Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Well I have a limited stomach for Nellieball as a rule -- something about the decades of uninterrupted failure gives me gas. But surprising the Pacers with it here turned out to be a stroke of genius as we didn't win this one with our still fugly offense, we won it on pure hustle and swarmed the Pacers in route to outscoring them 26-8 in the 4th quarter. 26-8!
More stats: the Kings shot 30.0% (30%!!). It was the first time in frnchise history since 1957 that the team had shot 30% or lower and still managed to win. It was the first time it has happened in the NBA as a whole since 2003. Oh, another stat, we grabbed THIRTY offensive rebounds off all those misses, adn DeMarcus set a franchise record grabbing 10 offensive rebounds in the first half.
Boxscore
Salmons ( C- ) -- started the game hitting a corner three! He hit a three! After an appropriate waiting period, he would duplicate his 3pt shooting feat early in the 3rd quarter. Yes that's right, TWO threes in one game! Woot!! Of course he missed everything else he threw up, but did I mention he hit a three? Adn while John takes a lot of heat around here, and should, it should be noted that he, and the rest of team, really came out with much more of a passing focus from the beginning of the game, and John in fact made a number of passes in the early going that were not exactly on target, but surprised his targets just by being made. Was smaller than the Pacers' SG, and looked small and unatheltic as he grabbed zero rebounds and seemed overwhelemd at times by Granger. Smart made a strange decision to start the 2nd half, for some reason running a play with Salmons taking over up top as the primary ballhandler while Reke slid to the angle. John rewarded that dimness by promptly turning it over, and again turned it over on a similar looking set a minute later. He did get that second three, but with us flat and struggling Smart went to the bench, and Salmons never saw the court again.
Thompson ( B+ ) -- blew the gimme from Reke to start but that was kind of the last of the old JT we saw out there. Instead we got the new and improved solid roleplayer JT, and his energy and hustle realy helped in the early going as he did well at pretty much everyhting. Was on the boards, dropped a nice post move (and was the only King to shoot 50%), made a really nice interior pass to DeMarcus to cap an impressive passing sequence for us, and in general gave us a real boost. Was less effective after the break, and eventually saw his minutes shaved by the super Nellieball which only allowed for one big man on the court at a time.
Cousins ( B ) -- in an unpromising development Boogie took one look at 7'2" Hibbert and immediately retreated to the perimeter to start the game, and then got his jumper blocked anyway just to add insult to Hawesiness. Then Hibbert quickly posted him the other way twice as DeMarcus was just too small to have any effect on his shot. Was working hard on the glass again, in particular on the offense side where he grabbed TEN first half offensive boards (a Kings era record) and 12 for the game. But was missing all his shots again as size just flat out bothers him far more than it should given that he plays a position where you see a steady diet of it, and the shooting malaise seemed to seep into his FT shoting stroke too, as until he wrenched it back into place late in the game the FTs kept on getting worse and worse until they reached frightening knuckleball catapult status. Able to pohysically dominate when he came back in against the Pacers stubby non-Hibbert frontline options (there is no way that team can let their big guy go in free agency this summer), and began to really display those hands on some beautiful rebounds and an impressive one hand/arm flying snatch of an off target Donte pass on the interior. Late in the game had to play lone tower out there with Smart's rampant Nellieball darting around him (our "PF" was either Cisco or Reke!) and was critical during that time as designated Only Guy Who Has A Prayer on the Glass. Came up with several big defensive plays down the stretch (again taking advantage of just deciding a few games ago that foul trouble was not going to be a problem anymore) including taking a charge and a pokeaway steal. Finsihed with another monster boarding game (19 on the night) just wading into the middle of the Pacers and overwhelming them, but offensively joined the most offensively iept group in the NBA right now, shot 5-14, 3-8 from the line, and was largely frozen out late in the game by the Nellieballers.
Thornton ( C- ) -- this game was a flat out mess for Marcus. Not always a bad mess, but just completely without rhythm. A couple of early threes spotting up helped as he was about the only guy who could hit a shot. But they were the ONLY shots he was hitting and he kept on forcing up brick after brick off his dribble, both outside and inside. Kept the ball for our final shot of the half, and came up with nothing more than just a passive nothing 1 on 1 3pt brick to close the half. Was visibly pissed at the way he was playing and got angrier and angrier and kept forcing tougher and tougher drives, making a lot of mental errors, but finally getting a +1 play in the late 3rd. Came on in the Nellieball era coming up with a big steal late in the game and throwing it out to Thomas or the break, and fighting for a huge offensive rebound tipouot at the 20 second mark that helped seal it. Those plays allowed me in good conscience to get this up to a passing grade even though he shot like crap (Boogie, Reke and Thornton combined to shoot 13-45...and we won!) and was out of rhythm all night. Found ways to help with all out hustle when it mattered.
