Grades v. Spurs 03/08

[Bricklayer]

Theme tonight: Nightmare Karaoke Songs/Lyrics

Salmons ( C+ ) -- empty first half where he wasn't effective on either end of the floor. Emerged a bit in the late 3rd/early 4th and by the end put up one of those little of everything roleplayer's stat lines. But if you were watching the game, aside from that one stretch it was more do little of everything than do A little of everything. Had no more luck than anybody else trying to slow the Manu express late in the game.

Unskinny Bop -- Poison
(sample lyrics)
Whats got you so jumpy?
Why cant you sit still, yeah?
Like gasoline you wanna pump me
And leave me when you get your fill, yeah
....
Unskinny bop
Just blows me away
Unskinny bop, bop
All night and day
Unskinny bop, bop, bop, bop
She just loves to play
Unskinny bop nothin more to say

Thomas ( B ) -- off to the fast start and both our leading scorer and rebounder early on. Didn't do much therafter, but held his own against a strangely flat Tim Duncan. Would have thrown in a "+" here if I could have found a hook -- the slower second half, low FG%, and lack of any real "calling card" leaves it as a solid 20 min outing in the new spot starter role he's being moved into in recent weeks.

Big Ole Butt -- LL Cool J
(sample lyrics)
Shes only senteen but, yo, dont sleep
I kicked the bass like an nfl punter
And scoped the booty like a big game hunter
I said to the girl, yo, you look tired
...
Brenda got a big ole butt
I know I told you Id be true
But brenda got a big ole butt
So Im leavin you
Brenda got a big ole butt
I know I told you Id be true
But brenda got a big ole butt
So Im leavin you

Miller ( C+ ) -- mostly solid first half, although I would not have thought the numbers (7pts 6rebs) were as good as they were. Was quiet after that, but I still had to question the wisdom of the smaller lineups we began to throw out there agianst the Spurs as the game wore on. Amongst other things, any pretense of interior help defense was dispensed with. Brad also got chippy in the third resulting in a weakish flagrant foul call, that thankfully did not end up costing us any points as Horry bricked both FTs. Threw in a sloppy late TO for good measure.

I Am The Walrus -- The Beatles
(sample lyrics)
I am the eggman
They are the eggmen
I am the walrus
Goo goo g' joob
Goo goo g' joob
Goo goo g' joob
goo goo g' joob
goo goo g'
juba juba juba
juba juba juba
juba juba juba
juba juba

Martin ( A- ) -- struggled in the early going to get clean looks against Bowen and Duncan, and was offering pretty minimal resistance back the other way when on Manu. Finally got a little something going in the later portion of the second quarter and even outflopped Manu on one play (whether that is something to be proud of or not is another discussion). Settled in and got more comfortable as the game went along, and chipped in shots here and there during the third. Broke loose for a little run in the early 4th against Finley with Bowen on the bench. But missed some big shots down the stretch, including an awful clank on a wide open three. Final 4 points were kinda gimmes courtesy of Muss's desperate need to impres the bosses by extending the game after it was already over, so maybe more 22pts than 26. In any case, the ofensive portion of the game was...maybe a B. Got stronger as the game went along, but only had the one little hot streak, never really dominated, and was AWOL down the stretch. But gets the grade bumped up considerably for ironically putting up Bonzi numbers against the team Bonzi terrorized last year. Went to the glass in a big way, and discovered the same thign Bonz did -- the Spurs have age/size issues in their backcourt. So career high board night for Kevin helping us to finally beat somebody on the glass.

Bawitdaba -- Kid Rock
(sample lyrics)
What
Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy
Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy
(Come On)
Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy

Love, and for the hate
And for the peace.... WARRRRRRRRRRRR

 

[Bricklayer]

Bibby ( D ) -- was forcing far too many shots in the early going with poor results, and rather than stepping back and settling into a more even rythym, he instead just stepped back to the point that he was completely invisible for much of the night. Being Mike he of course stepped up to hit a big three with 3 1/2 min to go, but he followed that up with fugly play down the stretch. Trying too hard to be the hero, and messed up repeatedly. finally broke into double figures with a trio of very iffy FTs at the 1:00 mark after being "fouled" out at the 3pt line by Bowen (on replay did not look like he was touched). did not get badly lit up by the maybe still ailing Parker, but not a good night.

Yellow Submarine -- The Beatles
(sample lyrics)
We all live in a yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
We all live in a yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine, yellow submarine,

And our friends are all aboard,
Many more of them live next door,
And the band begins to play.

