[Grades] Grades v. Suns 3/29/11

[Agent23]

I was a little surprised at his criticism of Reke and it didn't deem like CWebb being critical of Cuz which is a helpful thing. He jsut doesn't aapreciate or like or see how Reke can fit on the floor. Odd.

He probably falls along the lines of people that don't see him as a PG. I don't agree with him but I agree that Marcus Thornton may be the best thing to ever happen to him.

 

[Sac.Kings]

How do you guys think we stack up against the Nuggets? They have been on a tear at home (10 straight and the average margin is around 20 points) and are full of confidence. I think we stack up relatively well against them, but they do have a lot of pieces and have good shooters, so perimeter defense will have to be on in order for us to win. I will be pulling for a win... it will be a big time statement if we can somehow pull it off !

 

[Bricklayer]

His basketball knowledge is amazing, I can agree with you on that. His criticism of Reke and Donte isn't that far off either. I just don't like hearing about the Lakers during OUR own broadcast, lol.

Oh its pretty far off.

And people need to quit kowtowing to "great basketball knowledge" when it comes packaged in idiot form. Bill's "great basketball knowledge" is so compromised, not to mention largely forgotten about as he talks about anything but the game at hand, as to be useless. Its clear he does not know the players very well. He has severe, and I do mean severe prejudices toward basically his own background -- big men and what I'll call Coach Wooden's system. And of course L.A./Boston. You throw in a splash of aging hippie new age mumbo jumbo and you have...an idiot. Do not ever make the mistake of thinking he exceeds you just because he's a famous name.

 

[pshn80]

Oh its pretty far off.

And people need to quit kowtowing to "great basketball knowledge" when it comes packaged in idiot form. Bill's "great basketball knowledge" is so compromised, not to mention largely forgotten about as he talks about anything but the game at hand, as to be useless. Its clear he does not know the players very well. He has severe, and I do mean severe prejudices toward basically his own background -- big men and what I'll call Coach Wooden's system. And of course L.A./Boston. You throw in a splash of aging hippie new age mumbo jumbo and you have...an idiot. Do not ever make the mistake of thinking he exceeds you just because he's a famous name.

I'm not sure basketball knowledge is his problem. I think its mainly ego and a motor mouth. Soundtrack wise, it's just hard to take for very long, interesting, informed or not.

 

[Glenn]

Oh its pretty far off.

And people need to quit kowtowing to "great basketball knowledge" when it comes packaged in idiot form. Bill's "great basketball knowledge" is so compromised, not to mention largely forgotten about as he talks about anything but the game at hand, as to be useless. Its clear he does not know the players very well. He has severe, and I do mean severe prejudices toward basically his own background -- big men and what I'll call Coach Wooden's system. And of course L.A./Boston. You throw in a splash of aging hippie new age mumbo jumbo and you have...an idiot. Do not ever make the mistake of thinking he exceeds you just because he's a famous name.

Did you like Howard Cossell?

I guess I just scrape aside what I don't like and get what goodies I can. CWebb is a good announcer as I think he understands individual skills far better than Bill. "Throw it down one time." CWebb would tell you why or why not. CWebb should have a very good career. A tad more charming also. And as a short, heterosexual, and lily white male, he's damn fine good looking and I doubt anyony would say that about Bill. I remember Bill in college with his big hair-do and he was a man among boys. Hard to believe.

I've mastred my problems with Grant. It's what he says and not because he is from New York. I grew up with people who talked like Jerry so he isn't a problem for me. Many farmers in Minnesota sound like Jerry in a way. I started in a farming community. It is an odd sound but sounds like home to me. I could pick which mutilation of the English language is Minnesotan and what is semi-foreign like Jerry. His sense of humor is pure small town Midwest.

 

[LPKingsFan]

I've mastred my problems with Grant. It's what he says and not because he is from New York. I grew up with people who talked like Jerry so he isn't a problem for me. Many farmers in Minnesota sound like Jerry in a way. I started in a farming community. It is an odd sound but sounds like home to me. I could pick which mutilation of the English language is Minnesotan and what is semi-foreign like Jerry. His sense of humor is pure small town Midwest.

That's a good take. I think the pairing of Grant's brash New Yorker and Jerry's bumbling Midwesterner is what makes the duo so enjoyable. And the lack of such a counterpart makes Grant's radio show so difficult.

 

[CruzDude]

Evans seems to be coming into his own, a new Evans based on Thorntons success. NBA.com in their game summary had this to say about Evans production in only 25 minutes:

Evans was medically limited to 25-27 minutes on Tuesday night, yet he nearly had a triple-double in the 25 minutes he did play. He recorded 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, easing back onto the floor after missing 19 games after surgery on his left foot due to plantar fasciitis. He said he feels good and he expects to play 30-35 minutes on Friday night and may start.

The Kings ability to get into run-and-gun with the Suns yet to defend them just enough to stymie them in the end is a demo of the progress they are making. It has been bits and pieces of progress for more than a month now but once Thornton became a piece of the puzzle with Evans out, it now appears to be coming together. JT is improving and Omri showed a new style with 4 assists and running the floor as always. Beno is Beno and the steady one so far and a good match with Evans and Thornton when Kings want to go small.

 

[pshn80]

Brick, as the season winds down, I thank you again for all your work in putting together for our benefit your detailed analysis of each player in each game. Your hard work and good product is really appreciated by me. Thank you.

 

[kennadog]

Thornton ( A ) -- and yet another big game for Marcus. Lack of size actually a problem on defense early against the Suns with Hill/Dudley out there together. Was giving up 4 inches and 20 lbs and it showed. But as usual got it back the other way. And not only with his own scoring -- had a nice little quick dropoff pass tpo Donte on the break for the dunk and continues to show himself a great passer in the open court. And added a nifty pass on the pick and roll as well, ad he has shown he knows how to deliver the ball in those situations too. Made a mistake out of the timeout for the last shot of the half, as he got picked from behind and let the Suns race the other way to take the lead. Began to really show up on the glass after the break, not only grabbing multiple d-boards back there amongst the trees, but grabbing a couple of incrediblty athletic offensive rebounds inside on one play before finally getting the layup. Kept on peppering in points against a defense which of course will let you do that, but ended up sitting out most of the 4th as Reke and Beno, with a healthy assist from Omri, were leading a huge run to take control of the game back. When he finally did return to the game wiht a shade under 3 minutes to go, it was for Omri instead of Reke/Beno, and we got our first look at the three guard lineup in the crunch, and it did well. Not his best distance shooting night, but hit the huge three by with 50 seconds to go to give us the lead back. Also came up with the big defensive rebound off the Suns miss with 14 seconds to go, got fouled, and hit the FTs to push the lead to 6 and largely secure the win.

For those arguing whether we're better off with Martin of Thorton, here's one big reason I take Thornton. Efficient scorer, but I think Martin was generally allergic to rebounds. Thornton and Evans were grabbing them all over the place.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

The Thornton-Martin argument is a good one to have, but I dont think its even close.

The Marcus Thornton we have seen, which is a small sample of course, is a much better, much more complete player than Martin was or is right now. You can call the scoring ability of both players a tie. I personally like how Marcus gets his points, he is a better ball handler, much better passer, and has a much more versatile offensive game. We can actually post him up with some success .. tell me when you ever saw Kevin do that?

Thornton also crushes Martin in the clutch catagory. We were lucky if Kevin even got a shot off when he was our 'closer'. Thornton can be the closer, or the Robin to Tyrekes Batman late in games. Even in this short sample size Thornton has made plenty of clutch baskets. He wants it.

Toughness is also a no brainer for Marcus. Very good agressive rebounder. Tough defender when he wants to be...

I'll take the Marcus Thonrton we have seen over the past two weeks over Kevin Martin anyday. Lets just hope Marcus keeps it up.

 

[Glenn]

Brick, as the season winds down, I thank you again for all your work in putting together for our benefit your detailed analysis of each player in each game. Your hard work and good product is really appreciated by me. Thank you.

Double dat!

 

[bloom]

What i've liked about watching the last several games is echoed by Donte

Kings Forward Donte Greene

Winning 4th straight game

“Guys aren’t selfish anymore to be honest with you. When we lost to Philly (at home) a lot of the guys were out there being selfish. We sat down and had a team meeting. We got everything out and everything is clicking. So we just got to keep going.”

Ball movement

“We just moved the ball. We’re having fun out there and playing together. Everybody wants to see everybody do well. Omri (Casspi) came off the bench tonight. He came in and gave us the energy we needed, the defense, got some points. Myself. Marcus (Thornton) did a great job. It was really a team effort tonight.”

That’s what I noticed. They were having fun and playing with each other. You saw how each of them worked together and congratulated one another. This is what I love to see and have been hoping to see. It’s great that they’re finally clicking. I love this team!

 

[Superman]

His basketball knowledge is amazing, I can agree with you on that. His criticism of Reke and Donte isn't that far off either. I just don't like hearing about the Lakers during OUR own broadcast, lol.

His criticism of Donte Greene was incredibly misplaced in last night's game. You have a guy come in off the bench in a game in which the two teams combined for 64 first quarter points, and you find a way to dog him every time he touches the ball for not playing defense??? You say "Donte Greene, what are you going to do other than look to shoot the ball every time you touch it?" Meanwhile, your whipping boy is 7-9 from the field and helping the team fight back from a ten point deficit.

I'll be the first to criticize Donte for not rebounding, for not getting back on defense. It just wasn't the game last night to do that, not with both teams shooting over 50%. That was the game where you praise him for carrying the team's offense through the second quarter.

And then with Tyreke, it was like he was just trying to find anything negative he could say about him, warranted or not. It's not really about what he was saying, it was the fact that you could tell he was just itching to throw some criticism his way. That's not the kind of commentary people want to hear while their team is in the middle of a good old-fashioned shootout.

 

[hrdboild]

Last night Thornton drilled a three pointer late in the fourth quarter that was probably the biggest shot of the game. The pass was a little off the mark but he caught it anyway and shot it without hesitation, in rhythm, with a defender right in his face. We all know what Martin would have done -- jumped into the defender to try and get a foul call. That's the difference between their games in a nutshell.