Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Boxscore
Stats: 24min 9pts (4-7FG, 1-4TP, 0-1FT) 3reb 1ast 0stl 0blk 0TO 2fl
Johnson ( C ) -- quiet start, and not able to hit the long jumpers that were left to him. Able to score on an iso post move late in the first after Metta left, and folowed it with the buzzer beating runner to finish our 30pt first quarter. Later added an alley opp on the break from IT. Defensively was actually less proiminent this time than any of the other starters -- there was no Kobe to harass, defending Metta is no great task most nights, and this game I actually felt he was getting beat when switched onto the big Lakers frontline. After the fun first few drive and post preseason games, seems to have fallen back offensively, but is still potent in a mismatch, and if we can get this type of game from our stars he doesn't need to do much more for us to be dangerous.
Stats: 28min 12pts (4-9FG, 0-0TP, 4-4FT) 5reb 3ast 2stl 2blk 2TO 3fl
Thompson ( B ) -- not much to start, but began to get involved defensively in the latter half of the first quarter, and got a hoop on a scramble play on the semibreak . Struggled to work in the post where he's never been a strong option and still gets stripped or fumbles routinely. But he smoothly stroked a jumper, and was playing garbageman around the hoop. Unuusally active picking up steals and blocks on defense as all our starters got the job done on that end, and capped things with a nice unselfish return pass to Reke on the break.
Stats: 27min 20pts (9-17FG, 0-1TP, 2-2FT) 13reb 1ast 2stl 0blk 1TO 2fl
Cousins ( A- ) -- halfway through this game you would have said Boogie was struggling, yet by the end it was another big night. Was looking good early hitting from outside and able to bang inside, but quickly lost focus, chucking up yet another random three and committing two completely unnecessary fouls on Gasol just riding his hip. Had to sit, and after returning threw up a ridiculous 20 foot step around fall away prayer over Howard. But started to settle in, got the 4th foul on Howard the next time on a driv, and while my initial not was that the traffic and twin 7 footers chased him outside and he started settlgin for jumpers, that turned out to be a good thing. Started hitting 18 footers. And hitting them. And hitting them. Very few centers can get as hot as he can from outside, and it was just jab step, splash for the entire second half of the game as he was raining long jumpers on everyone they put in front of him. And while most of those few centers who can shoot like Boogie can are weenies in the other aspects of the game, once DeMarcus started feeling it his whole game picked up, and he dominated the boards after half. After killing the Lakers scrubs in the 4th for a few minutes to give our shaky bench some punch, sat down with a cool 20-13 in 27min.
Stats: 23min 14pts (4-10FG, 1-1TP, 5-6FT) 5reb 5ast 4stl 0blk 0TO 2fl
Evans ( A- ) -- probably Reke's strongest game of the preseason, and now is of course when you would like to see him cranking it up. Was very involved on both ends of the court from the beginning. But int he early going it wasn't about his own offense, as it was rarely there against the Lakers big frontline, and Reke wasn't forcing it. Instead grabbing rebounds, setting people up, making a nice pass to a backcutting Johnson etc. The "finally! hallelujah!" switch in this game is that we had Reke doing much of the creating while IT played more off the ball as a scorer. But once again, in what has become a distinct enough pattern it can't be accident, once Cousins went out Reke kicked it into another gear and began to very aggressively size his man up and slam inside again and again. Still wasn't all about his own shots though, as he also notched a very nice assist off his iso dribble to Hayes inside. Got called for several called for several illegal defenses cheaitng into the paint, but was picking up loose balls all over the court and igniting our break the other way off the turnovers. Capped his night with a pickpocket of his man up top to start the fourth, and finished the play with an unselfish dish to IT for the layup.
Stats: 23min 20pts (9-12FG, 1-2TP, 1-1FT) 1reb 1ast 2stl 0blk 0TO 1fl
Thomas ( A- ) -- consider the above Kevin Martin after an all night bender statline, and then consider that IT did exactly what he needed to do as our "PG" this evening. From the beginning of the game was playing off the ball more than on, but was doing it very well, getting out on the break, curling and popping open for quick hitters, and being disruptive up top around the ball on defense. One of the Lakers numerous weakpoints is quikcness/defense at the PG, and IT was running circles around the two Steves all night as we let Reke do the creating, and IT do the scoring. Finally got his first assist with a nice alley oop to JJ in the late 3rd. Closed the game in unfortunate fashion as Reke got a steal up top to start the 4th, and dished it to IT on the break for his final points, but the little guy got undercut on the layup and took an awkward step, and had to leave the game.
