Old Minnesota vs New Minnesota Report Card (Lakers @ Minnesota 1/29/2012)
by bringbackbrewer on Jan 30, 2012 12:00 AM CST
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Triple B's Report card of the Lakers vs Minnesota game
*Note -I was wonderfully surprised by my GF and taken to this game. This will throw off my view a little as I am much more keen when I see it on TV.
First off this game was very easy for me to remain unbaised because the Wolves are my #1 team and the (former) Minneapolis Lakers are my second favorite team.
Second, I will be writing this as if I expect a great performance out of every player. No grading Wes easy because he didnt miss 10 shots(Sorry Wes)
Third, I know this site is a very concrete and stats oriented. I am a proponent of that but my natural disposition is esoteric and feel based. Please forgive me if I screw this up. Argue away and please be kind.
Overall this was a great game to be at. The crowd was pumped and it was really fun. Also, even though we lost and shot like our temperature we can take away some really good things. Lets get this started!!!!! (Cue: annoying Wally look alike replacement voice.)
Going down the box score.
Grade- D
Pros- Had one nice drive. Looked like he was hustling.
Kahns(just kidding, I like the guy. Please dont shoot me.)- Umm... Defense. Kobe did not shoot much with Wes on him but thats more because he didnt have to. He looked terrible to me. Shooting. Pump fake an open three to drive or shoot a worse shot(Also see Ellington.)
Overall- Ship him. Mayo open?
Grade- B+
Pros- Great shooting. Alot of good tip ins. Good rebounds. Got to the line. Sweet cuts. Sweet cuts. Sweet cuts.
Cons- Bad defense.
Overall- Played better than Kobe, but barely. I mean Kobe out rebounded him. He had a great game but remember my grades are not based on expectations but rather a true curve. His defense was to blame for alot in my perspective. First really bad defensive game of the year for him.
Grade- B-
Pros- Sweet cuts. Sweet dunks. Sweet tatoo. Sweet lips. Uh.. what? Sweet Offensive rebounds. Played decent Defense.
Cons- Too many fouls. Did not punch Bynum in the face. Did not come home with me.
Overall- I have a crush on this guy. He seemed to do a great job on defense. Really played physical. Bynum seemed to be frustrated by him. He put his arms straight up and stood his ground most times. They just made good shots.
Grade- D+
Pros- grabbed some assists.
Cons- Missed shots.
Overall- His cold streak continues. He keeps taking the 16-23 though. The best shot in basketball will fall soon. :/
RRRRRicky RRRRubio
Grade- D- (ouch that hurt to write.)
Pros- He made some sweet passes.
Cons- No steals. Left Fisher open to do what he wanted. Fisher had 0 turnovers. Ricky didnt disrupt passing lanes at all. Did not gore anyone with his unicorn horn.
Overall- His worst game yet I thinks. Really didn't impact the game but I still take him and Pek on a date and discuss the finer points of the Western vs Eastern Euro culture.
Grade - C-
Pros- Got to the line twice. One was a travel IMHO.
Cons- Looked really rusty.
Overall- Lets see more before I make a conclusion.
Grade- F+
Pros- Had the highest plus minus on the team. Had some good boards. Played active and got under Kobe's skin. (Actually I think he just pissed Kobe off and sent him to EFF YOU! Mode.)
Cons- I dont know if you saw it on TV but he looked really confused. I counted 5 times Rubio had to tell him where to go for a play and he still didnt do it right. Was really rusty. His shot was waaaay off. (If Ellington keeps up the funk im going to say WWWWAAAAYYYNNEE OFFF. I know Im hilarious.)
Micheal Beasley
Grade- B
Pros- Really active. Had some sweet and clutch boards. Made a couple shots in the flow of offense and provided a legitimate spark. Had one sweeeeeet pass. I liked it alot.
Cons- Took two bad shots(that I counted) and honestly that is actually good for him.
Overall- I really, really liked his game tonight. Once Rubio yelled at him to do something, and he gave Rubio the stare down. Then in redemption he did exactly what Rubio said, got the board and the putback. I liked it. Defiant Obedience.
Grade- B+
Pros- The only reason we came back. He played some decent D. Ran Bynum and Gasol tired.
Cons- Still cant hit the 15-20 footer. Still plays with the same droopy dog expression that makes me wonder why you can't love playing for millions.
Overall- He should have been in more. He was the counter to the half court sets. He was out and running and Gasol and Bynum weren't into that.
Derek Williams
Grade- F. F. F. F.
Pros- None.
Cons- looked overweight. Didnt do anything. Missed shots. Didnt play much.
