[Grades] Grades v. Hawks 1/21/2016

[Chubbs]

One more thing. Grant Napear's bias has reached the level of him being an unprofessional embarrassment. First, he almost NEVER gives any credence that Boogie might in fact be getting fouled. Blake, who leads the league in ejections, and Cousins, take the most punishment in the league on a nightly basis. Last night to Grant what was happening was "tremendous defense." Right Grant. Second, he decided at the moment Boogie got the T what his radio show would be about the next day. That one 1 point negated, in his mind, everything else that happened in the entire game. There were almost a full 3/4 of the game up to that point of bad calls, no calls. Had Boogie taken a single free throw? Does that seem right to anyone? Few stars in the NBA wouldn't have gotten a T at some point. Let's not act like Boogie is some crazy outlier in this particular instance. It didn't affect his game. Bobby Jackson said something to the effect that he would have gotten a T too. Most players would. It may even have helped him get calls later. Let's not act like the most important aspect of a T is the one point. Cause it's not. With under 3 to go, sure, you can't get a T. But this was the 3rd quarter.

Look, I know bias. I had it bad toward IT.

Just call the damn game. Be a pro. You're play by play. Stop editorializing everything. Spending more than a second on that T just wasn't called for as Boogie was objectively getting hammered all game (the TV crew IMMEDIATELY flashed the stat that over the last 3 seasons Boogie leads the league in T's).

In short, I need to turn of the sound. For some reason I listened last night. Part of me enjoys yelling at the TV I think.

And great announcing on the ball off Milsap. Way to not see that whatsoever or even give a second thought that it might be kings ball.

Two things from the official Nba 2 minute report. 'Conclusive evidence that milsap last touched the ball." Grant and Jerry dead wrong.

Also the foul on Collison was incorrect. He was not touched by Schroeder. Ruled incorrect call. Almost cost us the game.

http://official.nba.com/nba-last-two-minute-reports-archive/

 

[IfAt1st]

Actually -
what WAS Rondo doing on that last play?
Why isn;t he on the 3-pt line?

And interesting note - Willie tipped/blocked the inbounds pass but the clock didn't start until .7 seconds after.

Really, it's impossible for the clock operator to know instantly that the ball was tipped - which begs the question : why do replays look at the clock, instead of when the clock SHOULD have started in those situations? (Reference last year's Grizzlies debacle)

 

[Dime Dropper]

Yeah, Napier is a piece of s***. I've been meaning to mention it after almost every game. He's constantly passive aggressive towards Cuz. I think he actually enjoys when he gets no calls, because it gives him a stick to beat Boogie with when he complains.

His arrogance is what pisses me off the most. He is utterly convinced that he is right, when in reality he has very little knowledge of the game.

 

[Spike]

Actually -
what WAS Rondo doing on that last play?
Why isn;t he on the 3-pt line?

To keep everyone else in position. And/or/if/when someone blows an assignment, he can get in better position to close out on the ball.

 

[Sac.Kings]

Yeah, Napier is a piece of s**t. I've been meaning to mention it after almost every game. He's constantly passive aggressive towards Cuz. I think he actually enjoys when he gets no calls, because it gives him a stick to beat Boogie with when he complains.

His arrogance is what pisses me off the most. He is utterly convinced that he is right, when in reality he has very little knowledge of the game.

I try my best to listen to the opposing announcers (one of the few nice options League Pass offers) in order to avoid our own announcers and to get a sense of what other announcers think of us. Unless I can't stomach the opposing team's announcers (there is only a handful I simply cannot listen to), I generally don't get to hear that criticism from Grant (not that I don't believe it to be true). As someone brought up earlier, you're doing the play by play, which should be as objective as possible and hidden agendas swept under the rug for the time being. There might be some changes this offseason because when you are essentially one of the voices of the Kings, you can't be insulting your own team's best player/taking pot shots at him night in and night out. That's not how it works!

 

[Tetsujin]

Yeah, Napier is a piece of s**t. I've been meaning to mention it after almost every game. He's constantly passive aggressive towards Cuz. I think he actually enjoys when he gets no calls, because it gives him a stick to beat Boogie with when he complains.

His arrogance is what pisses me off the most. He is utterly convinced that he is right, when in reality he has very little knowledge of the game.

Grant doesn't like the best player on the team? What a surprise...

Let us not forget that Chuckles's favorite pastime used to be bashing Chris Webber (I'll never forget how he fell all over himself praising Kenny Thomas for "doing all the right things" the first game after the Sixers trade), then followed it up by bashing Kevin Martin when he started getting good.

The only thing Grant likes more than trying to run star players out of town is shouting one of his several catchphrases at the earliest possible opportunity. And triple-doubles. Nothing gets Grant's little red monster up and ready more than a guy hitting an arbitrary number mark.

