[Grades] Grades v. Sixers 12/26/2016

Three years from now who do you think the All-NBA Cs will rank?

  • Cousins/Embiid/KAT

    Votes: 35 50.0%
  • Cousins/KAT/Embiid

    Votes: 16 22.9%
  • Embiid/Cousins/KAT

    Votes: 6 8.6%
  • Embiid/KAT/Cousins

    Votes: 3 4.3%
  • KAT/Embiid/Cousins

    Votes: 3 4.3%
  • KAT/Cousins/Embiid

    Votes: 3 4.3%
  • I think somebody else will nab one of the three spots

    Votes: 4 5.7%

  • Total voters
    70
  • Poll closed .

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#1
***ANNOUNCEMENT*** Before I somehow forget, the Consortium is riding high with the Kings, and has used our newfound sexiness to recruit none other than the funky man himself, Funkykingston is joining the crew eager to talk snark, and chew bubblegum. Applause is mandatory.



Had me worried there. Not only did we play 3/4 of fugly not ready to play trap game basketball when we were supposed to be consolidating our new playoff possibilities, but while I have been talking up Joel Embiid I was getting worried midway through that he might ALREADY be ready to pass up Cuz.

Fortunately on both fronts the team did its late game bear down thing to claw out the win, and it was led by Cuz finally restoring order and getting the better of the kid down the stretch. So...whew. I'll take it, but this was the meme of the night:





Link to Boxscore

Starters
36min 17pts (7-16 1-4 2-2) 9reb 2ast 0stl 1blk 4To
Gay ( B- ) -- started the game off fugly and invisible, but maybe it was the rust in his case. Joined the rest of the team in rhythmless turnover ball. But as the game got late he stepped up in important fashion in the early 4th and helped us claw away the Sixers lead before Cuz returned.

Featured Grade 34min 30pts (10-20 2-4 8-9) 7reb 5ast 3stl 2blk 5TO
Cousins ( A ) -- The Good - Demarcus shot 50% from the three as well as 50% from two in this one. Also, in spite of the annoying fan heckling our free throw shooters, was 88% from the charity stripe. Never a one trick pony, big Cuz was good for 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and two blocks in what could have been a very painful loss. The Bad - In Embiid's debut at the G1C he did not disappoint, and he clearly had an affect on Cousins. With timely strips and a strong presence, Joel was partly responsible for Cousins 5 turnovers in this one as part of 19 for the team. The Boogie - DMC really went to work the last 4 minutes of the game. He poured in 14 of his 30 points, hit Temple for his first basket of the game which was a timely 3 pointer, as well as coming up with a huge block on Embiid in the final seconds to end this one in a victory for the good guys. --Suicide

15min 6pts (3-3 0-0 0-2) 3reb 1ast 2stl 0blk 0To
Koufos ( B- ) -- just got blasted by Embiid early and picked up fouls trying to stay with one of the few centers able to use him as a chew toy. But in an important move, Joerger did not start him after half, saving him to begin the 4th and provide us with some critical solid big man minutes in the comeback while Boogie rested.

17min 4pts (2-7 0-3 0-0) 2reb 3ast 0stl 0blk 1To
McLemore ( D ) -- wanted to claw my eyes out watching Ben brick shots and be unsaavy, but the irony was we were having a hard time finding anybody better for a long stretch before Garret finally woke up

28min 9pts (4-10 1-3 0-0) 1reb 4ast 1stl 0blk 2To
Collison ( C- ) -- after an uninspired evening, to say the least, saved a little grade by steadier play and defense late in the game.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Bench
Featured Grade
23min 5pts (2-5 1-4 0-0) 4reb 0ast 0stl 0blk 1TO
Tolliver ( C ) -- The Good - Came in and hit his first and only 3 in 1st quarter which ended up his only points in first half. One other 2 pointer in 2nd half and good, journeyman defense and hustle in his 23 minutes and only 1 TO. You kept seeing his #43 keeping with his guy but was not in offensive flow with Rudy getting 36 min. But Rudy was hobbling with 1-2 minutes to go in 4th. --Cruz

20min 12pts (4-8 0-2 4-4) 4reb 4ast 0stl 2blk 3TO
Lawson ( B- ) -- seemed determined to overpenetrate and play the game too fast and too quick with the pedal to the metal all the time. But still created something with a dead team, certainly more than DC. And hit a few key shots as we came back.

