[Grades] Grades vs. Pelicans, 11/03/21

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#1

Richaun Holmes (C+) - 16 minutes, 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 4 fouls, 1 turnover
Not a whole lot to say about Holmes this game. Played hard, held his own against Jonas, got absolutely jobbed by the refs in the third quarter when he picked up two quick fouls and was immediately ejected before he really even had a chance to argue. Last season, this would have been a total game-killer. This season, the Kings were able to weather the storm.

Maurice Harkless (C) - 32 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steals, 1 blocks, 2 fouls, 1 turnover
Moe did his thing. That is to say, he passed up on shots unless they were generally open and missed most of those while also scrapping and fighting on the defensive end. It was neither a spectacular performance or terrible night and Harkless is currently shooting okay enough that teams aren't just able to cheat completely off of him when the Kings have the ball, which is sorta necessary for him to be in the lineup.

Harrison Barnes (B+) - 39 minutes, 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assist, 1 steals, 0 blocks, 4 fouls, 3 turnovers
Harrison continues to quietly be the Kings best player, tonight putting up an insanely efficient 23 point, 8 board night while also playing most of the game on the second night of a back-to-back. He only gets a B here because, while he wasn't exactly terrible with the ball, he did have three turnovers, most of which occurred when he was iso'd up and generally taking looks and momentum away from our guards. He's a capable isolation player but the thing that has turned him into one of the most underrated forwards in the league now is his ability to spot up from anywhere and those old man drives he can build off of them. Still, a great performance from Barnes.

Tyrese Haliburton (A) - 37 minutes, 20 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assist, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 1 foul, 0 turnovers
Tyrese had his best game maybe of his career, completely staffing the box score with a near 4x5 and no turnovers. The one thing that continues to be an issue with Haliburton is his strange reluctance to take outside shots but when the Pelicans were giving up inside drives like they were expecting Gobert to be behind them, it's hard to criticize him only taking three threes.

De'Aaron Fox (B) - 38 minutes, 19 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assist, 1 steals, 0 blocks, 2 fouls, 1 turnover
Tyrese's backcourtmate quietly turned in a nice night next to him. While 19/5 pales in comparison to the monstrous 40 point explosions he had almost every time he played the Pelicans last season, Fox tonight played almost wholly in rhythm with Luke's weird offense and, more important, hit the easy open shots that presented themselves. Fox has been solid on defense this season after starting his career essentially phoning it in unless the game was on the line, in which case he would suddenly turn into Patrick Beverly. Played a large role in limiting Devonte Graham to two second half points after he picked up 14 in the first half.

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Buddy Hield (C) - 23 minutes, 11 points, 5 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steals, 0 blocks, 0 fouls, 0 turnovers
After an explosive night in Utah, Buddy's shooting fell a little back down to earth tonight. Buddy's defense as a sixth man has been a pleasant surprise this season and that's helped him remain a positive player even when he's shooting like Stephon Marbury instead of Stephen Curry. Didn't see much time down the stretch as Davion sorta took the third guard slot from him in crunch time.

Davion Mitchell (A) - 26 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assist, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 2 fouls, 0 turnovers
While he's had higher scoring performances this season, this was Davion's best night on offense of his young NBA career. Showcased his lighting-fast first step to create driving opportunities and, upon the Pelicans trying to stop him, began carving them up for assists. On defense, he got burned by Kira Lewis's raw speed but was his typical All-Defensive Team self on that end as well. When three of our guards are rolling like they did tonight, it is incredibly fun to watch.

Alex Len (B+) - 21 minutes, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assist, 0 steals, 3 blocks, 5 fouls, 2 turnovers
The Legend of Sacramento Kings Alex Len grows! Had a nice stint int he first half but really came alive after Holmes got ejected, sparking multiple runs with his length on defense and willingness to set screens for his guards and roll to the rim on others. The man isn't the fastest dude around but he knows his limits and, more importantly, hustles his ass off to get where he needs to go. Not sure how he failed in Toronto but happy he's back in Sacramento.

Tristan Thompson (inc.) - 8 minutes, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assist, 0 steals, 1 block, 1 foul, 0 turnovers
Came into the game in the third to spell Len after the Holmes ejection threw off Luke's rotations and was... serviceable? He fought on defense and wasn't a black hole on offense but only came out of the game with a block and foul and only played eight minutes, which is one minute below the old arbitrary incomplete grade threshold.
 
#2
I didn't really get the play where Holmes got ejected. It was a CLEAR foul that he went crazy on and got ejected (because the headband went into the stands). I agree there have been quite a few plays where he didn't get a call, but he also seems to have very poor awareness even with the obvious fouls he does commit. I don't remember him losing it like this last year.
 

The_Jamal

Hall of Famer
#5
I think this team's 8-man rotation is legitimately good. If you could pluck an OG Anunoby/Mikal Bridges to plug at the 3 and bring Moe off the bench, this would have a great shot at being a 50-win core. I'm still hoping we give one of the younger guys (Metu, King, Ramsey) a shot to really spike or that TD is able to turn it around because we can't be relying on an 8-man rotation this early in the season.
 
#9
I didn't really get the play where Holmes got ejected. It was a CLEAR foul that he went crazy on
I did think Valanciunas pushed off with his left arm, but, yeah, I agree it was a stark overreaction. Richaun also put 2 hands on him IIRC.

The call I didn’t like was when Alex Len blocked Garrett Temple’s floater with just under 5 minutes remaining in Q4 — which they inexplicably reviewed as a potential flagrant foul.

Len blocked the shot before any contact occurred. That shouldn’t have been whistled IMO. Len had a much better case for being upset.
 
#12
I did think Valanciunas pushed off with his left arm, but, yeah, I agree it was a stark overreaction. Richaun also put 2 hands on him IIRC.

The call I didn’t like was when Alex Len blocked Garrett Temple’s floater with just under 5 minutes remaining in Q4 — which they inexplicably reviewed as a potential flagrant foul.

Len blocked the shot before any contact occurred. That shouldn’t have been whistled IMO. Len had a much better case for being upset.
Holmes literally had his hands back and bumped Jonas with his chest on that foul call that before he got ejected. It was a horse sh** call and Holmes had every right to be angry at such a soft call. What bothers me is nobody on the team tried to calm him down before he threw his headband into the stands.

update; rewatched the play and wow he literally had his hands on Jonas for a split second. Horse sh** call
 
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