Garcia ( B- ) -- came out and hit his first two, including the classic Kings backcut, but then started to spiral into wildness again, and once again got into foul trouble. Still ended up with a respectable first half though. Started the second half with a classic bonehead play, throwing a really dumb attempt at an alley oop to Martin off an out of bounds play. But followed that up with aggressive energetic play for a nice little spurt there to open the quarter. Continues to have all kinds of struggles finishing, but his energy alone gave us a boost. That was kind of it though -- got a little loose in the 4th, and Rick went to Corliss instead for the steadier presence down the stretch. Overall, wild, but energetic. Not terrible for who and what he is.
Reef ( C- ) -- aggressive to start, and really the only guy seeming to get anything going early. But got quiet therafter despite having a major quickness edge on the Mavs' big centers who were switched over to guard him. May have been part of the problem though -- Dampier/Diop were too tall and long to consistently post, Dallas kept flipping into a zone to protect the middle, and so Reef was having to catch 18 feet out and try to drive to the hoop rather than working the low block. Did a little better job on the glass, but was absent late again. Did mix in a few nice interior passes. Just missed too many easy shots to sustain anything, and on a night when we looked like those old Vancouver teams with Reef and Bibby the only major options, Shareef was just unable to deliver.
Miller ( C- ) -- for about the first 5 minutes was controlling the game with his passing and things looked good, but had major major trouble with Dirk on the other end (see Rick's grade) and got into early foul trouble. Came back in the second and actually burlied up a bit, grabbed some boards and banged around. Unfortunately of course eventually resulting in his third foul. Started the second making hustle plays and despite very modest numbers was at least a sporadic factor inside. But completely disappeared down the stretch, and continued to get worked over by Dirk all game long whenever he was on him. Have to wonder if we were so scared of turning Dampier into another legendary center that we decided to "hide" Brad on Dirk instead. But whatever the reason, he never really had a chance against a guy as mobile as Nowitzki. This game also, BTW, continues Brad's career-long pattern as a King vs. Dallas -- for whatever reason, has never been effective against the Mavs.
Martin ( B- ) -- started off tentatively, made a few hustle plays but struggled to find his way on offense. But picked up the acitvity level therafter and ended with a solid first half making contributions in a variety of areas. Some mistakes and turnovers of course, but overall a decent effort. And that kind of continued right through the third quarter with Kevin doing a little fo the good and the bad, making plays to keep us in it, and mistakes to keep us from seizing control. Disappeared down the stretch though, which might be expected. Overall some nice moments sprinkled with some not so nice moments. Like Garcia, showed his inexperience. But also like Garcia gave us little bursts here and there to help.
Bibby ( C+ ) -- quiet start other than a couple of splashed in threes, but as we closed the game back late in the 2nd quarter Mike began to get aggressive and was the most assertive of our starters offensively. Somehow managed to come up with a grand total of zero assists on the night however, and it was mostly a one-dimensional scoring effort all game. Through three continued to hold us in it as our leading scorer, but got conspicuously quiet in the late game as Dirk took over and we had no answer. Kept on leaving Adrian Griffin open on the wings on rotation defense, and as usual stuggled with the quicker points as well.
Corliss ( A- ) -- offense disappeared during his early first stint as we lost our cutting ability and were unable to get Corliss on the mismatch. But eventually he started to work his way into things with the all reserve unit, and disrupted a few things by poking balls away on defense, grabbed a few boards, and generally turned in a solid if not spectacular first half. And during the second half played an important role as a steady veteran post player for us as we went to him repeatedly on his favorite baseline spot on the left block and he caused the Mavs problems.
Thomas ( C+ ) -- tried to stick with Dirk, and on one remarkable play stopped Dirk on two fakes, then got victimized when Dirk threw the ball inside and moved over to reset when Kenny turned his head. But maybe the focus on Dirk took away his focus in other areas, as he only managed to come down with one nice board in traffic. Had decent energy, and his offense looked good when he actually got an opening.
Hart ( INC ) -- brought a little energy, but did little else and was actually outperformed and outlasted by Ronnie Price out there. Makes you wonder if it could almost be a changing of the (backup point) guard for this team. Rick put both guys out together, Price showed better, and it was Ronnie, not Hart who got the second half call.
Price ( A- ) -- got the surprise (shock?) first half call instead of Skinner as we went to a mini-Hart/Price backcourt. And showed a little something. Brought good energy. Spotted up in the corner for threes. Showed good activity on defense. Got the 4th quarter reserve minutes in place of Hart and continued his strong play. One of those grades that might not be as high for an established player, but for Ronnie Price, a major breakthrough, and just like that may have played his way right into Jason Hart's minutes. Not spectacular, but maybe more importantly, was quite solid.
