Grades v. Bucks 11/21

[Bricklayer]

Overall these seem a little high, but maybe last impressions and all that:

Peja ( B- ) -- just could get nothing going at all until the 4th quarter. No rhythm again. And not just outside, missed a number of chippees in close too. But in the 4th quarter while he still was not scorching, he hit three big 3s to keep us close and get the crowd involved. Was having some defensive problems with Van Horn and Mason early, but got stronger as the game went along. Get tired of talking about his rebounding, but it was again really bad until the 4th, when for the second game in a row he grabbed a few down the stretch to help out.
Webber ( B- ) -- missed shot after missed shot after msised shot. Not all of them were bad shots either. Missed a lot of good ones he's nomally make. But teamed with Brad to really get on the boards, provided some pretty decent help defense inside, and looked fairly lively. Late in the game he also doing a nice job of running the offense, repeatedly setting up Peja, Brad, Bibby and Doug for shots which they didn't always make. Overall, there's no such thing as a good 7-22 game. But his overall game wasn't bad at all, and the focus on the boards was good to see. This grade slowly crawled up for me. B- seems high for the shooting and maybe I should have stopped the creep at C+, but he did do a lot of other things pretty well.
Miller ( B+ ) -- Much better effort tonight. He and Webb really came out with much better focus on the boards tonight -- were actually fighting over boards early. Scored a number of his points late in the game. Never really had the jumper, but was getting to the rim. Not Brad's best game, but kind of a back to basics performance -- effort on the baords, get inside, bang, win.
Christie ( A- ) -- big factor tonight -- much bigger than the numbers. Defense was the best we've seen from him all season -- really harassed Micahel Redd into an ugly shooting night. Also helped on the glass and provided some improtant hustle plays down the stretch. And perhaps just as importantly, is emerging as this year's Vlade for Peja -- Peja is a guy who depends on others to create his offense, and Doug set him up repeatedly tonight. Good chemistry between them.
Bibby ( C ) -- offensively never could get it going, and missed a lot of shots he should have made. On the other hand Mike did dive back onto the glass and gave us a little boost on the boards.
BJax ( D ) -- poor effort by Bobby. Not only forcing shots again -- we're 1/8th of the way into the season now, would like to see him get out of this slump -- but also troublingly was having a lot of trouble guarding Mike James. Second game in a row where the other team's backup PG came into the game and worked over our backup PG. Did give us some energu, of course. But not much else.
Songaila ( A- ) -- really came in and gave us a boost, in particular in the 4th quarter when we needed to catch up and found a way to win. Good energy, and was hitting his shots. Had a littel trouble with Van Horn on the other end, but overall a nice little boost. The only one from our bench tonight.
Barnes ( D ) -- one of Matt's worst stints of the young season. Just looked kind of lost out there.
Ostertag ( INC ) -- had maybe his finest moment as a King with a nice drive for a three point play. Otherwise, not much again.

Adelman ( B ) -- well, ugly ugly game, but another "W". We just didn't seem like we could get ANYTHING going. Shots weren't all bad. There were moments of stagnation, but we were blowing the open ones too. Rick took a look at the bench in the 2nd quarter, and only Bobby and Darius (now our 7th man) earned a second look. And Bobby only did so because of his play in the past -- not a good game tonight. So it was stick with the starters again, and hope they got it figured out. Only move I somewhat questioned was pulling Darius in the 4th after he's given us a nice boost, but Webb came in, was settled and confident, and we pulled away. So it worked out.

 

[Entity]

I say start adding a slot for Team Defense which deserves an A tonight. They seem to be rotating on defense these last few games better than i have seen from them in a couple of years.

 

[fakie]

i now officially have issues with aldeman pulling the starters when the game is going well.
i know they have to rest and rotate players, but he just does it at random times that does not help our game.

 

[piksi]

Every fan who watched the game deseves an "A"

Pedja's grade a little low. He was there when it counted tonight

 

[love_them_kings]

Bricklayer- I have to say, I think I am starting to look forward to your game ratings almost as much as I do the games! Thanks for another great analysis.

I didn't see the whole game, but from what I saw I agree with your ratings. Definitely agree with the B- for Webb. Bad shooting, but there are going to be nights the shots don't fall. Being effective defensively and getting the ball to the other players (he had some GREAT passes) can make up for a bad shooting night.

