Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Delayed by the other game...
Artest ( B- ) -- well, gave it a go. And this grade is basically entirely because its great to see that kind of toughness and leadership. Because the on the court contributions themselves were very minor and by themselves probably D-ish by Artest standards. Was clearly hobbled and only a fraction of his normal self, but note that even so he kept Kirlenko under control (not that Ak is actualy that great an offensive player). Only had 6 pts until late in the 4th when he stepped up and hit the exclamation point three on a play where AK-47 was hit in the face and left Ron alone. Played 35min, and you can see how quickly we've become dependant on Ron as just being out there, because neither his game nor his health dictated those minutes tonight. Despite the injury, still managed to lead by word if not deed, called several meetings, was constantly gesticulating from the bench, and seems to have already infused this team with some of his defensive spirit, if nothing else.
Thomas ( C- ) -- began the game forcing, missing his shots, and for most of the night was unable to establish any rhythm on the glass either. But finally found some life in the 4th when he went back to the basics of cutting and receiving passes near the hoop, and he combined it with increaed energy on the offensive boards. A poor night for Kenny for most of the night, but came to play down the stretch as we were the ones who pulled away this time.
Reef ( B- ) -- did nothing in his first stint. Got into foul trouble, and picked up a technical with a miming hand motion which translated roughly to "bleep you". Had an effective stint of play in the 2nd quarter before picking up his third foul, and returned to play decently in the third. But with Skinner coming on strong down the stretch, and Reef still not able to have much more impact than just the occasional hoop, Rick stuck with Brian down the stretch and Reef ended up getting to take the remainder of the night off.
Martin ( B+ ) -- back home again, and in the first half it was back to Arco All-Star. Continues to show the nice development of an inbetween game which was really lacking until basically 2 months ago. Outside shot is also very predictable now -- has become an excellent standstill shooter if somebody hits him on the hands with the pass. On the other hand, if he has to take a dribble left or right = little chance. Quieted down as the game went along and the Jazz began to pay more attention to him, and actually lost most of his second half minutes to Cisco's nice work in the 4th. Returned in garbagetime in place of Ron to pick up a few more hoops and notch another 20pt night. 7-9 shooting suggests this might be an A-, but he was sitting on 15pts until his return with about 3 minutes to go in garbagetime so sticking with the B+.
Bibby ( B ) -- got off to a much better start, and with Artest ailing it was back to a Bibby-centric offense. He and Kevin carried us out to our first half lead. On the other end...try this out for size. Milt Palacio's career high = 20pts. This season vs. the Kings = 19, 19, and had 11 more points at halftime. Like Jerome James and Joel Pryzbilla, Milt owes everything to us. But in the second half things changed on both sides of the court. Mike kept firing, but they were no longer falling . But on the other hand the defense picked up, and not only was the mighty Palacio silenced, but Mike was also part of the unit that squeezed the Jazz in the final quarter. Got the strong scoring night we needed out of Mike with so many hobbled players, but not one of his truly explosive outings.
Skinner ( B+ ) -- long stint off the bench in the first half in place of the ineffective Reef, but had problems with big Tag again and was really pretty ineffective himself. Did get his hands on a couple of shots for blocks. But it was his stint in the 4th quarter which raised his grade dramtically, as he was far more effective, was able to bother Okur, and was the defensive big man we've needed as we put the defensive clamps onto the Jazz to close it out. 29 minutes tonight for Brian was a bit of a breakthrough, with Rick discovering confidence in him and even keeping Reef on the bench as Brian played an integral part of us pulling away late.
Williamson ( B ) -- a nice little help off this bench this time in the first half, and then got a few garbagetime minutes as well. In the first half was part of a tough and scrappy unit that held onto with grit the lead that Bibby and Kevin had built early with offense. Even hit a three pointer, which is a biannual event for him at best.
Garcia ( A- ) -- had a shaky first half, but an excellent 4th quarter to wash away the taste of it. In the early going tried to challenge Tag -- oops. Not sure why our kids seem determined to do that. Maybe Tag just looks too goofy to be intimidating. Also ended up leaving the game with a sprained finger after making a great open court steal, and then going down and blowing the open dunk. Was worried that might be his last minutes on the night, and maybe longer with our luck. But didn't turn out that way, and that was a very good thing for us, as Cisco came back in the early 4th to finally hit a couple of threes and extend the lead out to an almost insurmountable edge given the Jazz's offensive incompetence. And his dynamic finish to the game included athletic blocked shot after atheltic blocked shot as he got the energy going and was flying all around the court. A+ final quarter, but those were only half his minutes.
Hart ( INC ) -- a Jason sighting! And oh man was it exciting. So exciting I am declining to grade it despite it barely sneaking past my 6 minute grading cutoff. Suffice it to say that yes, he is still breathing. Woot.
Adelman ( ) -- coming...