Adelman ( C+ ) -- some blase' grades for kind of a blase' game. We put forth a good effort all things considered, and the bench showed pretty well for once. But the Mavs weren't playing their A game, and we certainly weren't. Kind of just slugged it out with the better team turning to its better player to finally finish us off late. The encouraging thing would have to be the play of our three young guys -- Garcia, Martin, and Price -- who all showed flashes of the ability to contribute in this one. And Rick was very willing to use his bench this game with our disrupted lineup, and got solid performances from a number of people. Given the manner of our demise (we were Dirk'd to death) one puzzling coaching move kind of stands out for Rick -- we had Brad try to cover Dirk for long stretches, including some of the critical hits he made down the stretch. Huh? Reef would seem a MUCH more natural fit for that matchup -- tweener forward vs. tweener forward. But Brad is simply too slow. And ? coaching move #2 -- and unfortunately classic Rick anymore -- he played 9 of 11 available players. And the only two who did not play? Our two best rebounders and shotblockers in Skinner and Sampson . Career long problem Rick has had against Dallas. Never wants to use real bigs and instead plays their smallballing game. Even when, as tonight, the Mavs have gone more conventional and used true centers most of the night in Dampier and Diop. On the other hand, we looked ready to compete, which was good. Rick tested all the young guys and the bench, and made quick decisions who to go with, and who to bench. And I liked the way Rick mixed and matched in the 4th, and the feel he had for Garcia's on and off play. He also started the 4th quarter with a nifty double post attack with Corliss and Thomas both in there and posting on both sides of the lane. Something new, and an effective use of two benchers who often look out of place in the normal offense. But down the stretch we once again collapsed. Looked unorganized, and unsure where to turn to get our points. Yet another late collapse. Which is of course one of the hallmarks of a bad team. Which at 10-16 we most definitely are. As it stands right now, the 6th worst record in the league. Which sounds very familiar to any of us old-time Kings fans -- seems every year we would draft 6th or 7th, just late enough to miss out on the superstars. Maybe our last chance to avoid that fate is coming up over the next few weeks, without Bonzi and Peja. One of the last major clumps of home games for us. Next up: Portalnd. Which should by all rights be automatic. One of the only teams with a worse record, on our home floor, and without their leading scorer (Miles). We'll see -- they DO still have Wiltzilla in the middle, so you never know when he might go off for 50 and 20 against us. Merry Christmas all!
Reef ( C- ) -- aggressive to start, and really the only guy seeming to get anything going early. But got quiet therafter despite having a major quickness edge on the Mavs' big centers who were switched over to guard him. May have been part of the problem though -- Dampier/Diop were too tall and long to consistently post, Dallas kept flipping into a zone to protect the middle, and so Reef was having to catch 18 feet out and try to drive to the hoop rather than working the low block. Did a little better job on the glass, but was absent late again. Did mix in a few nice interior passes. Just missed too many easy shots to sustain anything, and on a night when we looked like those old Vancouver teams with Reef and Bibby the only major options, Shareef was just unable to deliver.
Miller ( C- ) -- for about the first 5 minutes was controlling the game with his passing and things looked good, but had major major trouble with Dirk on the other end (see Rick's grade) and got into early foul trouble. Came back in the second and actually burlied up a bit, grabbed some boards and banged around. Unfortunately of course eventually resulting in his third foul. Started the second making hustle plays and despite very modest numbers was at least a sporadic factor inside. But completely disappeared down the stretch, and continued to get worked over by Dirk all game long whenever he was on him. Have to wonder if we were so scared of turning Dampier into another legendary center that we decided to "hide" Brad on Dirk instead. But whatever the reason, he never really had a chance against a guy as mobile as Nowitzki. This game also, BTW, continues Brad's career-long pattern as a King vs. Dallas -- for whatever reason, has never been effective against the Mavs.
Martin ( B- ) -- started off tentatively, made a few hustle plays but struggled to find his way on offense. But picked up the acitvity level therafter and ended with a solid first half making contributions in a variety of areas. Some mistakes and turnovers of course, but overall a decent effort. And that kind of continued right through the third quarter with Kevin doing a little fo the good and the bad, making plays to keep us in it, and mistakes to keep us from seizing control. Disappeared down the stretch though, which might be expected. Overall some nice moments sprinkled with some not so nice moments. Like Garcia, showed his inexperience. But also like Garcia gave us little bursts here and there to help.
