Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
NOTE: I missed a chunk of the early game so take these for what they are worth.
Artest ( C- ) -- disappointing return that maybe went wrong the way you feared it might. Ok not the charging-into-the-stands-to-choke-Donnie-Walsh feared it might, but feared it might on the court. Played a solid first half guarded by and being guarded by his pal Stephen Jackson and getting the better of it. But as things got tight in the second half Ron's emotions got a little of out of control I think. On defense he switched over onto Peja, and while he did slow him down, Peja was also causing him some sporadic problems on that end. And on offense Ron got a case of heroitis when Indiana really started to squeeze us and started chucking up far too many shots, and bad shots at that. Just wasn't able to finish the game playing within himself. As a minor aside did do something real nice at the end of the third -- Brad thought he got fouled on the final play of the quarter, had bitter beer face on, and was well on his way to getting a technical and giving away a free point (which would have tied it). But Ron came over, stepped in between, and bodily pushed Brad halfway across the court to get him away from the ref. Been wiating for somebody to do that for three years now.
Thomas ( D+ ) -- quiet and ineffective game. Game was very physical, which maybe doesn't favor Kenny that much because of the strength issue -- he uses quickness. Picked up a few chippee fouls in the 3rd. Lit up by Danny Granger when he was guarding the rook. Lost time to Reef who wasn't much offensively but was on the glass tonight. Missed a point blank layup in the last 30 seconds to cap his night and help seal the loss.
Miller ( B- ) -- many assists, and running the offense early with an all around game. Even showing flashes of that newfound interior defense once more. But quieted down in the second half, and as feared Foster was all over him on the glass. Still managed a near triple double, albeit in another exhausting 45min. Hit a late three to keep us right there until the final two minutes.
Martin ( B ) -- very quiet start even as the rest of the team was doing well. Spent a lot of time on Peja, and while sounded good in theory, Peja, believe it or not, was too physical for him.
But came out and was having a big third. Peja was still able to work inside (again ) but Kevin was giving him some of the Peja treatment on the other side of the floor where his superior quickness was letting him get to the hoop and pop open for open threes. And then came the most interesting coaching move of the night. With Kevin having scored 10pts in the first half of the third, Rick pulled him in favor of Bonzi. And basically that was the end of the night for Kevin. To say that was questionable is an understatement. On the other hand it may well have been done to bolster our defense -- the Pacers started off the third quarter shooting an amazing 14-16 from the field, and Peja to the rim was a part of that. But still...at that point Kevin was our offense in the quarter, and he really deserved some more minutes tonight even if it was just to give Mike a little breather in the 4th.
Bibby ( C ) -- big first half scoring the ball and as the biggest difference maker in the game. Seemed poised to maybe have one of those explosive outings on the road where he just shoots the other team out of the game. But the Pacers made some nice adjustements on him, and in the second half he was having a hard time getting open, let alone hitting his shots. And with the offense neutralized, his defensive shortcomings came to the fore as Jamaal Tinsley, back from his annual half-season of injury rehab, exploded off the bench and was blasting by Mike at will into the paint. Mike finally stepped up and hit a big three in the last two minutes, but then came back and earased much of the good by forcing up another one on the next possession without even looking for the pass. What started out as a good grade in this one kept on sinking. Part of it was not his fault as, if nothing else, the Pacers were really jumping him in the second half and making it very hard for him to get anything going offensively. Which shudl have benefitted the rest of the team wiht the atrtention being focused on Mike. But given that that was going on, the other side of the ball became even more critical for him as a place to contribute, and he really did not.
Bonzi ( C+ ) -- how to grade this? How indeed. Bonzi Wells, 6'5"ish OG, comes off the bench and in 30minutes grabs 17 rebounds! Bonzi Wells 6'5"ish OG comes off the bench and shoots 4-15 until a meaningless dunk in the dying seconds, and misses point blank shot after point blank shot. Both are true. Each mitigates for a wildly different grade. Another tough as nails performance from Bonzi. All kinds of physical, all over the glass, even picked up a questionable flagrant foul, and got himself into foul trouble in the first half. But he was never able to maintain any sort of efficiency. Had some flashes -- closed the third with some nice hustle plays on the offensive glass. Started the 4th with some nice postups. But just could not consistently finish, and missed a number of point blank shots down the stretch. In fact a lot of his rebounds were of the offensive variety, grabbing his own misses and going up to frequently miss again. Tough game. But messy game.
Reef ( C+ ) -- very atypical Reef effort. And effort being a good word, for he certainly gave us one. This time he was all over the glass...but then turned around and was unable to get anything to fall offensively. Compounded his difficulties finsihing by missing his FTs, including a few that hurt in the 4th. Like Bonzi a lot of his rebounding really centered around his own futile efforts to score. But still, the two bench guys were similar in that they came in, simply could not hit, but gave us hustle and boardwork that no other Kings cuold provide. Sans Bonzi and Reef, we get crushed on the glass.
