Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Peja ( B- ) -- fairly active start, but wasn't accomplishing much. Shot was off, and was again running away from the glass like the ball was poison. But slowly worked his way into the game in the second half. Hit a couple of threes, and finally grabbed a few boards. Finished with an 18pt night, although it was never smooth or easy. Found himself in the post against Earl Watson on several occasions, and came away with mixed results. Struggled to contain Carmelo when he was on him, although Melo was nice enough to fumble the ball and dribble it off his foot repeatedly to help us stay close. Nothing special here, but an acceptable preseason type effort.
Reef ( B- ) -- strange game from Reef. Hard to figure him out right now. Again made a couple of nice passes, but scored almost all of his points on FTs, only took 4 shots, and only hit 1. Grabbed a few boards, but all were offensive, nothing on defensive glass. Made a couple of good help defense stops in the third. Then got called for a string of fouls in the early 4th quarter, lost his temper + got the tech. Add it all up and what do you have? Not sure. Seems to be trying to fit in. But maybe too much. Doing some good things, but not asserting himself with any consistency.
Miller ( B+ ) -- only guy scoring early, recipient of a series of give and goes and cuts to the hoop. Made another unusually strong inside move at the end of the third, and then hit a three pointer to tie to close the quarter. Made a couple of nice passes, per usual, but other than the scoring, not much to talk about.
Wells ( B+ ) -- had an early flying dunk, but otherwise began the game missing perimeter shots and not having much of an impact. But really came alive in the third quarter and keyed us on both ends of the floor with steals, a block, and a variety of inside work on offense. Kept us close despite our general struggles.
Bibby ( C ) -- remains stubbornly in a funk -- its preseason, but its still time for Mike to wake up here at some point. Got off to a slow start as Earl Watson was very physical and aggressive and took him out of the game in the early going. Mike's defense was also lacking early, and the shot would not fall from anywhere. Showed more compusure and leadership as the game went along -- you could see him fighting it and trying to get himself going. Active to start the second half, but still could not get anything to fall. Didn't get his first points until a pair of FTs at the very end of the third quarter, and as these things sometimes do, that seemed to take the lid off the hoop and he quickly followed it up with a jumper. Actually played ok defense against Boykins for a brief stretch at the end of the quarter. Overall, did a solid job setting people up after adjusting to the pressure the Nuggets' scrappers brought early, but 1-9 just isn't going to cut it.
Hart ( B- ) -- the news of the night -- Jason Hart loses his Kings virginity and truly becomes one of the gang with his first injury. Under the piksi theory, maybe I should give him an F. And he got hurt in the final minute of the game too. Lovely. Looked like maybe some sort of hip or abdomen pull, but he tried to play through it for a play, and then went down like he was shot on the final play play of the game (and in the process breaking down our final play and costing us a chance to tie, as if that matters in preseason). Before that event, was having a decent game. A couple of nights after having to try to check Baron, ran into another brutal matchup nightmare with Boykins, and did about as well as you can hope. Got beat here and there, but also made some nice stops and kept the litte twerp from just slashing into the paint at will. Again willing to use fouls as necessary. Couldn't play that way as a starter, but very effective as a backup. Missed on a couple of wild drives and in general was shaky with the shot. But competitive as always.
Thomas ( B ) -- brought in early at SF for Peja so we could get some rebounding, good to see us checking out that look in the preseason. Missed his first jumper while fading -- its near 100% with Kenny, moving = miss, feet set = hit. Aggressive from the start as usual, but was forcing things a bit early. Was more settled in the second half and made a couple of nice plays -- first a nice deep turnaround jumper from the corner with a man in his face in the 4th, and a few minutes later made a great pass to a cutting Jason Hart. Overall a solid effort. Nothing spectaclar, but with more good moments than bad.
Martin ( C ) -- drew the early assignment against Andre Miller and quickly picked up fouls. Also got blown by by Demarr Johnson during a slow defensive start for him. Badly missed his first drive as well and seemed out of rhythm and bothered by the Nuggets pressure. But still made some athletic help plays on defense and dove back in to help out on the defensive glass. Not sure what to make of his game again. He airballed his first shot, and this kid who scored 15 last game suddenly clams up and does not even attempt another shot. And its not like he lacks the ability to create a shot either. Just never sure what he's thinking out there on offense. Aggression level seems to swing wildly up and down.
