[Grades] Grades v. Raptors 11/01/10

[King-Da-Yah]

whats up with Cousins' rebounding???
and lol @ head & jackson eating Donte's minutes

I am starting to get the impression you only read box scores. And Donte is actually getting bypassed by Antoine Wright if tonight is any indication of the minute distribution. Did anyone see that one coming?

I voted Omri for the MVP for the second game in a row. Reke is the obvious choice, but I still feel like we don't win this game if Casspi didn't aid in the comeback with those 3's and his steal and dunk. By the same token though Reke set up Omri nicely tonight, and Reke was great for 4 quarters.

 

[Andriod_KiNg]

If we were rating it by quarters I would give Cousins an A+ in teh 4th.. 10pts 3rbds 1blk Nice 4th Boogie!

I will take a young clutch center every time. He can fill the rest of his game when he stop picking up cheap fouls

 

[Gary]

whats up with Cousins' rebounding???
and lol @ head & jackson eating Donte's minutes

Cousins only played 17 mins. He was in foul trouble fore pretty much the whole game. In the 4th quarter though he came in and gave us 10 points and 3 rebounds which helped us win the game.

 

[Aenadin]

I watched the game I love the fight these kings have.. I have to say that the tempo of the team changes when tyreke is in it... he is such a beasT!!

 

[Casspi]

When tyreke will play like he played in the 4rd Q the whole game ( Shot at good times and got everybody involved ) he will be one of the best guards in the leauge

 

[Asf]

When tyreke will play like he played in the 4rd Q the whole game ( Shot at good times and got everybody involved ) he will be one of the best guards in the leauge

I think he's already one of the best guards in the league, but yeah... it would be great if he keeps that level of play from the 4th quarter.

 

[SCKingsfan]

was nice to see 'reke pushing the ball up the floor so much. this team is young and should be running.

that being said, on the opposite end, their transition D in the first half was atrocious, as it has been all season. Didn't toronto have something like 29 fast break points in the 1st half?

11 turnovers on the night - not bad for a young team. that might be the biggest improvement on O this year. would be interested to know what we averaged in turnovers last year. i'd guess over 15...

 

[Kingster]

Dr D and Mr. No D

You might have to come up with half-time grades. Whoever played in the first half gets an F+. Whoever played in second half - A.

Cousins is playing incredibly poor D right now, but I have to hand it to Westphal. He's picking his spots with Cousins so that Cousins does gets the minutes to eventually improve his D, but at the same time picking the opportune times of the game to take him out and go with Dally and a more defensive lineup so the Kings can win the game. That said, I'm sure Westphal is wondering what button he has to press in order to have this team come out in the opening minutes of the game with defensive intensity. And that would include all the Kings starters, not just Cousins, although his defense in the first five minutes of the last three games has been horrible.

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

was nice to see 'reke pushing the ball up the floor so much. this team is young and should be running.

that being said, on the opposite end, their transition D in the first half was atrocious, as it has been all season. Didn't toronto have something like 29 fast break points in the 1st half?
.

21 fast break points for the Raps the first half. 0 the Second half. Which does improve our fast breaks against stat, but we're still the worst team in the league.

 

[ESP47]

Everyone just played their part to a T in that 4th quarter.

Evans drove and scored at will while playing great D.

Casspi knocked down everything he threw up.

Cousins put on an offensive clinic in the paint.

Dalembert rebounded and neutralized Reggie Evans.

Beno made his FT's and his little stop and pop jumpers.

Head was clutch with his FT's all game.

Even a shoutout to JT and Jackson for their play in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

 

[IfAt1st]

I was surprised to see Head play so much.

I was surprised Donte Green wasn't playing, especially when the "best defenders" group was put in.

 

[Kingsguy881]

What was curious to me, and also showed how much better Evans decision making is getting, but the final 3 minutes of the game we kept trying to ISO Landry on Reggie Evans, who was so far up into Landry's jersey I was afraid he might grab the wrong ball. And we know how Reggie Evans likes to grab balls.....

But seriously, after it failed 2 times in a row, and Westphal called it AGAIN, Tyreke recognized and instead of force feeding the rock to Landry again he called for a screen from the low block (Cousins) and they proceeded to work a 2 man game that resulted in a score. And even tho Westphal called the SAME PLAY AGAIN the next time down court, Tyreke again went away from it to work with Cousins and I think this time Cousins got fouled and hit 2 free throws.

