[Grades] Grades v. Spurs 04/12/2013

[Bricklayer]

The Maloofs gave another dubious deadline.

A lawsuit challenging things in Seattle was dismissed.

The BOG announced it was going to add 2 extra days to its annual meetings next week.

Oh, and the Kings actually played a basketball game tonight. Tough one too.

Grading Consortium + Guest Graders for tonight:
Bricklayer
bajaden
Rainmaker
hrdboild

Boxscore

Stats: 20min 0pts (0-4, 0-1, 0-0) 3reb 3ast 1stl 0blk 1TO
Salmons ( F ) -- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....oh, er...what? Oh....um...guess it serves me right for saying John should play less like Kobe last time out, so this time he did not play at all. Or maybe he played like Kobe again...Kobe after he tore his achilles. In any case if he had not been dropping these completely empty little turdlets on and off throughout the season, you would have been justified in wondering whether he had just packed it in for the season. He was actually moderately involved in the early going, notching an early assist to Isaiah, hoisting up a few bricks, and even grabbing an occasional rebound. But when you score 0pts on the night being moderately involved isn't necessarily helping the team much, and when we replaced him, effectively with Jimmer, we suddenly got much better just for having someone out there not auditioning for The Walking Dead. A boxscore will tell you that John came back out to start the third, but I think that's a dubious claim, and there is a decent chance he actually expired at some point during the halftime break and nobody noticed. He may have bricked a shot at some point during the quarter. I know he eventually tried to dribble through traffic for no reason for a turnover. And then he left, and nobody even knew he'd been there in the first place.--Brick

Stats: 32min 18pts (8-15, 0-0, 2-2) 6reb 1ast 1stl 2blk 0TO
Thompson ( B- ) -- JT was one of our best players on the floor tonight. He played 32 miinutes, which was the most of any starter, and aside from Cousins, he was the most productive of that group. He scored 18 points on 8 of 15 shooting, and he closed out the first half by hitting his last four shots. One a dunk on a very nice bounce pass from Jimmer. He then got hot and hit three jumpers from the top of the key in a row. His second half was less eventful. He went 5 minutes without taking a shot, but then hit a fall away 12 footer. He went to the bench with around 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. When he got back in, he started by missing a 16 footer. He closed out his scoring by dunking over Tim Duncan on a nice pass in the post from Cuz. While offensively he was very effective, he struggled on defense in the first half, missing rotations at times, and just flat out losing his man. In the second half, he was much better. The whole team as a whole played better defense in the second half. The only other fault I found with JT tonight was his lack of rebounding. In the second half, Cousins was gobbling up just about every ball within range of his hands. But in the first half, JT just wasn't active enough. On the whole, he had a good game, just not a perfect game. My grade on JT is done without having the ability to see ther first 6 minutes of the game, thanks to technical difficulties on the Spurs broadcast. --Baja

Stats: 29min 19pts (6-11, 0-0, 7-9) 12reb 1ast 1stl 2blk 2TO
Cousins ( C+ ) -- I expect more from Cuz given the talent and skill he possesses. Tonight our starting lineup came out in quite a lethargic manner and I question how much that might be related to our coaching situation but when Cuz is going against an all-time great in Duncan, someone he has spoken of his admiration for, coming out and not scoring a single FG in the 1st half is a serious letdown. Ending the 1st half with more technicals(1) than field goals made(0) is inexcusable. The 3rd quarter was better and we saw flashes of the uniquely gifted talent Cuz has, as he started hurting the Spurs in transition, getting two +1's early in the 3rd quarter. The first of which there isn't another center in the league who can pull it off, getting the rebound, dribbling down, hesitation at the top of the key then beating his man for a layup and the foul. Cuz was starting to heat up and put together a great quarter, as he was controlling the glass to go along with his 9 early 3rd quarter points, either finishing inside or getting to the FT line but picked up his 4th foul at the 4:46 mark forcing Smart to sit him. Smart held Cuz out until the 7:05 mark at a 15 point deficit. A -14 in the near 10 minutes Cuz sat. It killed us. Cuz continued where he left off after his return, immediately controlling the glass again and scoring inside, pullup jumper, taking Duncan off the dribble and getting FT's, nice dump off to JT for a dunk, then a drive and an +1 on a little hook. But, the game was completely out of reach at that point. Had a solid defensive game as well, doing a better job than usual clogging the paint and even blocked two shots. A tough grade as Cuz's first half was flat out terrible, but the 2nd half is where all his talent came out for all to see and he was causing serious problems for SA, yet foul trouble took him out and ultimately played a big part in our fate. When Cuz plays for a coach who can help bottle and channel his talent, I don't think there's a defense in the league which can stop him. --Rain

