[Grades] Grades v. Thunder 1/4/2016

[Blob]

The Kings won this game because of their bench led by Marco then Rondo then Boogie. I am not sure what all the fuss is about 11 for 27 FGs.

With Rudy having a C- game and without Omri, if Marco has his typical 8-10 point game, there is less of a margin error in the 4th and the Kings fold on the road. The biggest play was the 6 point swing at 108-100 off missed 3 by Westbrook led to an and-1 by Rudy. Instead of 108-103 it became 111-100 and the fat lady was singing.

Anyway when a team scores 116 points and one guy is 11 for 27 that tells me one player had trouble putting the ball in the hoop and teammates didn't, backed up by 41% FGs from Boogie and 47% FGs by team.

But I like the 2016 Boogie vs the 2015 Boogie so far because he is moving better and trying not force the issue. Karl has repeated this mantra in interviews lately about sharing the ball, making the simple play, trusting the pass, yada yada yada and maybe it is finally sinking in for Boogie.

Only took 5 1/2 seasons

The 19 rebounds show me he is more lively going after the ball which means maybe the tendonitis in his feet has subsided. We don't know because he has quirky thing about discussing injuries. He doesn't like to.

But the stat that jumps out of the box score is only 1 TO because normally when Boogie plays 38 minutes he is good for 4 TOs with each turnover a potential 2-4 point swing.

With Rondo tallying 6 TOs the team can absorb those because he is dishing 19 dimes, good for better than 3:1 ratio. 4 TOs from your center who gets a couple of assists is quite injurious to the collective objective.

Boogie tipped in his own miss once or twice and in my mind this is effectively one shot. This is another sign his health is returning to get off his feet on second attempt. So I give him an effective FGs of 11-25 FGs if you follow my line of thought. This is more efficient with efficiency of rest of team but still avoiding stupid throw aways and aggressiveness on the boards impress me more than a vicious throw down when he has a red carpet lane to the rim.

This win makes up for Portland and a win tonight on back-to-back makes up for 76ers.

The Mavs record is deceiving because I think they are smoke and mirrors team led by a brilliant coach and we match up well against them. Boogie needs to get ZaZa in foul trouble. Rudy needs to iso Dirk and I would like to see Karl go one deeper in his rotation and maybe give Curry run and play Willie extended minutes in 2nd quarter to keep Boogie fresh for crunch time.

It would be nice for Rudy to get hot. Hopefully that meaningless corner 3 he hit at end of last night has carryover. Its weird but a score once the game is over can be significant like that to a guy who has been launching like Stevie Wonder after all night bender.

 

[ockingsfan]

Sean Cunningham ‏@SeanCunningham 11h11 hours ago
Willie Cauley-Stein had 3 stitches in middle finger - listed as day to day going forward. Not same finger as before.

James Ham ‏@James_Ham 11h11 hours ago
3 stitches in Willie Cauley-Stein’s right middle finger. Listed as day-to-day.

WCS needs to learn ASAP to stop hitting the backboard!!!

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

The Kings won this game because of their bench led by Marco then Rondo then Boogie. I am not sure what all the fuss is about 11 for 27 FGs...

 

[Blob]

I gave Boogie credit for his performance to the degree it was due. We outscored their bench 52-28. And Rondo was 13/19/9/5. Both contributions are more significant than 11 for 27 FGs.

 

[Glenn]

Boogie was channeling his inner Moses Malone. His dominance in the paint allows for many misses and subsequent rebounds. If there is a stat that measures simply how often he scores when he is at the rim and ignores the number of misses and rebounds gathered, I think we would see he is just using a special physical trait he has and that is his size. Moses was quicker but the effect was similar.

As an aside, imagine a team with Dr. J, Moses, and Mo Cheeks.

 

[SacKings384]

Boogie's shooting percentage was lower because he had a few where he was just throwing the ball at the rim because he had inside position to grab the offensive board and put it back in.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I gave Boogie credit for his performance to the degree it was due. We outscored their bench 52-28. And Rondo was 13/19/9/5. Both contributions are more significant than 11 for 27 FGs.