Overall- He will be good but he isnt an impact player yet and we shouldn't expect it too soon. He has the tools. He has the mindset. He needs to work hard to get to where he can. Also, is it true he didnt play ball till his junior year of highschool? If so. Impressive.
Rickard Adelman
Grade- D+
Overall- This is the first game I felt like he didn't change the game and out coach the other team. I feel like we needed to run more. Way too much half court against this great half court team.
Who didnt I mention? Oh yeah... My eyes are in PAIN WAYNE. He had an G. One lower than an F. And not like a Gangster. Like a Goon. If he pump fakes one more open three into a dribble pull up 16-23 footer I will drive to Target Center and slap him myself.
T-Wolves
Grade- C
Pros- Some old retreads of wolves played well and showed some promise.
Cons- We gave up too many close looks. We let the other team designate tempo. Our two solid Ricks didnt show up.
Lake Show
Grade- B
Pros- I feel like they played good D. Bigs shot lights out. Easy and tough shots alike. Kobe proved he was better than Shaq ;).
Cons- WTF is their SF situation like. Worse than ours.
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thanks for stepping up and doing this triple B..
A lot of your quips were humorous and it’s great your girlfriend surprised you with tickets. Thanks for the first hand account of the game (I didn’t know Rubio had to direct Martel as much as he was as an example).
A couple times...
Ricky called a play and Wes put his hands up. Then ran to the opposite side of the court and got out of the way. Other times Rubio noticed and pointed to where he should go.
by bringbackbrewer on Jan 30, 2012 12:21 AM CST up reply actions
it's strange because I always thought Webster had a high basketball IQ..
I’m guessing it’s a lack of practice time.
looked...like...
Lack of practice… He played smart off the ball otherwise and ran well. If he shot better would have been a great game.
by bringbackbrewer on Jan 30, 2012 12:29 AM CST up reply actions
updated report card list.. let me know if you want to do one
1/30 Houston – already taken by MIchael Boosalis II
2/1 Indiana – already taken by gastrovan
2/3 NJ – already taken by Michael Boosalis
2/4 Houston – already taken by Jones the Cat
2/7 Sacramento – already taken by Google..
2/8 Memphis – already taken by Matt Leisen
2/10 Dallas – already taken by Darth Paxton
2/11 New York – already taken by MAYNHOLUP
2/13 Orlando – already taken by Malastare
2/15 Charlotte – already taken by ol’ weird harold
2/17 Houston – already taken by Michael Boosalis II
2/19 Philadelphia
2/20 Denver
2/22 Utah
2/28 LA Clippers
2/29 LA Lakers
3/1 Phoenix
3/3 Portland
3/5 LA Clippers
3/7 Portland
3/9 LA Lakers
+/-
Ricky +2
Luke -16
Ricky had a bad game, but something was working with him that didn´t work withou him.
of course...
but from what I saw it seemed his defensive presence wasn’t there. His offensive game was off too. Derek Fisher had a good efficient game and didn’t seem put off by Rubio when matched up.
by bringbackbrewer on Jan 30, 2012 9:18 AM CST via Android app up reply actions
yeah, I think that grade is a bit harsh on Martell
They guy played really hard. Took the shots we get pissed that Wes doesn’t take, and he’s had maybe two practices with the team.
Also, I felt like that Zone the wolves ran looked awful, wish we had more practice to iron that out, cuz it seems like it caused some problems even in the awful state it was in last night.
Building a Flock. To God be the Glory. @mikecboosalisii - follow me homies!
by Michael C. Boosalis II on Jan 30, 2012 11:22 AM CST reply actions
agreed
I think your report card is a solid “A.” Funny, succinct, and echoing pretty much what I saw. But I would have given Martell a little credit for his hustle & energy, even if a little misdirected & wild at times. Maybe a D+ or C- (that’s without looking at his line). He did hit one three, didn’t he?
Also – DWill had at least one drive & dunk. Or maybe it was a drive and near-dunk-but-got-fouled. I think if you have one great drive, you can’t get an F.
by dontbesomean youngfella on Jan 30, 2012 12:31 PM CST up reply actions
Martell hit 2 threes
had five boards, a steal and a blocked shot. For his first game back in a lonnnnng time, he did good playing some OK defense without picking up a foul. I’m sure Adelman told him to shoot until he started hitting, and that’s exactly what he did, hitting a clutch 3 in the final minutes.
Good report card but upgrade Martell’s grade, please.
Yo ho ho and a FirstRow stream!
Definitely grading Webster too low...
…and probably Rubio too. I mean, what’s the alternative? More minutes for Luke? Wes? Ellington (in this game at least)?
