GO SCRUBBIES! 
Barnes ( A- ) -- Sactown's Finest lived up to his moniker when it mattered tonight. For the integrity of the grades I can't give him the flat "A" because for three quarters he was not nearly as effective as his previous few stints and had some real struggles on defense where he was being successfully attacked by just about everyone he guarded. But he came on strong in the 4th quarter to finally provide us with that 3rd scorer we needed so desperately. And then the final 30 seconds to win it belonged to Matt. Made a gigantic steal off the inbounds with 30 seconds to go and fed Brad for the tying layup. Got fouled a few seconds later and hit 1 of 2 to give us the lead with 7 seconds to go. And then sealed the game by coming up with his SECOND steal of the final 30 seconds. Remarkable. Over the course of the game made a few bad decisions, and again showed a tendency to rush (and therefore miss) his layups but we won this game because of Matt.
Songaila ( D ) -- very very quiet game from Darius. Just looked sluggish out there from the start and couldn't convert those standstill jumpers which are his bread and butter. On the other end had a couple of moments of quick hands and work on the defensive glass, but mostly a nonfactor there as well. End result was after a final struggling stint to open the 4th quarter, went to the bench and never returned.
Miller ( A ) -- another huge offensive night started out sluggishly, and was getting his butt handed to him by Nazr Mohammed. But woke up in the latter half of the first quarter and was once again remarkably prolific on offense. But in the 4th quarter they really started guarding him tight, and whether it was just the inherent limitations in the game, or whether he just tired out, he was quiet for most of the stretch. He didn't force the issue as much as perhaps he couold have, but he was rarely open. However he was the player that hit the layup after Barnes' steal to finally tie the game, although he did choke the giant FT that went with that layup (it was a potential three point play that would have put us up 1). After a craeer high last night, this must have once agian been in his Top 2 or 3 scoring games. Not as domiant all around as last night -- got quiet late, and never was nearly as effective on the boards as he was in G.S. Still, one of the positives of all of these injuries will hopefully be that Brad never again goes passive and starts passing up open shots. Has to be brimming with confidence as a major scorer after these last few, even if the opposition hasn't exactly been top flight.
Evans ( C ) -- pretty much irrelevant out there tonight. Not so much awful, as just wasted minutes. Didn't really produce on either end of the floor, and even his hustle only came in spurts. We tried Mo on Marbury a few times in an effort to slow him down the way we did in NY, but not much effect this time. Did grab a big defensive rebound with 10 seconds left in the game to set up Barnes game winning FT.
Bibby ( A- ) -- So how exactly does one earn a "-" to his A on a night when he goes for a career high 40? Well, Mike scored and scored and scored but was countered by total ineffectiveness against Marbury on the other end. Mike pumps in 40 points, including a huge clutch 3 ptr with 30 seconds to go that set up our dramatic come from behind victory, and yet only outscores his opponent by 3. Could have been more, but Mike missed FT after FT tonight as well. He's had sporadic problems all season long at the stripe, but tonight it got really really ugly. Huge huge game though, and obviously we get annihilated without him.
Ostertag ( C+ ) -- tried to shut down the middle in his stints, but with mixed results. Had a good stretch in the second quarter, but also seemed a step late at other times and wasn't able to intimidate Marbury in the least, which would have been the real key.
Martin ( B ) -- much better effort from Kevin tonight. Nothing spectacular, and it was good and bad, give and take, but he was a factor this time out. Struggled against Penny Hardaway in the second quarter, just too much size and experience, and we tried him on Marbury late -- was an idea, but predictably Marbury wasn't impressed and just went right at him. Otherwise though hit a three and hopped in passing lanes. Gave us energy and with none of the three non-Miller big guys making a strong case for their presence down the stretch, Rick showed nice confidence in him and went supersmall with a Miller/Barnes/Evans/Martin/Bibby lineup that eventually won it.
House ( INC ) -- shaky 2nd quarter stint, didn't earn him any more run in the second half.
Bradley ( C+ ) -- didn't make his first appearance until the early 4th, but gave us a solid little stint there to buy Miller a few extra minutes of rest. And then Rick made a nice coaching move and left him in when Miller returned and pulled the obviously struggling Songaila. Didn't really work out though as he was just kind of out there when paired with Bard, and for the final 4 minutes of the game Rick just decided to go small rather than have an ineffective big man out there just for show.
Adelman ( A+ ) -- Team Clutch comes through again. And here's why the "+" -- until the final few minutes the team grade here is nowhere near as high. The defense was awful, and we were being totally carried by two players. But Rick on the other hand -- he did everything he could do tonight. Really tried to correct the defensive problems all night long. Some of the more active coaching I have seen him do on that end -- tried every player on the bench, switched guys endlessly on Marbury, Tim Thomas, mixed in zone and man to man, but just no answers tonight. And got very inventive with his substitutions late as well -- first recognized Darius was struggling and pulled him, leaving Bradley in. Then realized Bradley wasn't giving much either, and went tiny small. And that tiny small lineup brought us roaring back for the victory. Rick is normally about the calm -- provides stability and confidence. And maybe that played in tonight as well, but IMHO he really coached his *** off to get a second dramatic victory out of this super-shorthanded crew.
