Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Alrighty...hard as it may be to believe, I actually went and did something else for a little while before jumping right into another beauty for us. However, I thought the theme suggested itself. Since we in all ways have gone back to 1985 (well not all ways -- we were better then), its time for a little trip through time. So the theme, as the catchy song says: Precoccupied with 1985 (at least the 1985 Kings)
(For those who don't get the song reference):
Cisco ( A- ) -- one of the three guys who came to play for us tonight (and who, as we've quickly found out about Theus, was therefore rewarded with 40+min of playing time). Got slipped into the role as a starter with the blatant incompetence exhibited by everyone on the team shorter than 6'6"...or taller than 6'7" for that matter. And all he did was shoot 8-10, lead the team in assists, and tally a career high 23 points. Yet along the way there were still Cisco moments -- getting the steal, then taking it full court and throwing the pasa away. Fouling Jason Terry beyond the three point line with half a second left in the first half etc. So it wasn't perfect, and after really helping the first two games he did not give us any help on the glass where we are utterly dependent on our swingmen at this point. But it was a strong game...offensively. There is often a tendency in high scoring games to ignore the fact you got your butt whipped because things felt better on the end of the court where most of the stats are kept. But while the Mavs 1/2/3 were highly effective, I would not lay too much of that at Cisco's feet.
SF -- Terry Tyler -- in that first year of Kings bball I seem to recall us actually understanding roleplayers and starting Terry Tyler -- TT -- at SF instead of the far more prolific Eddie Johnson. I could be misremembering that, but I think that's right. EJ became a high scoring 6th man, rather than starting alongside fellow shooting softies Reggie Theus and Mike Woodson. Tyler was an amusing player -- really more of a 3/4 than a pure SF, andcould jump out of the gym. Had been a big shotblocker in his younger years. But the thing was that he had about the slowest windup for his leap I have ever seen in an NBA player, and would have to go into a deep knee bend, wihthis knees splayed out like a frog, before exploding upward. Artest > Tyler when/if he ever gets back. But he's not. So if Cisco wants to keep on putting up numbers like tonight, maybe this will reverse, but for the time being Tyler was the more stable presence -- a longtime starter and career roleplayer who was nothing great, but could be counted on. Edge: Tyler.
Moore ( D ) -- inserted in place of Kenny in the starting lineup, and continued to do nothing for us. Got one of his jumpers to fall on a turnaround, but that's largely it. Briefly contended with Dirk inside in the early going, but only briefly. Got his customary 4pts 3rebs, but took even longer (28 min) to get it this time than he normally does. Needless to say we did not win the PF matchup tonight.
PF -- Mark Olberding -- Olberding was just playing out the string by the time he hit Sacramento. But he was old, nasty, and just plain mean. he had gained fame as a member of the "Bruise Brothers" frontline in San Antonio in the early 80's (I think -- a little before my time). And while he lacked talent, speed, agility etc. etc., he understood the essence of the PF position, and if anybody dared come near him, he would knock them right on their butt. Good times. He would give way the next season to the fast emerging (and vastly more talented) Otis Thorpe. But for one season the Sacramento Kings actually had a player other players feared. Imagine that. He was not much by that stage of his career, but not much still makes him > than whatever junk we have at the position now. Edge: Olberding.
Miller ( D ) -- alarmingly ineffective out there. Got smushed on the galss yet again, this time by DeSagana Diop. Had insult added to injury when 5'11" Juan Barrea was so intimidated by Brad that he charged right into his chest and barreled right over him for a layup and one (knocked Brad oin his keister). Got yanked very early in the third for wussiness unbecoming a big man. But when he was reinserted near the end of the quarter, he seemed to absorb a little testosterone from Watkins as the two combined to give us maybe our only 2 minute stretch of solid boardwork all night. Can list as his season highlight a) grabbing an offensive reboudn; and b) actually scoring in the post. Woot.
C -- LaSalle Thompson -- The Kings entered Sacramento that first year much like they are now -- having just made a questionable selection fo a big white center in the laate lottery. And just like now, it wasn't that young center who was the starter, it was an established vet. The difference is that the established vet back in the day went about 6'10" 260lbs, had shoulders as wide as the lane, and went by the nickname "Tank". Can you imagine any current Kings PF/C with a nickname like Tank? No neither can I. I think some of the younger fans have seen him as a doofy pregame type guy for the Kings in recent years, but don't let the buffoonery fool you. He was not an All-Star, but he was a big strong rock in there, and would have grabbed as many rebounds as our enteir frontline combined. Edge: Tank.
