And so the injury bug followed us all the way from Sacramento. With De'Aaron and Buddy already sitting out the game, Frank Mason sprained his ankle almost immediately, rendering a position of strength for us a position of weakness.
But despite having Naz Mitrou-Long and Luis Montero as the main guards for most of the game, our young Kings bigs found a way to win with a little help from Justin and Jakarr and the Sacramento Summer Squad is no longer winless in Vegas!
Since this is a tournament, the Kings are now slotted to play again tomorrow against Dennis Smith JR and the Dallas Mavericks. Whether any of our guards (the good ones) will show up and give it a go is yet to be determined. Nevertheless, this was a good win (Frank Mason ankle injury excluded).
Justin Jackson (C+):
I don't want to say that Justin Jackson had a good game because shooting-wise, he didn't. But, with Frank Mason out for most of the night, Jason March eventually had Justin Jackson serve as the team's point guard for most of the second half and he responded well enough, pulling down 5 boards and dishing 5 assists while also missing every single shot he took after half time. He did hit two crucial free throws though and the stroke looked rather good so it's not all a lost cause on the shooting end. Assuming nothing disastrous happens, I don't see Jackson taking as many shots with as much defensive attention placed on him during the actual season as he did today so if anything, let's just chalk the shooting display to a summer league learning experience and leave it at that, shall we?
Skal Labissiere (B):
Skal Skal Skal. Starting off the game, the man was unstoppable, a beast on the inside and a defensive force to be reckoned with. Then, in the middle of the game, passive bleh Skal showed up and coasted. In crunch time, with the team starting to fade, Skal stepped up and started producing. Papa found him with a great pass but Skill failed to convert on the free throws (on the night he was 3-8 from the line). Later on, Skal drained two to gain some separation. I like the aggressiveness to bookend the game and if he played the entire night that way I'd be able to forgive those free throws. Despite all that, this game served as a reminder of why a lot of us are so damn excited about the Haitian's potential.
Georgios Papagiannis (A-):
You can't stop Papa, you can only hope to contain him. Considering the underwhelming summer league he's had thus far, expectations for the Greek Peak were reaching new lows, expectations that he shattered upon putting together a surprisingly complete performance against the Bucks. He rebounded, he showed post skills, he protected the paint, he passed the ball exceedingly well in crunch time, he gave a sassy postgame interview. This was the complete Papa package on display. At this point, I'm starting to think that a lot of Papa's flaws stem from the fact that his hand-eye coordination still hasn't caught up to his body as a 7'3" gigantic human being. He's got a surprising amount of skill to go with all that clumsiness and inability to cleanly hold onto the ball so it's hard to just plain say he's a bad basketball player. Either way, against a Bucks frontline missing Thon Maker, Papa was free to out-big man anyone in his way. More of this, Papa. more of this.
Luis Montero (C):
With all our good guards out, Montero got the start and, with the exception of his quirky hairstyle didn't really do much. He wasn't astoundingly bad by any means but he wasn't particularly good either.
Frank Mason (inc):
Get well soon, Frank. Games in July mean nothing.
Naz Mitrou-Long (D+):
With the Kings squandering a nine point lead and falling behind by multiple possessions, no defense playing, pseudo-point guard Naz Mitrou-Long was coming close to receiving a flat out F grade, what with his leaving Gary Payton II open on seemingly every possession and either turning the ball over or taking a shot rather than giving the ball to someone we'd rather see make a play (y'know, the dudes on the actual Kings roster?). Then in crunch time received the ball on Papa pass on a well-drawn up play our of the break to essentially get us the victory and preceded to finally try to play defense on the last couple of possessions to keep the Bucks sedated. And thus, he gets a D+... but barely.
Reggie Hearn (Reno):
As a several year veteran of the Reno Bighorns, Hearn is the ideal Summer League benchwarmer, a dude who won't completely crap the bed when random playing time is forced upon him. And, for the most part, Frank Mason's injury forcing him into game action, Reggie Hearn fulfilled his role. Hitting a buzzer beater three tonight may be his Summer League career highlight.
JaKarr Sampson (B-):
JaKarr has a lot of Gerald Wallace in his game (with less athleticism and skill though). He crashes the boards, plays hard on defense, and pretty goes full tilt whenever he's in. While mostly good, this style of play can occasionally send him careening out of control as he barrels forward full charge. His shot's not necessarily the best but considering how we were using him as a hybrid 3/4, he did pretty much everything he could. At this point, I think a training camp invite is all but guaranteed so the more time he has to get acquainted with our system, the better.