Bibby ( C+ ) -- quiet start other than a couple of splashed in threes, but as we closed the game back late in the 2nd quarter Mike began to get aggressive and was the most assertive of our starters offensively. Somehow managed to come up with a grand total of zero assists on the night however, and it was mostly a one-dimensional scoring effort all game. Through three continued to hold us in it as our leading scorer, but got conspicuously quiet in the late game as Dirk took over and we had no answer. Kept on leaving Adrian Griffin open on the wings on rotation defense, and as usual stuggled with the quicker points as well.
Corliss ( A- ) -- offense disappeared during his early first stint as we lost our cutting ability and were unable to get Corliss on the mismatch. But eventually he started to work his way into things with the all reserve unit, and disrupted a few things by poking balls away on defense, grabbed a few boards, and generally turned in a solid if not spectacular first half. And during the second half played an important role as a steady veteran post player for us as we went to him repeatedly on his favorite baseline spot on the left block and he caused the Mavs problems.
Thomas ( C+ ) -- tried to stick with Dirk, and on one remarkable play stopped Dirk on two fakes, then got victimized when Dirk threw the ball inside and moved over to reset when Kenny turned his head. But maybe the focus on Dirk took away his focus in other areas, as he only managed to come down with one nice board in traffic. Had decent energy, and his offense looked good when he actually got an opening.
Hart ( INC ) -- brought a little energy, but did little else and was actually outperformed and outlasted by Ronnie Price out there. Makes you wonder if it could almost be a changing of the (backup point) guard for this team. Rick put both guys out together, Price showed better, and it was Ronnie, not Hart who got the second half call.
Price ( A- ) -- got the surprise (shock?) first half call instead of Skinner as we went to a mini-Hart/Price backcourt. And showed a little something. Brought good energy. Spotted up in the corner for threes. Showed good activity on defense. Got the 4th quarter reserve minutes in place of Hart and continued his strong play. One of those grades that might not be as high for an established player, but for Ronnie Price, a major breakthrough, and just like that may have played his way right into Jason Hart's minutes. Not spectacular, but maybe more importantly, was quite solid.
Adelman ( C+ ) -- some blase' grades for kind of a blase' game. We put forth a good effort all things considered, and the bench showed pretty well for once. But the Mavs weren't playing their A game, and we certainly weren't. Kind of just slugged it out with the better team turning to its better player to finally finish us off late. The encouraging thing would have to be the play of our three young guys -- Garcia, Martin, and Price -- who all showed flashes of the ability to contribute in this one. And Rick was very willing to use his bench this game with our disrupted lineup, and got solid performances from a number of people. Given the manner of our demise (we were Dirk'd to death) one puzzling coaching move kind of stands out for Rick -- we had Brad try to cover Dirk for long stretches, including some of the critical hits he made down the stretch. Huh? Reef would seem a MUCH more natural fit for that matchup -- tweener forward vs. tweener forward. But Brad is simply too slow. And ? coaching move #2 -- and unfortunately classic Rick anymore -- he played 9 of 11 available players. And the only two who did not play? Our two best rebounders and shotblockers in Skinner and Sampson . Career long problem Rick has had against Dallas. Never wants to use real bigs and instead plays their smallballing game. Even when, as tonight, the Mavs have gone more conventional and used true centers most of the night in Dampier and Diop. On the other hand, we looked ready to compete, which was good. Rick tested all the young guys and the bench, and made quick decisions who to go with, and who to bench. And I liked the way Rick mixed and matched in the 4th, and the feel he had for Garcia's on and off play. He also started the 4th quarter with a nifty double post attack with Corliss and Thomas both in there and posting on both sides of the lane. Something new, and an effective use of two benchers who often look out of place in the normal offense. But down the stretch we once again collapsed. Looked unorganized, and unsure where to turn to get our points. Yet another late collapse. Which is of course one of the hallmarks of a bad team. Which at 10-16 we most definitely are. As it stands right now, the 6th worst record in the league. Which sounds very familiar to any of us old-time Kings fans -- seems every year we would draft 6th or 7th, just late enough to miss out on the superstars. Maybe our last chance to avoid that fate is coming up over the next few weeks, without Bonzi and Peja. One of the last major clumps of home games for us. Next up: Portalnd. Which should by all rights be automatic. One of the only teams with a worse record, on our home floor, and without their leading scorer (Miles). We'll see -- they DO still have Wiltzilla in the middle, so you never know when he might go off for 50 and 20 against us. Merry Christmas all!
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