Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Lot of hustle, lot of effort. Looked good.
Artest ( B ) -- drew a number of fouls in the first half, but it was one of those Artest shooting nights (0-8 first half, 3-14 for the game). Shot poorly and had nobody in particular to lock down on the other end, but was still active and aggressive drawing fouls, so a preseason B.
Thomas ( B- ) -- didn't really do much. Modest numbers, modest game and the only one fo the starters to be mostly invisible.
Miller ( A- ) -- hit the opening shot of the game, and peppered in shots around the perimeter therafter. Got scored on a few times in the post -- he hasn't got any longer or stronger in the offseason. But impressed with a very high level of activity on both ends, hustling around and challenging perimeter shots on defense, and grabbing several offesnive boards on the other.
Martin ( A- ) -- a more than solid showing, hit shots inside and out, grabbed boards, and did it while staying in control. Stats will say he shot poorly, but for the most part they were good shots, or at least good aggressive shots. And until the end when he maybe forced a few things, he did a nice job of picking his spots withing the offense.
Bibby ( A ) -- who was that masked man? Started off the game looking very good -- much quicker than we last saw him on defense, and drained two threes in the early going. Very active on BOTH sides -- maybe the most active we've seen him on defense. And while it was in short minutes and in only the first game of the season (as opposed to being in 40min in the 63rd game of the long grind), the activity on defense did absolutely nothing to tire him on the other end of the floor where he was smoking and easily the best player on the floor.
Reef ( B ) -- came in initially as...the backup center. And here people thought that was just Rick. Did little in his first half minutes, but scored well in his second half stint, and finished with 10 points in only 17 minutes. Did rebound like it was 05-06 however, giving us all of 1 for the evening.
Salmons ( C+ ) -- did nothing in his first half stint, and was maybe one of the only main rotation guys who was disappointing. Was better in the second half, and in the mid 4th finally demonstrated his best weapon -- a very quick first step off the drive.
Douby ( C+ ) -- came in in place of Bibby in the first half, was quiet offensively and turned it over, but did continue picking up the ball full court and used his quickness on defense (a bit too aggressive actually as he picked up 3 quick fouls). Did not look confident from distance, but showed a little bit of his scoring ability in the extended garbagetime of the 4th with a hanging baseline drive.
Amundson ( B- ) -- bricked some ugly FTs, but showed some good hustle and helped clear the glass in the first half. Looks a little small for the PF spot right now, but was never really matched against a big PF type to get a clearer read (mostly matched with Croshere). Didn't do much in his 4th quarter minutes until the last minute when he made a nice hustle save on the break and then sprinted back down court to draw a foul. Pretty much appeared to be a hustle specialist this time, but not sure off of this one game if the talent or size is there for significant PT.
Garcia ( B+ ) -- came in 10th -- don't know whether that means anything or not this early. Used his length on defense, and poked away a lot of balls to disrupt. On the other end did some of his old forcing on offense. Set a nifty pick to close the 3rd and free up Hart for the buzzer beater.
Woods ( INC ) -- came in the game and immediately showed both sides of Loren Woods -- on one end decided to go at Dampier and got packed, but got back on defense to alter the resulting shot at the other end with his length. Didn't see much of him tonight.
Williamson ( B+ ) -- scored a number of first half hoops, and looked smooth doing so. Not much else, but made his offensive contribution. Got a little sloppy late running with the deep scrubs, but still scored with relative ease.
Price ( C+ ) -- tried to leave an impresion by flying in for a monster dunk on Dampier, and got it sent back in his face for his trouble. Didn't do much therafter, but, as all of our PGs tongiht, did harass on defense.
Williams ( B+ ) -- came in fairly late and showed well early on the glass. Seeing him matched up against Dampier you could see how much size he was giving up, and he was occasionally more enthusiastic than he was effective. Nonetheless, his activity and energy kept him in the mix on the galss on both ends, and he put up a solid 7pts 6rebs in 13min.
Hart ( B+ ) -- came in late in the 3rd for the first time and got burned a couple of times by Jose Barea. Not a great first impression if you're auditioning. But hit the buzzerbeating 3 to close the 3rd, and then played well in the early 4th (albeit a bit shothappy for a PG) to make his argument.
Jeter ( INC ) -- Pooh at least got himself into an NBA preseason game, and looked very quick, although wasn't able to do much in garabgetime.
Muss ( N/A ) -- you can't really grade a coach in preseason, but I think Muss did a very nice job tonight. He had the starters primed at playing at a much higher level of intensity than the Mavs starting crew (which was minus Dirk and Terry) and then switched off going through almost all of the guys fighting for spots. Also had his full court pressure defensive philosophy fully on display, picking up the Mavs in their own backcourt on almost every possession regardless of whether it was Mike Bibby, Quincy Douby, or Ronnie Price at the PG. In general we simply outclassed the Mavs tonight, and came in much sharper, healthier, and ready to play. Of course being more ready to rumble in preseason game #1 doesn't necessarily mean a whole hell of a lot, but it was encouraging to see that almost everyone seemed to be buying in to the plan and understanding how Muss wants to approach things. Even guys like Mike and Brad, not two of the league's great hustlers, came out and established just that tone with high level activity and defensive hustle. In short, we played well, and everybody was on the same page. So preseason it may be, but nonetheless, a preseason success. So far so good.
