Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Artest ( A- ) -- This was Ron's the-team-is-flat-so-let-me-take-over game. And until the very end, that was a good thing. We were miserable for most of the night but Ron kept on leading hustle charges to pull us back just before it reached true blowout level. And then in the early 4th he led the charge that blossomed into a full fledged 4th quarter comeback. With our guys just flat and lacking energy, Ron was taking a ton of shots, and hitting just enough of them to keep it on the Ron is leading side of the equation rather than the Ron is gunning side. Was really playing the human battering ram down inside tonight. Interesting display of the Artest power was watching him bounce even Marion around inside like he was Kevin Martin. Wasn't always pretty, and there were turnovers and forces mixed n. But Phoenix was acutely aware of the threat he posed and started coming with some extremely quick and aggressive doubles on him in the 2nd, and Ron was a bit slow to recognize, not that there was much time to do so. Led us on that final push in the 4th to draw us back into it, but was unable to seal the deal. Just crossed that invisible line into gunning and forced and failed too many times in the last two minutes. Still, the man carried us for most of the night, and without him constantly exhoritng us with words and deeds this one gets real ugly and stays that way. So an A- seems about right.
Thomas ( B- ) -- grabbed a few early boards but otherwise not very effective in the first half. Had a solid third quarter though, and then came in to join the rest of our hustle group that powered back into the game in the 4th quarter. As usual, Kenny's particular contribution to the run was his rebounding, but also is working ok as an offensive roleplayer right now either spotting up or cutting to the hoop and letting Ron create his shots for him.
Miller ( B- ) --nothing much in the first quarter, and was laboring to keep up in the fast paced game. But was able to score a few hoops in the second quarter with the world's slowest ugliest post game -- in this case closer to an "I'm 7'0" and you're a guard so I'm just going to lumber down here into the paint, catch the ball, and turn around and dump it in the hoop" game than a true post game. But it worked, and it got him going and sparked the ugliest quarter-long scoring outburst in NBA history. Best scorer we had, but this was not a thing of beauty. Kept on scoring in the ugliest possible fashion through the third. But despite being our leading scorer at that point, Rick made an interesting decision. Brad was scoring. Scoring ugly. But scoring. But he wasn't much on the glass, and of course this unorthodox team had guys running around him on the other end like his feet were glued the floor. And so Rick went with an experimental smallball (well, did have a big PG) lineup to start the 4th, and damn if it didn't finally begin to make a run for us. And so Brad ended up never returning despite being the only other guy than Artest giving us a game at the point he left the game. Not a great game mind you. It was ugly. But a game at least.
Martin ( B+ ) -- got off to one of the better starts he has had recently on the road, but there was still something missing. That spark or joy or confidence or whatever it is he has at home. And he quieted way down for a long long time and it looked like it was going to be another lackluster road effort. Unable to slow down Nash after getting switched over onto him. And was basically a nonfactor out there....until it really mattered. And then Kevin had what might be a bit of a breakthrough for him. We'll have to see whether it leads anywhere of course, but its the sort of thing that can be a foundation. On the road, not playing terribly well, in a season when he has rarely played well on the road, and Kevin stepped up late in a close game and started scoring for us and earned his minutes down the stretch. Also chipped in by getting back to help on the defensive glass. A key for us all season long with the frontline struggling to control the boards. In the end finished up with a solid statistical night with 1st and 4th quarter bookends. And while he never dominated action, he showed flashes and continued to find ways to score despite drawing defensive attention on the night,
Bibby ( F ) -- oh Mike, Mike, Mike! This is the game you just can't have. You can't be this bad or we lose. Simple as that. Got off to a poor first quarter offensively, and Nash was hot on the other end. And it never really picked up. Looked completely out of it out there. Expressionless. And impotent. Missed his shots, obviously, but the Suns also seemed to be absolutely all over everything he did. Knew every move he was going to make, every pass he was going to attempt. And the only emotion he showed all night was a sort of flat, grumpy, frustration. Ended up heading to the bench in the 4th and watching as Cisco came in and played the point (as is often the case, really Cisco brings it up, and Artest runs the team), resulting in us going on a big run. And even after that unit brought us all the way back within striking distance, Mike had stunk it up so badly that Rick actually left Mike Bibby on the bench in a crunchtime situation in favor of a rookie and a 2nd year player (Cisco + Martin). Worst part was it was the right call. Just a flat out sucky night.
