Kings v. Clippers

Kings:

Tyreke Evans- Evans had a rough night from the field. Still, there is no doubt in my mind that Evans will be taking steps towards being an elite player in the NBA in the future. That game-winning shot was Evans in a nutshell. He is too big for PG’s, even a big guy like Baron Davis, and literally can get wherever he wants on the floor, and he does an OUTSTANDING job of avoiding charges in the lane with euro steps and such. He is a very good ball-handler. For all this talk about his shooting improving, he still is a below average jump shooter. He played OK D, but usually he’s better on that end. Not a great game from the field, but he showed unselfishness and stepped up when needed.

DeMarcus Cousins- Looked good offensively. He has nice footwork and touch down low. He didn’t finish that good around the rim at times, but he still looks likely to be an impact player by season’s end at the absolute latest offensively. Cousins needs to get better on D, as he’s a pretty bad post defender. He was only OK on the glass, but it’s clear he will be above average in the season.

Omri Casspi- Shot the ball very well. He is a good athlete who has a huge knack for making plays in transition. He’s around the ball alot, and shows good rebounding skills and a high motor. Underrated passer too. He needs to improve his handle and develop a mid-range game. He outplayed Donte Greene, his competition at the SF spot too for what it’s worth.

Donte Greene- Greene was a mixed bag. He made some good finishes, but at the same time he took some bad shots and overdribbled a bit. Shies away from contact on both ends, and throws up weak shots on occasion. I have been expecting Greene to have a minor breakout, so hopefully he gets it together.

Jason Thompson- Mediocre as well. Thompson isn’t very tough, but I do like him as a player. He has good talent. Shows nice touch and good athleticism and solid hands. He likes to face up more than back down, but he is a good player to me. He is a mediocre rebounder and a pretty bad defender though, and it makes some Kings fans not like him lol. I would personally start him over Landry, but him and Cousins is a bad defensive frontcourt, so I see why they don’t right now.

Carl Landry- Not a good performance. He was a second late alot on D, and he struggled offensively. He still works hard, and works on the offensive glass, but he’s always been a shaky man-to-man defender (it really shows the longer he’s on the floor) and he’s not going to get a bunch of defensive rebounds. Would ideally be a 6th man, but his hard work on D in spurts allows him to compliment Cousins better than Thompson does.

Francisco Garcia- Energetic still, but he is an inconsistent shooter. I think he’s starting to fall out of favor in Sacremento. He’s a rotation player for most times, but he didn’t look impressive to me.

Darrell Jackson- He is getting better offensively. He even made a 3! Good 10-12th man lol.

Clippers:

Eric Gordon- Looked outstanding before leaving with an ankle sprain. Looked very athletic and showed a good shot as usual. He also made some good shots in the flow of the offense. He should improve a good bit this year.

Chris Kaman- Outstanding as well. His post game is great, and he took advantage of Landry and especially Cousins. He also was a killer on the glass. He’s not a very good defensive C, but he blocked some shots this game, making the Kings a bunch at the beginning of the game for overdribbling.

Baron Davis looked decent. He made some nice shots and passes, but he played a bit too and turned the ball over a bit. This is an important season for Davis, so I’m interested to see how he does.

Al-Farouq Aminu- Looked pretty good. He has a nice motor and a VERY underrated mid-range game, and he showed his impressive athleticism in transition and on hustle plays throughout his time on the floor. He even knocked down some 3’s, although the last one was lucky (I doubt he called glass lol). He should be a 7 ppg and 4 rpg as a rookie. He has upside, especially with his abiliy to rebound on the wing and defend multiple positions. He needs to improve his handle, IQ, and shooting range.

Randy Foye looks like the Wizards Foye, not the 3 years ago Foye. He has a crazy 1st step, and some good handles, but he blows layups at times or makes a silly mistake like jumping without any idea what he wants to do with the ball. He will be a 2nd unit player for the Clips, but he needs to get a grip of whatever has been messing with him for the last 2 years or so

Craig Smith played good in the 1st half. He played with energy and reckless abandon around the rim, and showed a decent face-up game, but he is effective if he played the right amount of minutes. He’s a true 15-18 mpg player, and he struggled on D and was less aggressive the longer he was out there.

Eric Bledsoe- Played at the end of the game. He’s still fast and athletic, but he’s raw and looks like a fish out of water running an offense. He’s not very smart on the court and he looks like he needs to develop a bunch of skills. I doubt he plays much as a rookie.