12min 9pts (4-7 0-0 1-2) 4reb 0ast 1stl 1blk 0TO
Cauley-Stein ( B ) -- overwhelmed at times by Embiid's physicality, but one of his most competitive games of the season, some legit production, and bought us minutes off the bench and as a 2nd half starter (during a fugly 3rd) to save Kosta' remaining fouls.

29min 5pts (1-4 1-3 2-2) 1reb 3ast 1stl 0blk 1TO
Temple ( C+ ) -- amazingly, Garret Temple was actually BAD for half this game. I wasn't sure that was possible, but he was just off. Missed his shots, shaky decisions, even got beat on D. True teamwide malaise. But he bounced this grade up as his D kicked in in the 4th, then added a "+" for hitting the backbreaking three in the final minute.

13min 3pts (1-3 1-2 0-0) 2reb 2ast 0stl 0blk 2TO
Barnes ( D ) -- I was mad at Matt for most of the night, and his struggles opened the door back for Omri. Just bad decisions again, and some of those awful inexplicable brain turned off turnovers when we were already seeping in a toxic stew of the stuff.

13min 2pts (1-4 0-0 0-0) 5reb 0ast 1stl 0blk 0TO
Casspi ( C ) -- really struggled in the first half of his return, meeting the Sizers size around the rim and getting his weak stuff deposited back on his nose. But with Barnes and Tolliver and Rudy all struggling with various thing at various times, Omri got late chances with defensive minutes with the winning hustle crew.
 
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#11
Rudy helped the kings get back into the game at the beginning of the 4th quarter.
And this is what I am worried about.

No. Just no. Rudy did not "help us get back into the game".

He continued to play me-ball and made a few baskets. That's what he did.

He took a dump on our offense the entire night. We should have won this game by 15+. We had no rhythm and it was exactly one player's fault. He was in all the wrong spots. He was never clearing out for Cousins. Cousins actually had to work AROUND Gay. It was ridiculous man. RIDICULOUS. So Gay keeps hogging the ball and a few go in. Then five minutes later he almost loses the game for us by committing a terrible foul and then going iso on the other end and taking a terrible shot.

The only thing that saved this game was Cousins NOT passing it to gay and making three clutch shots (and missing none) in the last three minutes including the clutch three.

Cousins SAVED this game from Gay.
 
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#12
Are we not including Davis because PF (therefore not "big man)? Embiid is extremely good for his age. But what he has to work on to get to Cuz level is: (1) anticipating double teams. Cousins has only really figured this out in the last year. (2) ball handling: I don't think he has the same handles as Cuz, either, but then he's really good at backing people down and fighting through them. If he gets stronger, he's going to be pretty unstoppable down low. Good shot but release is low. Perhaps that doesn't matter for a big man, tho, as in most cases he'll be given space. He's already a dam good defender - not only as a rim protector but good lateral movement, and gave Cuz trouble when Cuz tried to take him off the dribble. I agree it will be an interesting match up for years to come.
 
#13
Until we can accommodate Rudy and move him we can't play him and Cousins on the court together because it make any ball movement come to a screeching stop. Rudy would be most effective FOR US playing about it 14/18 mins.
 
#15
Until we can accommodate Rudy and move him we can't play him and Cousins on the court together because it make any ball movement come to a screeching stop. Rudy would be most effective FOR US playing about it 14/18 mins.
Rudy Gay is only marginally better than Casspi Tolliver Barnes when you have a scoring pg and cuz on the floor.
But he's still better, which is why he's going to get 30+ minutes.

If the team could find some way to convince Rudy to come off the bench, then I think it would be huge in so many ways. That could be the kind of move that boosts a team's morale. But I don't see him as that kind of guy.
 
#16
I was at the game and failed to see Gay play any worse than each of his teammates. It wasn't a good game for our team. Damn lucky to come out with a win. 76ers wanted to give it away worse than we did. But a win! Yea, four in a row.
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#17
Had great seats tonight....very close to the 76ers bench. Nerlens Noel was not a happy camper. Okafor was not a happy camper although he played some. Joel Embiid is a specimen.

Seeing Boogie up close and the contact he absorbs and then finishes with the soft touch is something else. Lawson is damn quick.
 
