another J in the early third. Things were not as pretty when he actually tried to dribble the ball as opposed to waiting for kick passes, nor when we ran so completely out of options in the 4th that we were actually running plays intentionally setting up our new "shooter" for three point bricks. Overall, whatever his effect on our offense, you probably can't be too unhappy with this game from an Antoine Wright. You might be unhappy that it is in fact Antoine Wright out there, but if he is going to be, this was decent. Outcored Kobe 8-7 in fact. A+?
Evans ( C ) -- looked almost too hyped early, making errors of overagression, not having as easy a time of getting by Fisher as you would think, unable to get things to fall, kept getting called for travels and charges (seemed oddly out of control on his drives, which he rarely is), and guys weren't helping by blowing his point blank assists. First hit was a jumper again. Tried to drive the baseline late in the quarter and ran into Chatacter and just stopped. Looked a lot better after returning late in the half. and immediately led us on a run attacking the hoop and getting out on the break. Began to really get back on the defenisve glass too, and kept at it the rest of the way. Nice open court dump pass to Landry to give us the lead just before half, but before the last play seemed reluctant to pass on the break, and was picking up charges and wild plays because of it. Was more under control in the third, but chucking up too many long jumpers to prove he had it maybe. Looked like he was settling, and the offense died again. In fact what you really saw was with all the guys out how dependent we were on Reke, and how erratic he was as that support in this game. Started aggressive but too aggressive, amateurishly ragged. We struggled to score. In the second came back and took control as he can and we went on a run and took the lead going into half. In the third, maybe overcompensated for the ragged over penteration of the first quarter, and became a jumpshooter, and an inaccurate one at that, and the offense died again. And then in the late 3rd and 4th perhaps adjusted again and began to solve the Lakers puzzle with a series of drive and kicks that were finally knocked down by Donte and Landry. The Lakers weren't going to let him drive, the improved jumper didn't look so improved this time out, and he finally figured out that the way to crack the defense was to drive, draw the attention, and then kick it. Was interrupted mid-revelation as he came up limping after a drive in the middle of the quarter and had to go to the bench. May have been the ankle again, which is getting worrisome, expecially given how he plays. Supposedly day to day. So overall, not a good game for Reke, and peppered with some troubling spots of selfishness, but had two bursts of inspiration in the 2nd quarter attacking, and then the 4th quarter driving and kicking. Not a total wipeout, and I guess we'll just call the struggles to maintain tone the normal preseason stuff that needs to be worked out.
Greene ( C+ ) -- had a couple of good defensive possessions in the early early going, but otherwise a big fat (ha!) nothing for the first 3/4. Just again was not dynamic, and blame the weight, or the 2nd night of a back to back, whatever. Did not look happy. But slowly lurched to life in the early 4th (facing the Lakers backups rather than Kobe/Artest on the wings may have helped). First he started attacking the basket 1 on 1, drawing fouls and after an 0-3 start finally knocking down some FTs. Then he followed that by being maybe only the second King of the night (Landry the other) to effectively play off of Tyreke's penetration, and splashed in 2 threes off of Reke kickouts as we started to come back. So 3/4 of nothing, and then a quarter that if not great, was at least effective, and helped our comeback. Still can't go higher than a C+ for that kind of thing though.
Landry ( B ) -- the numbers by the end of this one looked good, breakout game quality in fact. But the actual game was somewhat less, and hence the B. Grabbed some rebounds early, although its always unfortunate when you have to note that about your PF like its a surprise. Not effective offensively at all against the Lakers size however. Got overpowered by Caracter on defense and kncoked right back under the hoop. Unable to get anything going against Odom either. Just a struggle. Was even rather rudely involved with Barnes in an attempt to kill a Laker Girl over on the sideline as they ran her over and smashed her head into a table. Hate the Lakers all you like, but there has to be a limit at some point. Scantily clad hotties are off limits. Did at least play a little help defense making up for his stubbiness by sneaking in behind on several Lakers to knock away shots. And got the little layup from Reke on the break just before the halftime buzzer to give us the lead going into the break. And maybe that one play helped turn things for him after half. Not sure whether he figured it out, or the coaches, but after the break, excepting one ugly forced shot to start the 3rd, he largely simplified things and rather than trying to create in the post himself, he just played off of first Reke on the drive and kicks, and then Cousins on nice interior passes. Stepped up to knock down long jumpers on kickouts, and moved to the front of the rim to hit layups off quick interior feeds. And voila, by the end of the night the anemic numbers suddenly sparkle. Had a good tough defensive board inside a minute to go in a 4pt game that could have mattered, but Head wasted the ensuing possession with a brainless quick chuck.
