Tough one to grade. Fact is that the INDIVIDUAL grades aren't horrible. But that conceals the problem -- we don't look like a team out there right now. Just hard to assess and divy that up fairly in the individual asessments. Its nobody's fault, and everybody's:
Peja ( B ) -- not sure what got into Peja's water, but was playing a well rounded game early. Set some people up. Was doing a nice job of closing on the Suns shooters in the first quarter, but to only mixed results. Help defense sucked however. NEWS ALERT! Also was hanging in there on the glass -- none of those infamous "muscular rebounds" he is so noted for in certain quarters, but at least he wasn't bolting up court to cherry pick and as a result ended up grabbing a fair number on the defensive glass to give us a little boost. Scored in a variety of ways in the first half. In the second half did little beyond hit a couple of threes. Threw away a couple of inexplicably bad passes. Was left in there with Mike to play with the second unit against the Suns scrubs, so ended up with something close to a full game's worth of minutes. I simply refuse to give anybody but Bonzi more than a B in this one, but Peja's game tonight was respectable.
Thomas ( B ) -- back in his old college gym, got off to a fast and active start as one might expect. Well at least fast on offense, where he may have been the leading scorer in the first. Defense was another story as he was abused by both Marion and Thomas (Kurt) inside. Sign of his eagerness -- at the end of the quarter inadvertently stole a pass intended for Peja and tried to slam it home. In the second half got quiet, but gave a tougher effort on the glass and defense, and eventually picked up a T as well. This might be a B+, but not tonight. At some point letting the other squad pour in 110+ points on your head has to come back to bite you in the grades. Defense is half the game too.
Miller ( C+ ) -- quiet start, but outside shot was on at least. Stats say he grabbed 6 rebs in 22 min. Did he really? I certainly didn't notice it. For the most part played his B game -- did the things he can do well (shoot, a couple of passes), but did nothing exceptional, and certainly didn't stop a penetrating Suns player all night long inside.
Wells ( A- ) -- Started slowly but began to really come on as the first quarter drew to a close. And really ended up dominating inside action for us on the night. Easily the best King, and at times it looked like Bonzi vs. the Suns. Drew fouls repeatedly on drives. Was our best rebounder by a lot. Ended up with 21pts 10rebs, as an OG, in 25min! If there was a positive tonight, it was Mr. Wells. Only real negative was that he, like Kevin, continues to struggle to consistently knock down open jumpers. His game is down inside.
Bibby ( F ) -- okay, this has really gone on long enough Mike. Did a few little things ok in the second half, but I still have to drop the big ole F for not only this game, but most of his preseason so far. Shot still off, at times badly. And from all over the floor. Did dive back down to help on the glass a few times early. Unable to contain Nash's penetration, and there was absolutely no help rotation from any of our "big" men. Result was Nash destroying our sad defense and time and again setting up Suns for wide open shots. Had to return to the game in place of a struggling Price in the second, but then got worked over by Eddie House as well. (Might need to explain to me again why we decided to add Price and subtract House?) Started waking up a little during the third and created a few shots for teammates. But his own shot remained absent. For the second time this preseason did not hit his first shot until the end of the third.
Abdur-Rahim ( B- ) -- came in at the end of the first quarter...at center again. Yikes. But the right team to do it against. Quicker or bigger than the lesser opponents he was matched against. Pat Burke? Boris Diaw? Those guys should have no chance agaisnt a Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and he showed flashes against them. Best thing he did was finally grab some boards this time out. With him coming in with our second unit, Suns went to a VERY aggressive double teaming defense to force the ball out of his hands. Looked pretty good, but still not an assertive outing for him. And damnit, at some point here somebody other than Bonzi has to step forward and impose his will on a game here. Giving him a B- for the boardwork, but did not have much impact, and we lost ground with him in there. He's better than this. Or at least used to be. Time to step out of the shadows here at some point and have a breakthrough game.
Williamson ( C- ) -- first action since the banner Portland game, did not go nearly so well. Got rebounded over by Boris Diaw immediately after entering and struggled to find rhythm on offense. No match on defense against Marion in the second half, who just went right over him. Scored better in garbagetime, and did have one amusing play where he grabbed a board and Leandro Barbosa for some reason tried to horsecollar him as he flew on by. Corliss just shook him off like an angry bull and Leandro ended up face down on the sidelines. Nonetheless, apart from some garbagetime points, did not accomplish much on the glass, on defense, or in any other area.
Price ( C+ ) -- tale of two halves really. First half he was a disorganized mess. Got into a defensive stance at least, but forced his offense again and missed shots. Worse, was still unable to run the offense coherently and was quickly removed for Bibby after the Phoenix lead swelled on his watch. Looked much better after he returned late, hit a pair of threes and some drives, but also started doing a little bit too much garbagetime one on one. Guess with nobody else doing anything, why not though. A nice scoring run to partially redeem himself, but he still wasn't directing the offense so much as finding his own points. The good thing he does is try on defense. He's not nearly as distruptive as Hart, but you see him jumping in front of guys and occasionally poking balls away. Its the other end of the court where he's been all over the court, literally. Natural scorer, not playmaker.
