Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
Kings win! Kings win!
Lots of things to like from the first 47.5 minutes of the game! Not much to enjoy from the last several sequences.
De'Aaron with the big boy game! Defensive juggernaut Nemanja Bjelica with three steals and two blocks! Buddy having a nice statistical night before forgetting we aren't tanking anymore! Marvin being Marvin!
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Justin Jackson (C) --37 min, 7pts (2-9 fg, 1-5 3p), 11 rbs, 0 ast, 1 stl, 0 blk,
First things first: Justin's shot was just completely off last night. That being said, for maybe the first time in his career, JJax found other ways to contribute beyond being a scorer, playing solid team defense and hustling on the glass. While Justin Jackson's ticket to a long career in the league probably isn't going to come via being a defensive role player, it's nice to know that, on occasion, Jackson can do that stuff as well.
Nemanja Bjelica (A) -- 31 min, 11 pts, 11 rbs, 5 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk
I don't know if Vlade knew that Bjeli would turn out to be a giant Serbian version of Draymond Green when he signed him, but Nemanja is making him look like an absolute genius for convincing the 6'10" forward not to go back to Europe after a couple of demoralizing seasons in Minnesota (also how bad a coach is Thibs that he apparently failed to notice the many things Bjeli is capable of doing beyond the stretch forward role he got shoehorned into next to Taj Gibson and KAT?). Bjeli was literally involved in every big play against the Grizzlies: Scoring in the first half to keep the Kings juuuuust close enough to strike in the second, making crafty passes to get everyone involved on offense, grabbing big boards to end Memphis sequences, coming up with defensive stop after defensive stop despite having the lateral quickness of a man who's been shot in both knees and gotten both feet caught in bear traps. Just about the negative thing you can say about Bjeli is that he badly airmailed a single three pointer in the third quarter. I know we're all eager to see Bagley start but with Bjelica play so well, it's nearly impossible to justify moving him to the bench.
Willie Cauley-Stein (B-) -- 35 min, 15 pt, 10 rbs, 2 ast, 2 stl, 0 blk
In the first half, Willie seemed to be our primary offensive option, running circles around Marc Gasol who already seemed to have lost a step before De'Aaron accidentally karate chopped his poor neck. Unfortunately, these ten points came at the expense of WC$'s defense and rebounding. In the second half, with his guards beginning to heat up, Willie switched into a defensive role player, raking in most of his boards as the Kings defensive intensity kicked up a gear and playing really good defense whenever he got switched onto a guard, a skill that makes him unique among most big men not named Draymond or Giannis. Sure he didn't block any shots but the stifling perimeter defense more than made up for that and Nemanja Mutumbo was doing enough of that already.
Buddy Hield (C+) -- 41 min, 23 pts (10-20 fg, 3-6 3p), 7 rbs, 2 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk
De'Aaron Fox (B+) -- 37 min, 21 pt, 8 rbs, 6 ast, 1 sta, 2 blk
***
Marvin Bagley (B) -- 22 min, 13 pt, 6 rbs, 1 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk
Frank Mason (C) --13 min, 5 pt, 2 rb, 2 ast, 0 stl, 1 blk
Yogi Ferrell (D) -- 10 min, 0 pt, 0 rb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 0 blk
Harry Giles (inc.) -- 6 min, 2 pt, 2 rb, 0 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk
Ben McLemore III (Ben) -- Ben Mins, Ben pts, Ben rbs, Ben asts, Ben stls, Ben blks
Lots of things to like from the first 47.5 minutes of the game! Not much to enjoy from the last several sequences.
De'Aaron with the big boy game! Defensive juggernaut Nemanja Bjelica with three steals and two blocks! Buddy having a nice statistical night before forgetting we aren't tanking anymore! Marvin being Marvin!
---
Justin Jackson (C) --37 min, 7pts (2-9 fg, 1-5 3p), 11 rbs, 0 ast, 1 stl, 0 blk,
First things first: Justin's shot was just completely off last night. That being said, for maybe the first time in his career, JJax found other ways to contribute beyond being a scorer, playing solid team defense and hustling on the glass. While Justin Jackson's ticket to a long career in the league probably isn't going to come via being a defensive role player, it's nice to know that, on occasion, Jackson can do that stuff as well.
Nemanja Bjelica (A) -- 31 min, 11 pts, 11 rbs, 5 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk
I don't know if Vlade knew that Bjeli would turn out to be a giant Serbian version of Draymond Green when he signed him, but Nemanja is making him look like an absolute genius for convincing the 6'10" forward not to go back to Europe after a couple of demoralizing seasons in Minnesota (also how bad a coach is Thibs that he apparently failed to notice the many things Bjeli is capable of doing beyond the stretch forward role he got shoehorned into next to Taj Gibson and KAT?). Bjeli was literally involved in every big play against the Grizzlies: Scoring in the first half to keep the Kings juuuuust close enough to strike in the second, making crafty passes to get everyone involved on offense, grabbing big boards to end Memphis sequences, coming up with defensive stop after defensive stop despite having the lateral quickness of a man who's been shot in both knees and gotten both feet caught in bear traps. Just about the negative thing you can say about Bjeli is that he badly airmailed a single three pointer in the third quarter. I know we're all eager to see Bagley start but with Bjelica play so well, it's nearly impossible to justify moving him to the bench.
Willie Cauley-Stein (B-) -- 35 min, 15 pt, 10 rbs, 2 ast, 2 stl, 0 blk
In the first half, Willie seemed to be our primary offensive option, running circles around Marc Gasol who already seemed to have lost a step before De'Aaron accidentally karate chopped his poor neck. Unfortunately, these ten points came at the expense of WC$'s defense and rebounding. In the second half, with his guards beginning to heat up, Willie switched into a defensive role player, raking in most of his boards as the Kings defensive intensity kicked up a gear and playing really good defense whenever he got switched onto a guard, a skill that makes him unique among most big men not named Draymond or Giannis. Sure he didn't block any shots but the stifling perimeter defense more than made up for that and Nemanja Mutumbo was doing enough of that already.
Buddy Hield (C+) -- 41 min, 23 pts (10-20 fg, 3-6 3p), 7 rbs, 2 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk
De'Aaron Fox (B+) -- 37 min, 21 pt, 8 rbs, 6 ast, 1 sta, 2 blk
***
Marvin Bagley (B) -- 22 min, 13 pt, 6 rbs, 1 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk
Frank Mason (C) --13 min, 5 pt, 2 rb, 2 ast, 0 stl, 1 blk
Yogi Ferrell (D) -- 10 min, 0 pt, 0 rb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 0 blk
Harry Giles (inc.) -- 6 min, 2 pt, 2 rb, 0 ast, 0 stl, 0 blk
Ben McLemore III (Ben) -- Ben Mins, Ben pts, Ben rbs, Ben asts, Ben stls, Ben blks
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