Evans ( C ) -- how to grade ths one. Like the Minnesota out-Rubioing Rubio game, only moreso. First it should be noted that Evans did a MUCH better job passing than his 6 assists indicate. In fact you could probably just about double that number if the recipeients of those passes had been anybody but members of the Sacramento Kings. In the first quarter in particular he lost about 4-5 assists as our guys just simply refused to hit shots. I mean REFUSED. Nonetheless we were very obviously making a conscious effort to move the ball, and nobody moreso than Reke who set up a ton of guys in the first half, and made a number of other passes not directly leading to hoops. Defensive effort on Collison was there agian (Collison got almost lal his numbes lighting up little IT), but was unable to be effective double teaming Hibbert because Hibbert was just too bi and kept the ball out of reach. for all the good things he was doing as a passer, his ow offense AGAIN was completely lost. Since Thronton's return/ever since that Dallas game there has just been a complete collapse and the change was just night and day. From 4 25+ point games in 5 games to 3 straight single digit efforts. All 3 of his scores were nice -- two beautiful drives early, and then a really tough +1 drive at a critcal time to cap a run and get us back within 6 in the early 4th -- after they tried to steal it from him from behind out near the 3pt line, he took advantage slicing all the way to the hoop and finishing through a huge hit that knocked him on his back and gave those rib protectors a test. But late in the game with nothing going and playing more off the ball with IT out there, pulled up fro several dumb forced 1 on 1 shots trying to be a hero, or maybe just to contribute offensively. Kept running into the Hibbert wall inside when he did get to the rim. And just in general putting on and a dispaly of why being a good pass no offense PG isn't the panacea it is sometimes made out to be. Still working hard on the other end though, and as the 2nd biggest/strongest guy on the court for us in the super-Nellieball, came up with several strong rebounds to help us pull this one out.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bench
Hickson ( B- ) -- first gets banished to the bench, then gets pinned there after an outbreak of Nellieball. But he did fine in hsi minutes out there, was active on the glass, and used his hops on an alley oop to finish a really well run break. He, and the other bigs, better hope somebody slips some penicillin in Smart's drink however, as Nellieball is virulent and once Hayes gets back we will have 4 minutes hungry bigs for the 1 obligatory spot on a junkball squad.
Garcia ( B+ ) -- not much in first half excpet being the glue. But came on in the second half Nellieball, and by the end was one of the guys making the big plays to win the game for us. Nice help block on Hibbert after coming in in the early third, but also was just stsanding there flatfooted for some very weak rebounding efforts in the third just not even going for the ball as Pacers who wanted it more stepped in and took it from him. But as we got Nellieer and Niellier Cisco got stronger and stronger, draining several big threes (virtually his only offense anymore) and coming up with big rebounds and saavy plays down the stretch. Iced the game with 2 FTs at the 5 second mark, and stole the Pacers last desperate attemtp for good measure.
Greene ( B- ) -- wasn't part of the Nellieball crew to win it at the end (too tall you see, and tall people suck) but made his contributions earlier. Nice catch and shoot from Reke to start the 2nd, then immediately followed it with a tough quick turnaround in the post over George Hill. Good defensive effort against David West. Deprived of a dunk when Hibbert clobbered him on the forearm at the rim, and Smart got a T arguing it, and it was worth the fine --just flat out a bad call. Missed some easy ones as the 3rd went along however, and was eventually replaced by Outlaw in what felt like a well timed move -- Donte had made his contribution but was losing momentum and it was time to pass the baton.
Fredette ( INC ) -- the struggle continued for Jimmer, and this time its possible he may have lsot his rotation spot. Lost Hill on defense, and looked absolutely terrible with his offense, including randomly forcing a tough tough shot in traffic and flat airballing an open little jumper. Made a couple of solid little passes again to set guys up, but that's looking hard for a silver lining. Where I feel sorry for the kid is when he has to go back to the sidelines and take a seat. Probably all throughout his basketball career when he's done that its to high fives as The Man and conquering hero. And now he has to sheepishly slink on over there after shooting 0-4, missing shots you make in middel school, and not contributing. With IT coming on and again proving he can be a sparkplug, not sure how much longer Jimmer is going to keep on getting rotation minutes here just based on his college rep. Needs a breakout game in the very worst way. or a D-League stint to regain his stroke/confidence.
More stats: the Kings shot 30.0% (30%!!). It was the first time in frnchise history since 1957 that the team had shot 30% or lower and still managed to win. It was the first time it has happened in the NBA as a whole since 2003. Oh, another stat, we grabbed THIRTY offensive rebounds off all those misses, adn DeMarcus set a franchise record grabbing 10 offensive rebounds in the first half.
Boxscore
Salmons ( C- ) -- started the game hitting a corner three! He hit a three! After an appropriate waiting period, he would duplicate his 3pt shooting feat early in the 3rd quarter. Yes that's right, TWO threes in one game! Woot!! Of course he missed everything else he threw up, but did I mention he hit a three? Adn while John takes a lot of heat around here, and should, it should be noted that he, and the rest of team, really came out with much more of a passing focus from the beginning of the game, and John in fact made a number of passes in the early going that were not exactly on target, but surprised his targets just by being made. Was smaller than the Pacers' SG, and looked small and unatheltic as he grabbed zero rebounds and seemed overwhelemd at times by Granger. Smart made a strange decision to start the 2nd half, for some reason running a play with Salmons taking over up top as the primary ballhandler while Reke slid to the angle. John rewarded that dimness by promptly turning it over, and again turned it over on a similar looking set a minute later. He did get that second three, but with us flat and struggling Smart went to the bench, and Salmons never saw the court again.
Thompson ( B+ ) -- blew the gimme from Reke to start but that was kind of the last of the old JT we saw out there. Instead we got the new and improved solid roleplayer JT, and his energy and hustle realy helped in the early going as he did well at pretty much everyhting. Was on the boards, dropped a nice post move (and was the only King to shoot 50%), made a really nice interior pass to DeMarcus to cap an impressive passing sequence for us, and in general gave us a real boost. Was less effective after the break, and eventually saw his minutes shaved by the super Nellieball which only allowed for one big man on the court at a time.
Cousins ( B ) -- in an unpromising development Boogie took one look at 7'2" Hibbert and immediately retreated to the perimeter to start the game, and then got his jumper blocked anyway just to add insult to Hawesiness. Then Hibbert quickly posted him the other way twice as DeMarcus was just too small to have any effect on his shot. Was working hard on the glass again, in particular on the offense side where he grabbed TEN first half offensive boards (a Kings era record) and 12 for the game. But was missing all his shots again as size just flat out bothers him far more than it should given that he plays a position where you see a steady diet of it, and the shooting malaise seemed to seep into his FT shoting stroke too, as until he wrenched it back into place late in the game the FTs kept on getting worse and worse until they reached frightening knuckleball catapult status. Able to pohysically dominate when he came back in against the Pacers stubby non-Hibbert frontline options (there is no way that team can let their big guy go in free agency this summer), and began to really display those hands on some beautiful rebounds and an impressive one hand/arm flying snatch of an off target Donte pass on the interior. Late in the game had to play lone tower out there with Smart's rampant Nellieball darting around him (our "PF" was either Cisco or Reke!) and was critical during that time as designated Only Guy Who Has A Prayer on the Glass. Came up with several big defensive plays down the stretch (again taking advantage of just deciding a few games ago that foul trouble was not going to be a problem anymore) including taking a charge and a pokeaway steal. Finsihed with another monster boarding game (19 on the night) just wading into the middle of the Pacers and overwhelming them, but offensively joined the most offensively iept group in the NBA right now, shot 5-14, 3-8 from the line, and was largely frozen out late in the game by the Nellieballers.
Thornton ( C- ) -- this game was a flat out mess for Marcus. Not always a bad mess, but just completely without rhythm. A couple of early threes spotting up helped as he was about the only guy who could hit a shot. But they were the ONLY shots he was hitting and he kept on forcing up brick after brick off his dribble, both outside and inside. Kept the ball for our final shot of the half, and came up with nothing more than just a passive nothing 1 on 1 3pt brick to close the half. Was visibly pissed at the way he was playing and got angrier and angrier and kept forcing tougher and tougher drives, making a lot of mental errors, but finally getting a +1 play in the late 3rd. Came on in the Nellieball era coming up with a big steal late in the game and throwing it out to Thomas or the break, and fighting for a huge offensive rebound tipouot at the 20 second mark that helped seal it. Those plays allowed me in good conscience to get this up to a passing grade even though he shot like crap (Boogie, Reke and Thornton combined to shoot 13-45...and we won!) and was out of rhythm all night. Found ways to help with all out hustle when it mattered.
Evans ( C ) -- how to grade ths one. Like the Minnesota out-Rubioing Rubio game, only moreso. First it should be noted that Evans did a MUCH better job passing than his 6 assists indicate. In fact you could probably just about double that number if the recipeients of those passes had been anybody but members of the Sacramento Kings. In the first quarter in particular he lost about 4-5 assists as our guys just simply refused to hit shots. I mean REFUSED. Nonetheless we were very obviously making a conscious effort to move the ball, and nobody moreso than Reke who set up a ton of guys in the first half, and made a number of other passes not directly leading to hoops. Defensive effort on Collison was there agian (Collison got almost lal his numbes lighting up little IT), but was unable to be effective double teaming Hibbert because Hibbert was just too bi and kept the ball out of reach. for all the good things he was doing as a passer, his ow offense AGAIN was completely lost. Since Thronton's return/ever since that Dallas game there has just been a complete collapse and the change was just night and day. From 4 25+ point games in 5 games to 3 straight single digit efforts. All 3 of his scores were nice -- two beautiful drives early, and then a really tough +1 drive at a critcal time to cap a run and get us back within 6 in the early 4th -- after they tried to steal it from him from behind out near the 3pt line, he took advantage slicing all the way to the hoop and finishing through a huge hit that knocked him on his back and gave those rib protectors a test. But late in the game with nothing going and playing more off the ball with IT out there, pulled up fro several dumb forced 1 on 1 shots trying to be a hero, or maybe just to contribute offensively. Kept running into the Hibbert wall inside when he did get to the rim. And just in general putting on and a dispaly of why being a good pass no offense PG isn't the panacea it is sometimes made out to be. Still working hard on the other end though, and as the 2nd biggest/strongest guy on the court for us in the super-Nellieball, came up with several strong rebounds to help us pull this one out.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bench
Hickson ( B- ) -- first gets banished to the bench, then gets pinned there after an outbreak of Nellieball. But he did fine in hsi minutes out there, was active on the glass, and used his hops on an alley oop to finish a really well run break. He, and the other bigs, better hope somebody slips some penicillin in Smart's drink however, as Nellieball is virulent and once Hayes gets back we will have 4 minutes hungry bigs for the 1 obligatory spot on a junkball squad.
Garcia ( B+ ) -- not much in first half excpet being the glue. But came on in the second half Nellieball, and by the end was one of the guys making the big plays to win the game for us. Nice help block on Hibbert after coming in in the early third, but also was just stsanding there flatfooted for some very weak rebounding efforts in the third just not even going for the ball as Pacers who wanted it more stepped in and took it from him. But as we got Nellieer and Niellier Cisco got stronger and stronger, draining several big threes (virtually his only offense anymore) and coming up with big rebounds and saavy plays down the stretch. Iced the game with 2 FTs at the 5 second mark, and stole the Pacers last desperate attemtp for good measure.
Greene ( B- ) -- wasn't part of the Nellieball crew to win it at the end (too tall you see, and tall people suck) but made his contributions earlier. Nice catch and shoot from Reke to start the 2nd, then immediately followed it with a tough quick turnaround in the post over George Hill. Good defensive effort against David West. Deprived of a dunk when Hibbert clobbered him on the forearm at the rim, and Smart got a T arguing it, and it was worth the fine --just flat out a bad call. Missed some easy ones as the 3rd went along however, and was eventually replaced by Outlaw in what felt like a well timed move -- Donte had made his contribution but was losing momentum and it was time to pass the baton.
Fredette ( INC ) -- the struggle continued for Jimmer, and this time its possible he may have lsot his rotation spot. Lost Hill on defense, and looked absolutely terrible with his offense, including randomly forcing a tough tough shot in traffic and flat airballing an open little jumper. Made a couple of solid little passes again to set guys up, but that's looking hard for a silver lining. Where I feel sorry for the kid is when he has to go back to the sidelines and take a seat. Probably all throughout his basketball career when he's done that its to high fives as The Man and conquering hero. And now he has to sheepishly slink on over there after shooting 0-4, missing shots you make in middel school, and not contributing. With IT coming on and again proving he can be a sparkplug, not sure how much longer Jimmer is going to keep on getting rotation minutes here just based on his college rep. Needs a breakout game in the very worst way. or a D-League stint to regain his stroke/confidence.
Last edited:
