[Grades] Grades v. Bulls And Another Set of Three Blind Mice 2/6/2017

What happens vs. Boston?

  • Its like the Houston game, no Cuz = never competitive

    Votes: 13 33.3%
  • We hang close and just lack the guns late

    Votes: 2 5.1%
  • We are a disaster, then make our run and lose late

    Votes: 1 2.6%
  • We come from behind to pull off the tough minded victory

    Votes: 1 2.6%
  • We go wire to wire and send the Leasterners back to Boston to cry in their beans

    Votes: 6 15.4%
  • Who the hell knows

    Votes: 11 28.2%
  • Demarcus lurks in the parking lot and kneecaps several of the officials after the game

    Votes: 5 12.8%

  • Total voters
    39
  • Poll closed .

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#1


Introducing the new face of Kings fans everywhere.

So...in kind of an ultimate #Kangz experience you had the team that went toe to toe with the Warriors for 4 quarters and OT come out 48hrs later and play embarrassing, abysmal basketball until they were down by 27(!) in the third quarter. You then had that same team go on a 40-15 run(!!) to cut the lead to 2, and in the final minute you had ice cold Boogie come through with a huge and+1 to tie the game with a FT to take the lead. Then you had him miss the FT. You had DWade hit a tough clutch shot. Then you had DWade get another ridiculous call, getting away with holding Cousins on the inbound, resulting in a steal and turnover and another highly ref-sanctioned loss to Wade. And along the way you had some sort of half court near melee involving Rondo somehow? at the end of the 3rd quarter, you had Cousins pick up TWO technical fouls, one in the melee the second after that last play, resulting in an automatic suspension next game. And you had Grant chirping away about it incessantly.

And of course you had another close loss, entirely self-inflicted. With another likely loss coming vs. Boston without Cuz.

Welcome to Sacramento Kings basketball 2016-17.





Link to Boxscore

Afflalo ( D ) -- his claim to fame tonight would not be being as bad as Ben. Woot. Couldn't get offense going, and got slaughtered by DWade. As in didn't even have a theory on how to stop him, let alone a chance. Looked like a sparring partner out there as Wade just measured him and lit us up. We were far FAR better after he and Ben left.

Cousins ( C- ) -- an adventure as always. So...first, the Bulls strategy that so completely flummoxed us was to take Cuz entirely away. Double him without the ball, pack the middle, leave him nothing. And he responded with...nothing. 9 of his 15 shots were threes, which is ridiculous. Yet he hung in there and rebounded and fought and made a few good passes. Then came the huge score to tie it in the final min, then the missed FT, then the suspension earning T...man, these grades sometimes.

Koufos ( B- ) -- Koufos has a bit of a tough grade because his presence in the lineup coincided with our worst play, yet he may have been personally as effective as anyone while it was going on. Used the focus on Cousins to score well, but did not control the boards or Lopez's offense.

McLemore ( F ) -- just...horrid. Just did everything he could possibly think of wrong on both ends of the floor, and had a healthy hand in our embarrassing first 30 minutes. His only positive play all game was when Cuz spoon fed him a dunk on the break. Nothing to say here. Ben at his worst.

Collison ( C- ) -- Darren arrived to the party very very late tonight, and at the point Ben left the game, I had DC with an F as well. Hit nothing, and got destroyed by Carter-Williams, who is just too big and treated him like a kid sister on the driveway hoop. But as our huge run heated up, DC got in the middle of it teamed with Lawson, hit shots...never did get the needed stops on MCW though.

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Tolliver ( C+ ) -- this is one of those games where you know there was more there than the numbers suggest. He was the third bench guy who came in around Cousins and Collison and changed everything. No threes, but he slipped inside and guys found him. D'd up Gibson, and importantly he and Barnes could switch that at will. This wasn't his comeback, but he held up his end.

Barnes ( A- ) -- this is two games is a row. And realistically for a 37 year old guy who was never a stud, its probably a full A. Major part of the hustle and defense crew which led to our huge run, hit big threes, was on the glass. But two plays to determine it at the end did not go his way. First, he defended, and defended well Wade's shot that gave the Bulls the lead. But like Booker, Wade hit the tough shot anyway. Second, he was the inbounder on the play where Wade held Cousins to get the sealing steal. His fault or not, there's a minus in there somewhere.