Martin ( A- ) -- The second of the three Kings who played tongiht. This was better than either of his earlier performances, not only because he scored a few more points, but because he scored them more in the cause of us trying to stay competitive, and he finally gave us a little help elsewhere with 6 rebs as well. Quick rant: Kevin Martin is NOT scoring 28 points oin 14 shots or whatever. I continue to call utter stupidity on the people mindlessly repeating that stat. Tonight he shot 15 FTs, and made all 15. He had 1 technical FT, was never fouled beyond the 3pt line that I recall, and therefore was fouled and sent to the line 7 times. Those 7 times, along wiht his 14 shots (he shot under 50% 6-14) means he scored his 28 points on 21 possessions/shots. That's still quite good, but not the silly crap that the dim little chucklemeister next to Grant will keep on spouting. In any case, led the team in scoring, mostly with a huge number of FTs, but on this night at least there was not much flopping. It was legit. Was not happy with his defense on Barrea at all -- tough cover to have to guard a PG with us not playing one ourselves, but that's still no excuse for some of the wide open looks the little guy got. Had some issues with Stack as well. Not enough to knock him out of the A- range I decided though in the face of the rest of his numbers.
Mike Woodson -- that first year at OG the Kings started Mike Woodson or "Woody" as he was known to those too innocent to raise their eyebrows at such a nickname. Woody was not a great player by any stretch. But he was a solid scoring OG who fit right in with the all offense, all softie group of 1s, 2s, and 3s we had during those days. He is now of course the coach of the Atlanta Hawks, proving along with Reggie that nothing quite prepares you for coaching like playing for the Kings back in the bad ole days. Woody was a solid OG, a midteen type scorer, but Kevin is already better as a scorer, and Woody never did much else any more than Kevin does. Edge: Martin.
(For those who don't get the song reference):
1985 Lyrics
Artist(Band):Bowling for Soup
Woo Hoo Hooooo!
Woo hoo hooooo!
Debbie just hit the wall
She never had it all
One Prozac a day
Husband's a CPA
Her dreams went out the door
When she turned 24.
Only been with one man
What happened to her plan?
She was gonna be an actress
She was gonna be a star
She was gonna shake her ***
On the hood of White Snake's car
Her yellow SUV is now the enemy
Looks at her average life
And nothing, has been...
all right since
Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
But she's still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
Woo Hoo Hooooo!
(1985)
Woo Hoo Hooooo!
She’s seen all the classics
She knows every line
"Breakfast Club", "Pretty In Pink"
Even "St. Elmo's Fire"
She rocked out to Wham!
Not a big Limp Bizkit fan
Thought she'd get a hand
On a member of Duran Duran
Where's the mini-skirt made of snakeskin
And who's the other guy that's singing in Van Halen?
When did reality become T.V.?
What ever happened to sitcoms, game shows,
(on the radio was)
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
But she's still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
Woo Hoo Hooooo!
She hates time, make it stop
When did Motley Crue become classic rock?
And when did Ozzy become an actor?
Please make this stop, stop, STOP(tick tick tick) and bring back
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
But she's still preoccupied
With 1985
Woo Hoo Hooooo!
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana(1985)
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV (1985) (Woohoohoo)
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool (1985)
But she's still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
Artist(Band):Bowling for Soup
Woo Hoo Hooooo!
Woo hoo hooooo!
Debbie just hit the wall
She never had it all
One Prozac a day
Husband's a CPA
Her dreams went out the door
When she turned 24.
Only been with one man
What happened to her plan?
She was gonna be an actress
She was gonna be a star
She was gonna shake her ***
On the hood of White Snake's car
Her yellow SUV is now the enemy
Looks at her average life
And nothing, has been...
all right since
Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
But she's still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
Woo Hoo Hooooo!
(1985)
Woo Hoo Hooooo!
She’s seen all the classics
She knows every line
"Breakfast Club", "Pretty In Pink"
Even "St. Elmo's Fire"
She rocked out to Wham!
Not a big Limp Bizkit fan
Thought she'd get a hand
On a member of Duran Duran
Where's the mini-skirt made of snakeskin
And who's the other guy that's singing in Van Halen?
When did reality become T.V.?
What ever happened to sitcoms, game shows,
(on the radio was)
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
But she's still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
Woo Hoo Hooooo!
She hates time, make it stop
When did Motley Crue become classic rock?
And when did Ozzy become an actor?
Please make this stop, stop, STOP(tick tick tick) and bring back
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
But she's still preoccupied
With 1985
Woo Hoo Hooooo!
Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana(1985)
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV (1985) (Woohoohoo)
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool (1985)
But she's still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
Cisco ( A- ) -- one of the three guys who came to play for us tonight (and who, as we've quickly found out about Theus, was therefore rewarded with 40+min of playing time). Got slipped into the role as a starter with the blatant incompetence exhibited by everyone on the team shorter than 6'6"...or taller than 6'7" for that matter. And all he did was shoot 8-10, lead the team in assists, and tally a career high 23 points. Yet along the way there were still Cisco moments -- getting the steal, then taking it full court and throwing the pasa away. Fouling Jason Terry beyond the three point line with half a second left in the first half etc. So it wasn't perfect, and after really helping the first two games he did not give us any help on the glass where we are utterly dependent on our swingmen at this point. But it was a strong game...offensively. There is often a tendency in high scoring games to ignore the fact you got your butt whipped because things felt better on the end of the court where most of the stats are kept. But while the Mavs 1/2/3 were highly effective, I would not lay too much of that at Cisco's feet.