As an aside, how awesome is it to have a CENTER who can actually hit his free throws, especially in the clutch?!?!?!?

 

[Hoovtrain]

Our starting PF: 4 Rebounds, Their Starting PF: 19 Rebounds, 10 OReb. That makes me cry
Evans is averaging 16.3 Reb per game..crazy!

Reminded me of when Evans destroyed us on the boards back in the 04'-05' playoffs.

 

[Boogie-havoc]

What was curious to me, and also showed how much better Evans decision making is getting, but the final 3 minutes of the game we kept trying to ISO Landry on Reggie Evans, who was so far up into Landry's jersey I was afraid he might grab the wrong ball. And we know how Reggie Evans likes to grab balls.....

But seriously, after it failed 2 times in a row, and Westphal called it AGAIN, Tyreke recognized and instead of force feeding the rock to Landry again he called for a screen from the low block (Cousins) and they proceeded to work a 2 man game that resulted in a score. And even tho Westphal called the SAME PLAY AGAIN the next time down court, Tyreke again went away from it to work with Cousins and I think this time Cousins got fouled and hit 2 free throws.

As an aside, how awesome is it to have a CENTER who can actually hit his free throws, especially in the clutch?!?!?!?

This!

I noticed it too, reke just waived Carl off.. fantastic decision making there, and really instead of going solo he went and got boogie in the play.. that was awesome!

 

[bajaden]

In a strange way it was fun to watch Evans (Reggie) school Cousins in how to get away with every trick in the book, and believe me, Evans knows them all. I don't have enough fingers on both hands to count how many times Evans had a hold of Cousins shorts, or jersey, or hooked his arm out of sight of the official. He was constantly poking Cousins in the ribs with his elbows, and to Cousins credit, he didn't respond other than one time throwing his hands up into the air. It was a good lesson and one he needed to learn. As bad as Evans made him look at times, I doubt he'll be able to repeat it when next they meet. As I've said, Cousins is a quick learner.

Obviously his learning curve is a fairly steep on on defense. I'm sure right now he's somewhat confused as to how someone can just beat the hell out him and have just one foul in the game, while he's trying everything he can think of to play correctly and still almost fouling out of every game. Well welcome to the NBA big fella. Just keep your cool and keep not reacting to the calls and you'll start to get your breaks on the ticky tacky calls. Next up, the Lakers. Bring your note pad big guy...

 

[SuperPowerMultiPly]

As an aside, how awesome is it to have a CENTER who can actually hit his free throws, especially in the clutch?!?!?!?

Thinking about last season's roster, I think you could end the sentence after the word CENTER.

 

[Kingsguy881]

Thinking about last season's roster, I think you could end the sentence after the word CENTER.

lol, Nice.

 

[Kingster]

What was curious to me, and also showed how much better Evans decision making is getting, but the final 3 minutes of the game we kept trying to ISO Landry on Reggie Evans, who was so far up into Landry's jersey I was afraid he might grab the wrong ball. And we know how Reggie Evans likes to grab balls.....

But seriously, after it failed 2 times in a row, and Westphal called it AGAIN, Tyreke recognized and instead of force feeding the rock to Landry again he called for a screen from the low block (Cousins) and they proceeded to work a 2 man game that resulted in a score. And even tho Westphal called the SAME PLAY AGAIN the next time down court, Tyreke again went away from it to work with Cousins and I think this time Cousins got fouled and hit 2 free throws.

As an aside, how awesome is it to have a CENTER who can actually hit his free throws, especially in the clutch?!?!?!?

Thanks for the insight. Interesting sequence of events. How could discern what play Westphal was calling? Were you behind the bench?

Agreed about Cousins free-throw shooting. That could be huge down the line, like the playoffs. There won't be any hack-a-Cousins like there has been hack-a-Shaq and hack-a-Howard.

 

[Lockehead]

How novel is it that the game ended with casspi's dunk? lmao. in front of the rap's bench no less

 

[bloom]

I’m really proud of Omri, I was a little worried coming into the year because I thought he might have a problem with passing the ball more often. Glad to see that he’s evaluating the situation – when to pass and when’s the right moment to shoot.

Demarcus – Wow, I love this dude.



Donte - I want to see him in the game! He’s a great defender and I don’t know what happened between him and the coach but I want to see him in there. I love him cheering for his teammates (I love that – can’t state that enough) but I want him out there – making mistakes and continuing to learn. I also love to see how he and Omri could play together. I think it would be fun if both of those guys developed chemistry together.