Lawson ( A ) -- it was really Lawson who turned this thing as much as anybody. His quickness and drives changed the tempo and energy of the game and gave us our shot. had a few loose turnovers trying to drive past guys like Rondo who have quick hands, but this was a big ++ game.

Richardson ( C+ ) -- adventuresome first half outing that screamed "rookie!", but also "talented!". By the end of it was leading us in scoring, and should have had 3 more...but he stepped out of bounds. Played tough harassing defense...then bit on a fake and fouled. And so it went. A lot of good ideas but the execution was mixed.

Cauley Stein ( C ) -- I almost went with an incomplete here, but decided to give it a go. So, in the first half Willie got his offense going a little, but returned to wuss ways and let the Bulls push him around on the glass. Cuz iron-manned the second half so there was no WCS time until the final minute, when Joerger inserted him just to grab a jump ball tip, and he did just that to give us our chance to tie.
 
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#5
I place the blame on Joerger for this one.

You just simply don't have Barnes inbound the ball in a game on the line situation like that. Him and Cousins are our two most turnover prone passers. You have Collison, Lawson, Tolliver or whoever inbound it but not Barnes. I know Wade fouled and all that but it's no excuse to throw a dangerous pass like that in the closing seconds. The guy takes way too many chances in the passing game and despite the dimes he drops every once in a while, in the end they simply aren't worth it.
 
#7
Then you had DWade get another ridiculous call, getting away with holding Cousins on the inbound, resulting in a steal and turnover and another highly ref-sanctioned loss to Wade.
I'm beyond tired of Dwyane Wade living off his name. He's a good player, not a great one. Was part of 3 title teams while benefiting from Shaq and LeBron drawing most the defensive attention. Whatever he used to be, he isn't anymore and hasn't been in quite some time. He had a nice game tonight and made some clutch shots. Good for him. But he shouldn't be getting the benefit of the game-changing calls he's got the past 2 games against the Kings.

Sad thing is, both those plays happened right in plain view of an official only feet away

And you had Grant chirping away about it incessantly.
This is beyond tiring too. We get it. Grant doesn't like Boogie getting technical fouls. Most fans don't either. But to be completely honest, I would have blown a gasket tonight too given what happened in Chicago not long ago and then again tonight.

I hate when Grant always says "You just can't do that". Uh, yes you can because he did it. I could easily say that you just can't completely blow late game calls that help to decide games. But nonetheless it happens. The refs do it quite often. And that's a far more egregious offense than Cousins donating $$ to a charity and missing a game.
 
#9
I place the blame on Joerger for this one.

You just simply don't have Barnes inbound the ball in a game on the line situation like that.
Well, if Joerger didn't make the timely substitution of WCS into the game for Collison, the Kings wouldn't have had the ball in the first place to then lay blame on him for what happened next.

And Barnes is often the inbounder and makes a fair share of nice passes from that position. He just made a mistake this time around. To be fair, Wade wouldn't have intercepted it if it wasn't for the jersey grab he got away with either -- so there's that too.

If you want to properly lay blame, then it has to be on the entire team for coming out sluggish to start a game yet again. This game was lost in the 1st QTR more than at the end. We've seen these slow starts time and time again. They were down 20-5 in a matter of minutes and having to make an uphill climb the entire game.

There's simply no good reason to be down 27 points to the Jimmy Butler-less Bulls. Period.

The players are to blame, not Dave Joerger.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#10
Barnes always inbounds the ball. That was inevitable.
He does appear to be the preferred inbounder for Joerger.

The thing is, right now he actually makes sense. Whatever the arguments for or against (and the impulsive risk taking behavior is not my choice for an inbounder either), right now he's just about the best guy for these reasons:

1) you don't ever use your PGs or small guards as inbounders, because they are too small, and the other team can have a big 6'11" guy jump around in front of them and they can't see around him or pass over him.

2) you don't use your bigs as inbounders because they typically lack passing touch/feel

3) Cuz has passing touch/feel, but a real turnover bug himself. And Cuz is also your most likely target to throw it into. not only because he's the star, but because he's got great hands.

