So close and yet so far away.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
On February 13th 2001 Kings won @ Jazz in overtime 97-94 to improve to 32-15 for the season. It was a very gutsy performance by the Kings. Kings were on the 3 game losing streak prior to this game. Pollard and DC fouled out and the in overtime Webber sprained his ankle and when it looked like all hopes are gone - Bobby was there like so many other times to save the day. It was an ugly game where neither team shot above 40%. Kings were outrebounded by 22, missed 10 FTs and still won the game.
Webber was brilliant until the injury contributing 34/8/3, Pedja had 19/8/1/1, DC had 10/2/4, JWill had 9/6/2/1. Bobby was great off the bench with 17/3/2/2 and Pollard had 4/8/5st.
With All-Star Chris Webber on the bench, reserve Bobby Jackson scored four of his 17 points in overtime as the Sacramento Kings posted their first road win over the Utah Jazz in nearly eight years with a 97-94 victory. Utah's Bryon Russell opened the extra session with a jumper, but Jackson responded with a basket to tie the score, 91-91, with 4:28 remaining. Both teams went cold until Jackson finally drove the lane and hit an underhand layup to give the Kings the lead with 55 seconds left. Jackson followed by coming up big defensively as he intercepted John Stockton's pass and got the ball to Doug Christie, who made a pair of free throws for a 95-91 lead with 19 seconds to go.
"This was big because we had lost three in a row and we didn't want to come back with a four-game losing skid, so we were kind of high and we knew what we had to do to get a win," Jackson said. "We knew it was going to be tough because Utah is Utah and we know they play excellent at home. They rarely lose here and for us to win we had to make (minimal) mistakes and we had to come out and play our game."
"They really took it to us on the boards, but they were taking a lot of long shots and the ball was coming right back out to them, but we stayed in there and stayed focused and we got the win and that was the most important thing, but we do want to rebound better," Webber said.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was nice while it lasted. Kings got their 5 game winning streak snapped because they couldn't handle the home - home back to back situation dropping to 23-27 and saving Jerry R. from looking like Scott Pollard. Kings are still only 2 games away from PO spot and it could have been just one game back if the Kings had a coach but then again - Kings would be over .500 or in one word - mediocre where we are talent-wise anyways. With 6 out of the next 7 games on the road - this will be a pivotal stretch of the season with trade deadline coming up also. It will be very interesting.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Defensive mind set is what we were looking for when we hired this clown that we call Muss. Working out great so far - for our opponents. I took a quick glance at the numbers in the previous 8 years and Kings allowed more points per game in 98/99, 99/00 and 05/06 then we do this season. In each of the 8 seasons we have managed to score more points that this season. And we managed to win more games which seams to be overrated these days. So these days when the opponents face Kings the first thing that they emphasize is - their defense us tough. Yeah right ! The experiment failed, the horse is dead and unfortunately - only thing that we can do is beat it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Wilcox is an amazing talent. He is quick, very athletic, not a bad shooter, great rebounder, solid defender etc, etc. He has everything needed to be a hall of famer when his career is over. Everything but one thing - he can't play Kings every single night which is too bad because he would be a perennial MVP candidate. We make him look so good that he should be paying a part of his salary to a charity towards preserving the Kings pathetic defense the way it is now because once he gets to play other teams - he looks more like an average NBA player with as many weaknesses as strengths. Nothing spectacular really. I always thought that we are very special because we always bring the best in people
.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Bibby is becoming a problem these days. If we ignore all the stories and rumors about opting out or not opting out, being traded or not being traded etc - and go to basics like his play on the court - he just don't deserves even reduced minutes which he has been receiving these days. He has been much worse than horrible and while I thought that Pedja's performances before trade were the bottom of all bottoms - I was wrong because this is way worse. Let's even forget the "bad" shooting season. Mike's defense is at the all time worst level and dropping. Assist/turnover ratio not isn't that great, he takes horrible shots early in the clock, he doesn't get to the line anymore. Right now - he isn't worth half of the money that he is paid and other GM know that too. Having him for 2 more years killing our cap space together with KT - who will retire as a King btw - would be unbearable. Also all those cliches about a very proud and professional individual seem pretty bogus to me right now. It looks more like someone whose ego is hurt, someone who quit and someone who doesn't care. I am really getting sick and tired of this.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Justin Williams on the other hand had his first start, played total of 8 minutes and spend he rest on the bench while probably being evaluated. What was expected of that kid - a triple double maybe.He couldn't have possibly defended Willcox any worse than rest of the guys. Only 8 minutes in a game where energy was needed. Maybe if Corliss and SAR miss a game too his minutes might go into double digits .