EmKingsFan4
Starter
Ailene Voisin: Bibby's night is nothing but no net
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 24, 2005
SEATTLE - In the left corner of the somber locker room, his left ankle encased in ice, Mike Bibby tried to explain what he himself believes is inexplicable. This is the playoffs. This never happens to him.
Bibby makes the big shots, makes the big plays, makes the difference. The one constant these last several postseasons - amid the crippling injuries to Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber and Bobby Jackson - along with the devastating defeats and even the dissension in the ranks, is that Bibby plays big in the playoffs.
Until this Saturday night.
Until this.
Against a Seattle SuperSonics team that squeezed him between a speedy rookie (Luke Ridnour) and a heady veteran (Antonio Daniels), forced him to labor overtime and often for 94 feet, Bibby missed 15 of his 16 field-goal attempts, contributed a shaky floor game, and not only short-armed a critical three that could have tied the score in the frantic closing seconds but found himself on the bench when the Kings were at their best.
But if you're the Sonics, if you know Bibby's history, don't expect a repeat.
He doesn't, either.
"It won't happen again," he said, shaking his head. "The shot felt bad all night, but I'll solve that (today). I'll be in the gym. I missed a couple of shots early, and it messed with my confidence a bit, in the sense that I started thinking about my mechanics. Is my elbow out? Am I doing something else? But I'll figure it out."
Almost from the opening tip, the Kings were in trouble. The Sonics missed their first five shots and retrieved the ball four times. Yet instead of responding with poise and patience, with the benefit of postseasons past, the Kings acted as if they were in a hurry to leave. They hurried shots, forced shots, failed to pursue the long rebound that led to additional opportunities. They were outmuscled inside by Jerome James, the good-natured 7-foot-1 center they drafted, then failed to develop, leaving him for the Sonics.
The pattern persisted for the better part of three periods, the Kings out of sync, Bibby out of sorts, the Sonics seemingly in control. When the Kings finally began moving, cutting, looking for each other, looking to make the simple play, the very basic play, the lineup was a thing of mystery, certainly not of beauty.
In a very real sense, it was a lineup of desperation: Brad Miller, his lower left leg wrapped, muscled for layups and battled for boards. Peja Stojakovic cut underneath and scored off a nifty assist from Miller. Cuttino Mobley, having overcome his own early struggles, attacked on consecutive drives. And Greg Ostertag - Greg Ostertag - threw his burly 7-foot-2 body around inside like, well, like he promised in his pre-playoff mea culpa.
"We are just going to have to take a long, hard look at what we have to do to give ourselves a chance," said coach Rick Adelman. "We have to feel that Mike and Bobby (Jackson) are going to be better the next game. We had a chance to win it."
Postseason pressure is supposedly all new to the Sonics, and in truth, there were signs of rust all around cozy KeyArena. They are so out of practice - the playoffs having gone off without the Sonics the previous three long years - that the words to the national anthem are scripted on the overhead scoreboard, sort of like a cheat sheet. Yet what made this matchup so fascinating, in an odd NBA sort of way, is that no one has a clue about what to expect for the duration. Ask 10 experts and receive 10 different opinions. Ask about injuries and receive 10 different stories.
Who knows?
Who tells the truth anyway?
Thespians thrive during the postseason. Stojakovic and his groin muscle. Miller and his broken leg. Jackson and his torn hand ligament. The three Kings haven't been together since the turn of the calendar. As for the Sonics, they have had their own problems.
Rashard Lewis recently missed eight games with a foot contusion. Daniels is playing with a sore, often swollen knee. And Vladimir Radmanovic, who made a surprisingly quick recovery from a broken leg, made his first appearance after sitting out 19 games.
Or one can only assume that was Radmanovic out there, underneath those beads and braids.
But Bibby missing short, missing long, missing left, missing right. Bibby missing the big shots, and almost all his shots.
No one could have predicted that. In the playoffs, never.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12780838p-13631746c.html
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 24, 2005
SEATTLE - In the left corner of the somber locker room, his left ankle encased in ice, Mike Bibby tried to explain what he himself believes is inexplicable. This is the playoffs. This never happens to him.
Bibby makes the big shots, makes the big plays, makes the difference. The one constant these last several postseasons - amid the crippling injuries to Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber and Bobby Jackson - along with the devastating defeats and even the dissension in the ranks, is that Bibby plays big in the playoffs.
Until this Saturday night.
Until this.
Against a Seattle SuperSonics team that squeezed him between a speedy rookie (Luke Ridnour) and a heady veteran (Antonio Daniels), forced him to labor overtime and often for 94 feet, Bibby missed 15 of his 16 field-goal attempts, contributed a shaky floor game, and not only short-armed a critical three that could have tied the score in the frantic closing seconds but found himself on the bench when the Kings were at their best.
But if you're the Sonics, if you know Bibby's history, don't expect a repeat.
He doesn't, either.
"It won't happen again," he said, shaking his head. "The shot felt bad all night, but I'll solve that (today). I'll be in the gym. I missed a couple of shots early, and it messed with my confidence a bit, in the sense that I started thinking about my mechanics. Is my elbow out? Am I doing something else? But I'll figure it out."
Almost from the opening tip, the Kings were in trouble. The Sonics missed their first five shots and retrieved the ball four times. Yet instead of responding with poise and patience, with the benefit of postseasons past, the Kings acted as if they were in a hurry to leave. They hurried shots, forced shots, failed to pursue the long rebound that led to additional opportunities. They were outmuscled inside by Jerome James, the good-natured 7-foot-1 center they drafted, then failed to develop, leaving him for the Sonics.
The pattern persisted for the better part of three periods, the Kings out of sync, Bibby out of sorts, the Sonics seemingly in control. When the Kings finally began moving, cutting, looking for each other, looking to make the simple play, the very basic play, the lineup was a thing of mystery, certainly not of beauty.
In a very real sense, it was a lineup of desperation: Brad Miller, his lower left leg wrapped, muscled for layups and battled for boards. Peja Stojakovic cut underneath and scored off a nifty assist from Miller. Cuttino Mobley, having overcome his own early struggles, attacked on consecutive drives. And Greg Ostertag - Greg Ostertag - threw his burly 7-foot-2 body around inside like, well, like he promised in his pre-playoff mea culpa.
"We are just going to have to take a long, hard look at what we have to do to give ourselves a chance," said coach Rick Adelman. "We have to feel that Mike and Bobby (Jackson) are going to be better the next game. We had a chance to win it."
Postseason pressure is supposedly all new to the Sonics, and in truth, there were signs of rust all around cozy KeyArena. They are so out of practice - the playoffs having gone off without the Sonics the previous three long years - that the words to the national anthem are scripted on the overhead scoreboard, sort of like a cheat sheet. Yet what made this matchup so fascinating, in an odd NBA sort of way, is that no one has a clue about what to expect for the duration. Ask 10 experts and receive 10 different opinions. Ask about injuries and receive 10 different stories.
Who knows?
Who tells the truth anyway?
Thespians thrive during the postseason. Stojakovic and his groin muscle. Miller and his broken leg. Jackson and his torn hand ligament. The three Kings haven't been together since the turn of the calendar. As for the Sonics, they have had their own problems.
Rashard Lewis recently missed eight games with a foot contusion. Daniels is playing with a sore, often swollen knee. And Vladimir Radmanovic, who made a surprisingly quick recovery from a broken leg, made his first appearance after sitting out 19 games.
Or one can only assume that was Radmanovic out there, underneath those beads and braids.
But Bibby missing short, missing long, missing left, missing right. Bibby missing the big shots, and almost all his shots.
No one could have predicted that. In the playoffs, never.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12780838p-13631746c.html