 

[sloter]

Good to see Pedja with another clutch peformance in the 4th.
Last year he was playing awesome til the 4th quarter and then completely disappeared. Now he's playing like crap until the 4th quarter and then he actually makes some shots. Now, if he could only put the two together.

 

[albeitrue]

I'm glad you said 'Overall, these are high'.

Peja made a couple of clutch shots, but very poor hussle and ball handling and 3, count 'em, 3 missed point-blank layups. But overall, Peja snuck in there in the end, helping us all to remember that he is good.

Web was having a tough time guarding Van Horn (does Van Horn have some height on Web, hmmmm....) and he was not, as you stated, good on his fg stat. But he didn't contribute a whole lot less than any one else, so just evoke the sliding rule at this point also?

Also Tag contributed, and just gets honorable mention? At least give him a grade...

I'm tired of Adelman using the bench too early these last three plus games, he's making it too easy for the other team to get back into the game. I would lower Adelman's grade for that.

Other than those, I agree with all grades.

YEAH for Brick, thanks for the initiation each game night to talk about the game!

 

[keflanag]

i now officially have issues with aldeman pulling the starters when the game is going well.
i know they have to rest and rotate players, but he just does it at random times that does not help our game.

Sometimes I wonder if it's possible for Adelman to do anything wrong. He's criticized for playing the starters too much. And he is criticized for putting in the bench too much.

 

[fakie]

Sometimes I wonder if it's possible for Adelman to do anything wrong. He's criticized for playing the starters too much. And he is criticized for putting in the bench too much.

no, i don't have a problem with aldeman using the bench at all, as a matter of fact, we need the bench to step up and be more involved.

but his timing is throwing me off my chair. i just don't get why he has to do it when he did it.

 

[keflanag]

no, i don't have a problem with aldeman using the bench at all, as a matter of fact, we need the bench to step up and be more involved.

but his timing is throwing me off my chair. i just don't get why he has to do it when he did it.

I actually thought the timing was excellent. He put in Ostertag the only time he could, when so-and-so was in the game. He's the only player on Seattle he matched up with. And we made our great run to get us back in the game in the fourth with Darius in there. I thought the rotations were decent. He played the starters quite a bit, but when the whole team is shooting horrible, he goes with the guys who at least have proven they can shoot in the past.

 

[fishgirl]

I thought Peja would get a higher grade than he did because I was reading some game recaps where Peja was tagged as the Player of the Game. But I didn't see the game (no coverage here), so I'll trust your word for it. Thanks again for the grades and commentary!

 

[sloter]

I thought Peja would get a higher grade than he did because I was reading some game recaps where Peja was tagged as the Player of the Game. But I didn't see the game (no coverage here), so I'll trust your word for it. Thanks again for the grades and commentary!

Don't worry about it. Add +1/2 to Bricklayer's grade on Pedja every time and you'll get what he really deserves.

 

[albeitrue]

I actually thought the timing was excellent. He put in Ostertag the only time he could, when so-and-so was in the game. He's the only player on Seattle he matched up with. And we made our great run to get us back in the game in the fourth with Darius in there. I thought the rotations were decent. He played the starters quite a bit, but when the whole team is shooting horrible, he goes with the guys who at least have proven they can shoot in the past.

I thought it was a little early for Tag to come in, to start the 2nd? We had a lead, why not increase the lead to comfortable then spell the 5? Someone else said it in the game chat thread tonight, we had increased momentum a little at the end of the first, and then to completely trade out three positions (actually, 4 counting the center position), I just thought it was a little early to be bringing in the bench but oh, I agree, they do need to get playing time.

 

[6th]

Don't worry about it. Add +1/2 to Bricklayer's grade on Pedja every time and you'll get what he really deserves.

And take -1 from sloter's grade from Pedja, and you will have better accuracy.

 

[Vlad]

And take -1 from sloter's grade from Pedja, and you will have better accuracy.

And add 3 to artest's IQ and you get the room temperature in Sloter's bedroom.

 

[Bricklayer]

Don't worry about it. Add +1/2 to Bricklayer's grade on Pedja every time and you'll get what he really deserves.

When a relatively one-dimesnsional player doesn't even do that dimension particularly well on a given night, no he doesn't.

Guess you REALLY wouldn't have liked my grade for him before that 4th quarter.

Anyway, he stepped it up when it mattered, so good enough. But not even remotely his best.

 

[sloter]

Ah, it's the expectation vs. actual performance difference in grading again.

 

[fishgirl]

When a relatively one-dimesnsional player doesn't even do that dimension particularly well on a given night, no he doesn't.