I'll be polite, and say that your distilling of Cousins' impact on last night game to "11 for 27" is totally specious.

 

[Blob]

I'll be polite, and say that your distilling of Cousins' impact on last night game to "11 for 27" is totally specious.

You strike me as passive aggressive as much as polite. If you read my original synopsis you will see where credit deserved was granted, including lack of normal TOs and attack of the boards and relative patience in attacking. I didn't distill his contribution to 11-27 FGs in my original post, did I? Or do you just read want you want to read to allow you to take exception and post GIFs???

The problem I have with Boogie defenders like you is they overcompensate for the irrational critics of Boogie when rational critics like myself come along.

Boogie is not a good post player. Period. There is a silly perspective that says if only Boogie was resigned to the post all would be well. But Boogie is not Hakeem or Malone or Ewing no matter how hard you try to fit a square peg into a round hole. Boogie is a power player a la LeBron. He should be patterning his game after LeBron as much as any player in terms of balance between attack and decoy.....and various points of attack.

But this post-modern definition and role of a power player might be too forward thinking for some to wrap their heads around, not you necessarily but in general.

Boogie's struggles, namely finishing in the paint with touch and savvy and footwork, reflect his weakness as a player. Irrational Boogie defenders who overreact to the irrational Boogie critics stopped seeing his weakness. So they blame it on the coach or the system. I don't. I think he is a great player with a below average post game. As they say on Game of Thrones, "it is known". At least to those in the know.

 

[Glenn]

You strike me as passive aggressive as much as polite. If you read my original synopsis you will see where credit deserved was granted, including lack of normal TOs and attack of the boards and relative patience in attacking. I didn't distill his contribution to 11-27 FGs in my original post, did I? Or do you just read want you want to read to allow you to take exception and post GIFs???

The problem I have with Boogie defenders like you is they overcompensate for the irrational critics of Boogie when rational critics like myself come along.

Boogie is not a good post player. Period. There is a silly perspective that says if only Boogie was resigned to the post all would be well. But Boogie is not Hakeem or Malone or Ewing no matter how hard you try to fit a square peg into a round hole. Boogie is a power player a la LeBron. He should be patterning his game after LeBron as much as any player in terms of balance between attack and decoy.....and various points of attack.

But this post-modern definition and role of a power player might be too forward thinking for some to wrap their heads around, not you necessarily but in general.

Boogie's struggles, namely finishing in the paint with touch and savvy and footwork, reflect his weakness as a player. Irrational Boogie defenders who overreact to the irrational Boogie critics stopped seeing his weakness. So they blame it on the coach or the system. I don't. I think he is a great player with a below average post game. As they say on Game of Thrones, "it is known". At least to those in the know.

Passive aggressive and Mr. Citrus' name do not belong in the same response. My goodness.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

You strike me as passive aggressive as much as polite. If you read my original synopsis you will see where credit deserved was granted, including lack of normal TOs and attack of the boards and relative patience in attacking. I didn't distill his contribution to 11-27 FGs in my original post, did I? Or do you just read want you want to read to allow you to take exception and post GIFs???

I assure you, I gave your post as thoughtful, mature and insightful a response as it was entitled to. And anybody who can be bothered to read would know that "Boogie defender" is not an accurate term to use to describe me. With that said, if you think that you should get credit for your backhanded praise, you may need to learn to manage your expectations.

If that's still too passive for you, I'll work on it.

 

[Blob]

I assure you, I gave your post as thoughtful, mature and insightful a response as it was entitled to.

Really?! You just proved my point. And I didn't say your post was passive. I said passive aggressive. Don't insult me and misinterpret me simultaneously.

Whether you are a "Boogie defender" or not, you defend him when you say that me distilling his performance to 11-27 FGs is "totally specious". But I obviously did not distill his performance to 11-27 FGs in my original post, so your characterization is wrong and intentionally contentious. And saying "anybody who can be bothered to read" is more passive aggressive tone when I am more than willing to be considerate of any viewpoint on these boards.