Stats: 21min 9pts (3-9, 1-2, 2-2) 1reb 2ast 0stl 0blk 3TO
Evans ( D+ ) -- When I commented after Sunday's game that John Salmons looked lazy and disinterested the whole first quarter it didn't really surprise me at the time as I've already grown accustomed to Salmon's mood swings. But I noticed as I sat down to watch tonight's game that I was jotting down a lot of the same observations about Tyreke. Looks slow, jogging back on defense, doesn't want to shoot, making no attempt to crash the boards. Most of the time that he caught the ball he passed it immediately and when he did attempt to do something with it he was flat-footed and indecisive. One play in particular was endemic of his first quarter tonight -- he caught the ball near the three point line isolated on Tim Duncan and dribbled around in place a bit before driving into the defense and turning the ball over on a pass attempt under the basket. Usually when Tyreke makes mistakes with the ball it's because he's being over-aggressive but tonight it was very much the opposite as evidenced by only 2 free throw attempts and no PF in 21 minutes. Smart subbed him out for MT with 3:48 remaining in the first and he didn't play again in the half. Starting off the third quarter he was even less involved offensively than his previous stint. His first shot attempt of the third, a set 3-pointer near the end of the shot clock which he drained cleanly, came with 8:55 ticked off the clock. This seems to have flipped a switch for him as he started to become more aggresive taking the next posession the length of the court and missing on the layup. He hit another spotup three, this time off a Patrick Patterson assist and then ran a nice 2 man game on the sideline which resulted in a 3 pointer for Thornton. He got the ball again for the last shot of the quarter and he faced up near the top of the key and promptly airballed a jumper out of bounds. Again Tyreke was on the bench most of the fourth quarter when the game was decided so he didn't have a chance to build on the momentum he had at the end of the third. I can't grade on the basis of what might have happened though, only what did happen. So mixed within a mostly forgettable no-show appearance was a small reminder of how Tyreke has grown this season. He took and made two spot up three pointers in the third quarter and that's a shot he simply did not have in his arsenal for his first 3 seasons in the league. Not a good performance from him by any definition, but some small hope perhaps for the post-Maloof future and a plus to take some of the stink off the D. --hrd

Stats: 22min 6pts (3-10, 0-2, 0-0) 2reb 3ast 3stl 0blk 2TO
Thomas ( D+ ) -- IT has had some good games against Parker as I recall, and so of course this time he comes out and lays an egg. He actually started the game with a nothing little pass to JT for a jumper and an assist, and was playing the passing lanes and got a couple of early steals, but then he decided it was time to unleash the offense, which in this case meant a rush of outside bricks and damn I'm shorts around the rim as I think he and Reke combined for 1-10 shooting in the first quarter. At least Parker started the game quietly as well, so this had less of an air of a spanking for a while at least, but the sluggish start was absolutely where the game was lost this time, as we played them evenly and then some for the final three quarters. But then of course what really limited IT's minutes was Toney Douglas coming in and playing like a PG and making you really wish he wasn't a free agent during an offseason when the entire front office and coaching staff is likely to be turned over. We got better, IT sat, and he wasn't back on the floor until the third, when he gave us a little burst in the early part of the quarter in support of Big Cuz. Unfortunately that too died off quickly enough as he proved a slow learner on the whole don't be 5'9" and try to drive it inside on Tim Duncan thing, and when Douglas took over for the 4th nobody was crying. --Brick

 

[Bricklayer]

Bench

Stats: 30min 12pts (4-10, 4-7, 0-0) 2reb 2ast 1stl 0blk 1TO
Thornton ( C- ) -- apart from one brief flurry in the mid 2nd, continued a later season pattern wherein Marcus has been getting his minutes, where you'd expect him to be the dominant focus off the bench, but through lack of focus, or the hopefully dying days of the Smart offense, he just ends up being a guy and eating minutes as a minor decoy. Of course tonight it did not help that he was playing almost the whole night as a smallball SF in place of Salmons and alongside fellow minis Jimmer and Douglas. In fact after entering the game for Reke as a SG at the end of the first quarter and immediately throwing up a couple of shorter range bricks, after moving to SF he would retreat to the perimeter for the rest of the game and largely just spotted up, taking 7 of his last 8 shots from beyond the stripe. That worked in one fun explosion when he hit three threes in under two minutes in the mid 2nd, all of them BTW assisted shots rather than chucks off his dribble. But in 2 minutes he scored 9 points. And for the other 28 minutes he played he scored exactly three more, on one more 3ptr. Nor was he doing much else. Late in the game he showed some defensive hustle, which unfortunately for him still mostly means he gambled trying to get steals, but even when he looked like he was open spotting up on the break or whatnot, the other guards just quit finding him after a while. That makes this tough. He had his blip, and an average C sort of statline. But he didn't matter at all most of the way, and was nearly as invisible as Salmons for much of the game. So, going C- here, and not sure if that's being too generous, or too harsh. --Brick

Stats: 26min 15pts (6-11, 3-4, 0-0) 3reb 7ast 4stl 0blk 0TO
Douglas ( ) -- placeholder... --Brick

Stats: 24min 14pts (5-8, 2-3, 2-2) 0reb 2ast 1stl 0blk 1TO
Fredette ( B- ) -- I struggled with this one. Should I give him a C+, or a B-. Then I said to myself, what the hell, lets be generous. He had a good game and why not reward him. Jimmer played 24 minutes, the most he's played in some time, and he shot the ball well. 2 for 3 from the three point line, and 5 for 8 overall. Jimmer and Douglas teamed up as a duo, and certainly out played the starting backcourt. No, they weren't perfect, but they were aggressive, and for the most part, impacted the game most of the time they were on the floor. Jimmer only had 2 assists, but he easily could have had 6 if someone could have made a shot. He found Patterson twice and twice Patterson missed. He dished to Hayes under the basket, but Hayes had his shot blocked. His most dramatic moment came at the end of the first half, when he dribbled the clock down to 6 seconds left in the half, pulled up and hit, what had to be at least a 28 foot three pointer. On defense, it was at times an adventure, and other times, he played good defense. Twice, once on Parker, and once on Neal, he stayed in front of his man, and they both hit tough shots with his hand in their face. Of course there was the time when he completely lost track of Neal who coasted to the basket for an easy layup. Tiny steps, tiny steps. Hey, he even managed a steal. No rebounds however. All in all, Jimmer along with Douglas was one of the bright spots tonight. --baja

Stats: 18min 8pts (4-8, 0-1, 0-0) 3reb 2ast 0stl 0blk 1TO
Patterson ( C+ ) -- It was good to get Patrick back. He appeared just a little rusty, and when I added up his hits and misses, I was surprised to see he shot 50% on the night. It seemed to me that he missed more than he hit. Well it goes to show that perception isn't reality. He entered the game with 1:31 left in the first quarter. And he started off well by driving toward the basket from the left elbow, spinning, and hitting a half hook. He followed that by hitting a 16 footer on a nice pass from Jimmer. After missing a floater in the lane, he went back to the bench with 6:08 left in the 2nd quarter. He did manage to get back on the floor when JT picked up another foul with 1:27 left in the 2nd. He closed out the half by missing a corner three on a pass from Jimmer. The second half was more of the same. After missing a couple of 16 footers, he posted up Bonner, and scored over him with a nice half hook. He closed out his scoring with a two handed dunk on a pass from Hayes. He added a couple of assists to his night, but only had three boards. It was nice to have him back, especially since it mean't I wouldn't have to watch J. Johnson out there. There is a God! --baja