Reef ( C+ ) -- no offense in the second quarter -- that was left to Corliss. But did do a solid job on the glass during his stint. Had another quiet second stint, although highlighted by a nice interior pass to Corliss in the early 4th. And ended up playing the fewest minutes of any of our not so bigs.

Sweet Cherry Pie -- Warrant
sample lyrics
Swingin in the living room
Swingin' in the kitchen
Most folks don't
Cause they're too busy bitchin'
Swingin' in there
Cause she wanted me to feed her
So I mixed up the batter
And she licked the beater

I scream, you scream,
We all scream for her
Don't even try
Cause you can't ignore her

CHORUS
She's my cherry pie
Cool drink of water
Such a sweet surprise
Tastes so good make a grown man cry
Sweet cherry pie
Oh yeah

Cisco ( B- ) -- gave us a little spark off the bench in the latter stages of the first quarter, but nothing much in the second. Had some more energy to contribute in the late going, but wasn't staying with various Spurs out on the perimeter, and made a killer mistake not being ready for the ball on the break with 30 seconds to go. Bounced right off his hip for a TO that finished whatever longshot hope we had (which wasn't much).

Mmm Bop -- Hanson
(sample lyrics)
In an mmm bop, they're gone
Plant a seed, plant a flower, plant a rose
You can plant any one of those
Keep planting to find out which one grows
It's a secret no one knows
It's a secret no one knows
No one knows

Mmm bop, ba duba dop
Ba du bop, ba duba dop
Ba du bop, ba duba dop
Ba du

Mmm bop, ba duba dop
Ba du bop, Ba du dop
Ba du bop, Ba du dop
Ba du


Price ( INC ) -- nothing in a fairly long first half stint, leading to no minutes at all after half

Where Ya At? -- Shaquille O'Neal (by perverse request)
(sample lyrics)
who the hell is Shaq Attack you'd better read the paper
treat me like Biz Markie you'd better catch a vapor
I've got mad props so why would you exploit
punch you in your face like that kid from Detroit
really yo you'd better ask MC Hammer 'bout this bad mama jama
tall kid with the hoopa hypa lipta-gramma
watch out yo it's time for MC bashin'
got more loot than my man Johnny Cash and
I'm hard like a 360 twice jam
ask Dr. Dre and Ed Lover who's the man
I'm sure they'll say me brother please don't play me like a shrimp
dunk it on your head then I'll point like Shawn Kemp
don't need the drink crooked I juice to get loose
my favorite cartoon is Bullwinkle the Moose
I'm 'bout to sting you like rubbing alcohol
yes yes yall call me Ed Jones cause I'm too tall
put the rhyme between my legs then I'll score
never mind a whore I wanna do a phat tour
come freak the style that the big Michelle display
you know the style that be my fortee

 

[Bricklayer]

Corliss ( A- ) -- gave us a huge boost with a burst of scoring in the early 2nd -- think in fact he scored our first 10 points of the quarter just by doing his mismatch thing -- Spurs still do not have anybody really well suited for that size power player. By the end of the quaretr it was Corliss and Corliss alone who kept us close with 15 pts on 6-8 shooting. Chipped in several more hoops in the 4th, but nowhere near the same impact. Eventually slowed by Matt Bonner of all people, just as another thick body. You hate to give Corliss a "-" here given that it WAS Corliss Williamson, and thta he did step up as the only guy to play wingman to Kevin (and actually the only guy period to keep us in the game in the first half until Kevin could wake up), but the rebounding was a problme again, he didn't do much late, and he was simply too small to do much on rotations. Excellent scoring effort, and a clear #2 or even #1 for stretches, but just lacking in roundedness.

My Humps -- Black Eyed Peas
(sample lyrics)
What you gon' do with all that junk?
All that junk inside your trunk?
I'ma get, get, get, get, you drunk,
Get you love drunk off my hump.
My hump, my hump, my hump, my hump, my hump,
My hump, my hump, my hump, my lovely little lumps (Check it out)

Muss ( ) -- I'll flesh this out tommorow, but jsut this one note: Why the hell do you call timeout with 2 seconds to go and down by 7??? Are you THAT desperate to show the brotheres Maloof that you never give up never surrender even after you have already lost? Just looks very "all for show".

My World -- Ron Artest
(sample lyrics)
"Yo, I'm Ron Artest and I aint no Kobe,
My game's on higher level, like Obi Wan Kenobi.
No wait, I aint no white dude in a robey..."

 

[fnordius]

No Shaq lyrics?

 

[GoGoGadget]

My World -- Ron Artest
(sample lyrics)
"Yo, I'm Ron Artest and I aint no Kobe,
My game's on higher level, like Obi Wan Kenobi.
No wait, I aint no white dude in a robey..."

Robey...



Genius.

