Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
I am Keith Smart.
Tyreke Evans 22pts 29min
Marcus Thornton 21pts 22min
vs.
John Salmons 0pts 39min
Isaiah Thomas 12pts (3-16FG) 36min
I am Keith Smart. I am not bright.
Fortunately DeMarcus Cousins fouled out at the end to avoid adding another name to this list. And sitting around waiting for Jason Thompson to reenter the game while our Houston trade pieces put on an awful display in front of their old teammates got old too.
Stats: 39min 0pts (0-4, 0-2, 0-0) 1reb 5ast 1stl 0blk 0TO
Salmons ( D ) -- John managed Zero points on 0 for 4 shooting. He did spend most of the game chasing James Harden around the court, but you'd think that in 39 minutes of playing time, he would accidently score a couple of baskets. However, his time is apparently more highly valued than either Cousins or Tyreke's, since both of them sat on the bench in one extended period for 13 minutes and 43 seconds for Tyreke, and 14 minutes and 37 seconds for Cousins. Thats about it for John. My notes add up to about 4 lines on my note pad, simply because there was nothing to say. He did make life a little more difficult for Harden, but thats about it. Otherwise, he was simply invisible. And that folks is how you earn 39 minutes of playing time according to the brilliant coach, Keith Smart. --Baja
Stats: 32min 17pts (6-12, 0-0, 5-6) 15reb 1ast 1stl 2blk 0TO
Thompson ( A ) -- JT was one of our best players on the floor tonight, if not the best. The box score says it all: 17 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks. He was mixing up playing inside and outside, with 8 points on jumpers and 9 points in the lane and on free throws, and he was just pulling down boards all night long. Defensively he did a fantastic job, especially in the first when his rotations were rock-solid, cutting off drive after drive and always being in the right position. He ended up allowing 13 points on 12 shots, but at least six of those points came on good offensive plays where he forced a difficult shot - a couple of post plays and a drive by Harden that JT challenged very nicely. I thought that JT should have been back on the floor much earlier in the fourth quarter, but he turned out to not be a big difference maker once he did get back in at the 5-minute mark, largely because we weren't really going for post offense at that point. Still, a very good night and I don't think we can ask for much more on either end of the floor. --Capt.
Stats: 27min 20pts (7-13, 0-0, 6-9) 6reb 2ast 2stl 0blk 2TO
Cousins ( B- ) -- looked lively and strong early, but the jumper was off and a little forced, and he was missing little gimmes around the hoop and you had to worry about his normal frustration response. Overwhelmed the Rockets midget backups once they took Asik out, but it still wasn't 100% comfortable, and he closed the quarter with a pair of ugly FT misses. When he and Asik both returned his game picked up, and he just drove right at Asik repeatedly as he asserted himself. Halftime was an unfortunate turning point though, as he, and we, quickly picked up a bunch of fouls in the early 3rd, and then Smart mysteriously benched Cuz for over 12 minutes. I have no idea why. But he disappeared, and while he had a strong take through Asik after he returned, he was not a huge factor down the stretch, and fouled out with 2min to go on a sincerely stupid play fouling a guy from behind on the break for the 3pt play, and disqualification. This game felt like it had potential. He had energy, but not focus. And then as is so often the case it felt like his coach was a 6th opponent out there, and end result was an ok and a bit more game, but not what it should have been. We face these guys twice more in the final days of the season, be interesting to see how that goes.
