Grades v. Nuggets 01/31

[coolhandluke]

In other news, Kings won with great hustle while shooting a lower percentage than the Nuggets. Lots of positives from this game. How about: Bonzi with 14 boards? Kevin with a blazing 20-point first half? It's a good day in Kings land, folks.

 

[SkinnerBox]

In other news, Kings won with great hustle while shooting a lower percentage than the Nuggets. Lots of positives from this game. How about: Bonzi with 14 boards? Kevin with a blazing 20-point first half? It's a good day in Kings land, folks.

Agreed, and most of the players were having off nights when you look at thier stats. AND no Miller. A great win.

 

[kingsfan916]

K mart gets an A+++++ and Bonzi i say A too because 14 borads and like 3 steals didnt expect him to make shots because its his 1st game back!

 

[kennadog]

Thats circular reasoning, but fair enough.



For the record, I was firmly AGAINST this trade.

Sorry, decided to retract my comment, obviously too late. I too was against the trade, but now its done and this is still my team.

 

[Chris Cobb]

back to the subject of the game, this might be a solo opinion, but the Kings didnt do a great job of closing the game, we were lucky that the Nuggets tried three straight bad 3-point shots and missed badly. If they make one of those it becomes a very very close game. Great game although I wish the Kings would have played slightly better defense in the last 2 minutes. Am I the only one who feels this way??

 

[atxrocker]

im just glad to see the guys put an effort together like this. plenty of positives to take from this win. after our recent outings we really needed this win. glad to have Wells back!

 

[KevinMartin'sShotDoctor]

Kevin Martin: B+. Provided a great lift for the team in the first half. Nice jumper on the elbow over Boykins. Not much other than scoring, but he worked his hot hand effectively.

Bonzi Wells: B+. Great first game back in everything except shooting. Had the stat line of a miniature Ben Wallace. The Nuggets could have gotten momentum after Bonzi turned an easy 3-point play into zero points, but they didn't. Great work on the boards and good hustle.

Brian Skinner: B. Great hustle and good rebounding. Showed he should be on the court more.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim: B-. Grade adjusted for injury. What I most remember is a forced shot that was badly rejected. Some steady contributions, and even some life on defense.

Mike Bibby: B. Quiet game given the recent past. Some very timely shots. Probably deserves a demerit for a wildly inappropriate technical foul.

Ron Artest: B+. Took some bad shots. His stats were worse than I thought they would be. Some very keen and key post up moves. Good passing and defensive intensity.

Corliss Williamson: D-. The wheels have fallen off. Forced a shot that was blocked so hard, I expected a dent in the hardwood.

Francisco Garcia: C. A few nice moves. Good defensive effort.

Kenny Thomas: B/B-. Solid all-around game.

Regarding the above concerns, the Kings could have closed out better. They were fortunate. It would have been nice if they pulled down boards near the end like Wells and Skinner had done earlier. However, the Kings did a very good job getting Andre Miller to foul out. Miller had a poor game, but he would have made the Nuggets more dangerous at the very end. Boykins is more Vinnie Johnson than Muggsy Bogues, so when he couldn't work his magic the Nuggets weren't set up well offensively. I don't remember if Earl Watson was out there or not. He might have helped the Nuggets at the end . Maybe Karl felt they needed Boykins' firepower and couldn't have two sub 6-footers.

So the Nuggets' failure near the end was due to good strategy on the Kings' part.

 

[Starting Five]

A+ for Kevin Martin

 

[bcfy]

I think RA overplayed the mismatch of Bonzi and Andre Miller a little bit too much..especially when it was the first night Bonzi back from IR....so as people suggest...we can't expect Bonzi to hit all those shots...so not really his fault to put up the 3/16...

I know its part of the game plan to attack the mis-match, but am I the only one feel that we played too much 1 on 1 tonight?

 

[quick dog]

Adelman did a fine job. It was clearly an unconventional game. he let them play. They did the job. he did not stifle progress. HE could have mucked it up by playing Bibby 45 minutes. He let Artest play pseudopoint guard, and it worked OK. Now I have to go look at the box scores. They were probably very wierd for a Kings team.

