The Real Notes and Quotes from the Boston game

[Fennis Dembo]

The Real Notes and Quotes from the Boston game not the stuff we get from the beat writers - by Biff Burns

Coach Frank’s pre game pep talk with Boston history thrown in and the game results:
Don’t shoot till you see the whites of their eyes. The Pistons shot 47.3%.
Give me victory or give me death. They gave him victory.

One if by free throw, two if by field goal, three if by a long field goal.
Lawrence Frank, on his Midnight Redeye Ride to Boston
They made 24 free throws, 31 two pointers, and 4 three pointers.

Biff Burns: Kevin Garnett did not play. He went to the AARP meeting, signed up for Medicare and picked out a new rocking chair. Could there be a a hip replacement in his future?

Biff Burns: Monroe, Stuckey, and Gordon had 69 points between them.
Coach Frank: When you have three guys scoring at least 22 points in the same game, good things happen. Just like when you brush and floss your teeth three times a day, good things happen when you go to the dentist. Be true to your teeth and they will never be false to you. That’s my motto.

Biff Burns: What were Jerebko and Wilkins doing out there tonight? Between them they played 21 minutes and had only 2 points.
Coach Frank: They stopped and smelled the roses. It’s a beautiful thing to win in the Boston Garden.

Biff Burns: Friday night is “Beach Night” at the Palace. Bring your beach towel and sun block. Oh, and don’t forget your swim suit. No skinny dipping allowed, except for Kate Upton!

[Fennis Dembo]

Years ago I was out at a bar near Cobo Arena after the Pistons played the Celtics. Heinsohn was in there drinking in a corner with some of his players. My friend stood up and was going to go over to get Heinsohn’s autograph. Her husband and I gently put her back in her seat. Heinsohn looked mean, ugly, and didn’t seem to be in a particularly good mood. He looked like he might literally bite your head off if you bothered him. We did not want an ugly incident and talked my friend out of the possible autograph.

[lemonpen]

Alright, times up damnit. What's up with the local scribes. How long can a guy suffer from a sore ankle before someone, anyone, digs up the straight skinny. Has Charlie V been kidnapped. Or, is he so deep in the doghouse he's unreachable by even the latest laser guided bunker bustin bomb. Or, does Donut Joe have him on perpetual trade watch.

Or, maybe 5 minutes on the court was all Larry Frank needed to see of him to realize what got the last coach fired.

Don't care what the circumstances, it's always a pleasure to watch the Stones roll the C's.

[FlyDog]

There was a story a couple weeks ago about potential season ending bone spurs. I know, I know..........I'm not buying it either.

[FlyDog]

It me..............Charlie VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV!!!!!!!!! Shut yo pie whole Flydog. I do have bone spurs in my shoulder...........I mean ankle. If it was up to me, I'd be out on the floor, locking guys down on deefense and shooting 3 bomb daggers like I all ways do! Now if yule excuse me, I gotta go pick up my Bently cuz I just got it detailed. Holla back!

[merc]

Lemon & Fly... Goodwill had a typo... CV was diagnoses with "brain spurs"... a disabling disease that causes erratic chucking and two left feet syndrome... the only known cure is extensive R&R for three years or whenever the contract runs out.

[merc]

Mike Valenti @MikeValenti971 "2pm Deez and I go to war over Pistons refusal to lose. He refuses to acknowledge the sense."

[frankied]

the celts missed tony allen.
they have missed him since he left last year.
he is probably the best perimeter defender in the league.
when he and rondo played together they were unbelievable.
they could dominate a game from the backcourt.
it made the job of their frontcourt a heckuva lot easier.
funny how teams always underestimate the contributions of guys like allen - and ben wallace - and tend to always think that they can replace those guys.

[frankied]

Hey .. Will trade anyone on the Pistons team except for Monroe for Jeremy Lin ... And we and every other team in the NBA could have signed him for the minimum in December ... but boy are we glad to have Wilkens and Russell as over 30 years old no future pretty close to useless players holding down 2 spots on the roster, ... and yet we still need another PG even now .. Thanks Joe for such foresight ... if you would raise the bar to 50 years old maybe even I would have a chance to play on your team .. 13 assists vs the Kings (Lin, not me) ..

