[Grades] Grades v. Blazers 11/08/2013

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

And I don't see the problem with that. It's one thing if I fault his play because he annoys me with his body language, but that's not what I'm doing. I don't see what's so wrong with saying that his other antics annoy me. Or have you never seen other members of this board complain about Kobe/Duncan etc. for pretty much the same thing? I can understand you being unsettled with "posters foaming at the mouth with distaste" for JT who say that he sucks, that his playing is bad, that we should trade him, doesn't deserve his contract etc. But you're unhappy that I personally find his whining annoying? Really?

I guess in Mr Slim's world pet peeves aren't allowed.

For the record - I think James Harden is a very good player. But I don't like his beard.

What's next on the "do not like" list? The cut of his jib? The color of his mouthguard? His brand of antiperspirant?

I could understand if he sucked, and was a crybaby. Or if he were a locker room cancer and a crybaby. But, just that? Whining about calls? Something that ninety percent* of the players in the league do? What's his second-biggest flaw, bad breath?

* - Yeah, probably ninety percent of the league whines about calls. And half of the remaining ten percent don't get in the game...

 

[ESP47]

Well, that was probably Zach Lowe, who was working a nice agenda in that piece.

Let me tell you something about Cousins' outside shot, as somebody who has wallowed in Cousins stats for years: its right there with all the major PFs. Same breakdown. Last year it was off a little. The year before it was on. This year it looks on. But the numbers look a lot like David Lee, or Blake Griffith or anybody except Aldridge/Love/Dirk. He's easily one of the best/only center shooters. Guys like Monroe/Pek/Hibbert etc. stay inside for a reason. They don't have jumpers to speak of. Like all bigs with jumpers, there is always the danger of settling too much, of getting the balance wrong. but like all bigs with both jumpers and inside games it makes him completely lethal when on.

Here is a link showing other centers and how they fare away from the basket.

http://www.hoopdata.com/shotstats.aspx?team=%&type=pg&posi=C&yr=2013&gp2=0&mins=0

Last year Cousins took 4 shots a game from 16-23 feet and only made 32% of them (he was equally as bad from 10-15ft). The only centers that took 3+ shots from that far out were Jefferson, Horford and it lists Bosh although he's more of a PF to me. Anyway they shot 41, 43 and 53% from out there. Much better than the 32% Cousins shoots...and we wonder why he always has a lower FG % than the rest of the big men?

If you pull up the data on power forwards...

http://www.hoopdata.com/shotstats.aspx?team=%&type=pg&posi=PF&yr=2013&gp2=0&mins=0

Only Blake Griffin who takes 3.4 shots per game out there is anywhere near Cousins at 34%. David Lee is a 41% shooter out there. The rest of the guys taking more than a couple shots a game out there are 40%+. Cousins is 32%. It's an extremely low percentage shot. What makes it even worse is that he compounds it by taking a staggering 4 shots a game out there. There's only a few PF/C's in the league that take that many or more shots from that area of the court and they're all shooting 10%+ higher than Cousins. You wouldn't even want 32% 3 point shooters taking 4 shots a game from beyond the arc let alone having your center shoot 2 point field goals at that percentage. That shot for Cousins should be a last ditch effort shot with the clock winding down. Not 1/4 of his game.

 

[DMC916]

According to NBA.com DeMarcus has the best playmaking ability out of the league. Whatever that means.

http://stats.nba.com/?ls=iref:nba:gnav&PlayerOrTeam=Player&StatCategory=Playmaking

 

[Bricklayer]

Here is a link showing other centers and how they fare away from the basket.

http://www.hoopdata.com/shotstats.aspx?team=%&type=pg&posi=C&yr=2013&gp2=0&mins=0

Last year Cousins took 4 shots a game from 16-23 feet and only made 32% of them (he was equally as bad from 10-15ft). The only centers that took 3+ shots from that far out were Jefferson, Horford and it lists Bosh although he's more of a PF to me. Anyway they shot 41, 43 and 53% from out there. Much better than the 32% Cousins shoots...and we wonder why he always has a lower FG % than the rest of the big men?

If you pull up the data on power forwards...

http://www.hoopdata.com/shotstats.aspx?team=%&type=pg&posi=PF&yr=2013&gp2=0&mins=0

Only Blake Griffin who takes 3.4 shots per game out there is anywhere near Cousins at 34%. David Lee is a 41% shooter out there. The rest of the guys taking more than a couple shots a game out there are 40%+. Cousins is 32%. It's an extremely low percentage shot. What makes it even worse is that he compounds it by taking a staggering 4 shots a game out there. There's only a few PF/C's in the league that take that many or more shots from that area of the court and they're all shooting 10%+ higher than Cousins. You wouldn't even want 32% 3 point shooters taking 4 shots a game from beyond the arc let alone having your center shoot 2 point field goals at that percentage. That shot for Cousins should be a last ditch effort shot with the clock winding down. Not 1/4 of his game.

<table border="1">
 
  <tr>
 
<td>Player</td>
 
  <td>at rim</td>
 
  <td>3-9ft</td>
 
    <td>10-15ft</td>
 
    <td>16-23ft</td>
 
  <td>threes</td>
 
  </tr>
 
  <tr>
 
  <td>Cousins 11/12</td>
 
    <td>4.1-7.3 56.7</td>
 
  <td>1.0-3.4 30.0</td>
 
    <td>0.3-0.9 35.1</td>
 
    <td>1.5-3.8 40.0</td>
 
  <td>0.0-0.2 21.5</td>
 
  </tr>
 
<tr>
 
  <td>Cousins 12/13</td>
 
    <td>3.9-6.0 64.3</td>
 
  <td>0.8-2.3 36.3</td>
 
    <td>0.3-0.9 31.7</td>
 
    <td>1.3-4.0 32.0</td>
 
  <td>0.1-0.3 26.1</td>
 
  </tr>
 
<tr>
 
  <td>Griffin 12/13</td>
 
    <td>4.2-5.5 76.7</td>
 
  <td>1.4-2.8 50.2</td>
 
    <td>0.4-0.9 40.0</td>
 
    <td>1.2-3.4 34.0</td>
 
  <td>0.1-0.4 26.9</td>
 
  </tr>
 
 
<tr>
 
  <td>Lee 12/13</td>
 
    <td>4.3-6.2 68.9</td>
 
  <td>1.3-2.7 47.1</td>
 
    <td>0.6-1.5 39.5</td>
 
    <td>1.4-3.5 41.0</td>
 
  <td>0.0-0.1 00.0</td>
 
  </tr>
 
<tr>
 
  <td>Hawes 12/13</td>
 
    <td>2.1-3.2 65.8</td>
 
  <td>0.3-1.0 33.8</td>
 
    <td>0.4-0.9 45.1</td>
 
    <td>1.2-3.3 36.0</td>
 
  <td>0.4-1.1 54.0</td>
 
  </tr>
 
<tr>
 
  <td>PGasol 12/13</td>
 
    <td>2.6-3.9 66.7</td>
 
  <td>0.8-2.2 37.5</td>
 
    <td>0.4-1.0 41.7</td>
 
    <td>1.5-3.9 37.0</td>
 
  <td>0.2-0.6 42.9</td>
 
  </tr>
 
<tr>
 
  <td>Randolph 12/13</td>
 
    <td>3.4-5.7 59.4</td>
 
  <td>1.3-2.8 45.0</td>
 
    <td>0.4-1.2 33.0</td>
 
    <td>1.1-2.8 38.0</td>
 
  <td>0.0-0.3 13.1</td>
 
  </tr>
 
<tr>
 
  <td>Duncan 12/13</td>
 
    <td>3.4-4.7 71.8</td>
 
  <td>0.9-2.1 44.9</td>
 
    <td>0.8-1.8 47.2</td>
 
    <td>1.9-4.6 42.0</td>
 
  <td>0.0-0.1 42.9</td>
 
  </tr>
 
<tr>
 
  <td>Aldridge 12/13</td>
 
    <td>2.9-4.1 71.2</td>
 
  <td>1.1-2.3 47.9</td>
 
    <td>1.3-2.7 49.2</td>
 
    <td>3.0-7.3 41.0</td>
 
  <td>0.0-0.2 21.5</td>
 
  </tr>
 
<tr>
 
  <td>Jefferson 12-13</td>
 
    <td>3.0-4.7 73.7</td>
 
  <td>1.6-3.4 46.8</td>
 
    <td>0.7-2.0 36.3</td>
 
    <td>2.4-5.7 41.0</td>
 
  <td>0.0-0.2 17.7</td>
 
  </tr>
 
 
</table>

 

