Grades:
Maxime Raynaud- A
About as good a debut as you could hope for from the Kings 2nd round pick. Looked extremely versatile on the offensive end and very comfortable with the ball in his hands. Very fluid mover; does not move like a "big" Not only had the huge scoring flurry in the 1Q, but 2 passing plays really stood out; had 1 ball fake, drive to the basket and hit the corner 3 for an assist...only to do the same thing a minute later with a ball fake on the shot and hit the cutter at the rim. Great stuff. SL perimeter players did what SL perimeter players do and started ball hogging in the 2nd half instead of getting Raynaud involved.
Defensively was VERY vocal yelling at his teammates to get in the right spots. Just seems like a guy who's trying to make the right play, every time.
Got taken to school a bit by Skal Labs in the 4th, but probably the only blemish from him tonight.
Nique Clifford: B+
Billed as a do-it-all wing by draft prognosticators and delivered on that billing tonight. Was matched up with TDS for most of the night, had possessions as the POA defender, very active in passing lanes. Had 2 or 3 deflections along with a couple steals. Looks very comfortable on-ball and creating as evidenced by him taking over in the 4th Q and saving the W for the Kings. Along with Carter, was the only Kings player consistently hitting the paint to create. 10 FTA very good! only 6 FTM not very good.
Isaac Jones: C+
Was very rough in the 1H, but that was possibly mask related because he turned it around in the 2H. Was hoping to see a bit more overall from him, or at the very least a progression on his shooting. Mostly played okay, but didn't see a ton of development from where he was at last year; energy guy, great hands around the rim. 9 FTA is excellent though.
Devin Carter: C
Might seem high if you just look at the shooting numbers, but he was incredibly good defensively and I really liked his progression offensively about getting to the paint and kick out. Lead to a positive play pretty much every time he was able to do so.
The bad was he was incredibly wild in this one. Just a bunch of sloppy shots and turnovers or just flat out bad decisions with the ball. And of course just can't ignore the 2-14. I think needs to be more decisive with getting into the offense; too much standing out on the perimeter, waiting for the set to happen. Maybe that's on the other guys, but we got into a stretch where Mason Jones and him just kind of stood on the perimeter the whole shot clock to heave a bad shot.
Just has to make better decisions with the ball if he wants to convince Perry and Doug he can take the back-up PG spot. He already seemingly is "behind" in that aspect and more poor showings is going to just convince them to go get someone else.