Morey A+ Adelman A- Players Martin A Scola A Lowry A- Brooks B Battier B- Hayes B Budinger C+ Hill C Lee C+ Miller C+ Yao Gold Star Patterson B- Ish C Jeffries C Terrance Williams A+
Everyone needs "one great trade." That's the GM's job. That "one great trade" hasn't happened, and the team stinks. Morey C-, Adelman C-.
OP , I graduated from college with a C in my last class and you make me feel all defensive about grades again. I honestly am angry you gave JJ a F when he's been more than solid every chance he gets to play.
Morey: D Adelman: B- Jordan Hill: D Chase Budinger: C The rest of our players get A's and B's. They've lived up to their potential for the most part. This is all Morey's fault for not acquiring a suitable center to step in for Yao in the very likely situation of another injury. I don't care if he almost got us Tyson Chandler; he didn't. Our division rival got him and their entire defensive culture has changed as a result of it. The truth is, we would be sitting comfortably at spots 6-8 instead of number 11 if he just found us a better option than Brad freakin Miller.
it's an element of probability theory. there was about a 20% chance yao didn't go down again, and if he didnt we had a shot at a late playoff run and another trade puts us in contention, an 80% chance he would and then we were screwed, on the flip side, he could have planned around him not being there, in which case, we'd still be a mediocre team but maybe slightly better than the 80% chance of yao physical failure. In that case the only logical course is to roll the dice on yao, because a 20% chance to be good or an 80% chance to be bad, is better than going with a 100% chance of being ever so slightly better than bad.
You all are being too generous with your grades. We aren't in the playoffs, we aren't .500, we give up double digit leads to hobbled teams. No one should be getting above a C. This team is playing terribly and the front office is sitting on their asses doing nothing.
Morey B - Got some good players with potential, but did not really solve the big man problem that we have had consistently. Adelman C+ - He's had good games and bad ones. Unfortunately, imo there have been lapses in his judgment. Players Martin B- - Did his job as a scorer, but did not improve D (and he did say that was something he intended to do), and is definitely not clutch. Scola B+ - Despite us thinking the FIBA games would have tired him down, I think he has done a great job on the offense. I get irritated with him trying to draw fouls sometimes (probably when the calls don't go his way) and also FT misses. Lowry A- - I think he's the one bright spot we've had this year. We all knew he had the capability to be a starter. Not sure about y'all but what he did as a starter was a pleasant surprise. Improved his jump shot (hopefully sustains this change) and has fit well with the starters too. Brooks B - Injury took him out for a major part, but I think he's continued what he started last year. And I think Adelman's finally using him better (more as a SG). Battier B- - Sad to say it, but its obvious he's slowing down. However, with Brooks and Yao out, Battier did show some offense (granted it was not consistent)...but I think he will remain a defender without much of an offensive presence. Hayes B+ - If Hayes was 7 feet, Yao's injuries would be a distant memory. As a player, I think he would have gotten an A. What brings him down is the fact that he's a center and has to defend a center. He is too short, and though he cannot help it...that's what we have to grade him as. That being said, his injury shows us exactly how important his defense is for us. Not to mention an improvement in the offense and FTs (compared to earlier years at least). Budinger C+ - Has had a better run over the past few games, but has loads to go. I think he needs to step up his defense if he expects to play more. Through that slump, playing him was completely pointless. Hill C - Very very inconsistent. He does not seem to have a feel for the game. His athleticism is what gives him PT. But he needs to make more of an impact if he expects to play more. Lee B- - Lee is the unfortunate result of a deep bench. He would and should get more play time on most other teams. I think his defense and shooting is an asset. Just needs to play more with the team to understand Adelman's system better....I see huge potential here (may be wrong tho). Miller C+ - He would have been a great signing if he did anything on defense. He plays well on offense with the bench and is perfect for Adelman's system. But we lack a defensive center and we need one. We do not really need an offensive center (but I'm not going to complain about that part). I think this grade is biased by that defensive need. Patterson B+ - For a rookie, I think he's doing great. Obviously he has a lot to learn and is no where near a finished product. As of now, I like what I see. Ish C - Good reserve player...needs to work on his jumpshot if he hopes to get more PT. Jeffries C - Offense kills this guy. Quite impressive on defense, but worse that Hayes was on offense earlier in his career...and that's saying something! Terrance Williams N/A - Too early and way to little meaningful time to grade him. As for expactations...I think he's a great asset. His ability to play point could fit perfectly with Brooks. I think he too has great potential.
Morey: B Could not acquire a legitimate center over a span of almost 2 years but the same could be said for most GMs in the league. Everything else has been very good. Adelman: B- Far too many mistakes with match-ups, leaving Scola/Miller in with terrible match-up situations against athletic big men, etc. But he has basically nothing to work with defensively due to lack of center. Brooks: C Has been MIA for most games except for two games recently, hopefully he continues to progress. Martin: B+ 3rd best shooter in the league behind Nash and Nowitski, that's all that needs to be said. Nobody called Nash out on his defense when he was two-time MVP, and B+ isn't MVP territory anyway. Battier: C Can't consistently hit the three anymore. Scola: C He hasn't really shown any improvement in his game from previous years, his mid-range shot seems to have regressed from a consistency standpoint. Hayes: A Lowry: A Both of these guys have performed similarly. They play mostly mistake-free offense and play very good defense when they're up against someone they can reasonably be expected to defend. I can't remember many games where they haven't helped the team while on the court. Lee: B- The only reason he doesn't get an A- or A is because he's missed around a dozen easy shots this year in close games, including free throws. The definition of a choker but you can't ignore what he's done the rest of the time. Miller: A He does what he's asked to do and he does it extremely well, it's not his fault that he's relied upon to be the big man on defense. Budinger: D Absolute sieve on defense and can't shoot on offense. A very poor season. Hill: C Same as Budinger, can't stop anyone on defense and provides no spark offensively. Has shown some improvement though unlike Budinger while thrust into starting role, so he gets points for that. Patterson: A+ I've seen him make maybe 3 mistakes on defense and a couple of mistakes on offense, how can you not give him a perfect score? Ish: B Jeffries: B
I don't have grades. Grades just hurt people's self-esteem, you know. I don't want RA feeling unnecessarily bad about himself. RA pisses me off in not focusing more on defense. And no, I don't buy that he can't make this bunch play good defense. I think Morey is just being Morey. I wish he would do some whiz-bang trade tomorrow; his patience is excruciating for me. Hill is disappointing me. I still think he will get much better, in a year if not by the playoffs, I was hoping he would show something sooner. Hayes disappoints in that he is too good. We keep wanting him to be on the bench, but we can't seem to shake him out of the rotation, and maybe the lineup.