So really what you are looking for is the biggest midsized guy who has passing touch. That last bit about passing touch might mean Barnes is a better choice than either Rudy or Omri, although Omri has had the role before. But obviously both are gone. Malachi is a rookie, so no way. Ben is obviously not. And Temple, who is the obvious other choice as a tall passing guard, is out with injury. Hence Barnes, or I guess Tolliver. But between the two Barnes is the much better passer.
 
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VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#13
I really hope one missed call by the refs doesnt mask this fanbase from near three quarters of complete apathy by professionals.
Of course not. But when a team fights their hardest and successfully comes back, only to see the officials tip the scales, of course there's going to be frustration. The whole league deserves better.
 
#15
Well, if Joerger didn't make the timely substitution of WCS into the game for Collison, the Kings wouldn't have had the ball in the first place to then lay blame on him for what happened next.

And Barnes is often the inbounder and makes a fair share of nice passes from that position. He just made a mistake this time around. To be fair, Wade wouldn't have intercepted it if it wasn't for the jersey grab he got away with either -- so there's that too.
I applauded him for the WCS substitution but the man makes millions of dollars to make the right call most the time.

Yeah Barnes makes a lot of nice passes but he makes just as many dumb ones. Just because he's often the inbounder doesn't mean it's the right decision. He's made a few dumb inbounding passes this season already. As a coach you should have the best man for the job at each position and in that situation can you really say that Barnes was the best man for the job at that point in time during the game? That there wasn't possibly a better decision that could have been made there other than Barnes, who has shown time and time again that he is a loose cannon when it comes to passing the ball?
 
#16
Napear doesn't like Cousins, its simple as that. There was another Kings big man not that long ago acted like they were best buddies. Brad Miller. Napear could never have on-air conversation with Miller without at some point making reference to big mans "money" (ie, salary, contract). It rang of jealousy but he did it more in joking kind of way - like "buddy" you can afford to buy me a beer. Pathetic! Napear will continue to dump on Cousins until one or the other is out of Sactown. Cut Napear, sign Cousins to max extension or be prepared to hear the idiot rag about multi-millions Cousins will get with new deal.
 
#17
Yeah Barnes makes a lot of nice passes but he makes just as many dumb ones. Just because he's often the inbounder doesn't mean it's the right decision. He's made a few dumb inbounding passes this season already. As a coach you should have the best man for the job at each position and in that situation can you really say that Barnes was the best man for the job at that point in time during the game? That there wasn't possibly a better decision that could have been made there other than Barnes, who has shown time and time again that he is a loose cannon when it comes to passing the ball?
To Brick's point, who else would you have? And don't say one of our small guards...
 
#19
Cousins really needs to keep his anger in check. Refs weren't fair tonight, but when are they always 100% completely fair for everyone? He can't keep exploding.. I think someone in the coaching staff needs to hold him accountable. Take him to the side, and scream at him. Make him run more suicides. Don't berate him, but coach him up. Cousins is a competitor, so could this light a fire somewhere? I don't know.
At what point is it ok to stop making excuses for a grown ass man?

To make it completely clear, I'm not questioning his heart or effort tonight. He just needs to control that crapty anger.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#22
Yeah Barnes made sense inbounding it. Afflalo and Tolliver are really the only alternatives, and they have made bad passes too.
yeah, forgot about Afflalo. Not known as a passer, but at least has the size/guardness you could try. Still not an obvious choice or anything though.
 
#23
This is going to sound weird and slightly obsessive about Grant Napear... but I believe he does significant harm to our team. He is responsible, to a large degree, for the general public sentiment about Cousins and the team. Most smart people here are excempt fro his negativity. But he creates drama. He undermines morale. He models a way of disloyalty and negativity that just permeates attitudes in fans and just kind of around the team. He is NOT a positive force. And he is 100% unique among broadcasters in this regard, the kind of vendetta he shows against certain players. I was really, really hoping he would get fired when new management took over, not so much because I don't like him, but because he is such a negative energy.

I have never heard, in any sport, any other team's broadcaster act like this.

