Grades v. Celtics 01/27

[foretaz]

You cannot possibly give Ron Artest anything but an A for tonight's performance, SLAB. The guy hasn't even practiced with the team yet. He came in, sunk some shots including some sweet threes, made Pierce's night a living hell, got some assists and didn't get in anyone's way.

You couldn't possibly have expected more from him on his first night with the team.

i agree that under the circumstances it was about all u could hope for...

i would say that on an overall ron game scale it was probably somewhere around a C+ or B-....what u got on the defensive end is pretty much what u get every nite...thats what makes him so special.....even when he has off nites offensively, which he did-which was to be expected, u still get the defensive effort...thats what sets him apart...

im anxious for u guys to get to see what he can do on the offensive end....u saw hes probably a better 3 point shooter than u expected...remember he was shooting 40% from there in his short season last year...and was doing the same before he injured his wrist, this season...but u will see him dominate on the offensive end like u saw him dominate on the defensive end.....thats when the package is complete...

enjoy the ride...im so jealous...

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

Boo to you Adelman. Boo.

He gets an F for NOT USING HIS BENCH AT ALL!!! Too long of a roadtrip to do that.

yeah...um...he's been getting 'F's' from me all damn season. You play with a short bench in the playoffs Rick, not during the regular freaking season when you have guys on thh bench that bring obvious energy(Corliss, Brian) and to do this when you're trying to win games in a season in which you're struggling? Just pathetic, IMO.

 

[Diabeticwonder]

Hart had three steals, but I had to look at the box to even know that. His poor play makes me forget anything good that he ever does, which is rare. With the emergence of Cisco and Martin as of late the biggest hole in this team is a backup pg. Hart is just flat out horrible!!!

 

[Bricklayer]

Hart had three steals, but I had to look at the box to even know that. His poor play makes me forget anything good that he ever does, which is rare. With the emergence of Cisco and Martin as of late the biggest hole in this team is a backup pg. Hart is just flat out horrible!!!

That 52-31 rebounding advantage aptly illustrates another pretty damn big hole I think.

 

[Kev.in]

The #1 priority for the offseason has to be getting a big guy who can really play some defense. It's easy to find a cheap backup point guard, as long as you're not giving up future picks for a guy who can't even play.

 

[Troy]

Please, can we try Price or get another backup PG?

Artest got 15 and limited Pierce to 18 and 7 turnovers. So solid B for him.

You mean A+++ for Ron right, I corrected it for you. He did all his harrassing of Piece without fouling him. His 1st foul came in the 4th quarter. He is so effective, but doesn't foul the guy which makes it so amazing. I really looks like he rubbed off on his teamates a little and they played really good defense a few times. His gathering the team together for a little talk before Brad's free throws was awesome. This guy should be captain. How many captains can you have??? Bibby definately had an off night, but he must be so tired from carrying the whole team on his back the last few nights. Now if only we could just get a big defensive guy in their that gobbles up rebounds like pacman.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

The #1 priority for the offseason has to be getting a big guy who can really play some defense. It's easy to find a cheap backup point guard, as long as you're not giving up future picks for a guy who can't even play.

or WONT play, using the Rick Adelman mindset for usage of his bench players, that he is obvioulsy stuck on.

 

[Troy]

The #1 priority for the offseason has to be getting a big guy who can really play some defense. It's easy to find a cheap backup point guard, as long as you're not giving up future picks for a guy who can't even play.

Why cannot we try to get someone at least have way decent right now before the 2/23 trade deadline. Why does it seem that the teams we play have a abundance of them and we don't??? At least put Skinner in, I would have liked to see him if Bibby hit some shots tonight to give Brad a rest.

