Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Peja ( B+ ) -- not a dominant game, but one of his most effective offensive games of the season through three quarters. Started out as an afterthought as the rest of the team was going well early, but as the game wore on, the rest of the guys fell off and it was up to Peja to carry us in the third. Fell off down the stretch when the bench guys carried us. But didn't feel it was so much because Peja was doing his shrinking violet thing as it was that our bench guys were so hot that Peja wasn't really needed again. Shooting was on -- but the ones he did miss he missed in ugly fashion -- airballs, shots barely scraping the rim. Odd game that way, hit either nothing but net or looked like me shooting in the backyard after Thanksgiving dinner. Rebounding...err...I'm going to try to ignore that problem for a night because he had a generally good game. Let's just say our PGs outrebounded him 17-2 and let it go at that. Early defense wasn't great, but he got stronger as the game went on, and rose to the ocassion late when called upon to guard Tracy McGrady with Doug out of the game to make room for the hot shooting BJax.
Webber ( D ) -- started out the game with lively legs playing a strong team game, and taking good interior shots. But he was having trouble converting, good shots or not. And it was all downhill from there. Kept on missing and missing, and got frustrated and started forcing. Worse yet, despite the lively legs, wasn't having much impact on the boards. Did wise up in the mid third quarter after getting to 3/15 and quit shooting -- was looking exclusively to pass after that point, and the last couople of shots were heaves up against the shot clock. But his passing had little impact tonight either. Was setting people up, but not for great wide open looks. Defense, however, was pretty good -- neither Houston PF had any impact at all.
Miller ( B- ) -- was having a hell of a time with Yao all night long, but hung in there and battled, and down the stretch it was Brad who got the better of the battle. Finally figured Yao out a bit on defense, and smart passing on offense helped offset some struggles he was having finishing arouond the hoop. Lost his cool in the third quarter as the whole team began to go into complain-to-the-refs-on-every-non-call-meltdown. But he came back much more settled after that, and in the 4th it was all about business. Big three point play in the final two minutes, and forced a turnover by yao down the stretch too. Grade is lower because he wasn't effective on the boards, and was getting worked over for most of the game by Yao. But by the end of the game I felt pretty good about his contribution.
Christie ( B ) -- was playing a good all around game through three quarters, and was doing a nice job of harassing McGrady. But TMac began to figure him out in the third quarter, and with Bobby exploding in the 4th, Adelman made the choice to counter Mcgrady with the more explosive player rather than try to contain him with Doug. Overall a solid effort and contributed in a lot of ways, but the game was won with him ont he bench for the most part.
Bibby ( B- ) -- shot never looked smooth tonight, and he missed open three after open three that could have busted the game open for us. And in the first half in particular, was blowing defensive assignments and leaving the Houston guards wide open on the perimeter for uncontested three point bombs. But tried to make up of all of that by willingly swinging the ball on offense, and by wading back in amongst the trees to give us a real nice boost on the boards -- led the entire team with 9 rebounds.
BJax ( A ) -- started out the game hot -- finally figured out that if his shot is out of rhythm, then the correct counter is to start attacking the rim. Tough inside shots but they went in typical Bobby fashion. Cooled down in the middle part of the game, and missed a long string of shots. but jsut when you thought he was sliding back into his slump, he erupted with a monster 4th quarter where he and Songaila carried us back into the game and the lead. Hit three huge threes to hold us close in the early 4th, and grabbed big reouond after big rebound down the stretch. He and Mike combined for 17 rebs on the game.
Songaila ( A- ) -- in the first half might have actually been the weakest of our bench players, although he wasn't bad. But in the fourth quarter Darius came in for a struggling Webb and gave us a HUGE boost. Not only doing the playing within himself things that Darius can do -- hitting the open shots, hustling. But also making smart passes and defensive rotations. He and Bobby carried us through much of the 4th. Great to see the bench show up. If there was a nit, it is that he failed to even grab a single rebound for us tonight, which will catch up to us sooner or later. But he was a key component of our victory tonight, so that's just a footnote to his excellent effort tongiht.
Ostertag ( B+ ) -- Tag's most effective effort of the season so far resulting in his most minutes of the year too. Did the things he can do -- posed a big obstacle down low --- once reached right over the top and blocked Yao's shot. not an easy task. Also intimidated cutters, set big picks, and grabbe d a big o-board. Still not rebounding like he is capable of, but tonight he looked like the meat and potatoes center we had hoped we were signing this summer.
Barnes ( B ) -- fine little 2nd quarter stint by Matt. Came back and joined the work on the boards, and played solid defense once more. he's got more to his game than that, but those are the things we need righ now, and he's giving us a few minutes of them every night.
Adelman ( B+ ) -- well, 5-0 on the homestand and all of sudden things are looking a lot brighter. Finally got the guys to gang rebound (albeit vs. a poor rebounding team), and the bench finally pulled itself together. Rick stuck with them for longer minutes too. Hopefully a sign for the future. Two psosible nits would be 1) pulling Darius for Webb late in the game was the safe move. I think 9/10 coaches make it. But there is always the chance there for a backfire. Fortuntely Webb played withing himself down the stretch, and while he did nothing great, he did not press things and mess anything up either. 2) thought that Rick might have come with quicker and harder double teams to get the ball out of Yao and TMac's hands. Let tyronne Lue try to beat you. Still, overall a good effort, and an encouraging one in several ways we've been concerend about (rebounding, bench play). We've still got some stuff to prove -- we squeaked by on these homesetand wins, and now have to go establish ourselves on the road. But just like last year the early homseatnd made all the difference for us -- we righted the ship. Started working on weaknesses. Overall a success with hope for the future.