Garcia ( B ) -- in the first half made a few minor contributions including making a nice hustle play running down Shawn Marion from behind on a breakaway, and then hitting a three despite some of the worst footwork I've ever seen on a shot. But his moment to shine came in the 4th when Rick finally just had seen enough of Bibby and Hart, and went with a what the hell lineup of Garcia, Martin, Artest, Thomas and Reef to see what would happen. And what happened was we clearly got better as a team with Cisco taking over for Mike. Now how much of that was directly Cisco is debateable -- he wasn't spectacular out there. But in his limited role he was steady. Something Mike could not muster tonight (well Cisco was steady except for some..um...let's call it "adventuresome" dribbling displays that looked like me trying to dribble left handed after a couple of beers). And with his size gave us a whole pack of 6'7" athletic guys to match against the Suns whole pack of 6'7" athletic guys.
Reef ( B+ ) -- pretty good first half stint, and looking more confident again. Came back in the 4th and again helped. Was able to take advantage of the mini-Suns inside with his post skills as he did back in the early season and contributed to our run to make a game of it. Grabbed a few good boards, but also didn't even go for a few he should have had. And might have tired there a bit late. After some nice plays earlier in the 4th, got quiet down the stretch. Basically played the role, and the minutes, of a scoring 6th man tonight.
Hart ( F ) -- Came in to start the second quarter in place of the ineffective Bibby. Hard to tell whether this meant the idea was for him to reemerge into the rotation, or whether it was just because Mike was struggling so badly. But after this showing...just more ick. Got lit up by the man he replaced in Sacto, Eddie House. Not entirely his fault as the shots House was hitting were just eye-popping, lightning release off balance three pointers. Nonetheless it seems so obvious who is better now. Wonder why it wasn't that clear last summer?
Adelman ( B ) -- wow, what happened to the defensive intensity? We just looked disorganized and confused for most of the night. Say what you will about the offense, but that's not the problem when you score 104. the problem is that the other team scored 112. We had a chance to really get back into it in the early 3rd, when the Suns came out of halftime every bit as flat as we were. But we just had nothing and it looked like we had squandered our opportunity. But then a funny thing happened. No sooner had the Suns come pretty damn close to putting a dagger in the heart and giving it a nice squishy twist with a three point bomb to open the 4th and make the lead 20, than all of a sudden we woke up. Not only woke up, but made it so tight that we had a legitimate chance to pull this one out. Made up 18 of the 20 points of that lead in the space of about 8-9 minutes. And maybe Rick deserves some of the credit there. Because after watching his team struggle for the whole night, after watching Mike and Jason struggle not to turn it into a debacle, Rick finally got tired of it and went with a brand new all mid-sized lineup in the early 4th that turned the game for us. Cisco, Kevin, Ron, Kenny, and Reef. No true point. No true center. Mike and Brad both to the bench never to return. And with Ron leading the charge, it worked in a big way. So big in fact that Rick decided to stick with that unit right through the end of the game. No late return for the stalwarts. Came up short, but has to be a confidence booster for the kids in particular.
Thomas ( B- ) -- grabbed a few early boards but otherwise not very effective in the first half. Had a solid third quarter though, and then came in to join the rest of our hustle group that powered back into the game in the 4th quarter. As usual, Kenny's particular contribution to the run was his rebounding, but also is working ok as an offensive roleplayer right now either spotting up or cutting to the hoop and letting Ron create his shots for him.
Miller ( B- ) --nothing much in the first quarter, and was laboring to keep up in the fast paced game. But was able to score a few hoops in the second quarter with the world's slowest ugliest post game -- in this case closer to an "I'm 7'0" and you're a guard so I'm just going to lumber down here into the paint, catch the ball, and turn around and dump it in the hoop" game than a true post game. But it worked, and it got him going and sparked the ugliest quarter-long scoring outburst in NBA history. Best scorer we had, but this was not a thing of beauty. Kept on scoring in the ugliest possible fashion through the third. But despite being our leading scorer at that point, Rick made an interesting decision. Brad was scoring. Scoring ugly. But scoring. But he wasn't much on the glass, and of course this unorthodox team had guys running around him on the other end like his feet were glued the floor. And so Rick went with an experimental smallball (well, did have a big PG) lineup to start the 4th, and damn if it didn't finally begin to make a run for us. And so Brad ended up never returning despite being the only other guy than Artest giving us a game at the point he left the game. Not a great game mind you. It was ugly. But a game at least.
