The 'Grade Your Team' Thread

[Matt]

We're about 30 games or so in, which is just over a third into the season. It's probably a good time to grade each players performances as most early season streaks start to even out.

I of course will grade the Pistons. Grades are based on players role on the team, so an B from a bench player is not equal to a B from a starter....

Ben Wallace - B-
Benjamin has been a bit slowed with his foot injury (immediately after he suffered it, team got outrebounded 8 straight games) but he's slowly picking up the pace. He's had some excellent performances recently and although the team has allowed a high chunk of points to the likes of Gasol, Randolph, when it matterd in the 4th he mades the stops.

Rasheed - B
Rasheed has been usual self defensively but offensively he's been more assertive given his excellent preseason shape.

T Prince - B
Prince does what he always does....defends, rebounds and scores when needed.

RIP- B+
He's averaging 20+ (21.8)and shooting a high FG% (50.3). He's also knocking down those open 3's with consistency (48.7, 19-39), something he didnt do in previous seasons. Overall very efficient. All-star bound hopefully

Chauncey Billups A+
he's averaging career highs in assists and leads the league in A-TO ratio, slightly ahead of Brevin Knight. Still playing D, still clutch. 19.6ppg, 8.4apg, 3rpg and 44% from 3pnt range. MVP-MVP-MVP will be the chants if this team can win 60.

Bench players-

Maurice Evans C+
This guy does some amazing things, but it's kind of shocking that he has a hard time doing the basics. He can hit that 3, and crashes the boards well as evidenced by his numerous put back jams.

Antonio McDyess B
Dice struggles early on but lately he's found his groove, registering a cpl of dbl dbl off the bench.

Carlos Arroyo - B
Who would have thought that offensive freedom makes a guy happy. Arroyo has been doing well, he's got that mid-range shot on lock but struggles around the basket. Still, he's committing few TO's (5th in assist to TO ratio) and he has fantastic chemistry with Dice, kind of like Jon Barry-C williamson did.

Carlos Delfino - A
why an A you ask. Simple. Last season this kid played little, got busted by Larry Brown constantly, blew his knee out, contemplated quitting and didn't make the playoff roster. So what does he do? he adjusts his attitude. Comes into the season ready and doesn't complain. He's slowly earned himself a spot in the rotation. His defence is improved which is a good sign. He's a streaky shooter, but he also drives to the bucket a bit which keeps the D on it's feet. He's got trouble finishing around the hoop but he should work that out soon enough, it's still practically his rookie season.

Darko Milicic - F
There's one huge problem with this kid. He's got a bad attitude. He looked fantastic in the preseason but when he didnt get the PT he reverted to his LB days. He looks disinterested on the court, and looks like he's too good for garbage time (unlike a fellow named Delfino). An attitude adjustment is necessary pronto.

Others- no one got any relevant significant PT.

Coach A- give the young guys more PT damnit!!

[Buckley]

Grading the Sixers

Sam Dalembert - B-
Still a great defensive player, gets a lot of rebounds. Not much of an impact on the offensive end though, and has gotten into foul trouble.

C-Webb - B+
He looks a lot better then the games he played with Philly last year. Points and rebounds are up, getting double-doubles frequently. A nice complement to AI.

Korver - B
All Korver does is shoot the ball, but hes one of the best at shooting 3s. Hopefully he can contribute in more ways then shooting.

Iggy- B-
Iggys been wildly inconsistent, having some 20 point nights and some 4 point nights. Still a great defensive player and has lots of energy, but he needs to score on a consistent basis.

Allen Iverson A+
Hes done all he can to keep the Sixers at around .500, at 33.2 PPG its his career high for a season and can pass the ball well too.

Bench players-

John Salmons C
Shoots a little too much i think. A ballhog. Even though he gets a bunch of minutes and gets some points he doesnt pass the ball enough.

Shavlik Randolph B+
Great rebounder. Provides toughness off the bench. Like to see him score a little more, though. #1 in off. rebounds per 48 min.

Kevin Ollie - C+
More playing time then last year because Green's hurt. Still cant shoot the ball but plays good D in limited minutes.

Steven Hunter - C
Good shotblocker, however not performing on the offensive end has seen his playing time go down over the season. Believe it or not, shooting 67 percent of his free throws (career FT% is 49.3 )

Lee Nailon - C-
Other then one 21 point game against the Clippers, Nailons been inconsistent and has lost a bunch of playing time.

