[Grades] Grades v. Sixers 3/24/2015

[VF21]

So it's official? Should Bill Simmons change that video to "Sauce Castillo?"

I'd say it's as "official" as Teko Hurdaglu was back in the day.

 

[VF21]

Stats: 36min 33pts (8-27, 0-1, 17-19) 17reb 3ast 4stl 4blk 3TO
Cousins ( B+ ) -- Just like in the game with Philly eleven days ago, Cousins put up some really big numbers tonight. I can't possibly go through all of the things that he did out there, but I figured maybe I'd highlight some of the memorable moments from his numbers. Boogie had only three assists tonight, and the best one came early in the fourth quarter when he grabbed an offensive rebound and dumped a prescient pass down to a cutting Derrick Williams for an easy dunk. Cousins had four blocks tonight, and none was better (or more important) than the stuff of a driving Ish Smith late in the fourth, who apparently thought that he was going to be able to continue his uncontested drives from the first half in a period when we were actually trying on defense. Perhaps even better than that defensive standout came a few plays before when Boogie broke up a half-court lob attempt to get the Kings going the other way. And as for his four steals? Well, I'm not certain if he got credit for a steal on the play, but the obvious standout was the final play of the game, when Cousins stepped into the lane to turn away Hollis Thompson's last second drive and knocked out the ball to seal the win. Huge play. And if I can highlight a turnover, after a bad pass in the third quarter, Cousins stepped in front of a fast-breaking Sixer and drew a charge - about 70 feet from the basket. I don't think I've ever seen a charge taken that far in the backcourt - in fact it's pretty rare to see a charge taken in the backcourt at all. But as long as we're talking the numbers, we ought to acknowledge one that won't show up directly in the boxscore - 36 shots. Yes, Cousins did drop 33 points tonight, but he took 36 shots to do it - and it wasn't for missing free throws as Cousins went a fantastic 17-19 from the line. The vast majority of Boogie's shots tonight, however, came under duress in the paint. The Sixers were consistently double-teaming him, frequently triple-teaming him, and on at least one occasion threw a quadruple-team at our beast in the low post. As a result he found a way to miss 14 shots in the paint tonight, many of those not particularly high-percentage shots. In the end, he did a lot of great work out there and we would never have won without his efforts on the boards and defense. But his offensive efficiency was not good, and he ought to have looked to switch things up - e.g. get Rudy a few more shots, get Ben involved - in an attempt to take better advantage of the clogged paint rather than doggedly going up against it over and over. --Capt.

Totally understandable, Capt. I would give him more credit for being able to get those 33 points despite the 3v1, 4v1 and even 5v1 coverage against him, but a B+ is definitely fair.

 

[kingsboi]

Noel is awesome....his speed and length for his size is legit. He just needs to add some bulk to that frame.

 

[Bricklayer]

out of internet for most of the day meant this thread never got completed. I will try to touch in some stuff after tonight's game, but as the audience will be small by that point, so will my effort.

 

[VF21]

Basketball Reference ‏@bball_ref 7h7 hours ago
DeMarcus Cousins is the 1st player since The Dream 28 years ago to post at least 33 Pts, 17 Reb, 4 Blk & 4 Stl: http://gaedel.me/KN1sJ

 

[Big Cuz 15]

I have to agree with VF21 on this one. We just played a team that wants to win every time they are on the floor. They compete hard for the full 48 minutes.

There is a difference between a team wanting to lose and a FO wanting to lose...

it's the same to me. the team is stripped down to a thong. how many of those contracts are long term? i ask that bc they take on contracts to meet the minimum salary. of course they'll play their brains out to earn the next contract or maintain their roster spot.

 

[VF21]

it's the same to me. the team is stripped down to a thong. how many of those contracts are long term? i ask that bc they take on contracts to meet the minimum salary. of course they'll play their brains out to earn the next contract or maintain their roster spot.

I'm sorry but your comments have ceased to have relevance since you made it clear you aren't even watching the games.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

whatever. i'm not drinking the purple kool aid after a few wins against some bottom of the barrel teams.

 

[IfAt1st]

I just watched the DVR'd game :
I am pretty surprised that y'all are mostly talking about Cousins OFFENSE in the 76ers game. For a fanbase so supposedly focused on DE-FENSE, how could this performance be virtually ignored?

I have NEVER seen Boogie be so dominant DEFENSIVELY as I did in the last 6 minutes of the 76ers game.