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Bench
Stats: 27min 2pts (1-3FG, 0-0TP, 0-0FT) 8reb 1ast 1stl 0blk 1TO 2fl
Hayes ( C ) -- not as effective as he has been in many games this preseason, but that was largely about role and what the rest of the bench was not doing. Got his only bucket of the night soon after entering on a nice feed by Reke for one of his little flips. Added one of his slap strips on Sacre. But for most of the night when the backups were in and Cousins was out, we were just offensively impotent. Our gunning backcourters had no rhythm or chemistry, and Chuck's extreme offensive deficiencies got exposed as there was nobody to feed inside. Got his share of the boards, and added a nice give and go pass to Thornton in the late garbagetime, but we were offensively impotent during his minutes as the feautred big.
Stats: 25min 10pts (5-12FG, 0-3TP, 0-0FT) 1reb 1ast 1stl 0blk 0TO 1fl
Thornton ( D+ ) -- after starting the preseason very hot, over the final 3 games only ended up shooting a combined 12-36 .333. this time out not able to add much punch to a suddenly very punchless and dysfunctional bench crew. Very very quiet this time after coming in. Rarely getting the ball, smothered when he did. Finally just sored 1 on 1 taking advantage of the switch vs. Hill. Never got any sort of rhythm going, and ended up throwing up several really ugly attempts off the back or the underside of the rim. Began getting a little better in the late garbagetime, but these were 10 very forgettable scuffling points, and not much in any other category.
Stats: 25min 4pts (2-6FG, 0-1TP, 0-0FT) 0reb 2ast 0stl 0blk 2TO 1fl
Brooks ( F ) -- last time out against the Lakers torched them to the tune of 16 pts in 18 min This time out it was a real struggle throughout. The difference? Who knows. Really though prettty much a complete failure as either a backup PG or backup gunner this time. Wasn't given much to work with, as he spent a few minutes trying to feed some really terrible teammates in a Hayes/Outlaw/Garcia frontline...then said screw it and just thew it up 1 on 1. But he was struggling to create all night, for either himself or anybody else, and it was a primary cause of our terrible benchplay tongiht. Missing his shots. Making ballhandling errors, and probably reflecting on the difference between feeding Chuck Hayes and Ndiaye inside rather than Yao or Cuz. Fianlly got a nice drive to go with 40 seconds to go after running the clock down. That was not enough to keep this from being the whiplash F after the A last time out against this same team.
Stats: 10min 0pts (0-3FG, 0-0TP, 0-0FT) 0reb 2ast 0stl 0blk 0TO 3fl
Garcia ( F ) -- much better working in the shadows off stars. In a chaotic backup unit with no creaters, just throwing up junk. Quiet after most of the main guys returned.
Stats: 20min 2pts (1-6FG, 0-2TP, 0-0FT) 4reb 0ast 1stl 0blk 0TO 2fl
Outlaw ( F ) -- if anybody has seen Outlaw's game lying around in a ditch somewhere near Portland, he'd like it back. Continued his awful preseason still unable to hit the broadside of the Sierras. Missing all of his jumpers, and this time getting things further compounded by getting worked on defense -- not entirely his fault as Smart had him in there as part of our front office's idiotic conviction that he's the world's first 200lb PF, and Jordan Hill -- yeah that Jordan Hill -- was chewing him up in the post. Finally got a jumper to fall in the early 4th, and predictably he again had to blow the assist, pull it down, dribble to his spot, and throw it up Salmons style in order to feel comfortable. Can't just catch and shoot. That's gotta be a training issue from way back. If he gets minutes in the regular season after years of incompetence and shooting .273 in preseason, the fix is in.
Stats: 7min 1pt (0-1FG, 0-0TP, 1-2FT) 0reb 0ast 0stl 0blk 1TO 3fl
Ndiaye ( INC ) -- man, finally got some minutes in the 4th, and immediately got pulled way out of the air for big a fall on his back while going up for a dunk. Just puts a painful exclmation point on likely being cut. Did nothing after the fall. Battled but no more than held his own position. Losing the boards batttles. Did show a roleplayer's instincts coming out to set little freeing picks for his guards up top. But not able to finish inside or post, and while he tracked a few things on defense the way shotblockers will, never got to anything.
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