Gtronic
Bench
The new approach has not been a subtle one.
There are countless signs preaching defense in the Kings' practice facility, reminders in the team's locker room at Arco Arena, even portable messages of defensive motivation for road trips.
In your face, in other words, goes for the message and the mode. But perhaps the most telling sign that Kings coach Eric Musselman is dedicated to the defensive movement has been his decision to start power forward Kenny Thomas. And to stand by him.
While the team's fanbase was agonizing over so many missed layups early and limited offensive production - with some calling for the offensive-minded Shareef Abdur-Rahim - Musselman was gushing about Thomas' ability to lock up some of the league's best at his position.
In five games Thomas has contained one-time MVP Kevin Garnett twice, shut down Detroit's Rasheed Wallace (0-for-9 shooting in Wednesday's victory) and has been a consistent stopper for a unit that ranks second in the NBA in points allowed (90.2 per game).
Sunday will bring a new challenge, as Toronto arrives with All-Star forward Chris Bosh, the fourth-year player who was a member of Team USA in the offseason and - entering Friday - had averaged 23.3 points and 15.8 rebounds in the last four games.
Musselman's logic in starting Thomas is simple. There is, he said, security knowing he won't have to use double teams on opposing power forwards, even if they carry twice the load of a typical player. Limiting the opposing star's touches turns into stops, which have been atop the team's priority chart since Musselman was hired.
"Kenny's one of the best defensive players I've been around," Musselman said. "He enjoys doing it, and I think that says a lot when you like playing defense. He takes great pride in it."
The scoring, thus far, has been left to shooting guard Kevin Martin, point guard Mike Bibby, small forward Ron Artest and a select few others, while Thomas has scored just 30 points in his 165 minutes and hit 15 of 29 shots. He leads the team in rebounds (46), including 20 on offense and a 15-rebound night against Detroit.
"He's done a great job of scoring when the opportunity has been there for him, a great job of executing the plays," Musselman said. "He's created a lot of extra possessions for us with his offensive rebounds and hustle plays."
The Thomas-Abdur-Rahim debate was put on hold with the injury to center Brad Miller, who is out at least for this month and is being replaced by Abdur-Rahim. Still, Thomas would likely have retained his spot nonetheless, with his athleticism an asset he's used to his advantage.
"I've been doing the same thing I've been doing since I've been here," Thomas said. "I've always guarded the best big man. It's just something that I put upon myself to try to contain the guy that takes all the shots and who posts up a lot."
And he does it with a 6-foot-7 frame that's typically a few inches shy of the competition.
"He is a little undersized for one of the power positions, but he plays bigger than his size because of his quickness, his athleticism, and his toughness," said Kings assistant T.R. Dunn, a renowned defender during his playing days. "He's been able to do some things that are disruptive. He's been terrific."
Thomas, who bonded with Musselman early with a weekend visit to the coach's house before training camp, said he's enjoyed having an approach from the coaching staff that reflects his own.
"(Martin) and those guys are scoring a lot of points right now, and (Artest), and (Musselman) is still stressing defense to them too," Thomas said. "Defense comes first, and that's the biggest reason why I like (Musselman). I think he's a player's coach. If he keeps putting the emphasis on defense, we're going to win games. That's just the way it is."
link -> http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/75309.html
There are countless signs preaching defense in the Kings' practice facility, reminders in the team's locker room at Arco Arena, even portable messages of defensive motivation for road trips.
In your face, in other words, goes for the message and the mode. But perhaps the most telling sign that Kings coach Eric Musselman is dedicated to the defensive movement has been his decision to start power forward Kenny Thomas. And to stand by him.
While the team's fanbase was agonizing over so many missed layups early and limited offensive production - with some calling for the offensive-minded Shareef Abdur-Rahim - Musselman was gushing about Thomas' ability to lock up some of the league's best at his position.
In five games Thomas has contained one-time MVP Kevin Garnett twice, shut down Detroit's Rasheed Wallace (0-for-9 shooting in Wednesday's victory) and has been a consistent stopper for a unit that ranks second in the NBA in points allowed (90.2 per game).
Sunday will bring a new challenge, as Toronto arrives with All-Star forward Chris Bosh, the fourth-year player who was a member of Team USA in the offseason and - entering Friday - had averaged 23.3 points and 15.8 rebounds in the last four games.
Musselman's logic in starting Thomas is simple. There is, he said, security knowing he won't have to use double teams on opposing power forwards, even if they carry twice the load of a typical player. Limiting the opposing star's touches turns into stops, which have been atop the team's priority chart since Musselman was hired.
"Kenny's one of the best defensive players I've been around," Musselman said. "He enjoys doing it, and I think that says a lot when you like playing defense. He takes great pride in it."
The scoring, thus far, has been left to shooting guard Kevin Martin, point guard Mike Bibby, small forward Ron Artest and a select few others, while Thomas has scored just 30 points in his 165 minutes and hit 15 of 29 shots. He leads the team in rebounds (46), including 20 on offense and a 15-rebound night against Detroit.
"He's done a great job of scoring when the opportunity has been there for him, a great job of executing the plays," Musselman said. "He's created a lot of extra possessions for us with his offensive rebounds and hustle plays."
The Thomas-Abdur-Rahim debate was put on hold with the injury to center Brad Miller, who is out at least for this month and is being replaced by Abdur-Rahim. Still, Thomas would likely have retained his spot nonetheless, with his athleticism an asset he's used to his advantage.
"I've been doing the same thing I've been doing since I've been here," Thomas said. "I've always guarded the best big man. It's just something that I put upon myself to try to contain the guy that takes all the shots and who posts up a lot."
And he does it with a 6-foot-7 frame that's typically a few inches shy of the competition.
"He is a little undersized for one of the power positions, but he plays bigger than his size because of his quickness, his athleticism, and his toughness," said Kings assistant T.R. Dunn, a renowned defender during his playing days. "He's been able to do some things that are disruptive. He's been terrific."
Thomas, who bonded with Musselman early with a weekend visit to the coach's house before training camp, said he's enjoyed having an approach from the coaching staff that reflects his own.
"(Martin) and those guys are scoring a lot of points right now, and (Artest), and (Musselman) is still stressing defense to them too," Thomas said. "Defense comes first, and that's the biggest reason why I like (Musselman). I think he's a player's coach. If he keeps putting the emphasis on defense, we're going to win games. That's just the way it is."
link -> http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/75309.html
and we really need that typoe of player on this team...