--Brick
Stats: 29min 22pts (7-18, 2-5, 6-8) 4reb 0ast 4stl 0blk 1TO
Evans ( B ) -- It was sort of an up and down game for Tyreke. Not much happened in the 1st quarter except for him getting 2 early fouls, which sent him to the bench with 5:32 left in the quarter. He then sat on the bench for 13 minutes and 43 seconds. Not quite sure I understand why one of our best players with only 2 fouls was held out of the game that long. He was re-inserted with 3:45 left in the 1st half. He almost immediately stole the ball, (he had 5 steals on the night) got it to Cuz, who hit him cutting to the basket but had his shot blocked. He followed with a beautiful pass to JT under the basket for a score. He closed out the half by hitting a runner with 1 tick left on the shotclock. His 2nd half was far more productive. After fouling Harden to start the 2nd, he once again hit a 16 footer with the shotclock running out. He then drove to the basket and missed. He followed with a three from the left wing. He was 2 for 5 from beyond the arc tonight. In one nice sequence, Tyreke tried a reverse layup but missed. Aldrich rebounded and kicked the ball right back to Tyreke who dunked. He also had a very nice move with a crossover at the top of the foul line, blew past two defenders and laid it in. Tyreke's biggest problem in the second half was his assignment of guarding Parsons, who is a good 3 to 4 inches taller, and just as quick. I would call his job decent at best, but considering the task, he never should have been guarding Parsons. The alternative of course was to guard Harden, who gave Salmons fits all night. All in all, a pretty good night for Tyreke who only played 29 minutes to Salmons, who did nothing, 39 minutes. I have no explaination! --Baja
Stats: 35min 20pts (3-16, 1-7, 5-5) 0reb 5ast 1stl 1blk 2TO
Thomas ( F ) -- Some nights make a grader ask the question, "Where is the line between a D- and an F?" Isaiah was trying out for the Monty Python firing squad tonight, going three of 16, and while he scored a respectable 12 points due to 5 free throws, 3 of those were an absolute gift on a play where IT was trying out for the rhythmic gymnastics team instead of playing basketball. He came around a screen, jumped up in the air doing a full cheerleader-splits while shooting so that he could bring his leg around and tap Lin, who was two feet to the side of him. That's a tough maneuver, of course, so he missed about four feet wide right. I guess the officials figured that if you're going to douse your dignity in gasoline and light it on fire like a pansy, you at least deserve the pity call. You know what? I think I found the line between the D- and the F, and IT crossed it on that play. It's too bad, as he did a passable job of distributing the ball (5 assists, and I counted 8 other good setups) and had decent results on defense. He allowed 7 points on 9 shots, though Lin was beating him most of the night and getting the assist (10) instead of the shot. He did manage a few nice defensive possessions, with the familiar "great D on a switch in the post", this time on Harden. Maybe he should just play PF on defense? Still, not a solid defensive night overall, and the offense was downright ugly. --Capt.
Tyreke Evans 22pts 29min
Marcus Thornton 21pts 22min
vs.
John Salmons 0pts 39min
Isaiah Thomas 12pts (3-16FG) 36min
I am Keith Smart. I am not bright.
Fortunately DeMarcus Cousins fouled out at the end to avoid adding another name to this list. And sitting around waiting for Jason Thompson to reenter the game while our Houston trade pieces put on an awful display in front of their old teammates got old too.
Stats: 39min 0pts (0-4, 0-2, 0-0) 1reb 5ast 1stl 0blk 0TO
Salmons ( D ) -- John managed Zero points on 0 for 4 shooting. He did spend most of the game chasing James Harden around the court, but you'd think that in 39 minutes of playing time, he would accidently score a couple of baskets. However, his time is apparently more highly valued than either Cousins or Tyreke's, since both of them sat on the bench in one extended period for 13 minutes and 43 seconds for Tyreke, and 14 minutes and 37 seconds for Cousins. Thats about it for John. My notes add up to about 4 lines on my note pad, simply because there was nothing to say. He did make life a little more difficult for Harden, but thats about it. Otherwise, he was simply invisible. And that folks is how you earn 39 minutes of playing time according to the brilliant coach, Keith Smart. --Baja
Stats: 32min 17pts (6-12, 0-0, 5-6) 15reb 1ast 1stl 2blk 0TO
Thompson ( A ) -- JT was one of our best players on the floor tonight, if not the best. The box score says it all: 17 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks. He was mixing up playing inside and outside, with 8 points on jumpers and 9 points in the lane and on free throws, and he was just pulling down boards all night long. Defensively he did a fantastic job, especially in the first when his rotations were rock-solid, cutting off drive after drive and always being in the right position. He ended up allowing 13 points on 12 shots, but at least six of those points came on good offensive plays where he forced a difficult shot - a couple of post plays and a drive by Harden that JT challenged very nicely. I thought that JT should have been back on the floor much earlier in the fourth quarter, but he turned out to not be a big difference maker once he did get back in at the 5-minute mark, largely because we weren't really going for post offense at that point. Still, a very good night and I don't think we can ask for much more on either end of the floor. --Capt.
