Grades v. Raptors 1/4/2013

[mac]

Thomas Robinson on his game tonight:

“I felt I played a good game, all around the board solid. I got a couple of steals a few assists. I could have rebounded more for 20 minutes but it felt good to get out there. I think I just approached it wrong. I think I approached this whole season wrong, listening to people in my ear saying I need to do this and do that.”

Robinson said he needs to get back to being a hustle player, which what he has always been. That's the player the Kings drafted him to be, too.

“I got away from who I am. I’ve never been a 20-point scorer or played like that. I’ve always been a hustle guy and I got away from that and it didn’t help me. I don’t mind being that guy. That’s what got me here and that’s what’s going to keep me here.”

Source: http://sulia.com/channel/sacramento-kings/f/487c5203-018a-41cd-81d5-18fd136e05e3/?source=twitter

This is about the best thing I've heard from TRob. I don't question his ability to be a Kenneth Faried type player, I questioned his willingness to do so because of his ego and wanting to prove people wrong. This is a very good sign for him.

 

[Gary]

So how about them Bengals!?


Playoffs tomorrow 1:30 PST. Make sure you all watch us DESTROY the Texans!

 

[Bricklayer]

Source: http://sulia.com/channel/sacramento-kings/f/487c5203-018a-41cd-81d5-18fd136e05e3/?source=twitter

This is about the best thing I've heard from TRob. I don't question his ability to be a Kenneth Faried type player, I questioned his willingness to do so because of his ego and wanting to prove people wrong. This is a very good sign for him.

I agree. Well...I think people don't understand how special Fareid is -- not everybody can do that no matter how they want to. But as far as TRob's attitude, where it came from, him getting it..absolutely.

Felt a bulb went on for Jimmer somewhere between summer league, when he was almost out of the league, and camp. For Reke somewhere in the early season. For Cousins just after the great Christmas blowup. And if one comes on for TRob as well now maybe we could finaly have a team that wasn't constantly fighting itself all the time.

 

[Gary]

Source: http://sulia.com/channel/sacramento-kings/f/487c5203-018a-41cd-81d5-18fd136e05e3/?source=twitter

This is about the best thing I've heard from TRob. I don't question his ability to be a Kenneth Faried type player, I questioned his willingness to do so because of his ego and wanting to prove people wrong. This is a very good sign for him.

Hustle players are fine, but I would rather he be more like Scot Pollard. I just don't think he'a going to be either Faried or or Pollard. I think we have at best a mix between Milsap and Maxiel, an extremely poor version of that mix for now. That's as close as I could come to my comparison. I could probably toss in a few other players into that mix but then I would get confused lol.

EDIT: oooo Maybe Brian Skinner or Yogi Smith without the blocked shots or long arms? lol

 

[jcwkings]

T Rob should just watch Kenneth Faried for 24 hours straight. The guy has the quickness and athleticism to be that type of player. My brother is a Nuggets fan so i watch a lot of their games, Faried is an absolute BEAST, truly impressive to see the amount of effort he plays every game with. I feel the same way about JT on this team, the guy has turned into such a pro, just a great glue guy that any team would love to have.

 

[Tetsujin]

No no. I hear we are going to trade both of them together for Jared Sullinger, and if we are very very lucky, Avery Bradley (Celts = suckers! Ha!).

No Fab Melo? We're getting played!

 

[Chupacabra]

I voted for aaron gray in the poll because i saw Cousins complain to the referee one time. Doesnt matter how the player performs or what the outcome of the game is, if a player complains about a call or does anything that i feel remotely shows a negative attitude then that player had a bad game.

 

[Tetsujin]

Tied with the Mavericks for 12th in the West at 13-20. Two wins back of the Lakers (who apparently have had a lot of downtime early in the season). If we some how can scratch and claw our way back around .500 (like the .400 range), things may get a little interesting.


Cuz's big game has finally gotten our team some positive attention for once such as an interview with the NBA.TV highlight show. In other news, the original IT seems like he's been sniffing too much glue. I also liked Demarcus's maturity towards the end of that clip in terms of addressing his critics and the like.

 

[pshn80]

.......and the rest are trash? Give me a break. However the team plays the return of Evans is fine by me. We still need to build this team. They are doing better and need to do even better yet. Great win tonight.

 

[macadocious]

Tied with the Mavericks for 12th in the West at 13-20. Two wins back of the Lakers (who apparently have had a lot of downtime early in the season). If we some how can scratch and claw our way back around .500 (like the .400 range), things may get a little interesting.


Cuz's big game has finally gotten our team some positive attention for once such as an interview with the NBA.TV highlight show. In other news, the original IT seems like he's been sniffing too much glue. I also liked Demarcus's maturity towards the end of that clip in terms of addressing his critics and the like.

What awful questions. They even tried to bait him at the end, good on him for not taking it.


h

 

[VF21]

I voted for aaron gray in the poll because i saw Cousins complain to the referee one time. Doesnt matter how the player performs or what the outcome of the game is, if a player complains about a call or does anything that i feel remotely shows a negative attitude then that player had a bad game.

Wow. Seriously?

The guy has advanced by leaps and bounds. NOBODY is perfect. I certainly hope you're never held to the kind of standard you're setting here for Cousins.

 

[Glenn]

I think Chupacabra is joking but what he is saying seems to be the thoughts of several posters on this forum. It's only been 4 games in a row and I suspect that would mimic these posters.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

did anybody else notice that DeMarcus barely took any perimeter jumpers tonight? it seemed like he was living on the perimeter the entire season until just recently.

 

[Tetsujin]

did anybody else notice that DeMarcus barely took any perimeter jumpers tonight? it seemed like he was living on the perimeter the entire season until just recently.

He's been battling a hand injury since the Knicks game.

 

[slugking50]

Hustle players are fine, but I would rather he be more like Scot Pollard. I just don't think he'a going to be either Faried or or Pollard. I think we have at best a mix between Milsap and Maxiel, an extremely poor version of that mix for now. That's as close as I could come to my comparison. I could probably toss in a few other players into that mix but then I would get confused lol.

EDIT: oooo Maybe Brian Skinner or Yogi Smith without the blocked shots or long arms? lol

Is Yogi Smith a mix of Yogi Stewart and Michael Smith?

 

[The_Jamal]

Really excited to see the hustle and effort back from Trob. He has a chance to be a really special defensive player when he's giving 100% effort on the floor. All I care about from him this season is the energy he brings when he's on the floor and the occasional flashes of brilliance like he showed tonight. I think he's slowly starting to figure out how he can be productive at this level and Smart needs to continue to play him 20+ minutes a night.

 

[jalfa]

any word yet on what the hell was going on when Cuz got his technical?

 

[UK_King]

It was for "jawing" with whoever that was who got the other tech.

whether it was justified i have no idea.

 

[lwc]

Nobody is saying to permanently bring Tyreke off the bench. Let him start off the bench while he gets his cardio back. Then when the time is right re-evaluate our situation and see how he can eventually be inserted back into the starting unit.

This is what I am saying.

 

[Chupacabra]

Wow. Seriously?

The guy has advanced by leaps and bounds. NOBODY is perfect. I certainly hope you're never held to the kind of standard you're setting here for Cousins.

I make joke. In lew of the " trade cousins " threads

 

[Kingster]

I have distinguished you from fellow guys who don't get it with Reke, in that you really don't. And hey, I meant that as a compliment of a sort. Its a far far better thing to simply be blinded by stubborness and prejudice than to actually intentionally court it. Basically here is what happened to you: you made a snap judgemnt before the draft. Were determined to not like the pick. Determined to not like the style of play. And most recently have been determined to not update your viewpoint despite changes noticeable to everyone looking at it fairly.

Reke does NOT stop the ball anymore, anymore than any star player. His passes have been much quicker for a long time now. He was creating faster and earlier than anyone on the team when he went out. Using his own offense to set up others. And the TEAM statistics bore that out -- after we shipped IT to the bench and Reke snapped into gear we scored MUCH more than we had either in the early season with him on the sidelines, or at any point until the recent Cuz revolution. The shooting numbers went up for everyone in that lineup. You just could not trust Big Cuz to be there though. If he had we would have been in very good shape.

You are not alone in your prejudice by the way. Fans are often slow to come around. The casual ones because they just don't follow and so work on old intel and broad generalizations. The less casual because the nature of fanhood demands dedication to a cause, and it takes some strength of will to disengage and come around on things. Nonetheless it is patently wrong at this point. I don't know what Reke will come out of this injury. After getting his game in synch I have no idea how the knee and time off might effect it. But I know exactly the player who was out there BEFORE the injury, and that guy's got nothing to do with this mythological chemsitry destroyer you are perpetuating as a danger.

In a lot of ways Reke made us respectable for a stretch of the earlier seaons for the same reasons Cousins is making us respectable now-- by giving us an unselfish star level centerpiece. Now put the two together both playing in that mode...and we could be more than just respectable. Through all the muck and the grime and the wails of pain from the fanbase and everything else, that is still there waiting to happen if we'll just get out of the way and let it and fate doesn't throw us any more curveballs.

I don't really care what the situation was before the Tyreke injury. The team was playing lousy then. The team is playing much better now. IT is playing much better. Cousins is much better. Johnson is much better. Salmons is much better. It's a different team. So now Tyreke is coming into the mix. I have no idea how that is going to affect the chemistry of this team. Maybe good. Maybe not. It depends on numerous factors, including the shape he is in, the players he's paired with, and the role that he is in. So we'll see how it goes. It's going to be an experiment that might immediately work, or have to be retested several times in different ways.

 

[Kingster]

Source: http://sulia.com/channel/sacramento-kings/f/487c5203-018a-41cd-81d5-18fd136e05e3/?source=twitter

This is about the best thing I've heard from TRob. I don't question his ability to be a Kenneth Faried type player, I questioned his willingness to do so because of his ego and wanting to prove people wrong. This is a very good sign for him.

This is excellent news. And his play last night reflected it. Now he can get down to business. I think eventually he's going to be a good offensive player, better than Johnson, but he's got to build off his base of hustle, energy and athleticism. Now I'm looking forward to watching him the rest of the year to see his development.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

He's been battling a hand injury since the Knicks game.

i wonder if thats really the reason or if its just a part of his new approach to the game.