Others- not enough PT

Coach Mo Cheeks B+ Done a good job giving starters heavy minutes, letting guys like Randolph play more noticing his rebounding ability. No ones complaining about PT unlike last year, where 3 or 4 guys wanted a trade because of Jim O'Brien.

[Axel]

Miami Heat

Dwyane Wade - A+... he's doing it all... again

Jason Williams - B+... he's been on fire when he has played. However he was injured for several games so that detracted from the team.

James Posey - C+... Shooting 3pt shots great, 5th in the league.. but he needs to do more driving to the lane so people like Wade aren't having to make all the plays.

Udonis Haslem - D+... He's regressed this year. He was nearly averaging a double double in points and rebounds last year, but this year he is down to 8.6 ppg and 7 rpg. I expected him to improve this year, but he's only gone down. He has shot 86% from the FT line though, much better than anyone else on the entire Heat team, which is a big surprise. I think his numbers will get back to last year's of about 11ppg and 9.4 rpg after more time with Shaq.

Shaquille O'Neal - B+... Just like Jason Williams... he's played well when he's played.... his numbers are down, but many of those games he wasn't in game shape.

[Anthony15]

Nuggets

Marcus Camby - A ...he has been an outstanding player for the nuggets. 13 boards and 17 ponits per game are all star player stats.

Kenyon Martin - C+ ...very disappointed in him this season. Even though he is starting to play better (20+ points for 3 str8t games) he still needs to do more things on defense.

Carmelo Anthony - B+... starting to develop in a great player, raised his PPG, after Karl became head coach, carmelo becme smarter on the court.

Greg Buckner - C... a defensive specialist, nothing special on offense

Andre Miller - B... just doingg what he has to do.

Earl Boykins - B+ ... being 5'5" and averaging 12PPG is awesome.

Eduardo Najera - B- ... very agressive on offensive end.

Dermarr johnson - C ... besides being a great dunker, nothing special.

Earl Watson - B- ... became nuggets' best outside shooter

2 rookies(kleiza, hodge) - D ... under Karl, i think they'll develop into good players.

Lenard - F ... get out of here loser

[Rip32]

Matt you did a pretty good job grading the Pistons. The only thing i'd change is MoTowns grade, inconsistant as he's been he still is an above average defender and a good chemistry guy and tht guve him a B- I think.

[J@3]

Lakers:

Chris Mihm: C
Brian Cook: C+
Lamar Odom: B-
Kobe Bryant: A-
Smush Parker: C+

No point in overrating them.

Special mention:

Andrew Bogut: A++++

[Keo]

Philadelphia 76ers


Samuel Dalembert: B-

Showing what he can do on the defensive end, one of the leaders in Blocks Per Game. Philly's not a huge defensive team so Dalembert makes his presence felt. His rebounding numbers have also increased a bit.


Chris Webber: A-

Looks like he's back in his usual C-Webb mode, averaging 20 Points Per Game, 10 1/2 Rebounds Per Game and 3 1/2 Assists Per Game. He's just what Allen Iverson has been craving for. It's kind of become Philly's motto: "If Iverson can't do it, C-Webb is there." He also had a huge night against Minnesota having a 20/20 game and shutting down Kevin Garnett winning the game for Philly in overtime.


Kyle Korver: B

He's having the best year of his career by far and has become a good scorer. Probably all he can do really well is shoot the 3-ball but he's made some nice cuts to the basket and got the ball from AI or C-Webb in the post and got some easy lay-ups.


Andre Iguodala: B

He'll always be in the Highight Reels with his throwdowns but needs to become a consistant scorer. He's an excellent rebounder and a good passing guard with a fantastic leap. He also has a lot of energy but really needs to be a consistant threat in scoring.


Allen Iverson: A

What can I say? Leads the league in scoring and is among leaders in Assists and Steals. Philly's leader although he's not alone and plays with a lot of heart. He's in his 10th year with Philadelphia and might be having his best year so far. He's kind of struggled in the past few games and last night's blowout loss with Webber not playing due to a minor injury, he scored a season-low 16 points. We'll see how far he can get Philly in the Play-Offs.


Bench Players:


John Salmons: B

I'd actually like to see him up there for Most Improved Players. Putting up 10 Points a Game. He's stepped up since Philly's bench has really weakened.


Shavlik Randolph: C+

Great Rebounder, especially on the offensive side. He's been a very nice surprise, Philly was very smart to sign him in the summer. He's been a nice backup to C-Webb and got to start in last night's game against Phoenix. The coach has a lot of confidence in him.


Kevin Ollie: C-

He's been a nice replacement for AI off the bench. Getting some more minutes and isn't playing too bad at all.


Steven Hunter: C

Just like Dalembert, he's a great shotblocker. He can get it done on the defensive end but not as much on the offensive end.


Lee Nailon: C-

I was kind of disappointed in Nailon, I was expecting much better things and he had a nice start but it's gone down hill since then. He's playing limited minutes now and has become sort of a bench warmer.


Others: Louis Williams D+, Michael Bradley D+.


Coach Maurice Cheeks: A

He's been a perfect fit for Philly and a great replacement after Jim O'Brien. Starters are getting plenty of playing time and players and fans are much happier.

[air gordon]

Bulls
players and Coaching Staff: D or F
Deng should be playing at least 30 minutes a night. Praising Duhon's defense on Rashard Lewis when Lewis was the one killing the Bulls in the 4th is just silly. Or saying Gordon gets the most plays called for him in the NBA, even moreso then Wade, Bryant, etc is total bullshit. Hinrich still shooting under 40%

I'd give Paxson an "A" for the Curry trade but the he's left the team without a true sized SG and Center. Only until today did he finally use that 15th roster spot on someone. I'll gve him a "C"

[ShAuN]

Celtics

C - Kendrick Perkins - C+
PF - Mark Blount - D-
SF - Paul Pierce - A
SG - Ricky Davis - B
PG - Delonte West - C+

Marcus Banks - C-
Al Jefferson - B-
Raef LaFrentz - D

[Ruff Ryder]

Knicks

Trevor Ariza F
Jackie Butler F
Jamal Crawford F
Eddy Curry F
Antonio Davis F
Channing Frye F+
Anfernee Hardaway F--------
Jerome James F-----------
David Lee F+
Stephon Marbury F
Quentin Richardson F---
Nate Robinson F+
Malik Rose F
Maurice Taylor F
Qyntel Woods wtF

[Avrah3]

Special mention:

Andrew Bogut: A++++

Jae why did you underate Bogut he is an A++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think you got the idea.

[Jackal]

How's Brown doing?

[Avrah3]

Which Brown?

[Jackal]

Larry...

[Anthony15]

Knicks

Trevor Ariza F
Jackie Butler F
Jamal Crawford F
Eddy Curry F
Antonio Davis F
Channing Frye F+
Anfernee Hardaway F--------
Jerome James F-----------
David Lee F+
Stephon Marbury F
Quentin Richardson F---
Nate Robinson F+
Malik Rose F
Maurice Taylor F
Qyntel Woods wtF

thouse are the most accurate grades i've ever seen, i think u should work for espn and grade the teams!

[John WB]

Knicks

Trevor Ariza D needs to develop a jumper. Heck, he needs to develop a shot period.
Jackie Butler C not his fault coach doesn't play him
Jamal Crawford C+ needs better shot selection. Should take it to the rack every game.
Eddy Curry C needs to stay out of foul trouble. Needs to play every game like he did Monday night vs. the Suns. passing out of the double team, knocking down free-throws.
Antonio Davis C- needs to knock down those small Js
Channing Frye B- needs to learn to play D
Anfernee Hardaway F
Jerome James F- Why the f--k do we have this guy?
David Lee B+ not his fault LB didn't play him all those games. Needs to become a better shooter.
Stephon Marbury C inconsistent game. Needs to play every game like he did Monday night vs. the Suns. And should not settle for jumpers.
Quentin Richardson F-
Nate Robinson B Needs to take it to the rack and find the open man. The two man game with Curry he played Monday was brilliant.
Malik Rose C-
Maurice Taylor C Like Curry, has to pass out of double teams too.
Qyntel Woods C-

Larry Brown D

[Indy]

Indiana Pacers

Jamaal Tinsley- C+
He would have gotten a much better grade, but his 10 games missed because of injury is wearing thin. I'm tired of his injury prone body.

Stephen Jackson- B-
He's had some ups and downs, but at least he's been there for the team all season and he's worked his ass off like always. He may be a streaky shooter and have problems at times, but he's a good guy to have around.

Ron Artest- F-
Thanks a lot buddy.

