http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14244606p-15063061c.html
Kings maintain focus on league scoreboard
The team will learn if it meets the Spurs or Suns in the opening round of the playoffs.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Arsenic or hemlock.
Or, as Rick Adelman put it, "Pick your poison." The words were nothing venomous toward the San Antonio Spurs or Phoenix Suns. Rather, they were a sign of respect by the Kings' coach for the teams his squad may face in the first round of the postseason.
The tough part of the formula finally behind the Kings - that being the playoff invite - they may have to wait until Wednesday night to find out which city to start heading toward. That means tonight's game against Seattle will be far from a polluted pre-playoffs practice.
A Sacramento victory coupled with a Lakers loss against New Orleans would put the Kings in the seventh spot with their itinerary geared toward the Suns, while any variation of that plan would have them facing the Spurs.
Whether the Lakers want to win and face Phoenix is debatable. Before the Lakers beat the Suns on Sunday, they had lost all seven games against them since the Suns acquired Steve Nash before the 2004-05 season. Still, the Lakers have an identical 1-7 mark against the Spurs in the same stretch.
"I'm not going to extend guys big minutes (against the SuperSonics), but we've got to see if we can win and then see what happens," Adelman said. "I would think right now, our video guys and scouts have done a good job, (so) whoever it is, we'll be ready to go."
Adelman insists there is no preference. Since acquiring Ron Artest, the Kings are 0-2 against the Suns and 1-0 against the Spurs.
"San Antonio's the world champs, and they've got a lot of things going for them," he said. "I think we also learned that Phoenix has a little bit going for them, too, with what they did to us in the second half (of a 123-110 Suns victory on April 11).
"I think whoever we play, we can be very competitive. But we have to play our game. I believe that we can give either one of them a tough time."
Socrates, coincidentally, lost his life by way of hemlock. But the closest the Kings have to a philosopher - Artest - has every assurance that this purple potion is the antidote for whichever team may come. After the Kings disposed of the Hornets on Sunday night, Artest reiterated for the second time in three weeks that there will be no first-round exit. There has been talk of titles, using a line of logic that, in his eyes, places the Kings of the Artest era among the elite.
By results alone, the theory isn't so far-fetched. After losing their first two games with Artest, the Kings have gone 25-12, with a host of games the coaching staff would consider should-have-wons. The Spurs have gone 28-9 in the same stretch. The Western Conference's second-best team, Dallas, has gone 26-11, and the Suns have gone 25-12. Resilience, too, has become a teamwide trait, as the Kings are 11-3 following losses since Artest arrived.
"Whether it's Phoenix ... or San Antonio, in order to win the championship, we've got to beat one of those teams, anyway," Artest said. "We're not going to hope to play one team. ... Obviously it's not going to be easy. Nothing's easy."
Including the duty of guarding Ray Allen. Just after the irony of the Kings qualifying for the playoffs against the Hornets, who had embarrassed them on opening night, they face Allen and a Seattle team that sent the franchise into fix-it mode after last season's first-round playoff loss.
Despite Seattle's 34-46 record, the Sonics have won five of their last eight games, with Allen scoring 30-plus points five times.
Kings point guard Mike Bibby is on his own run, scoring 23 points in each of the last four games on the heels of a 30-point outing in an April 7 victory over the Clippers and a 31-point night in the April 5 victory over the Spurs. He is 22 of 44 from three-point range over his last six games.
Poisonous play indeed.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
Kings maintain focus on league scoreboard
The team will learn if it meets the Spurs or Suns in the opening round of the playoffs.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Arsenic or hemlock.
Or, as Rick Adelman put it, "Pick your poison." The words were nothing venomous toward the San Antonio Spurs or Phoenix Suns. Rather, they were a sign of respect by the Kings' coach for the teams his squad may face in the first round of the postseason.
The tough part of the formula finally behind the Kings - that being the playoff invite - they may have to wait until Wednesday night to find out which city to start heading toward. That means tonight's game against Seattle will be far from a polluted pre-playoffs practice.
A Sacramento victory coupled with a Lakers loss against New Orleans would put the Kings in the seventh spot with their itinerary geared toward the Suns, while any variation of that plan would have them facing the Spurs.
Whether the Lakers want to win and face Phoenix is debatable. Before the Lakers beat the Suns on Sunday, they had lost all seven games against them since the Suns acquired Steve Nash before the 2004-05 season. Still, the Lakers have an identical 1-7 mark against the Spurs in the same stretch.
"I'm not going to extend guys big minutes (against the SuperSonics), but we've got to see if we can win and then see what happens," Adelman said. "I would think right now, our video guys and scouts have done a good job, (so) whoever it is, we'll be ready to go."
Adelman insists there is no preference. Since acquiring Ron Artest, the Kings are 0-2 against the Suns and 1-0 against the Spurs.
"San Antonio's the world champs, and they've got a lot of things going for them," he said. "I think we also learned that Phoenix has a little bit going for them, too, with what they did to us in the second half (of a 123-110 Suns victory on April 11).
"I think whoever we play, we can be very competitive. But we have to play our game. I believe that we can give either one of them a tough time."
Socrates, coincidentally, lost his life by way of hemlock. But the closest the Kings have to a philosopher - Artest - has every assurance that this purple potion is the antidote for whichever team may come. After the Kings disposed of the Hornets on Sunday night, Artest reiterated for the second time in three weeks that there will be no first-round exit. There has been talk of titles, using a line of logic that, in his eyes, places the Kings of the Artest era among the elite.
By results alone, the theory isn't so far-fetched. After losing their first two games with Artest, the Kings have gone 25-12, with a host of games the coaching staff would consider should-have-wons. The Spurs have gone 28-9 in the same stretch. The Western Conference's second-best team, Dallas, has gone 26-11, and the Suns have gone 25-12. Resilience, too, has become a teamwide trait, as the Kings are 11-3 following losses since Artest arrived.
"Whether it's Phoenix ... or San Antonio, in order to win the championship, we've got to beat one of those teams, anyway," Artest said. "We're not going to hope to play one team. ... Obviously it's not going to be easy. Nothing's easy."
Including the duty of guarding Ray Allen. Just after the irony of the Kings qualifying for the playoffs against the Hornets, who had embarrassed them on opening night, they face Allen and a Seattle team that sent the franchise into fix-it mode after last season's first-round playoff loss.
Despite Seattle's 34-46 record, the Sonics have won five of their last eight games, with Allen scoring 30-plus points five times.
Kings point guard Mike Bibby is on his own run, scoring 23 points in each of the last four games on the heels of a 30-point outing in an April 7 victory over the Clippers and a 31-point night in the April 5 victory over the Spurs. He is 22 of 44 from three-point range over his last six games.
Poisonous play indeed.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
