Grades v. Raptors 01/16

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Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Well, was struggling there for a while trying to think of something topical for the theme for this game. Things That Really Stink came to mind, but after you got past carrion, rotting broccoli, skunks etc., it began to take on an almost scatalogical aura which was just icky. Reasons Why We Don't Just Conquer Canada also came to mind, but with us playing so many guys tonight I was again running out of appropriate reasons after getting past hockey fans, having to deal with all the francophile loonies in Quebec, needing some place to hide from the draft, the fact that its bleeping cold as hell, and the remote possibility that Rachel McAdams might get hurt in the fighting.

So instead I just went with something nontopical but fun: Great Moments in Bling

Cisco ( C+ ) -- started off the game hitting his set shots and largely seeming to ignore the changing personnel around him. Of course int he early going the personnel was largely what it has been. Certainly nothing great, and it says something that perhaps you'd ratehr not have said about you that I was not entirely sure who he was supposed to be covering half the time -- outside of getting overwhelmed by Bosh a few times inside he seemed to be playing in space as the threes rained down on us from the perimeter. Largely disappeared in the second half, and think we missed his manic energy at whatever cost with which it is sometimes purchased.
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The titanic medallion is nearly standard, but can we talk about the giant gold eagle bracer on his left arm? While I have never seen someone decked out in full bling paraphanalia show an ounce of humor about it, there just has to be an element of parody in there somewhere doesn't there?

Moore ( F ) -- hmmm...Mikki Moore. Chris Bosh. Chris Bosh. Mikki Moore...wonder how that went? Of course it might have been nice if we had quit leaving Bosh completely wide open half the time. In any cas,e this was a major throwback game for Mikki -- whole team looked like it did at the beginning of last year, or in many cases, the wy it did last year for Muss. And for Mikki, one of his most pathetic. Played 30 minutes. Gave us 2pts and 2rebs (on a dunk of course). That's not a misprint. Meanwhile his man gave them 31pts and 9rebs on 11-12 shooting as he went around Mikki like a pylon. Off thing too --Mikki should have been one of the last guys effected by all the chaos in our small man ranks, and given his roleplayer game should have been able to even benefit from more offensive players on the floor. But he looked as bad, maybe worse, than any of them. Of course he was also facing the toughest competition.
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While it may not be clear from the picture, that is in fact a belt buckle in the shape of $10,000 worth of $100 bills. Now that is class.

Miller ( B- ) -- had a strong first half operating with mimmal resistance out there against Bargnani, who was miserable on both halves of the floor. Despite the general lack of interior presence, it was mostly jumpers for Brad, but when the other team is just going to leave you standing wide open out there, I guess why not? Had 14 points at halftime, even threw in a nice block, but then completely disappeared, and it was an angry frustrated bitter beer face Brad who graced the court in the second half doing little else than picking up (sometimes questionable) fouls. Loses half a tick more than the number might indicate just for bad demeanor contributing to our meltdown, Brad of course being a rock of cheerful focus on our team and such.
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Did you know there was such a thing as a "pimp cup"? Well, now you do and can order a set for your own dining room.

Salmons ( C- ) -- got off to the hot early start showing those nasty canucks why God told him to go elsewhere (and no, I just can't let that one go), but then perhaps got lost amongst all the guys wanting the ball, and finished with a quiet non-impact night. Think he had a single three pointer after the first five or six minutes of the game. Again with the note on John's classic M.O.: competition for the ball = John is just another guy. Well tonight there was certainly a ton of competition. Did not make up for it with anything in any other are either, and the same player who gave us 28pts 11rebs 7ast a week ago gave us 9pts 2rebs and 2ast tonight.
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Nothing says class quite like bling on your flip flops.
 
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Udrih ( B- ) -- and poof, there went Beno's minutes. This time out concentrated on distributing while he was out there, which was a good thing considering his shot was off again. Had a rash of early turnovers as we got off to a shaky start in that regard even before our starters turned backups entered. Could not slow Calderon, who was as good as advertised by nbrans last summer, but then again neither could Bibby (shocker).
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I'm thinking this might not be a bling bestseller in the Sactown area.

Martin ( B- ) -- faced with a sudden competition for shots off the bench, took a while to adjust and did not do so well in a 1-5 first half. Perhaps the difference between having an assigned role and just enough offensive players, and having too many. Began to settle in though as the game went on, and near the end of the third was singlehandedly responsible for a little Kings mini-run to get back from 22 down as Anthony Parker threw a pass right to him for the breakaway, and then he compelted two continuations for 8 points in about 3 minutes. Thing was he still wasn't shootng very well from outside, and mixed in with the successes were several bricked threes. Kept it flowing into the 4th, and eventually got his numbers, although they never really mattered this time out. Henc the dip in grade -- in essence Kevin padded his stats in glorified garbagetime this time out. By the time he started scoring, we were already down 20, and while the game was still actually on, he struggled. Minor point on a night with as much garbagetime as there was tonight, but enoguh to dorp the grade a tick on a disappointing evening. did not help that neither he nor anybody else on the squad showed any inclination or abiltiy to slow down Carlos delfino, who became the latest Kings opponent to notch a career high against us.
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Bling for the ole grill. Who knew that Jaws from the old Roger Moore James Bond movies was one of the true grandfathers of bling?

Artest ( D- ) -- through the first 30 minutes of this one you might have been asking "did he play?" for his complete invisibility. By the time the game was over you might have been wishing the answer was no. Of the three returnees Ron was the one who clearly struggled the most. he jsut did not remoptely look like himself out there on either side of the ball. What offense he attempted was forced and fugly, and on defense he was losing battles against flat out scrubs. Just looked the part of the guy who has not been playing and is all kinds of rusty. Will not F him for this, although under normal circumstances that would be the clear grade. But gave him a mercy boost for it being his first game back under chaotic circumstancves and playing an unfamiliar role off the bench. Obviously if he were to continue throwing in clunker slike this, that would change.
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You know you are truly in the bling zone when you throw on the bling eyepatch. And of course the izod polo shirt -- nothign says hip like one of those.

Bibby ( B ) -- returned to action in full 3 pt chucking mode, taking 5 first half shots, 4 of which were threes, and 3 of which went in. Really began firing in the third, and was the only thing we had going for a long stretch there. Of course some of that may have been because Mike wasn't exactly effectively setting anybody else up. He got his own offense and looked generally smooth doing it, but our putative starting PG scored 19pts while dishing out a grand total of zero assists. Gave us a little help on the glass on another night when we got whipped there, and looked steady and in control -- was no obvious rust. Only sporadically pretended to challenge Calderon on the other end, but that was the case for most of our team tonight.
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Diamond encrusted Mercedes are cool.
 
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Douby ( INC ) -- ah...garbagetime. With all the players back the place where our young kids go to die. This one at least got a little two minute first half run to go with his garbagetime stint. Scored one hoop, and then padded his stats in cheesy fashion by chucking up a three in the final few seconds with us down 28.
Bling.jpg

Me

Hawes ( INC ) -- garbagetime -- been quite the banner year for our #1 pick
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It is of course important that your dog have bling too. Liked the one in the middle especially.

Justin ( INC ) -- garbagetime -- whatever promise Justin showed last spring has long since been forgotten
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And after blinging out your mutt, you can jam one of these pacifiers into your tot's mouth to complete the look.

Reggie ( ) -- game #1 of the too-many-bodies-too-few-minutes tour turned out to be a mess. The rotations were screwed, chemistry was off, there was no defense being played, and we just flat got blown out of the building. If I was still in the habit of giving coaching grades, this could not be a good one (also note Reggie, zone vs. #1 shooting team in the league = bad idea). But the truth is, that like Rick before him, Reggie is discovering there may be no easy way to reintegrate major guys midseason. Just have to bite the bullet and push forward and wait for the GM -- I think we still have one of those -- to help you out. Playoff update: current #8 seed (Warriors) continue on a 47 win pace (.575). Our necessary record to reach 47 wins ourselves? 32-13. At some point here that factoid should, and a I repeat should educate much of what we do from here on out.
 
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idontknow, we deffinetly need to makes some trades asap... too many players to play, it was worse tonight than i thought it would be.. and bibby actually played pretty well.
 
Maybe the theme should be "excellent alcoholic libations for watching Kings games, or readily and legally available painkillers" ;)
 
It will get alot better, alot of adjustments to make for everyone and rust to shake off.

Why? Isn't that what was said ALL SEASON LONG last year? Bibby got injured early, and everybody was 'well, things will turn around'. It didn't. This year, the change was almost tangible. It wasn't just the play, it was the attitude, the effort, and the change was night and day compared to last season.

Now, Bibby is back, and so is Ron, and the EXACT same problems about that team show up tonight against the Raps that plagued them last year. Rebounding (which wasn't a huge problem so far this season), selfish play, no ball movement, tons of perimeter shots, no offensive rhythm, etc. People say this is one game, and one can't rush to judgement. Well, no. It's last season all over again. If last season never happened, and this is the first I had seen, then I can take that approach. But the fact is that last season DID happen, I saw how the team played, and tonight I felt like Mussleman was on the bench and I was about to yell at the TV to take out KT, but alas, they weren't there.
 
Why? Isn't that what was said ALL SEASON LONG last year? Bibby got injured early, and everybody was 'well, things will turn around'. It didn't. This year, the change was almost tangible. It wasn't just the play, it was the attitude, the effort, and the change was night and day compared to last season.

Now, Bibby is back, and so is Ron, and the EXACT same problems about that team show up tonight against the Raps that plagued them last year. Rebounding (which wasn't a huge problem so far this season), selfish play, no ball movement, tons of perimeter shots, no offensive rhythm, etc. People say this is one game, and one can't rush to judgement. Well, no. It's last season all over again. If last season never happened, and this is the first I had seen, then I can take that approach. But the fact is that last season DID happen, I saw how the team played, and tonight I felt like Mussleman was on the bench and I was about to yell at the TV to take out KT, but alas, they weren't there.

Hey I feel ya buddy...I enjoyed seeing guys like Beno and John unleashing their ability and basically spitting in the face of the doubters. Oh well...:(
 
Bibby played better for not having played the entire season than Ron did. Ron is not a team player....period. If we got rid of Ron, I think Bibby could still find his game. Did anyone notice that Bibby had 6 rebounds and that was second only to Brad's 7?
 
Bibby played better for not having played the entire season than Ron did. Ron is not a team player....period. If we got rid of Ron, I think Bibby could still find his game. Did anyone notice that Bibby had 6 rebounds and that was second only to Brad's 7?


We don't need either of them... and to be honest the teamwork earlier in the season with Ron>the teamwork with Ron/Mike/Kevin. There just aren't enough touches to go around, especially when it's your 3 smallest starters.
 
We don't need either of them... and to be honest the teamwork earlier in the season with Ron>the teamwork with Ron/Mike/Kevin. There just aren't enough touches to go around, especially when it's your 3 smallest starters.


Oh, I'm not saying we shouldn't trade them both, however, if we lose only one, it needs to be Artest.
 
Oh, I'm not saying we shouldn't trade them both, however, if we lose only one, it needs to be Artest.


I kind of disagree though, Bibby has the bigger contract and if he plays well he can probably get us the best return. At this point I think we need to deal whoever gets us the best young talent. I don't think anyone will give up a great young player for Ron, too much risks involved. But we might get a pick+a good young guy for Mike and expirings, or we might get a good young player or 2, or something like that. We need to do what makes us better in the future.
 
I don't disagree with anything you said, BMiller52. My concern is that Ron is leaving soon, of his own volition. I'd at least like to get something, anything...a 2nd round pick...a bag of chips...whatever...rather than get nothing at all.
 
I don't disagree with anything you said, BMiller52. My concern is that Ron is leaving soon, of his own volition. I'd at least like to get something, anything...a 2nd round pick...a bag of chips...whatever...rather than get nothing at all.


Yeah you have a point there, the only good thing about his FA situation is no other team really has the cap space to pay him, so we'd probably get back something in a sign and trade. I still think we should deal them both. It was so much more fun watching them play as a team, seeing Salmons and Beno and Cisco tear it up. Jones, Douby, Hawes, Williams get spot minutes. This team as is is not fun to watch at all.
 
Yeah you have a point there, the only good thing about his FA situation is no other team really has the cap space to pay him, so we'd probably get back something in a sign and trade. I still think we should deal them both. It was so much more fun watching them play as a team, seeing Salmons and Beno and Cisco tear it up. Jones, Douby, Hawes, Williams get spot minutes. This team as is is not fun to watch at all.



Which usually doesn't get you much at the end of the day. Strike while the irons hot.
 
Arrrgggghhhh!!! The heartburn is back! Just like I had when CWebb was brought back into a lineup that had gone 25-10 without him. They went down hill for a solid year after that. Same thing tonight when both KMart, Bibbs and RonRon got 29 min apiece mostly at same time. Sure Bibbs and KMart scored 41 pts, but none of the starters seemed to get into a familiar rhythm

Now on the other side of the come-back coin is the need for them (Bibbs and RonRon) to get their game legs back and start to get into game shape. It's just gonna be hard in the mean time and the Kings will suffer until a new rhythm can be built. And RonRon and Bibbs need to get showcased if the Kings hope to put together a trade or trades to help a core group become a playoff team.......sometime..........bubble this year........ hmmmm.
 
Arrrgggghhhh!!! The heartburn is back! Just like I had when CWebb was brought back into a lineup that had gone 25-10 without him. They went down hill for a solid year after that. Same thing tonight when both KMart, Bibbs and RonRon got 29 min apiece mostly at same time. Sure Bibbs and KMart scored 41 pts, but none of the starters seemed to get into a familiar rhythm

.
Doesn't work...we had one good homestand before not a 25-10 team.
 
Arrrgggghhhh!!! The heartburn is back! Just like I had when CWebb was brought back into a lineup that had gone 25-10 without him. They went down hill for a solid year after that. Same thing tonight when both KMart, Bibbs and RonRon got 29 min apiece mostly at same time. Sure Bibbs and KMart scored 41 pts, but none of the starters seemed to get into a familiar rhythm

Now on the other side of the come-back coin is the need for them (Bibbs and RonRon) to get their game legs back and start to get into game shape. It's just gonna be hard in the mean time and the Kings will suffer until a new rhythm can be built. And RonRon and Bibbs need to get showcased if the Kings hope to put together a trade or trades to help a core group become a playoff team.......sometime..........bubble this year........ hmmmm.

it was 44-15 but who is counting ?
 
Doesn't work...we had one good homestand before not a 25-10 team.

Right. Before we were going through a transition from very good to pretty decent. Now we're going from pretty bad (but kind of exciting) to almost unwatchable. Before we were losing hope of winning in the playoffs, now we're just losing hope in general. It may be just as painful, but it is different.
 
0 Assists from Bibby? No defence, 25 points lose? Beno should play more, only 18 minutes and 7 assists.
Kings have K-Mart, Salmons and Cisco, all great shooters and Bibby should take care to deliver them ball not just look to the basket.


I say trade Bibby and BTW, Miki Moore is joke.

Regards from Slovenia

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Right. Before we were going through a transition from very good to pretty decent. Now we're going from pretty bad (but kind of exciting) to almost unwatchable. Before we were losing hope of winning in the playoffs, now we're just losing hope in general. It may be just as painful, but it is different.
Well, I will take unwatchable (with effort) over mediocre.
 
Maybe the theme should be "excellent alcoholic libations for watching Kings games, or readily and legally available painkillers" ;)
Awesome idea. waiting for Bricks grades today is like the scary part in a horror movie - holding hands over face and peaking through fingers cause I just can't help but look.
 
Just wanted to point out how important Brad Miller is to this team. Brad's +/- was 0 for 35 Minutes. That means in the other 13 Minutes we were -25. Also it seemed as if we were treating this as a preseason game and everyone moving in a daze. We are also in the worst kind of situation were we have 10-11 guys who all think they deserve playing time and all our best players the same position.

So please Geoff, make a trade.
 
The issue is the affect of bringing back injured starters into games in the first few minutes and upsetting what appeared to be some chemistry. Then bringing in 3 guys off of IR and giving them 29 min each really takes away from what the team was accomplishing up to then. Sure, they have to get time to get back into game shape, its just that a little at a time would seem much better to team chemistry than 0 to 29 min the first game. The whole team dribbles too much anyway and RonRon just adds to that.
 
Udrih ( B- ) -- and poof, there went Beno's minutes. This time out concentrated on distributing while he was out there, which was a good thing considering his shot was off again. Had a rash of early turnovers as we got off to a shaky start in that regard even before our starters turned backups entered. Could not slow Calderon, who was as good as advertised by nbrans last summer, but then again neither could Bibby (shocker).

Since Calderon is a free agent in the offseason, there's still a slight chance we could get him either through trade or clearing cap room to sign him. Come on, Petrie!
 
Since Calderon is a free agent in the offseason, there's still a slight chance we could get him either through trade or clearing cap room to sign him. Come on, Petrie!


Not a chance in hell. :p

(seriously, the guy is averaging 13 and 10 since becomeing a starter on 50% shooting -- the Raptors would be nuts to let him go unless we offered them something pretty ridiculous).
 
Not a chance in hell. :p

(seriously, the guy is averaging 13 and 10 since becomeing a starter on 50% shooting -- the Raptors would be nuts to let him go unless we offered them something pretty ridiculous).

Yeah. Ford's injury really killed it. As good as Calderon has been playing, Ford was even better until the injury. Colangelo has said Ford is the future at PG and Raps fans have speculated that Calderon would be traded, but they'll probably try and make a run with Ford/Calderon in the playoffs and then try and re-sign Calderon in the offseason as insurance against losing Ford.

I'm just hoping they'll shy away from re-upping Calderon when they have such a big hole at C and, to a lesser extent, SF (they have lots of backup-quality guys and Moon's a great roleplayer, but they could really use a killer SF). Probably wishful thinking though.
 
Hey I feel ya buddy...I enjoyed seeing guys like Beno and John unleashing their ability and basically spitting in the face of the doubters. Oh well...:(

Right to a 15-21 record. It's like the whole concept of team and winning goes out the window so long as some players get theirs we can just ignore everything else.
 
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