[Grades] Grades v. Rockets 1/13/12

[rainmaker]

Didn't Westphal want Salmons and Hayes over Dalembert? Hayes is a nice player, but this team has absolutely zero defensive inside presence.

Yes.

Westy campaigned for Salmons, which was dumb, wanted Hayes, which was fine, but then the in training camp said he loved this rosters makeup and we don't need to make any other significant moves, which was also dumb. As for Daly, I don't think he wanted to play for Westy.

 

[Aenadin]

salmons doesnt need to step up he needs to step out of the floor and sit on the bench.

for fredette how can he step up if he takes like 3 or 4 shots a game doesnt get the ball in the right time.

hickson athletic kind of small for the 4 but when productive is pretty solid.

team needs more size and a better 3

 

[Spok22]

With Westphauls system or lack of it, I can see why he wanted Salmons. Smart on the other hand has a system in which Salmon's style of play doesnt fit at all. Therefore, he should not be in the starting lineup

 

[Fireplug]

I can't get over the fact we're paying 17M this year for Salmons/Cisco/Outlaw. We have Outlaw right where we want him, getting DNP-CD's. We want Salmons to join him. Cisco hasn't been impressive but I don't mind a few mins given our current roster. But if we bench Salmons, which I'd be all for, that's 11M worth of sf's getting DNP's, on a broke team! That's almost a 1/4th of our 46M payroll!

I hate hearing we don't have money, when we're practically throwing away 1/4 of our payroll. It's not that we don't spend, which we don't with the lowest payroll currently, but more that we don't spend wisely, and really aren't in the ballpark. I don't know if the Maloofs have given Petrie too tight of restrictions, or this was fully Petrie/Westy decisions, but we have an incredibly wasteful problem on our hands which is sucking the life out of our team.

Well put, rainmaker.

Another thing is that I don't think amnesty is nessesarily going to have the hoped for effect. All amnesty does is allow you to remove a player's salary from counting towards the cap. The team still has to pay the guy. We are not at the cap now but the Maloofs wont spend. If they ditch John they would have to spend an amount equal to what he is making now just to get back to the cap minimum, so it would be like getting a guy worth 7 mil but actually paying him 14 mil and that ain't gonna happen. They can't afford to amnesty him so we are stuck with him.

However.... maybe he could come up with some mystery ailment that requires rehab. Then we can send his *** to Reno and let him shoot 30 times a night trying to get his game back. At least maybe it would light a fire under his *** to actually work in his game to get better to get out of there.

 

[Henkel]

Yes.

Westy campaigned for Salmons, which was dumb, wanted Hayes, which was fine, but then the in training camp said he loved this rosters makeup and we don't need to make any other significant moves, which was also dumb. As for Daly, I don't think he wanted to play for Westy.

Part of that has to be PR. He can't come out and talked down the moves or the roster. Even if its all true, and this was Westphals design, Petrie is in charge of building this team. If he really gave into Westphals demands that's still on him.

 

[rainmaker]

Part of that has to be PR. He can't come out and talked down the moves or the roster. Even if its all true, and this was Westphals design, Petrie is in charge of building this team. If he really gave into Westphals demands that's still on him.

All last year Westy was pretty open regarding needing to make roster changes. Then he got the players he wanted, in Salmons/Hayes, and eventually Outlaw, which he raved about when we picked him up.

Given how open he was last year, and much much pull he apparently had this past off season, I actually do believe Westy pulled for our moves, and was happy with our roster going into the season.

 

[rainmaker]

Well put, rainmaker.

Another thing is that I don't think amnesty is nessesarily going to have the hoped for effect. All amnesty does is allow you to remove a player's salary from counting towards the cap. The team still has to pay the guy. We are not at the cap now but the Maloofs wont spend. If they ditch John they would have to spend an amount equal to what he is making now just to get back to the cap minimum, so it would be like getting a guy worth 7 mil but actually paying him 14 mil and that ain't gonna happen. They can't afford to amnesty him so we are stuck with him.