Garcia ( C- ) -- first half stint didnt do much, forced several shots, got picked cleanly by Miller in the open court, but did score again on one of our Princeton cuts on a Bibby pass. Made some dumb plays down the stretch, forced a shot, some fouls, then lost his cool and picked up a technical, and ended up getting pulled by Rick as a result. Gained a little redemption when he was reinserted in the final 40 seconds on a set play to hit a three to bring us within one. That play and the score off the cut in the first half were the saving graces of an otherwise scrappy night. Not sure what is up with the selfish ballchucking right now. Cisco was never a truly huge scorer in college, and his rep would have been as a leader and offensive facilitator not a consciousless gunner. But seems to be throwing up, and missing, a lot of very quick shots for us for some reason. Seems out of character, and I'm unclear on the motivation.
Skinner ( B ) -- solid first half -- protected the rim on one play, blocking a dunk attempt by one of the Nuggets camp invites. And got going on offense as the second quarter continued and began to score in close. Nothing spectacular or complex, just being active and going to the front of the rim. Not as much impact upon his return in the 4th.
Williamson ( B ) -- last of the 11 to enter, and only got the first half minutes. Was more settled than the players he replaced, and the stats say he grabbed a number of boards, although I only noticed a couple actually.
Price ( INC ) -- came in in the final couple of minutes for Garcia and was immediately victimized by Voshon Lenard on a backdoor cut. But afterwards showed respectable defense, even against Boykins. And opportunity may have knocked for him in the worst Kings fashion in the final seconds of the game as Hart went down. Bad for us. But should open up minutes for Price & Flores in future games if it lingers.
Adelman ( -- ) -- well, a couple of nights after getting off to the great start against the Warriors, this time it was obvious there is still more work to be done. An ok game for us until the Hart injury, but like everybody's grade, just ok. Nobody was great. Started out as a preseason scrimmage, and then a real, competitive, basketball game broke out. Denver was all kinds of shorthanded and missing their entire frontline, but what they brought instead was their own version of the scrappy defensive oriented bench. Najera, Watson, Elson put tremendous pressure on our starters, and we wilted under the early pressure. Real key may have been the Nuggets trio of PGs -- collectively likely the best in the NBA -- putting constant pressure on our PGs on both ends of the floor. Never really let us set up comfortably, and harassed Bibby and Hart into a combined 4-18. We eventually adpated, but were never really comfortable or in true rhythm. It was really more just a series of individuals going on hot streaks to keep us around rather than the whole team coming to life. At the end of the game liked the way Rick handled Garcia -- when he got out of control and selfish, he pulled him. But didn't let the kid just sit & sulk and therefore maybe lose him. Instead let him cool off and calm down and then brought him in in the final seconds and even called a play for him.
Reef ( B- ) -- strange game from Reef. Hard to figure him out right now. Again made a couple of nice passes, but scored almost all of his points on FTs, only took 4 shots, and only hit 1. Grabbed a few boards, but all were offensive, nothing on defensive glass. Made a couple of good help defense stops in the third. Then got called for a string of fouls in the early 4th quarter, lost his temper + got the tech. Add it all up and what do you have? Not sure. Seems to be trying to fit in. But maybe too much. Doing some good things, but not asserting himself with any consistency.
Miller ( B+ ) -- only guy scoring early, recipient of a series of give and goes and cuts to the hoop. Made another unusually strong inside move at the end of the third, and then hit a three pointer to tie to close the quarter. Made a couple of nice passes, per usual, but other than the scoring, not much to talk about.
Wells ( B+ ) -- had an early flying dunk, but otherwise began the game missing perimeter shots and not having much of an impact. But really came alive in the third quarter and keyed us on both ends of the floor with steals, a block, and a variety of inside work on offense. Kept us close despite our general struggles.
Bibby ( C ) -- remains stubbornly in a funk -- its preseason, but its still time for Mike to wake up here at some point. Got off to a slow start as Earl Watson was very physical and aggressive and took him out of the game in the early going. Mike's defense was also lacking early, and the shot would not fall from anywhere. Showed more compusure and leadership as the game went along -- you could see him fighting it and trying to get himself going. Active to start the second half, but still could not get anything to fall. Didn't get his first points until a pair of FTs at the very end of the third quarter, and as these things sometimes do, that seemed to take the lid off the hoop and he quickly followed it up with a jumper. Actually played ok defense against Boykins for a brief stretch at the end of the quarter. Overall, did a solid job setting people up after adjusting to the pressure the Nuggets' scrappers brought early, but 1-9 just isn't going to cut it.
