Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Peja ( A- ) -- started out passive, and Pierce was kicking his butt. But after an early trip to the bench, came back in firing on all cylinders. Not only was he bombing away from the perimeter, but he really dialed in on Pierce defensively and took him out of the game from that point on. Rebounding...well, let's not get silly here.
Webber ( B ) -- got off to an incredibly shaky start, not only missing his shots, but making dumb mistakes and showing little court awareness -- something that he almost always has. The one thing he WAS doing from the start was getting on the boards -- along with Tag was our only rebounder in the first half. But really settled down after being reinserted late in the 2nd quarter, and from that point on was rock solid, and made some nifty passes as we dramatically turned the game around.
Miller ( B+ ) -- was playing a nice offensive game from the very start, but was giving us nothing else in the first half. Was getting pushed around by Mark Blount on the inside, beat down the court on defense etc. But came out in the second half determined to turn that around. Kept on hitting his shots, but starting to get tough and scrappy on the boards and defense, making good passes, and by the end of the game had worked his way into one of his best rounded efforts of the season.
Christie ( B- ) -- Doug started out the game playing like crap. I mean really. No defense, no hustle, and when you are talking about Doug Christie, that just about means he has no purpose being on the floor. But after being pulled with the rest of the starters early, came back in with dramatically increased energy for the remainder of the game, made good passes, hustled and created defensive havoc, and generally did the things you expect him to do.
Bibby ( B+ ) -- in the first quarter, Bibby got schooled by Gary Payton who just ran at him time and time again and keyed an incredible fastbreak. Took advantage of Bibby's lack of defense. But like the rest of the team, dramatically turned things around, seemed to get energized by the challenge. Started pushing, pushing pushing our own fastbreak, and keyed an explosive 2nd and 3rd quarter in which we scored 75pts(!) with his push and passing.
BJax ( B- ) -- this was not a great Bobby game. Was pressing and throwing up too much junk in too few minutes. But Bobby provided a critical energy boost for us when our starters were getting their butts kicked. Really helped energize the team despite his sloppiness. One of those games where his raw aggressiveness helped even when his actual decisionmaking did not.
Songaila ( A- ) -- very nice game off the bench for us tongiht. Was not the most important of our bench players in changing the pace of the game, but was brought in for Brad early for extra energy and hustle, and delivered. Came back in in the late third, and repeated the performance. Was especially nice to see him get on the boards again. Done that several times recently, and I'm hoping it becomes habit for him. In garbage time drove across the lane and came up with a monster throwdown I didn't know he had in him.
Barnes ( C+ ) -- gets this grade for his early impact during the critical point in the game in the late 1st/early 2nd. Came in and gave us critical hustle, grabbed some key boards for us. But after that short, critical stint, did not return until the 4th, and was sloppy in that later stint. That is his recurrent problem, and he seems to be falling into a pattern of being smarter during the real game, and then playing garbagetime like...well garbage. Guess that's better than the alternative.
Ostertag ( A ) -- just a flat out A. Was probably THE key player tonight. It was his insertion more than any other which turned this game for the Kings in the second quarter after Boston had just come out and threatened to run the Kings off the floor. He stopped the Boston break dead by blocking out the rim and snatching big man boards. Only about a 5 minute stint, but probably his most important one of the season so far. Also did a nice Mateen imitation as a cheerleader on the Kings bench after we really got things going. Going to have to be careful, or the big lug might actually make himself into a fan favorite at Arco.
Evans ( INC ) -- garbage time. Did not look good this time out. Found out he cannot play the point.
Martin ( INC ) -- one of his steadier garbage time stints this season. Getting a few more minutes now with these blowouts.
Daniels ( INC ) -- one nice assist to Tag in garbage time.
Adelman ( A- ) -- the minus is because we really really did not come out to play in this one in the first quarter -- truly a tale of two games after an incredibly bad first quarter performance. But after that Rick did a great job. Went to the bench early, showed uncommon passion (read: yelling) with the team during a couple of early timeouts when he appeared to really rip into the team for its laziness (and the team deserved it). Bottomline, made the decisions to turn the game around. Then went back to the starters to settle and consolidate. And we were ready coming out of halftime. Overall, an ugly beginnning to the game where you absolutely have to give Boston credit for coming out and just popping us in the nose with their best shot. But an encouraging game in a lot of other ways. Our bench came in and actually turned the game for us -- not bad for a team allegedly without a bench. And our overall comeptitive response was excellent. We didn't just creep back in to win the game. We seemed determined to come out, step on the pedal, and annihilate this team for having the audacity to challenge us. Shook us out of our complacency, and was very encouraging to see the pride (although I would have felt very different on that front at about the 2:00 mark of the first quarter I must tell you).