By the way. When wqas the last time that the Kings won a game when Bibby had a bad night?

Aint this fun?

 

[BigWaxer]

I think RA overplayed the mismatch of Bonzi and Andre Miller a little bit too much..especially when it was the first night Bonzi back from IR....so as people suggest...we can't expect Bonzi to hit all those shots...so not really his fault to put up the 3/16...

I know its part of the game plan to attack the mis-match, but am I the only one feel that we played too much 1 on 1 tonight?

1..No
2..yes

You did notice that Miller fouled out right? The matchup was fine and Bonzi would normally hit those shots.

As far as 1v1 tonight. I think that is more about this group of players not being used to each other. RA said they did not practice yesterday after the game so they only have a few plays drawn up right now. That 1v1 play should iron itself out as the players get used to each other.

 

[ESP47]

I dont care what the box score says. They looked like they had a ton of points in the paint on TV. They also looked like they missed a lot of easy shots (mostly Bonzi). If Bonzi and Shareef were completely healthy, we win this game by 15.

 

[SLAB]

Rick Adleman...A...Why?

Jason Hart...DNP-CD

 

[bench_blob]

A few positives from tonight:

(1) I hope and pray Rick Adelman has come to following revelation: No more minutes for Jason Hart. Ever! He should not see the light of day for the rest of the season. Garcia has the handles and poise to play spot minutes at point. And he is 100% more creative. And with defenders like Wells and Artest now behind him, we can cover back on th PG when necessary, and switch on picks to help.

I do not want to see Jason Hart anymore. Enough is enough.

(2) If we are going to make any kind of serious playoff run, SAR and K9 must cut-down the turnovers. The high post offense does not work efficiently with the ball in their hands. This is another positive effect of Ron Artest. Get the ball in his hands, so our "4"s our finishers, and not facilitators. Tonight they had a combined 8 turnovers, and only 4 assists. This is ridiculous. Both these guys repeatedly make bonehead plays when they are asked to be decision makers away from the basket.

(3) Ron Artest really has no weakness to his game. And like he said in the post game with Howdy Doody, he weighs 13 pounds more than his ideal playing weight. He's 268 now. Should be at 255. A month from now, he will 10 pounds lighter, that much quicker, explosive, and causing all sorts of havoc on opponents.

Rick Adelman has wasted no time in exploiting his skills. Ron has to feel good he has immediately become the focal point of the offense. I think Ron will be asked to do more in his role with us than with the Pacers, and Ron will welcome this responsibility, and thrive as a result.

Grades:

Artest - A- ; Controlled the game in the 4th quarter; knows exactly how to pass out of double teams, space floor, and get to open man. Missed his three pointers, but they were all within context of the offense. Zero turnovers!

K-Mart - A; Took what the defense gave him. Low post presence with Wells and Artest, and his lack of reputation as a shooter = Plenty of open looks from the perimeter; also our improved defense will lead to transition opportunites to take advantage of his speed and hops.

Rest of team - C+ ; Made enough plays to stave off talented opponent. Winning without huge game from Mike Bibby, and no Brad Miller, is a great sign.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Rick Adleman...A...Why?

Jason Hart...DNP-CD

Could have been
Jason Hart... DNP FD

 

[ESP47]

You make a very good point about the turnovers. Kenny Thomas needs to stick to finishing plays, not creating them. Miller, Artest, Bonzi....and even Brian Skinner are better and more efficient passers in the post than SAR and Kenny. I remember Skinner laying some nice ones out last year when he was starting for us.

 

[SacTownKid]

You make a very good point about the turnovers. Kenny Thomas needs to stick to finishing plays, not creating them. Miller, Artest, Bonzi....and even Brian Skinner are better and more efficient passers in the post than SAR and Kenny. I remember Skinner laying some nice ones out last year when he was starting for us.

Skinner threw some great breakout passes tonight too.

 

[VF21]

we had so many hustlers and athletes on the court that we could win a game where we wern't shooting very well.

And who saw that coming?

