Grades v. Grizzlies 11/30

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Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Peja ( A ) -- best all around game of the season. Not only was he scoring (most of it in the first half), but his hustle was way way up to positively un-Peja like levels. Rebounding wasn't much better than its been, but he stuck his nose in there for once, got on the offensive glass, came up with a number of loose balls, and even threw in a couple of blocked shots. Hard to come to any other conclusion than thbat he was embarrassed by his effort last game. Always good to see, because Peja is a quiet guy and let's face it, is basically a softie. Its not always easy to tell if he really cares about the hustle and hard work aspects of the game. Tonight he showed that he does and that he is capable of contributing in those aspects. Of course that also means he has no excuse for wussing out in the future.
Webber ( A- ) -- just a smooth well rounded game. Never really forcing. Never really dominant. But just smoothly put up his season numbers across the board. Got a little shaky in the late game with a couple of missed shots and bobbled balls, but then stepped right up and hit the game clincher with 10 seconds to go. Had a couple of nasty dunks, and is starting too show respectable movement and reaction speed on penetration plays. Beocming more of a factor in shutting down the middle, which is a welcome sight.
Miller ( C+ ) -- came on in the 4th quarter after being largely invisible through three quarters. Did not look ragged so much as just unimportant out there for most of the night. Only 5 rebounds again. Not a terrible game, and fairly well rounded, bu not an All-Star performance either.
Christie ( C ) -- did a nice job distributing, and was helping Peja get off to his hot start. But had little impact defensively -- Memphis' perimeter people were popping open all night long. And that is what we pay Doug for. Furthermore made some shaky decisions in the 4th quarter that helped Memphis catch back up and make things tight down the stretch.
Bibby ( C- ) -- poor effort for 47 minutes by Mike. Not only did he generate no offense himself, but he was not containing Earl Watson at all. But when it mattered in the dying seconds of the game, Mike stepped up to hit the big clutch shot to put us up 3 . Webb would add the clincher a few seconds later, but Bibby's shot was the one that put us in command in the final minute.
BJax ( A- ) -- captained a strong bench unit tonight. Along with Tag helped the Kings open a nice lead in the 4th quarter with a series of tough shots. Got a little wild, as is his wont, and as usual had to throw in a couple of heat check forced shots. But came in and gave us a big and critical boost of BJax energy with Bibby struggling. On defense did not have much more luck with Watson than Bibby was having.
Songaila ( C- ) -- the lone disappointment off the bench tonight. Gave us some hustle, but missed his shots and was ineffective on defense. With Tag going so well, lost his second half minutes to the big guy.
Ostertag ( A ) -- the Tag has landed! Finally gave us a game where the things he can do were on full display. Blocked and altered numerous shots -- something nobody else on the roster is capable of doing. Also grabbed some strong rebounds. And even showed some more interior passing. Was actually one of the main pieces to help us open up an 11 point lead in the 4th.
Barnes ( B ) -- was providing us with a real boost with hustle and smart, fluid play. But in the 4th began to fall victim to his wild side again, and hurt us with some sloppy decisionmkaking. Still a nice solid contributing game on a night when our bench depth looked just fine, thank you.

Adelman ( A ) -- got a much much better effort out of his team on the hustle board. Was helped immeasurably in that aspect by the sudden arrival of Tag, and Rick was smart enough to give the big lug long minutes once he started to roll. Also appeared to be making a conscious effort to help Peja go off, as there seemed to be a disproportionate number of plays called for him in the early game. Our late game execution was shaky, which is a concern. but we must be doing something right, because this is something like the 7th game in a row where its come down to the dying minutes, and in 6 of those 7 we've emerged victorious.
 
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Bricklayer said:
Adelman ( A ) -- got a much much better effort out of his team on the hustle board. Was helped immeasurably in that aspect by the sudden arrival of Tag, and Rick was smart enough to give the big lug long minutes once he started to roll. Also appeared to be making a conscious effort to help Peja go off, as there seemed to be a disproportionate number of plays called for him in the early game. Our late game execution was shaky, which is a concern. but we must be doing something right, because this is something like the 7th game in a row where its come down to the dying minutes, and in 6 of those 7 we've emerged victorious.
Nice to see RA given credit for good.
 
Glad to see Ostertag with a career-like game. 2,5,5 for Tag is like 20,20,20 for anybody else. GO Tag !

I'm kidding ... he played great !

So did Webb and Peja.
 
Bibby (D+) Couldn't keep up with Watson, who also happen to has Bibby's number when it comes to D-ing him up. Shot in the 4th bump him up a grade.

Christe (C-) Found Pedja (like always) along the baseline like usual. Forced up some garbage in the 4th. Gets some slack because of the foot problem.

Stojakovic (A) Shot the lights out, actually rebounded and blocked shots! Hustled on defense. Him and Webber carried the team tonight.

Webber (A) All around good game by Webber. Played the point-power foward well early in the game. Active on denfense pestering perimeter players. Nice shot in the final minutes of 4th.

Miller (C) Attacked the basket tonight. Hasn't been rebounding as well as the team needs him too lately.

Jackson (B) Came in and gave his usual scoring off the bench.

Ostertag (B) Blocked 5 shots and had 5 rebounds.

Barnes (D+) Came in rebounded and found his team. Didn't D up Miller.

Songalia (INC) Tag got his minutes tonight.
 
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Yup the Taganator may not be a starter or the kind of guy you build ateam arround but he is the guy with the dime you need when your 89 cents will not get you a 99 cent burger. Good grades, good night. Lots of room for improvemnt but once again the Kings WON a close game, this is a trend I like. Sure I'd rather see them build up big leads and keep them but givne past history of blowing close games this is not a bad trend. The other plus that needs to be recognized was the last half of the 2nd quarter when the bench was in... Tag, Bobby, Barnes, Songlia and Pedja. They played GREAT. Perhaps of Pedja was out and Martin were at the 2 with Barnes at the 3 things might no be so smooth, but it is a BIG relife for this Kings fan to see a solid bench tonight.
 
Bricklayer said:
Would love to, but mod options seem out of commission at the moment. not sure why.

Does that mean we can become a rowdy bunch and start using expletives without risk of getting banned ;)
 
HndsmCelt said:
Yup the Taganator may not be a starter or the kind of guy you build ateam arround but he is the guy with the dime you need when your 89 cents will not get you a 99 cent burger. Good grades, good night. Lots of room for improvemnt but once again the Kings WON a close game, this is a trend I like. Sure I'd rather see them build up big leads and keep them but givne past history of blowing close games this is not a bad trend. The other plus that needs to be recognized was the last half of the 2nd quarter when the bench was in... Tag, Bobby, Barnes, Songlia and Pedja. They played GREAT. Perhaps of Pedja was out and Martin were at the 2 with Barnes at the 3 things might no be so smooth, but it is a BIG relife for this Kings fan to see a solid bench tonight.
Yeah is it just me or does the bench play better D?
 
KingKong said:
Does that mean we can become a rowdy bunch and start using expletives without risk of getting banned ;)
Nope.

;)


This was a TEAM effort and a nice win. Faltered a couple of times, but didn't let the Grizzlies get a foothold on the lead. When you see three Kings on the floor scrambling for a loose ball, good things have to result...and they did.

TEAM GRADE: A
 
Bricklayer said:
Peja ( A ) -- best all around game of the season. Not only was he scoring (most of it in the first half), but his hustle was way way up to positively un-Peja like levels. Rebounding wasn't much better than its been, but he stuck his nose in there for once, got on the offensive glass, came up with a number of loose balls, and even threw in a couple of blocked shots. Hard to come to any other conclusion than thbat he was embarrassed by his effort last game. Always good to see, because Peja is a quiet guy and let's face it, is basically a softie. Its not always easy to tell if he really cares about the hustle and hard work aspects of the game. Tonight he showed that he does and that he is capable of contributing in those aspects. Of course that also means he has no excuse for wussing out in the future.

Yoou couldn't be more wrong Brick :)

[Tong firmly in cheek]
Basically, in Serbia (and all over fomer Yugoslavia) they coach us from the earliest age that "the hustle" is for the losers. For those with no discernible talent. For those who have no contribution to make to the the game. To dive all over the court not only leaves your teamates with 5-on-4 but it just looks unseemly. It's not right. If the objective of the game is to score more points, what are you doing diving all over the floor or jumping up in place to get a rebound? It's just plain wrong! It's not basketball for sure!
[/Tong firmly in cheek]

Note: Hey! Don't shoot the messanger!!!
 
Tong - cooking utensil or Chinese gang
Tongue - part of the body located in the mouth

That could be the reason for the misunderstanding.

;)
 
VF21 said:
Tong - cooking utensil or Chinese gang
Tongue - part of the body located in the mouth

That could be the reason for the misunderstanding.

;)

You made me laugh!!! Noted for the future reference (spell check is not just for resumes). I "cheffed" my way through the college years, so can I be excused for this spelling error?

As VF21 rightly pointed out my comment was firmly "tongue in cheek" refering to the now legendary softness of European players (myth or truth - vote now!).

And yes, I reserve my right to believe that there is some truth to the rumour.
 
fakie said:
so.........
are you saying peja's been taught to be a softie?:confused:
Yes, that's what he's saying about the European (in general) policy on hustle... I found it witty, don't know how ppl can still be confused even after the term "tongue in cheek" has been analyzed and spell-checked...

Err wait, it wasn't really analyzed...

Tongue In Cheek = JUST KIDDING

Okay now it has been spell-checked AND defined. We should be good to go now, Bozz...
 
VF21 said:
Tong - cooking utensil or Chinese gang
Tongue - part of the body located in the mouth

That could be the reason for the misunderstanding.

;)
thong--what pinocchio was wearing in Shrek II.

not that it has anything to do with anything we are talking about....:p
 
funny last few posts ...:D


I think that it was a win. But there seems to be something missing. We are letting opponents come back from 10 down more than once. We need to do a better job of finishing up the games.
 
Well Put HndsmCelt ...

HndsmCelt said:
Yup the Taganator may not be a starter or the kind of guy you build ateam arround but he is the guy with the dime you need when your 89 cents will not get you a 99 cent burger. Good grades, good night. Lots of room for improvemnt but once again the Kings WON a close game, this is a trend I like. Sure I'd rather see them build up big leads and keep them but givne past history of blowing close games this is not a bad trend. The other plus that needs to be recognized was the last half of the 2nd quarter when the bench was in... Tag, Bobby, Barnes, Songlia and Pedja. They played GREAT. Perhaps of Pedja was out and Martin were at the 2 with Barnes at the 3 things might no be so smooth, but it is a BIG relife for this Kings fan to see a solid bench tonight.
Just living and making it thru the 1st-2nd-3rd quarters ... add to that the first 10 minutes of the 4th qtr .... is enough to drive me totally crazy and make me feel like I'm jinxing The Kings. BIG thanks to THE BASKETBALL GODS for B-Jax, Matt and G-Tag (they kept the game from getting away and mkaing sure the Kings stayed in it).

Remember that movie "Groundhog Day" ???? Well, that's what each Kings game is like .... each game is like the last, but each game something new pops up. Hey, I'm not complaining ... Kings are winning and getting better ... It's how they're doing that's killin' me ... INCONSISTENT !!!
 
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