Stats: 17min 0pts (0-3, 0-0, 0-0) 2reb 3ast 1stl 0blk 2TO
Hayes ( D+ ) -- Chuck simply did not have a good night tonight. His main contribution tonight was his 3 assists yet he was mostly a non factor on offense. Missed a jumper and had a layup rejected in his 2nd quarter stint. The bench played well in the 2nd overall and injected some life into the game but Chuck didn't contribute much on either end. Offense worked around him and SA scored 37 points to match our 37 in the 2nd and there wasn't much defense being played. Came in later in the game to replace Cuz when Cuz picked up his 4th and while he picked up a couple assists the game went from a 1 point deficit to a 15 point deficit during the minutes Chuck replaced Cuz place in the lineup. What made Chuck's night worse was his absence on the boards. Only two in 17 minutes. Along with going 0-3 from the field and that won't cut it. When your main job is to help anchor our defense and SA makes its key run while you are anchoring our defense and you don't contribute much offensively, it's just not a good night. I didn't make this grade worse as I don't lay the blame entirely at Chuck's feet. Playing he and PP together against a large SA frontline was not a recipe for success. It makes you wonder why Cole didn't take of the warmups tonight. Chuck can contribute defensively as a PF for stretches, but when asked to anchor the defense and play center it's an uphill battle he won't win all too often. --Rain

 

[HereWeBoogie]

well, if Tyreke had the mid-range shooting abilities of HereWeStay, this would have been a different ball game

 

[mac]

well, if Tyreke had the mid-range shooting abilities of HereWeStay, this would have been a different ball game

If Shaq had the mid-range shooting abilities of HereWeStay he would have averaged 70pts/game.

 

[Npliam]

If Shaq had the mid-range shooting abilities of HereWeStay he would have averaged 70pts/game.

This might actually be true. Shaq couldn't shoot.

 

[jalfa]

Oh what was that, we lost to the Spurs? Btw for those of you who haven't been watching the Spurs much this season - that's how you get ball movement and assists. Every screen set is a good and intentional one, every move and cut made is made with a clear purpose. Night and day compared to our offense. If Pop had control of our current roster our offense would be unguardable and our defense mediocre.

you just have to look at this: http://www.sbnation.com/2013/2/12/3...-offense-tim-duncan-tony-parker-manu-ginobili

and then you think about what the Kings are running and it just makes you cry. especially since that's not even much of a problem.

 

[Cwebb#4]

Can't wait to see grades for this one.

 

[VF21]

