Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Better.
I'm sure something that happened tonight was Cousins fault, other than the winning of course, but until we can dump that cancer this is probably the best we can hope for. Didn't answer many questions defensively, still had a 2nd quarter collapse, but we slapped them around easily and got the absolutely needed win to avoid imminent changes. And ooh, we got WCS back and he looked good in short garbagetime minutes.
BTW, 44 was our highest quarter of the season, and 142 is our most points since 1993 --23 years.
P.S. Tyson Chandler is a quitter.
P.P.S. George Karl is a <sic> cancer (sry George!)
P.P.S. So is Omri Casspi.
Boxscore
Stats: 34min 16pts (8-16, 0-2, 0-0) 3reb 2ast 3stl 1blk 2TO
Summary: you know what? Still wasn't himself, but had a few moments of inspiration and wasn't needed.
Gay ( C ) -- was getting outhustled and banged by Tucker early, but finally got a good board in front of Len, and his energy picked up. Pulled up for a midranger the other way, and got a block from behind on Len. But there was no rhythm or consistency to his offense at all, and he seemed like the one guy the Suns could guard tightly and smother. Finally he forced in an off balance baseline move for just his 2nd hoop late in the half, but that still left him all of 2-6 for 4pts and I think 2 rebs. Just another largely empty game. We came out in the third trying to get him going, to spotty effect. He did sore score out of a timeout at the 9min mark of the quarter, and picked up several finishes on scramble plays and breaks. Combined with a few garbagetime hoops he eventually got up to a respectable 16pts. But it was a curiously rhythmless 16 points, and at no point did he string even a couple of hoops together to make you think he was heating up. Nor were the boards there this time. Better than he has been, in that he wasn't a liability, but still a long way from a star type game, let along performance.
Stats:29min 13pts (4-8, 2-4, 3-3) 7reb 1ast 1stl 0blk 0TO
Summary: hit a couple of threes early, a conventional 3pt play later, nothing exceptional except more synergy points and a +25 +/-
Casspi ( B ) -- I had concerns about spotty and lost defense in this game for Omri. but overall it was another of his successful roleplayer outings. He hit two long threes early in the game, added a leakout and as we started our second half run added a conventional three point play on a drive (which was good to see as the 3pt explosion has left him sometimes looking unusually passive, for him, about taking it to the rack). it his first three off of ball movement, and scored on a leakout. He was also aggressive on the boards, in fact aggressive enough that he hopped in Boogie's way on several defensive boards. He didn't dominate play, but he clearly helped, and it was another night where his +/- was up there with the stars'. He did, however, pick up a technical, and hence I know he is a cancer and bad guy and want him off the team.
Stats: 27min 32pts (11-15, 1-2, 9-11) 9reb 1ast 2stl 0blk 1TO
Summary: this was easy dominance here, fouled the Suns two bigs out of his way, then laughed at the midgets that were left. BTW that's an .807 TS%.
Cousins ( A ) -- beat up on the Suns frontline, and made it look easy (aside from an inadvertent elbow to the chin by Len). he started the game only 1-4 on two missed jumpers and then a drive, missed finish, and follow sequence. From that point on he shot 10-11, splashing in jumpers, running around bigger defenders, and posting and pinning the little ones that were left after the big ones got in foul trouble/thrown out. he capped his first half with a three to give him 23 points in the half. Added 9 more in the third, and took the entire 4th off after 32pts in 27 minutes. Throw in some nice passes in the early going to set guys up, and gamelong disruptive defensive play up top smothering and stripping the ball from the Suns' centers, and its an easy A grade. And apparently more importantly for Boogie's detractors, he even did most of it with a big smile on his face.
Stats: 22min 3pts (0-3, 0-2, 3-4) 1reb 3ast 0stl 0blk 4TO
Summary: somehow the party bus pulled up, and Ben was the only guy left standing at the curb. Made a few good passes, but no FGs, and only negative +/- on team.
McLemore ( C ) -- I really didn't think Ben was playing terribly in the early going, but as is so often the case, he just refused to be productive and nothing ever came of it. He made several nice making passes driving and dishing to set guys up, taking advantage of the attention focused elsewhere. But of course the reason the attention was focused elsewhere is that Ben barely presents a threat. Defensively Booker was one of the guys lighting us up, but Ben himself was having fewer breakdowns than our other perimeter players. When he started the 3rd off impotent again, and we struggled out of the gate, he was quickly parked over on the bench next to Karl, and I swear I saw a little sigh out of him as the normal pattern has been for that to be it for his minutes in a game. The blowout grew so significant however that Ben got back in for the final 3 minutes, and once again flipped up a pass for an assists, on an alley oop on which both Acy and WCS seemed to simul-dunk the ball. Still couldn't hit his corner threes though, and he ended up a 142pt game as the only King not to hit a FG, and the only one with a significant negative +/- (-6). On the range of possible Ben outcomes, trending distinctly toward minor bench player right now.
Stats: 30min 15pts (6-11, 1-2, 2-2) 6reb 15ast 1stl 0blk 3TO
Summary: was back working for us again, driving and kicking to shooters, or taking advantage of the attention Cuz draws for squirts to the rim
Rondo ( A- ) -- despite the big numbers, I'm not sure Rajon ever felt truly dominant in this one. Part of it may have been his man was doing a bit too much scoring on the other end. Part of it may have been the big numbers everybody else was putting up as well. Regardless, he was at least out of the pass it to the other team as often as I pass it to mine slump of recent weeks and making smart plays. Drive and kicks to shooters, busts to cuttters. When guys overplayed Cuz he used the attention to get to the hoop. On the final play of the first half he made the saavy steal of a lazy Suns inbounds pass, and zipped it over to DC for a closing layin. He hit a three. Maybe it didn't feel as dominant as some of his games, but he kept us moving forward by doing very little that moves us back. So few mistakes, and many contributions.
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