what is happening with lin is exactly the kind of thing that can happen when and if you give young players a shot.
and when you don't waste roster spots on guys who do not have any kind of potential.
it is why i kept posting that the pistons should try to sign lin back when he was a free agent and they needed a point guard.
biggest problem was that joe d did not think that the team needed a point guard, so he didn't even take a look at lin when he was there for the taking, after he broke out at the summer league.
instead, he signed a vet - mcgrady - who was obviously just looking for a place to trampoline from so he could get one last big payday.
mission accomplished, from tmac's end, while detroit was - and is - still stuck with a hole at the point guard spot they've yet to fill.
unfortunately, that pattern is still in place. walker russell and damien wilkins are joe's most recent retreads who keep the team from bringing in and evaluating young players.
i've said enough about wilkins.
he's horrible, but he is here, so that is that.
i feel sorry dogging russell, however. i like him. he's a very good player. he is exactly what the team needs, in certain ways.
but the unfortunate fact is that he will be 30 years old this year. that is disqualifying. heck, teams are sometimes hesitant to bring in 25 year old draftees.
a 29, going on 30, year old rookie?
sorry.
i'd much rather have seen the team bring in a guy like ish smith, who was out there for the taking.
smith was one of the other free agents from that 2010 class who could have been signed by anyone.
what is interesting is that he took a path very similar to lin's.
he was originally signed by houston, played there last year, but was traded to memphis. memphis cut him, and he caught on with golden state before being put on waivers.
he was quickly picked up by orlando, and is again just waiting his chance.
obviously, teams think he can play, cause they keep giving him chances.
(memphis, houston and golden state all have good track records with guards, especially point guards. the fact that those teams, especially houston, have wanted both those guys says a lot about their potential.)
the biggest difference between lin and smith is that lin has definitely improved his jumper. smith needs to do the same thing. once he becomes a decent shooter, he will be a very good nba point guard. right now, i think he can be a decent second or third point guard. someone who comes in to run the offense or push the transition game, a change of pace guard.
i would much rather see joe sign a guy like smith, give him a shot, and if he doesn't work out, move on. bring in another guy. that's what non-guaranteed contracts and 10 day contracts are for. instead of wasting those last few roster spaces on guys who won't help you long turn, use those last roster spaces as a rotating tryout space. keep trying guys until you find the ones that fit. instead of having one of the most passive and worst records of using the d-league, why not become a lot more active. you never know just what you might come up with. lin is the latest proof of that fact.
continuing the retread of the year practice only wastes roster spaces and makes the rebuilding process that much tougher.
if you noticed, frank could not resist himself, and he turned to his security blanket, wilkins last night.
daye had a DNP-CD and JJ only had 8 minutes. it was bad enough when wilkins took PT from daye. over the last few weeks, it also appears that he is taking PT from JJ, also.
unfortunately, i think this is what we are going to continue to see, rather than an aggressive pursuit of young players who could help the team in the long run.

[Grizz]

Hey .. Will trade anyone on the Pistons team except for Monroe for Jeremy Lin ... And we and every other team in the NBA could have signed him for the minimum in December ... but boy are we glad to have Wilkens and Russell as over 30 years old no future pretty close to useless players holding down 2 spots on the roster, ... and yet we still need another PG even now .. Thanks Joe for such foresight ... if you would raise the bar to 50 years old maybe even I would have a chance to play on your team .. 13 assists vs the Kings (Lin, not me) ..