Cousins ( B- ) -- grading DeMarcus is going to be a real challenge in the early going. Not only do I not have a baseline to compare him to, but just a lot of stuff seems to happen to him and around him at all times, both good and bad. He's nothing if not dynamic, and if they would just remove that damn foul limit might be the first player to record a quintuple double (Pts/Rebs/Ast/TO/Fls). Did not look at all prepared to defend Pau Gasol, and showed some very shaky defensive fundamentals while picking up fouls and getting blown by. Did return the favor the other way though, again showing off ridiculous quickness and handle for such a big man. Was quickly in foul trouble though on just silly, unnecessary stuff, and had to sit. Very active attacking inside after returning late in the quarter, but there was lots of slop along with the flashes of talent and by the time he picked up his third foul (again just a sloppy thing) he really hadn't done much, and in particular only had 1 reb, whether it was because Pau was just beating him to the ball, or because he was tired going on the second night of a back to back. Did almost all of his damage after a dramatic return to action down the stretch of the 4th -- dramatic just in that we lost Reke to an ankle injury, and all of a sudden Cuz, who has been ineffective all game, stepped up and took the leadership reins and played well enough to give us a shot to win it. Dropped in several nifty passes to Landry on top of the hoop for easy layins. Hit some long jumpers. Struggling to finish inside with that stuck to the ground problem he has, but chased the rebounds when denied hard all the way out to the 3pt line. Not only a strong rebounder, but a big hustle guy with mobility around the edges (of course all that movement also contributes to the foul problems). On one of those sequences in the last two minutes he outfought two Lakers guards for the ball out there, recovered it, turned, saw the clock running down, and canned a desperation three. Could see he was gassed too. Heaving for breath, bent over holding his jersey. We actually drew up a play for him to shoot a three at the 30 second mark down 5, and that was just unfortunate on many levels. He airballed it. Also ended up as the third option or so taking ANOTHER three heavily contested by Gasol, that was also airballed. Lots of talent and interesting things going on, but its a fail to end up with your 6'11" 270lb+ center taking three threes in the final two minutes of a close game (actually he's only credited with 2, so that Gasol one must have been foot on the line). Maybe, or maybe not, eyebrow raising that he was ineffective in there with Reke, and took over with Reke out as well. No idea if that is a one game thing, or has been a trend. In any case, struggled against the champs, then led a late run that was messy, wild, and dripping with talent. Calling this a B- until I have seen him some more and can judge more fairly.
Wright ( C+ ) -- was paired with Greene off the start to contend with the Artest/Kobe duo, and given that Kobe was trying to out-awful Tyreke in the early going maybe it worked. Of course on the other hand Ron Ron was unconscious and largely carrying the Lakers in the early game, and overpowered Wright when matched with him, so maybe not. And those periods of the game made you realize how much we miss Beno (or more precisely and critically here, Beno and Cisco). Without them our guard lineup was Reke and the scrubs, and while it was Wright we only scored 20 in the early going and 12 in the third, and could have desperately used a second ballhandler/creater who was not 5'11" (Pooh) or a chuck and ducker (Head). Then again maybe it wasn't Wright's fault at all, as in the early going his deadeye shooting (you read that right) was what was keeping us afloat. Canned two early threes, and knocked down another J in the early third. Things were not as pretty when he actually tried to dribble the ball as opposed to waiting for kick passes, nor when we ran so completely out of options in the 4th that we were actually running plays intentionally setting up our new "shooter" for three point bricks. Overall, whatever his effect on our offense, you probably can't be too unhappy with this game from an Antoine Wright. You might be unhappy that it is in fact Antoine Wright out there, but if he is going to be, this was decent. Outcored Kobe 8-7 in fact. A+?
Evans ( C ) -- looked almost too hyped early, making errors of overagression, not having as easy a time of getting by Fisher as you would think, unable to get things to fall, kept getting called for travels and charges (seemed oddly out of control on his drives, which he rarely is), and guys weren't helping by blowing his point blank assists. First hit was a jumper again. Tried to drive the baseline late in the quarter and ran into Chatacter and just stopped. Looked a lot better after returning late in the half. and immediately led us on a run attacking the hoop and getting out on the break. Began to really get back on the defenisve glass too, and kept at it the rest of the way. Nice open court dump pass to Landry to give us the lead just before half, but before the last play seemed reluctant to pass on the break, and was picking up charges and wild plays because of it. Was more under control in the third, but chucking up too many long jumpers to prove he had it maybe. Looked like he was settling, and the offense died again. In fact what you really saw was with all the guys out how dependent we were on Reke, and how erratic he was as that support in this game. Started aggressive but too aggressive, amateurishly ragged. We struggled to score. In the second came back and took control as he can and we went on a run and took the lead going into half. In the third, maybe overcompensated for the ragged over penteration of the first quarter, and became a jumpshooter, and an inaccurate one at that, and the offense died again. And then in the late 3rd and 4th perhaps adjusted again and began to solve the Lakers puzzle with a series of drive and kicks that were finally knocked down by Donte and Landry. The Lakers weren't going to let him drive, the improved jumper didn't look so improved this time out, and he finally figured out that the way to crack the defense was to drive, draw the attention, and then kick it. Was interrupted mid-revelation as he came up limping after a drive in the middle of the quarter and had to go to the bench. May have been the ankle again, which is getting worrisome, expecially given how he plays. Supposedly day to day. So overall, not a good game for Reke, and peppered with some troubling spots of selfishness, but had two bursts of inspiration in the 2nd quarter attacking, and then the 4th quarter driving and kicking. Not a total wipeout, and I guess we'll just call the struggles to maintain tone the normal preseason stuff that needs to be worked out.
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