Martin ( B+ ) -- got off to one of the better starts he has had recently on the road, but there was still something missing. That spark or joy or confidence or whatever it is he has at home. And he quieted way down for a long long time and it looked like it was going to be another lackluster road effort. Unable to slow down Nash after getting switched over onto him. And was basically a nonfactor out there....until it really mattered. And then Kevin had what might be a bit of a breakthrough for him. We'll have to see whether it leads anywhere of course, but its the sort of thing that can be a foundation. On the road, not playing terribly well, in a season when he has rarely played well on the road, and Kevin stepped up late in a close game and started scoring for us and earned his minutes down the stretch. Also chipped in by getting back to help on the defensive glass. A key for us all season long with the frontline struggling to control the boards. In the end finished up with a solid statistical night with 1st and 4th quarter bookends. And while he never dominated action, he showed flashes and continued to find ways to score despite drawing defensive attention on the night,
Bibby ( F ) -- oh Mike, Mike, Mike! This is the game you just can't have. You can't be this bad or we lose. Simple as that. Got off to a poor first quarter offensively, and Nash was hot on the other end. And it never really picked up. Looked completely out of it out there. Expressionless. And impotent. Missed his shots, obviously, but the Suns also seemed to be absolutely all over everything he did. Knew every move he was going to make, every pass he was going to attempt. And the only emotion he showed all night was a sort of flat, grumpy, frustration. Ended up heading to the bench in the 4th and watching as Cisco came in and played the point (as is often the case, really Cisco brings it up, and Artest runs the team), resulting in us going on a big run. And even after that unit brought us all the way back within striking distance, Mike had stunk it up so badly that Rick actually left Mike Bibby on the bench in a crunchtime situation in favor of a rookie and a 2nd year player (Cisco + Martin). Worst part was it was the right call. Just a flat out sucky night.
Garcia ( B ) -- in the first half made a few minor contributions including making a nice hustle play running down Shawn Marion from behind on a breakaway, and then hitting a three despite some of the worst footwork I've ever seen on a shot. But his moment to shine came in the 4th when Rick finally just had seen enough of Bibby and Hart, and went with a what the hell lineup of Garcia, Martin, Artest, Thomas and Reef to see what would happen. And what happened was we clearly got better as a team with Cisco taking over for Mike. Now how much of that was directly Cisco is debateable -- he wasn't spectacular out there. But in his limited role he was steady. Something Mike could not muster tonight (well Cisco was steady except for some..um...let's call it "adventuresome" dribbling displays that looked like me trying to dribble left handed after a couple of beers). And with his size gave us a whole pack of 6'7" athletic guys to match against the Suns whole pack of 6'7" athletic guys.
Reef ( B+ ) -- pretty good first half stint, and looking more confident again. Came back in the 4th and again helped. Was able to take advantage of the mini-Suns inside with his post skills as he did back in the early season and contributed to our run to make a game of it. Grabbed a few good boards, but also didn't even go for a few he should have had. And might have tired there a bit late. After some nice plays earlier in the 4th, got quiet down the stretch. Basically played the role, and the minutes, of a scoring 6th man tonight.
Hart ( F ) -- Came in to start the second quarter in place of the ineffective Bibby. Hard to tell whether this meant the idea was for him to reemerge into the rotation, or whether it was just because Mike was struggling so badly. But after this showing...just more ick. Got lit up by the man he replaced in Sacto, Eddie House. Not entirely his fault as the shots House was hitting were just eye-popping, lightning release off balance three pointers. Nonetheless it seems so obvious who is better now. Wonder why it wasn't that clear last summer?
Adelman ( B ) -- wow, what happened to the defensive intensity? We just looked disorganized and confused for most of the night. Say what you will about the offense, but that's not the problem when you score 104. the problem is that the other team scored 112. We had a chance to really get back into it in the early 3rd, when the Suns came out of halftime every bit as flat as we were. But we just had nothing and it looked like we had squandered our opportunity. But then a funny thing happened. No sooner had the Suns come pretty damn close to putting a dagger in the heart and giving it a nice squishy twist with a three point bomb to open the 4th and make the lead 20, than all of a sudden we woke up. Not only woke up, but made it so tight that we had a legitimate chance to pull this one out. Made up 18 of the 20 points of that lead in the space of about 8-9 minutes. And maybe Rick deserves some of the credit there. Because after watching his team struggle for the whole night, after watching Mike and Jason struggle not to turn it into a debacle, Rick finally got tired of it and went with a brand new all mid-sized lineup in the early 4th that turned the game for us. Cisco, Kevin, Ron, Kenny, and Reef. No true point. No true center. Mike and Brad both to the bench never to return. And with Ron leading the charge, it worked in a big way. So big in fact that Rick decided to stick with that unit right through the end of the game. No late return for the stalwarts. Came up short, but has to be a confidence booster for the kids in particular.
Last edited:
