Well...I was looking arond for some sort of .gif or something to represent laying down a complete *** whooping, but I guess in the end all that really needs to be said is that we were so hot tonight that we blew the Bulls out by 42 despite Tyreke Evans having no heart.
Fortunately what he did have was 26pts 5rebs 7ast 3stl 1blk on 11-13 shooting in an at times ridiculous display (he took some flat out bad shots but there was no way he was going to miss just about anything on this night). And he was just the tip of the iceberg as virtually everyone aside from Salmons (who still managed to be second on the team in minutes somehow) chipped in to just about the most epic smackdown I can remember this team laying down in the last several years.
Now let's all hurry up and spoil it with the inevitable trade Cousins nonsense.
Full Grading Consortium for tonight:
Bricklayer
Capt. Factorial
bajaden
Boxscore
Stats: 30min 5pts (2-10, 1-5, 0-0) 2reb 2ast 0stl 0blk 0TO
Salmons ( D- ) -- Frankly I'm getting tired of writing down, "John misses another three" in my notes. Just maybe he should stop taking that shot for a while, because clearly, he can't hit the side of a barn from out there anymore. Once again, John played a lot of minutes, and the Kings didn't have much to show for it. Yes, he did contribute on the defensive side of the ball. John always plays hard defensively, if not effectively. But only 2 assists and 2 rebounds while throwing up 10 shots and only hitting 2. 1 of 5 from the three. I like John and I think his expressions disquise whats going on inside. My first thought is to give his minutes to someone else, but then I look around, and I can't find anyone else I'd want out there instead of him. It used to be Cisco, and he's gone. Not complaining at the loss, just facing the facts that currently exist. Hopefully John finds his game. Sooner rather than later. --Baja
Stats: 20min 14pts (6-7, 2-2, 0-0) 9reb 2ast 1stl 0blk 0TO
Patterson ( A ) -- Now thats what I'm talking about! 20 effective, energy packed minutes. You knew Patterson was on the floor from the get go, and so far in his adventures with the Kings, he's been rebounding very well. 9 boards in 20 minutes is excellent. And when you add in 14 pts on 6 of 7 shooting, including 2 for 2 from the three, thats about as effective as you can get. He started by hitting a 18 footer from the right corner. Then he surprised me with a running floater in the key. I won't go through a play by play, but he scored in a variety of ways. He has more offense in his bag of tircks than I realized. He also played effective defense despite giving away some size at times. The only glaring mistake I can find in my notes, was when he overplayed Boozer going for the steal and got burn't. Although Boozer was a tough matchup defensively for Patterson, I believe Patterson got the better of the exchange. He was far too quick for Boozer to guard. Good night for Patrick, and hopefully there are many more to come.--Baja
Stats: 26min 12pts (4-8, 0-0, 4-4) 3reb 1ast 0stl 1blk 1TO
Thompson ( C+ ) -- JT had an OK night and was more effective in the second half than the first. He played good defense, and for the most part, took what was there offensively. He only played a total of 26 minutes on a night where points were coming from everywhere. Well, except Salmons, but thats another post. He started at center, which may be his best position now, in a league full of undersized centers and PF's. He had 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting, and for the most part, he made it look effortless. He started badly, missing his first two shots, and going to the bench fairly early. But in the second half he seemed to score everytime he got the ball around the basket, or he was fouled in the process, or both. He's become very effective with that little half hook/half flip shot. His rebounding was another story. Only 3 boards from JT doesn't cut it, and if not for that, he probably would have gotten a B. But all in all, no complaints on a night where, for the most part, everything went right. --Baja
Stats: 36min 26pts (11-13, 1-3, 3-4) 5reb 7ast 3stl 1blk 2TO
Evans ( A+ ) -- This is the first A+ I have given out, and Tyreke ALMOST didn't get it. In fact, he was on pace for an OMFG after the first half (for those not keeping track, that's an appropriate grade when an A+ looks too low). Luckily for Mark Mastrov's pocketbook, Tyreke "cooled down" in the second half, going only 3-5, getting only 1 assist, and being a bit sloppy late and turning the ball over twice. But that first half, oh that first half! Tyreke started hot, hitting three straight drives going left and establishing that he could get anywhere on the floor he wanted. Tyreke wasn't just scoring, though, he was dishing the ball like a madman, collecting six assists in the first half, the highlight being a nifty pass in the lane to Cole Aldrich for a dunk. He also tallied three steals, notably stripping the ball under our basket after IT turned it over on the break and getting it back to him for a little jumper. At the 6-minute mark of the third quarter, Tyreke's +/- was a ridiculous +45. On top of that, Tyreke was playing very good D, pretty much shutting down Luol Deng, whom he was guarding about half the time. He allowed an unsustainable 6 points on 13 shots, while scoring 26 on 15 shots. For a team in the doldrums this was a game for the ages, and a great deal of tonight's success was due to Tyreke. --Capt.
