[Grades] Grades vs. Clippers, First Half + Fourth Quarter

#5
Fox - F. We get on to Willie for not using his length to block shots and catch lobs. Can we please get this guy to use his speed? He's just so passive out there.
He’s played subpar for what I’d expect for awhile now... Did he have a fortunate start to the season?
 
#6
Will just do the whole game here since I don't want to split. I mean, we can split it up but the reality is this was a single game that ended in a loss and we have to live with it.

A: Buddy. Not really much to say. Got hot and was the only reason we were in that game in the end. Unlike WCS, I don't think it matters if he starts or comes off the bench as long as we can get him some open looks. The early season was just a shooting slump. If we trade Hill at the deadline, he should be moved back to the starting lineup.
B-: WCS. Continues his lively and active nature on both sides in his bench role. Unfortunately, can't give him anything higher than this because that offense was just ugly in the second half.
B-: Zbo. Is starting to get his offense going and could buy a bucket when we needed it most. He's also still a pumpkin on defense and an easy layup line for the opponent.
B-: Skal. Got hot early and didn't do any worse on Blake than any of our other bigs. As usual got yanked and we never saw him again even though I thought he was the least bad of our starters.
C: Bogdanovic. A key contributor to turnovers in the second half, passing angles were not there tonight. Made a couple nice plays.
C-: Hill. Kinda silent as usual. Made a few shots.
D-: Temple. Has quietly been our worst player in the past week. I've heard a few people mention it but it's really remarkable how bad he's been and how relatively unnoticed it's gone.
F: Mason. Really, really made some bad decisions when he was in with some terrible passes.
F: Fox. Yeah, couldn't get anything going. He needs to start shooting more. I don't care if he starts chucking and missing everything, the sooner he gets even an average jump shot down pat the sooner everything becomes easier.
F: Koufos. The return of Kosta Doofus! Just awful. A complete pumpkin. He's been rock solid for a while but last night I was reminded why I'm not a fan of Koufos.
 
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gunks

Hall of Famer
#8
He’s played subpar for what I’d expect for awhile now... Did he have a fortunate start to the season?
I'd go so far as to say he's been garbage with a few good flashes on defense, and even rarer flashes on offense....

....which is about what I expected from a 19 year old rookie without a shot. He needs to get some reps in, shooting and in the weight room.

I didn't expect much from him this season, so I'm not tripping. We'll see how much work he's willing to put in this summer. I'm still bullish on the kid.
 
#9
Fox - F. We get on to Willie for not using his length to block shots and catch lobs. Can we please get this guy to use his speed? He's just so passive out there.
Stop. 19-year old PGs with very little talent around them aren't supposed to be good after 20 games into their rookie year. This class has some of the most talented PGs we've seen in a long time and basically all of them are struggling... because PG is the toughest defensive assignment in the NBA and the toughest position to learn how to play in the NBA.

Willie deserves to be held to a higher standard because he's a 3rd year player and we should start seeing him play to his potential.
 
#10
Btw, Buddy Hield needs to be getting 30+ MPG.. It's just getting ridiculous to keep him on the bench at this point with how much we struggle to score and lack playmaking:

Last 10 games:

22 MPG.... (wut)
13.9 PPG
4.5 RPG
1.8 APG
1.6 Turnovers/game
24.9% USG
64% TS (!!!!)

Won't keep up this pace obviously, but we're basically limiting a guy who's posting super elite scoring and rebounding numbers in favor of Garrett Temple of all people. Time to make the change.

 
#13
Stop. 19-year old PGs with very little talent around them aren't supposed to be good after 20 games into their rookie year. This class has some of the most talented PGs we've seen in a long time and basically all of them are struggling... because PG is the toughest defensive assignment in the NBA and the toughest position to learn how to play in the NBA.

Willie deserves to be held to a higher standard because he's a 3rd year player and we should start seeing him play to his potential.
I don't think I said anything out of line there. I'm not looking for him to drop 20 and 7 every night but I'd like to see some more aggressiveness out of the kid. He talks about his speed being a difference maker so I'd like to see him use it. Frank Mason gets in the lane a handful of times a game and he's twice as slow. Even if he doesn't have a play near the hoop, he still gets in there and kicks it out to a 3 point shooter.

I've gotten on to Joerger a lot lately for his misuse of Fox but this last game was mostly on Fox. The big man would come out to set a screen and he would just casually dribble around them without using the screen, then he'd pass the ball to them when they'd turn around and then run to the other side of the court. The pick and roll was there for him multiple times this last game but he almost never used it. Maybe he should start treating more possessions like they're the last possession of a quarter because that's when he actually puts his skills to use and looks impressive. I don't care if he gets blocked or misses, just get in the paint more than once or twice a game.

There are a ton of other players that have played in this league that could drive and not shoot and could still get to the basket despite defenses sagging off of them. I'd just like to see some flashes from the kid and we haven't seen a whole lot the last couple weeks.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#15
I don't understand why when Fox is running the fast break we don't see more Kings racing down the floor to get the pass or rebound off his miss. It seems like they take that possession "off" rather than running with the kid. I've seen situations where Fox is walled off by four opponents on the left side of the floor with the right side of the floor wide open, but no King is there on the right side to receive the pass for the slam or the layup. It's totally understandable that the 19 year-old Fox isn't adept at running a set-up-offense with the pick and roll against NBA defenses, but what is odd is that we aren't seeing more opportunities for him or his team mates in the fast break.