Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
A very nice job by whoever were in that arena and started up the MVP chants late in the game.
I must admit to a considerable degree of personal pleasure after all these years of fighting the good fight for an OBVIOUS HOF player, to have the Boogie Prophecy finally coming true.
There's not much that needs to be said here, the boxscore does the talking. Not only for Cuz BTW, but for a supporting cast that simply could not shoot to save their lives. None of them. Cuz pummeled the Pacers to the tune of 48 points (and another technical, which leads me to my obligatory TRADE HIM!!!). But realistically he shouldn't have had to break 40 if ANYBODY, just ANYBODY would have hit the constant stream of open shots the big guy was creating with his power inside. And hey, this is the great thing about having a superstar -- he'll carry you when the rank and file struggle.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming:
MVP! MVP! MVP!
Boxscore
Stats: 28min 8pts (4-7, 0-3, 0-0) 5reb 1ast 0stl 0blk 1TO
Summary: I was worried when he got hurt at the end of his 3pt hot streak it might break his rhythm, and sure enough really struggling to hit threes now
Casspi ( C- ) -- could not hit the long ones to give Boogie space in there, and his performance as a starting SF in place of Rudy, as opposed to a smallball PF, should give real pause to those in a hurry to dump Rudy. Scored a few hoops off of cuts and rim running, but in the end started getting lit up by George, and watching a chunk of the late game from the bench.
Stats: 34min 6pts (3-6, 0-0, 0-0) 12reb 2ast 2stl 1blk 1TO
Summary:he didn't score 48, but he and Rondo filling up all those roleplayer support areas of the stat sheet and ran the floor like a deer
Cauley Stein ( A- ) -- had an amazing sequence in the first quarter where he blocked a shot on one end, and raced up the court to take a dropoff pass in transition from Rondo for a big dunk. Was no help with the offensive stagnation of course, but again and again used his length to smother Pacers drives. And he's getting it done on the glass too, where he Cuz and Rondo have all been giving us double figure rebounds of late. Here's a stat for you: since returning to the starting lineup 5 games ago, Kings opponents have shot: .422, .396, .356, .417, .419.
Stats: 39min 48pts (17-29, 1-2, 13-20) 13reb 2ast 1stl 0blk 5TO
Summary:I can't believe we haven't dumped this cancer on anyone who will take him yet. First center since Shaq in '03 to score 48.
Cousins ( A+ ) -- just another boring night at the office, so let's talk numbers. 48 is the third most points every scored by a King in the Sacramento era. Webb had 51, Kevin 50, now Cuz 48. The thing is, both those other totals took OT. Cuz's 48 ties Kevin for the most ever in a regulation game in the 30 years of Sacto history. And this was pure inside slamball. He did hit a three, but 13 of his 17 FGs were right at the rim. We had half hooks, we had lock and lobs, we had straight power, and the Pacers could not handle it. Its the most points by any center since Shaq in 2003, and one of only 12 centers in history to ever hit that mark. And nobody else could hit a shot to help out. They missed open three after open shot, and so again and again we went back to the well, and again and again he delivered, scoring 15 points by himself in the 4th quarter to singlehandedly stiffarm the Pacers attempt to steal something. Now for the bad stuff: he got a TECHNICAL!!! He got a technical, and I was so embarrassed for the team, the fans, the city, the nation, and really the whole human race that I ran over next door and put my hands over the eyes of my neighbor's kids. He got a technical, and that made the MVP! chants raining down in the final minutes in incredible bad taste. MVPs don't get technicals -- they kiss bunnies and hug fluffy rainbows.
Stats: 18min 5pts (2-9, 1-4, 0-0) 1reb 2ast 1stl 1blk 1TO
Summary: and being Ben, came off the strong game and re-pumpkined himself right to the bench. Needs to hit shots.
McLemore ( C- ) -- and so the pendulum swung again. We ran the very first play of the game specifically for him, and he came off a screen and drained his only three (or jumper) of the game. He would not score again until a tip in in the final minutes of the half. It wasn't his defense that took him off this floor. He tried a few more hustle plays, and Monta's scoring was rarely against him, and when it did happen, it was well challenged. It was his, and our, complete lack of punch around Cuz. Cuz nearly dropped 50, and until the waning moments we did not have a single other player in double figures. There were plenty of opportunities, we desperately could have used SOMEBODY to step up, anybody. But when Ben didn't, and then nobody else did either, Karl went searching down his bench looking for somebody to just hit a damn open shot they should hit 70% of in practice.
Stats: 34min 11pts (2-4, 0-0, 7-8) 10reb 10ast 2stl 1blk 1TO
Summary: oh yeah, Rondo got another triple double. Bet you didn't know that, huh?
Rondo ( B ) -- in a scrugly fugly match in which none of our shooters could shoot, it really fell to the guys who do "the other things" to be Cuz's support. Rondo watched over the bulk of Cuz's big night, he was back helping on the boards, the Pacers thankfully did not try to turn him into a shooter, and he did most of his scoring at the line (including splitting a pair int he final minutes when we had a teamwide brainfart and did not help get the ball from him before the Pacers decided to intentionally foul). He was not very effective against Ellis on defense, who would just come down, jog to his spot, and pull up. But Hill never hurt us much, and Rondo taking better care of the ball and making fewer "experimental" passes shall we say, helped us get back and set on defense without points off of turnovers burning us. It was barely a triple double, but those still count, and with it, barely half of a season in, he passed Webb for the all time Kings single season triple double record.
Last edited:
Ailene Voisin@ailene_voisin