Skinner ( C+ ) -- another nice pass immediately after entering, and defended the rim well in the first half. Never got anything going on offense though, and his impact was negligible at best this time out. Giving him a little grade here just for being the one Kings big man who actually protects the hoop.
Cisco ( B- ) -- mixed bag tonight. Entered game as the OG in the 2nd and he and the rest of the bench was not effective at all early, forcing the starters to return. After returning in the third, looked more settled. Hit a couple of in in rhythm threes as a reult of the offense rather than freelancing (one a classic inside outside game with a posting Shareef). Helped some on the glass by grabbing a couple of loose boards along the baseline. Not tough ones, but if he didn't come back to grab them nobody would have. Used his length to get a couple of blocks in the 4th although also got worked a few times on defense as well. Overall, a modest game, but recovered after the ineffective start to put together a decent effort. And just as importantly, one in which he worked IN the offense, rather than outside of it. If he does that he's a good enough shooter to be able to hit those open shots
Sampson ( Inc ) -- Garbagetime. Didn't even notice him really.
Adelman ( --) -- ugly game for us. Really not as close as the score indicates. Team defense, transition defense, sucked all night no matter who was on the floor. Nash ran around at will breaking down the defense, and Marion flew up and down the court beating everybody. In the second quarter we went with a solid group of benchers, headed by Shareef (KT started), and they flopped. And Price looked unable to run the offense. Remains an open question -- if he's the #3, right now would we really have confidence in him if Hart went down in the regular season, or heaven forbid, Bibby? Glad he got time, but better results would have been very welcome. Teamwide frustration led to a bit of a mental meltdown in the third, with us picking up cheap fouls, technicals, and generally not showing much composure. We left Mike, Peja, and Reef -- theoretically three borderline All-Stars -- in to start the fourth as the Suns went with their deep bench, and somewhat disturbingly we still didn't make up much ground. Liked some of the stuff we were running with Bonzi and Reef in the post kicking to perimeter guys. Of course it did not work well enough tonight. But good idea. 7 games into the preseason and I still have no idea what our rotation is going to look like. Not sure Rick does either -- he keeps experimenting, and nobody will even give him two games in a row. Bu its clear that some decisions have to be made, and soon now so that we can find some sort of rhythm. Less than a week to go until opening night.
Eddie House ( A ) -- explain to me again why we have an undrafted FA named Price as our #3 PG right now rather than Eddie? Guy was just unconscious tonight.
Peja ( B ) -- not sure what got into Peja's water, but was playing a well rounded game early. Set some people up. Was doing a nice job of closing on the Suns shooters in the first quarter, but to only mixed results. Help defense sucked however. NEWS ALERT! Also was hanging in there on the glass -- none of those infamous "muscular rebounds" he is so noted for in certain quarters, but at least he wasn't bolting up court to cherry pick and as a result ended up grabbing a fair number on the defensive glass to give us a little boost. Scored in a variety of ways in the first half. In the second half did little beyond hit a couple of threes. Threw away a couple of inexplicably bad passes. Was left in there with Mike to play with the second unit against the Suns scrubs, so ended up with something close to a full game's worth of minutes. I simply refuse to give anybody but Bonzi more than a B in this one, but Peja's game tonight was respectable.
Thomas ( B ) -- back in his old college gym, got off to a fast and active start as one might expect. Well at least fast on offense, where he may have been the leading scorer in the first. Defense was another story as he was abused by both Marion and Thomas (Kurt) inside. Sign of his eagerness -- at the end of the quarter inadvertently stole a pass intended for Peja and tried to slam it home. In the second half got quiet, but gave a tougher effort on the glass and defense, and eventually picked up a T as well. This might be a B+, but not tonight. At some point letting the other squad pour in 110+ points on your head has to come back to bite you in the grades. Defense is half the game too.
Miller ( C+ ) -- quiet start, but outside shot was on at least. Stats say he grabbed 6 rebs in 22 min. Did he really? I certainly didn't notice it. For the most part played his B game -- did the things he can do well (shoot, a couple of passes), but did nothing exceptional, and certainly didn't stop a penetrating Suns player all night long inside.
Wells ( A- ) -- Started slowly but began to really come on as the first quarter drew to a close. And really ended up dominating inside action for us on the night. Easily the best King, and at times it looked like Bonzi vs. the Suns. Drew fouls repeatedly on drives. Was our best rebounder by a lot. Ended up with 21pts 10rebs, as an OG, in 25min! If there was a positive tonight, it was Mr. Wells. Only real negative was that he, like Kevin, continues to struggle to consistently knock down open jumpers. His game is down inside.
