Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Team close but no cigar strikes again. This time we even had the perfect shot for the perfect player to take the shot at the buzzer...but no, of course not. Been going on for years around here. The positive in all this is that you get the distinct impression that as the opponents get weak here in the next month or two, Cuz comes back healthy, maybe jut maybe the gerbil finds another piece to help before the deadline...we're close enough it could turn. But learning how to win tight games is a great fuzzy area.
Note: Should probably note that some of that fuzzy area is not having your PG putting up nightly Iverson statlines (26 shots, 5ast woot!), not signing 6'8ish 30yr old PFs with no chance to defend big guys inside to 4 year contracts, and not hopping around like loons in excitement about the opportunity to draft rookie SGs who can't shoot.
Your Consoritum Graders tonight:
Bricklayer
Bajaden
Capt. Factorial
MassachusettsKingsFan
Boxscore
Stats: 37min 23pts (9-18, 1-1, 4-7) 7reb 6ast 5stl 0blk 0TO
Gay ( B- ) -- (Ed Note: Note I bumped this grade up from Cappy's original to bring it in line with the other grades submitted, but the text is his. He wasn't a happy camper.
) I'm dreading giving a grade to Rudy in this game. If you look at the boxscore, it tells you that he had an all-around solid game. And I won't quibble with the rebounds and the assists - Rudy was hitting the boards solidly and passing the ball very well (though that dropped off in the fourth quarter). But the shooting is a bit deceptive. Sure, he hit 9 of 18 on the night just like it says, but as much as Rudy was on fire in the first three quarters (9-13 for 22 points) he was just plain ice cold in the fourth when we needed him most. He went 0-5 (on a few questionable shots) and missed one of two free throws in the final frame, and after an already dismal quarter he got one-on-one coverage from Diaw on the baseline and pulled up high for a game-winning jumper (this one a very nice shot) that just came up short. If you noticed that Gay had five steals on the night, you'd be lulled into believing he had a great defensive night. You couldn't be more wrong. Of those five "steals", Rudy really came up with three. Three steals are three steals, but they aren't five. The other two were loose balls that he didn't knock loose, that just happened to go straight to him. He did nothing special other than actually pick the ball up. And much of the rest of his defense was putrid. For instance, he just was not watching Belinelli at all and allowed an easy cut to the basket to put the Spurs up 3 midway through the first. Then he did it AGAIN against Diaw, allowing a cut down the lane and a layup to let the Spurs within 1 late in the second. He inexplicably left Matt Bonner wide open early in the fourth quarter for an easy jumper, then immediately followed that up by not picking up Bonner in transition - so blatantly that Matt Bonner was able to drive to the hoop for a basket. Bonner hasn't been able to drive to the hoop since he was a sophomore in high school! Then, with about a minute left in a tied game and two seconds on the shot clock he played about ten feet off Tony Parker when he was switched over, allowing Parker to make a wide open three. Two seconds on the shot clock in a tied game and he couldn't be bothered to play defense! Needless to say, I'm irate at Rudy's lack of effort on the defensive end all night (20 points allowed on 12 shots) and when you look at his grade and compare it to the box score, remember that the boxscore doesn't show that he pretty much singlehandedly lost this game for us with lazy defense and terribl shooting in the fourth.--Capt.Stats: 34min 10pts (3-6, 0-0, 4-4) 7reb 0ast 0stl 2blk 1TO
Thompson ( B ) -- Jason played a pretty good game overall. Nothing spectacular, just solid. He managed to get through the first half with just one foul, and that's usually an indication that JT will contribute. He got off to a slow start by getting fouled the first time he touched the ball, but it was non shooting. On the next possession he took a 15 footer and missed. Gay helped prime the pump with a nice pass to JT at the basket and a layup. In one sequence, JT scored with a nice post move off the glass, and then blocked a shot at the other end of the floor. He went to the bench with 1:44 left in the first, and returned with 6:19 left in the second. After picking up his first foul guarding Duncan, he missed a 16 foot jumper. He then missed a layup, but was fouled and made both freethrows. Then came what was probably his Kodac play of the night. He threw down a spectacular dunk off a feed from McLemore. The second half was less eventful, but he did have another nice block, and he played good defense on Duncan. He got called for a technical that I thought was undeserved. Probably a good chance it gets overturned by the league office. JT only had 7 boards for the night, so no double/double. All in all, a pretty good game.--Baja
Stats: 14min 1pts (0-1, 0-0, 1-2) 9reb 1ast 0stl 0blk 1TO
