Peja ( B+ ) -- Had a couple of very aggressive bursts of offense in there, although not really a particularly good shooting night. While I am not sure how much of it was Peja's defense, Melo was also rendered inefffective tonight. We were in a zone a lot too, but Peja was not effective in that set -- as always better man defender than help defender. These are the tough ones to grade for me with Peja -- the nights when he's bombing away on offense, but playing like an uber-weenie on the glass. Just very hard to respect and I'm always tempted to just give him a "G" for girl. Will give him the benefit of the doubt and hope/assume the back was part of the problem -- did seem to be grimacing a lot. And weenie or not, he can really score, and that is the point of the game. Particularly critical on a night when we were very shorthanded. So a B+ it is, even while I sometimes yell at him to grow a pair through the TV.
Songaila ( B+ ) -- looked good in there on offense. Smoothly stroking the jumper and generally efficient. On defense got his hands on some balls, but was not terribly effective in the zone -- no defensive presence in there of course. Grabbed some big boards for us down the stretch.
Miller ( C+ ) -- ugly first half when he got into early foul trouble, was ineffective, and spent more energy arguing with the refs than fighting inside. Came out in the second half much more effective and focused. Made a couple of nifty bounce passes to Darius -- those two continue to click -- and hit Evans as well for a big hoop in the final two minutes. Never was effective defensively -- the drop off from Tag to him was as dramatic as ever. Whenever Tag left the Nuggets started charging right at the hoop again. Drew fouls, but missed a whole bunch of FTs that luckily did not come back to bite us in the butt.
Evans ( A- ) -- really strong effort from Evans again on night we needed it badly. If he'd been able to hit his open threes, might have had 20 tonight. He's consistently bringing it every night now. He and Bibby really click on the break now with the alley oop going up anytime Evans gets anywhere around the rim. Made a couple of big hustle plays late to help us seal it up. Gets the "-" because of raised expectations as much as anything else . A few weeks ago I probably give him the flat A, but I'm really beginning to just expect good things from him every night now.
Bibby ( B- ) -- was not a great game for Bibby, but was important as our lone ballhandler and primary assistman today. Missed most of his shots out there. Our switch to a zone did take defensive pressure off of him thogh, and that might have been part of the plan. Of course the big story for him tonight was a late ankle sprain that sent him to the bench. He headed to the bench, and his absence was immediately felt with House struggling. He gutted it out and returned to the game, although obviously hampered. Deserves some sort of minor bump just for toughing it out for us on a night when we were already very shorthanded.
Tag ( B+ ) -- very effective performance, although he did make a number of mistakes along the way. We switched into zone defenses for extended stretches, and Tag is the perfect goalie for that style of D. Made a few TOs and defensive mistakes. He's had better games. But one of those where even not at his absolute best he made a real difference for us defensively.
Martin ( A+ ) -- upped his career best game once again. Great timing as well -- not only were we badly shorthanded, but as I mentioned last game Kevin really needed another strong game to keep the confidence of the coaching staff. Was just great in all facets of the game. Very aggressive and smart on offense tonight. Forced a couple of drives, but generally efficient. Also grabbed a lot of good boards for a skinny little OG, and played good defense, including a 4th quarter steal and breakaway on the supertwerp Earl Boynkins. Good statement game before probably seeing his minutes cut back a lot once Mobley arrives. Might keep him getting some minutes every night.
House ( D ) -- ballhandling looked disappointingly shaky tonight, and wasn't hitting his shots either. Worked hard on defense -- good to see -- but made mistakes. All in all, not an impressive debut.
Barnes ( B+ ) -- nice short little stint in the first half. Best in a long time. Did his hustle thing, stayed under control. Hit a three, and made an important play late in his stint grabbing an O-board off of a pair of missed FTs (not his) and converting.
Adelman ( A- ) -- no Doug/Mobley, no Webb and the team comes through with a hard fought victory on a night when you might expect them to be down emotionally. A lot of credit for that has to go to Rick, who as always keeps things steady. Went deep and willingly to the bench, and found a lot of help there tonight. Also used more zone than I have ever seen us use before -- a smart move tonight, and maybe a portent of the future as a way to compensate for our lack of stoppers. In any case worked well. Earns the minus for a couple of minor complaints: 1) the Tag issue again. Flat out made a defensive difference in there, and we were as weak as ever around the rim without him. Used him a lot in the first half due to foul trouble, underutilized him again in the second; 2) pulled Martin in the midst of a career game with 6 minutes to go. Now he put Evans in for him, who was having a heck of a game too. But as our two best players tonight, and with Bibby severely hobbled, I would not have minded seeing him keep Kevin in and play both guys together. Anyway, a shorthanded win once again for us. Its not coincidence. We've won with every conceivable combination of players out over the years. The great constant isn't any one player being available, its the coach.
