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Ailene Voisin: With each loss, the bright side harder to find
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Sports Columnist
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, January 10, 2007
The Lakers in overtime. The Blazers in overtime. And now a Ron Artest-LeBron James showdown that ended with "King James" rising high above the crowd -- above an array of defenders -- while the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers left skid marks all over Arco Arena's creaky hardwood.
And, of course, while the Kings collapsed offensively, defensively, collectively, completely.
How do you say completely lost?
Unless Eric Musselman and Geoff Petrie solve the Arco puzzle, this habit of squandering a once-formidable home-court advantage with stretches of absolutely atrocious basketball, the only hope might be for Artest to erupt in a fit of competitive anger, put his foot down -- while keeping it out of his mouth, one can only hope -- and again kick the Kings in the right direction.
You know? Back toward those other similarly flawed teams that are somehow managing to contend for one of the final playoff spots? As he did a year ago?
Having dropped a third consecutive game with lengthy stretches of feeble defense, anemic rebounding and sloppy performances, the Kings are dwelling in the Pacific Division cellar, staring up at the injury-riddled Golden State Warriors and the increasingly dysfunctional Los Angeles Clippers. Worse, they are losing leads to the young and inexperienced Portland Trail Blazers, the dreaded and injury-hampered Los Angeles Lakers, and most recently, and in a most depressing manner, to a Cavaliers team that arrived with its own history of road woes.
"At the beginning of the season," Artest acknowledged a few days ago, "everybody was playing great defense and rebounding. It was all instinct. We went away from that a little bit. Now everybody has to come together."
With James in town and all eyes again on Arco, Tuesday night offered what should have been the perfect setup for the beginning of the comeback, for the Kings to silence or at least quiet the death rattle. Brad Miller was back in the starting lineup after missing two games because of the flu, bolstering a frontline that is undersized, not very athletic and ineffective on the boards. Mike Bibby was back to shooting threes with ease. Kevin Martin was continuing to challenge his peers for Most Improved Player consideration. Corliss Williamson was re-emerging as a contributor, and youngster Quincy Douby was blossoming as one.
Mostly, this was an opportunity for Artest to prove that he again is physically and emotionally capable of leading the resistance, of driving a team and shutting down James, one of the NBA's most popular superstars.
Physically, Artest says his back is no longer troublesome and his sore left knee is close to becoming a non-issue. Emotionally, he says he is less distracted by the injuries and more encouraged by his team's collective sense of selflessness, the disturbing home-court trend notwithstanding.
"I got spoiled last year," Artest said, "because when I got here, we got better, so I didn't have to say anything."
But the second time around, it isn't happening. Artest being Artest isn't resulting in victories. His one-man rescue act isn't saving the season, wasn't even enough last night to save a game.
After controlling the opening half in virtually every category -- rebounding, assists, field-goal percentage -- the Kings succumbed at the first signs of distress. Damon Jones burned them for threes in transition. Zydrunas Ilgauskas flipped in two-footers. Drew Gooden scored on follow dunks. And while the Kings' stood around and stopped moving the ball, became increasingly frustrated and content to launch ill-advised jumpers or force close-in shots against a sagging defense, James elevated for a series of demoralizing three-pointers and one resounding dunk that shook the backboard and appeared to strip even Artest of his edge.
"Unbelievable, those shots (James) hit," said Martin, shaking his head. "Guys were hanging on him, in his face, and he still hit them."
Ultimately, he delivered a stinger to a Kings team that was already reeling, and if this continues, is almost certainly lottery-bound.
Ailene Voisin: With each loss, the bright side harder to find
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Sports Columnist
Published 12:00 am PST Wednesday, January 10, 2007
The Lakers in overtime. The Blazers in overtime. And now a Ron Artest-LeBron James showdown that ended with "King James" rising high above the crowd -- above an array of defenders -- while the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers left skid marks all over Arco Arena's creaky hardwood.
And, of course, while the Kings collapsed offensively, defensively, collectively, completely.
How do you say completely lost?
Unless Eric Musselman and Geoff Petrie solve the Arco puzzle, this habit of squandering a once-formidable home-court advantage with stretches of absolutely atrocious basketball, the only hope might be for Artest to erupt in a fit of competitive anger, put his foot down -- while keeping it out of his mouth, one can only hope -- and again kick the Kings in the right direction.
You know? Back toward those other similarly flawed teams that are somehow managing to contend for one of the final playoff spots? As he did a year ago?
Having dropped a third consecutive game with lengthy stretches of feeble defense, anemic rebounding and sloppy performances, the Kings are dwelling in the Pacific Division cellar, staring up at the injury-riddled Golden State Warriors and the increasingly dysfunctional Los Angeles Clippers. Worse, they are losing leads to the young and inexperienced Portland Trail Blazers, the dreaded and injury-hampered Los Angeles Lakers, and most recently, and in a most depressing manner, to a Cavaliers team that arrived with its own history of road woes.
"At the beginning of the season," Artest acknowledged a few days ago, "everybody was playing great defense and rebounding. It was all instinct. We went away from that a little bit. Now everybody has to come together."
With James in town and all eyes again on Arco, Tuesday night offered what should have been the perfect setup for the beginning of the comeback, for the Kings to silence or at least quiet the death rattle. Brad Miller was back in the starting lineup after missing two games because of the flu, bolstering a frontline that is undersized, not very athletic and ineffective on the boards. Mike Bibby was back to shooting threes with ease. Kevin Martin was continuing to challenge his peers for Most Improved Player consideration. Corliss Williamson was re-emerging as a contributor, and youngster Quincy Douby was blossoming as one.
Mostly, this was an opportunity for Artest to prove that he again is physically and emotionally capable of leading the resistance, of driving a team and shutting down James, one of the NBA's most popular superstars.
Physically, Artest says his back is no longer troublesome and his sore left knee is close to becoming a non-issue. Emotionally, he says he is less distracted by the injuries and more encouraged by his team's collective sense of selflessness, the disturbing home-court trend notwithstanding.
"I got spoiled last year," Artest said, "because when I got here, we got better, so I didn't have to say anything."
But the second time around, it isn't happening. Artest being Artest isn't resulting in victories. His one-man rescue act isn't saving the season, wasn't even enough last night to save a game.
After controlling the opening half in virtually every category -- rebounding, assists, field-goal percentage -- the Kings succumbed at the first signs of distress. Damon Jones burned them for threes in transition. Zydrunas Ilgauskas flipped in two-footers. Drew Gooden scored on follow dunks. And while the Kings' stood around and stopped moving the ball, became increasingly frustrated and content to launch ill-advised jumpers or force close-in shots against a sagging defense, James elevated for a series of demoralizing three-pointers and one resounding dunk that shook the backboard and appeared to strip even Artest of his edge.
"Unbelievable, those shots (James) hit," said Martin, shaking his head. "Guys were hanging on him, in his face, and he still hit them."
Ultimately, he delivered a stinger to a Kings team that was already reeling, and if this continues, is almost certainly lottery-bound.