For the most part, I felt Webster played better D than the aforementioned (Wes had a couple spurts, but left waaaay to many open shots). He obviously wasn’t hitting his shots, but he did nail one or two big ones (pun?) and the fact that we were so wide open on most of those shots tells you how effective our offense was running (or poorly the Lakers defended, depending on your point of reference).
Otherwise, good job and thanks for the notes!
Webster took...
good shots but he was lost. I’m telling you he didn’t know where to go. He had two air balls. Missed free throws. Let kobe go by him. I think he had a bad game. I will admit I liked the shots he took. As far as Luke…. in retrospect he should have had a worse grade than Rubio.
by bringbackbrewer on Jan 30, 2012 12:08 PM CST via Android app up reply actions
Rubio
Had an awful shooting, night. I felt like he should have attacked the rim more instead of taking so many jumpers against Derrick Fisher. However, he did a great job of managing the game. He had 0 turnovers, and the offense only had 4! Most of that was due to him. I can’t see giving him a lower grade than Lucky Luke.
Ricky needs to shoot
When the defense gives him the room. I really believe he will begin to hit those shots at a high percentage in time. When that happens, losses like last night will be rare. Kobe gets open thanks to great athleticism and practiced technique. Ricky is “left” open out of respect for his passing ability.
"pokin' the animals at the Canis Hoopus zoo"
by pastyearsears on Jan 30, 2012 12:23 PM CST up reply actions
agreed, tho
his legs looked DEAD. He had no lift and his shots were hitting the front of the rim. Not sure what was going on with that.
by dontbesomean youngfella on Jan 30, 2012 12:34 PM CST up reply actions
Rubio played fine
Funny how everybody complaints about his TO’s and then, when he has none, barely anybody brings it up.
If anything, hes the reason for the comeback. the whole team played poorly in the first 3 quarters though.
Being "off" went beyond missing open jumpers
Guys were missing layups that should have been “and-ones.” And then missing the front half of the two free throws, to boot.
My wife, who just happened to catch the game, just thought the Wolves offense looked raggedy, throughout. She said, “Whenever the Lakers run a screen, it seems to work. The Wolves’ screens aren’t doing anything.” An interesting observation.
by dontbesomean youngfella on Jan 30, 2012 12:33 PM CST reply actions
Agreed.
It looked like me after not playing for 6 months.
by bringbackbrewer on Jan 30, 2012 12:37 PM CST via Android app up reply actions
rubio played bad
not d- bad, but he had a 3 horrible quarters offensively and his whole defensive game was below average at best.
my biggest concerns with him last night where his shooting and zone defense.
shooting – i don’t really care if he goes 2/12 (i do care, but i’m not overly concerned by it), but it really seemed weird to me how he was forcing shots so early in the clock, really, he had like 3 heat check moments and he only made 2 baskets. really unlike him. he tried to be the hero once he made that tying 2 at 79-79, and just wouldn’s stop taking it instead of finding beasley for an iso which was a pretty productive play last night.
zone d- they came back because of the 2-3 zone, but they couldn’t win it because they stopped executing it the right way mid-way through the fourth, and a big part of that was rubio, he was caught ball-watching a couple of times, and was out of place in a couple of secondary fast-breaks by the lakers. so much so that webster had to push him towards the right place on one play and the lakers took advantage of this and scored easily (huge mistake by webster, 2 wrongs don’t make 1 right, but i get what he was trying to do).
regarding his 1-on-1 d on fisher, i don’t care, fisher is a care taker, it’s really difficult to disrupt plays where the guy just gives the ball to kobe or pau at the top of the key and runs no plays. he did get by ricky a couple of times, but i thought it was more because he didn’t expect fisher to attack him, rather than him being unable to stop him.
bad game, uncharacteristic mistakes and he should have ended up with like 12-13 assists if his teammates made just a respectable fg% or could finish after the contact.
i’m really curious to see how he bounces back tonight against a top defensive pg like lowry
T-Wolves only commit 4 turnovers
That’s astounding! Even though Lakers are last in opponent turnovers, it’s a good sign.
by Jordan Seiffert on Jan 30, 2012 12:49 PM CST reply actions
Rubio looks dead tired, on O and D
And in defense, he always had to be ready to help our bigs and our SG… he was playing free safety the entire game… but he didnt have the energy for that either.
Adelman is running the kid into the ground… we need to sign a D-League PG, someone like Bassy or Sundiata Gaines
I thought Rubio would absolutely own Fischer
He’s old slow and old again and he never got him frazzled. Next time I look forward to Rubio taking Fischer out back to the woodshed.
by Doug West Domination!!! on Jan 30, 2012 4:46 PM CST reply actions
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