Good morning all - I'm going to be posting a review of the kings' first half throughout the day today - I would have liked to wait until the all-star break, but I'm a CPA and I'm going to start getting busy soon, so look for my comments as the day progresses. The format will be similar to Bricklayer's post-game comments.....
In assigning my first half grades, I considered all of the following:
1. Comparing actual results against expectations - meaning, what has our player given us compared with we expected out of him? Are his numbers up, down, or the same? Has attitude helped, or hindered us?
2. What they're being paid does count - for example, Kenny Thomas, if I'm paying him $1,000,000 per year, I"m thrilled that I'm getting 7 boards a game from him in 26 minutes, but of course, we're paying him $8,000,000 per year in one of the worst contracts in the NBA. (I'll get to KT later on, of course)
3. Has the presence of the player made us better, or worse?
4. Stats do matter - I have to give credit to John Hollinger of ESPN basketball insider, I will be heaviliy relying on his stats to assign grades.
Here goes:
Kevin Martin - A -
This is the easiest grade to assign. I'll be the first one to admit to thinking that this kid would never succeed in the NBA but with the way he performed last year, I was caught with egg on my face then. Coming into this season, I thought we had a good, consistent player that would average maybe 16 points per game and become a solid starter in the leage. Again, I'll admit that I was dead wrong. Kevin does many things extremely well on offense that cannot be overlooked. If he is open from the outside, he will make his shot consistently - honestly, how many shooting guards in this league shoot 50% from the field??? He has also made 40 percent from 3 which makes him an extremely efficient outside shooter. He currently ranks 26th in the league in shooting percentage, but take into consideration that he has a better percentage than any other shooting guard in the league and that 95 percent of the gang in front of him are players who play down low. AND take into consideration the increased attention he has gotten this year and it makes his shooting percentage that more amazing. He also exhibits great body control in his mid-range game. He can slash and cut hard toward the basket and seemingly stop on a dime, elevate, and make a 12 footer seem easy - which it's not and there aren't many other players in basketball today who have a better middle game than he. He's also extremely proficient at drawing fouls and getting to the line with over 7 attempts per game - we've all seen that pump fake getting someone to bite then jumping into them - he does it at least once per game. The only real weakness which I see in his game is that he's not a great ballhandler and he's not great off of the dribble either - but even that being said, he has a very low turnover rate. The only question for Kevin, in my mind, is can and will he raise his game to superstar level? With how he's playing he's clearly in the top tier of shooting guards in the NBA, but can he take it to the next level? I've shorted him twice and honestly, I'm not comfortable saying he won't or can't take it to the next level. I don't think he's assumed a leadership role yet and I don't think he can or will with the present roster, but we could be looking at the face of our franchise for the next decade or so.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim - C- -
A somewhat tough grade to assign here, considering our apparent weaknesses down low. Shareef's overall efficiency has declined quite a bit from prior years - mostly due to his shooting percentage decreasing and his turnover level increasing. He still can cause fits to many defenses due to his quickness in the post and a great jump hook which he can get above most power forwards and smaller centers. His defense is subpar and his rebounding leaves a lot to be desired, especially in this month where he is only averaging 5.5 rebounds per 40 minutes of play which is just pathetic for a power forward. All that being said, with the way Kenny Thomas has played, he is certainly the right choice for us to start right now in attempting to win. Factor in that his contract size is reasonable for the stats we've gotten. I personally think that he would make a great 6th man in a lot of situations seeing as how the best part of his game is scoring. I think he would really gobble up a lot of back-up power forwards if he were in the right situation. Alas, he's with us and we don't have a quality power forward to begin with.
In assigning my first half grades, I considered all of the following:
1. Comparing actual results against expectations - meaning, what has our player given us compared with we expected out of him? Are his numbers up, down, or the same? Has attitude helped, or hindered us?
2. What they're being paid does count - for example, Kenny Thomas, if I'm paying him $1,000,000 per year, I"m thrilled that I'm getting 7 boards a game from him in 26 minutes, but of course, we're paying him $8,000,000 per year in one of the worst contracts in the NBA. (I'll get to KT later on, of course)
3. Has the presence of the player made us better, or worse?
4. Stats do matter - I have to give credit to John Hollinger of ESPN basketball insider, I will be heaviliy relying on his stats to assign grades.
Here goes:
Kevin Martin - A -
This is the easiest grade to assign. I'll be the first one to admit to thinking that this kid would never succeed in the NBA but with the way he performed last year, I was caught with egg on my face then. Coming into this season, I thought we had a good, consistent player that would average maybe 16 points per game and become a solid starter in the leage. Again, I'll admit that I was dead wrong. Kevin does many things extremely well on offense that cannot be overlooked. If he is open from the outside, he will make his shot consistently - honestly, how many shooting guards in this league shoot 50% from the field??? He has also made 40 percent from 3 which makes him an extremely efficient outside shooter. He currently ranks 26th in the league in shooting percentage, but take into consideration that he has a better percentage than any other shooting guard in the league and that 95 percent of the gang in front of him are players who play down low. AND take into consideration the increased attention he has gotten this year and it makes his shooting percentage that more amazing. He also exhibits great body control in his mid-range game. He can slash and cut hard toward the basket and seemingly stop on a dime, elevate, and make a 12 footer seem easy - which it's not and there aren't many other players in basketball today who have a better middle game than he. He's also extremely proficient at drawing fouls and getting to the line with over 7 attempts per game - we've all seen that pump fake getting someone to bite then jumping into them - he does it at least once per game. The only real weakness which I see in his game is that he's not a great ballhandler and he's not great off of the dribble either - but even that being said, he has a very low turnover rate. The only question for Kevin, in my mind, is can and will he raise his game to superstar level? With how he's playing he's clearly in the top tier of shooting guards in the NBA, but can he take it to the next level? I've shorted him twice and honestly, I'm not comfortable saying he won't or can't take it to the next level. I don't think he's assumed a leadership role yet and I don't think he can or will with the present roster, but we could be looking at the face of our franchise for the next decade or so.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim - C- -
A somewhat tough grade to assign here, considering our apparent weaknesses down low. Shareef's overall efficiency has declined quite a bit from prior years - mostly due to his shooting percentage decreasing and his turnover level increasing. He still can cause fits to many defenses due to his quickness in the post and a great jump hook which he can get above most power forwards and smaller centers. His defense is subpar and his rebounding leaves a lot to be desired, especially in this month where he is only averaging 5.5 rebounds per 40 minutes of play which is just pathetic for a power forward. All that being said, with the way Kenny Thomas has played, he is certainly the right choice for us to start right now in attempting to win. Factor in that his contract size is reasonable for the stats we've gotten. I personally think that he would make a great 6th man in a lot of situations seeing as how the best part of his game is scoring. I think he would really gobble up a lot of back-up power forwards if he were in the right situation. Alas, he's with us and we don't have a quality power forward to begin with.
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Most shotblocking/rebounder types don't fair to well from the line. It's a give and take. I'd take the rebounding and post defense over a few missed free throws any day of the week. I am already shocked at his ability to get inside and finish softly at the rim. I think there can certainly be some growth in Justin's offensive game.