#18
Rudy Gay is only marginally better than Casspi Tolliver Barnes when you have a scoring pg and cuz on the floor.
But he's still better, which is why he's going to get 30+ minutes.

If the team could find some way to convince Rudy to come off the bench, then I think it would be huge in so many ways. That could be the kind of move that boosts a team's morale. But I don't see him as that kind of guy.
Lol not on a sub .500 team in a contract year for his last big contract.
 
#19
Had great seats tonight....very close to the 76ers bench. Nerlens Noel was not a happy camper. Okafor was not a happy camper although he played some. Joel Embiid is a specimen.

Seeing Boogie up close and the contact he absorbs and then finishes with the soft touch is something else. Lawson is damn quick.
Such a great young talent being wasted on that bench. Wish there was a way for the Kings to swoop in and get him.
 
#20
I was stunned seeing Ben Mc somehow take the wide-open pass on the break, try to set up for the 3-ptr like so many other guys do in the NBA.... and proceed to fall over.

Not step out of bounds (like he does more than the average player), but actually fall over when he was passed the ball.
It was one of the most embarrassing things I've seen happen to a Kings player on the court in years.

I was then even more baffled to see the refs somehow give the Kings the ball after that.
Anyone know how the heck they possibly could have made that call?
 
#21
I was stunned seeing Ben Mc somehow take the wide-open pass on the break, try to set up for the 3-ptr like so many other guys do in the NBA.... and proceed to fall over.

Not step out of bounds (like he does more than the average player), but actually fall over when he was passed the ball.
It was one of the most embarrassing things I've seen happen to a Kings player on the court in years.

I was then even more baffled to see the refs somehow give the Kings the ball after that.
Anyone know how the heck they possibly could have made that call?
Im not positive but I believe the ref may have had something to do with tripping him up.
 
#22
Felt like I was watching a bunch of clowns play last night. CSN should have cut Grant and Jerry and just played Benny Hill music all game.

What the hell was Barnes thinking? Team is committing stupid turnover after stupid turnover and Joerger calls a timeout to reel these guys in. Barnes goes to inbound the ball and tries to throw it off of a Sixers back and just turns the ball right back over again. One of the dumbest plays in recent memory.
 

dude12

Hall of Famer
#24
I was stunned seeing Ben Mc somehow take the wide-open pass on the break, try to set up for the 3-ptr like so many other guys do in the NBA.... and proceed to fall over.

Not step out of bounds (like he does more than the average player), but actually fall over when he was passed the ball.
It was one of the most embarrassing things I've seen happen to a Kings player on the court in years.

I was then even more baffled to see the refs somehow give the Kings the ball after that.
Anyone know how the heck they possibly could have made that call?
The ref tripped him
 
#26
15 years from now, how many conference finals do you think will be represented by one of the 3 Cs listed above?

I will start the over/under at 1.5.
 
#27
And this is what I am worried about.

No. Just no. Rudy did not "help us get back into the game".

He continued to play me-ball and made a few baskets. That's what he did.

He took a dump on our offense the entire night. We should have won this game by 15+. We had no rhythm and it was exactly one player's fault. He was in all the wrong spots. He never clearing out for Cousins. Cousins actually had to work AROUND Gay. It was ridiculous man. RIDICULOUS. So Gay keeps hogging the ball and a few go it. Then five minutes later he almost loses the game for us by committing a terrible foul and then going iso on the other end and taking a terrible shot.

The only thing that saved this game was Cousins NOT passing it to gay and making three clutch shots (and missing none) in the last three minutes including the clutch three.

Cousins SAVED this game from Gay.
I understand your frustration with Rudy, but your analysis is slightly misguided.

Rudy's problem is (1) defense, keeping his man in front of him, closing out on shooters and switching properly without getting lost. His lateral mobility, defensive intensity and physicality is suspect. The other problem is (2) folding in crunch time of winnable games. He gets the yips. These issues that have plagued him more than being a ball stopper.

Rudy is a professional scorer. This is what he brings to the table. He can rise over defenders and use his soft touch and length to use and abuse.

Do you know his TS%? It is 55.4%. As a team we are 54.3%. So he is a tick above average. And so there are times to ISO him when an advantage can be exploited.

It is not like we run a motion offense a la Dubs or Rockets with shooters all over the floor.

What would the point of that be....so we end up with Koufos, Willie or Ben getting the look? Not the best plan. I'd rather have Rudy ISO'd with a height advantage going to work than motion passing with collection of average to below average passers and finishers. Obviously Rudy needs to look to swing the ball and not force it when the D tilts towards him, but let's not pretend Rudy is not appreciably more skilled as a scorer than his non-Boogie teammates.

Now about last night:

Rudy was not a B-. He was a C- or C. He was tentative in the first half, though understandably rusty following time away. He got outplayed by Ilysova in crunch time, getting beat on slashing drive. He closed out poorly and committed foul. He missed lay-up to slow our comeback. He got the yips on an easy 12 foot shot.

We lose this game if Temple and Boogie do not come to the rescue. And reason they had to come to the rescue in the first place is partly because Rudy is so shaky on defense and crunch time.

Kings fans have to ask themselves if the 18-20 PPG that Rudy can get you of significant value relative to his defensive breakdown and black hole tendency? If he was delivering in the crunch time with a TS% of 56% or better I think my answer would be "yes". Then he offsets what he gives away on one end by being more dominant on the other. But there have been 4-5 games where he has punted the ball when plays need to be made: @ Utah @ Portland @ Orlando @ WAS and last night are games that come to mind where Rudy folded instead of flourished when it counts.

Maybe Rudy starts delivering in crunch time? In the meantime, I expect Vlade is waiting to pull the trigger on deal to alter the dynamics of the team favorably. Despite the four game streak, I don't think this is a playoff team. There is NOT a defined core of guy you can count on, at least not one I have confidence in. I think you need about 7 guys that are reliable. We might have 5-6 guys if I am generous:
  • Boogie
  • Temple
  • Lawson
  • Collison (in slump, but it won't last)
  • Koufos (maybe?)
  • Tolliver (maybe?)
That's six, two borderline. This is the makings of a playoff team? I don't think so, unless Boogie wants to play like a MVP for the next 3-4 months. I refuse to include Ben, Affalo, Barnes, Willie and even Rudy in core unless performance and consistency improves. We need 1-2 more pieces via trade and Vlade needs to get it done. He needs to do something ingenious instead of sitting on his hands with naive optimism and passive denial to the limitations of this underwhelming iteration less one superstar.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#28
I understand your frustration with Rudy, but your analysis is slightly misguided.

Rudy's problem is (1) defense, keeping his man in front of him, closing out on shooters and switching properly without getting lost. His lateral mobility, defensive intensity and physicality is suspect. The other problem is (2) folding in crunch time of winnable games. He gets the yips. These issues that have plagued him more than being a ball stopper.

Rudy is a professional scorer. This is what he brings to the table. He can rise over defenders and use his soft touch and length to use and abuse.

Do you know his TS%? It is 55.4%. As a team we are 54.3%. So he is a tick above average. And so there are times to ISO him when an advantage can be exploited.

It is not like we run a motion offense a la Dubs or Rockets with shooters all over the floor.

What would the point of that be....so we end up with Koufos, Willie or Ben getting the look? Not the best plan. I'd rather have Rudy ISO'd with a height advantage going to work than motion passing with collection of average to below average passers and finishers. Obviously Rudy needs to look to swing the ball and not force it when the D tilts towards him, but let's not pretend Rudy is not appreciably more skilled as a scorer than his non-Boogie teammates.

Now about last night:

Rudy was not a B-. He was a C- or C. He was tentative in the first half, though understandably rusty following time away. He got outplayed by Ilysova in crunch time, getting beat on slashing drive. He closed out poorly and committed foul. He missed lay-up to slow our comeback. He got the yips on an easy 12 foot shot.

We lose this game if Temple and Boogie do not come to the rescue. And reason they had to come to the rescue in the first place is partly because Rudy is so shaky on defense and crunch time.

Kings fans have to ask themselves if the 18-20 PPG that Rudy can get you of significant value relative to his defensive breakdown and black hole tendency? If he was delivering in the crunch time with a TS% of 56% or better I think my answer would be "yes". Then he offsets what he gives away on one end by being more dominant on the other. But there have been 4-5 games where he has punted the ball when plays need to be made: @ Utah @ Portland @ Orlando @ WAS and last night are games that come to mind where Rudy folded instead of flourished when it counts.