Compare it to the love affair fans have with Giants announcers Kruk and Kuip, and the positive mental outlook they bring they bring to the entire organization. They help create and define the super positive Giants culture. And do you think that helps win games? I do. Grant is the opposite of that.
 
K

KingMilz

Guest
#25
I'm beyond tired of Dwyane Wade living off his name. He's a good player, not a great one. Was part of 3 title teams while benefiting from Shaq and LeBron drawing most the defensive attention. Whatever he used to be, he isn't anymore and hasn't been in quite some time. He had a nice game tonight and made some clutch shots. Good for him. But he shouldn't be getting the benefit of the game-changing calls he's got the past 2 games against the Kings.
.
Seriously? Shaq averaged 13points in the 06 NBA finals and Wade averaged 34............the dude is a all time great and top 5 SG and CLUTCH performer if anything Shaq benefited far more from Wade than the other way around. He also completely out performed LeBron the first year the Heat got pumped by Dirk and company where LeBron vanished in the finals. Shaq drawing most of the attention seriously?

If Wade is not a great player than 90% of the HOF are scrubs
 
#27
Seriously? Shaq averaged 13points in the 06 NBA finals and Wade averaged 34
Because Shaq was drawing double team attention. He was still an impossible matchup for teams. His mere presence allowed Wade to roam free. Like all good NBA players, Wade was pretty darn unstoppable in single coverage.

Shaq drawing most of the attention seriously?
Seriously.

He also completely out performed LeBron the first year the Heat got pumped by Dirk and company where LeBron vanished in the finals.
Again, because LeBron was the best player on the floor and was the focus of the defense.

What has Wade won without those guys? They've won w/o him.

Wade was no doubt an all-star caliber player. But he wasn't ever the best player on those teams. He benefited from the attention they drew. But believe whatever you want.

It still doesn't change the crux of the point in that, whatever he used to be, he isn't anymore and shouldn't be getting the game deciding calls he's been getting.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#28
Because Shaq was drawing double team attention. He was still an impossible matchup for teams. His mere presence allowed Wade to roam free. Like all good NBA players, Wade was pretty darn unstoppable in single coverage.



Seriously.



Again, because LeBron was the best player on the floor and was the focus of the defense.

What has Wade won without those guys? They've won w/o him.

Wade was no doubt an all-star caliber player. But he wasn't ever the best player on those teams. He benefited from the attention they drew. But believe whatever you want.

It still doesn't change the crux of the point in that, whatever he used to be, he isn't anymore and shouldn't be getting the game deciding calls he's been getting.
Um...DWade is generally considered a Top 30 all time player and probably the #3 SG of all time. Its possible to argue his role vs. Shaq or LeBron (both Top 10 all time guys), but expanding that argument to try to reduce DWade below a surefire first ballot HOFer is taking it too far. He's an 8x All NBAer.

That said, the old cheating **** can go get longterm injured and join fellow cheating old **** CP3 on the permanent sidelines for all I care at this point.
 
#29
Um...DWade is generally considered a Top 30 all time player and probably the #3 SG of all time. Its possible to argue his role vs. Shaq or LeBron (both Top 10 all time guys), but expanding that argument to try to reduce DWade below a surefire first ballot HOFer is taking it too far. He's an 8x All NBAer..
That's all fine and well. I wouldn't argue against the fact that he'll be a first ballot HOF'er. Scottie Pippen was too, but never accomplished jack w/o MJ drawing most the attention away from him which allowed him to flourish. It's just my opinion that Wade's value has been a bit over-inflated because of who he played with. A player of his caliber should dominate and make clutch plays when his teammate is doubled more often that he is.

Wade could never carry a team to a Finals appearance with the talent level that surrounded Allen Iverson in 2001 -- especially when ALL the focus is on him. That's all I'm saying. As good as he was, he still needed a Shaq or LeBron on the court to put him in position to dominate. That was the argument against Kobe, too, until he finally dispelled it as the undisputed #1 guy receiving most the double teams (more so that the #2 guy in Gasol).

That said, the old cheating **** can go get longterm injured and join fellow cheating old **** CP3 on the permanent sidelines for all I care at this point.
Totally agree with this :)
 
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