[VF21]

...Stats: 24min 2pts (1-6, 0-1, 0-0) 2reb 3ast 0stl 0blk 0TO
Salmons ( B- ) -- I saw a lot of whining about John Salmons in the game thread, but watching Salmons closely I think a lot of it was undeserved. What Salmons did poorly tonight was shoot the ball - one of six is not a good showing. Salmons' passing, however, was quite a bit better. He wasn't ball-stopping, he wasn't over dribbling, and despite not being on the ball a ton he ended up with three assists and four good passes that resulted in missed shots (including one to Cousins at the rim). He had one drive-and-kick where he hit an open Thornton on the perimeter which led to a hockey assist when Marcus drove and dumped to an open Cuz. And on defense, Salmons did a great job. Tasked with guarding Batum, he allowed a grand total of 3 points on 5 shots. He had two near-steals when knocking the ball away from Blazers players, and did a good job on stopping the ball on a 2-on-1 break, which allowed Thornton to recover for a steal. When you know you aren't going to get a star-level performance out of your SF, solid defense and good passing are going to earn you a decent grade. --Capt.

You are so much kinder than I would have been. Salmons HAS to be able to shoot to be of any use to us in the 3, especially when Thornton couldn't (as I said in the thread) hit water from a boat. I might have gone along with a C+, but anything by definition "better than average" just doesn't work for this performance.

 

[Chupacabra]

Jimmer looked really sharp to me. It was tough to miss his perfect haircut over on the bench. WOW.

I haven't read through this thread. I watched the game and for the most part I was pleased with the kings performance. It's tough to beat a team that consistently makes one footed fadeaway jump shots with a hand in the face. We got crushed on the boards but that's to be expected when your lineup is undersized at 3 positions. Credit the blazers for making the pass to open man about as fast as possible.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

When a player like Aldridge gets hot, the Kings should immediately put Cousins on him. It's a perfect chance for him to show what he can do with a different defensive challenge. Patterson was playing as good a defense as he can, but Aldridge is very long and can always get clear looks over the top. I'd put my longest guy on him right away

 

[PurpleHaze]

When a player like Aldridge gets hot, the Kings should immediately put Cousins on him. It's a perfect chance for him to show what he can do with a different defensive challenge. Patterson was playing as good a defense as he can, but Aldridge is very long and can always get clear looks over the top. I'd put my longest guy on him right away

Cousins got a crack at Aldridge last game in a switch late 4th Q - I remember it well. Cousins got up close and personal with hand in face. But he faired no better than Patterson as Aldridge swished it from 18-20 feet. Knowing Cousins, he'd likely foul out if on Aldridge for most of the game. While Cousins is long, Aldridge looks bit longer and maybe an inch taller.

 

[VF21]

I think Aldridge is quicker...

 

[HndsmCelt]

What's next on the "do not like" list? The cut of his jib? The color of his mouthguard? His brand of antiperspirant?

I could understand if he sucked, and was a crybaby. Or if he were a locker room cancer and a crybaby. But, just that? Whining about calls? Something that ninety percent* of the players in the league do? What's his second-biggest flaw, bad breath?

* - Yeah, probably ninety percent of the league whines about calls. And half of the remaining ten percent don't get in the game...

So nice to hear a Navy man say 'Cut of his jib"

 

[mac]

What's next on the "do not like" list? The cut of his jib? The color of his mouthguard? His brand of antiperspirant?

I could understand if he sucked, and was a crybaby. Or if he were a locker room cancer and a crybaby. But, just that? Whining about calls? Something that ninety percent* of the players in the league do? What's his second-biggest flaw, bad breath?

* - Yeah, probably ninety percent of the league whines about calls. And half of the remaining ten percent don't get in the game...

Lets get this clear. I don't like how JT whines on every call. That's it. It has no bearing whatsoever on my overall opinion of JT as a player. I am simply stating and agreeing with another poster that also thinks JT whines about calls a lot.