Stats: 27min 20pts (7-13, 0-0, 6-9) 6reb 2ast 2stl 0blk 2TO
Cousins ( B- ) -- looked lively and strong early, but the jumper was off and a little forced, and he was missing little gimmes around the hoop and you had to worry about his normal frustration response. Overwhelmed the Rockets midget backups once they took Asik out, but it still wasn't 100% comfortable, and he closed the quarter with a pair of ugly FT misses. When he and Asik both returned his game picked up, and he just drove right at Asik repeatedly as he asserted himself. Halftime was an unfortunate turning point though, as he, and we, quickly picked up a bunch of fouls in the early 3rd, and then Smart mysteriously benched Cuz for over 12 minutes. I have no idea why. But he disappeared, and while he had a strong take through Asik after he returned, he was not a huge factor down the stretch, and fouled out with 2min to go on a sincerely stupid play fouling a guy from behind on the break for the 3pt play, and disqualification. This game felt like it had potential. He had energy, but not focus. And then as is so often the case it felt like his coach was a 6th opponent out there, and end result was an ok and a bit more game, but not what it should have been. We face these guys twice more in the final days of the season, be interesting to see how that goes.
--Brick
Stats: 29min 22pts (7-18, 2-5, 6-8) 4reb 0ast 4stl 0blk 1TO
Evans ( B ) -- It was sort of an up and down game for Tyreke. Not much happened in the 1st quarter except for him getting 2 early fouls, which sent him to the bench with 5:32 left in the quarter. He then sat on the bench for 13 minutes and 43 seconds. Not quite sure I understand why one of our best players with only 2 fouls was held out of the game that long. He was re-inserted with 3:45 left in the 1st half. He almost immediately stole the ball, (he had 5 steals on the night) got it to Cuz, who hit him cutting to the basket but had his shot blocked. He followed with a beautiful pass to JT under the basket for a score. He closed out the half by hitting a runner with 1 tick left on the shotclock. His 2nd half was far more productive. After fouling Harden to start the 2nd, he once again hit a 16 footer with the shotclock running out. He then drove to the basket and missed. He followed with a three from the left wing. He was 2 for 5 from beyond the arc tonight. In one nice sequence, Tyreke tried a reverse layup but missed. Aldrich rebounded and kicked the ball right back to Tyreke who dunked. He also had a very nice move with a crossover at the top of the foul line, blew past two defenders and laid it in. Tyreke's biggest problem in the second half was his assignment of guarding Parsons, who is a good 3 to 4 inches taller, and just as quick. I would call his job decent at best, but considering the task, he never should have been guarding Parsons. The alternative of course was to guard Harden, who gave Salmons fits all night. All in all, a pretty good night for Tyreke who only played 29 minutes to Salmons, who did nothing, 39 minutes. I have no explaination! --Baja
Stats: 35min 20pts (3-16, 1-7, 5-5) 0reb 5ast 1stl 1blk 2TO
Thomas ( F ) -- Some nights make a grader ask the question, "Where is the line between a D- and an F?" Isaiah was trying out for the Monty Python firing squad tonight, going three of 16, and while he scored a respectable 12 points due to 5 free throws, 3 of those were an absolute gift on a play where IT was trying out for the rhythmic gymnastics team instead of playing basketball. He came around a screen, jumped up in the air doing a full cheerleader-splits while shooting so that he could bring his leg around and tap Lin, who was two feet to the side of him. That's a tough maneuver, of course, so he missed about four feet wide right. I guess the officials figured that if you're going to douse your dignity in gasoline and light it on fire like a pansy, you at least deserve the pity call. You know what? I think I found the line between the D- and the F, and IT crossed it on that play. It's too bad, as he did a passable job of distributing the ball (5 assists, and I counted 8 other good setups) and had decent results on defense. He allowed 7 points on 9 shots, though Lin was beating him most of the night and getting the assist (10) instead of the shot. He did manage a few nice defensive possessions, with the familiar "great D on a switch in the post", this time on Harden. Maybe he should just play PF on defense? Still, not a solid defensive night overall, and the offense was downright ugly. --Capt.
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My personal fave was him announcing that you could not win without a 3pt shooting PF...except of course unless you are most of the teams actually winning. A failed coach and failed GM advocating a failed philosophy that I hope will be fully washed away in a few weeks. If he gets to stay as an announcer to misinform yet another generation of would be Kings fans I resent that but will give it to him for his happy go lucky schtick. But I want him nowhere near the basketball decisions.--Brick