what is happening with lin is exactly the kind of thing that can happen when and if you give young players a shot.
and when you don't waste roster spots on guys who do not have any kind of potential.
it is why i kept posting that the pistons should try to sign lin back when he was a free agent and they needed a point guard.
biggest problem was that joe d did not think that the team needed a point guard, so he didn't even take a look at lin when he was there for the taking, after he broke out at the summer league.
instead, he signed a vet - mcgrady - who was obviously just looking for a place to trampoline from so he could get one last big payday.
mission accomplished, from tmac's end, while detroit was - and is - still stuck with a hole at the point guard spot they've yet to fill.
unfortunately, that pattern is still in place. walker russell and damien wilkins are joe's most recent retreads who keep the team from bringing in and evaluating young players.
i've said enough about wilkins.
he's horrible, but he is here, so that is that.
i feel sorry dogging russell, however. i like him. he's a very good player. he is exactly what the team needs, in certain ways.
but the unfortunate fact is that he will be 30 years old this year. that is disqualifying. heck, teams are sometimes hesitant to bring in 25 year old draftees.
a 29, going on 30, year old rookie?
sorry.
i'd much rather have seen the team bring in a guy like ish smith, who was out there for the taking.
smith was one of the other free agents from that 2010 class who could have been signed by anyone.
what is interesting is that he took a path very similar to lin's.
he was originally signed by houston, played there last year, but was traded to memphis. memphis cut him, and he caught on with golden state before being put on waivers.
he was quickly picked up by orlando, and is again just waiting his chance.
obviously, teams think he can play, cause they keep giving him chances.
(memphis, houston and golden state all have good track records with guards, especially point guards. the fact that those teams, especially houston, have wanted both those guys says a lot about their potential.)
the biggest difference between lin and smith is that lin has definitely improved his jumper. smith needs to do the same thing. once he becomes a decent shooter, he will be a very good nba point guard. right now, i think he can be a decent second or third point guard. someone who comes in to run the offense or push the transition game, a change of pace guard.
i would much rather see joe sign a guy like smith, give him a shot, and if he doesn't work out, move on. bring in another guy. that's what non-guaranteed contracts and 10 day contracts are for. instead of wasting those last few roster spaces on guys who won't help you long turn, use those last roster spaces as a rotating tryout space. keep trying guys until you find the ones that fit. instead of having one of the most passive and worst records of using the d-league, why not become a lot more active. you never know just what you might come up with. lin is the latest proof of that fact.
continuing the retread of the year practice only wastes roster spaces and makes the rebuilding process that much tougher.
if you noticed, frank could not resist himself, and he turned to his security blanket, wilkins last night.
daye had a DNP-CD and JJ only had 8 minutes. it was bad enough when wilkins took PT from daye. over the last few weeks, it also appears that he is taking PT from JJ, also.
unfortunately, i think this is what we are going to continue to see, rather than an aggressive pursuit of young players who could help the team in the long run.

Frankie ... big props for identifying Lin 2 seasons ago ... He did single handedly win the California High School Championship .. The guy reminds of Bird in PG format, not overly fast, but he has great court vision and awareness, and can shoot it ..

[frankied]

thanks for the props, but i just wish that joe d would have been interested in point guards back then.
there seem to be waves of certain types of players at times. sometimes there are lots of wings, sometimes lots of bigs, sometimes lots of point guards.
a couple of years ago, there were lots of point guards. most of those have been swept up - like lin and smith and all the other guys who got drafted and traded - and it may be tough to find one as easily as you could have back then.
for instance, this year, there are very few point guards worth anything. tony wroten is about the only one i really like, and its really kind of unclear if he's going to go in the first round. he's the kind of guy who could go anywhere from the late lottery into the early second. but i really like him. he reminds me of a cross between greivous vasquez and jamal crawford. he's athletic like crawford, but with the handle and court vision of vasquez. he's not the shooter that crawford is, but he's got great size and strength for a point guard.
so he's about the only one, imho, out there.
it was a lot easier when collison and maynor and holliday and lawson were all out there, for the taking. and smith and lin.
he really blew it, largely because he just hasn't acknowledged the need for that type of player.

[frankied]

grizz,
lin is actually pretty fast. he is a lot better athlete than most people give him credit for being. he is, however, quicker than he is fast.
and he does something that makes him look even faster. he changes speed and pace like an old vet.
here's that dunk he did on john wall. see how he slows down a little bit, lulls wall to sleep, and then he just blows by him.
[Only admins are allowed to see this link]
that's is what the old guys do.
the only pistons that even understand that are russell and gordon. ben uses it to get his jumper off, but because his handle is so shaky, he can't really take advantage of that ability to get to the hole. or run the pick and roll. he does it every once in a while, but not a whole lot.
but both knight and stuckey are clueless. knight, as a rookie, is excused. john wall is just starting to learn about changing speeds and not just sprinting down court as fast as he can run. but for stuckey to not understand how stupid it is to just blast full speed ahead, the same speed, every time...well it is just one more thing that makes me wonder how smart he is.
watch how lin runs the pick and roll. while he's not quite as adept as either nash or CP3, he changes speed so well that he runs it like a vet. he gets his screen, slows down or speeds up and lets the play develop.
the pistons' guards rarely let the play develop. before the defender is put into a position where he has to make a decision - and usually make a mistake - the pistons' guard has already just tried to blast by. it's like they don't even understand what the play is supposed to be about.
nash is the master of it. it is fun to watch him do it. and even though he's not really that fast, because he changes speeds so well, he is tough to guard.
what is fun about nash is that sometimes he'll try 2 or 3 screens before he gets the defender he wants. he'll try the screen, see how it is developing and back out....try it again, and see what happens and back out...and once he has the sucker...er...defender he wants, he'll make his move.
there is no one on detroit who even comes close to understanding how to run that play with that kind of finesse.