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Again, I want to emphasize that it am very happy with the teams overall effort night in and night out. They are competing against more talented teams and more often than not against the incompetence of their own coach. You have to admire soldiers who are still fighting long after the general surrendered. Obviously, all that effort just can't replace lack of talent especially up front and also having no point guard whatsoever but it is great to see. Especially, Kevin, Ron, Salmons and Corliss have tried as hard as possible every night and while we might end up blaming them for too many wins to get a great pick - we have to respect what they are trying to do.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Home to home back to back are hard and to win them both it requires talent, leadership and good coach. Kings unfortunately didn't really have enough of either. All the comments after the game are even more disturbing. Muss is behaving like Kings had to play 2 games in 24 hrs while Sonics had a week off. Salmons mentioned something like - Sonics have pride and came out with lot of energy and the usual garbage that they say. Does that mean that Kings don't have a pride or don't care enough to match the energy ? So You just lay down and go quietly into the night ? For a team that really wants to go in the POs - it is a pretty pathetic attitude.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coaches corner - I don't even know where to start. I said in the game thread before the game that I would wait the game before praising Muss till the back to back is finished knowing that I won't have to because when it comes to sucking" Muss has not let me down yet. His rotations were so bad that when things finally started to work - guys were tired and other guys were cold and didn't have any rhythm. His timeouts came too late. His plays calls were "funny" if You are a Sonics fan. And not to forget those useless fouls extending the suffering when the game was out of reach. For a second there I thought that Muss is playing fantasy basketball and he had Lewis, Ridnour and Allen on his team. Muss probably sucks even at fantasy hoops.
To finish this corner edition - I have "exclusive" recordings of a vintage Muss timeout down a stretch in an almost win situation.
Muss: Hey You - You will come in the game and jack up a three. Just make sure it is early in the clock so we have time to foul Q
Towelboy: Me sir ?
Muss: You sir !
Corliss: Hey coach - that is a towel boy.
Muss: What do You mean - towel boy ? (thinking - man I should really stop drinking ) Ok never mind - listen. We are running play #73b/12 from my 7th power point presentation. If You can't remember -it was on slide #15.
Players looking at each other - shaking heads.
Mike speaking to Ron who is already half asleep: Hey Ron - wake up man!
Ron waking up in panic: I fed the dog this time - I swear! Ups!
Mike: Hey Ron - do You remember that slide #15
Ron: Huh - what slide ? Don't worry about it - just jack up a three. It all good.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
So Kings couldn't do it which was expected. Came out flat and played a good awful first half and it took a 22 pts deficit to show signs of life. A great effort followed until the coach stooped it by doing what he does best - nothing. This time they were the aggressors and Kevn, Ron and Corliss just weren't enough. Wiltcox was a monster and Allen and Lewis played much better too. We missed 11 FTs too.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
AWARD TIME
TDM award goes to J Petro who had 12/9/1/1bl. Watson was close too.
LW-VC award goes to Bibby who was favorite to win it in the first place. Nick Collison would have had it if the score was otherwise.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rockets are next and it might not be pretty. They play great defense, that have enough tall players and hey are one of the best teams in the league even without Yao. JVG is one of my favorite coaches. Houston is 18-6 at home. They will kill us on the boards. Ron vs TMac should be fun. Mutombo vs midgets - not so much. For Kings it is the first game of the yet another back to back before the AS break. With these Kings - You never know. First team to 80 wins.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike - boooooooooooooooooo !
Ron - put him in Your pocket Ron!
Kevin - hope Your finger is better
Brad - get well soon
Corliss - should start as PF or C
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SAR - is one rebound per game all You can do
rest - mateen
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Muss will get outcoached but he has a future in a career as rep salesman for microsoft office.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rockets are good. Mutombo will have a 20rb/5bl type of game. Bonzi can really hurt us if he gets any minutes. Their guards are dangerous but what else is new ? Chuck Hayes is my TDM favorite. Mike Bibby is my LW-VC award favorite. Al in all - looks like a losing streak to me.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
On February 13th 2001 Kings won @ Jazz in overtime 97-94 to improve to 32-15 for the season. It was a very gutsy performance by the Kings. Kings were on the 3 game losing streak prior to this game. Pollard and DC fouled out and the in overtime Webber sprained his ankle and when it looked like all hopes are gone - Bobby was there like so many other times to save the day. It was an ugly game where neither team shot above 40%. Kings were outrebounded by 22, missed 10 FTs and still won the game.