...Stats: 21min 9pts (3-9, 1-2, 2-2) 1reb 2ast 0stl 0blk 3TO
Evans ( D+ ) -- When I commented after Sunday's game that John Salmons looked lazy and disinterested the whole first quarter it didn't really surprise me at the time as I've already grown accustomed to Salmon's mood swings. But I noticed as I sat down to watch tonight's game that I was jotting down a lot of the same observations about Tyreke. Looks slow, jogging back on defense, doesn't want to shoot, making no attempt to crash the boards. Most of the time that he caught the ball he passed it immediately and when he did attempt to do something with it he was flat-footed and indecisive. One play in particular was endemic of his first quarter tonight -- he caught the ball near the three point line isolated on Tim Duncan and dribbled around in place a bit before driving into the defense and turning the ball over on a pass attempt under the basket. Usually when Tyreke makes mistakes with the ball it's because he's being over-aggressive but tonight it was very much the opposite as evidenced by only 2 free throw attempts and no PF in 21 minutes. Smart subbed him out for MT with 3:48 remaining in the first and he didn't play again in the half. Starting off the third quarter he was even less involved offensively than his previous stint. His first shot attempt of the third, a set 3-pointer near the end of the shot clock which he drained cleanly, came with 8:55 ticked off the clock. This seems to have flipped a switch for him as he started to become more aggresive taking the next posession the length of the court and missing on the layup. He hit another spotup three, this time off a Patrick Patterson assist and then ran a nice 2 man game on the sideline which resulted in a 3 pointer for Thornton. He got the ball again for the last shot of the quarter and he faced up near the top of the key and promptly airballed a jumper out of bounds. Again Tyreke was on the bench most of the fourth quarter when the game was decided so he didn't have a chance to build on the momentum he had at the end of the third. I can't grade on the basis of what might have happened though, only what did happen. So mixed within a mostly forgettable no-show appearance was a small reminder of how Tyreke has grown this season. He took and made two spot up three pointers in the third quarter and that's a shot he simply did not have in his arsenal for his first 3 seasons in the league. Not a good performance from him by any definition, but some small hope perhaps for the post-Maloof future and a plus to take some of the stink off the D. --hrd

But, giving a D+ to someone when the exam proctor takes you out of the test and makes you stand outside in the hall before you're finished skews the whole thing, doesn't it?

Mod note: I moved the discussion of Kobe's injury to the NBA forum. - VF21

 

[HereWeStay]

well, if Tyreke had the mid-range shooting abilities of HereWeStay, this would have been a different ball game

well obvious it would have been because then he would have more ways to score,the d plays zone on him because he cant shoot mid range.

 

[hrdboild]

But, giving a D+ to someone when the exam proctor takes you out of the test and makes you stand outside in the hall before you're finished skews the whole thing, doesn't it?

Mod note: I moved the discussion of Kobe's injury to the NBA forum. - VF21

A fair point. I didn't know how to grade Tyreke in this one. He was just starting to get going when Smart benched him but it took him almost 16 minutes to do it. Is it Tyreke's fault that he has no role in the offense most of the time and Smart prefers his shot happy little guys to Tyreke's power game? Of course not. But I'm also looking at his overall effort and he wasn't much of a factor in any area while he was out there. If you want to mentally substitute the D+ for an Incomplete that wouldn't be out of line with my intent anyway. By his standards this was either a poor outing or an "I told you so" directed toward the sideline. Fortunately the end is nigh and hopefully that means games like this will also be a thing of the past.

 

[rainmaker]

A fair point. I didn't know how to grade Tyreke in this one. He was just starting to get going when Smart benched him but it took him almost 16 minutes to do it. Is it Tyreke's fault that he has no role in the offense most of the time and Smart prefers his shot happy little guys to Tyreke's power game? Of course not. But I'm also looking at his overall effort and he wasn't much of a factor in any area while he was out there. If you want to mentally substitute the D+ for an Incomplete that wouldn't be out of line with my intent anyway. By his standards this was either a poor outing or an "I told you so" directed toward the sideline. Fortunately the end is nigh and hopefully that means games like this will also be a thing of the past.

It is tough to grade Reke or anyone when the coach has a huge effect. But, while I don't question Reke's talent and do think this actually was his best all around year and we saw improvement in key areas, I do question his mentality. How someone with his talent level on this team allows themselves to be the 4th or 5th option on some nights and jsut sit back and take it, without demanding the ball I don't understand. I understand the coaching/ownership situation and it is a contract year so maybe Reke doesn't want to ruffle feathers. But starting next year with a new coach and ownership I'll be judging Reke much harsher when it comes to his mentality. It's not about being a good teammate or likable. He'll need to start demanding the ball and demanding being a top two option on this team the way it currently stands. Winning is most important. I've been concerned about Reke's lack of willingness to demand the ball all year. Sure the offense and Smart play a huge part, but there's nothing stopping him from demanding the ball the same way Cuz does. There's no reason he can't demand the ball from IT. There's no reason he should allow IT or Smart to take him out of the game to the point he takes only 7 shots.

No excuses next year.

 

[VF21]

It is tough to grade Reke or anyone when the coach has a huge effect. But, while I don't question Reke's talent and do think this actually was his best all around year and we saw improvement in key areas, I do question his mentality. How someone with his talent level on this team allows themselves to be the 4th or 5th option on some nights and jsut sit back and take it, without demanding the ball I don't understand. I understand the coaching/ownership situation and it is a contract year so maybe Reke doesn't want to ruffle feathers. But starting next year with a new coach and ownership I'll be judging Reke much harsher when it comes to his mentality. It's not about being a good teammate or likable. He'll need to start demanding the ball and demanding being a top two option on this team the way it currently stands. Winning is most important. I've been concerned about Reke's lack of willingness to demand the ball all year. Sure the offense and Smart play a huge part, but there's nothing stopping him from demanding the ball the same way Cuz does. There's no reason he can't demand the ball from IT. There's no reason he should allow IT or Smart to take him out of the game to the point he takes only 7 shots.

No excuses next year.

I view it from a totally different angle. I think Evans knows full well that this season is a lost cause, Smart is an utter and complete failure as a coach, and it would do him (Reke) absolutely no good whatsoever to go out there making demands and giving the coach or anyone else a reason to come down on him (earned or unearned).

 

[bajaden]

you just have to look at this: http://www.sbnation.com/2013/2/12/3...-offense-tim-duncan-tony-parker-manu-ginobili

and then you think about what the Kings are running and it just makes you cry. especially since that's not even much of a problem.

They ran that exact play with Bonner leaving JT to make a decision whether to guard the basket or Bonner, and twice JT stayed at the basket, and twice Bonner ended up hitting an open three. On one occasion Jimmer was running at him from down low where he had been involved in defending the pick and roll. The Spurs are like a well oiled machine.

 

[bajaden]

A fair point. I didn't know how to grade Tyreke in this one. He was just starting to get going when Smart benched him but it took him almost 16 minutes to do it. Is it Tyreke's fault that he has no role in the offense most of the time and Smart prefers his shot happy little guys to Tyreke's power game? Of course not. But I'm also looking at his overall effort and he wasn't much of a factor in any area while he was out there. If you want to mentally substitute the D+ for an Incomplete that wouldn't be out of line with my intent anyway. By his standards this was either a poor outing or an "I told you so" directed toward the sideline. Fortunately the end is nigh and hopefully that means games like this will also be a thing of the past.

Personally I think you gave him the proper grade. You do have to consider his bench time, but at the same time, you have to consider why he was benched in the first part. In the first half, Tyreke was almost invisible, and that was no one's fault but Tyreke's. As I've stated before, if he's not touching the ball, then he has to go over to IT or whomever, and demand the ball. He did start to get it going in the second half a little bit when he hit two threes, but other than those three's, he just wasn't very active. Three times when he had the ball he drove into the top of the key, and with the defense backing up to defend the basket he could have pulled up for a midrange jumper, but instead decided to pass the ball, and one time for a turnover.

Rainmaker said he gave Cousins, who scored the most points and dominated the second half a lower grade because he expects more from Cousins. And I think thats an acceptable reason. I think you can apply that same line of reasoning to Tyreke. If were going to call him our second best player, then he has to play like our second best player, and not our 5th or 6th best player like he did last night.

Edit: I just wanted to add, that my grades have nothing to do with how I might feel about a player in general, and have little influence on my grades. As much as I do understand that there are a lot of other circumstances involved in how a player might be performing, I really can't take those into consideration, other than perhaps mentioning them. I have to grade the player on his results, and not on what he ate for breakfast, whether he has a personal despute with his coach, or whether his PG doesn't like him. Those things might matter in the grand scheme of things, but they can't matter to my grade.

 

[mac]

It is tough to grade Reke or anyone when the coach has a huge effect. But, while I don't question Reke's talent and do think this actually was his best all around year and we saw improvement in key areas, I do question his mentality. How someone with his talent level on this team allows themselves to be the 4th or 5th option on some nights and jsut sit back and take it, without demanding the ball I don't understand. I understand the coaching/ownership situation and it is a contract year so maybe Reke doesn't want to ruffle feathers. But starting next year with a new coach and ownership I'll be judging Reke much harsher when it comes to his mentality. It's not about being a good teammate or likable. He'll need to start demanding the ball and demanding being a top two option on this team the way it currently stands. Winning is most important. I've been concerned about Reke's lack of willingness to demand the ball all year. Sure the offense and Smart play a huge part, but there's nothing stopping him from demanding the ball the same way Cuz does. There's no reason he can't demand the ball from IT. There's no reason he should allow IT or Smart to take him out of the game to the point he takes only 7 shots.

No excuses next year.

The problem is that Reke is absolutely conflict-averse. His brothers have said so, and you can just tell from his actions/personality. He is a guy that will succeed if you put him under a very strict coach who manages everything. That way, coach gives him orders and he goes out and executes. Any "conflict" is settled by the coach

 

[rainmaker]

I view it from a totally different angle. I think Evans knows full well that this season is a lost cause, Smart is an utter and complete failure as a coach, and it would do him (Reke) absolutely no good whatsoever to go out there making demands and giving the coach or anyone else a reason to come down on him (earned or unearned).

I mentioned that possibility in the next sentence. It's why I said I wouldn't judge his mentality seriously until next year.

 

[VF21]

I mentioned that possibility in the next sentence. It's why I said I wouldn't judge his mentality seriously until next year.

Oops. My bad... I should have read the entire thing before commenting.

 

[Padrino]

well, if Tyreke had the mid-range shooting abilities of HereWeStay, this would have been a different ball game

so, let's review tyreke's 2012-2013 season:

1) he's got no heart, unlike his much more distinguished teammate isaiah thomas
2) he lacks the mid-range ability of HereWeStay
3) well... i guess that's about it, right??

 

[pshn80]

Thanks for the grades and analysis. I haven't yet seen all of the game. Pop letting Jackson go was interesting. Certainly they are not new to each other. Let's see if we can put agood game together tomorrow against Cisco. Always nice to see a good game played by the Kings.

 

[Dreadnought]

well, if Tyreke had the mid-range shooting abilities of HereWeStay, this would have been a different ball game

trololol

 

[rainmaker]

Oops. My bad... I should have read the entire thing before commenting.

I worry a bit about Reke's passiveness. I also think it's a distinct possibility he's remained quiet due to the turmoil surrounding the team and didn't want to ruffle feathers. Don't want to cause problems when new ownership is coming in. He's probably been advised to act how he is publicly.

At the same time, demanding the ball as the second best player doesn't imo make you appear to be a problem player. Demanding the ball more from IT or Smart doesn't equate to being uncoachable or a cancer, even a bad teammate. It happens on every team in college and the NBA. It's one thing to take a backseat for a quarter or even a half, but when Reke goes multiple game just being passive, appearing comfortable being the 4th or 5th option, that to me is worrisome. And demanding the ball in huddles or on the court is different than demanding the ball through the media, I'm not suggesting he do that.

I very much hope it's more to do with advice he's received and the ownership situation and we'll see a change next year. I'll wait. You know me, it'll be tough to find someone who backs Reke more than I do. I've never wavered on the guy. But this is the one thing I do question and will until it changes. Reke is obviously a nice guy, a great teammates, wants to get along with everyone, but it can be to a fault.

 

[Cwebb#4]

Douglas still trying to convince us he isn't Brian Skinner. Play like this in SACRAMENTO next year, and you're the starting PG.