However.... maybe he could come up with some mystery ailment that requires rehab. Then we can send his *** to Reno and let him shoot 30 times a night trying to get his game back. At least maybe it would light a fire under his *** to actually work in his game to get better to get out of there.

It would be a scary day if we don't amnesty Salmons, and it appeared it was because the Maloofs didn't want to pay both he and his replacement. As a pro sports owner you need to be able to pay to correct your mistakes.

 

[Henkel]

All last year Westy was pretty open regarding needing to make roster changes. Then he got the players he wanted, in Salmons/Hayes, and eventually Outlaw, which he raved about when we picked him up.

Given how open he was last year, and much much pull he apparently had this past off season, I actually do believe Westy pulled for our moves, and was happy with our roster going into the season.

You make a good case for Westphal being the mastermind behind our terrible offseason. I just think Petrie deserves some blame for letting it happen.

 

[Krunker]

Salmons' steals is OK (1-2 steals per game) and his defense is decent when he gives effort. His offense is clearly sucking, but he alone is not to blame for the bad record. Salmons has shot 35/96 this season. If Salmons took 0 shots and instead gave each shot to Jason Thompson (because he is highest at 57%) who made those 96 shots at the same percentage then we would only have made 19 more baskets this season for an average of 1.6 extra baskets per game.

That said, I still think he should be benched and brought in for backup minutes until he can show a consistent stroke.

 

[mac]

Well on the bright side, we had some really nice fast breaks in the 2nd quarter, and I think Tyreke was setting up guys pretty well. How many open 3s did Salmons, Garcia and Donte miss?

 

[mac]

Oh, and for all those who don't think Cousins plays a little too much below the rim - meet Samuel Dalembert. I think Cousins is just used to being able to use his size and strength as opposed to having to elevate much to finish. When guys in college/HS can't crowd your space because you're much bigger you don't have to jump much. I think this is what's been causing him to finish so poorly around the rim. I don't know of any other starting center who tends to get their shots smushed in their face as much as Cousins. Yo DMC time to work on a) a proper hook/go to move and b) plyo.

 

[Glenn]

According to Jason Jones, Cousins was ill. Probably factored into why he was flat and reduced minutes.

I heard this elsewhere. It isn't like Cousins to quit competing. If anything, his problem is when he gets over hyped and starts silly fouling. He sure LOOKED sick.

 

[Glenn]

Well put, rainmaker.

Another thing is that I don't think amnesty is nessesarily going to have the hoped for effect. All amnesty does is allow you to remove a player's salary from counting towards the cap. The team still has to pay the guy. We are not at the cap now but the Maloofs wont spend. If they ditch John they would have to spend an amount equal to what he is making now just to get back to the cap minimum, so it would be like getting a guy worth 7 mil but actually paying him 14 mil and that ain't gonna happen. They can't afford to amnesty him so we are stuck with him.

However.... maybe he could come up with some mystery ailment that requires rehab. Then we can send his *** to Reno and let him shoot 30 times a night trying to get his game back. At least maybe it would light a fire under his *** to actually work in his game to get better to get out of there.

Amnesty is for owners who have enough money to spend.

You probably are right concerning the Maloofs willingness to spend money but it must be getting obvious to all that if we don't get a SF and a defensive big, we are doomed. I presume some fans will show up win or lose but there are a lot that will simply give up.

Picture this team with AK and Daly instead of what we have. And please I don't want to argue with anyone over whether this can or can't be done. I am simply making a point of what a difference owners with money could make. We are close to having a great team yet our big move this summer was to sign Outlaw so we at least met the minimum. What a joke.

I am hoping that they have had conversations with AK and the reason they spent so little money this last summer was to have it ready for AK next summer. This is my most optomistic spin otherwise the Maloofs are useless as owners.

Perhaps the NBA has the power to remove them as owners and more likely they don't. It's sad.