Go watch it again, if it's up somewhere.
He single-handedly put the defensive clamps down, and stopped the 76ers. If it wasn't for him, the Kings would have lost that game going away. They couldn't guard much, and Boogie erased their mistakes.

6:30 left in 4th period - Boogie gets QUINTUPLE-teamed.
5:45 DMC under hoop for ORBD, Ish gets it, DMC sprints up court and catches up to the alley-oop to Noel! (BMac TO around here somewhere)
4:50 DMC blocks T-Rob, then reaches in and just grabs the ball (jumpball). Controls jump.
4:10 Defended Noel well (miss)
3:52 One inch away from the steal and breakaway.
2:50 Simply takes the ball away from Ish after he drove past Ray. Passed to DWill for the 2 on 1 break, but DWill wasn't looking. (Rudy travelled)
2:22 DMC rejects Ish on clear drive, was also guarding Noel.
1:20 Again defends the open drive while also covering Noel (pass to Noel was Out of Bounds).
1:05 Again covering 2 players, got back in front of Noel's drive in charge position, Noel bad pass OoB.
:40 Almost rejected Covington's drive (foul called), 1 FT.
:10 Harrassed Noel out to midcourt, got back in paint and rejected/stole the ball for the win.

If anyone wants to doubt Boogie's importance to the team - go watch those last 6 minutes. He single-handedly beat the 76ers, and didn't get much help.

Or credit.

 

[LPKingsFan]

I just watched the DVR'd game :
I am pretty surprised that y'all are mostly talking about Cousins OFFENSE in the 76ers game. For a fanbase so supposedly focused on DE-FENSE, how could this performance be virtually ignored?

I have NEVER seen Boogie be so dominant DEFENSIVELY as I did in the last 6 minutes of the 76ers game.

Go watch it again, if it's up somewhere.
He single-handedly put the defensive clamps down, and stopped the 76ers. If it wasn't for him, the Kings would have lost that game going away. They couldn't guard much, and Boogie erased their mistakes.

6:30 left in 4th period - Boogie gets QUINTUPLE-teamed.
5:45 DMC under hoop for ORBD, Ish gets it, DMC sprints up court and catches up to the alley-oop to Noel! (BMac TO around here somewhere)
4:50 DMC blocks T-Rob, then reaches in and just grabs the ball (jumpball). Controls jump.
4:10 Defended Noel well (miss)
3:52 One inch away from the steal and breakaway.
2:50 Simply takes the ball away from Ish after he drove past Ray. Passed to DWill for the 2 on 1 break, but DWill wasn't looking. (Rudy travelled)
2:22 DMC rejects Ish on clear drive, was also guarding Noel.
1:20 Again defends the open drive while also covering Noel (pass to Noel was Out of Bounds).
1:05 Again covering 2 players, got back in front of Noel's drive in charge position, Noel bad pass OoB.
:40 Almost rejected Covington's drive (foul called), 1 FT.
:10 Harrassed Noel out to midcourt, got back in paint and rejected/stole the ball for the win.

If anyone wants to doubt Boogie's importance to the team - go watch those last 6 minutes. He single-handedly beat the 76ers, and didn't get much help.

Or credit.

You're right, no credit. Coach Karl totally didn't say this after the game:

"Cuz had some incredible defensive plays down the stretch. He had a big game defensively."

 

[IfAt1st]

KINGSFANS!

Kingsfans, dude.

I know full well Karl pointed it out, which is partially why I made the post - I was shocked that George Karl pointed out something I didn't read in the Grade thread.
Usually, KF's are more observant and focus on the more important things than the coach does in after-game interviews.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

KINGSFANS!

Kingsfans, dude.

I know full well Karl pointed it out, which is partially why I made the post - I was shocked that George Karl pointed out something I didn't read in the Grade thread.
Usually, KF's are more observant and focus on the more important things than the coach does in after-game interviews.

So you didn't actually read Cousins' grade, then?

Cousins had four blocks tonight, and none was better (or more important) than the stuff of a driving Ish Smith late in the fourth, who apparently thought that he was going to be able to continue his uncontested drives from the first half in a period when we were actually trying on defense. Perhaps even better than that defensive standout came a few plays before when Boogie broke up a half-court lob attempt to get the Kings going the other way. And as for his four steals? Well, I'm not certain if he got credit for a steal on the play, but the obvious standout was the final play of the game, when Cousins stepped into the lane to turn away Hollis Thompson's last second drive and knocked out the ball to seal the win.

 

[IfAt1st]

So you didn't actually read Cousins' grade, then?

Sure, I read it:

Stats: 36min 33pts (8-27, 0-1, 17-19) 17reb 3ast 4stl 4blk 3TO
Cousins ( B+ ) -- Just like in the game with Philly eleven days ago, Cousins put up some really big numbers tonight. I can't possibly go through all of the things that he did out there, but I figured maybe I'd highlight some of the memorable moments from his numbers. Boogie had only three assists tonight, and the best one came early in the fourth quarter when he grabbed an offensive rebound and dumped a prescient pass down to a cutting Derrick Williams for an easy dunk. Cousins had four blocks tonight, and none was better (or more important) than the stuff of a driving Ish Smith late in the fourth, who apparently thought that he was going to be able to continue his uncontested drives from the first half in a period when we were actually trying on defense. Perhaps even better than that defensive standout came a few plays before when Boogie broke up a half-court lob attempt to get the Kings going the other way. And as for his four steals? Well, I'm not certain if he got credit for a steal on the play, but the obvious standout was the final play of the game, when Cousins stepped into the lane to turn away Hollis Thompson's last second drive and knocked out the ball to seal the win. Huge play. And if I can highlight a turnover, after a bad pass in the third quarter, Cousins stepped in front of a fast-breaking Sixer and drew a charge - about 70 feet from the basket. I don't think I've ever seen a charge taken that far in the backcourt - in fact it's pretty rare to see a charge taken in the backcourt at all. But as long as we're talking the numbers, we ought to acknowledge one that won't show up directly in the boxscore - 36 shots. Yes, Cousins did drop 33 points tonight, but he took 36 shots to do it - and it wasn't for missing free throws as Cousins went a fantastic 17-19 from the line. The vast majority of Boogie's shots tonight, however, came under duress in the paint. The Sixers were consistently double-teaming him, frequently triple-teaming him, and on at least one occasion threw a quadruple-team at our beast in the low post. As a result he found a way to miss 14 shots in the paint tonight, many of those not particularly high-percentage shots. In the end, he did a lot of great work out there and we would never have won without his efforts on the boards and defense. But his offensive efficiency was not good, and he ought to have looked to switch things up - e.g. get Rudy a few more shots, get Ben involved - in an attempt to take better advantage of the clogged paint rather than doggedly going up against it over and over. --Capt.

And I just re-read it.
It's a fine write-up, which highlighted many things, focusing about half and half, offense/defense.

Did you read the rest of the thread, which pretty much ignored his defensive brilliance that caused the win?

I don't understand - are you guys arguing (being snarky) just to argue, or is there a problem with me trying to highlight Demarcus' defensive brilliance vs the 76ers?

I seriously believe I have never seen him play better defense in his career.
Can anyone remember better?
I'd say THAT's worth discussing, and looking forward to next year. Actual, tangible, advancement in a Kings player, that is not getting much discussion.

 

[VF21]

KINGSFANS!

Kingsfans, dude.

I know full well Karl pointed it out, which is partially why I made the post - I was shocked that George Karl pointed out something I didn't read in the Grade thread.
Usually, KF's are more observant and focus on the more important things than the coach does in after-game interviews.

Maybe you should volunteer to do some of the write-ups?

 

[IfAt1st]

Maybe you should volunteer to do some of the write-ups?

My posts have been referencing the Game Grade Thread replies almost exclusively.

And I have considered doing some write-ups, actually.
I do find it hard to concentrate on the other Kings when Demarcus in on the floor, though - his game is THAT compelling, and his mercurial attitude is THAT disconcerting.

 

[Hadlowe]

My posts have been referencing the Game Thread replies almost exclusively.

And I have considered doing some write-ups, actually.
I do find it hard to concentrate on the other Kings when Demarcus in on the floor, though - his game is THAT compelling, and his mercurial attitude is THAT disconcerting.

As a general rule, gamethreads are kind of a crappy way to judge a fanbase's reactions due to the majority of the posts being in the heat of the moment. Lots of "end of the world" or "greatest of all time." Very little reasoned opinion.

They are fun to participate in, though.

 

[Spike]

^ I think the FO finally figured that out.

 

[IfAt1st]

As a general rule, gamethreads are kind of a crappy way to judge a fanbase's reactions due to the majority of the posts being in the heat of the moment. Lots of "end of the world" or "greatest of all time." Very little reasoned opinion.

They are fun to participate in, though.

OOps!
I meant Grade Thread! (I'll edit that post)
Not game thread - I agree, those are not a good place to get perspective.

But IME, the Grade Threads are where the more thoughtful, observational posts go about the team (that's THIS THREAD, which is why I posted in it).