Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
5-4 now with DeMarcus Cousins
0-5 now without.
Any questions?
5-9 now, with our next three opponents @CHA, @MIL, MIN at home. All winnable, non-guaranteed. Then unfortunately on the game that could get us to .500 a week from now? @ Golden State. Would be a pretty epic way to reach 9-9, .500, though, to knock off the Warriors and break their streak. That never happens to us btw, but its out there.
Boxscore
Stats: 25min 8pts (3-12, 0-3, 2-2) 3reb 2ast 0stl 0blk 4TO
Summary: poor statline, but at least looked more confident putting it up
McLemore ( C- ) -- This afternoon Karl started a 3-guard lineup as the Magic did the same much of the game. Ben has been aggressive the past 2 games and continued today but mostly seen on the defensive side. Another poor shooting game for Ben 3/12 in 25 minutes (including 4 missed layin’s/dunks) and no 3’s, 3 reb but 4 TO’s. His defense of sticking with his man was the best this year and the Magic have a bunch of young, quick SG and SF. He also was not out-of-position most of the time, also an improvement. Started as the 3rd guard with Rondo and DC. Started the 2nd quarter but was relatively quiet other than doing a much better job doubling down during defense creating some real problems for the Magic. Started the 3rd quarter but again a quiet and not productive on offense but staying on for defense. Did not play at all in the 4th quarter as Omri and Marco played the entire quarter at the 2-3 along with Rondo. For good reason: when your SG and PG (DC) combine for 5/23 shooting and 8 of the 14 TO, the game gets much tougher. --Cruz
Stats: 17min 2pts (1-5, 0-0, 0-0) 5reb 0ast 0stl 2blk 0TO
Summary: 2pts and 5rebs in 15-20min is getting routine enough we should call it 'The Willie"
Cauley-Stein ( B- ) -- Willie played 17 minutes tonight and only scored 2 points. He had several opportunities to score, but missed some chippy's along the way. Almost all of his misses were very contested though, and further evidence of his need to get stronger. He ended up one for five from the floor. However, defensively he made a difference. He was the third member of the big three defense around the basket. The official scorer has him down for 2 blocks while I had him down for 3. Like Koufos, I thought Willie could have rebounded a tad better, but 5 boards in 17 minutes isn't bad. His one basket came on a little mini hookshot on a nice assist from Rondo. He ought to use that shot a little more in the future. It's hard to block and he seems to be effective with it. He's fun to watch around the basket, and there's no doubt that he changes minds and shots. 10 or 15 more pounds of muscle, and he could be a defensive beast. --Baja
Stats: 40min 29pts (8-19, 0-2, 13-15) 12reb 6ast 3stl 3blk 4TO
Summary: all around game tonight was in control and excellent until some late game inefficiency
Cousins ( A- ) -- Except for a few brain dead moments, Cuz played very well. He started the game by missing a layup, and then got jobbed by the ref at the other end who saw something that didn't happen. But after driving to the basket, and getting fouled, something he would do with regularity in the game, he was off and runnning. He was very solid defensively as well racking up 3 blocked shots on the night. The Magic tried playing him straight up to start the game, but after Cuz started scoring at will, they decided to double and triple him just about every time he got the ball. On one occasion he made a beautiful spin move and a reverse layup. However, getting back to the brain dead moments, he attempted to drive into the double or triple team far too many times, which resulted in 4 turnovers. On the occasion he didn't turn the ball over, he ended up throwing up wild shots that had little chance of going in. He did compensate for the turnovers to some degree with 6 assists. Cuz also grabbed 12 boards on the night, and I think the official scorer missed one because I had him down for 13. When you throw in his 3 steals, he put up a very nice stat line. He still needs to cut down on the turnovers. The Kings had 14 on the night, and 12 of them came from just three players. Collison, McLemore, who was next to worthless tonight, and Cousins. But hey, we won the game and that's all that matters. --Baja
Stats: 36min 9pts (2-11, 1-3, 4-4) 2reb 1ast 3stl 0blk 4TO
Summary: played poorly for the most part, but played and played anyway. Nice luxury to have 2 PGs in final minutes
Collison ( D+ ) -- started off the game digging back for a steal on Vucevic and heading out the other way, but would rarely be that effective thereafter. Had an especially bad turnover in the early second giving Fournier his first bucket on an open court dunk. Despite the poor play was getting as many early minutes as Rondo running the team, and it was grating. Got a single corner three and one of his two rebounds came on a laying out crashing to the floor rebound to start the break. But then he went down the other way and got wild and dribbled it out of bounds. The defense was still soft and airy, but at least notched a few steals, and none of the Magic guards seemed interested in punishing us. Despite the largely empty minutes, after the scary hack-a-Rondo tactics the Nets used last week it was a nice luxury to have a second PG ballhandler we could have bring it up in the final minutes. --Brick
Stats: 42min 13pts (5-9, 3-4, 0-0) 7reb 9ast 3stl 0blk 1TO
Summary: effect was muted at times due to ball sharing with Collison, but there really needs to be a floor general stat to account for his calming effect
Rondo ( A- ) -- early on ran into a early steal, and made a brilliant bounce pass 3/4 court to Ben for a big breakaway dunk (one of Ben's few positive plays). And then it was clear that Rajon was Seth Curry's new big bro, as he went all Steph on the Magic, knocking down 3 three pointers in the first quarter, and oh, helping on the glass too. Less involved for a long spell thereafter with Collison sapping his touches, but when he did get it still made multiple good passes. The intangibles really asserted themselves late in this game, beginning with the end of the 3rd quarter where you saw him just making smart plays -- one time Cousins cam down, went to his 3pt spot, Rondo took a look at who was guarding him, asked for the ball back and reset him in the post before giving it back. Another time he got stripped along the baseline, hopped in the air, and threw a spot on the money behind the back wraparound pass to Belinelli to save it. And with the game in doubt in the last 3rd, Rondo took full control after we had gotten a full lead, gathered up the team in a huddle, probably to say let's finish the quarter strong and knock these ****ers out, and then proceeded to direct a huge 22-2 run to end the quarter. It wasn't perfect, he continues to alarm with several more of those full court bonzai passes to a streaking Cuz that I think have to be Karl-mandated. Just such a low percentage play. His single turnover actually was on a 5 second call after we got shaky again,
But he is still somehow excusing that sense that everything will work out, and taking action to make that happen, including saving us with an oop pass to Cousin at the 3:23 mark when the Magic were threatening. --Brick
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Getting him the ball around top of the key off picks with Rondo (from FT line to 3 line) is to open up the floor and take advantage of his ability to drive left or right vs slower footed bigs, pop the open J, and make it more difficult to send a second man at him, and make opponent pay when they do.