Maybe Rudy starts delivering in crunch time? In the meantime, I expect Vlade is waiting to pull the trigger on deal to alter the dynamics of the team favorably. Despite the four game streak, I don't think this is a playoff team. There is NOT a defined core of guy you can count on, at least not one I have confidence in. I think you need about 7 guys that are reliable. We might have 5-6 guys if I am generous:
  • Boogie
  • Temple
  • Lawson
  • Collison (in slump, but it won't last)
  • Koufos (maybe?)
  • Tolliver (maybe?)
That's six, two borderline. This is the makings of a playoff team? I don't think so, unless Boogie wants to play like a MVP for the next 3-4 months. I refuse to include Ben, Affalo, Barnes, Willie and even Rudy in core unless performance and consistency improves. We need 1-2 more pieces via trade and Vlade needs to get it done. He needs to do something ingenious instead of sitting on his hands with naive optimism and passive denial to the limitations of this underwhelming iteration less one superstar.
As long as Vlade does not trade any more draft picks or young players, I'm on board. There are assets to be had on this team that other teams could use; Gay, Collison & Casspi come to mind. Bring in youth and energy if possible, maybe a mid to late first rounder.
 
#29
I understand your frustration with Rudy, but your analysis is slightly misguided.

Rudy's problem is (1) defense, keeping his man in front of him, closing out on shooters and switching properly without getting lost. His lateral mobility, defensive intensity and physicality is suspect. The other problem is (2) folding in crunch time of winnable games. He gets the yips. These issues that have plagued him more than being a ball stopper.

Rudy is a professional scorer. This is what he brings to the table. He can rise over defenders and use his soft touch and length to use and abuse.

Do you know his TS%? It is 55.4%. As a team we are 54.3%. So he is a tick above average. And so there are times to ISO him when an advantage can be exploited.

It is not like we run a motion offense a la Dubs or Rockets with shooters all over the floor.

What would the point of that be....so we end up with Koufos, Willie or Ben getting the look? Not the best plan. I'd rather have Rudy ISO'd with a height advantage going to work than motion passing with collection of average to below average passers and finishers. Obviously Rudy needs to look to swing the ball and not force it when the D tilts towards him, but let's not pretend Rudy is not appreciably more skilled as a scorer than his non-Boogie teammates.

Now about last night:

Rudy was not a B-. He was a C- or C. He was tentative in the first half, though understandably rusty following time away. He got outplayed by Ilysova in crunch time, getting beat on slashing drive. He closed out poorly and committed foul. He missed lay-up to slow our comeback. He got the yips on an easy 12 foot shot.

We lose this game if Temple and Boogie do not come to the rescue. And reason they had to come to the rescue in the first place is partly because Rudy is so shaky on defense and crunch time.

Kings fans have to ask themselves if the 18-20 PPG that Rudy can get you of significant value relative to his defensive breakdown and black hole tendency? If he was delivering in the crunch time with a TS% of 56% or better I think my answer would be "yes". Then he offsets what he gives away on one end by being more dominant on the other. But there have been 4-5 games where he has punted the ball when plays need to be made: @ Utah @ Portland @ Orlando @ WAS and last night are games that come to mind where Rudy folded instead of flourished when it counts.

Maybe Rudy starts delivering in crunch time? In the meantime, I expect Vlade is waiting to pull the trigger on deal to alter the dynamics of the team favorably. Despite the four game streak, I don't think this is a playoff team. There is NOT a defined core of guy you can count on, at least not one I have confidence in. I think you need about 7 guys that are reliable. We might have 5-6 guys if I am generous:
  • Boogie
  • Temple
  • Lawson
  • Collison (in slump, but it won't last)
  • Koufos (maybe?)
  • Tolliver (maybe?)
That's six, two borderline. This is the makings of a playoff team? I don't think so, unless Boogie wants to play like a MVP for the next 3-4 months. I refuse to include Ben, Affalo, Barnes, Willie and even Rudy in core unless performance and consistency improves. We need 1-2 more pieces via trade and Vlade needs to get it done. He needs to do something ingenious instead of sitting on his hands with naive optimism and passive denial to the limitations of this underwhelming iteration less one superstar.
One footnote to a very good post on Gay. Last night he out rebounded Cuz 9 to 7. That's not nothing.