Songaila ( B+ ) -- looked good in there on offense. Smoothly stroking the jumper and generally efficient. On defense got his hands on some balls, but was not terribly effective in the zone -- no defensive presence in there of course. Grabbed some big boards for us down the stretch.
Miller ( C+ ) -- ugly first half when he got into early foul trouble, was ineffective, and spent more energy arguing with the refs than fighting inside. Came out in the second half much more effective and focused. Made a couple of nifty bounce passes to Darius -- those two continue to click -- and hit Evans as well for a big hoop in the final two minutes. Never was effective defensively -- the drop off from Tag to him was as dramatic as ever. Whenever Tag left the Nuggets started charging right at the hoop again. Drew fouls, but missed a whole bunch of FTs that luckily did not come back to bite us in the butt.
Evans ( A- ) -- really strong effort from Evans again on night we needed it badly. If he'd been able to hit his open threes, might have had 20 tonight. He's consistently bringing it every night now. He and Bibby really click on the break now with the alley oop going up anytime Evans gets anywhere around the rim. Made a couple of big hustle plays late to help us seal it up. Gets the "-" because of raised expectations as much as anything else . A few weeks ago I probably give him the flat A, but I'm really beginning to just expect good things from him every night now.
Bibby ( B- ) -- was not a great game for Bibby, but was important as our lone ballhandler and primary assistman today. Missed most of his shots out there. Our switch to a zone did take defensive pressure off of him thogh, and that might have been part of the plan. Of course the big story for him tonight was a late ankle sprain that sent him to the bench. He headed to the bench, and his absence was immediately felt with House struggling. He gutted it out and returned to the game, although obviously hampered. Deserves some sort of minor bump just for toughing it out for us on a night when we were already very shorthanded.
Tag ( B+ ) -- very effective performance, although he did make a number of mistakes along the way. We switched into zone defenses for extended stretches, and Tag is the perfect goalie for that style of D. Made a few TOs and defensive mistakes. He's had better games. But one of those where even not at his absolute best he made a real difference for us defensively.
Martin ( A+ ) -- upped his career best game once again. Great timing as well -- not only were we badly shorthanded, but as I mentioned last game Kevin really needed another strong game to keep the confidence of the coaching staff. Was just great in all facets of the game. Very aggressive and smart on offense tonight. Forced a couple of drives, but generally efficient. Also grabbed a lot of good boards for a skinny little OG, and played good defense, including a 4th quarter steal and breakaway on the supertwerp Earl Boynkins. Good statement game before probably seeing his minutes cut back a lot once Mobley arrives. Might keep him getting some minutes every night.
House ( D ) -- ballhandling looked disappointingly shaky tonight, and wasn't hitting his shots either. Worked hard on defense -- good to see -- but made mistakes. All in all, not an impressive debut.
Barnes ( B+ ) -- nice short little stint in the first half. Best in a long time. Did his hustle thing, stayed under control. Hit a three, and made an important play late in his stint grabbing an O-board off of a pair of missed FTs (not his) and converting.
Adelman ( A- ) -- no Doug/Mobley, no Webb and the team comes through with a hard fought victory on a night when you might expect them to be down emotionally. A lot of credit for that has to go to Rick, who as always keeps things steady. Went deep and willingly to the bench, and found a lot of help there tonight. Also used more zone than I have ever seen us use before -- a smart move tonight, and maybe a portent of the future as a way to compensate for our lack of stoppers. In any case worked well. Earns the minus for a couple of minor complaints: 1) the Tag issue again. Flat out made a defensive difference in there, and we were as weak as ever around the rim without him. Used him a lot in the first half due to foul trouble, underutilized him again in the second; 2) pulled Martin in the midst of a career game with 6 minutes to go. Now he put Evans in for him, who was having a heck of a game too. But as our two best players tonight, and with Bibby severely hobbled, I would not have minded seeing him keep Kevin in and play both guys together. Anyway, a shorthanded win once again for us. Its not coincidence. We've won with every conceivable combination of players out over the years. The great constant isn't any one player being available, its the coach.
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I think a 'D' is perhaps a bit harsh for House in his first game in a brand new system. He wasn't hitting his shots, but I didn't really think he made any blatant mistakes (unless I'm forgetting or switched the channel for a second). Obviously Rick didn't have the confidence in him to run the offense for long when Bibby went out, but I'm hoping to see him improve as he gets some practices under his belt.