Adelman ( ) -- Well. Too bad we could not have gotten this one for Ron. We certainly came out like we wanted to. Just exploded in the first quarter in a rush of emotion I would imagine. But things turned quickly as we started to really struggle in the second, could not hit anything, saw our two benchers have ahard time finsihing. And from then on it was largely a dogfight. Well played game actually. Intense. Fun to watch. Rotation questions will abound given the result (the irony in a close game is that if you barely win it, then nobody questions the rotation because if you did anything different you might have barely lost instead). But miss a couple of extra shots, and its all fair game. Seven man rotation of course. But in many ways almsot 3 guys going the whole way (Mike, Brad, Ron all racked up 45min) and platoons at the OG and PF. If we win, again you say do what it takes. But when you lose you hate to see those sorts of minutes piling up. We'll be lucky to have enough energy left to walk it up in the playoffs at this rate. Playign Brad all these minutes has left Kenny and Reef kind of splitting PF. Not that I even remotely like Reef at center mind you, in particular not against a big front line. But Brad has shown that eh WILL break down. And 45 min every night is just too much. And then of course there's the Kevin thing in third quarter. Kevin had been quiet in the first half. He was also getting worked over a little bit by Peja on the other end. But that said he really WAS the offense for us in the third. Adn to take him out just right in the middle of his hot streak...weird. Worked I guess if the idea was to slow the Pacers down. We did. But it also slowed us down, and we never really did find a hot hand for the entire remainder of the game. Meanwhiel Bonzi crashed and banged his way to a big night on the glass, but could not finish. Suspect that since his best moemnts were in the late 3rd/early 4th what happened was that he was playing well, and so Rick put off reinserting Kevin, and put it off, and by the tiem he thought about it again we were into crucnh time where he trusts the veteran more anyway. But still don't like the timing of the inital move. At least wait until the kid misses a shot or two. And if getting burned by Peja is really that big a deal, switch him on over to Jackson for a while and let Ron go at Peja. In any case, that's where the complaints will be. Not too bummed about the loss. Just one loss, and something to learn from. Good intense atmosphere may help as we start to prepare for a potential playoff run. And the Pacers are a good enough team, and a motivated one in this game, that you can lose to them on their home floor without it being a disaster. So now off to the freefalling T-Wolves to hopefully salvage the split and get back to trying to steal the #6 from Memphis.
Peja ( A or... F) -- depends how you look at it. At least now we know what the problem was in Sacto -- Peja had clearly left his balls buried in an Indiana cornfield somewhere. Tonight he played physically. On purpose even. Grabbed boards. Ventured into the paint without letting out a squeal. And used his size and strength advantage to work inside on layups and even a dunk or two. Not a huge game. But a well played well rounded one where he was more than just a shooter.
Artest ( C- ) -- disappointing return that maybe went wrong the way you feared it might. Ok not the charging-into-the-stands-to-choke-Donnie-Walsh feared it might, but feared it might on the court. Played a solid first half guarded by and being guarded by his pal Stephen Jackson and getting the better of it. But as things got tight in the second half Ron's emotions got a little of out of control I think. On defense he switched over onto Peja, and while he did slow him down, Peja was also causing him some sporadic problems on that end. And on offense Ron got a case of heroitis when Indiana really started to squeeze us and started chucking up far too many shots, and bad shots at that. Just wasn't able to finish the game playing within himself. As a minor aside did do something real nice at the end of the third -- Brad thought he got fouled on the final play of the quarter, had bitter beer face on, and was well on his way to getting a technical and giving away a free point (which would have tied it). But Ron came over, stepped in between, and bodily pushed Brad halfway across the court to get him away from the ref. Been wiating for somebody to do that for three years now.
Thomas ( D+ ) -- quiet and ineffective game. Game was very physical, which maybe doesn't favor Kenny that much because of the strength issue -- he uses quickness. Picked up a few chippee fouls in the 3rd. Lit up by Danny Granger when he was guarding the rook. Lost time to Reef who wasn't much offensively but was on the glass tonight. Missed a point blank layup in the last 30 seconds to cap his night and help seal the loss.
Miller ( B- ) -- many assists, and running the offense early with an all around game. Even showing flashes of that newfound interior defense once more. But quieted down in the second half, and as feared Foster was all over him on the glass. Still managed a near triple double, albeit in another exhausting 45min. Hit a late three to keep us right there until the final two minutes.
Martin ( B ) -- very quiet start even as the rest of the team was doing well. Spent a lot of time on Peja, and while sounded good in theory, Peja, believe it or not, was too physical for him.
