http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14132679p-14961606c.html
Kings wreck on the road
After an OT loss to Toronto ends a 1-5 trip, Ron Artest guarantees a playoff berth.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, January 30, 2006
TORONTO - Rick Adelman wanted no part of Silver Lining Central, where the bandwagon that started at Ron Artest's locker would eventually make stops all around the room.
The Kings' coach had just seen his new squad fall 124-123 to Toronto in overtime Sunday night, having overcome an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit only to lose a six-point lead with 2:15 left in the extra period. And bandwagons aside, there were stops of the basketball kind that hadn't been made, like the one that ended with Raptors forward Jalen Rose sinking a 17-foot game-winning jumper with four-tenths of a second left in overtime - when Kings Francisco García and Kenny Thomas jumped his way in futile fashion.
The Raptors rode 20-point-plus nights from Chris Bosh, Morris Peterson and Mike James to the win, and the Kings failed to score on four of their last five possessions in overtime.
"I just feel bad for the guys," Adelman said. "They played hard, came back and made some mistakes that cost us."
But Artest was the one with the fresh perspective, having endured only two of the five losses on the season-long six-game road trip and having had no part in the 21 defeats before that. Loss be darned, he said, there is major potential here.
"We're going to be fine," Artest said. "We'll be in the playoffs this year."
Is that a guarantee?
"We'll be in the playoffs," he repeated. "Definitely. Definitely. You can guarantee that."
As word of his proclamation was shared, his new teammates jumped on board. Told of Artest's guarantee, Kenny Thomas' ears perked up.
"That's good," he said. "I like that. I think so, too."
Mike Bibby said he liked Artest's confidence, a sentiment repeated by Brad Miller.
"(Artest) definitely brings attitude, another guy that - at the end of the game - can take over like he showed at times tonight," said Miller, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds. "He's so darn strong, a thick 260 (pounds). We talk about Bonzi (Wells) being thick, but I think Ron's got him beat."
Shareef Abdur-Rahim agreed.
"A lot of what (Artest) brings, we don't have anything like that," he said. "We've just got to feed off of it."
The eatin' was good for much of the second half, when the first building block of the Kings' new identity may have been laid. Artest - who was traded from Indiana to Sacramento for Peja Stojakovic last week, for those who live in holes - scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.
With the Kings down 105-96, he drove hard for a layup, then converted a three-point play after being fouled on a post-up basket. Lost on no one was how comfortable Adelman was going to Artest in the crucial moments. Artest drove past center Pape Sow for a left-handed layup with 3.2 seconds left in regulation that forced overtime. His 19-foot fadeaway jumper in overtime put the Kings up by four.
"I was telling him, 'Don't bail the guys out by shooting the jump shot,' " said Bibby, who scored 42 points on 15-for-32 shooting and has scored 35-plus in five of the past nine games. "A lot of my shots tonight were off him drawing double teams. ... We'll be all right. I'm not worried at all."
As for the latest road stretch, the Grateful Dead said it best: What a long, strange trip it's been. The Kings, to remember, hit the road with plenty of swagger, having won three straight in a stretch that ended with an overtime victory over the Lakers.
But by the time the trip was over, the Kings were more dead than grateful.
The schedule never stopped to revel in the Artest hoopla, as games in Orlando, Miami, Philadelphia and New York came without Artest and Boston and Toronto were lost with him. Not until Artest's positive spin afterward did the other chins pop up.
"I think once we get Bonzi back, we've got a great team," Thomas said. "We've just got to keep on looking forward, come into practice tomorrow and try and get better."
Artest, of course, knows they will.
"It was definitely encouraging," he said. "We haven't been together the longest time, but I feel we're going to be one of the better teams in the NBA shortly. ... We're going to be one of the better teams in the league. We've just got to keep working."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
EDITED BY VF21 to add entire article...
Kings wreck on the road
After an OT loss to Toronto ends a 1-5 trip, Ron Artest guarantees a playoff berth.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, January 30, 2006
TORONTO - Rick Adelman wanted no part of Silver Lining Central, where the bandwagon that started at Ron Artest's locker would eventually make stops all around the room.
The Kings' coach had just seen his new squad fall 124-123 to Toronto in overtime Sunday night, having overcome an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit only to lose a six-point lead with 2:15 left in the extra period. And bandwagons aside, there were stops of the basketball kind that hadn't been made, like the one that ended with Raptors forward Jalen Rose sinking a 17-foot game-winning jumper with four-tenths of a second left in overtime - when Kings Francisco García and Kenny Thomas jumped his way in futile fashion.
The Raptors rode 20-point-plus nights from Chris Bosh, Morris Peterson and Mike James to the win, and the Kings failed to score on four of their last five possessions in overtime.
"I just feel bad for the guys," Adelman said. "They played hard, came back and made some mistakes that cost us."
But Artest was the one with the fresh perspective, having endured only two of the five losses on the season-long six-game road trip and having had no part in the 21 defeats before that. Loss be darned, he said, there is major potential here.
"We're going to be fine," Artest said. "We'll be in the playoffs this year."
Is that a guarantee?
"We'll be in the playoffs," he repeated. "Definitely. Definitely. You can guarantee that."
As word of his proclamation was shared, his new teammates jumped on board. Told of Artest's guarantee, Kenny Thomas' ears perked up.
"That's good," he said. "I like that. I think so, too."
Mike Bibby said he liked Artest's confidence, a sentiment repeated by Brad Miller.
"(Artest) definitely brings attitude, another guy that - at the end of the game - can take over like he showed at times tonight," said Miller, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds. "He's so darn strong, a thick 260 (pounds). We talk about Bonzi (Wells) being thick, but I think Ron's got him beat."
Shareef Abdur-Rahim agreed.
"A lot of what (Artest) brings, we don't have anything like that," he said. "We've just got to feed off of it."
The eatin' was good for much of the second half, when the first building block of the Kings' new identity may have been laid. Artest - who was traded from Indiana to Sacramento for Peja Stojakovic last week, for those who live in holes - scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.
With the Kings down 105-96, he drove hard for a layup, then converted a three-point play after being fouled on a post-up basket. Lost on no one was how comfortable Adelman was going to Artest in the crucial moments. Artest drove past center Pape Sow for a left-handed layup with 3.2 seconds left in regulation that forced overtime. His 19-foot fadeaway jumper in overtime put the Kings up by four.
"I was telling him, 'Don't bail the guys out by shooting the jump shot,' " said Bibby, who scored 42 points on 15-for-32 shooting and has scored 35-plus in five of the past nine games. "A lot of my shots tonight were off him drawing double teams. ... We'll be all right. I'm not worried at all."
As for the latest road stretch, the Grateful Dead said it best: What a long, strange trip it's been. The Kings, to remember, hit the road with plenty of swagger, having won three straight in a stretch that ended with an overtime victory over the Lakers.
But by the time the trip was over, the Kings were more dead than grateful.
The schedule never stopped to revel in the Artest hoopla, as games in Orlando, Miami, Philadelphia and New York came without Artest and Boston and Toronto were lost with him. Not until Artest's positive spin afterward did the other chins pop up.
"I think once we get Bonzi back, we've got a great team," Thomas said. "We've just got to keep on looking forward, come into practice tomorrow and try and get better."
Artest, of course, knows they will.
"It was definitely encouraging," he said. "We haven't been together the longest time, but I feel we're going to be one of the better teams in the NBA shortly. ... We're going to be one of the better teams in the league. We've just got to keep working."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at (916) 326-5582 or samick@sacbee.com.
EDITED BY VF21 to add entire article...
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