Nashty and Cactus, Game 20 vs Warriors

[bwgood77]

Remember all, anyone can start these. I think batsmasher will start them immediately if around, and if not I will start within a few minutes of game end, but if you don't see it within 5 minutes or so, and feel obliged, start the thread.

Standings

How it works

+3 Bledsoe - still would love a better than 19 shot to 4 assist ratio for the PG, but he had a great game, and you certainly can't deny a guy who got 5 3s and 5 steals. That's probably pretty rare.
+2 Booker - shot fairly well but also ends up with 5 assists, which is what this team really needs
+1 Bender - a lot of great movement without the ball, and had some nice plays, shot efficiently, even had a great (would have been) assist to Len for a dunk but he got fouled.

I'm not sure about my Cactus votes yet, because no one seemed like they played particularly bad, which is weird to say considering how bad we lost. It's just more of a statement a bit about our talent, but mostly about GS's talent. I mean if they are going to shoot 63% from the field and 67% from 3, they are going to crush anyone.

[ATTL]

+3 bledsoe
+2 book
+1 bender

-3 Alex - 1 rebound
-2 tuck

[blacksun]

+3 Bledsoe
+2 Booker
+1 Tucker

[Sunsss]

+3 Bledsoe - still would love a better than 19 shot to 4 assist ratio for the PG, but he had a great game, and you certainly can't deny a guy who got 5 3s and 5 steals. That's probably pretty rare.
+2 Booker - shot fairly well but also ends up with 5 assists, which is what this team really needs
+1 Bender - a lot of great movement without the ball, and had some nice plays, shot efficiently, even had a great (would have been) assist to Len for a dunk but he got fouled.

This is very accurate. Cactus gotta go to team defense in general.

[MilotheSlayer]

+3 Bledsoe - I wish he could be our alpha dog and perform like this all games. Would have liked a few more assists but when no one else is hitting it happens.
+2 Booker - He picked his spots and won his one on one battles. Good offensive game. Still gets lost too often on defense.
+1 Bender - Good game. He still gets lost at times but I can definitely tell he's adjusting to the pace of the NBA.

[nashrambler13]

+3 Bledsoe: I love how he gets up for games against the best players; the Ws are just too good.
+2 Booker: It almost felt like when he was in we had a chance (whether or not that's true).
+1 Bender: God I love Dragan Bender. The drives, the threes, the (generally) sound defense; what's not to love?? I'd love to see more of the Toni Kukoc ish though!

Cactus "awards" were hard, because like bw said, no one was noticeably bad really, the Warriors are just not fair at all.

-1 Len: Like I said, these were hard. He probably doesn't deserve this.
-2 BK: I'm embarrassed for him not being better in garbage time. That's your time, BK!!
-3 Watson: If for nothing else, for his defensive assignments, wtf??

Notes both positive and negative:
+: Love the "non points" stats tonight for a couple guys: Book with 5 assists, Bender with 4 boards, Bled with 5 steals.
-: Yo, are we sure that Marquese can even shoot? I know he made a three today, but literally every time he shoots it it's like he's relearning how to do it. It reminds me of watching some rando football/track athlete picking up a basketball and just chucking it up there (which to be fair, he is not too far removed from).
-: On Earl's defensive assignments: Did anyone else notice when he legit had Booker guarding KD and Bender guarding Iggy? And Ulis guarding Livingston with BK guarding Ian Clark? These were not on switches or fast breaks, this was post-made basket for the Suns. Just mind-boggling stuff from Earl. Not like we stood a chance, but what???
- (technically): The Ws are just devastating in transition. Honestly, it was a joy to watch, but it murdered us.

[Sunsss]

-: On Earl's defensive assignments: Did anyone else notice when he legit had Booker guarding KD and Bender guarding Iggy? And Ulis guarding Livingston with BK guarding Ian Clark? These were not on switches or fast breaks, this was post-made basket for the Suns. Just mind-boggling stuff from Earl. Not like we stood a chance, but what???

Those were all in garbage time and I don't think they cared that much.

[Zelaznyrules]

+3 Bledsoe
+2 Booker
+1 Bender
-3 Knight
-2 Tucker
-1 Chandler

I'm sure some will question putting Tucker and Chandler in there. Here's my reasoning, they combined for 11 points, clearly they aren't in there for offense. So they logged 48 minutes between them because of their defensive prowess and our defense tonight was horrible...

[Saberestar]

+3 Bledsoe
+2 Booker
+1 Bender

-3 Len
-2 Dudley
-1 Tucker

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Surprised there's not more -3 BK entries here. The game burst wide open when BK came into the game in the third and promptly gave us a series of out of control turnovers that turned into 8 Warrior points. Otherwise, I'm with everyone else.

+3 Bledsoe
+2 Booker
+1 Bender

-3 Knight

[kennydorglas]

+3 Bled
+2 Book
+1 Dragan

-1 Duds
-2 LB
-3 Knight

[MrVince]

+3 Bledsoe
+2 Booker
+1 Bender

-3 Knight
-2 Tucker
-1 Dudley

[Qwigglez]

+3 Bledsoe
+2 Bender
+1 Booker

-3 Knight
-2 Tucker
-1 Dudley

[Jarlaxle0204]

+3 Bledsoe: Played very well. He is without a doubt our best current player.
+2 Booker: His spot up 3 was off but it was nice to see him recognize that and move more to the midrange game.
+1 Bender: Looked good shooting 3's. Looked good driving to the hole. Looked good leading the fast break. I know he's a rookie but we need to give this guy the ball more and let him make a good pass etc instead of just relegate him to the corner. I'd love to see a pick and roll with him but I guess I'll be holding my breath for that to happen.

I love Dudley but if he gets the ball and he's open he needs to just take the shot. He's hesitating way too much which is killing the flow and allowing the defense to recover on possessions.

[Zelaznyrules]

+3 Bledsoe: Played very well. He is without a doubt our best current player.
+2 Booker: His spot up 3 was off but it was nice to see him recognize that and move more to the midrange game.
+1 Bender: Looked good shooting 3's. Looked good driving to the hole. Looked good leading the fast break. I know he's a rookie but we need to give this guy the ball more and let him make a good pass etc instead of just relegate him to the corner. I'd love to see a pick and roll with him but I guess I'll be holding my breath for that to happen.

I love Dudley but if he gets the ball and he's open he needs to just take the shot. He's hesitating way too much which is killing the flow and allowing the defense to recover on possessions.

Yeah, that's been my biggest complaint about him too. He was more aggressive when he first went to the bench, he needs to go back to that. Until he starts missing them to the point the defense no longer covers him, he has to take that shot when it's in the flow of the offense. We end up with some very ugly possessions because of it (Tucker has been doing it too, since the 48 win season).

[batsmasher]

Final.

3. Bled
2. Book
1. Bender

-2. Knight (based on abstained voting)