[Grades] Grades v. Clippers 2/28/11 (Here We Stay game)

Did you see this game?

  • I was there baby!

    Votes: 24 30.4%
  • On TV

    Votes: 47 59.5%
  • On Radio

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • Not at all

    Votes: 7 8.9%

  • Total voters
    79

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
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First of all, great job guys -- all of you who were there. No matter what happens, this is the image you want emblazoned in everybody's minds.

Secondly, great job Marcus -- we needed to win this.

Not sure I am feeling the people excited about those uniforms btw. They look like high school uniforms. From 1950. But maybe that's the appeal.


Offical Boxscore

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Casspi ( B ) -- hit the game's opening three to start off in perfect fashion, but then disaappeared foir a long long time and was not even the Kings best SF of the first half. Finally woke up a bit in the third, starting to get on the glass, and then hitting a little baseline jumper. Ignored on an open three by Beno, but then came back next time down and hit one in rhythm. Dumb pass ahead over Beno's head to blow a fastbreak for us in the early 4th, but was competing hard and of course the perfect personality to feed off the crowd, and I'm not sure he ever sat down after half. Down the stretch got out on the break for multiple big dunks to get the crowd on its feet, and was showing quick hands on defense where for once he not only did not make a star out of a scrub, he actually blanked said scrub (Ryan Gomes with a real stinker, 0pts 2reb 1ast in 27min).

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Thompson ( C+ ) -- had good energy from the start and showed no ill signs from the ankle injury the other night. Solid start on offense, but the foul trouble on defense against Grffin was inevitable, especially the way the refs were calling this one. Came out with some more solid, efficient offensive play in the third, but had to just get out of Griffin's way. Of perhaps greater concern was how badly he was getting pushed around and whipped on the glass -- I say greater concern because I have been meaning to mention this trend for a few games now -- JT's rebounding has fallen way off in the last few months, just about coinciding with his insertion in the starting lineup. In Feb. he was down to 5.0rebs in 23.5min/gm, which is just mediocre. He's had one double figure boarding night in the last month. Three total since the New Year. Just because you are replacing Landry JT it doesn't mean you have to board like him. Getting whiped on the gklass a lot anymore. After he picked up his 5th foul Westphal wet to our Twin Towers set, and despite Demarcus's rampant incompetence on the ngiht stuck wiht it the rest of the way, and I think it may have made it harder on Griffin. So, ok game for JT. But at this point it should be getting pretty obvious what JT is and is not, and what he is is the guy who you throw out there and ask to slow down the guys like Griffin, and tonight, not so much.

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Dalembert ( B- ) -- picked up two quick fouls . After returning, not able to play full out defense against drivers, but still did a nice job smothering his own men. Took some tough shots that you probably wouldn't want him to take as really there was a lot of that tonight -- might have been the crowd, but eveyrbody seemed to be pressing. But in the first half the shots were falling, so what are you going to do. Never scored after half, but with Cousins in collapse, JT in foul trouble, and against a team with every bit as much frontcourt size as our own, he was another one of our guys who played a ton of minutes after the break. Not a special game, but a steady one stabilizing what could have been a mess.
 
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Taylor ( B- )
-- started a little wild, got into quick foul trouble and wasn't able to hit his threes, but by the end of this one you felt pretty good about his effort and it was more Thornton's excellence than Taylor's incompetence which limited his minutes. Used his length to help on the glass, got to the line, and I thought was doing a better job as a passer than the numbers showed, including a nice shovel pass to JT late in the half for what should have been a dunk, but ended up drawing a foul instesad. The idea fo Taylor as a 3rd guard back before the trade deadline was a little shaky. But the idea of him as a 4th guard is increasdingly looking plausible -- he had a couple of whoa whoa whoa! there horsey moemtns in the first half, but in general you can see him very consciously keeping himself under control and effectively playing a role with relatively few mistakes. Either a smart player, or soem good coaching there. Be the dependable guy and you can get minutes.

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Udrih ( B ) -- spectacular spin drive to get the crowd back into late in the 1st. But not able to build on it and missed most of his little dirbble up and unders. Turned it over repeatedly in the final minutes before the half as we lost our 9pt lead in a hurry. Looked a little out of contol in the third, seemed to be pressing. But began to score, and that was what we needed until Thornton could take the game over for us. Was alternating good plays and bad plays in the 4th, but then found everyone running away from him at the 5:00 mark so he turned and said screw it and just hit a three for his 17th point to give us a lead back, and helped us keep that lead by cleaning up the turnovers and paying soild ball down the stretch. Defensively was late closing out on a lot of threes, and got burned for one at the 45 second mark to cut the lead to 1.

