http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14234431p-15055989c.html
Approach by bench gives Kings a boost
Playing time is in short supply, but so are complaints.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, March 24, 2006
Michelle Williamson hears it all, the frustrations and disappointments that tend to disappear once her husband makes his way to work.
"Sometimes you want to vent, to get it off your chest how you feel," Kings forward Corliss Williamson said. "For me, my wife is great because I can get in her ear. I tell her things, and she helps me through."
Williamson isn't the only one leaving his grievances at home. As the Kings have turned their season around in the last two months, a bench full of players who long for more playing time and production are making a silent contribution by, well, keeping quiet.
Team chemistry during this playoff run, they say, is far more important than fulfilling any individual agendas.
"I think guys are handling it well," said Williamson, the veteran who has played in 33 of 68 games. "I've seen where guys can't handle that, can't put themselves aside for the sake of the team. The group of guys we have here has been able to do that.
"I'm not saying that it's easy, not saying that that's the way they want it to be, but they know that the bottom line is we need to win games."
Among teams in the playoff hunt, the Kings' mix is as complicated as any. They have inherent conflicts at power forward and shooting guard, four players of a starter's caliber with only two such roles to be had.
They have the byproduct of the Ron Artest trade, which resulted in much-needed wins as a successful Plan B but left those players involved in Plan A with drastically reduced roles. And they have two seldom-used newcomers in Vitaly Potapenko and Sergei Monia, who arrived via trade in late February hoping for resurgence of their own and have since had none.
With 14 players on the roster, seldom-used Jamal Sampson and Ronnie Price may be the only ones whose expectations have matched reality.
"It's not an easy situation to be through, especially if they expected to play," coach Rick Adelman said. "But right now, I'm going with what I think is best, and those guys have to stay with it. They don't have to be happy about it, and I understand that. But they've got to stay with it and be a positive part of what we're doing."
Consider Jason Hart the poster boy for the cause.
When Hart was traded from the Charlotte Bobcats to the Kings in the offseason, it was just the latest positive move in his career. But he was one of the many Kings who struggled to find a flow early on, when the Kings dipped as many as eight games below .500. Once Artest arrived, Adelman had a potent scorer who could help bring the ball up the floor. Since then, Hart has played more than seven minutes just once.
"I'm (ticked) off that I'm not playing, but what can you do about it?" said Hart, who has a player option on his contract for next season. "I'm not going to come in and mess up the locker room because I'm not playing. That's never been my personality."
Hart's only complaint is his role change was more of a development than a discussion.
"Coach hasn't spoken to me or anything," he said. "Typically, (coaches) will ... but every coach is different, you know. I want to help, but I can't go beg the coach and explain it to him. We're trying to win games, and I respect that."
Adelman, who is most concerned with turning around the recent stretch of three losses in four games, hopes they all respect the situation.
"We still talk to them like we do everybody else, but most of your thought process is the guys who are playing games right now - especially when you're trying to get them together," he said. "That's a hard enough situation."
One with a not-so-simple solution: winning.
"When things are going good, everybody's going to be happy, and everything's going to be OK," Williamson said. "When things turn bad, that's when it's going to speak about your character, and how you really are as a team and as a teammate."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
Approach by bench gives Kings a boost
Playing time is in short supply, but so are complaints.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, March 24, 2006
Michelle Williamson hears it all, the frustrations and disappointments that tend to disappear once her husband makes his way to work.
"Sometimes you want to vent, to get it off your chest how you feel," Kings forward Corliss Williamson said. "For me, my wife is great because I can get in her ear. I tell her things, and she helps me through."
Williamson isn't the only one leaving his grievances at home. As the Kings have turned their season around in the last two months, a bench full of players who long for more playing time and production are making a silent contribution by, well, keeping quiet.
Team chemistry during this playoff run, they say, is far more important than fulfilling any individual agendas.
"I think guys are handling it well," said Williamson, the veteran who has played in 33 of 68 games. "I've seen where guys can't handle that, can't put themselves aside for the sake of the team. The group of guys we have here has been able to do that.
"I'm not saying that it's easy, not saying that that's the way they want it to be, but they know that the bottom line is we need to win games."
Among teams in the playoff hunt, the Kings' mix is as complicated as any. They have inherent conflicts at power forward and shooting guard, four players of a starter's caliber with only two such roles to be had.
They have the byproduct of the Ron Artest trade, which resulted in much-needed wins as a successful Plan B but left those players involved in Plan A with drastically reduced roles. And they have two seldom-used newcomers in Vitaly Potapenko and Sergei Monia, who arrived via trade in late February hoping for resurgence of their own and have since had none.
With 14 players on the roster, seldom-used Jamal Sampson and Ronnie Price may be the only ones whose expectations have matched reality.
"It's not an easy situation to be through, especially if they expected to play," coach Rick Adelman said. "But right now, I'm going with what I think is best, and those guys have to stay with it. They don't have to be happy about it, and I understand that. But they've got to stay with it and be a positive part of what we're doing."
Consider Jason Hart the poster boy for the cause.
When Hart was traded from the Charlotte Bobcats to the Kings in the offseason, it was just the latest positive move in his career. But he was one of the many Kings who struggled to find a flow early on, when the Kings dipped as many as eight games below .500. Once Artest arrived, Adelman had a potent scorer who could help bring the ball up the floor. Since then, Hart has played more than seven minutes just once.
"I'm (ticked) off that I'm not playing, but what can you do about it?" said Hart, who has a player option on his contract for next season. "I'm not going to come in and mess up the locker room because I'm not playing. That's never been my personality."
Hart's only complaint is his role change was more of a development than a discussion.
"Coach hasn't spoken to me or anything," he said. "Typically, (coaches) will ... but every coach is different, you know. I want to help, but I can't go beg the coach and explain it to him. We're trying to win games, and I respect that."
Adelman, who is most concerned with turning around the recent stretch of three losses in four games, hopes they all respect the situation.
"We still talk to them like we do everybody else, but most of your thought process is the guys who are playing games right now - especially when you're trying to get them together," he said. "That's a hard enough situation."
One with a not-so-simple solution: winning.
"When things are going good, everybody's going to be happy, and everything's going to be OK," Williamson said. "When things turn bad, that's when it's going to speak about your character, and how you really are as a team and as a teammate."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