Guess you REALLY wouldn't have liked my grade for him before that 4th quarter.

Anyway, he stepped it up when it mattered, so good enough. But not even remotely his best.

I hear ya.

So I take it the general rule of +1/2 to Bricklayer's grades and the -1 to sloter's doesn't always apply?

 

[albeitrue]

P.S. I was remiss before in stating Web was guarding Van Horn, it was Smith, duh. And Joe Smith is 6'10", like Web, but as I said, Web had a hard time guarding him. Web did have 14 rebounds tonight, though many were 'soft' rebounds. Nobody really playing any low post ball tonight. Pretty good double double score (18-14).

 

[Bricklayer]

Ah, it's the expectation vs. actual performance difference in grading again.

Well always of course. But Peja's performance tonight left something to be desired almsot no matter who the player was -- 21pts, but on only 7/18 shooting, 5 rebs 5fls 4 TOs and a bunch of missed layups. That's pretty shrugworthy material.

 

[slugking50]

Overall these seem a little high, but maybe last impressions and all that:

Peja ( B- ) -- just could get nothing going at all until the 4th quarter. No rhythm again. And not just outside, missed a number of chippees in close too. But in the 4th quarter while he still was not scorching, he hit three big 3s to keep us close and get the crowd involved. Was having some defensive problems with Van Horn and Mason early, but got stronger as the game went along. Get tired of talking about his rebounding, but it was again really bad until the 4th, when for the second game in a row he grabbed a few down the stretch to help out.
Webber ( B- ) -- missed shot after missed shot after msised shot. Not all of them were bad shots either. Missed a lot of good ones he's nomally make. But teamed with Brad to really get on the boards, provided some pretty decent help defense inside, and looked fairly lively. Late in the game he also doing a nice job of running the offense, repeatedly setting up Peja, Brad, Bibby and Doug for shots which they didn't always make. Overall, there's no such thing as a good 7-22 game. But his overall game wasn't bad at all, and the focus on the boards was good to see. This grade slowly crawled up for me. B- seems high for the shooting and maybe I should have stopped the creep at C+, but he did do a lot of other things pretty well.
Miller ( B+ ) -- Much better effort tonight. He and Webb really came out with much better focus on the boards tonight -- were actually fighting over boards early. Scored a number of his points late in the game. Never really had the jumper, but was getting to the rim. Not Brad's best game, but kind of a back to basics performance -- effort on the baords, get inside, bang, win.
Christie ( A- ) -- big factor tonight -- much bigger than the numbers. Defense was the best we've seen from him all season -- really harassed Micahel Redd into an ugly shooting night. Also helped on the glass and provided some improtant hustle plays down the stretch. And perhaps just as importantly, is emerging as this year's Vlade for Peja -- Peja is a guy who depends on others to create his offense, and Doug set him up repeatedly tonight. Good chemistry between them.
Bibby ( C ) -- offensively never could get it going, and missed a lot of shots he should have made. On the other hand Mike did dive back onto the glass and gave us a little boost on the boards.
BJax ( D ) -- poor effort by Bobby. Not only forcing shots again -- we're 1/8th of the way into the season now, would like to see him get out of this slump -- but also troublingly was having a lot of trouble guarding Mike James. Second game in a row where the other team's backup PG came into the game and worked over our backup PG. Did give us some energu, of course. But not much else.
Songaila ( A- ) -- really came in and gave us a boost, in particular in the 4th quarter when we needed to catch up and found a way to win. Good energy, and was hitting his shots. Had a littel trouble with Van Horn on the other end, but overall a nice little boost. The only one from our bench tonight.
Barnes ( D ) -- one of Matt's worst stints of the young season. Just looked kind of lost out there.
Ostertag ( INC ) -- had maybe his finest moment as a King with a nice drive for a three point play. Otherwise, not much again.

Adelman ( B ) -- well, ugly ugly game, but another "W". We just didn't seem like we could get ANYTHING going. Shots weren't all bad. There were moments of stagnation, but we were blowing the open ones too. Rick took a look at the bench in the 2nd quarter, and only Bobby and Darius (now our 7th man) earned a second look. And Bobby only did so because of his play in the past -- not a good game tonight. So it was stick with the starters again, and hope they got it figured out. Only move I somewhat questioned was pulling Darius in the 4th after he's given us a nice boost, but Webb came in, was settled and confident, and we pulled away. So it worked out.