Bibby ( F ) -- okay, this has really gone on long enough Mike. Did a few little things ok in the second half, but I still have to drop the big ole F for not only this game, but most of his preseason so far. Shot still off, at times badly. And from all over the floor. Did dive back down to help on the glass a few times early. Unable to contain Nash's penetration, and there was absolutely no help rotation from any of our "big" men. Result was Nash destroying our sad defense and time and again setting up Suns for wide open shots. Had to return to the game in place of a struggling Price in the second, but then got worked over by Eddie House as well. (Might need to explain to me again why we decided to add Price and subtract House?) Started waking up a little during the third and created a few shots for teammates. But his own shot remained absent. For the second time this preseason did not hit his first shot until the end of the third.
Abdur-Rahim ( B- ) -- came in at the end of the first quarter...at center again. Yikes. But the right team to do it against. Quicker or bigger than the lesser opponents he was matched against. Pat Burke? Boris Diaw? Those guys should have no chance agaisnt a Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and he showed flashes against them. Best thing he did was finally grab some boards this time out. With him coming in with our second unit, Suns went to a VERY aggressive double teaming defense to force the ball out of his hands. Looked pretty good, but still not an assertive outing for him. And damnit, at some point here somebody other than Bonzi has to step forward and impose his will on a game here. Giving him a B- for the boardwork, but did not have much impact, and we lost ground with him in there. He's better than this. Or at least used to be. Time to step out of the shadows here at some point and have a breakthrough game.
Williamson ( C- ) -- first action since the banner Portland game, did not go nearly so well. Got rebounded over by Boris Diaw immediately after entering and struggled to find rhythm on offense. No match on defense against Marion in the second half, who just went right over him. Scored better in garbagetime, and did have one amusing play where he grabbed a board and Leandro Barbosa for some reason tried to horsecollar him as he flew on by. Corliss just shook him off like an angry bull and Leandro ended up face down on the sidelines. Nonetheless, apart from some garbagetime points, did not accomplish much on the glass, on defense, or in any other area.
Price ( C+ ) -- tale of two halves really. First half he was a disorganized mess. Got into a defensive stance at least, but forced his offense again and missed shots. Worse, was still unable to run the offense coherently and was quickly removed for Bibby after the Phoenix lead swelled on his watch. Looked much better after he returned late, hit a pair of threes and some drives, but also started doing a little bit too much garbagetime one on one. Guess with nobody else doing anything, why not though. A nice scoring run to partially redeem himself, but he still wasn't directing the offense so much as finding his own points. The good thing he does is try on defense. He's not nearly as distruptive as Hart, but you see him jumping in front of guys and occasionally poking balls away. Its the other end of the court where he's been all over the court, literally. Natural scorer, not playmaker.
Skinner ( C+ ) -- another nice pass immediately after entering, and defended the rim well in the first half. Never got anything going on offense though, and his impact was negligible at best this time out. Giving him a little grade here just for being the one Kings big man who actually protects the hoop.
Cisco ( B- ) -- mixed bag tonight. Entered game as the OG in the 2nd and he and the rest of the bench was not effective at all early, forcing the starters to return. After returning in the third, looked more settled. Hit a couple of in in rhythm threes as a reult of the offense rather than freelancing (one a classic inside outside game with a posting Shareef). Helped some on the glass by grabbing a couple of loose boards along the baseline. Not tough ones, but if he didn't come back to grab them nobody would have. Used his length to get a couple of blocks in the 4th although also got worked a few times on defense as well. Overall, a modest game, but recovered after the ineffective start to put together a decent effort. And just as importantly, one in which he worked IN the offense, rather than outside of it. If he does that he's a good enough shooter to be able to hit those open shots
Sampson ( Inc ) -- Garbagetime. Didn't even notice him really.
Adelman ( --) -- ugly game for us. Really not as close as the score indicates. Team defense, transition defense, sucked all night no matter who was on the floor. Nash ran around at will breaking down the defense, and Marion flew up and down the court beating everybody. In the second quarter we went with a solid group of benchers, headed by Shareef (KT started), and they flopped. And Price looked unable to run the offense. Remains an open question -- if he's the #3, right now would we really have confidence in him if Hart went down in the regular season, or heaven forbid, Bibby? Glad he got time, but better results would have been very welcome. Teamwide frustration led to a bit of a mental meltdown in the third, with us picking up cheap fouls, technicals, and generally not showing much composure. We left Mike, Peja, and Reef -- theoretically three borderline All-Stars -- in to start the fourth as the Suns went with their deep bench, and somewhat disturbingly we still didn't make up much ground. Liked some of the stuff we were running with Bonzi and Reef in the post kicking to perimeter guys. Of course it did not work well enough tonight. But good idea. 7 games into the preseason and I still have no idea what our rotation is going to look like. Not sure Rick does either -- he keeps experimenting, and nobody will even give him two games in a row. Bu its clear that some decisions have to be made, and soon now so that we can find some sort of rhythm. Less than a week to go until opening night.
Eddie House ( A ) -- explain to me again why we have an undrafted FA named Price as our #3 PG right now rather than Eddie? Guy was just unconscious tonight.
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