 

[The_Jamal]

Tonight is a perfect example of how reliant we are on our star big 3 and how terrible our role players around them have been. 2 out of 3 of Reke, Cousins, and Thornton have to have big time games in order for us to even have a shot at winning and even then it's not a guarentee. As sad as it is, I think IT's game against the Raptors was the best performance we've seen out of a role player this season.

 

[KingBen]

Are Tyreke & Isaiah friends? Tyreke plays completely different when Isaiah is in the game. He lets Isaiah bring the ball up every time and actually run point. He doesn't do that for any one else. He also passes to Isaiah and moves the ball much better when Isaiah is in. Tonight they seemed to be playing keep away from Jimmer. Even the announcers noticed it. I can't understand why?

 

[Section 101]

Amnesty is for owners who have enough money to spend.

You probably are right concerning the Maloofs willingness to spend money but it must be getting obvious to all that if we don't get a SF and a defensive big, we are doomed. I presume some fans will show up win or lose but there are a lot that will simply give up.

Picture this team with AK and Daly instead of what we have. And please I don't want to argue with anyone over whether this can or can't be done. I am simply making a point of what a difference owners with money could make. We are close to having a great team yet our big move this summer was to sign Outlaw so we at least met the minimum. What a joke.

I am hoping that they have had conversations with AK and the reason they spent so little money this last summer was to have it ready for AK next summer. This is my most optomistic spin otherwise the Maloofs are useless as owners.

Perhaps the NBA has the power to remove them as owners and more likely they don't. It's sad.

I bet if anyone else besides Westfail was the coach to start the season then Dalembert would have been here.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

You make a good case for Westphal being the mastermind behind our terrible offseason. I just think Petrie deserves some blame for letting it happen.

maloofs have to sign off on the moves yeah? or are they actually letting petrie do his job. i was looking for some silver lining with the offseason moves but man, they totally suck. i didn't think about how much dough is tied into our non-performing SF's until rainmaker pointed it out. it makes me sick to think about it.

 

[mac]

Are Tyreke & Isaiah friends? Tyreke plays completely different when Isaiah is in the game. He lets Isaiah bring the ball up every time and actually run point. He doesn't do that for any one else. He also passes to Isaiah and moves the ball much better when Isaiah is in. Tonight they seemed to be playing keep away from Jimmer. Even the announcers noticed it. I can't understand why?

Maybe because ... when Isaiah is in the game we are using him as a 1 but when Jimmer is in the game he's starting at the 2 in place of Thornton?

 

[swisshh]

I'm not sure what Jimmer's role is when he's in the game and I doubt he's sure either. He doesn't look sure. He wavers between outside gunner and PG.

 

[mac]

I'm not sure what Jimmer's role is when he's in the game and I doubt he's sure either. He doesn't look sure. He wavers between outside gunner and PG.

I don't follow college players, so I'm really not in a position to say this, but I think Jimmer's just not used to playing without the ball, to moving to spots to catch and shoot etc. Even when he's calling for the ball he's way out beyond the 3 point line and is just basically asking for the ball so that he can do something with it. There are a few times when he's been open and ignored, but from my observation it's usually been Salmons (who ignores everyone), or Tyreke driving, and he's usually trying to make a pass either to the corners or to a big inside. He rarely kicks it out to the top of the key/ 45 degree angle which is where jimmer usually is. I would like Jimmer to try shooting more from the corners, seeing as the shot is shorter and closer to the college 3.

When Jimmer has had the ball in his hands, he's been doing mostly good things. I think he needs to find that point where he can run plays and set up guys, but at the same time shoot when he's given a good shot. Now perhaps what constitutes "a good shot" by NBA standards may not be that clear to him yet, and he might still be thinking "as long as I have space I can throw it up". Right now he looks to me like he's always alternating between setting guys up mode and shoot mode, but hasn't managed to combine the two. He does a pretty good job of setting guys up but at the same time is forcing some passes and also has a bad habit of leaving his feet to pass. Doesn't help that he isn't the tallest player/ have the greatest vertical either.