I stand firm in my analysis that our dominant bench 57-28 and Rondo running roughshod over Thunder were more influential in the W than Boogie and any objective analysis would come to similar conclusion. A ferocious flying jam is still just two points and 11 for 27 is still 11 for 27 no matter how prematurely some fans want to induct said player into the HOF.

 

[kingsboi]

Double teaming down low has worked very well last couple of games and is a new wrinkle that works most of the time, sort of a "high-low" double with the guard going after the ball.

I understand helping Cousins or something, so he doesn't pick up fouls. But Koufos and Cauley Stein? I'd roll the dice and let them defend one on one. I guess the strategy is to hope that the opposition misses wide open three's because that's what's going on right now, even in the wins.

 

[Bricklayer]

Really?! You just proved my point. And I didn't say your post was passive. I said passive aggressive. Don't insult me and misinterpret me simultaneously.

Whether you are a "Boogie defender" or not, you defend him when you say that me distilling his performance to 11-27 FGs is "totally specious". But I obviously did not distill his performance to 11-27 FGs in my original post, so your characterization is wrong and intentionally contentious. And saying "anybody who can be bothered to read" is more passive aggressive tone when I am more than willing to be considerate of any viewpoint on these boards.

I stand firm in my analysis that our dominant bench 57-28 and Rondo running roughshod over Thunder were more influential in the W than Boogie and any objective analysis would come to similar conclusion. A ferocious flying jam is still just two points and 11 for 27 is still 11 for 27 no matter how prematurely some fans want to induct said player into the HOF.

You really need to stop, The more words you post the worse it looks because it all stems from a dishonorable starting point.

This decade (6 years beginning in 2010-11) there have been exactly 18 games of 33+pts 19+reb in the NBA. 5 of those belong to Boogie himself. Last night was the second fewest minutes the feat had been accomplished.

 

[mac]

Weak sauce.

Anyway, I don't know about you guys, but I sure would have preferred to have had Olynyk and Bradley out there instead of Cousins tonight.

Yeah because that's what I said right? Smh.

If A,B,C and D are on a list, and A,B,C are HOF players but D is not, and then E makes said list, you cannot fully logically conclude that E is a HOF player. That's all. Nothing about trading Cousins, nothing about how I wouldn't want Shawn Marion on our team. Brick himself understood what I was saying.

Apparently reading comprehension on this board is deteriorating.

 

[gman23]

Can Kings play this way for 45 min. I hope so

 

[Blob]

You really need to stop, The more words you post the worse it looks because it all stems from a dishonorable starting point.

This decade (6 years beginning in 2010-11) there have been exactly 18 games of 33+pts 19+reb in the NBA. 5 of those belong to Boogie himself. Last night was the second fewest minutes the feat had been accomplished.

Dishonorable? For expressing an opinion on a basketball player? Strong choice of words don't you think? No one is contending Boogie's ability to stuff the stat sheet. It is about efficiency and this year has been huge disappointment after talking about MVP run in the summer.

And you know who will tell you this year has been a disappointment and underachievement??? Boogie himself. After Suns game he said it felt like it was the first time he has shot well all season. So while some fans want to excuse away his performance and poor shot selection and judgement and patience and selflessness and rush to his defense, others (like myself) are only offering an objective perspective on his actual effectiveness.

If Boogie had a chance to grade his performance he would give himself a C at best. And you know what? So would I? If that is dishonorable so be it. I don' t think an analysis consistent with how said player would analyze his play is without merit. There is no getting around 11 for 27 FGs. In a game in which the bench does not outscore the opponent bench by 28 and Rondo does not go 13/19/9/5, 11 for 27 contributes to a loss not a win.

When you can hold a player to about a point per shot (33 points on 27 shots) as an opponent you will take it. 19 rebounds is great don't get me wrong but a lot of that is function of playing with non-rebounders. And I am sure if I had the time or inclination to go to basketball reference dot com and run 13/19/9/5 on Rondo he would be in equally distinguished company as your query.

 

[Bricklayer]

Dishonorable? For expressing an opinion on a basketball player? Strong choice of words don't you think? No one is contending Boogie's ability to stuff the stat sheet. It is about efficiency and this year has been huge disappointment after talking about MVP run in the summer.