 

[Padrino]

That 52-31 rebounding advantage aptly illustrates another pretty damn big hole I think.

that really tells the whole story. waaaaay to many second and third chance point opportunities being allowed. if we can get a big guy to clog the middle and pull down some serious rebounds, then i can see this kings team really going somewhere. as it stands, reef and miller are way too soft on the glass, as are thomas and miller. i still like miller for his offensive skill and prowess, so if we get a real defensive complement for him, then we're lookin' at a more complete and balanced starting unit. if we could somehow get away with getting a good defensive PF without trading reef, then i really like the kings chances at going somewhere in the playoffs next season. martin and garcia can continue to develop, and reef can be the kings super-sub. the bench would still need to improve through addition and subtraction, but if GP gets serious about pursuing a real big man...ooo...look out nba.

 

[Diabeticwonder]

That 52-31 rebounding advantage aptly illustrates another pretty damn big hole I think.

Totally agree. I was referring to one specific player, but a big body rebounder would be nice, but team rebounding suckes right now. The rebounding was a joke tonight. Brad had 2 rebounds tonight and 2 games ago he had ZERO.

 

[Alacron]

OK, what does Rick have against Skinner? This isn't Tony Massenburg we're talking about here; it's not even Ostertag. If Adelman were fired tomorrow and I were made head coach, I'd start Skinner over Thomas just out of principle.

It's too bad Shareef couldn't have broken his jaw during Ramadan... that would've worked out perfectly.

Ironically, Artest is stroking treys better than Peja has all season. Way to go Ronnie!
~~

 

[Kev.in]

Why cannot we try to get someone at least have way decent right now before the 2/23 trade deadline. Why does it seem that the teams we play have a abundance of them and we don't??? At least put Skinner in, I would have liked to see him if Bibby hit some shots tonight to give Brad a rest.

I don't know if we have the piece(s) to do it right now and there are teams with an extra big man who, because they're in the same Conference, wouldn't deal that "put us over the top" guy to us unless the deal was very favorable going their way. Look at the Clippers, Chris Wilcox has been a reserve with them for a few years now and his name has come up trade rumors two years straight. He got a chance to start some games when Kaman was injured part of last season and really shined. Everyone knows he can play and there are teams interested, but the Clippers aren't that interested in moving him. That's how it goes when you have depth in the frontcourt.

 

[Folsom Al]

I agree with VF - ARTEST GETS AN "A"

With the exception of Brad & Ron .... the entire team was terrible

Oh well .... tomorrow is another night

Things are changing ... this TOO will also pass

 

[playmaker0017]

Reef a D+?

His defense with Artest was unmatched! It was an awesome thing to behold.

I would definitely boost everyone's grade. It wasn't just a loss - we looked like we were trying to play as a team and trying to play defense. I liked the way everyone tried out there. Shots will fall.

 

[playmaker0017]

I don't think I've ever seen Bibby play worse.

Everyone is ragging Bibby - and today I'm sticking up for him!

He played in control and played defense (for a change). He was running on the defensive end and getting around picks. He was making an effort for the loose balls and hustling on almost every play.

I'll take a 2-12, or whatever it was, shooting performance every now and again if he's going to hustle on defense. If he brings defense every game, his offense is good enough to take care of itself. He didn't let his abysmal shooting tonight kill us by continually puking up garbage and was showing that he can provide something even when he's not scoring.

My hat is off to Mike Bibby for putting more energy into this game than I've seen him put into most games.

 

[John Galt]

Everyone is ragging Bibby - and today I'm sticking up for him!

He played in control and played defense (for a change). He was running on the defensive end and getting around picks. He was making an effort for the loose balls and hustling on almost every play.

I'll take a 2-12, or whatever it was, shooting performance every now and again if he's going to hustle on defense. If he brings defense every game, his offense is good enough to take care of itself. He didn't let his abysmal shooting tonight kill us by continually puking up garbage and was showing that he can provide something even when he's not scoring.

My hat is off to Mike Bibby for putting more energy into this game than I've seen him put into most games.

That's great if you can take a 2-14 from Bibby. But this team as configured has no chance of winning a game, none, with a 2-14 from Bibby. If he's 2-7 and distributing that's a different story. I love Bibby and he will be fine, but he can't go 2-14 and win. If it ever happens I will eat crow.