Webber ( D ) -- started out the game with lively legs playing a strong team game, and taking good interior shots. But he was having trouble converting, good shots or not. And it was all downhill from there. Kept on missing and missing, and got frustrated and started forcing. Worse yet, despite the lively legs, wasn't having much impact on the boards. Did wise up in the mid third quarter after getting to 3/15 and quit shooting -- was looking exclusively to pass after that point, and the last couople of shots were heaves up against the shot clock. But his passing had little impact tonight either. Was setting people up, but not for great wide open looks. Defense, however, was pretty good -- neither Houston PF had any impact at all.
Miller ( B- ) -- was having a hell of a time with Yao all night long, but hung in there and battled, and down the stretch it was Brad who got the better of the battle. Finally figured Yao out a bit on defense, and smart passing on offense helped offset some struggles he was having finishing arouond the hoop. Lost his cool in the third quarter as the whole team began to go into complain-to-the-refs-on-every-non-call-meltdown. But he came back much more settled after that, and in the 4th it was all about business. Big three point play in the final two minutes, and forced a turnover by yao down the stretch too. Grade is lower because he wasn't effective on the boards, and was getting worked over for most of the game by Yao. But by the end of the game I felt pretty good about his contribution.
Christie ( B ) -- was playing a good all around game through three quarters, and was doing a nice job of harassing McGrady. But TMac began to figure him out in the third quarter, and with Bobby exploding in the 4th, Adelman made the choice to counter Mcgrady with the more explosive player rather than try to contain him with Doug. Overall a solid effort and contributed in a lot of ways, but the game was won with him ont he bench for the most part.
Bibby ( B- ) -- shot never looked smooth tonight, and he missed open three after open three that could have busted the game open for us. And in the first half in particular, was blowing defensive assignments and leaving the Houston guards wide open on the perimeter for uncontested three point bombs. But tried to make up of all of that by willingly swinging the ball on offense, and by wading back in amongst the trees to give us a real nice boost on the boards -- led the entire team with 9 rebounds.
BJax ( A ) -- started out the game hot -- finally figured out that if his shot is out of rhythm, then the correct counter is to start attacking the rim. Tough inside shots but they went in typical Bobby fashion. Cooled down in the middle part of the game, and missed a long string of shots. but jsut when you thought he was sliding back into his slump, he erupted with a monster 4th quarter where he and Songaila carried us back into the game and the lead. Hit three huge threes to hold us close in the early 4th, and grabbed big reouond after big rebound down the stretch. He and Mike combined for 17 rebs on the game.
Songaila ( A- ) -- in the first half might have actually been the weakest of our bench players, although he wasn't bad. But in the fourth quarter Darius came in for a struggling Webb and gave us a HUGE boost. Not only doing the playing within himself things that Darius can do -- hitting the open shots, hustling. But also making smart passes and defensive rotations. He and Bobby carried us through much of the 4th. Great to see the bench show up. If there was a nit, it is that he failed to even grab a single rebound for us tonight, which will catch up to us sooner or later. But he was a key component of our victory tonight, so that's just a footnote to his excellent effort tongiht.
Ostertag ( B+ ) -- Tag's most effective effort of the season so far resulting in his most minutes of the year too. Did the things he can do -- posed a big obstacle down low --- once reached right over the top and blocked Yao's shot. not an easy task. Also intimidated cutters, set big picks, and grabbe d a big o-board. Still not rebounding like he is capable of, but tonight he looked like the meat and potatoes center we had hoped we were signing this summer.
Barnes ( B ) -- fine little 2nd quarter stint by Matt. Came back and joined the work on the boards, and played solid defense once more. he's got more to his game than that, but those are the things we need righ now, and he's giving us a few minutes of them every night.
Adelman ( B+ ) -- well, 5-0 on the homestand and all of sudden things are looking a lot brighter. Finally got the guys to gang rebound (albeit vs. a poor rebounding team), and the bench finally pulled itself together. Rick stuck with them for longer minutes too. Hopefully a sign for the future. Two psosible nits would be 1) pulling Darius for Webb late in the game was the safe move. I think 9/10 coaches make it. But there is always the chance there for a backfire. Fortuntely Webb played withing himself down the stretch, and while he did nothing great, he did not press things and mess anything up either. 2) thought that Rick might have come with quicker and harder double teams to get the ball out of Yao and TMac's hands. Let tyronne Lue try to beat you. Still, overall a good effort, and an encouraging one in several ways we've been concerend about (rebounding, bench play). We've still got some stuff to prove -- we squeaked by on these homesetand wins, and now have to go establish ourselves on the road. But just like last year the early homseatnd made all the difference for us -- we righted the ship. Started working on weaknesses. Overall a success with hope for the future.
Last edited:
). Or it's because we identify with somebody we see as an underdog being attacked and so we want to defend him. It's human nature but if we could all just accept that these guys make mistakes, don't play perfect ball, and admit those negatives, we'd probably ALL (or almost all) celebrate their successes in a more unified manner. It is, after all, about the Kings, right? And sometimes the Kings have players who don't advance the team's best interests for whatever reason! Doesn't mean that the next time out they won't do better!