 

[pshn80]

Have always enjoyed our TV announce staff. A friend last night told me our two are cnsidered among the best team broadcasters in the league. Don't quite see where this bashing s coming from. It is obviously shared by a few.

 

[lwc]

One more thing. Grant Napear's bias has reached the level of him being an unprofessional embarrassment. First, he almost NEVER gives any credence that Boogie might in fact be getting fouled. Blake, who leads the league in ejections, and Cousins, take the most punishment in the league on a nightly basis. Last night to Grant what was happening was "tremendous defense." Right Grant. Second, he decided at the moment Boogie got the T what his radio show would be about the next day. That one 1 point negated, in his mind, everything else that happened in the entire game. There were almost a full 3/4 of the game up to that point of bad calls, no calls. Had Boogie taken a single free throw? Does that seem right to anyone? Few stars in the NBA wouldn't have gotten a T at some point. Let's not act like Boogie is some crazy outlier in this particular instance. It didn't affect his game. Bobby Jackson said something to the effect that he would have gotten a T too. Most players would. It may even have helped him get calls later. Let's not act like the most important aspect of a T is the one point. Cause it's not. With under 3 to go, sure, you can't get a T. But this was the 3rd quarter.

Look, I know bias. I had it bad toward IT.

Just call the damn game. Be a pro. You're play by play. Stop editorializing everything. Spending more than a second on that T just wasn't called for as Boogie was objectively getting hammered all game (the TV crew IMMEDIATELY flashed the stat that over the last 3 seasons Boogie leads the league in T's).

In short, I need to turn of the sound. For some reason I listened last night. Part of me enjoys yelling at the TV I think.

And great announcing on the ball off Milsap. Way to not see that whatsoever or even give a second thought that it might be kings ball.

Two things from the official Nba 2 minute report. 'Conclusive evidence that milsap last touched the ball." Grant and Jerry dead wrong.

Also the foul on Collison was incorrect. He was not touched by Schroeder. Ruled incorrect call. Almost cost us the game.

http://official.nba.com/nba-last-two-minute-reports-archive/

Great post.

I was defending Grant for a few seasons because "homer" broadcasters drive me insane. However, as Tetsujin pointed out, Grant has done this before. As opposed to being simply fair and balanced, he goes over the line to point out faults non-stop.

 

[Henkel]

Just call the damn game. Be a pro. You're play by play. Stop editorializing everything. Spending more than a second on that T just wasn't called for as Boogie was objectively getting hammered all game (the TV crew IMMEDIATELY flashed the stat that over the last 3 seasons Boogie leads the league in T's).

Just to nitpick a little bit, that's not editorializing. It's a relevant fact when talking about Cousins and technical fouls. Not providing that information would be a greater sign of bias if you ask me.

 

[Glenn]

Grant doesn't like the best player on the team? What a surprise...

Let us not forget that Chuckles's favorite pastime used to be bashing Chris Webber (I'll never forget how he fell all over himself praising Kenny Thomas for "doing all the right things" the first game after the Sixers trade), then followed it up by bashing Kevin Martin when he started getting good.

The only thing Grant likes more than trying to run star players out of town is shouting one of his several catchphrases at the earliest possible opportunity. And triple-doubles. Nothing gets Grant's little red monster up and ready more than a guy hitting an arbitrary number mark.

Guess who got picked last on the playground?

 

[Chupacabra]

Actually -
what WAS Rondo doing on that last play?
Why isn;t he on the 3-pt line?

And interesting note - Willie tipped/blocked the inbounds pass but the clock didn't start until .7 seconds after.

Really, it's impossible for the clock operator to know instantly that the ball was tipped - which begs the question : why do replays look at the clock, instead of when the clock SHOULD have started in those situations? (Reference last year's Grizzlies debacle)

Maybe Rondo was calling out screens? Playing inverted safety and running out to open shooters?

 

[IfAt1st]

Another angle Jerry and Grant always promote is that the refs are seldom wrong, regardless of what is shown on replay.
They will spin it so the refs always sound better, and ignore (and never bring back up again) when they are shown to be wrong.
Wouldn't it be refreshing for them (as the home team announcers!) to harangue the refs all game long for a mistake the same way they do Cousins? Like when the refs messed up and allowed a 3 pt shot to be counted after the buzzer went off, Grant could constantly talk about how those 3 points are the difference in the game.

But he never took that approach - he said "You've gotta play through it, and take the score as it is - there's nothing you can do about it now, just play the game."

They constantly try to make themselves sound better than the players, like playing bball at this level is an easy thing to do. They always phrase it like "The Kings are letting the opponent make lots of 3s." As if the players were just standing nearby doing nothing. There have been games where the other team shoots insanely hard shots, take bad shots that just go in even with a defender in their face, and Jerry in particular complained about the Kings "letting them make shots."

Jerry and Grant also put the players in impossible quandries, where if the player reacts with emotion, they are told "You have to play through that, it is what it is", etc. But if they calmly react to adversity on the court, they are told they lack intensity, etc.

Those are just some of the horrid techniques Grant and Jerry use to constantly needle and frustrate the players - I'm surprised any of them do any interviews with them, as critical of the home team as they are.
Remember - I am one of the biggest constructive criticism guys you will ever meet - I think praise is overrated.
But it's gotten to the point where I would MUCH rather have a horribly homer broadcasting crew, just so I can hear some good things about the Kings instead of constant negative spin on Cousins and talking up the other teams.

 

[Henkel]

Maybe Rondo was calling out screens? Playing inverted safety and running out to open shooters?

His job was to react to the pass like a safety while Collison played man to man on Korver with Cousins and Casspi responsible for zones. Brad Stevens loves to umbrella the three point line in these situations and other teams seems to be adopting some version of this strategy.

 

[IfAt1st]

Just to nitpick a little bit, that's not editorializing. It's a relevant fact when talking about Cousins and technical fouls. Not providing that information would be a greater sign of bias if you ask me.

WRONG.

They have instantly highlighted Cousins' negative stats for YEARS - those graphics (especially with this new broadcasting company, which SUCKS compared to Maloof Sports & Entertainment broadcasts - seriously, this new company is embarrassingly bad) take time to come up with, and have to be prepared in advance, ready to trot out whenever they get the chance (i.e. whenever Grant wants to spotlight some negative thing he can against Cousins).

Anyone not recognizing the blatant propaganda campaign Grant has waged against Cousins since the day he got here is actively deluding themselves.

 

[Glenn]

WRONG.

They have instantly highlighted Cousins' negative stats for YEARS - those graphics (especially with this new broadcasting company, which SUCKS compared to Maloof Sports & Entertainment broadcasts - seriously, this new company is embarrassingly bad) take time to come up with, and have to be prepared in advance, ready to trot out whenever they get the chance (i.e. whenever Grant wants to spotlight some negative thing he can against Cousins).

Anyone not recognizing the blatant propaganda campaign Grant has waged against Cousins since the day he got here is actively deluding themselves.

I do not listen to Grant's show and would be interested in full disclosure about who DOES listen.

Anyway, in this last instance, it would have been nice to show the three year stats and then say it appears Cuz is turning a corner as of 2016 and is in much more control. The major story of the Kings this year is that Cuz has changed. To put it all in context, Cuz cost the team 1 pt. while averaging 32 pts per game in the last three weeks. Perspective, Grant, perspective.

Yes, Grant picks on Cuz and he seems to revel in his self perceived superiority. I am not absolutely sure Jerry agrees but he plays the role of the yes man and just once I would like to hear him disagree. Bobby said he personally would have gotten T'd up if he was being battered around like Cuz and seemed to understand the situation.

 

[Henkel]

WRONG.

They have instantly highlighted Cousins' negative stats for YEARS - those graphics (especially with this new broadcasting company, which SUCKS compared to Maloof Sports & Entertainment broadcasts - seriously, this new company is embarrassingly bad) take time to come up with, and have to be prepared in advance, ready to trot out whenever they get the chance (i.e. whenever Grant wants to spotlight some negative thing he can against Cousins).

Anyone not recognizing the blatant propaganda campaign Grant has waged against Cousins since the day he got here is actively deluding themselves.

Need help down from that cross Kings fans? I'm not going to define relevant for you. They weren't randomly discussing Cousins and techs so the discussion would be relevant. And if you're discussing Cousins and techs the fact that he's been the league leader twice is of course relevant.

Grants a tool. Another talking head that gins up controversy because his job bottom line is to get peoples attention, but showing a graphic about technical fouls after a technical foul isn't hyperbolic or persecutory and it's something most broadcasts would do.

 

[ESP47]

Maybe Rondo was calling out screens? Playing inverted safety and running out to open shooters?

Rondo was talking but he wasn't playing any defense himself

If Korver catches that, he has a wide open look at a 3 because Rondo was just standing there in the paint watching. He wasn't in position to close out on anyone.

 

[VF21]

Have always enjoyed our TV announce staff. A friend last night told me our two are cnsidered among the best team broadcasters in the league. Don't quite see where this bashing s coming from. It is obviously shared by a few.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion.