Artest ( B- ) -- well, gave it a go. And this grade is basically entirely because its great to see that kind of toughness and leadership. Because the on the court contributions themselves were very minor and by themselves probably D-ish by Artest standards. Was clearly hobbled and only a fraction of his normal self, but note that even so he kept Kirlenko under control (not that Ak is actualy that great an offensive player). Only had 6 pts until late in the 4th when he stepped up and hit the exclamation point three on a play where AK-47 was hit in the face and left Ron alone. Played 35min, and you can see how quickly we've become dependant on Ron as just being out there, because neither his game nor his health dictated those minutes tonight. Despite the injury, still managed to lead by word if not deed, called several meetings, was constantly gesticulating from the bench, and seems to have already infused this team with some of his defensive spirit, if nothing else.
Thomas ( C- ) -- began the game forcing, missing his shots, and for most of the night was unable to establish any rhythm on the glass either. But finally found some life in the 4th when he went back to the basics of cutting and receiving passes near the hoop, and he combined it with increaed energy on the offensive boards. A poor night for Kenny for most of the night, but came to play down the stretch as we were the ones who pulled away this time.
Reef ( B- ) -- did nothing in his first stint. Got into foul trouble, and picked up a technical with a miming hand motion which translated roughly to "bleep you". Had an effective stint of play in the 2nd quarter before picking up his third foul, and returned to play decently in the third. But with Skinner coming on strong down the stretch, and Reef still not able to have much more impact than just the occasional hoop, Rick stuck with Brian down the stretch and Reef ended up getting to take the remainder of the night off.
Martin ( B+ ) -- back home again, and in the first half it was back to Arco All-Star. Continues to show the nice development of an inbetween game which was really lacking until basically 2 months ago. Outside shot is also very predictable now -- has become an excellent standstill shooter if somebody hits him on the hands with the pass. On the other hand, if he has to take a dribble left or right = little chance. Quieted down as the game went along and the Jazz began to pay more attention to him, and actually lost most of his second half minutes to Cisco's nice work in the 4th. Returned in garbagetime in place of Ron to pick up a few more hoops and notch another 20pt night. 7-9 shooting suggests this might be an A-, but he was sitting on 15pts until his return with about 3 minutes to go in garbagetime so sticking with the B+.
Bibby ( B ) -- got off to a much better start, and with Artest ailing it was back to a Bibby-centric offense. He and Kevin carried us out to our first half lead. On the other end...try this out for size. Milt Palacio's career high = 20pts. This season vs. the Kings = 19, 19, and had 11 more points at halftime. Like Jerome James and Joel Pryzbilla, Milt owes everything to us. But in the second half things changed on both sides of the court. Mike kept firing, but they were no longer falling . But on the other hand the defense picked up, and not only was the mighty Palacio silenced, but Mike was also part of the unit that squeezed the Jazz in the final quarter. Got the strong scoring night we needed out of Mike with so many hobbled players, but not one of his truly explosive outings.
Skinner ( B+ ) -- long stint off the bench in the first half in place of the ineffective Reef, but had problems with big Tag again and was really pretty ineffective himself. Did get his hands on a couple of shots for blocks. But it was his stint in the 4th quarter which raised his grade dramtically, as he was far more effective, was able to bother Okur, and was the defensive big man we've needed as we put the defensive clamps onto the Jazz to close it out. 29 minutes tonight for Brian was a bit of a breakthrough, with Rick discovering confidence in him and even keeping Reef on the bench as Brian played an integral part of us pulling away late.
Williamson ( B ) -- a nice little help off this bench this time in the first half, and then got a few garbagetime minutes as well. In the first half was part of a tough and scrappy unit that held onto with grit the lead that Bibby and Kevin had built early with offense. Even hit a three pointer, which is a biannual event for him at best.
Garcia ( A- ) -- had a shaky first half, but an excellent 4th quarter to wash away the taste of it. In the early going tried to challenge Tag -- oops. Not sure why our kids seem determined to do that. Maybe Tag just looks too goofy to be intimidating. Also ended up leaving the game with a sprained finger after making a great open court steal, and then going down and blowing the open dunk. Was worried that might be his last minutes on the night, and maybe longer with our luck. But didn't turn out that way, and that was a very good thing for us, as Cisco came back in the early 4th to finally hit a couple of threes and extend the lead out to an almost insurmountable edge given the Jazz's offensive incompetence. And his dynamic finish to the game included athletic blocked shot after atheltic blocked shot as he got the energy going and was flying all around the court. A+ final quarter, but those were only half his minutes.
Hart ( INC ) -- a Jason sighting! And oh man was it exciting. So exciting I am declining to grade it despite it barely sneaking past my 6 minute grading cutoff. Suffice it to say that yes, he is still breathing. Woot.
Adelman ( ) -- coming...
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He really was an inspiration to the team and the fans. Go Ron-Ron!!