 

[Warhawk]

Robey...



Genius.

I must say it's better than Shaq's, uh, prose. Ain't saying much, though.

I did a little chuckle when I saw "robey".

 

[cfechter]

Price ( INC ) -- nothing in a fairly long first half stint, leading to no minutes at all after half

I'll have to disagree with you here Brick - while Price looks lost on the offensive end, I thought defensively he did an outstanding job against Parker and crew. i'm not sure I've ever seen someone pester Parker the way Price did in his short time on the court.

 

[Cal-Kings]

I couldn't figure out that final timeout either, neither could Napear. (Not that Napear would have a clue anyway.)

I was wondering if Muss called it just to annoy Pop who had called a timeout just seconds earlier for no apparent reason. Kind of like, "yeah, I can waste your time here as well, jerk."

Anyway, that's what went through my head, which admittedly, is screwed on a little strange sometimes.

 

[Variant]

Course Parker was pretty ineffective against just about everyone out there. He was probably too busy staring at Eva...

I liked the effort from the Kings last night. They stayed toe to toe with the Spurs up until the last 2 minutes of the fourth basically. I'd expect that sort of thing without a true "superstar" to take over. K-Mart is showing potential in that area, but we still don't have that guy who can just score when it's needed and Bibby was off.

 

[PejaFanatic]

The game sux towards the end but your post is so funny.

 

[Miles and Miles]

I might give Brad a HIGHER grade BECAUSE of the flagrent foul. I was at the game and the crowd totally got going from there until it was over.

Why do we go through stretches where the offense has to run through Kenny? We had like 4 possessions in a row where we tried to go to Kenny and he bricked something.

 

[CruzDude]

The Kings hung around and hung around, which is bad cause they don't do well in close games (1-12 in games decided by 5 pts or less). In the end the Spurs were 7 points better and the Kings played about as well as they can with the new lineup and with Cisco making only 3 bonehead turnovers.

Generally go along with ratings. Corliss really stepping up down the stretch. IS that for the Kings to keep him or is he starting his 07-08 ad campaign?

And I agree, Price is getting better and better and he really is a pestering defense. As he learns more to penetrate and distribute or shoot a nice little tear drop runner, he will become a decent PG.

 

[BigSong]

I almost reported this post because of the Poison reference.

 

[SacKings384]

1-12 decided by 5 or less? Wow... That's just... Wow...

 

[kupman]

1-12 decided by 5 or less? Wow... That's just... Wow...

I really agree. If we win just 6 of those 12 losses we would have the 6th seed right now. The line between good and bad in the NBA is very thin.

I have also thought when things are going really well, you need to humble yourself because things are probably not going as well as you might think and when things are going bad, don't get too depressed because things are probably not as bad as you think.

This season would be a whole different IMHO is just 3 things happened:
1) Better coaching
2) Bibby played at his usual high level more consistently
3) A stronger player at the 4 spot

 

[Troy]

I didn't watch the game yet, I DVR'd it...but Corliss sure looks like our Bonzi of last years playoff series against the Spurs. They seem to have a problem with those bigger, not tall scrappy guys don't they!

 

[Larry89]

Make the next theme Carnivorous plants, or strange looking fruit

 

[GoGoGadget]

I almost reported this post because of the Poison reference.

Now, that would have been a tad overboard.

Though it is lucky that Brick's a mod -- certainly quoting Warrant is grounds for banning.

 

[fnordius]

Thanks! Shaq's material is to music what Manos, the Hands of Fate is to cinema, so any karaoke nightmare I might have wouldn't be complete without it. Plus it reminds me of days of old, when I used Shaq lyrics and references to Kazaam to quiet trolling Lakers fans.

 

[SacKings384]

This was another one of those swing games... The Lakers lost again tonight... The Kings would have picked up a game on them. And would have been very close to a spot in the playoffs. But once again the Kings blow it in the end... The thought of 1-12 in games decided by 5 or less makes me want to vomit.

 

[Kingzrool]

This game made me really see how much Muss needs to play his younger players for developement and progression. Price seriously out-hustled Bibby.

I am all for benching or DNPing Bibby and Ron for the rest of the season. These young guys would get so much out of it and it would pay off for the franchise in the long run.

IMO it is way more exciting to watch the younger players develope than the older ones fade away. Corliss can be the token vet and the rest can find somewhere that they can offer more. Brad would be on my list too except as much as it sucks, Williams is really not ready. I am hoping for some type of big in exchange for Artest, Miller and Bibby (+ peices KT, SAR, Garcia). GP can pull that off. The big can need time to develop, as long as he has a chance at making an impact in some games, that is enough for me.