 

[playmaker0017]

That's great if you can take a 2-14 from Bibby. But this team as configured has no chance of winning a game, none, with a 2-14 from Bibby. If he's 2-7 and distributing that's a different story. I love Bibby and he will be fine, but he can't go 2-14 and win. If it ever happens I will eat crow.

I think you are selling us short if you think that this team isn't capable of succeeding if everyone puts effort on defense and Bibby has a bad night. I'm not advocating that he can do it every night, but I won't be angry at him if it happens every so often and he plays defense like he did last night. Besides, I don't like a PG trying to shoulder the bulk of scoring.

Artest is capable of scoring in bunches.
Reef is capable of scoring in bunches.
Miller is capable of scoring in bunches.

2-14 is terrible, but that's not going to happen often ... and if it does ... we're more than capable of picking up the load. If he hustles back and plays solid defense ... we'll have a chance.

If he doesn't score and doesn't play defense - then we're in trouble.

He was out there attempting to get guys involved. His shot was off, but he was doing other things to try to get us going and that was hustling on defense and trying to get the ball to others.

 

[Hicks]

It's interesting that one of the comments in this thread was that Ron is better on the perimeter than in the post. Quite the opposite is true, though this being his first game with your team I can understand why you'd feel that way. His shot will come and go, but he's a monster in the paint. The Shaq of SFs IMO. Or at least he would be if he could dunk in the post without having to run into it.

I watched this game on LP, and he was visibly winded a few times. He'll shake that off and give you around 38mpg with little signs of fatigue.

And yes, he'll bring that level of defensive activity to every game.

 

[LoungeLizard]

Once again the Kings make an all-star out of an insignifcant big man.
Kendrick Perkins 27 mins. 13 pts 11 boards (4 off) 5 blks....A+++

 

[Coach]

foretaz was the only one who saw the same game I did. Artest an "A+"? Please. He hit his first three shots and then went 2-11. And when he went cold, we went into the tank. He did pick up some steals, and he did a decent job on Pierce. A "B-" sounds about right.

Sheesh, if he gets an "A+" for last night's game, what will he grade when he scores 26 points, with 6 steals, and a couple blocks? That line is right around the corner.

 

[Wuster]

Not sure Artest deserves an A, but his nice effort all-around showed how bad the rest of this team's performance was, if not how bad in general the Kings really are.

Miller's 1:1 defense and rebounding were simply awful. Scored some so balanced that out. Bibby can be afforded an off night and this was one. Rest of team - uninspiring.

 

[Evenstar]

It's interesting that one of the comments in this thread was that Ron is better on the perimeter than in the post. Quite the opposite is true, though this being his first game with your team I can understand why you'd feel that way. His shot will come and go, but he's a monster in the paint. The Shaq of SFs IMO. Or at least he would be if he could dunk in the post without having to run into it.

I watched this game on LP, and he was visibly winded a few times. He'll shake that off and give you around 38mpg with little signs of fatigue.

And yes, he'll bring that level of defensive activity to every game.

great to know hicks, thanks!

 

[LilMissDiva]

Artest = A. No way I could have expected him to be any better than he was. The guy got a two hour crash course on the Kings ball and was thrown to the wolves. What'a guy!

Who said defense is boring, I take it over shooting threes all night, any day.

 

[KA_2]

Artest was the best acquisition the Kings have made in their history save for Chris Webber and Mitch Richmond. Another fantastic pickup by Geoff.

 

[Bricklayer]

Artest was the best acquisition the Kings have made in their history save for Chris Webber and Mitch Richmond. Another fantastic pickup by Geoff.

We'll have to see -- all depends on whether he can hold it together over the long haul. The talent is unquestionable.

Just as an aside, I do NOT think this one was Geoff's doing, good or bad. He openly derided the idea of this very same deal a year ago, and Artest has been out on the market for 6 weeks. Nor was he terribly involved in the end game. This felt very much like an executive override by the Maloofs. Or more likely Petrie telling them that it would have to be thier decision due to the level of risk involved.