 

[pshn80]

I don't really care what the situation was before the Tyreke injury. The team was playing lousy then. The team is playing much better now. IT is playing much better. Cousins is much better. Johnson is much better. Salmons is much better. It's a different team. So now Tyreke is coming into the mix. I have no idea how that is going to affect the chemistry of this team. Maybe good. Maybe not. It depends on numerous factors, including the shape he is in, the players he's paired with, and the role that he is in. So we'll see how it goes. It's going to be an experiment that might immediately work, or have to be retested several times in different ways.

You have expressed my views exactly. When Evans is ready we play him and go from there.

 

[ESP47]

Cousins had a great game but he's always destroyed Toronto due to their wussy big men. He had a 21 and 19 game against them last year. 25 and 13 against them earlier this year. It's great to see him dominate them but lets not get carried away like he's turned a corner. As soon as he runs into a Chandler, Gortat, Howard etc he turns into a liability offensively.

The good thing is the team is now taking baby steps. First it was beating bad teams at home. Then beating bad and mediocre teams at home with the occasional win against a good team. Now we're starting to beat bad teams on the road, where before we couldn't beat any teams on the road. Next step, lets start being mediocre teams on the road.

The scrubs are playing like a team right now. A front line of Thomas, Garcia and Salmons strike fear into no one outside of local pickup teams at the YMCA. But they play well together as a team and that's more important than having more talented players out there that are doing their own thing. I don't know how Tyreke is going to fit in when/if he comes back but you can't just say we're going to be a better team because he's a good player. We haven't won with Tyreke and Thornton playing so nothing makes me think we're going to start winning now. I'm curious to see how everyone fits together when they get back.

 

[UK_King]

I have no idea what was going on here. lol

 

[bajaden]

Cousins had a great game but he's always destroyed Toronto due to their wussy big men. He had a 21 and 19 game against them last year. 25 and 13 against them earlier this year. It's great to see him dominate them but lets not get carried away like he's turned a corner. As soon as he runs into a Chandler, Gortat, Howard etc he turns into a liability offensively.

The good thing is the team is now taking baby steps. First it was beating bad teams at home. Then beating bad and mediocre teams at home with the occasional win against a good team. Now we're starting to beat bad teams on the road, where before we couldn't beat any teams on the road. Next step, lets start being mediocre teams on the road.

The scrubs are playing like a team right now. A front line of Thomas, Garcia and Salmons strike fear into no one outside of local pickup teams at the YMCA. But they play well together as a team and that's more important than having more talented players out there that are doing their own thing. I don't know how Tyreke is going to fit in when/if he comes back but you can't just say we're going to be a better team because he's a good player. We haven't won with Tyreke and Thornton playing so nothing makes me think we're going to start winning now. I'm curious to see how everyone fits together when they get back.

There's no doubt that Cuz seems to like playing against the Raptors, or perhaps they should be renamed the Chickens. He put up big numbers against them earlier in the year, and shot over 60% in that game as well. But I think we should give credit where its due. He's put up 5 double/doubles in a row, with one of them being a triple double. And one came against Chandler and the Knicks. The problem with Cuz isn't who he plays against, but how he approaches the game. If he continues to make good decisions in his shot selection, and passes the ball the same way, he'll put up good numbers against anyone. If he goes back to his bull in a china shop offense, then he won't.

So the question is whether he's taken the next step in basketball maturity, which can only come from playing experience. I don't know the answer to that, and neither do you. As for as the coming game with the Nets, he had a very productive game against them earlier in the year scoring 29 points and grabbing 7 boards while shooting 57% overall. The only thing that stands between Cousins and greatness, is Cousins. It appears that the light is starting to come on, and thats a good sign. If Cousins has started to turn the corner, then the team has started to turn the corner. The first sign of that is when a player starts to make those around him better. And thats what has happened the last few games.

 

[CruzDude]

It appears that the light is starting to come on, and thats a good sign. If Cousins has started to turn the corner, then the team has started to turn the corner. The first sign of that is when a player starts to make those around him better. And thats what has happened the last few games.

Well said. It is now becoming Cousins team. Add to that the 1-2-3 spots spreading the floor as a group with mostly good spacing and we see where the offense can go against anyone. Defensively they look really good as well.

 

[Glenn]

I have no idea what was going on here. lol

I'd like to see him as a heavy weight wrestler. He is quick. He's also kinda big.

 

[Glenn]

Well said. It is now becoming Cousins team. Add to that the 1-2-3 spots spreading the floor as a group with mostly good spacing and we see where the offense can go against anyone. Defensively they look really good as well.

Maybe you know this but a coach and a few players told him that if he passed more, the rest of the team would pass more. The implication is unmistakable that many players look to him as a leader. Maybe there are other explanations but to Cousins, I can see him interpreting it as meaning how important he is to this team. I think he needs to know that clearly as so far I'm sure he has thought of himself as only a pain in the arse. That of course is true but sending him off in a positive leadership direction may have something to do with his change in attitude. He had a few calls go against him last game and he didn't go ballistic.