And we seriously need Arco to be sold out – every game!

 

[NME]

Thanks for the insight. Interesting sequence of events. How could discern what play Westphal was calling? Were you behind the bench?

Agreed about Cousins free-throw shooting. That could be huge down the line, like the playoffs. There won't be any hack-a-Cousins like there has been hack-a-Shaq and hack-a-Howard.

Especially huge considering his passing ability, because we don't have to be afraid of running the offense through him late.

 

[est.1999]

That charge call on Darnell was terrible. I still firmly believe that the charge rule is the worst rule in all of sports. They really don't know how to effectively call those situations properly. And I think that dotted line horse s*** they try and use to determine the call is ridiculously horrid.

 

[Kingsguy881]

Thanks for the insight. Interesting sequence of events. How could discern what play Westphal was calling? Were you behind the bench?

Agreed about Cousins free-throw shooting. That could be huge down the line, like the playoffs. There won't be any hack-a-Cousins like there has been hack-a-Shaq and hack-a-Howard.

It was pretty obvious. 3 Kings on the left side of the court, Landry trying to post on the wing. Tyreke with the ball and the first 2 times he goes right to him and passes him the ball = 2 turnovers. The next time on offense, same thing. I'm sure Tyreke isn't calling those plays. I know Casspi and Cousins aren't. Maybe Landry is lol. Anyways, the 3rd time down Tyreke goes to that side of the court and instead of forcing it in again kinda shakes his head and calls Cousins, blatantly, to come set the pick.

 

[Kingsguy881]

That charge call on Darnell was terrible. I still firmly believe that the charge rule is the worst rule in all of sports. They really don't know how to effectively call those situations properly. And I think that dotted line horse s*** they try and use to determine the call is ridiculously horrid.

The worst one was the blocking foul on Beno when Calderon clearly traveled (and I'm in row Y in section 122 and I can still see it) and instead of the travel, or the charge (which he did that too) they call a block on Beno who is backing away trying not to touch Calderon who is out of control anyway. Pathetic.

 

[Kingsguy881]

A couple other things I noticed from the game. Early in the first quarter, Reggie Evans grabs a rebound and tosses it to Bargs for a 3, then turns and yells something at the Kings bench which gets Dalembert up and yelling back at him, gesturing emphatically. At that point it was obvious it was gonna be a good game.

Luther Head tried to take over. Really? Luther Head? Yes, that Luther Head. The results were as expected, turrible.

JT is on another planet. Tried to throw a pass into a posting Dalembert. Bad idea.

Dalembert needs to not shoot, hands of stone and no touch. Put back dunks are the only attempts he should have.

Tyreke was obviously under the weather. That said, he was still the best player on the court.

Cousins will be an absolute BEAST by the middle/end of this year, and going forward. Once he has gone up against the other bigs and learned the things they do, he will be ready for round 2 against them.

 

[Kingster]

Especially huge considering his passing ability, because we don't have to be afraid of running the offense through him late.

Yep, the last thing I'm concerned about with this team is the offense going forward (with Tyreke's outside shooting as the one exception). If they can just get the defense covered, then the sky is the limit...

 

[ReinadelosReys]

I'm loving the complaints about the officials. They were terrible. But we already knew that as soon as the officials' names were announced didn't we? The entire arena booed Joe Crawford's name. lol at some of the people in my section calling him "Joey."

Were we sitting in the same section? lol

 

[Kings Faithful]

Whats funny is that there are tons of Raptors fans on RealGM that think the refs stole the game from them... saying things like "Cousins should have gotten a flagrant" and "Tyreke travels every single time he drives the ball". Lol...

 

[Bricklayer]

Whats funny is that there are tons of Raptors fans on RealGM that think the refs stole the game from them... saying things like "Cousins should have gotten a flagrant" and "Tyreke travels every single time he drives the ball". Lol...

This is the great truth on most ref complaints -- they miss some calls, but it is almost entirely subjective. Its mostly in your head. Two fanbases watch the same game and both come away convinced the refs were screwing them. That tells you its not the refs who are at issue, its the fans.

 

[MoneyMike916]

I'm glad my friend picked me up late or else I would've missed Renteria's 3 run homer. Perfect timing when we got to the arena because the bottom of the 9th was about to start. Plenty of people decked out in Giants gear including myself. Everybody who was watching the game screamed at the end, what a great feeling! I was disappointed to see the empty seats around the arena even though it was "sold out". But the crowd was awesome! The Beat LA chant after the game was over