SF -- Terry Tyler -- in that first year of Kings bball I seem to recall us actually understanding roleplayers and starting Terry Tyler -- TT -- at SF instead of the far more prolific Eddie Johnson. I could be misremembering that, but I think that's right. EJ became a high scoring 6th man, rather than starting alongside fellow shooting softies Reggie Theus and Mike Woodson. Tyler was an amusing player -- really more of a 3/4 than a pure SF, andcould jump out of the gym. Had been a big shotblocker in his younger years. But the thing was that he had about the slowest windup for his leap I have ever seen in an NBA player, and would have to go into a deep knee bend, wihthis knees splayed out like a frog, before exploding upward. Artest > Tyler when/if he ever gets back. But he's not. So if Cisco wants to keep on putting up numbers like tonight, maybe this will reverse, but for the time being Tyler was the more stable presence -- a longtime starter and career roleplayer who was nothing great, but could be counted on. Edge: Tyler.
Moore ( D ) -- inserted in place of Kenny in the starting lineup, and continued to do nothing for us. Got one of his jumpers to fall on a turnaround, but that's largely it. Briefly contended with Dirk inside in the early going, but only briefly. Got his customary 4pts 3rebs, but took even longer (28 min) to get it this time than he normally does. Needless to say we did not win the PF matchup tonight.
PF -- Mark Olberding -- Olberding was just playing out the string by the time he hit Sacramento. But he was old, nasty, and just plain mean. he had gained fame as a member of the "Bruise Brothers" frontline in San Antonio in the early 80's (I think -- a little before my time). And while he lacked talent, speed, agility etc. etc., he understood the essence of the PF position, and if anybody dared come near him, he would knock them right on their butt. Good times. He would give way the next season to the fast emerging (and vastly more talented) Otis Thorpe. But for one season the Sacramento Kings actually had a player other players feared. Imagine that. He was not much by that stage of his career, but not much still makes him > than whatever junk we have at the position now. Edge: Olberding.
Miller ( D ) -- alarmingly ineffective out there. Got smushed on the galss yet again, this time by DeSagana Diop. Had insult added to injury when 5'11" Juan Barrea was so intimidated by Brad that he charged right into his chest and barreled right over him for a layup and one (knocked Brad oin his keister). Got yanked very early in the third for wussiness unbecoming a big man. But when he was reinserted near the end of the quarter, he seemed to absorb a little testosterone from Watkins as the two combined to give us maybe our only 2 minute stretch of solid boardwork all night. Can list as his season highlight a) grabbing an offensive reboudn; and b) actually scoring in the post. Woot.
C -- LaSalle Thompson -- The Kings entered Sacramento that first year much like they are now -- having just made a questionable selection fo a big white center in the laate lottery. And just like now, it wasn't that young center who was the starter, it was an established vet. The difference is that the established vet back in the day went about 6'10" 260lbs, had shoulders as wide as the lane, and went by the nickname "Tank". Can you imagine any current Kings PF/C with a nickname like Tank? No neither can I. I think some of the younger fans have seen him as a doofy pregame type guy for the Kings in recent years, but don't let the buffoonery fool you. He was not an All-Star, but he was a big strong rock in there, and would have grabbed as many rebounds as our enteir frontline combined. Edge: Tank.
Martin ( A- ) -- The second of the three Kings who played tongiht. This was better than either of his earlier performances, not only because he scored a few more points, but because he scored them more in the cause of us trying to stay competitive, and he finally gave us a little help elsewhere with 6 rebs as well. Quick rant: Kevin Martin is NOT scoring 28 points oin 14 shots or whatever. I continue to call utter stupidity on the people mindlessly repeating that stat. Tonight he shot 15 FTs, and made all 15. He had 1 technical FT, was never fouled beyond the 3pt line that I recall, and therefore was fouled and sent to the line 7 times. Those 7 times, along wiht his 14 shots (he shot under 50% 6-14) means he scored his 28 points on 21 possessions/shots. That's still quite good, but not the silly crap that the dim little chucklemeister next to Grant will keep on spouting. In any case, led the team in scoring, mostly with a huge number of FTs, but on this night at least there was not much flopping. It was legit. Was not happy with his defense on Barrea at all -- tough cover to have to guard a PG with us not playing one ourselves, but that's still no excuse for some of the wide open looks the little guy got. Had some issues with Stack as well. Not enough to knock him out of the A- range I decided though in the face of the rest of his numbers.
Mike Woodson -- that first year at OG the Kings started Mike Woodson or "Woody" as he was known to those too innocent to raise their eyebrows at such a nickname. Woody was not a great player by any stretch. But he was a solid scoring OG who fit right in with the all offense, all softie group of 1s, 2s, and 3s we had during those days. He is now of course the coach of the Atlanta Hawks, proving along with Reggie that nothing quite prepares you for coaching like playing for the Kings back in the bad ole days. Woody was a solid OG, a midteen type scorer, but Kevin is already better as a scorer, and Woody never did much else any more than Kevin does. Edge: Martin.
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