[cool breeze]

I'm effing HUNGRY

[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

Oracle .. just for the record, Kate Upton was discovered while attending an NBA game,so she is NOT off topic .. just one more reason the NBA is fantastic .. and why we all need to attend more games ...

Kate is GREAT! WOW I like the seated dancing if it involves Kate. Very good posting.

[cool breeze]

I still wonder why Dumars did not keep Affalo. However, it seems that the normally defensive handicaped Piston players are changing or maybe it is just the fact that this is a crazy season with so many games being played so close together. Boston plays Chicago tonight. Maybe they were looking ahead. However, Piston player are giving much more this season. Stuckey has been giving a super effort lately. Prince might have gone unnoticed last night. His defense was really good and he is shooting the ball much better. Knight had a tough time in the first half against Rondo but during crunch time, Knight played really well and made a great defensive play against Rondo at a key moment in the 4th. Monroe was very powerful on offense at times. The chemistry seems good. This Piston team is so much better to watch this season. I blasted Gordon yesterday and he was a key player last night. All of the Piston guards played well. If Gordon keeps this up, perhaps Dumars can work a trade before the deadline for a quality big man. If not, I am injoying the times when this Piston team plays with 3 guards. If they can get stops and push the basketball, that changes this team in a positive way.

Why didn't Wilcox play like he did last night for our Pistons? He seemed to always be trying to get his two fouls so he could sit on the bench and preserve his body for the time when he would be playing for a different team. I think that the previous coaching staff may have had a lot to do with how Wilcox worked out in Detroit. Maybe he needed to be loved more or have his ass kicked by the coaching staff. Maybe that is what Doc does with Wilcox.

[frankied]

"...Why didn't Wilcox play like he did last night for our Pistons? He seemed to always be trying to get his two fouls so he could sit on the bench and preserve his body for the time when he would be playing for a different team...."
wilcox is the type of guy who just doesn't put in the same effort with bad teams.
that is why i thought he would have been the perfect addition to the pistons teams when they contended. he was out there for the taking - seattle/okc desperately wanted to dump him and his contract - but joe d would not do what needed to be done to get him.
he would have added the athleticism detroit needed to juice up their team, post big ben.
too bad, cause i've always thought that the addition of one guy like him would have netted the pistons another title.

[Grizz]

I still wonder why Dumars did not keep Affalo. However, it seems that the normally defensive handicaped Piston players are changing or maybe it is just the fact that this is a crazy season with so many games being played so close together. Boston plays Chicago tonight. Maybe they were looking ahead. However, Piston player are giving much more this season. Stuckey has been giving a super effort lately. Prince might have gone unnoticed last night. His defense was really good and he is shooting the ball much better. Knight had a tough time in the first half against Rondo but during crunch time, Knight played really well and made a great defensive play against Rondo at a key moment in the 4th. Monroe was very powerful on offense at times. The chemistry seems good. This Piston team is so much better to watch this season. I blasted Gordon yesterday and he was a key player last night. All of the Piston guards played well. If Gordon keeps this up, perhaps Dumars can work a trade before the deadline for a quality big man. If not, I am injoying the times when this Piston team plays with 3 guards. If they can get stops and push the basketball, that changes this team in a positive way.

Why didn't Wilcox play like he did last night for our Pistons? He seemed to always be trying to get his two fouls so he could sit on the bench and preserve his body for the time when he would be playing for a different team. I think that the previous coaching staff may have had a lot to do with how Wilcox worked out in Detroit. Maybe he needed to be loved more or have his ass kicked by the coaching staff. Maybe that is what Doc does with Wilcox.