Stats: 28min 22pts (8-14, 2-5, 4-4) 3reb 3ast 1stl 0blk 1TO
Thomas ( A- ) -- With Tyreke deservedly spending so much time on the ball tonight, IT didn't have the assist numbers that he has put up in recent games, but outside of one pullup three on a fast break (missed, to boot), he didn't take a lot of bad shots and stop the ball. Obviously our offense wasn't particularly problematic tonight. Early in the first quarter he blasted by Robinson for a layup then stole the ball from Deng for a breakaway layup to set the tone for the Kings. Ultimately he ended up with 22 points on 15 shots. Defensively, Thomas did relatively well tonight. Robinson is a tough cover, and he scored 12 of his 19 against IT, but in general he was sticking with his man and the numbers (12 points on 9 shots taken against) are actually not representative of how he performed. In the third quarter he was a bit of a disruption on the defensive end, stripping one ball out of bounds, knocking another one away jumping in the passing lane, and harrying Marquis Teague into losing it out of bounds for a turnover. There was one play in the second where he stood around and watched a rebound instead of boxing out resulting in an offensive board, but if IT played defense like this every game, I'd be a very happy fan. --Capt.
Fortunately what he did have was 26pts 5rebs 7ast 3stl 1blk on 11-13 shooting in an at times ridiculous display (he took some flat out bad shots but there was no way he was going to miss just about anything on this night). And he was just the tip of the iceberg as virtually everyone aside from Salmons (who still managed to be second on the team in minutes somehow) chipped in to just about the most epic smackdown I can remember this team laying down in the last several years.
Now let's all hurry up and spoil it with the inevitable trade Cousins nonsense.
Full Grading Consortium for tonight:
Bricklayer
Capt. Factorial
bajaden
Boxscore
Stats: 30min 5pts (2-10, 1-5, 0-0) 2reb 2ast 0stl 0blk 0TO
Salmons ( D- ) -- Frankly I'm getting tired of writing down, "John misses another three" in my notes. Just maybe he should stop taking that shot for a while, because clearly, he can't hit the side of a barn from out there anymore. Once again, John played a lot of minutes, and the Kings didn't have much to show for it. Yes, he did contribute on the defensive side of the ball. John always plays hard defensively, if not effectively. But only 2 assists and 2 rebounds while throwing up 10 shots and only hitting 2. 1 of 5 from the three. I like John and I think his expressions disquise whats going on inside. My first thought is to give his minutes to someone else, but then I look around, and I can't find anyone else I'd want out there instead of him. It used to be Cisco, and he's gone. Not complaining at the loss, just facing the facts that currently exist. Hopefully John finds his game. Sooner rather than later. --Baja
Stats: 20min 14pts (6-7, 2-2, 0-0) 9reb 2ast 1stl 0blk 0TO
Patterson ( A ) -- Now thats what I'm talking about! 20 effective, energy packed minutes. You knew Patterson was on the floor from the get go, and so far in his adventures with the Kings, he's been rebounding very well. 9 boards in 20 minutes is excellent. And when you add in 14 pts on 6 of 7 shooting, including 2 for 2 from the three, thats about as effective as you can get. He started by hitting a 18 footer from the right corner. Then he surprised me with a running floater in the key. I won't go through a play by play, but he scored in a variety of ways. He has more offense in his bag of tircks than I realized. He also played effective defense despite giving away some size at times. The only glaring mistake I can find in my notes, was when he overplayed Boozer going for the steal and got burn't. Although Boozer was a tough matchup defensively for Patterson, I believe Patterson got the better of the exchange. He was far too quick for Boozer to guard. Good night for Patrick, and hopefully there are many more to come.--Baja
Stats: 26min 12pts (4-8, 0-0, 4-4) 3reb 1ast 0stl 1blk 1TO
Thompson ( C+ ) -- JT had an OK night and was more effective in the second half than the first. He played good defense, and for the most part, took what was there offensively. He only played a total of 26 minutes on a night where points were coming from everywhere. Well, except Salmons, but thats another post. He started at center, which may be his best position now, in a league full of undersized centers and PF's. He had 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting, and for the most part, he made it look effortless. He started badly, missing his first two shots, and going to the bench fairly early. But in the second half he seemed to score everytime he got the ball around the basket, or he was fouled in the process, or both. He's become very effective with that little half hook/half flip shot. His rebounding was another story. Only 3 boards from JT doesn't cut it, and if not for that, he probably would have gotten a B. But all in all, no complaints on a night where, for the most part, everything went right. --Baja
Stats: 36min 26pts (11-13, 1-3, 3-4) 5reb 7ast 3stl 1blk 2TO
Evans ( A+ ) -- This is the first A+ I have given out, and Tyreke ALMOST didn't get it. In fact, he was on pace for an OMFG after the first half (for those not keeping track, that's an appropriate grade when an A+ looks too low). Luckily for Mark Mastrov's pocketbook, Tyreke "cooled down" in the second half, going only 3-5, getting only 1 assist, and being a bit sloppy late and turning the ball over twice. But that first half, oh that first half! Tyreke started hot, hitting three straight drives going left and establishing that he could get anywhere on the floor he wanted. Tyreke wasn't just scoring, though, he was dishing the ball like a madman, collecting six assists in the first half, the highlight being a nifty pass in the lane to Cole Aldrich for a dunk. He also tallied three steals, notably stripping the ball under our basket after IT turned it over on the break and getting it back to him for a little jumper. At the 6-minute mark of the third quarter, Tyreke's +/- was a ridiculous +45. On top of that, Tyreke was playing very good D, pretty much shutting down Luol Deng, whom he was guarding about half the time. He allowed an unsustainable 6 points on 13 shots, while scoring 26 on 15 shots. For a team in the doldrums this was a game for the ages, and a great deal of tonight's success was due to Tyreke. --Capt.
Stats: 28min 22pts (8-14, 2-5, 4-4) 3reb 3ast 1stl 0blk 1TO
Thomas ( A- ) -- With Tyreke deservedly spending so much time on the ball tonight, IT didn't have the assist numbers that he has put up in recent games, but outside of one pullup three on a fast break (missed, to boot), he didn't take a lot of bad shots and stop the ball. Obviously our offense wasn't particularly problematic tonight. Early in the first quarter he blasted by Robinson for a layup then stole the ball from Deng for a breakaway layup to set the tone for the Kings. Ultimately he ended up with 22 points on 15 shots. Defensively, Thomas did relatively well tonight. Robinson is a tough cover, and he scored 12 of his 19 against IT, but in general he was sticking with his man and the numbers (12 points on 9 shots taken against) are actually not representative of how he performed. In the third quarter he was a bit of a disruption on the defensive end, stripping one ball out of bounds, knocking another one away jumping in the passing lane, and harrying Marquis Teague into losing it out of bounds for a turnover. There was one play in the second where he stood around and watched a rebound instead of boxing out resulting in an offensive board, but if IT played defense like this every game, I'd be a very happy fan. --Capt.
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