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Artest Talks Kings, Coaching Shake-up, Music Career
Written for the web by Jason Kobely, Internet News Producer
After fueling a late-season surge that pushed the Sacramento Kings into the playoffs, Ron Artest said despite a disappointing playoff loss and the ouster of head coach Rick Adelman, Sacramento is a team to beat next season.
"This team can definitely win a championship," Artest said during an exclusive one-on-one interview with News10's Bryan May. "We've got to carry over what we did this season to next season, first day of training camp. We've got to be all business. I think we're one of the top five teams and we still had problems. I was injured a little bit, Bonzi was injured, Shareef was injured. So with that said, that kind of speaks for itself."
As for the Kings' 4-2 series defeat at the hands of the reigning NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, Artest said, "I think we beat San Antonio bad. We were the better team. We were better than San Antonio. They got a lot of breaks. We're the better team."
Artest said helping post a 26-14 record with his new club after being traded from Indiana in January, the Kings had plenty of obstacles to overcome in their first-round match-up with the Spurs.
"It started off bad," Artest said. "It started with the busted lip. That kind of took our momentum. I was swallowing blood the whole game and playing with my lip hanging off. Then I got the suspension. In Game 2, we almost win that game, then we win Games 3 and 4. In Game 5, we didn't play too well. At the end of the game, the defense was very suspect, if not horrible. In game 6, I twisted my ankle. We just didn't have a chance. We didn't have a chance to come out that series and we still won two games. That could have been us playing Dallas right now and winning if everything goes our way."
Artest said departed head coach Rick Adelman should not bare the full brunt of responsibility for the team's postseason disappointments. "I don't totally blame him for the loss," Artest said. "I blame the players too. Guys didn't give 100 percent."
"I think guys started to push themselves at the end. We've just got to do it on a more consistent basis. I've never won a championship, so I don't know what it is to win an NBA championship, but I'm guessing you've got to push yourself through the whole game."
When asked about the qualities he's looking for in the Kings' new leader, Artest suggested a coach who pushes players harder may be a step in the right direction.
"A couple times this year, I think players probably could have been pushed a little more," Artest said. "But some players have to take accountability for themselves. Being in the NBA, you make a lot of money and players, once they get that check, you don't have to do much after that. So it's going to be upon yourself to meet the coach halfway. I know (Joe and Gavin) want to win so I know they're going get the right coach."
Artest praised his four-month relationship with his former coach. "(Adelman) was good to me. He treated me with a lot of respect," Artest said. "He put a lot of pressure on me coming in here, which I enjoyed. Coming here and putting the ball in my hands, that was fun."
Copyright 2006 News10/KXTV. All Rights Reserved.
Artest Talks Kings, Coaching Shake-up, Music Career
Written for the web by Jason Kobely, Internet News Producer
After fueling a late-season surge that pushed the Sacramento Kings into the playoffs, Ron Artest said despite a disappointing playoff loss and the ouster of head coach Rick Adelman, Sacramento is a team to beat next season.
"This team can definitely win a championship," Artest said during an exclusive one-on-one interview with News10's Bryan May. "We've got to carry over what we did this season to next season, first day of training camp. We've got to be all business. I think we're one of the top five teams and we still had problems. I was injured a little bit, Bonzi was injured, Shareef was injured. So with that said, that kind of speaks for itself."
As for the Kings' 4-2 series defeat at the hands of the reigning NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, Artest said, "I think we beat San Antonio bad. We were the better team. We were better than San Antonio. They got a lot of breaks. We're the better team."
Artest said helping post a 26-14 record with his new club after being traded from Indiana in January, the Kings had plenty of obstacles to overcome in their first-round match-up with the Spurs.
"It started off bad," Artest said. "It started with the busted lip. That kind of took our momentum. I was swallowing blood the whole game and playing with my lip hanging off. Then I got the suspension. In Game 2, we almost win that game, then we win Games 3 and 4. In Game 5, we didn't play too well. At the end of the game, the defense was very suspect, if not horrible. In game 6, I twisted my ankle. We just didn't have a chance. We didn't have a chance to come out that series and we still won two games. That could have been us playing Dallas right now and winning if everything goes our way."
Artest said departed head coach Rick Adelman should not bare the full brunt of responsibility for the team's postseason disappointments. "I don't totally blame him for the loss," Artest said. "I blame the players too. Guys didn't give 100 percent."
"I think guys started to push themselves at the end. We've just got to do it on a more consistent basis. I've never won a championship, so I don't know what it is to win an NBA championship, but I'm guessing you've got to push yourself through the whole game."
When asked about the qualities he's looking for in the Kings' new leader, Artest suggested a coach who pushes players harder may be a step in the right direction.
"A couple times this year, I think players probably could have been pushed a little more," Artest said. "But some players have to take accountability for themselves. Being in the NBA, you make a lot of money and players, once they get that check, you don't have to do much after that. So it's going to be upon yourself to meet the coach halfway. I know (Joe and Gavin) want to win so I know they're going get the right coach."
Artest praised his four-month relationship with his former coach. "(Adelman) was good to me. He treated me with a lot of respect," Artest said. "He put a lot of pressure on me coming in here, which I enjoyed. Coming here and putting the ball in my hands, that was fun."
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Copyright 2006 News10/KXTV. All Rights Reserved.