http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14244209p-15062790c.html
Next stop: The playoffs
Kings rise from January's depths
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, April 17, 2006
All's well that ends well.
It's not just a favorite saying of Geoff Petrie's. It's the final truth about the Kings and their regular season.
The eighth consecutive playoff berth couldn't have come with more balance than it did Sunday night at Arco Arena, where the Kings brought an end to so much regular-season drama by downing the team that gave them such a nightmarish beginning.
Eighty games later, with the memory of that 26-point opening-night loss in Oklahoma City still somewhere in the painful part of their minds, the Kings repaid the Hornets with a 96-79 victory that was virtually over early in the fourth quarter.
In truth, their playoff invitation was already sent with 5:03 left in the fourth, when the news came that ninth-place Utah had lost to Dallas to drop the Kings' magic number from one to zero.
The eighth-place Kings can still take the No. 7 seed - and face Phoenix instead of reigning champ San Antonio - with a win over Seattle on Tuesday coupled with a Lakers loss to New Orleans/Oklahoma City on Wednesday. With the Kings-Lakers season series tied 2-2, the Kings hold the tiebreaker because their conference record is three games better than the Lakers'.
"It's gratifying to come from where we were, especially the last three weeks," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "Those guys in the locker room deserve a lot of credit. They stayed with it in what looked like it was going to be the toughest part of the season. We won big games, and that's what it took to get there."
They won at San Antonio. They beat the Clippers twice. They won at Denver. They used 23 points and five three-pointers from point guard Mike Bibby to overwhelm a Hornets team that was playing its first game since falling out of playoff contention. They did, in not so many words, exactly what Ron Artest had said they would.
When the small forward made his bold playoff prediction Jan. 29, it was the furthest thing from a dramatic declaration. The formerly troubled star was just minutes removed from his second loss in two games with the Kings, a setback to Toronto in which his new team gave up 124 points and was 5 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot in the West.
Afterward, Artest sat at his locker, the media scrum long gone, and gave a casual thought to a crowd of one. Unprompted, with unwavering confidence. A season dramatically changed with his arrival, but nothing has changed about his stance.
"We've got a long season ahead of us," Artest said. "We're far from done. Our goal is to come out this year No. 1, win the championship, so we've got a long season ahead of us. ... I don't know who we're going to play (in the playoffs), but we're not losing in the first round. We're not losing in the first round. Everybody on this team is committed. We're going to walk the walk."
It's a walk forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim has never taken. The 10-year veteran who came to Sacramento for this very reason saw his career-long playoff drought end. Once it finally did, he juggled the joy of long-awaited accomplishment with the relief of no longer being identified by futility. The persistent questions, from here on, will be of the triumphant nature.
"Y'all have to have something to write about, right?" he said, laughing with a smile that was contagious in the locker room.
"I'm happy for Shareef," Bibby said. "I think we're throwing a party for him (Sunday night). Got cake and everything."
With their eyes on a bigger piece of the pie.
The Kings' streak of eight playoff berths is the third-longest in the league, trailing only San Antonio and Indiana (nine each). The Hornets made it easy by not reaching 50 points until 4:39 remained in the third quarter, while the Kings were up by 21 in the third and their lead was never cut closer than 15 from there.
Hornets coach and former Kings assistant Byron Scott had done his old team a favor before tipoff, deciding to rest Sixth Man of the Year candidate Speedy Claxton and play his reserves heavily. No matter the method, the Kings coach who has led all eight of the playoff teams is glad this play will continue.
"On Jan. 30, we were behind about six teams who didn't make it," Adelman said. "We have one more game, and then we will prepare for the playoffs, whoever we play."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
Next stop: The playoffs
Kings rise from January's depths
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, April 17, 2006
All's well that ends well.
It's not just a favorite saying of Geoff Petrie's. It's the final truth about the Kings and their regular season.
The eighth consecutive playoff berth couldn't have come with more balance than it did Sunday night at Arco Arena, where the Kings brought an end to so much regular-season drama by downing the team that gave them such a nightmarish beginning.
Eighty games later, with the memory of that 26-point opening-night loss in Oklahoma City still somewhere in the painful part of their minds, the Kings repaid the Hornets with a 96-79 victory that was virtually over early in the fourth quarter.
In truth, their playoff invitation was already sent with 5:03 left in the fourth, when the news came that ninth-place Utah had lost to Dallas to drop the Kings' magic number from one to zero.
The eighth-place Kings can still take the No. 7 seed - and face Phoenix instead of reigning champ San Antonio - with a win over Seattle on Tuesday coupled with a Lakers loss to New Orleans/Oklahoma City on Wednesday. With the Kings-Lakers season series tied 2-2, the Kings hold the tiebreaker because their conference record is three games better than the Lakers'.
"It's gratifying to come from where we were, especially the last three weeks," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "Those guys in the locker room deserve a lot of credit. They stayed with it in what looked like it was going to be the toughest part of the season. We won big games, and that's what it took to get there."
They won at San Antonio. They beat the Clippers twice. They won at Denver. They used 23 points and five three-pointers from point guard Mike Bibby to overwhelm a Hornets team that was playing its first game since falling out of playoff contention. They did, in not so many words, exactly what Ron Artest had said they would.
When the small forward made his bold playoff prediction Jan. 29, it was the furthest thing from a dramatic declaration. The formerly troubled star was just minutes removed from his second loss in two games with the Kings, a setback to Toronto in which his new team gave up 124 points and was 5 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot in the West.
Afterward, Artest sat at his locker, the media scrum long gone, and gave a casual thought to a crowd of one. Unprompted, with unwavering confidence. A season dramatically changed with his arrival, but nothing has changed about his stance.
"We've got a long season ahead of us," Artest said. "We're far from done. Our goal is to come out this year No. 1, win the championship, so we've got a long season ahead of us. ... I don't know who we're going to play (in the playoffs), but we're not losing in the first round. We're not losing in the first round. Everybody on this team is committed. We're going to walk the walk."
It's a walk forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim has never taken. The 10-year veteran who came to Sacramento for this very reason saw his career-long playoff drought end. Once it finally did, he juggled the joy of long-awaited accomplishment with the relief of no longer being identified by futility. The persistent questions, from here on, will be of the triumphant nature.
"Y'all have to have something to write about, right?" he said, laughing with a smile that was contagious in the locker room.
"I'm happy for Shareef," Bibby said. "I think we're throwing a party for him (Sunday night). Got cake and everything."
With their eyes on a bigger piece of the pie.
The Kings' streak of eight playoff berths is the third-longest in the league, trailing only San Antonio and Indiana (nine each). The Hornets made it easy by not reaching 50 points until 4:39 remained in the third quarter, while the Kings were up by 21 in the third and their lead was never cut closer than 15 from there.
Hornets coach and former Kings assistant Byron Scott had done his old team a favor before tipoff, deciding to rest Sixth Man of the Year candidate Speedy Claxton and play his reserves heavily. No matter the method, the Kings coach who has led all eight of the playoff teams is glad this play will continue.
"On Jan. 30, we were behind about six teams who didn't make it," Adelman said. "We have one more game, and then we will prepare for the playoffs, whoever we play."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