Artest ( B ) -- drew a number of fouls in the first half, but it was one of those Artest shooting nights (0-8 first half, 3-14 for the game). Shot poorly and had nobody in particular to lock down on the other end, but was still active and aggressive drawing fouls, so a preseason B.
Thomas ( B- ) -- didn't really do much. Modest numbers, modest game and the only one fo the starters to be mostly invisible.
Miller ( A- ) -- hit the opening shot of the game, and peppered in shots around the perimeter therafter. Got scored on a few times in the post -- he hasn't got any longer or stronger in the offseason. But impressed with a very high level of activity on both ends, hustling around and challenging perimeter shots on defense, and grabbing several offesnive boards on the other.
Martin ( A- ) -- a more than solid showing, hit shots inside and out, grabbed boards, and did it while staying in control. Stats will say he shot poorly, but for the most part they were good shots, or at least good aggressive shots. And until the end when he maybe forced a few things, he did a nice job of picking his spots withing the offense.
Bibby ( A ) -- who was that masked man? Started off the game looking very good -- much quicker than we last saw him on defense, and drained two threes in the early going. Very active on BOTH sides -- maybe the most active we've seen him on defense. And while it was in short minutes and in only the first game of the season (as opposed to being in 40min in the 63rd game of the long grind), the activity on defense did absolutely nothing to tire him on the other end of the floor where he was smoking and easily the best player on the floor.
Reef ( B ) -- came in initially as...the backup center. And here people thought that was just Rick. Did little in his first half minutes, but scored well in his second half stint, and finished with 10 points in only 17 minutes. Did rebound like it was 05-06 however, giving us all of 1 for the evening.
Salmons ( C+ ) -- did nothing in his first half stint, and was maybe one of the only main rotation guys who was disappointing. Was better in the second half, and in the mid 4th finally demonstrated his best weapon -- a very quick first step off the drive.
Douby ( C+ ) -- came in in place of Bibby in the first half, was quiet offensively and turned it over, but did continue picking up the ball full court and used his quickness on defense (a bit too aggressive actually as he picked up 3 quick fouls). Did not look confident from distance, but showed a little bit of his scoring ability in the extended garbagetime of the 4th with a hanging baseline drive.
Amundson ( B- ) -- bricked some ugly FTs, but showed some good hustle and helped clear the glass in the first half. Looks a little small for the PF spot right now, but was never really matched against a big PF type to get a clearer read (mostly matched with Croshere). Didn't do much in his 4th quarter minutes until the last minute when he made a nice hustle save on the break and then sprinted back down court to draw a foul. Pretty much appeared to be a hustle specialist this time, but not sure off of this one game if the talent or size is there for significant PT.
Garcia ( B+ ) -- came in 10th -- don't know whether that means anything or not this early. Used his length on defense, and poked away a lot of balls to disrupt. On the other end did some of his old forcing on offense. Set a nifty pick to close the 3rd and free up Hart for the buzzer beater.
Woods ( INC ) -- came in the game and immediately showed both sides of Loren Woods -- on one end decided to go at Dampier and got packed, but got back on defense to alter the resulting shot at the other end with his length. Didn't see much of him tonight.
Williamson ( B+ ) -- scored a number of first half hoops, and looked smooth doing so. Not much else, but made his offensive contribution. Got a little sloppy late running with the deep scrubs, but still scored with relative ease.
Price ( C+ ) -- tried to leave an impresion by flying in for a monster dunk on Dampier, and got it sent back in his face for his trouble. Didn't do much therafter, but, as all of our PGs tongiht, did harass on defense.
Williams ( B+ ) -- came in fairly late and showed well early on the glass. Seeing him matched up against Dampier you could see how much size he was giving up, and he was occasionally more enthusiastic than he was effective. Nonetheless, his activity and energy kept him in the mix on the galss on both ends, and he put up a solid 7pts 6rebs in 13min.
Hart ( B+ ) -- came in late in the 3rd for the first time and got burned a couple of times by Jose Barea. Not a great first impression if you're auditioning. But hit the buzzerbeating 3 to close the 3rd, and then played well in the early 4th (albeit a bit shothappy for a PG) to make his argument.
Jeter ( INC ) -- Pooh at least got himself into an NBA preseason game, and looked very quick, although wasn't able to do much in garabgetime.
Muss ( N/A ) -- you can't really grade a coach in preseason, but I think Muss did a very nice job tonight. He had the starters primed at playing at a much higher level of intensity than the Mavs starting crew (which was minus Dirk and Terry) and then switched off going through almost all of the guys fighting for spots. Also had his full court pressure defensive philosophy fully on display, picking up the Mavs in their own backcourt on almost every possession regardless of whether it was Mike Bibby, Quincy Douby, or Ronnie Price at the PG. In general we simply outclassed the Mavs tonight, and came in much sharper, healthier, and ready to play. Of course being more ready to rumble in preseason game #1 doesn't necessarily mean a whole hell of a lot, but it was encouraging to see that almost everyone seemed to be buying in to the plan and understanding how Muss wants to approach things. Even guys like Mike and Brad, not two of the league's great hustlers, came out and established just that tone with high level activity and defensive hustle. In short, we played well, and everybody was on the same page. So preseason it may be, but nonetheless, a preseason success. So far so good.
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