But came out and was having a big third. Peja was still able to work inside (again ) but Kevin was giving him some of the Peja treatment on the other side of the floor where his superior quickness was letting him get to the hoop and pop open for open threes. And then came the most interesting coaching move of the night. With Kevin having scored 10pts in the first half of the third, Rick pulled him in favor of Bonzi. And basically that was the end of the night for Kevin. To say that was questionable is an understatement. On the other hand it may well have been done to bolster our defense -- the Pacers started off the third quarter shooting an amazing 14-16 from the field, and Peja to the rim was a part of that. But still...at that point Kevin was our offense in the quarter, and he really deserved some more minutes tonight even if it was just to give Mike a little breather in the 4th.Bibby ( C ) -- big first half scoring the ball and as the biggest difference maker in the game. Seemed poised to maybe have one of those explosive outings on the road where he just shoots the other team out of the game. But the Pacers made some nice adjustements on him, and in the second half he was having a hard time getting open, let alone hitting his shots. And with the offense neutralized, his defensive shortcomings came to the fore as Jamaal Tinsley, back from his annual half-season of injury rehab, exploded off the bench and was blasting by Mike at will into the paint. Mike finally stepped up and hit a big three in the last two minutes, but then came back and earased much of the good by forcing up another one on the next possession without even looking for the pass. What started out as a good grade in this one kept on sinking. Part of it was not his fault as, if nothing else, the Pacers were really jumping him in the second half and making it very hard for him to get anything going offensively. Which shudl have benefitted the rest of the team wiht the atrtention being focused on Mike. But given that that was going on, the other side of the ball became even more critical for him as a place to contribute, and he really did not.
Bonzi ( C+ ) -- how to grade this? How indeed. Bonzi Wells, 6'5"ish OG, comes off the bench and in 30minutes grabs 17 rebounds! Bonzi Wells 6'5"ish OG comes off the bench and shoots 4-15 until a meaningless dunk in the dying seconds, and misses point blank shot after point blank shot. Both are true. Each mitigates for a wildly different grade. Another tough as nails performance from Bonzi. All kinds of physical, all over the glass, even picked up a questionable flagrant foul, and got himself into foul trouble in the first half. But he was never able to maintain any sort of efficiency. Had some flashes -- closed the third with some nice hustle plays on the offensive glass. Started the 4th with some nice postups. But just could not consistently finish, and missed a number of point blank shots down the stretch. In fact a lot of his rebounds were of the offensive variety, grabbing his own misses and going up to frequently miss again. Tough game. But messy game.
Reef ( C+ ) -- very atypical Reef effort. And effort being a good word, for he certainly gave us one. This time he was all over the glass...but then turned around and was unable to get anything to fall offensively. Compounded his difficulties finsihing by missing his FTs, including a few that hurt in the 4th. Like Bonzi a lot of his rebounding really centered around his own futile efforts to score. But still, the two bench guys were similar in that they came in, simply could not hit, but gave us hustle and boardwork that no other Kings cuold provide. Sans Bonzi and Reef, we get crushed on the glass.
Adelman ( ) -- Well. Too bad we could not have gotten this one for Ron. We certainly came out like we wanted to. Just exploded in the first quarter in a rush of emotion I would imagine. But things turned quickly as we started to really struggle in the second, could not hit anything, saw our two benchers have ahard time finsihing. And from then on it was largely a dogfight. Well played game actually. Intense. Fun to watch. Rotation questions will abound given the result (the irony in a close game is that if you barely win it, then nobody questions the rotation because if you did anything different you might have barely lost instead). But miss a couple of extra shots, and its all fair game. Seven man rotation of course. But in many ways almsot 3 guys going the whole way (Mike, Brad, Ron all racked up 45min) and platoons at the OG and PF. If we win, again you say do what it takes. But when you lose you hate to see those sorts of minutes piling up. We'll be lucky to have enough energy left to walk it up in the playoffs at this rate. Playign Brad all these minutes has left Kenny and Reef kind of splitting PF. Not that I even remotely like Reef at center mind you, in particular not against a big front line. But Brad has shown that eh WILL break down. And 45 min every night is just too much. And then of course there's the Kevin thing in third quarter. Kevin had been quiet in the first half. He was also getting worked over a little bit by Peja on the other end. But that said he really WAS the offense for us in the third. Adn to take him out just right in the middle of his hot streak...weird. Worked I guess if the idea was to slow the Pacers down. We did. But it also slowed us down, and we never really did find a hot hand for the entire remainder of the game. Meanwhiel Bonzi crashed and banged his way to a big night on the glass, but could not finish. Suspect that since his best moemnts were in the late 3rd/early 4th what happened was that he was playing well, and so Rick put off reinserting Kevin, and put it off, and by the tiem he thought about it again we were into crucnh time where he trusts the veteran more anyway. But still don't like the timing of the inital move. At least wait until the kid misses a shot or two. And if getting burned by Peja is really that big a deal, switch him on over to Jackson for a while and let Ron go at Peja. In any case, that's where the complaints will be. Not too bummed about the loss. Just one loss, and something to learn from. Good intense atmosphere may help as we start to prepare for a potential playoff run. And the Pacers are a good enough team, and a motivated one in this game, that you can lose to them on their home floor without it being a disaster. So now off to the freefalling T-Wolves to hopefully salvage the split and get back to trying to steal the #6 from Memphis.
Peja ( A or... F) -- depends how you look at it. At least now we know what the problem was in Sacto -- Peja had clearly left his balls buried in an Indiana cornfield somewhere. Tonight he played physically. On purpose even. Grabbed boards. Ventured into the paint without letting out a squeal. And used his size and strength advantage to work inside on layups and even a dunk or two. Not a huge game. But a well played well rounded one where he was more than just a shooter.
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