This current assemblage of players just might restore the faith of the masses. I know it got me on my feet cheering in my own living room more than once.

Athletic and hustling?

Whoa...

 

[artestG]

Artest warmin up there, he gona own the league like he owns all da haters

 

[nbrans]

Whoa, I can't believe people are saying Kevin Martin brought only offense. Did you see him guarding (and bothering) Earl Boykins? His defense is getting awesome, and he's quick enough to guard anyone. With his ballhandling he could squeeze out Hart and backup the 1/2. (Please let him squeeze out Hart)

And what a great sight to see Artest and Bonzi in the post. It was really a transformative game. The Kings are no longer a jump-shoot first team, now it's get the ball in the block to Bonzi and Artest and pass out to the shooters. When the Kings were working so well with Bonzi and Artest in the low post, I was thinking, "Why doesn't Denver zone them?" Well, Denver tried, but Artest just posted up Kenyon Martin and killed him too!! Unreal!!

Bibby and Miller are going to thrive in this offense. Bibby looked really frustrated out there, but he's going to get tons of open looks from outside, and so is Miller. Miller is really the perfect center for a Bonzi/Artest post up offense because he's so deadly from outside.

Also, I have to quibble with Skinner -- he played very well in the first half but was terrible in the second half. Is he out of shape or something? All the same, he didn't exactly tear it up, but he was definitely part of the 2nd Quarter resurgence.

I had no idea Bonzi and Artest would gel immediately the way they did. The Kings are back!

 

[Folsom Al]

Arco Arena Crowd .... A++++++++++++

 

[FullAB]

A+ to Ron for getting white shoes and not coloring his spray painted/sharpied black ones with "white out".....

 

[whozit]

Rick Adelman has wasted no time in exploiting his skills. Ron has to feel good he has immediately become the focal point of the offense. I think Ron will be asked to do more in his role with us than with the Pacers, and Ron will welcome this responsibility, and thrive as a result.

I am not sure where to put this comment. Many have stated the RA would be gone one way or another this off-season or before. I am beginning to wonder if that proclamation was maybe a bit premature.

I have flip-flopped both ways towards Adelman since this off-season. He is a very good coach and has won (just not the big one) wherever he has been. This off-season, I thought he would be the perfect fit with Bonzi coming on board. As the season progressed, my doubts about him increased. I didn't know if he was too stubborn to adopt and adjust his style with the changes that have happened around him. I wasn't sure if he was still a good fit. His substitution patterns have always puzzeled me even when they were so predictable. Thinking back, he has made comments towards defense that he has to work with what he has. I believe there have been numerous vieled comments about personnel. He also made comments before the season started that even thou the Kings looked good on paper, they hadn't proved that on the court yet. The Kings the last several years had been degraded in personnel that they had available (due to age affecting perfomance, salary tax implications, trades and FA ....) I wonder if honestly in his heart he thought the team could still compete.

Since Artest has been here, he seems to have a different attitude/demeanor. I swore I saw him smile last night. I think he may think he has a team to work with again. He really seems to enjoy Artest on the team. He (Artest) gives him a stud/warrior/leader to replace the one lost with Webber. I would not be surprised if his attitude towards resigning (assuming an offer is made) may be changing (if prior assumptions are correct). I would think that if the team makes a run for the playoffs, especially if they make it, the Maloofs would make an offer. If things play out for the positive, I would welcome it.

 

[Warhawk]

I am not sure where to put this comment.

I agree. I wonder what sparked the changes we saw last night (that we hadn't seen implemented earlier in the year). Coach gets an "A" for trying new offensive sets with new personnel, if nothing else. I liked the guys taking advantage of mismatches and Artest's all-around game last night. The offensive wrinkles we saw last night could be very promising with a few practices and our injured squad (Miller, SAR, etc.) back to full strength and Bonzi/Artest with less rust.

I am very excited to see what the rest of the season has in store with the devleopment of this team.

 

[quick dog]

The Kings have a very tough team now. They look like lean professional football players out there. And after the first home win in 40 days and 40 nights, God said "It was good."