Hart ( B- ) -- the news of the night -- Jason Hart loses his Kings virginity and truly becomes one of the gang with his first injury. Under the piksi theory, maybe I should give him an F. And he got hurt in the final minute of the game too. Lovely. Looked like maybe some sort of hip or abdomen pull, but he tried to play through it for a play, and then went down like he was shot on the final play play of the game (and in the process breaking down our final play and costing us a chance to tie, as if that matters in preseason). Before that event, was having a decent game. A couple of nights after having to try to check Baron, ran into another brutal matchup nightmare with Boykins, and did about as well as you can hope. Got beat here and there, but also made some nice stops and kept the litte twerp from just slashing into the paint at will. Again willing to use fouls as necessary. Couldn't play that way as a starter, but very effective as a backup. Missed on a couple of wild drives and in general was shaky with the shot. But competitive as always.
Thomas ( B ) -- brought in early at SF for Peja so we could get some rebounding, good to see us checking out that look in the preseason. Missed his first jumper while fading -- its near 100% with Kenny, moving = miss, feet set = hit. Aggressive from the start as usual, but was forcing things a bit early. Was more settled in the second half and made a couple of nice plays -- first a nice deep turnaround jumper from the corner with a man in his face in the 4th, and a few minutes later made a great pass to a cutting Jason Hart. Overall a solid effort. Nothing spectaclar, but with more good moments than bad.
Martin ( C ) -- drew the early assignment against Andre Miller and quickly picked up fouls. Also got blown by by Demarr Johnson during a slow defensive start for him. Badly missed his first drive as well and seemed out of rhythm and bothered by the Nuggets pressure. But still made some athletic help plays on defense and dove back in to help out on the defensive glass. Not sure what to make of his game again. He airballed his first shot, and this kid who scored 15 last game suddenly clams up and does not even attempt another shot. And its not like he lacks the ability to create a shot either. Just never sure what he's thinking out there on offense. Aggression level seems to swing wildly up and down.
Garcia ( C- ) -- first half stint didnt do much, forced several shots, got picked cleanly by Miller in the open court, but did score again on one of our Princeton cuts on a Bibby pass. Made some dumb plays down the stretch, forced a shot, some fouls, then lost his cool and picked up a technical, and ended up getting pulled by Rick as a result. Gained a little redemption when he was reinserted in the final 40 seconds on a set play to hit a three to bring us within one. That play and the score off the cut in the first half were the saving graces of an otherwise scrappy night. Not sure what is up with the selfish ballchucking right now. Cisco was never a truly huge scorer in college, and his rep would have been as a leader and offensive facilitator not a consciousless gunner. But seems to be throwing up, and missing, a lot of very quick shots for us for some reason. Seems out of character, and I'm unclear on the motivation.
Skinner ( B ) -- solid first half -- protected the rim on one play, blocking a dunk attempt by one of the Nuggets camp invites. And got going on offense as the second quarter continued and began to score in close. Nothing spectacular or complex, just being active and going to the front of the rim. Not as much impact upon his return in the 4th.
Williamson ( B ) -- last of the 11 to enter, and only got the first half minutes. Was more settled than the players he replaced, and the stats say he grabbed a number of boards, although I only noticed a couple actually.
Price ( INC ) -- came in in the final couple of minutes for Garcia and was immediately victimized by Voshon Lenard on a backdoor cut. But afterwards showed respectable defense, even against Boykins. And opportunity may have knocked for him in the worst Kings fashion in the final seconds of the game as Hart went down. Bad for us. But should open up minutes for Price & Flores in future games if it lingers.
Adelman ( -- ) -- well, a couple of nights after getting off to the great start against the Warriors, this time it was obvious there is still more work to be done. An ok game for us until the Hart injury, but like everybody's grade, just ok. Nobody was great. Started out as a preseason scrimmage, and then a real, competitive, basketball game broke out. Denver was all kinds of shorthanded and missing their entire frontline, but what they brought instead was their own version of the scrappy defensive oriented bench. Najera, Watson, Elson put tremendous pressure on our starters, and we wilted under the early pressure. Real key may have been the Nuggets trio of PGs -- collectively likely the best in the NBA -- putting constant pressure on our PGs on both ends of the floor. Never really let us set up comfortably, and harassed Bibby and Hart into a combined 4-18. We eventually adpated, but were never really comfortable or in true rhythm. It was really more just a series of individuals going on hot streaks to keep us around rather than the whole team coming to life. At the end of the game liked the way Rick handled Garcia -- when he got out of control and selfish, he pulled him. But didn't let the kid just sit & sulk and therefore maybe lose him. Instead let him cool off and calm down and then brought him in in the final seconds and even called a play for him.
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