Hmm I think the grades were a bit high. We had to get 39 pts in the 4th quarter to score inthe 80's for crying out loud. Wev were awful. While yes Webb, DC were great and Brad and pretty good. Peja was ok late. Everybody else stunk.

Anyway.... We were lucky we gotta win....

 

[mcsluggo]

Good to see Pedja with another clutch peformance in the 4th.
Last year he was playing awesome til the 4th quarter and then completely disappeared. Now he's playing like crap until the 4th quarter and then he actually makes some shots. Now, if he could only put the two together.

Amen!

 

[iheartBrad]

fair

to actually see a lot of the guys fighting for the rebounds just made me so happy...this what they need to keep doing...they made some really big shots down the stretch to tie and then pull ahead...but their rebounding is what kept them in the game and really is why they won

it was ugly...yes yes it was...but im not picky...a win is a win

go kings!!

 

[kingsgurl87]

Bricklayer- I have to say, I think I am starting to look forward to your game ratings almost as much as I do the games! Thanks for another great analysis.

I didn't see the whole game, but from what I saw I agree with your ratings. Definitely agree with the B- for Webb. Bad shooting, but there are going to be nights the shots don't fall. Being effective defensively and getting the ball to the other players (he had some GREAT passes) can make up for a bad shooting night.

same here...I look foward to seeing the grades too

 

[outsider62]

But Peja's performance tonight left something to be desired almsot no matter who the player was -- 21pts, but on only 7/18 shooting

I'm happy with 21 pts from 18 shots and 3 ft. 7/18 > 7/22 and 3/3 > 4/6 in my book. I know Pedja missed layups but they were good shots after all

 

[Kingsgurl]

The team works hard to get Peja those point blank lay-ups. PEJA works hard to get those shots too. He's GOT to convert on those.

 

[Bricklayer]

I'm happy with 21 pts from 18 shots and 3 ft. 7/18 > 7/22 and 3/3 > 4/6 in my book. I know Pedja missed layups but they were good shots after all

yes, but a) Webb didn't have a great game either, and b) 14rebs is >>>>> 5 rebs and 5ast (with a number more blown) is > 2ast.

Like I say, Peja, in particular this year with the lack of rebounding, is pretty one-dimensional. If he's not shooting well, very rarely can you say he's having a good game. In fact only reason he got the grade he did off a 7/18 shooting night without doing much else was that his contributions were timely. (Actually that's why a lot of the guys got the grades they did).

 

[outsider62]

In fact only reason he got the grade he did off a 7/18 shooting night without doing much else was that his contributions were timely. (Actually that's why a lot of the guys got the grades they did).

I agree about rebounding and assists, but my complain that your assessment that he did have poor shooting night is wrong. He had 18 fg point from 18 shots. That's good shooting night especially for perimeter shooter.

Bottom line is: He was efficient and stating the fact that he shot 7/18 without saying that he actually scored 18 points from 18 attempts is twisting statistics.

 

[Bricklayer]

I agree about rebounding and assists, but my complain that your assessment that he did have poor shooting night is wrong. He had 18 fg point from 18 shots. That's good shooting night especially for perimeter shooter.

Bottom line is: He was efficient and stating the fact that he shot 7/18 without saying that he actually scored 18 points from 18 attempts is twisting statistics.

yes, and Mike Bibby had 12 pts on 12 shots. And he shot like crap too. Just not buying that 7/18 -- 38.9% (Peja) or 3/12 25.0% (Bibby) is anything other than a subpar shooting performance. Especially of course having watched the game, and watched all of the chipshots Peja missed.

 

[outsider62]

yes, and Mike Bibby had 12 pts on 12 shots. And he shot like crap too. Just not buying that 7/18 -- 38.9% (Peja) or 3/12 25.0% (Bibby) is anything other than a subpar shooting performance.

No, wrong again. Mike had 6 fg points from 12 fg shots. He needed 7 fts on top of that to have 12 pts overall. Peja had 18 fg points of 18 fg shots (plus he was 3/3 from ft line) and this is effective shooting by NBA standards. You can be unhappy with his rebounding or assists or whatever you think he didn't do to fulfill his role in Kings system, but his scoring was efficient, whichever way you try to twist it.


Listen Brick, I actually don't have problem with your grades, I just want to see if you are able to admit that you were wrong at least in case when it is so obvious. So I'm not going to press this issue any more, I'll have my goal accomplished anyway.