WTF moment of the game - John Salmons on a fast break, decides to try being Beno Udrih and pulls up for a shot instead of passing the ball to someone for a layup. Results in a fail.

My favourite moment - Every time Isaiah Thomas goes for a rebound. That kid has some hops, and isn't afraid to go inside, even for offensive rebounds!

 

[Bricklayer]

or Tyreke driving, and he's usually trying to make a pass either to the corners or to a big inside. He rarely kicks it out to the top of the key/ 45 degree angle which is where jimmer usually is.

Bingo, and I noticed that same problem with Thornton at the tail end of last year in the little 10 game audition with Reke. Yet now those two guys have started to develop some chemistry. I think it could just be a familiarity thing on that front, with Jimmer having to figure out where Reke and Cousins (once we convince him to pass again) will have vision on him as a spot up shooter. Difference is that obviously even without that thornton was potent as hell. Whereas right now Jimmer is...not.

 

[Andre87]

When Reke isn't going who needs to step up the most to give Cousins support?

 

[Tetsujin]

when reke isn't going who needs to step up the most to give cousins support?

mt.

 

[mac]

When Reke isn't going who needs to step up the most to give Cousins support?

Alex English

 

[Prince_XY]

I bet if anyone else besides Westfail was the coach to start the season then Dalembert would have been here.

I bet if anyone else besides Petrie was the GM to start the season then Dalembert would have been here.

Petrie just didn't do enough hard work on the negotiating table to get Sammy.

 

[pshn80]

I think the team didn't do too bad considering that Cousins and Salmons were so non-productive or even negative. They are doing better. A step at a time. The bench got another lift out of the game. Drip, drip. Keep it up.

 

[kupman]

How would we tell the difference?

fewer shots/less chucking

 

[Spok22]

Btw has anyone noticed how much better tyreke's shot has been looking?

 

[bajaden]

My first thought in the 1st quarter was, is Cousins sick? Turns out he was. Would have better to sit him for the game, but I understand why they didn't with Hayes out. At the very least he took up space. Not much more though. I don't know what else I can add to the Salmons saga. He appears to be trying to do the best impersonation of what the team wants him to be. Unfortunately, thats not who he is, so its failing miserably. If I'm Petrie, I'd swallow hard and try to trade him. Problem is, I don't know it there are any takers out there. The knock on John is that he doesn't play well off the bench. But as a starter right now, he's producing nothing on offense, and getting beat by a rookie on defense last night. Sadly, amnesty may be the only solution. Eating 8 mil doesn't sound very appealing.

If I'm coach Smart, I sit down with Jimmer and tell him to pretend he's back at BYU. If you want your teammates to pass you the ball, then you have to stop passing up open shots. Let it rip and let the chips fall where they may. Just relax and play. When you make an effort to fit in, and in doing so, sacrifice who you are as a player, your usually doomed to failure. At least in the short term. All in all, considering the lack of production we got from several key players, the game ended up being more competitive than I thought it would be. Hopefully Cousins is feeling better tonight. We're going to need him..

 

[bluntsnbball]

Are Tyreke & Isaiah friends? Tyreke plays completely different when Isaiah is in the game. He lets Isaiah bring the ball up every time and actually run point. He doesn't do that for any one else. He also passes to Isaiah and moves the ball much better when Isaiah is in. Tonight they seemed to be playing keep away from Jimmer. Even the announcers noticed it. I can't understand why?

I read before the season started that Tyreke and Isiah knew each other before IT joined the team. The article was about how Tyreke has sort of taken IT under his wing as a mentor.

My questions is, how do we get down by 10+ points so fast? It's like we're right there keeping up, and then all of a sudden we're down by a lot. My dad told me he thinks that its partially due to a weak effort getting back down the court on defense. I don't know how much ive noticed this with other players, but i have definitely seen Jimmer get beat down the court a number of times. is this a simple lack of hustle/effort or is it just terrible defense ability on the everyones part?