http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/13962496p-14796709c.html
Scrambling for a win
The Kings are looking at themselves to fix a five-game losing skid.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, December 10, 2005
Everyone is weary. There are bags under the eyes of coaches, like a Jeff Van Gundy epidemic.
Brad Miller, the Kings center with the clenched jaw, is grouchy. He explains that more cough syrup, if you will, is in order to get a good night's sleep. And there's a lot of finger-pointing. At themselves.
The Kings are collectively in full-scramble mode, trying to stop the bleeding of what started as a scrape but has now threatened to become a real gusher, a five-game losing streak with no promises of a quick heal on the horizon, starting tonight in Seattle.
With players talking about a need to band together, all hands insist the answer isn't dumping the head coach, Rick Adelman, who has increasingly become the lightning rod for criticism during this teetering season.
"Yeah it bothers me, because the shots Rick takes are unfair," said Elston Turner, the Kings' lead assistant coach. "No new coach is going to come in and change how athletic we are. No new coach is going to make some guys quick enough to stick their nose in a crowd and dive on the floor.
"No new coach is going to make someone jump to the square on the backboard and block a shot and give us some resistance. A new coach, that's looking in the wrong direction."
Kings coaches met with front-office men well after the club's most disheartening loss of the season, when a 14-point third-quarter lead Thursday against the Houston Rockets turned into an 11-point loss, a 7-12 overall record and a 6-7 mark at Arco Arena.
Adelman on Friday completely dismissed any speculation that there is increased talk of shipping out players, particularly struggling forward Peja Stojakovic.
"I coach the team," Adelman said. "I can tell you flat out there's been no discussion about Peja. There's been very little discussion about anybody."
For now, players and coaches said the order is to come together. Adelman recalled how in the beginning of the season he wasn't sure what his team was capable of, and how he surely didn't expect this.
"You have to be resilient in this league," he said. "That's one of the greatest lessons I learned in this league, or you'll really beat yourself down. We've got to learn our lessons. We've got to find a way out of this."
Turner said the Kings still need a true leader to emerge.
"We've always stressed team concept, but when you look around the league (in close games), that's the time a leader comes up," Turner said. "He gets everyone to keep their composure.
"If need be, put them on your back. We still need one. A perfect example was last night."
Turner added that losses sting even more when proven pros come up just short.
"It's tough to lose, but sometimes it's how you lose that can really hurt," he said. "Known shooters with a history and reputation around the league are missing. It's tough when you know someone's good at what they do and they can't always get it done. It becomes a big gap.
"You know a guy's an 80 percent shooter from the line and he misses, or a 6-9 or 6-10 guy is under the basket and he misses. But we all think we can get this thing going again."
Shooting guard Bonzi Wells said the Kings' undoing against Houston was because of bad habits.
"We went back to our old ways," Wells said. "(In the fourth period), we weren't making hustle plays. The effort wasn't what we needed to have in the final seven minutes.
"I know our fans are disgusted. I'm disgusted. We're all disgusted. We're playing terrible right now. It's on us."
KINGS UPDATE
Status: Still the same. Sacramento is desperate for a victory, in the midst of a five-game losing streak, including four straight Arco Arena losses. The Kings reside in unfamiliar territory, at the very bottom of the Pacific Division. The Kings lost the only other meeting with Seattle, 106-104 on Nov. 20, a thrilling game that has become something of the norm when these teams meet. In that game, Peja Stojakovic was never better, hitting nine of 10 shots in the first half before hurting his hand.
Trend: A bad one, measured in defeats and sour expressions after games and practices. Even when the starters have good moments, all five must reach double figures for success. And the bench remains a real frustration, with minimal scoring, and, sometimes, minimal to no minutes for others. It's hard to play a bench that doesn't produce, and the bench can't produce if it doesn't play.
Injury report: None.
SONICS UPDATE
Status: Seattle hasn't burst out of the gates as expected with so many returning faces, but the Sonics still boast of one of the game's great talents in Ray Allen, he of the best quick release in the game. He had a game-high 28 points in the first meeting and devastated the Kings in the playoffs last spring. The Sonics' bench outscored the Kings reserves 39-9, and Luke Ridnour tied a career high with 13 assists.
Trend: When the Sonics batter foes inside for points, it represents good news. Seattle is 5-1 when outscoring or tying opponents in the paint, and they are 4-1 when outrebounding teams, with interior defense and rebounding often a Kings problem. In their first meeting, Seattle won despite allowing the Kings to shoot 67.6 percent in the first half and 55.6 percent for the game.
Injury report: Rick Brunson, left plantar fasciitis, out.
Best matchup: Stojakovic vs. Lewis -Stojakovic sizzled in his last full half against Seattle with 25 points and bombing away from deep. Lewis can be a tough handle as well. He's a superior athlete and averaging nearly 22 points and six rebounds.
About the writer: The Bee's Joe Davidson can be reached at (916) 321-1280 or jdavidson@sacbee.com.
Scrambling for a win
The Kings are looking at themselves to fix a five-game losing skid.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, December 10, 2005
Everyone is weary. There are bags under the eyes of coaches, like a Jeff Van Gundy epidemic.
Brad Miller, the Kings center with the clenched jaw, is grouchy. He explains that more cough syrup, if you will, is in order to get a good night's sleep. And there's a lot of finger-pointing. At themselves.
The Kings are collectively in full-scramble mode, trying to stop the bleeding of what started as a scrape but has now threatened to become a real gusher, a five-game losing streak with no promises of a quick heal on the horizon, starting tonight in Seattle.
With players talking about a need to band together, all hands insist the answer isn't dumping the head coach, Rick Adelman, who has increasingly become the lightning rod for criticism during this teetering season.
"Yeah it bothers me, because the shots Rick takes are unfair," said Elston Turner, the Kings' lead assistant coach. "No new coach is going to come in and change how athletic we are. No new coach is going to make some guys quick enough to stick their nose in a crowd and dive on the floor.
"No new coach is going to make someone jump to the square on the backboard and block a shot and give us some resistance. A new coach, that's looking in the wrong direction."
Kings coaches met with front-office men well after the club's most disheartening loss of the season, when a 14-point third-quarter lead Thursday against the Houston Rockets turned into an 11-point loss, a 7-12 overall record and a 6-7 mark at Arco Arena.
Adelman on Friday completely dismissed any speculation that there is increased talk of shipping out players, particularly struggling forward Peja Stojakovic.
"I coach the team," Adelman said. "I can tell you flat out there's been no discussion about Peja. There's been very little discussion about anybody."
For now, players and coaches said the order is to come together. Adelman recalled how in the beginning of the season he wasn't sure what his team was capable of, and how he surely didn't expect this.
"You have to be resilient in this league," he said. "That's one of the greatest lessons I learned in this league, or you'll really beat yourself down. We've got to learn our lessons. We've got to find a way out of this."
Turner said the Kings still need a true leader to emerge.
"We've always stressed team concept, but when you look around the league (in close games), that's the time a leader comes up," Turner said. "He gets everyone to keep their composure.
"If need be, put them on your back. We still need one. A perfect example was last night."
Turner added that losses sting even more when proven pros come up just short.
"It's tough to lose, but sometimes it's how you lose that can really hurt," he said. "Known shooters with a history and reputation around the league are missing. It's tough when you know someone's good at what they do and they can't always get it done. It becomes a big gap.
"You know a guy's an 80 percent shooter from the line and he misses, or a 6-9 or 6-10 guy is under the basket and he misses. But we all think we can get this thing going again."
Shooting guard Bonzi Wells said the Kings' undoing against Houston was because of bad habits.
"We went back to our old ways," Wells said. "(In the fourth period), we weren't making hustle plays. The effort wasn't what we needed to have in the final seven minutes.
"I know our fans are disgusted. I'm disgusted. We're all disgusted. We're playing terrible right now. It's on us."
KINGS UPDATE
Status: Still the same. Sacramento is desperate for a victory, in the midst of a five-game losing streak, including four straight Arco Arena losses. The Kings reside in unfamiliar territory, at the very bottom of the Pacific Division. The Kings lost the only other meeting with Seattle, 106-104 on Nov. 20, a thrilling game that has become something of the norm when these teams meet. In that game, Peja Stojakovic was never better, hitting nine of 10 shots in the first half before hurting his hand.
Trend: A bad one, measured in defeats and sour expressions after games and practices. Even when the starters have good moments, all five must reach double figures for success. And the bench remains a real frustration, with minimal scoring, and, sometimes, minimal to no minutes for others. It's hard to play a bench that doesn't produce, and the bench can't produce if it doesn't play.
Injury report: None.
SONICS UPDATE
Status: Seattle hasn't burst out of the gates as expected with so many returning faces, but the Sonics still boast of one of the game's great talents in Ray Allen, he of the best quick release in the game. He had a game-high 28 points in the first meeting and devastated the Kings in the playoffs last spring. The Sonics' bench outscored the Kings reserves 39-9, and Luke Ridnour tied a career high with 13 assists.
Trend: When the Sonics batter foes inside for points, it represents good news. Seattle is 5-1 when outscoring or tying opponents in the paint, and they are 4-1 when outrebounding teams, with interior defense and rebounding often a Kings problem. In their first meeting, Seattle won despite allowing the Kings to shoot 67.6 percent in the first half and 55.6 percent for the game.
Injury report: Rick Brunson, left plantar fasciitis, out.
Best matchup: Stojakovic vs. Lewis -Stojakovic sizzled in his last full half against Seattle with 25 points and bombing away from deep. Lewis can be a tough handle as well. He's a superior athlete and averaging nearly 22 points and six rebounds.
About the writer: The Bee's Joe Davidson can be reached at (916) 321-1280 or jdavidson@sacbee.com.