Webber ( B ) -- got off to an incredibly shaky start, not only missing his shots, but making dumb mistakes and showing little court awareness -- something that he almost always has. The one thing he WAS doing from the start was getting on the boards -- along with Tag was our only rebounder in the first half. But really settled down after being reinserted late in the 2nd quarter, and from that point on was rock solid, and made some nifty passes as we dramatically turned the game around.
Miller ( B+ ) -- was playing a nice offensive game from the very start, but was giving us nothing else in the first half. Was getting pushed around by Mark Blount on the inside, beat down the court on defense etc. But came out in the second half determined to turn that around. Kept on hitting his shots, but starting to get tough and scrappy on the boards and defense, making good passes, and by the end of the game had worked his way into one of his best rounded efforts of the season.
Christie ( B- ) -- Doug started out the game playing like crap. I mean really. No defense, no hustle, and when you are talking about Doug Christie, that just about means he has no purpose being on the floor. But after being pulled with the rest of the starters early, came back in with dramatically increased energy for the remainder of the game, made good passes, hustled and created defensive havoc, and generally did the things you expect him to do.
Bibby ( B+ ) -- in the first quarter, Bibby got schooled by Gary Payton who just ran at him time and time again and keyed an incredible fastbreak. Took advantage of Bibby's lack of defense. But like the rest of the team, dramatically turned things around, seemed to get energized by the challenge. Started pushing, pushing pushing our own fastbreak, and keyed an explosive 2nd and 3rd quarter in which we scored 75pts(!) with his push and passing.
BJax ( B- ) -- this was not a great Bobby game. Was pressing and throwing up too much junk in too few minutes. But Bobby provided a critical energy boost for us when our starters were getting their butts kicked. Really helped energize the team despite his sloppiness. One of those games where his raw aggressiveness helped even when his actual decisionmaking did not.
Songaila ( A- ) -- very nice game off the bench for us tongiht. Was not the most important of our bench players in changing the pace of the game, but was brought in for Brad early for extra energy and hustle, and delivered. Came back in in the late third, and repeated the performance. Was especially nice to see him get on the boards again. Done that several times recently, and I'm hoping it becomes habit for him. In garbage time drove across the lane and came up with a monster throwdown I didn't know he had in him.
Barnes ( C+ ) -- gets this grade for his early impact during the critical point in the game in the late 1st/early 2nd. Came in and gave us critical hustle, grabbed some key boards for us. But after that short, critical stint, did not return until the 4th, and was sloppy in that later stint. That is his recurrent problem, and he seems to be falling into a pattern of being smarter during the real game, and then playing garbagetime like...well garbage. Guess that's better than the alternative.
Ostertag ( A ) -- just a flat out A. Was probably THE key player tonight. It was his insertion more than any other which turned this game for the Kings in the second quarter after Boston had just come out and threatened to run the Kings off the floor. He stopped the Boston break dead by blocking out the rim and snatching big man boards. Only about a 5 minute stint, but probably his most important one of the season so far. Also did a nice Mateen imitation as a cheerleader on the Kings bench after we really got things going. Going to have to be careful, or the big lug might actually make himself into a fan favorite at Arco.
Evans ( INC ) -- garbage time. Did not look good this time out. Found out he cannot play the point.
Martin ( INC ) -- one of his steadier garbage time stints this season. Getting a few more minutes now with these blowouts.
Daniels ( INC ) -- one nice assist to Tag in garbage time.
Adelman ( A- ) -- the minus is because we really really did not come out to play in this one in the first quarter -- truly a tale of two games after an incredibly bad first quarter performance. But after that Rick did a great job. Went to the bench early, showed uncommon passion (read: yelling) with the team during a couple of early timeouts when he appeared to really rip into the team for its laziness (and the team deserved it). Bottomline, made the decisions to turn the game around. Then went back to the starters to settle and consolidate. And we were ready coming out of halftime. Overall, an ugly beginnning to the game where you absolutely have to give Boston credit for coming out and just popping us in the nose with their best shot. But an encouraging game in a lot of other ways. Our bench came in and actually turned the game for us -- not bad for a team allegedly without a bench. And our overall comeptitive response was excellent. We didn't just creep back in to win the game. We seemed determined to come out, step on the pedal, and annihilate this team for having the audacity to challenge us. Shook us out of our complacency, and was very encouraging to see the pride (although I would have felt very different on that front at about the 2:00 mark of the first quarter I must tell you).
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