And you know who will tell you this year has been a disappointment and underachievement??? Boogie himself. After Suns game he said it felt like it was the first time he has shot well all season. So while some fans want to excuse away his performance and poor shot selection and judgement and patience and selflessness and rush to his defense, others (like myself) are only offering an objective perspective on his actual effectiveness.

If Boogie had a chance to grade his performance he would give himself a C at best. And you know what? So would I? If that is dishonorable so be it. I don' t think an analysis consistent with how said player would analyze his play is without merit. There is no getting around 11 for 27 FGs. In a game in which the bench does not outscore the opponent bench by 28 and Rondo does not go 13/19/9/5, 11 for 27 contributes to a loss not a win.

When you can hold a player to about a point per shot (33 points on 27 shots) as an opponent you will take it. 19 rebounds is great don't get me wrong but a lot of that is function of playing with non-rebounders. And I am sure if I had the time or inclination to go to basketball reference dot com and run 13/19/9/5 on Rondo he would be in equally distinguished company as your query.

Dishonorable.

You came in here to try to scuttle any excessive praise for Cousins by slinking up and trying to draw it down with faint praise. Look, I'm a lawyer, and I spent time in politics. I know the game. Somebody called you on it. We've seen a lot of the game around here. Some have accused me of it in the past. Maybe they were even right.

Now tonight the appropriate tact will be to focus on Boogie's 10 turnovers, while focusing praise on Rudy and Belinelli's clutch shots.

I know the game. And no its not honorable. Its not about truth or facts, its about how you control the message and the spin.

 

[Blob]

Dishonorable.

You came in here to try to scuttle any excessive praise for Cousins by slinking up and trying to draw it down with faint praise. Look, I'm a lawyer, and I spent time in politics. I know the game. Somebody called you on it. We've seen a lot of the game around here. Some have accused me of it in the past. Maybe they were even right.

Now tonight the appropriate tact will be to focus on Boogie's 10 turnovers, while focusing praise on Rudy and Belinelli's clutch shots.

I know the game. And no its not honorable. Its not about truth or facts, its about how you control the message and the spin.

Your profession is irrelevant to the conversation. And no one is "slinking up". I don't need to offer faint praise to a guy who I think is unequivocally a great player, who happens to be underperforming this year .... and Boogie will be the first to admit it.

Tonight he was great despite the 10 turnovers. He deserved this win and his team deserved this win because he played great. And if you don't see the difference between tonight and his play in December I can't help you.

I am going to generalize but good things happen when Boogie faces the basket with his wits about him. When he faces up a defender with a live dribble he can use and abuse as long as he does not drive into trouble or settle too often for the distance jumper.

And bad things happen when Boogie turns his back to the basket. 4 out of 5 times when Boogie has his back to the basket against a set defense it does not well. Early offense and rim runs are an exception in which there is more space in the key.

Yet this reality flies in contradiction of your assessment of his skill set and if "Old Man Karl wasn't such a moron he would stick on the post where he belongs" so he can do his Hakeem and Ewing impression and we can hold the HOF induction ceremony this weekend.

For someone who claims to "know the game" you have mischaracterized Boogie as a low post player who is being misused and I come "slinking up" with observation that is not the problem since Boogie is a "power player" a la LeBron whose point of attack needs to be varied to best exploit his transcendent set of skills.

Tonight was more indication that the system which was allegedly problematic is not the problem at all. It is the decision making within the system that corresponds Boogie's efficiency or lack thereof. Any rational critic of Boogie would not have a problem with his performance tonight. Any rational critic would have a problem with his play in December because he cost us about 5 games.

And no its not honorable. Its not about truth or facts, its about how you control the message and the spin.

I am not sure what you are referring to, but in the context of this conversation, which is debating the merits of Boogie's play, it is about facts. And the fact is Boogie is coming off his worst month in 2 1/2 seasons and continues to adjust to a role with more freedom to make smart decisions with the ball. 2016 is off to a pretty good start, tonight's tragedy withstanding. Not sure what you are spinning but the only thing I am spinning is the truth.