All great points but will only offer my 2 cents as to why Dumars dumped AA ... I honestly think he had decided that the Pistons didnt need nor could use Affalo .. Got Ben Gordon, Got Rip .. Got Stuckey .. Dont need any more SGs .. Sure Nuggets ...take AA off my hands because I am too lazy or clueless to value his great work ethic, great defense, or accurate shooting. It was really dumb, careless, lazy, and always gets me real mad when I think of it . Nowadays I getjust as justifiably mad thinking Dumars went for crap 30-something Development league players when undrafted Jeremy Lin could have been taken in and developed at several points in time over the past 2 years for an NBA minimum .. BUT NO! Where is a GM who knows what the hell is going on .. ??? If our roster were complete with all positions and were young .. and we didnt need a PG .. sure who cares? BUT DUMARS got it wrong on all those counts .. so yeah .. horsefeathers GM we got .. So that is why Dumars needs to move on to a new line of work .. He doesnt get what being a good GM means anymore .. If you are rebuilding .. rebuild.. Wilkens and Russell are simply a GM grasping at straws because he does not understand his job, or just doesnt care. Give us players who CAN have a future. Glad Gore at least over ruled Joe on his head coaching choice .. More bad decisions to come ? Or how about just having a good GM who will work to get it right ... wont always but at least give us a shot and stop handing out court positions as if there were no rhyme nor reason to anything ..

[Murph]

I was sorry to see JJ was left off of the Rising Stars Challenge teams. It's not even that he deserves to make the game, although a strong argument could be made that he should have been selected ahead of Hayward and Leonard. It's just that I remember a couple of years ago that he seemed like such a rising star when he made the Rookie Team.

Let's just hope that after a season of coming off the bench, to keep his minutes down, and to let him build up strength in his legs and heel, that he'll resume the original upward trajectory of his career.

[Murph]

It's a little early, but I'm going to hand out mid-term grades anyway. Based on their performances so far, it's MY OPINION that the Pistons players should recieve the following grades. (If you have your own opinoins, you are free to post them, but don't go correcting my OPINION.)

Monroe A (not an A+ because of his defense)
Stuckey B (surprisingly efficient)
Wallace B (ending his career with dignity)
Machlin B (the forgotten man)
Jerebko C+ (hopefully, making his way back)
Maxiell C (has worked hard this year)
Prince C- (ugh)
Knight C- (too many turnovers, not enough assists)
Gordon C- (I'm being very generous)
Bynum F
Russell F (I love the guy, but he's played like a D-Leaguer)
Wilkins F (too bad Singler never showed up)
Daye F (head case)
Villanueva F--

Lawrence Frank C- (should be lower, but the roster is so bad that he gets something of a free pass this season)

[Murph]

So of the 7 PGs that were selected to play in the Rising Stars Challenge, Brandon Knight was picked 7th and last, behind Irving, Lin, Rubio, Walker, Wall, and Cole, in that order. In fact, Knight wasn't really picked at all; he was assigned to Shaq's team. Hmmmmm....

I guess Knight should have been picked ahead of Norris Cole, but in general, I can't really argue with the selection process. Let's hope Knight takes this as a wake-up call...and gets his ass in gear for the Rising Stars game, and for the 2nd half of the season.

[frankied]

It's a little early, but I'm going to hand out mid-term grades anyway. Based on their performances so far, it's MY OPINION that the Pistons players should recieve the following grades. (If you have your own opinoins, you are free to post them, but don't go correcting my OPINION.)

Monroe A (not an A+ because of his defense)
Stuckey B (surprisingly efficient)
Wallace B (ending his career with dignity)
Machlin B (the forgotten man)
Jerebko C+ (hopefully, making his way back)
Maxiell C (has worked hard this year)
Prince C- (ugh)
Knight C- (too many turnovers, not enough assists)
Gordon C- (I'm being very generous)
Bynum F
Russell F (I love the guy, but he's played like a D-Leaguer)
Wilkins F (too bad Singler never showed up)
Daye F (head case)
Villanueva F--

Lawrence Frank C- (should be lower, but the roster is so bad that he gets something of a free pass this season)

i agree with all of your grades at the top of the list.
once you get to bynum, i'd give different grades.
bynum and daye and charlie v - incompletes
russell - C-
wilkins - D-
frank -D (his record is what it is, horrible; he is not developing young players: knight is playing but not improving appreciably, daye's play has degenerated, jj's play has fallen off and macklin is not playing, regularly. both stuckey and monroe are playing better, but they were on that trajectory last year, so frank gets no credit for their improvement. a C is a passing grade and frank has failed, so far, in doing the things he should be doing: either winning or developing young players.)

[Murph]

i agree with all of your grades at the top of the list.
once you get to bynum, i'd give different grades.
bynum and daye and charlie v - incompletes
russell - C-
wilkins - D-
frank -D (his record is what it is, horrible; he is not developing young players: knight is playing but not improving appreciably, daye's play has degenerated, jj's play has fallen off and macklin is not playing, regularly. both stuckey and monroe are playing better, but they were on that trajectory last year, so frank gets no credit for their improvement. a C is a passing grade and frank has failed, so far, in doing the things he should be doing: either winning or developing young players.)