Gray ( B ) -- battling with Duncan in the early going, and outside of one ugly little sweeping hook thing when IT gave it to him to go 1 on 1 v Duncan, he was doing his job. Was on the glass, and came as close as anybody to slowing Duncan down. Fouls and inherent limitations would limit his minutes, but would take what he was doing out there against Duncan 100 times out of a 100 over Carl Landry trying to slow him. Was back for the start of the third, and until he picked up his 4th foul and was forgotten about for the rest of the night, played a strong active third quarter for us. Got a good offensive reb in the early 3rd over Duncan, and did a good job staying big defending the break, and stopped recently back in the NBA Shannon Brown. Added another offensive board and racked up 9 rebs in just 14+min of action, and it helped us as we again threatened to knock off one of the old Texas giants. Wasn't all perfect, his limitations were still there. Got beat off the dribble by Duncan in a slow motion version of the IT/Parker matchup, and fouled him for the +1. Traveled on another post attempt against Duncan, this one set up by a nice pass by Gay. Eventually picked up his 4th foul on a little touch foul and left the game with us up 5. We would eventually lose by 2, with his only time on the court in the 4th a single instance in the final seconds of being put in the game to grab a potential missed FT. And the general impression was we were better with him out there than not. --Brick
Stats: 35min 8pts (3-11, 0-1, 2-2) 2reb 1ast 0stl 0blk 0TO
Thornton ( D ) -- This was a rough game for Marcus. Around this time last week it looked like Thornton was starting to break out of this season long slump he’s been in, and then Rudy Gay came back and he got squeezed out of the offense yet again. That’s about the best excuse I can make for Thornton. He isn’t getting the amount of shots he’s used to getting, but he doesn’t necessarily deserve them anyway. He was missing open jumpers. He was missing forced jumpers. And I still didn’t hate what I saw out of Thornton outside of the poor shooting. He had one tiny little stretch in the third quarter where he made back-to-back buckets that I had hoped would get him going, but nothing ever came of it. I thought he competed hard on defense (worth noting he never had to defend a real offensive threat) and he made a few nice passes that unfortunately only led to one assist. It was the kind of game Kings shooting guards have played all year. Little impact, barely noticeable on the court. --Mass
Stats: 38min 26pts (11-26, 2-9, 2-2) 2reb 5ast 1stl 0blk 2TO
Iverson ( C+ ) -- okay, well last time I graded IT I thin he threw up 31 shots. This time it was only 26, so improvement and all that. I actually started taking notes noting which shot he was on. "And for his 22nd shot he..." They were long notes. Started the game missing again on a little flip in the lane, and then an open midranger, but that isn't the sort of thing likely to discourage the Hustlin' Huskey! No sirree! So after getting blown by by Parker on one end, he raced out the ohter way after Acy made the block block and got a quick hoop in the open court. Followed that by playing keepaway from his teammtes, but finishing the +1 in the paint. Got 9 shots up in the first, hit 3 flips and layups, missed the rest. Made a good defensive recovery and challenge on a Mills jumper, but just only looking for his own shots, getting into the midrange, and missing flips, or getting blocked at the rim, Finally got an easy layup on the break on a great Thornton pass, The after getting flat beat off the dribble by Parker finally got a jumper to fall on his 13th shot of the first half and that appeared to wake him up as Gay set him up for a long two with 5 secs to go in the half and he hit that one too to wrap up the half 5 of 14. But then shot over by Bellinelli for a three the other way. Started off the third cold again, and that had a pleasant effect because for a few minutes he actually quit gunning. Defense during the time was a mixed bag, as he was flat beat by Parker cleanly on half a dozen occasions, but also came up with a handful of good challenges. When beat didn't appear to be a major effort thing, just a Parker was better at offense (although not terribly effective) than IT is on defense thing. Finally broke his long self imposed 3-4 minute shooting exile with a tough +1 in the lane, and he was off shooting again with Gay out, and managed to get himself up to 22 FGA by the end of the third with a solid 9 shot lead over his closest competitor in Gay. Kept on trying to keep his dribble alive and force his own looks in the 4th (in the process picking up 0 4th quarter assists), but didn't gun up the shots until near the end of the game. Used a pick and missed a three at the 3min mark. Dribbled around until the 24 seciond clock was almost finished and forced a bricked 26 foot three over Tim Duncan at the 2min mark and his grade was in freefall. However these things are never as simple as all that, and in the final minute hit two big shots on a foot set three on a Rudy pass, and then a pullup off his own dribble on his 26th shot, and we were in a position to win it. I'm sure he'd tell you if you'd just let me take #27... 26pts on 26shots, raw productivity but my lord Isaiah...enough already. Got the + for the two late shots.--Brick
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