Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Artest ( B ) -- used his strength to good effect in the first quarter on offense, but on defense was getting beat off the dribble by Richardson again. But began to bother Richardson as the game went along. Assists were up again as he set others up, and showed patience down the stretch and carried us offensively in the final minutes as we held the Warriors off.
Thomas ( B- ) -- okay effort, but nothing spectacular. Efficient, but one of those games where he was rarely a presence on plays where he did not end up with a stat of some sort. Helped justify Rick's confidence in him after a questionable substitution which took out Reef with 6 minutes to go. But KT made a couple of good hustle plays and follows down the stretch.
Miller ( B- ) -- slow + sloppy start but started knocking down those midrange shots in the second in what was another shootalific first half performance by Mike and Brad. But was not doing much else, and for a long long stretch of the game was just a 7'0" pylon out there. Never did get on the glass. Set another one of his blindside open court picks on a PG in the late third -- just wish he was that tough against guys his own size. Raised this grade a bit by hitting four clutch FTs in the last 10 seconds to stave off the complete collapse.
Wells ( A- ) -- slow start + got into foul trouble, but came back to play well in the second quarter as he helped us up the physicality and defense, and then play GREAT in the third quarter when he ran the floor and attacked the hoop with impunity as he carried us throughout the period. Not actually as dominant a game as maybe the numbers say -- Bonzi was keeping it very simple, adn not much fo it was individual brilliance so much as just moving toward and finishing tough at the rim.
Bibby ( B- ) -- started off scorching but limping a bit...on defense of course. On offense was just knocking down every open shot he got, and the Warriors defense being what it is, Mike was getting a LOT of open shots. Cooled down in the second half and was getting beaten badly off the dribble by all the G.S. PGs. Maybe it was the injury, maybe not. In classic offensive player fashion it certainly seemed to be bothering more on the end of the court he doesn't like to play than the one he does.
Cisco ( C- ) -- came in in the first with Bonzi in foul trouble and started getting badly lit up by Mike Dunelavy. Actually got pulled fairly quickly, and althouhg he would return later without incident, never did do anything terribly positive either. Invisible and largely ineffective.
Reef ( B- ) -- rough start, unable to hit anything in the first half, up to and including free throws. But in the early going of the 4th really came on strong, both attacking in the post, and also got on the glass, played some defense. And showed some uncommon passion for him in the process. Got pulled midway throug the 4th in what seemed to be a questionable coaching move. Poor first half, strong second stint. Average it out for an average type grade.
Hart ( C ) -- better first half stint than the numbers show. Other than one badly muffed 2 on 1 break, able to apply defensive pressure and help us crank it up on that end to smother the Warriors. But when Rick reinserted him in the 4th it was a disaster as he made every classic Jason Hart mistake, threw bad passes, forced dumb shots, etc. as the Warriors quickly closed.
Adelman ( B- ) -- Just a B-. For the team, the coach, most of the players. Average. Ok. We won but...well...they can't all be pretty. Hardly an inspiring effort, but one that we needed if we were indeed going to secure the right to be spanked by the Spurs in Rnd 1. Hornets won, but Utah lost which hurts them. We got no bench help tonight, and a near collapse in the final minute really left a sour taste. Suffice it to say that if we do that against the Spurs in a few weeks (even assuming we will ever be in position to win), this is not a victory. The lack of bench production led rick to shorten the rotation again, and yet another crushing pile of 40+ min games for our core guys was the result. Coach also made a shaky call pulling Reef at the 6:00 mark of the 4th after he had started getting it going and was causing the Warriors matchup problems. Worked out in the end, and KT provided a few strong plays to justify it, but that may be more fortuitous than the result of a wise move. So...got the win. Needed the win. But did not impress. And now things get a whole lot harder.
Thomas ( B- ) -- okay effort, but nothing spectacular. Efficient, but one of those games where he was rarely a presence on plays where he did not end up with a stat of some sort. Helped justify Rick's confidence in him after a questionable substitution which took out Reef with 6 minutes to go. But KT made a couple of good hustle plays and follows down the stretch.
Miller ( B- ) -- slow + sloppy start but started knocking down those midrange shots in the second in what was another shootalific first half performance by Mike and Brad. But was not doing much else, and for a long long stretch of the game was just a 7'0" pylon out there. Never did get on the glass. Set another one of his blindside open court picks on a PG in the late third -- just wish he was that tough against guys his own size. Raised this grade a bit by hitting four clutch FTs in the last 10 seconds to stave off the complete collapse.
Wells ( A- ) -- slow start + got into foul trouble, but came back to play well in the second quarter as he helped us up the physicality and defense, and then play GREAT in the third quarter when he ran the floor and attacked the hoop with impunity as he carried us throughout the period. Not actually as dominant a game as maybe the numbers say -- Bonzi was keeping it very simple, adn not much fo it was individual brilliance so much as just moving toward and finishing tough at the rim.
Bibby ( B- ) -- started off scorching but limping a bit...on defense of course. On offense was just knocking down every open shot he got, and the Warriors defense being what it is, Mike was getting a LOT of open shots. Cooled down in the second half and was getting beaten badly off the dribble by all the G.S. PGs. Maybe it was the injury, maybe not. In classic offensive player fashion it certainly seemed to be bothering more on the end of the court he doesn't like to play than the one he does.
Cisco ( C- ) -- came in in the first with Bonzi in foul trouble and started getting badly lit up by Mike Dunelavy. Actually got pulled fairly quickly, and althouhg he would return later without incident, never did do anything terribly positive either. Invisible and largely ineffective.
Reef ( B- ) -- rough start, unable to hit anything in the first half, up to and including free throws. But in the early going of the 4th really came on strong, both attacking in the post, and also got on the glass, played some defense. And showed some uncommon passion for him in the process. Got pulled midway throug the 4th in what seemed to be a questionable coaching move. Poor first half, strong second stint. Average it out for an average type grade.
Hart ( C ) -- better first half stint than the numbers show. Other than one badly muffed 2 on 1 break, able to apply defensive pressure and help us crank it up on that end to smother the Warriors. But when Rick reinserted him in the 4th it was a disaster as he made every classic Jason Hart mistake, threw bad passes, forced dumb shots, etc. as the Warriors quickly closed.
Adelman ( B- ) -- Just a B-. For the team, the coach, most of the players. Average. Ok. We won but...well...they can't all be pretty. Hardly an inspiring effort, but one that we needed if we were indeed going to secure the right to be spanked by the Spurs in Rnd 1. Hornets won, but Utah lost which hurts them. We got no bench help tonight, and a near collapse in the final minute really left a sour taste. Suffice it to say that if we do that against the Spurs in a few weeks (even assuming we will ever be in position to win), this is not a victory. The lack of bench production led rick to shorten the rotation again, and yet another crushing pile of 40+ min games for our core guys was the result. Coach also made a shaky call pulling Reef at the 6:00 mark of the 4th after he had started getting it going and was causing the Warriors matchup problems. Worked out in the end, and KT provided a few strong plays to justify it, but that may be more fortuitous than the result of a wise move. So...got the win. Needed the win. But did not impress. And now things get a whole lot harder.
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