Seems reasonable. Can't really argue with any of that, although I think you're been awfully kind to Russell. If Russell could just consistantly finish around the rim on his lay-ups, he'd look a lot better. Hopefully, he'll improve that in the 2nd half.

[lemonpen]

Murph,

can't argue with your assessment, except for coach Frank. I give him a B-. The team looks way more organized than 5 weeks ago, particularly on D.

[frankied]

Murph,

can't argue with your assessment, except for coach Frank. I give him a B-. The team looks way more organized than 5 weeks ago, particularly on D.

my only problem is this...
if frank was in full rebuild mode, i'd give him credit for the team looking a bit better.
but he is not in full rebuild mode. he's doing exactly what the last two coaches have done, which is muddle through and just win as many games as he possibly can while giving young players some PT, if it fits.
as a result, wins/losses is the only criteria that matters.
and the team's record is horrible. one of the league's worst. and that is what he should be judged on. wins and losses.
now, if he had committed to a full rebuild he'd get credit, imho, for any sort of improvement.
if he played knight and monroe 35 minutes per, jj and daye 25-30 minutes, macklin 15-20 minutes, then his actual record would be irrelevant and you could look at the team's general direction.
i love ben and it is obvious that the team is better with him on the floor, generally. but every minute ben plays, when macklin could be on the floor hurts the team's future.
every minute wilkins is out there, taking time from jj and daye, hurts the team's future.
both ben and wilkins should be emergency guys, playing every once in a while, on special occasions. like the other night, when ben broke the record. otherwise, they sit until someone is injured.
both dumars and frank have to make a decision about what they want to do.
either win now or develop the team for the future. you cannot do both.

[Oracle]

Murph,

can't argue with your assessment, except for coach Frank. I give him a B-. The team looks way more organized than 5 weeks ago, particularly on D.

my only problem is this...
if frank was in full rebuild mode, i'd give him credit for the team looking a bit better.
but he is not in full rebuild mode. he's doing exactly what the last two coaches have done, which is muddle through and just win as many games as he possibly can while giving young players some PT, if it fits.
as a result, wins/losses is the only criteria that matters.
and the team's record is horrible. one of the league's worst. and that is what he should be judged on. wins and losses.
now, if he had committed to a full rebuild he'd get credit, imho, for any sort of improvement.
if he played knight and monroe 35 minutes per, jj and daye 25-30 minutes, macklin 15-20 minutes, then his actual record would be irrelevant and you could look at the team's general direction.
i love ben and it is obvious that the team is better with him on the floor, generally. but every minute ben plays, when macklin could be on the floor hurts the team's future.
every minute wilkins is out there, taking time from jj and daye, hurts the team's future.
both ben and macklin should be emergency guys, playing every once in a while, on special occasions. like the other night, when ben broke the record. otherwise, they sit until someone is injured.
both dumars and frank have to make a decision about what they want to do.
either win now or develop the team for the future. you cannot do both.

While the team is really doing a lot better under Frank, the logic of your post can't be denied!

I would give Frank a LOT more credit if he fully comitted to a real rebuild, or at least one where the older vets are used more for training and not eating up the youngsters PT.

[Oracle]

I mostly agree, and my minor edits are shown below in red.

It's a little early, but I'm going to hand out mid-term grades anyway. Based on their performances so far, it's MY OPINION that the Pistons players should recieve the following grades. (If you have your own opinoins, you are free to post them, but don't go correcting my OPINION.)

Monroe A (not an A+ because of his defense)
Stuckey B (surprisingly efficient)
Wallace B (ending his career with dignity)
Machlin B (the forgotten man)
Jerebko C+ (hopefully, making his way back)
Maxiell C(C+) (has worked hard this year)
Prince C- (ugh)
Knight C-(B-) (too many turnovers, not enough assists, but he's a true rookie)
Gordon C- (I'm being very generous)
Bynum F(D) (really hasn't played enough to fail, IMO)
Russell F (I love the guy, but he's played like a D-Leaguer)
Wilkins F (too bad Singler never showed up)
Daye F (head case)
Villanueva F-- (Gets a 10 on the buzzard scale from me)

Lawrence Frank C- (should be lower, but the roster is so bad that he gets something of a free pass this season)

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