Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
A win = grades. Thems the (arbitrary) rules.
Richaun Holmes (B-) - 29 minutes, 12 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocks, 0 steals, 0 turnovers
Another solid night by Richaun, who didn't get in foul trouble tonight but did get absolutely destroyed by Deandre Ayton on the glass in the first half. Made his typical hustle plays but did not contribute too much on offense as Ayton made life very difficult for him on that end as well. Had a nice bounce pass and a couple of great hustle plays on defense in the second half and then had to sit until there was barely anytime in the fourth quarter because Luke Walton still doesn't know how to have a functional rotation.
Maurice Harkless (C) - 25 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 block, 0 steals, 1 turnovers
Moe had a ho-hum stat line but was very solid in that way you'd like your defensive role-player guys to be. In the first half, we tried to run the ball through him a couple times (it didn't work) but in the second half, he played hard on defense and generally stayed out of the way on offense well enough for the Kings to take the lead. Didn't see much time in the fourth quarter as Luke went to the three guard lineup and rode the Black Falcon train to victory.
Harrison Barnes (A) - 39 minutes, 22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 0 blocks, 0 steals, 1 turnovers
Yet another stellar night from the man who has not only been the Kings best player thus far this season but one of the best players in the league to start the year. Obviously, the game winner was amazing but the man played solid defense all night, and played within himself as he always does. His three point shot wasn't falling to start the game (he was obviously saving that for later) but he made a series of nifty post moves and drives (he's gotten so good at slowing down to the point that he just scores around over-eager defenders every play) to help the Kings stay in the game in the first and eventually build a lead in the second half. In crunch time, he had two drives, one that ended in a successful basket and another that ended with him missing after a great defensive stand by the Suns. Yes, we're running plays for Harrison Barnes in crunch time like he's Lebron and it's freaking working. That's Harrison Barnes's season thus far in a nutshell.
Tyrese Haliburton (B-) - 35 minutes, 15 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 blocks, 2 steals, 1 turnovers
Tyrese had another quiet start to the game, not because he wasn't getting the ball enough but rather because the Kings were giving him the ball too much and in places he couldn't really do anything with it. At this point in his career, Tyrese is an elite catch-and-shoot player and great downhill creator. In the second half we saw more of that as he had two huge threes and contributed with generally smart basketball. His play on defense was more of a mixed bag. Tyrese has been an absolute turnstile in man-to-man defense, his thin physique unable to really slow down most of the wings/big guards he gets asked to defend. As a backend or transition defender, though, his basketball IQ allows him to make disruptive plays and timing maneuvers to the tune of two steals and a block. Left Crowder wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide open on the game tying three as he shaded too far inside to get back out to his man in time to affect the shot.
De'Aaron Fox (C) - 37 minutes, 18 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 0 block, 1 steals, 2 turnovers
This is a tough one to grade. Contrary to public opinion on this forum, I didn't think Fox had that awful of a game. His shot wasn't falling but it wasn't falling to start last year either and when it does, the rest will come later (also having to play three really stout defensive teams in a row doesn't help). Had nine assists and only two turnovers as his game really took off in the third quarter. Went cold again throughout the fourth but was still able to find teammates for scores (his pass to Barnes for the game winner apparently didn't count as an assist for some reason) and the defense did tighten up after an abysmal first half. It wasn't pretty but if we're asking for De'Aaron to be a net positive while he figures things out, this wasn't half bad.
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Buddy Hield (D in the first half, A+ in the second) - 27 minutes, 26 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 4 turnovers
Buddy had such a bipolar game that I felt it only fair to grade him by half. In the first half, things were decidedly not great as Luke Walton randomly decided to run the entire second unit offense through him and his shot wasn't falling. To his credit, tonight was one of the nights where he randomly played solid defense and he was probably our best perimeter defender in the first half.
In the second half, Buddy went absolutely nuclear, hitting pretty much any random shot he felt like throwing up there and essentially singlehandedly building a double-digit lead. With his shot falling, Buddy was able to have some nice drives to the hoop as desperate defenders over hedged to, I dunno, block his threes or something. He was also much more careful with the ball, though most of that had to do with him turning into an off-the-ball catch and shoot machine in the third quarter. In crunch time, didn't shoot the ball as the Suns went all out to prevent another Buddy explosion but he did play incredible D on Devin Booker in the Suns final possession because, in the words of one Chavano Buddy Hield, "It be like that sometimes."
Also the fact he did this on the night the Lakers looked absolutely out of their depths is hilarious to me.
Alex Len (B) - 18 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 blocks, 1 steals, 2 turnovers
We've found our stretch five! After years of trying to play Bagley at the five and paying Dwayne Dedmon way too much money to suck for half a year, Alex Len finally proved himself to be a big man who could do big man stuff while also stretching the floor for our interior guys. The only reason he's stuck at B is his general lack of rebounding, though some of that came from him boxing out Ayton to allow our guards to clean up the boards instead of him. Maybe he's completely supplanted Tristan Thompson as our back up big?
Davion Mitchell (C) - 19 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 0 blocks, 0 steals, 0 turnovers
Aside from randomly snapping Landry Shamet's ankles at one point, this was possibly the least impressive game Davion's had since being drafted. He wasn't bad by any means but spent a lot of the first half getting toasted by Elfrid Payton for some reason. He didn't have his shot again tonight but did nail a three to get some breathing room and played his typically great defense on Chris Paul in the intervening moments before the Suns made their big run. Maybe I'm just starting to get used to how good his defense is though.
Terence Davis (F) - 11 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 blocks, 1 steals, 0 turnovers
The less said about TD's night the better.
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