Barnes ( A- ) -- Sactown's Finest lived up to his moniker when it mattered tonight. For the integrity of the grades I can't give him the flat "A" because for three quarters he was not nearly as effective as his previous few stints and had some real struggles on defense where he was being successfully attacked by just about everyone he guarded. But he came on strong in the 4th quarter to finally provide us with that 3rd scorer we needed so desperately. And then the final 30 seconds to win it belonged to Matt. Made a gigantic steal off the inbounds with 30 seconds to go and fed Brad for the tying layup. Got fouled a few seconds later and hit 1 of 2 to give us the lead with 7 seconds to go. And then sealed the game by coming up with his SECOND steal of the final 30 seconds. Remarkable. Over the course of the game made a few bad decisions, and again showed a tendency to rush (and therefore miss) his layups but we won this game because of Matt.
Songaila ( D ) -- very very quiet game from Darius. Just looked sluggish out there from the start and couldn't convert those standstill jumpers which are his bread and butter. On the other end had a couple of moments of quick hands and work on the defensive glass, but mostly a nonfactor there as well. End result was after a final struggling stint to open the 4th quarter, went to the bench and never returned.
Miller ( A ) -- another huge offensive night started out sluggishly, and was getting his butt handed to him by Nazr Mohammed. But woke up in the latter half of the first quarter and was once again remarkably prolific on offense. But in the 4th quarter they really started guarding him tight, and whether it was just the inherent limitations in the game, or whether he just tired out, he was quiet for most of the stretch. He didn't force the issue as much as perhaps he couold have, but he was rarely open. However he was the player that hit the layup after Barnes' steal to finally tie the game, although he did choke the giant FT that went with that layup (it was a potential three point play that would have put us up 1). After a craeer high last night, this must have once agian been in his Top 2 or 3 scoring games. Not as domiant all around as last night -- got quiet late, and never was nearly as effective on the boards as he was in G.S. Still, one of the positives of all of these injuries will hopefully be that Brad never again goes passive and starts passing up open shots. Has to be brimming with confidence as a major scorer after these last few, even if the opposition hasn't exactly been top flight.
Evans ( C ) -- pretty much irrelevant out there tonight. Not so much awful, as just wasted minutes. Didn't really produce on either end of the floor, and even his hustle only came in spurts. We tried Mo on Marbury a few times in an effort to slow him down the way we did in NY, but not much effect this time. Did grab a big defensive rebound with 10 seconds left in the game to set up Barnes game winning FT.
Bibby ( A- ) -- So how exactly does one earn a "-" to his A on a night when he goes for a career high 40? Well, Mike scored and scored and scored but was countered by total ineffectiveness against Marbury on the other end. Mike pumps in 40 points, including a huge clutch 3 ptr with 30 seconds to go that set up our dramatic come from behind victory, and yet only outscores his opponent by 3. Could have been more, but Mike missed FT after FT tonight as well. He's had sporadic problems all season long at the stripe, but tonight it got really really ugly. Huge huge game though, and obviously we get annihilated without him.
Ostertag ( C+ ) -- tried to shut down the middle in his stints, but with mixed results. Had a good stretch in the second quarter, but also seemed a step late at other times and wasn't able to intimidate Marbury in the least, which would have been the real key.
Martin ( B ) -- much better effort from Kevin tonight. Nothing spectacular, and it was good and bad, give and take, but he was a factor this time out. Struggled against Penny Hardaway in the second quarter, just too much size and experience, and we tried him on Marbury late -- was an idea, but predictably Marbury wasn't impressed and just went right at him. Otherwise though hit a three and hopped in passing lanes. Gave us energy and with none of the three non-Miller big guys making a strong case for their presence down the stretch, Rick showed nice confidence in him and went supersmall with a Miller/Barnes/Evans/Martin/Bibby lineup that eventually won it.
House ( INC ) -- shaky 2nd quarter stint, didn't earn him any more run in the second half.
Bradley ( C+ ) -- didn't make his first appearance until the early 4th, but gave us a solid little stint there to buy Miller a few extra minutes of rest. And then Rick made a nice coaching move and left him in when Miller returned and pulled the obviously struggling Songaila. Didn't really work out though as he was just kind of out there when paired with Bard, and for the final 4 minutes of the game Rick just decided to go small rather than have an ineffective big man out there just for show.
Adelman ( A+ ) -- Team Clutch comes through again. And here's why the "+" -- until the final few minutes the team grade here is nowhere near as high. The defense was awful, and we were being totally carried by two players. But Rick on the other hand -- he did everything he could do tonight. Really tried to correct the defensive problems all night long. Some of the more active coaching I have seen him do on that end -- tried every player on the bench, switched guys endlessly on Marbury, Tim Thomas, mixed in zone and man to man, but just no answers tonight. And got very inventive with his substitutions late as well -- first recognized Darius was struggling and pulled him, leaving Bradley in. Then realized Bradley wasn't giving much either, and went tiny small. And that tiny small lineup brought us roaring back for the victory. Rick is normally about the calm -- provides stability and confidence. And maybe that played in tonight as well, but IMHO he really coached his *** off to get a second dramatic victory out of this super-shorthanded crew.