Eric Stuteville (inc):
Came in and sorta played center because Papa and Skill can't play all 40 minutes. Got blocked.
But despite having Naz Mitrou-Long and Luis Montero as the main guards for most of the game, our young Kings bigs found a way to win with a little help from Justin and Jakarr and the Sacramento Summer Squad is no longer winless in Vegas!
Since this is a tournament, the Kings are now slotted to play again tomorrow against Dennis Smith JR and the Dallas Mavericks. Whether any of our guards (the good ones) will show up and give it a go is yet to be determined. Nevertheless, this was a good win (Frank Mason ankle injury excluded).
Justin Jackson (C+):
I don't want to say that Justin Jackson had a good game because shooting-wise, he didn't. But, with Frank Mason out for most of the night, Jason March eventually had Justin Jackson serve as the team's point guard for most of the second half and he responded well enough, pulling down 5 boards and dishing 5 assists while also missing every single shot he took after half time. He did hit two crucial free throws though and the stroke looked rather good so it's not all a lost cause on the shooting end. Assuming nothing disastrous happens, I don't see Jackson taking as many shots with as much defensive attention placed on him during the actual season as he did today so if anything, let's just chalk the shooting display to a summer league learning experience and leave it at that, shall we?
Skal Labissiere (B):
Skal Skal Skal. Starting off the game, the man was unstoppable, a beast on the inside and a defensive force to be reckoned with. Then, in the middle of the game, passive bleh Skal showed up and coasted. In crunch time, with the team starting to fade, Skal stepped up and started producing. Papa found him with a great pass but Skill failed to convert on the free throws (on the night he was 3-8 from the line). Later on, Skal drained two to gain some separation. I like the aggressiveness to bookend the game and if he played the entire night that way I'd be able to forgive those free throws. Despite all that, this game served as a reminder of why a lot of us are so damn excited about the Haitian's potential.
Georgios Papagiannis (A-):
You can't stop Papa, you can only hope to contain him. Considering the underwhelming summer league he's had thus far, expectations for the Greek Peak were reaching new lows, expectations that he shattered upon putting together a surprisingly complete performance against the Bucks. He rebounded, he showed post skills, he protected the paint, he passed the ball exceedingly well in crunch time, he gave a sassy postgame interview. This was the complete Papa package on display. At this point, I'm starting to think that a lot of Papa's flaws stem from the fact that his hand-eye coordination still hasn't caught up to his body as a 7'3" gigantic human being. He's got a surprising amount of skill to go with all that clumsiness and inability to cleanly hold onto the ball so it's hard to just plain say he's a bad basketball player. Either way, against a Bucks frontline missing Thon Maker, Papa was free to out-big man anyone in his way. More of this, Papa. more of this.
With all our good guards out, Montero got the start and, with the exception of his quirky hairstyle didn't really do much. He wasn't astoundingly bad by any means but he wasn't particularly good either.
Frank Mason (inc):
Get well soon, Frank. Games in July mean nothing.
Naz Mitrou-Long (D+):
With the Kings squandering a nine point lead and falling behind by multiple possessions, no defense playing, pseudo-point guard Naz Mitrou-Long was coming close to receiving a flat out F grade, what with his leaving Gary Payton II open on seemingly every possession and either turning the ball over or taking a shot rather than giving the ball to someone we'd rather see make a play (y'know, the dudes on the actual Kings roster?). Then in crunch time received the ball on Papa pass on a well-drawn up play our of the break to essentially get us the victory and preceded to finally try to play defense on the last couple of possessions to keep the Bucks sedated. And thus, he gets a D+... but barely.
Reggie Hearn (Reno):
As a several year veteran of the Reno Bighorns, Hearn is the ideal Summer League benchwarmer, a dude who won't completely crap the bed when random playing time is forced upon him. And, for the most part, Frank Mason's injury forcing him into game action, Reggie Hearn fulfilled his role. Hitting a buzzer beater three tonight may be his Summer League career highlight.
JaKarr Sampson (B-):
JaKarr has a lot of Gerald Wallace in his game (with less athleticism and skill though). He crashes the boards, plays hard on defense, and pretty goes full tilt whenever he's in. While mostly good, this style of play can occasionally send him careening out of control as he barrels forward full charge. His shot's not necessarily the best but considering how we were using him as a hybrid 3/4, he did pretty much everything he could. At this point, I think a training camp invite is all but guaranteed so the more time he has to get acquainted with our system, the better.
Eric Stuteville (inc):
Came in and sorta played center because Papa and Skill can't play all 40 minutes. Got blocked.
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though I appreciate the lead singer being an avid Kings fan actually, he probably liked Papa's game
