Grades v. Nets 01/22

[Big Cuz 15]

You Kings fans are a lucky breed. Some of you are so young that you don't remember the Kings of old that were perpetual losers (pre-Mitch Richmond).

Well, you've been spoiled long enough. This team flat out sucks and you will finally get to go through the process known as "rebuilding." Oh and consider yourselves even more lucky because you get to suck in the one year that has 3 legit superstar players in the draft. (along with several other greats as well)

Sometimes you gotta suck it up to get better. Most fans have been through this, now its your turn.

amen brotha! been through the hard times and got to enjoy the good years also.

 

[nbrans]

Salmons ( B ) -- had a quiet first half aside from a couple of assists. But near the end of the third hit two open threes that the Nets dared him to take that broke a huge NJ run and were the majort catalysts for our comeback. Unfortunately then kept on shooting them and missed both his 4th quarter attempts, the first one via airball. Nonetheess the timing is critical to this grade. Without those shots, we lose. literally. That simple. Nor are they shots he's even any good at. Just hit some big shots to give an otherwise dead body a shot of adrenaline. I just hope that the powers that be realize its still a corpse and as soon as the adrenaline wearns off, its going to collapse back over in a flatline heap once again.

While I take no great solace in this victory, I feel like this is only half the grade for John. Yes, he kickstarted the comeback with those big shots and then missed some in the 4th, but it really was his defense (along with Cisco) that keyed the victory, first bothering Kidd (granted, Kidd basically checked out of the gamee) and then absolutely smothering Vince Carter in the 4th, including that crucial strip late in the game. With Ron pretty much treating defense as an afterthought and playing crunch time at PF, Salmons was the designated stopper, and his defense just kicked up another notch. Yet another game where it's Salmons, not Artest, who gets the crucial defensive assignment and makes a difference.

 

[LilMissDiva]

No, the tough part of this whole thing is that a win like this terrifies me. It terrifies me that its going to be seized upon by a do nothing GM and a dip**** pair of owners as an excuse to do stupid things with long term ramifications for my team. So I can't even cleanly root for my team to win anymore because them doing so might end up killing the bleeping franchise's future. I can deal with guys having crappy games and one good quarter. But I can't factor in the ick of that one good quarter actually potentially hurting us through the medium of the idiots in charge.

That's my boggle. When we win one now we don't deserve, I can't chuckle about it anymore. The fanbase is dying, there is no arena, and we suck and desperately need to convince a slowitted management team of that fact before we can reverse the other problems.

There is a tradition here, and so I'm sure I will get to these grades here after I clear my head of the icky feeling of winning and being almost upset by it. But I'm thinking I may have to start taping these things and know the outcome before watching them for grading purposes just so I can settle in without all the political garbage clouding the field.

Excellent post!

 

[Warhawk]

Agreed.