Jermaine O'Neal- A++
Is proving himself to be worthy of the franchise. He's been a monster this season and has really been a fantastic leader. Even the anti-JO crowd of Pacers fans have flipped their positions. He is the new Mr. Indiana.

Jeff Foster- C
If he had been healthy all season and playing the way he has been, this would be an F. Too many missed layups and missed passes for my liking. I know it has some to do with his injury, but its still annoying.

Danny Granger- A-
He's definitley picked up his game with Ron gone, and will definitley be a star. However, he still gets really upset at bad calls, its called rookie treatment Danny, and you aren't going to get any calls from the refs by complaining after every call.

Sarunas Jasikevicius- B
His numbers have gone way down, and he's been having problems, but that's Rick Carlisle's fault, not Sarunas's. He's been playing way, way too much shooting guard and RC is finally realizing it, but he struggled because of this.

Anthony Johnson- D+
I'm probably being unfair because I want AJ traded, but sometimes he makes me want to scream on offense, but at the same time, sometimes he comes through with a huge game where he is the main reason the team wins, see New Jersey/Seattle games.

Fred Jones- A
Horray for Fred for stepping up since Ron's been gone. What a rollar coaster ride it has been for Freddie as a Pacer. He has gone in and out of so many different roles while being on this team, from 6th man to number 1 option last season, to benchwarmer this season, to number 2-3 option again this season. He never complains, just plays his role, and plays it well. I'm sold now on Fred Jones.

Austin Croshere- B+
He was huge in the beginning of the season, but since Foster came back and Granger has been playing so well, his impact has gone down. He is still a main part of this team though, and I hope he isn't included in a Ron deal.

David Harrison- D-
Really disappointing so far. I can't lay all the blame on him, or else he'd have an F. He hasn't had much playing time, but that's because he hasn't really deserved any.

Scott Pollard- INC
Good comedic routine.

Eddie Gill- NG
(Nice Guy)

Samaki Walker- RR
Recently Released

Jonathan Bender- JLA
Just Leave Already.

[Jugs]

Damn it! Can someone edit that guy's post where he gave Andrew Bogut a million plus's its annoying to have to scroll to the right just to read 4-5 words.

[$Chris Bosh$]

RAPTORS

chris bosh a+
the rest who gives a shit

[Amphatoast]

RAPTORS

chris bosh a+
the rest who gives a shit

why u have charlie villanueva in your sig then

[Laxation]

turns him on

i agree with your ratings for pistons Matt, but last few games i would give Ben a A- or B+ because he has really been doing what we need him to. Scratch the first part of the season for that anyway...

[Andrew]

Bulls
players and Coaching Staff: D or F
Deng should be playing at least 30 minutes a night. Praising Duhon's defense on Rashard Lewis when Lewis was the one killing the Bulls in the 4th is just silly. Or saying Gordon gets the most plays called for him in the NBA, even moreso then Wade, Bryant, etc is total bullshit. Hinrich still shooting under 40%

I'd give Paxson an "A" for the Curry trade but the he's left the team without a true sized SG and Center. Only until today did he finally use that 15th roster spot on someone. I'll gve him a "C"

I'd grade them about the same, though a couple of weeks ago I would have been inclined to be a little more generous since they were above .500. But I will give Ben Gordon at least a C+ as a starter.

[Matt]

The only thing i'd change is MoTowns grade, inconsistant as he's been he still is an above average defender and a good chemistry guy and tht guve him a B- I think.

indeed, but we all know that he's capable of much more. He's the teams hustle guy, kind of like Darvin Ham except with some offense.

[H Rock]

Rockets

B-
Too many injuries. I don't want to grade the players. I can't anyway, they're all injured.

[Matthew]

The Knicks arent really "my" team anymore. I followed them in 99 after that run, and now they're all gone and i dont live anywhere near new york so..

Knicks

Curry: C (when healthy he's been good)
Ariza: B (so much potential.. Isiaih better not trade him)
Robinson D(pretty much useless. Without marbury, he'd see no minutes)
Frye: A- (bright spot for the knicks..)
Marbury: B (started to learn how to lead. Brown will take his game to a new level)
Quentin Richardson: D- (i thought this guy had some game but i was wrong.. i wish they could get kurt thomas back.)
Crawford: D (ive always defended him but i cant really. he needs to play smarter and harder. him and marbury could be a great backcourt)

Larry Brown: C (i didnt expect miracles in this first season, but i want some improvement... larry has to stick this fight out and not bail on the knicks)