Felt bad for Webb tonight, and glad to get this one over with since I found myself having some mixed feelings in the whole matter. The Kings are just a basketball team, not a religion, and that jersey may identify them, but feelings linger long after the jersey has changed. Doug's still Doug even though he's in Orlando, and Webb's still Webb even though he's a Sixer. These are people who have touched our lives, and they don't go from good guy to 100% bad guy in the blink of the eye. Had to go with the 4 "A"s tonight (actually 5 
-- think tonight the grades became a bit unhinged). Seems kind of over the top, but not sure who to drop out, and it really was about those 4 guys tonight.
Peja ( A- ) -- sloppy start with some ugly turnovers, but then started picking up loose balls in the scramble game and converting, and soon therafter he was off to the races sticking long jumpers from all over the floor. Had a few odd mental lapses that left you scratching your head. Got quiet in the third but finished fairly strong. Very good numbers tonight, and a very good game. Right now obviously the shot is dialed in. But it just felt like there was a little something missing -- he scored here and there, but it seemed like he got a lot of points and boards off of balls just kind of rolling in his direction (it was a sloppy game) rather than through a huge effort on his part. He had a very good game, but we were powered by others tonight.
Thomas ( A- ) -- remember that chip on his shoulder I have talked about? Well on full display tonight, and mostly in a good way. Has a "stick it you" attitude with a good dose of "me against the world" thrown in. Result tonight was that he was going to show 'em and he came out and had a huge first quarter. There was a certain irony there -- our PF took 11 shots in the quarter, and mostly jumpers, sound familiar? But he was hitting them, so much like when Webb was hot complaints were ill-placed. But it did not leave many shots for others and it was probably a good thing that he slowed down dramatically in the second quarter and allowed Peja to get more involved. Started to get a little dumb about things in the third, challenging Samuel Dalembert inside, throwing up quick shots, and seeing his shooting percentage plummet. But was doing a lot of other things well -- very active on defense, grabbing a lot of big effort boards. It wasn't always a smart game, and he turned the ball over a number of times, but it was an inspired balls to the wall game in regards to effort.
Skinner ( A+ ) -- first true impact game in his last 4 or 5. And not just an impact game, but his CAREER game. He was no Wiltbilla in there, but something pretty close. Real man in there on the boards, and a reminder that Webb wasn't the only player in this game with an inspiration to play well. Made some solid passes as well , albeit mostly outside the confines of the offense. One little cautionary tale that while Skinner grabbed board after board, so did the man he was guarding -- Dalembert was all over the offensive glass.
Mobley ( A+ ) -- Big big game for Cat again against his homecourt team. the big first quarter offensively, and was flying around on defense blocking shots like he was Josh Smith or something. Had back to back blocks on one possession, and finished with three in the first half. Continued to score prolifically throughout the second half, and was one of three Kings (Thomas/Skinner) with Philly connections who again came out and brought absolute "A" efforts, with the empasis on "effort". Hesitated to give a second "+" on a single night, but really, how much better of a complete effort are you ever going to get out of Cat?
Bibby ( C ) -- For three quarters wanted to put up a giant Bat Signal reading "Mike, where have you gone??" Ineffective and sloppy start, mentally as much as physically. Just was not dialed in and A.I., and then on one early possession Webb, just flat took it away from him. Finished the first half with an anemic 2pts 4asts 2TOs on 1-4 shooting. Came out in the third, and was marginally better, but might still have had a totally ineffective "F" going through three quarters. But in the 4th quarter Mike came out a totally different animal, and one more time he was the guy stepping up to keep us rolling down the stretch. His overall game was still forgettable, but it was great to see Mike back for even a quarter, and it was the right quarter at that.
Ostertag ( C- ) -- got an early call in the first quarter with foul touble for Skinner, but did not do much with it. Unable to alter A.I.'s shot, and caught the fumbleitis which infected the entire game in that first period.
Evans ( D ) -- did nothing at all in his minutes, and was quickly and copmpletely forgotten about with Cat and Peja combining for 56.
Songaila ( B- ) -- came in and did a nice job on Webb defensively in the second quarter. First Dirk, then Webb. Not bad for an undersized scrapper. Best thing he did on offense was pass the ball, but that was a nice contribution tonight -- despite the good assist number this time out, have no idea how we got there with long stretches of one on one play and all sorts of loose balls and scramble plays rather than an efficient offense. Jumped out for a few dumb fouls on A.I..
House ( A- ) -- came in in place of the struggling Bibby and was more than just a backup tonight. In fact in the first half we were far better off with Eddie in the game than Mike Bibby. Was running the offense beautifully. Getting torched by Iverson of course, but at least made him work. Not as effective in the second half, but still solid. Been very dependable in the last month. Just have to believe that he's going to make the playoff roster at this point.
Adelman ( B+ ) -- not much for Rick to do tonight. Threw his starters out on the floor, and 4 of the 5 came up with big efforts. The one notable exception was Mike Bibby, and there Rick made a nice move to stick with Eddie House for extended minutes int he second quarter. Mike was really that bad that House was the better choice at that point in the game. Tried the other benchers, and only Darius earned any real minutes. So another game of massive starters' minutes, and I guess you just have to go with it at this point. Certainly our defense still sucks, so we never ever get ourselves a safe lead that lets us go to the deep bench. Everything is in doubt, and we need every game. So the starters it is, and if their collective limbs fall off before the playoffs, guess we'll just have to sew them back on and lurch on into the postseason like the Frankenstein monster.
-- think tonight the grades became a bit unhinged). Seems kind of over the top, but not sure who to drop out, and it really was about those 4 guys tonight.Peja ( A- ) -- sloppy start with some ugly turnovers, but then started picking up loose balls in the scramble game and converting, and soon therafter he was off to the races sticking long jumpers from all over the floor. Had a few odd mental lapses that left you scratching your head. Got quiet in the third but finished fairly strong. Very good numbers tonight, and a very good game. Right now obviously the shot is dialed in. But it just felt like there was a little something missing -- he scored here and there, but it seemed like he got a lot of points and boards off of balls just kind of rolling in his direction (it was a sloppy game) rather than through a huge effort on his part. He had a very good game, but we were powered by others tonight.
Thomas ( A- ) -- remember that chip on his shoulder I have talked about? Well on full display tonight, and mostly in a good way. Has a "stick it you" attitude with a good dose of "me against the world" thrown in. Result tonight was that he was going to show 'em and he came out and had a huge first quarter. There was a certain irony there -- our PF took 11 shots in the quarter, and mostly jumpers, sound familiar? But he was hitting them, so much like when Webb was hot complaints were ill-placed. But it did not leave many shots for others and it was probably a good thing that he slowed down dramatically in the second quarter and allowed Peja to get more involved. Started to get a little dumb about things in the third, challenging Samuel Dalembert inside, throwing up quick shots, and seeing his shooting percentage plummet. But was doing a lot of other things well -- very active on defense, grabbing a lot of big effort boards. It wasn't always a smart game, and he turned the ball over a number of times, but it was an inspired balls to the wall game in regards to effort.
Skinner ( A+ ) -- first true impact game in his last 4 or 5. And not just an impact game, but his CAREER game. He was no Wiltbilla in there, but something pretty close. Real man in there on the boards, and a reminder that Webb wasn't the only player in this game with an inspiration to play well. Made some solid passes as well , albeit mostly outside the confines of the offense. One little cautionary tale that while Skinner grabbed board after board, so did the man he was guarding -- Dalembert was all over the offensive glass.
Mobley ( A+ ) -- Big big game for Cat again against his homecourt team. the big first quarter offensively, and was flying around on defense blocking shots like he was Josh Smith or something. Had back to back blocks on one possession, and finished with three in the first half. Continued to score prolifically throughout the second half, and was one of three Kings (Thomas/Skinner) with Philly connections who again came out and brought absolute "A" efforts, with the empasis on "effort". Hesitated to give a second "+" on a single night, but really, how much better of a complete effort are you ever going to get out of Cat?
Bibby ( C ) -- For three quarters wanted to put up a giant Bat Signal reading "Mike, where have you gone??" Ineffective and sloppy start, mentally as much as physically. Just was not dialed in and A.I., and then on one early possession Webb, just flat took it away from him. Finished the first half with an anemic 2pts 4asts 2TOs on 1-4 shooting. Came out in the third, and was marginally better, but might still have had a totally ineffective "F" going through three quarters. But in the 4th quarter Mike came out a totally different animal, and one more time he was the guy stepping up to keep us rolling down the stretch. His overall game was still forgettable, but it was great to see Mike back for even a quarter, and it was the right quarter at that.
Ostertag ( C- ) -- got an early call in the first quarter with foul touble for Skinner, but did not do much with it. Unable to alter A.I.'s shot, and caught the fumbleitis which infected the entire game in that first period.
Evans ( D ) -- did nothing at all in his minutes, and was quickly and copmpletely forgotten about with Cat and Peja combining for 56.
Songaila ( B- ) -- came in and did a nice job on Webb defensively in the second quarter. First Dirk, then Webb. Not bad for an undersized scrapper. Best thing he did on offense was pass the ball, but that was a nice contribution tonight -- despite the good assist number this time out, have no idea how we got there with long stretches of one on one play and all sorts of loose balls and scramble plays rather than an efficient offense. Jumped out for a few dumb fouls on A.I..
House ( A- ) -- came in in place of the struggling Bibby and was more than just a backup tonight. In fact in the first half we were far better off with Eddie in the game than Mike Bibby. Was running the offense beautifully. Getting torched by Iverson of course, but at least made him work. Not as effective in the second half, but still solid. Been very dependable in the last month. Just have to believe that he's going to make the playoff roster at this point.
Adelman ( B+ ) -- not much for Rick to do tonight. Threw his starters out on the floor, and 4 of the 5 came up with big efforts. The one notable exception was Mike Bibby, and there Rick made a nice move to stick with Eddie House for extended minutes int he second quarter. Mike was really that bad that House was the better choice at that point in the game. Tried the other benchers, and only Darius earned any real minutes. So another game of massive starters' minutes, and I guess you just have to go with it at this point. Certainly our defense still sucks, so we never ever get ourselves a safe lead that lets us go to the deep bench. Everything is in doubt, and we need every game. So the starters it is, and if their collective limbs fall off before the playoffs, guess we'll just have to sew them back on and lurch on into the postseason like the Frankenstein monster.
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