Bee: Kings remain in a nosedive

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Kings remain in a nosedive
They rally from a 21-point halftime deficit but fall short against the Nuggets.
By Sam Amick -
Last Updated 12:19 am PDT Thursday, April 5, 2007


DENVER -- When late April comes around and the NBA postseason begins without the Kings for the first time in nine seasons, a gravestone for their 2006-07 campaign could be erected in some hidden grassy knoll outside Arco Arena with an inscription that says it all.

They played until the end.

The team that has so much trouble finishing played until the finish again Wednesday night, when its 120-115 loss to Denver at the Pepsi Center was enough to put a mild scare into the playoff-bound Nuggets and prompt the Kings to dig for positives while ignoring the fact that they're nearly six feet under.

"One thing about this team is that they will play until the final buzzer," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "From an effort standpoint, I'm really proud of them."

Down by 16 points entering the fourth quarter, they cut the lead to five points four times in the final 2:30. The Nuggets, who played the role of dead men walking in the second half after running out to a 21-point halftime lead, were spooked enough to respond each time.

"They tried to scare us, (but) I knew we were going to hold our composure there and not be afraid of them making a run at the end," Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said.

Musselman even took playing to the end to the extreme, calling a timeout with 12.1 seconds left that led to Ronnie Price's three-pointer at the buzzer. And why not? It was, if nothing else, a night for highlights among the younger folks, with rookie Justin Williams reaping the benefits of the season-ending toe injury to Kenny Thomas by tallying season highs in minutes (23), rebounds (13) and points (eight).

The undrafted rookie out of Wyoming brought an active presence down low the Kings sorely lack, and his rebounding helped them keep the rebounding battle close (48-44 in Denver's favor).

"It felt real good to get out there," said Williams, who had played more than seven minutes just twice in the previous 23 games. "Everybody (in the past) was telling me I'd make a lot of money if I keep doing that. I didn't believe them at the time ... . A lot of people were right, and I just want to continue to doing it."

Collectively, though, the Kings are hard pressed for real hope. Since upsetting Phoenix on March 25, they have lost four consecutive games and 12 of their last 14.

And finish aside, they were sluggish enough at the start to make the notion of a winless finish to this season seem almost possible. They trailed by eight points entering the second quarter and didn't do much to contest, as the deficit grew to 15 midway through the quarter.

With the Nuggets ahead 57-42, one fan smelled purple blood, hollering, "Run these guys out of the gym!" Nene responded with a three-point play that started a 7-1 run, and the Nuggets were on their way to a 71-50 halftime lead while shooting 58.3 percent.

"It was a mixture of players and coaches not being on the same page," Kings small forward Ron Artest said of the first half. "It was both our faults, just not doing the right things defensively ... . We've just got to keep fighting. I definitely want to be in the playoffs this year."

While Artest had another sensational stat line with 32 points, Anthony nearly bested the effort before halftime with Artest guarding him. Anthony, who led the league in scoring for much of the season, had 23 of his 31 points in the first half.

"I think the first half they were letting me play one-on-one (against Artest)," Anthony said. "In the second half they sent two or three guys at me. If I was the coach, I probably would've done the same thing, too."

Miracles aside, the only race the Kings are winning is the one for a prime draft pick come June. Seven teams are within two games of the Kings (30-44) in the loss column, with no pulse shown in some time but room for a fortuitous free fall.

About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
 
"It was a mixture of players and coaches not being on the same page," Kings small forward Ron Artest said of the first half. "It was both our faults, just not doing the right things defensively ... . We've just got to keep fighting. I definitely want to be in the playoffs this year."

Um...

Well...

Oh, boy. Who wants to be the one that has to break it to Ron??
 
"One thing about this team is that they will play until the final buzzer," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "From an effort standpoint, I'm really proud of them."

So do the Hawks and Bobcats.. Eric thats not something us fans appreciate it comes down to wins and you have yet figured how to make that happen. so take you're filthy fake appreciations and shove them in you're press-conference when you get fired loser.


 
I expect the team to show some effort out there every night out. They're professionals.

Not very good ones, but they are pros.
 
Nosedive? Yeah, thanks. I'll have some more of that. 8 games, to be exact.

Then we'll put Oden at the five and nobody will be able to stop us.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! MWAHAHAHAH! HAHAHA! HA! ha! ha...

Sorry, got a little carried away here :o
 
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