THERE IT IS!
That's the talent we've always had. That's what's so exciting about this team's potential. Now if we can just bottle this. But near perfect way for a new coach to debut. A win, on the 5th night in 6, in front of the home fans, with all three of your young stars flashing dominant stuff.
Boxscore
Salmons ( C ) -- was a different spirit to this one from early on. Was moving the ball pretty willingly to start, and stood in there decently when he got caught on Gooden. Playing with some effort in the first half. Of course while effort is nice, competence is better. And John was absolutely killing us out there for three quarters looking like Father Time had passed through the lockerroom and jammed a giant tuning fork in his back. Reke pretty much singelehandedly kept us in this one driving and dishing in the first half while Salmons bricked and bricked and bricked wide open shots created for him, and the huge hole in our roster was just killing us. As a capper it looked like a coaching error at the end of the 3rd may have killed us, as Smart subbed in our small shooting lineup prematurely with Salmons effectively at PF, looking to score on the final possession of the quarter. Unfortunately he subbed them in on the 2nd of 2 FTs by Jennings, I guess on the assumption he would make it. Well, he didn't, and Salmons is a lousy rebounder, and the ball went right over his head on the missed FT, the Bucks got it back and Jennings drained a three to drop us back down 14 going into the 4th with effectively a 4pt possession for the Bucks. Given how hard our main guys were trying by that point and my general opinion of John Salmons as a basketball player, I was busily searching for my pitchfork at that point. And then all of a sudden he woke up, and it was a major factor in us pulling this out. Started the 4th hitting several baskets, and setting up both Jimmer and Cousins for points of their own. Came up with several clutch plays on both sides in the final 2 miutes, including a huge steal at the 1:20 mark and resulting foul on the break (where he hit 1 of 2 FTs), a big jumper at the :45 second mark, and then a strong defensive stand on the Bucks possession at the :18 mark as they went to Stephen Jackson to try to win it. A C ain't much of a grade, but its not bad when you were sitting on your 3rd F in a week at the end of three quarters.
Hayes ( INC ) -- was off to a nondescript start, making a nice pass to a curling Cousins for the very first play of the game, and then largely disappearing. Made a poor rotation to give the Bucks a +1 finsih. And then the dark cloud in what otherwise was a fun win appeared, as almost forgotten about after the subsequent fireworks we lost our only defensive big man to a freak injury in the 2nd quarter. He was coming out to challenge Gooden away from the hoop, Gooden put the ball down to go around him, they collided, banging their RIGHT shoulders...and somehow Chuck dropped to his knees in pain as he dislocated his LEFT shoulder. Huh? I mean, how freaky is that? It wasn't even that big a collison. More of a glancing blow as Gooden didn't even break stride going on past. In any case, even if Smart is able to keep the focus/minutes/shots pouring to our three main young guns, they are going to need some smart roleplayer help to do all the supporting dirtwork, so how much time Chuck misses could be key. P.S. Given the heart scare a few weeks ago, did anybody else have a flash of worry as our 260lb stump fell to his knees mysteriously clutching his left shoulder area and staying down? Yikes.
Cousins ( A- ) -- was sloppy in the early going but playing well and physically. Smart drew up a play for him on the very first play of the game that had him curling to the hoop, and if it signals a new direction for this franchise than good. Had all he could handle with Drew Gooden in the early going though, as Gooden was having one of those freak games he'll have every once in a while and was scoring fromt he perimeter, beat Cousins on the drive for a big dunk etc. None the less it was the Cousins and Evans show early, until DeMarcus got into foul trouble and Reke had to take a rest, at which point it became the fugly and fuglier show as nobody else on the team could score at all in the first half and we started getting blown out. Upon returning in the second was playing more selfishly, but was still very active, and for the second game in a row was really getting his hands on a lot of balls on defense. Got his third foul on an offensive foul, as he had several foul calls go against him. In the third added an impressive big man rumbling all the way in drive from the 3pt line. But then laid the ball out in front of him and let Gooden take it right away, and then picked up the foul on the other end trying to steal the ball back and make up for his mistake. That's youth for you. But that turned into an important sequence in the game, as Smart's reaction ws NOT to yank DeMarcus immediately wiht hsi 4th foul, but to leave the big foul prove kid in there to continue creating havoc. And so he did, and started to really pound the glass and wear the Bucks out physically inside for the remainder of his game. There were still some missed layups and whatnot, but he was just the big kid on the playground and just overwhelming guys in there on the offensive glass to finish those plays off. Fouled out on a B.S. call at the 4:30 mark and again you thought maybe that would be it for us, but we responded by going small and never quit. Fiddled with several grades here, but bottomline if Cousins wants to go 19 and 15 every game in 27 min (his per minute productivity and propensity for fouling out in under 30 min remain amazing) he'll be an All Star, so that's an A of some sort.
Thornton ( B+ ) --struggled oh so mightily in the early going as none of our Thronton/Salmons/Kimmer shooting corps could actually shoot before halftime. And in his case, you really were thinking dead dead legs on the 5th game in 6 nights. While he did notch a few welcome assists, his struggles hurt us as we shrotened the rotation and did not get much from our bench as he couldn't carry the load when Reke went to the bench and we lost ground rapidly. Must have gotten one heck of a pep tak at halftime however, as Marcus has 2 points at halftime...and finished with 27! As in 25 point second half and scoring at a 50pt pace after the break. Started getting everythign going, finally hiting a three, getting in there on the offensive glass for finishes, and really killed the Bucks with little drives and 8-10 flip finishes. Per usual got over rambunctuous and threatened to kill our big 3rd quarter push with an other ill timed 1 on team drive leading to a Bucks breakout and 3ptr. But again this time we did not get thrown by those sorts of mistakes and clawed back into it again. Down teh stretch bulldogged his way to the hoop at the 2:15 mark for the last of his 27 points, before adding another ill timed and potentially deadly selfish 1 on 1 possesion at the 1:40 mark leading to a wild missed shot. Worked very hard and came up with some big defensive boards, just has to fight inherently selfish instincts. B+ was as high as I could go given that first half, but was a monster after halftime as we outscored the Bucks 66-42.
Evans ( A ) -- in a short season in which Reke has been called lazy, fat, stupid, selfish, scared, and unable to beat his man any longer at the ripe old age of 22, all by fans of his own team, this was his maybe you shut the hell up moment.
Came to play from the opening tip, and that breath of fresh air you felt blowing through the arena was either the shackles being taken off, or him blowing by for another spectacular layup. Carried us throughout the first half, often by himself. And it wasn't just the normal array of spectacular takes to the hoop, he was energized all over the court, on the defensive glass, and you can take that 5 assist total and just about double it as he was doing a nice job finding guys for open threes throughout the first half that they just refused to hit. So he even went off and hit one of those (and missed 4 more during the game -- 5 is too many for him unless he's hot). Stepped back a bit offensively after half as Thornton and Cousins came on strong, but was helping in a number of ways. Ran a perfect 3 on 1 fast break in the early third leading to a big Hickson dunk, added another darting explosion, and was doing a nice job of trapping on defense. Unable to precent Jennings from having one of those semimonthly games where he actually hits his threes however. With one hiccup came up big down the stretch. Just harassed Beno 1 on 1 on defense and flat took the ball from him at the 3:30 mark, getting fouled + knocking in the FTs. The bad was a winceworthy short jumper after 8 seconds of dribbling from the right baseline. But we hung in there, and down the stretch Reke was the guy who iced it, hitting 4 clutch FTs in the final 20 seconds in front of the same fans who were booing him at the line a week ago, the first two to take the lead, the second two coming after he secured his 10th rebound of the game, and making the lead 3 to force the Bucks into a desperation heave at the buzzer (a pretty good look by Jennings actually) . So big game for him and us, with hope for the future. And if his shooters could have actually shot, would have been threatening a huge triple double.
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Bench
Hickson ( B- ) -- did not play well in the early half in place of Cousins or Hayes. Was missing his early shots and displaying those shaky hands. Add in sloppy defense and its no surprise we lost momentum with DeMarcus out. But came out after half a new man, apparently getting that same pep talk that Thornton did. Had a huge finish (below) on the 3 on 1 break from Reke in the early third that may have helped get him going, and then showed really lively legs on the glass for the rest of the half. Was getting on the offensive glass and getting to the line.
Thompson ( C ) -- another player who did nothing for a long stretch of the game until it came time to win it, and then stepped up. Empty first half minutes with another empty statline. Telegraphed a pass to Jimmer up top which Jenningss picked off with us down 9. Luckily Jennings choked both FTs. Was sitting on a rather unattractive grade when DeMarcus fouled out with 4:30 to go. But then Smart made the decision to go small, REAL small, with Salmons basically at "PF" and JT as the lone big man. That it would be JT rather than Hickson given the games they had been having to that point was surprising, but there it was. And Jason responded by justifying the decision. Just stayed out of the way of all the skill people on offense, but played some excellent help defense down the stretch, and was scrapping along the baseline for loose balls and boards. Let a much better taste in the mouth despite the scrubby numbers.
That's the talent we've always had. That's what's so exciting about this team's potential. Now if we can just bottle this. But near perfect way for a new coach to debut. A win, on the 5th night in 6, in front of the home fans, with all three of your young stars flashing dominant stuff.
Boxscore
Salmons ( C ) -- was a different spirit to this one from early on. Was moving the ball pretty willingly to start, and stood in there decently when he got caught on Gooden. Playing with some effort in the first half. Of course while effort is nice, competence is better. And John was absolutely killing us out there for three quarters looking like Father Time had passed through the lockerroom and jammed a giant tuning fork in his back. Reke pretty much singelehandedly kept us in this one driving and dishing in the first half while Salmons bricked and bricked and bricked wide open shots created for him, and the huge hole in our roster was just killing us. As a capper it looked like a coaching error at the end of the 3rd may have killed us, as Smart subbed in our small shooting lineup prematurely with Salmons effectively at PF, looking to score on the final possession of the quarter. Unfortunately he subbed them in on the 2nd of 2 FTs by Jennings, I guess on the assumption he would make it. Well, he didn't, and Salmons is a lousy rebounder, and the ball went right over his head on the missed FT, the Bucks got it back and Jennings drained a three to drop us back down 14 going into the 4th with effectively a 4pt possession for the Bucks. Given how hard our main guys were trying by that point and my general opinion of John Salmons as a basketball player, I was busily searching for my pitchfork at that point. And then all of a sudden he woke up, and it was a major factor in us pulling this out. Started the 4th hitting several baskets, and setting up both Jimmer and Cousins for points of their own. Came up with several clutch plays on both sides in the final 2 miutes, including a huge steal at the 1:20 mark and resulting foul on the break (where he hit 1 of 2 FTs), a big jumper at the :45 second mark, and then a strong defensive stand on the Bucks possession at the :18 mark as they went to Stephen Jackson to try to win it. A C ain't much of a grade, but its not bad when you were sitting on your 3rd F in a week at the end of three quarters.
Hayes ( INC ) -- was off to a nondescript start, making a nice pass to a curling Cousins for the very first play of the game, and then largely disappearing. Made a poor rotation to give the Bucks a +1 finsih. And then the dark cloud in what otherwise was a fun win appeared, as almost forgotten about after the subsequent fireworks we lost our only defensive big man to a freak injury in the 2nd quarter. He was coming out to challenge Gooden away from the hoop, Gooden put the ball down to go around him, they collided, banging their RIGHT shoulders...and somehow Chuck dropped to his knees in pain as he dislocated his LEFT shoulder. Huh? I mean, how freaky is that? It wasn't even that big a collison. More of a glancing blow as Gooden didn't even break stride going on past. In any case, even if Smart is able to keep the focus/minutes/shots pouring to our three main young guns, they are going to need some smart roleplayer help to do all the supporting dirtwork, so how much time Chuck misses could be key. P.S. Given the heart scare a few weeks ago, did anybody else have a flash of worry as our 260lb stump fell to his knees mysteriously clutching his left shoulder area and staying down? Yikes.
Cousins ( A- ) -- was sloppy in the early going but playing well and physically. Smart drew up a play for him on the very first play of the game that had him curling to the hoop, and if it signals a new direction for this franchise than good. Had all he could handle with Drew Gooden in the early going though, as Gooden was having one of those freak games he'll have every once in a while and was scoring fromt he perimeter, beat Cousins on the drive for a big dunk etc. None the less it was the Cousins and Evans show early, until DeMarcus got into foul trouble and Reke had to take a rest, at which point it became the fugly and fuglier show as nobody else on the team could score at all in the first half and we started getting blown out. Upon returning in the second was playing more selfishly, but was still very active, and for the second game in a row was really getting his hands on a lot of balls on defense. Got his third foul on an offensive foul, as he had several foul calls go against him. In the third added an impressive big man rumbling all the way in drive from the 3pt line. But then laid the ball out in front of him and let Gooden take it right away, and then picked up the foul on the other end trying to steal the ball back and make up for his mistake. That's youth for you. But that turned into an important sequence in the game, as Smart's reaction ws NOT to yank DeMarcus immediately wiht hsi 4th foul, but to leave the big foul prove kid in there to continue creating havoc. And so he did, and started to really pound the glass and wear the Bucks out physically inside for the remainder of his game. There were still some missed layups and whatnot, but he was just the big kid on the playground and just overwhelming guys in there on the offensive glass to finish those plays off. Fouled out on a B.S. call at the 4:30 mark and again you thought maybe that would be it for us, but we responded by going small and never quit. Fiddled with several grades here, but bottomline if Cousins wants to go 19 and 15 every game in 27 min (his per minute productivity and propensity for fouling out in under 30 min remain amazing) he'll be an All Star, so that's an A of some sort.
Thornton ( B+ ) --struggled oh so mightily in the early going as none of our Thronton/Salmons/Kimmer shooting corps could actually shoot before halftime. And in his case, you really were thinking dead dead legs on the 5th game in 6 nights. While he did notch a few welcome assists, his struggles hurt us as we shrotened the rotation and did not get much from our bench as he couldn't carry the load when Reke went to the bench and we lost ground rapidly. Must have gotten one heck of a pep tak at halftime however, as Marcus has 2 points at halftime...and finished with 27! As in 25 point second half and scoring at a 50pt pace after the break. Started getting everythign going, finally hiting a three, getting in there on the offensive glass for finishes, and really killed the Bucks with little drives and 8-10 flip finishes. Per usual got over rambunctuous and threatened to kill our big 3rd quarter push with an other ill timed 1 on team drive leading to a Bucks breakout and 3ptr. But again this time we did not get thrown by those sorts of mistakes and clawed back into it again. Down teh stretch bulldogged his way to the hoop at the 2:15 mark for the last of his 27 points, before adding another ill timed and potentially deadly selfish 1 on 1 possesion at the 1:40 mark leading to a wild missed shot. Worked very hard and came up with some big defensive boards, just has to fight inherently selfish instincts. B+ was as high as I could go given that first half, but was a monster after halftime as we outscored the Bucks 66-42.
Evans ( A ) -- in a short season in which Reke has been called lazy, fat, stupid, selfish, scared, and unable to beat his man any longer at the ripe old age of 22, all by fans of his own team, this was his maybe you shut the hell up moment.
Came to play from the opening tip, and that breath of fresh air you felt blowing through the arena was either the shackles being taken off, or him blowing by for another spectacular layup. Carried us throughout the first half, often by himself. And it wasn't just the normal array of spectacular takes to the hoop, he was energized all over the court, on the defensive glass, and you can take that 5 assist total and just about double it as he was doing a nice job finding guys for open threes throughout the first half that they just refused to hit. So he even went off and hit one of those (and missed 4 more during the game -- 5 is too many for him unless he's hot). Stepped back a bit offensively after half as Thornton and Cousins came on strong, but was helping in a number of ways. Ran a perfect 3 on 1 fast break in the early third leading to a big Hickson dunk, added another darting explosion, and was doing a nice job of trapping on defense. Unable to precent Jennings from having one of those semimonthly games where he actually hits his threes however. With one hiccup came up big down the stretch. Just harassed Beno 1 on 1 on defense and flat took the ball from him at the 3:30 mark, getting fouled + knocking in the FTs. The bad was a winceworthy short jumper after 8 seconds of dribbling from the right baseline. But we hung in there, and down the stretch Reke was the guy who iced it, hitting 4 clutch FTs in the final 20 seconds in front of the same fans who were booing him at the line a week ago, the first two to take the lead, the second two coming after he secured his 10th rebound of the game, and making the lead 3 to force the Bucks into a desperation heave at the buzzer (a pretty good look by Jennings actually) . So big game for him and us, with hope for the future. And if his shooters could have actually shot, would have been threatening a huge triple double.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bench
Hickson ( B- ) -- did not play well in the early half in place of Cousins or Hayes. Was missing his early shots and displaying those shaky hands. Add in sloppy defense and its no surprise we lost momentum with DeMarcus out. But came out after half a new man, apparently getting that same pep talk that Thornton did. Had a huge finish (below) on the 3 on 1 break from Reke in the early third that may have helped get him going, and then showed really lively legs on the glass for the rest of the half. Was getting on the offensive glass and getting to the line.
Thompson ( C ) -- another player who did nothing for a long stretch of the game until it came time to win it, and then stepped up. Empty first half minutes with another empty statline. Telegraphed a pass to Jimmer up top which Jenningss picked off with us down 9. Luckily Jennings choked both FTs. Was sitting on a rather unattractive grade when DeMarcus fouled out with 4:30 to go. But then Smart made the decision to go small, REAL small, with Salmons basically at "PF" and JT as the lone big man. That it would be JT rather than Hickson given the games they had been having to that point was surprising, but there it was. And Jason responded by justifying the decision. Just stayed out of the way of all the skill people on offense, but played some excellent help defense down the stretch, and was scrapping along the baseline for loose balls and boards. Let a much better taste in the mouth despite the scrubby numbers.
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