I, for one, have made it abundantly clear why I dislike Grant Napear and I think a lot of others have, too. He is part of the broadcast team FOR the Sacramento Kings. He seems to forget that at times, and switches over to his Jim Rome wannabe persona. Which is fine, if he's on the radio BUT not appropriate for the guy doing the play-by-play from the arena.

He and Jerry both fawn all over themselves over opposing team members to the point where it's almost embarrassing. I don't give a rat's patoot about the other guys, especially when the game is in progress. I can't even begin to count how many plays have totally gotten past Grant and Jerry because they're too busy singing the praises of Kobe ... or Chris Paul ... or Blake Griffin ... or whomever. Tonight I predict it will be Paul George, with the obligatory comments from Jerry about Indiana, etc.

We get it. There are good players on other teams. We're not blind and most of us aren't stupid or naive. WE'RE KINGS FANS, listening to a Kings game. It would be nice if Howdy Doody kept that in mind. It would also be nice if he quit acting like it's his personal responsibility to point out every single error made by DeMarcus as though it and it alone is going to cost us the game/season.

Napear has done this before. He did it to Chris Webber, he did it to Bobby Jackson. He did it to a few others. People have tried excusing him by saying he was just speaking for the front office, but that's crap. He does it because he can...he's the emperor in the parade showing off his "new clothes." Unfortunately, as time goes by, more and more people are noticing the truth.

Napear isn't all bad, but he needs to focus on the game and not his personal agenda IMHO.

And again, this is my personal opinion so I have no problem if you disagree.

 

[VF21]

...Yes, Grant picks on Cuz and he seems to revel in his self perceived superiority. I am not absolutely sure Jerry agrees but he plays the role of the yes man and just once I would like to hear him disagree. Bobby said he personally would have gotten T'd up if he was being battered around like Cuz and seemed to understand the situation.

I've been listening for it, and I've actually heard Jerry change the subject a couple of times. I think he's a little uncomfortable about some of Grant's rhetoric.

 

[VF21]

Need help down from that cross Kings fans? I'm not going to define relevant for you. They weren't randomly discussing Cousins and techs so the discussion would be relevant. And if you're discussing Cousins and techs the fact that he's been the league leader twice is of course relevant.

Grants a tool. Another talking head that gins up controversy because his job bottom line is to get peoples attention, but showing a graphic about technical fouls after a technical foul isn't hyperbolic or persecutory and it's something most broadcasts would do.

Please don't lump all of us into IfAt1st's particular brand of conspiratorial thinking.

I agree that the graphic wasn't inappropriate in and of itself but I agree with Glenn that it could have been used to show that Cousins is improving and maturing instead of how Napear used it.

 

[Gliesian]

Grant has an older style of announcing and I tend to agree with almost everything he says, so I like the guy in that regard. It's also hilarious when he gets his jimmies rustled. But like everyone has said, his ego is too big. Whatever beef happened with him and Cuz should have been squashed by Grant years ago, not perpetuated into this awkwardness. Cuz is making bonds with our city. The Kings are becoming a new family, just like the golden days. Shame on Grant for undermining these core values.

 

[Glenn]

Grant has an older style of announcing and I tend to agree with almost everything he says, so I like the guy in that regard. It's also hilarious when he gets his jimmies rustled. But like everyone has said, his ego is too big. Whatever beef happened with him and Cuz should have been squashed by Grant years ago, not perpetuated into this awkwardness. Cuz is making bonds with our city. The Kings are becoming a new family, just like the golden days. Shame on Grant for undermining these core values.

Very well put.

 

[VF21]

...He and Jerry both fawn all over themselves over opposing team members to the point where it's almost embarrassing. I don't give a rat's patoot about the other guys, especially when the game is in progress. I can't even begin to count how many plays have totally gotten past Grant and Jerry because they're too busy singing the praises of Kobe ... or Chris Paul ... or Blake Griffin ... or whomever. Tonight I predict it will be Paul George, with the obligatory comments from Jerry about Indiana, etc.

So did I call it?

 

[Livinthedream]

So did I call it?

I have a Game mode on my TV that amplifies crowd noises and muffles the broadcasters, to give you the feel that you're actually at the game. Best invention ever. I barely heard anything Grant said. So I stayed content the whole game. You should invest.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

My apology if somebody posted this already and I overlooked it, but Mike Prada of SB Nation did a pretty good breakdown of the last defensive sequence (with screenshots) and Rajon Rondo's ability to recall what he saw on film.

Check it out: http://www.sbnation.com/2016/1/22/10814986/rajon-rondo-hawks-kings-defense-basketball-iq

 

[IfAt1st]

Funny, how the guy takes all that time to analyze and write up one play, and still gets the ending wrong.

They clearly inbounded the ball to Horford across the court, and Willie tipped it which deflected at Korver who couldn't handle the speed because it was a cross-court pass.