Bench

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Cousins ( D- ) -- the first two names in this bench crew present about as stark a contrast as you are going to see in these grades, and DeMarcus was the guy on the short end fo that stick. He was just awful right from the get go. Bailed out by the refs on a wild drive to start his evening of fun, but then missed both FTs. Several poor passes in the early going that had no chance. Missed his first 3 FTs and had 3 or 4 first quarter TOs. Forced to take a baseline jumper against the clock, shot it off the side of the backboard, hung his head, and the Clippers took advantage to race back the other way with numbers on th break. Had a brief burst of competence when he returned, immediately blocking a Griffin drive, then making the good pass to Donte for the dunk. But was just so so sloppy and mentally helpless here. It was all pouty poo hang his head slouch aroudn the court stuff all the time. And he had jsut lost all feel at the FT line -- looked like he had no idea at all where the cup was and was just trying to feel each one in. But got a chance at redemption late int eh game when Westphal decided to stick with our Twin Towers down the stretch, and while I'm not sure you would call what he acheived true redemption, it as enough, barely, to save him from a straight F here. With help from Thornton diving back on defense, showed good energy and poise stonewalling Grifin on defense late in this one. Tried so so hard to be the goat here as he and DeAndre Jordan staged a massice incopmpetnece duel in the final two minutes. DeMarcus leading off with a forced drive and travel at the 1:40 mark, Jordna responding with a pair of bricked Fts his team desperately needed, DeMarcus upping the ante with an offensive foul turnover on a Griffin flop at the 54 second mark, and Jordan saying ha! you ain't nothing as he responded with ANOTHER pair of bricked FTs. Finally with 30 seconds to go DeMarcus grabbed a d-board, got fouled and after missing the first FT terribly and taking solid aim at an F, sucked it up and sweet stroked inthe second to a round of applause (sounded legit, not bronx, but could have been either) from the crowd. I'm being generous here -- he grabbed 9 boards, played some pretty good defense down the stretch in our twin towers set, and hit a FT (3-10 on the night) and so earns a D-. Doesn't take much. If we'd lost this one however...

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Thornton ( A+ ) -- very aggressive offensively from the beginning. There were some forces, but like I said in another thread forces look a lot better when the guy is making them. Started the second with a three. But was still realy forcing, airballed a three, got selfish on the break. A quick squirted reverse layup in the final minute of the half broke a Clippers run and gave us the lead back. But it was really after half when Marcus emerged not just as an aggressive to the point of wild bench scorer, but actually as a flat go to guy that had us just clearing out and running plays for him. Came up with a breakaway steal and layup in the late third to cut the lead to 3 briefly. And then the 4th rolled around and he just took over, singlehandedly matching the Clippers point total in the quarter with 16. Kept us in it with early 4th quarter scoring. Was actually dawing a double by the mid 4th as clearly our best offensive weapon. Too big for any of the Clips PGs or combo guards, and showed an ability to post these smaller players up. Good energy, nice job diving back on Kaman on back to back plays late in the 4th, forcing both turnovers, then getting the ball both times, leading the break, and making two good passes to Beno and Omri for finishes to put us up 6. And in the final 2:20 seconds wanted the ball and kept on drawing (or being intentionally) fouls and knocked down 7 of them to ice the game. There are some questions I have about the style of his scoring -- namely can he do it within a system or not. But there was a ton of skill, aggressiveness, and potency to what he did out there. And on a night when a depressing loss would have been spirit crushing, he really lifted us up and carried us home inhis first home game, so this is an easy "+".
 
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Jackson ( C ) -- in in the first with the foul trouble across our frontline, played some unexceptional minutes, failed to check Griffin off the boards on the final play of the half, allowing him to pattycake it in off the offensive glass.

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Greene ( B- ) -- got into the game in the first and immediately got up high for an alley oop in traffic, blocked on the break near the buzzer of course. Nice defensive play in the early 2nd diving into a passing lane, reading eyes like a cornerback. Another great defensive hustle play breaking up an inbounds pass, which should have been a turnover on the Clips, but got called a jump ball. So Donte just went ahead and won the tip, and then cut and came up with a strong reverse dunk. He was no offensive juggernaught tonight, missed his jumpers, but gave excellent hustel during his minuts and a low level contributor.

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Jeter ( INC ) -- barely even noticed him in the first half when he got minutes spelling Beno. Since I had no notes, decided calling this an INC (was only 7min after all) rather than a giveup C was more appropriate.
 
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In the words of the immortal Bill Walton (sort of, if he was here): "Tonight, the greatest Kings victory in the history of Arco Arena!" And in the post-game words of Coach Paul Westphal (more or less verbatim): "Casspi's play (one handed jam) was almost poetic. I did step back a moment to take it all in with the fans reaction."
 
Credit Westphal for leaving Demarcus in the game after his poor play and all the BS surrounding him this season. He needs to learn, and I want him on the floor at the end of every game no matter how bad he is playing. Im the first guy to crush Westphal, but that took a lot of ... something. Im just glad it happened. Maybe it shows Demarcus the coach still has faith in him.
 
DeMarcus definently has been playing like hot garbage for quite some time. While he has hit the "wall" I think theres more to it. He doesn't seem patient at all with his moves and if he doesn't have a shot he likes, he just throws one up there or takes a long jumper from the outside. Besides all that, what a game by sir Thornton! Splendid second half by the LSU Tiger. I absolutely love those Royals jerseys by the way, drool!
 
DeMarcus Cousins? More like EffMarcus Cousins tonight.

Yeah. I don't know what's wrong with him. His play has just went down. He doesn't look motivated at all. Maybe he's just tired and burned out like Casspi was last season about this time. I don't know. How about Thornton? What a breath of fresh air- this guy. Fun game tonight. Arco packed was extra special. Go Kings!
 
DeMarcus Cousins? More like EffMarcus Cousins tonight.

Yeah. I don't know what's wrong with him. His play has just went down. He doesn't look motivated at all. Maybe he's just tired and burned out like Casspi was last season about this time. I don't know. How about Thornton? What a breath of fresh air- this guy. Fun game tonight. Arco packed was extra special. Go Kings!


<<<<<<<Sorry about the double post. >>>>>
 
I couldn't make it to the game because I am sick, my friend said the arena was VERY LOUD....just like the old days.

Great win by the Kings.
 
Congrats fans. All of you that went and were part of the craziness. It made the news. I will send emails to the council and the mayor tomorrow. Here's proof of what the fans think. That reminded me so much of the past. Man, the fun of it all. Will Anaheim fans set down their wine to get as rowdy? I doubt it.
 
How about everyone gives demarcus a break? I no he acts like a little kid but you gotta feel sorry for the guy. He probably feels like the entire league is against him right now with every single move being a foul and nothing is going right for him in terms of his offense/passing.(not to mention that jerk move by that all star announcer) He gave us a show in the first half of the season. Now just because hes struggling, you guys are so ready to attack and critisize. Lay off the guy and try showing some support for a change.

But great game. Thorton was phenomenal. As was taylor, and beno, thompson, and dally. The crowd looked pretty good tonight also and i hope it doesnt go back to being half empty for the coming games. Go Kings! Stay here in Sacramento please!
 
How about everyone gives demarcus a break? I no he acts like a little kid but you gotta feel sorry for the guy. He probably feels like the entire league is against him right now with every single move being a foul and nothing is going right for him in terms of his offense/passing.(not to mention that jerk move by that all star announcer) He gave us a show in the first half of the season. Now just because hes struggling, you guys are so ready to attack and critisize. Lay off the guy and try showing some support for a change.

But great game. Thorton was phenomenal. As was taylor, and beno, thompson, and dally. The crowd looked pretty good tonight also and i hope it doesnt go back to being half empty for the coming games. Go Kings! Stay here in Sacramento please!
 
ARCO Crowd: A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


We woke up the ghosts in the 4th quarter, culminating with Arco Thunder prevailing one last time as DeAndre Jordan got posessed by the game 7 FT ghoul.

My ears are ringing and my voice is hoarse. GO KINGS!



And Here we Stay. I think the Maloofs got the message loud and clear.
 
Cousins looks like he has the so-called rookie wall like Casspi did last year. Despite looking bad, he got 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.
 
Cousins looks like he has the so-called rookie wall like Casspi did last year. Despite looking bad, he got 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Dont know how many have played basketball, but one thing they all have to learn is how to workout and play. If you over do a workout or take too much time off it can throw your shot off. This is why routine is important to them. Cuz just looked off with his shot. He didnt really have a flow. But his passing was key early in the game. It really opened up the offense and forced the clips to not overplay the passing lanes.
 
It was ok. Nothing like the old days, but better than the past few.

Agreed.

I was interviewed by a guy from SLAM magazine / KFBK? because of the sign I had while sitting in the stands. That was one of his questions - how was the crowd? I told him it could be louder (this was in the 3rd Q), but nice to have the sellout. Glad they picked it up some in the 4th.

Great game to be at, especially with the Here We Stay movement and also the last game at "ARCO Arena" - and really nice to pull out the come from behind win!
 
Dont know how many have played basketball, but one thing they all have to learn is how to workout and play. If you over do a workout or take too much time off it can throw your shot off. This is why routine is important to them. Cuz just looked off with his shot. He didnt really have a flow. But his passing was key early in the game. It really opened up the offense and forced the clips to not overplay the passing lanes.

There are also a lot of late night benefits that can be tiring. I suspect rookies spend a lot of time enjoying their status but pay a price for it and hopefully learn a lesson.
 
Agreed.

I was interviewed by a guy from SLAM magazine / KFBK? because of the sign I had while sitting in the stands.

Was looking out for it and didn't see it in the stands but I'm glad it got some notice and you got an interview out of it :D

I hope those colors printed out well.
 
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btw. While i was watching on the tv, it looked like the maloofs and kj were laughing and having a good time together at halftime. Ill take this as a positive sign of no hard feelings between them.
 
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