Webber was brilliant until the injury contributing 34/8/3, Pedja had 19/8/1/1, DC had 10/2/4, JWill had 9/6/2/1. Bobby was great off the bench with 17/3/2/2 and Pollard had 4/8/5st.
With All-Star Chris Webber on the bench, reserve Bobby Jackson scored four of his 17 points in overtime as the Sacramento Kings posted their first road win over the Utah Jazz in nearly eight years with a 97-94 victory. Utah's Bryon Russell opened the extra session with a jumper, but Jackson responded with a basket to tie the score, 91-91, with 4:28 remaining. Both teams went cold until Jackson finally drove the lane and hit an underhand layup to give the Kings the lead with 55 seconds left. Jackson followed by coming up big defensively as he intercepted John Stockton's pass and got the ball to Doug Christie, who made a pair of free throws for a 95-91 lead with 19 seconds to go.
"This was big because we had lost three in a row and we didn't want to come back with a four-game losing skid, so we were kind of high and we knew what we had to do to get a win," Jackson said. "We knew it was going to be tough because Utah is Utah and we know they play excellent at home. They rarely lose here and for us to win we had to make (minimal) mistakes and we had to come out and play our game."
"They really took it to us on the boards, but they were taking a lot of long shots and the ball was coming right back out to them, but we stayed in there and stayed focused and we got the win and that was the most important thing, but we do want to rebound better," Webber said.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was nice while it lasted. Kings got their 5 game winning streak snapped because they couldn't handle the home - home back to back situation dropping to 23-27 and saving Jerry R. from looking like Scott Pollard. Kings are still only 2 games away from PO spot and it could have been just one game back if the Kings had a coach but then again - Kings would be over .500 or in one word - mediocre where we are talent-wise anyways. With 6 out of the next 7 games on the road - this will be a pivotal stretch of the season with trade deadline coming up also. It will be very interesting.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Defensive mind set is what we were looking for when we hired this clown that we call Muss. Working out great so far - for our opponents. I took a quick glance at the numbers in the previous 8 years and Kings allowed more points per game in 98/99, 99/00 and 05/06 then we do this season. In each of the 8 seasons we have managed to score more points that this season. And we managed to win more games which seams to be overrated these days. So these days when the opponents face Kings the first thing that they emphasize is - their defense us tough. Yeah right ! The experiment failed, the horse is dead and unfortunately - only thing that we can do is beat it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Wilcox is an amazing talent. He is quick, very athletic, not a bad shooter, great rebounder, solid defender etc, etc. He has everything needed to be a hall of famer when his career is over. Everything but one thing - he can't play Kings every single night which is too bad because he would be a perennial MVP candidate. We make him look so good that he should be paying a part of his salary to a charity towards preserving the Kings pathetic defense the way it is now because once he gets to play other teams - he looks more like an average NBA player with as many weaknesses as strengths. Nothing spectacular really. I always thought that we are very special because we always bring the best in people
.-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Bibby is becoming a problem these days. If we ignore all the stories and rumors about opting out or not opting out, being traded or not being traded etc - and go to basics like his play on the court - he just don't deserves even reduced minutes which he has been receiving these days. He has been much worse than horrible and while I thought that Pedja's performances before trade were the bottom of all bottoms - I was wrong because this is way worse. Let's even forget the "bad" shooting season. Mike's defense is at the all time worst level and dropping. Assist/turnover ratio not isn't that great, he takes horrible shots early in the clock, he doesn't get to the line anymore. Right now - he isn't worth half of the money that he is paid and other GM know that too. Having him for 2 more years killing our cap space together with KT - who will retire as a King btw - would be unbearable. Also all those cliches about a very proud and professional individual seem pretty bogus to me right now. It looks more like someone whose ego is hurt, someone who quit and someone who doesn't care. I am really getting sick and tired of this.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Justin Williams on the other hand had his first start, played total of 8 minutes and spend he rest on the bench while probably being evaluated. What was expected of that kid - a triple double maybe.He couldn't have possibly defended Willcox any worse than rest of the guys. Only 8 minutes in a game where energy was needed. Maybe if Corliss and SAR miss a game too his minutes might go into double digits
. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Again, I want to emphasize that it am very happy with the teams overall effort night in and night out. They are competing against more talented teams and more often than not against the incompetence of their own coach. You have to admire soldiers who are still fighting long after the general surrendered. Obviously, all that effort just can't replace lack of talent especially up front and also having no point guard whatsoever but it is great to see. Especially, Kevin, Ron, Salmons and Corliss have tried as hard as possible every night and while we might end up blaming them for too many wins to get a great pick - we have to respect what they are trying to do.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Home to home back to back are hard and to win them both it requires talent, leadership and good coach. Kings unfortunately didn't really have enough of either. All the comments after the game are even more disturbing. Muss is behaving like Kings had to play 2 games in 24 hrs while Sonics had a week off. Salmons mentioned something like - Sonics have pride and came out with lot of energy and the usual garbage that they say. Does that mean that Kings don't have a pride or don't care enough to match the energy ? So You just lay down and go quietly into the night ? For a team that really wants to go in the POs - it is a pretty pathetic attitude.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coaches corner - I don't even know where to start. I said in the game thread before the game that I would wait the game before praising Muss till the back to back is finished knowing that I won't have to because when it comes to sucking" Muss has not let me down yet. His rotations were so bad that when things finally started to work - guys were tired and other guys were cold and didn't have any rhythm. His timeouts came too late. His plays calls were "funny" if You are a Sonics fan. And not to forget those useless fouls extending the suffering when the game was out of reach. For a second there I thought that Muss is playing fantasy basketball and he had Lewis, Ridnour and Allen on his team. Muss probably sucks even at fantasy hoops.
To finish this corner edition - I have "exclusive" recordings of a vintage Muss timeout down a stretch in an almost win situation.
Muss: Hey You - You will come in the game and jack up a three. Just make sure it is early in the clock so we have time to foul Q
Towelboy: Me sir ?
Muss: You sir !
Corliss: Hey coach - that is a towel boy.
Muss: What do You mean - towel boy ? (thinking - man I should really stop drinking ) Ok never mind - listen. We are running play #73b/12 from my 7th power point presentation. If You can't remember -it was on slide #15.
Players looking at each other - shaking heads.
Mike speaking to Ron who is already half asleep: Hey Ron - wake up man!
Ron waking up in panic: I fed the dog this time - I swear! Ups!
Mike: Hey Ron - do You remember that slide #15
Ron: Huh - what slide ? Don't worry about it - just jack up a three. It all good.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
So Kings couldn't do it which was expected. Came out flat and played a good awful first half and it took a 22 pts deficit to show signs of life. A great effort followed until the coach stooped it by doing what he does best - nothing. This time they were the aggressors and Kevn, Ron and Corliss just weren't enough. Wiltcox was a monster and Allen and Lewis played much better too. We missed 11 FTs too.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
AWARD TIME
TDM award goes to J Petro who had 12/9/1/1bl. Watson was close too.
LW-VC award goes to Bibby who was favorite to win it in the first place. Nick Collison would have had it if the score was otherwise.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rockets are next and it might not be pretty. They play great defense, that have enough tall players and hey are one of the best teams in the league even without Yao. JVG is one of my favorite coaches. Houston is 18-6 at home. They will kill us on the boards. Ron vs TMac should be fun. Mutombo vs midgets - not so much. For Kings it is the first game of the yet another back to back before the AS break. With these Kings - You never know. First team to 80 wins.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike - boooooooooooooooooo !
Ron - put him in Your pocket Ron!
Kevin - hope Your finger is better
Brad - get well soon
Corliss - should start as PF or C
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SAR - is one rebound per game all You can do
rest - mateen
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Muss will get outcoached but he has a future in a career as rep salesman for microsoft office.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rockets are good. Mutombo will have a 20rb/5bl type of game. Bonzi can really hurt us if he gets any minutes. Their guards are dangerous but what else is new ? Chuck Hayes is my TDM favorite. Mike Bibby is my LW-VC award favorite. Al in all - looks like a losing streak to me.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Last edited:
