By Martin McNeal - mmcneal@sacbee.com
http://www.sacbee.com/749/story/474089.html
For the past week and the foreseeable future, Mike Bibby has been almost just another Kings fan, albeit with a cast on his left wrist and a lot more money in the bank.
When he hasn't been sleeping as a result of the medication he has been taking following thumb surgery, Bibby has watched the Kings on TV. Unlike most Kings fans, he had the opportunity to get with his guys and relate to them what he has seen from afar. Of course, that's not something he was willing to share without a little prodding.
"How many people did you talk to, Mike?" he was asked.
"Enough," he said. "Write that."
Then he came with real talk.
"I just told a few guys what I'd seen on TV because it's different than what you see when you're on the court or on the bench," he said. "I tried to tell them what I think the coach wants to get out of them, and that's about it."
Bibby is wearing his third protective covering, this one made of plaster, after he found a fiberglass cast to be too uncomfortable. He'll begin cardio work today, he said, but where he really wants to be is on the court with his teammates.
"Man, I wish I could play," he said.
He can't, though, because he tore a ligament near his left thumb trying to break a fall during an Oct. 25 practice in Las Vegas.
"When I fell, it came out of the socket," he said. "We put it back in and kept playing. I tried to catch a pass, and it felt like the ball was going to tear (the thumb) right off. I knew something was wrong. I finished the practice, (athletic trainer) Pete (Youngman) put some ice on it and I went to get an X-ray and an MRI, and then we knew."
Bibby had surgery Oct. 27 and is projected to be out 10 weeks. The 10th-year guard said he spoke with former Kings guard Bobby Jackson, who suffered a similar injury and had his surgery performed by the same doctor.
It was mentioned to Bibby that it appeared former critics seemed to have quite a bit more appreciation for him now that he's injured and cannot play. Bibby bypassed the chance to take a swing at those critics.
"Well, you never know until something happens," he said.
Bibby said he feels for the guys who are on the court battling and playing.
"I know that the guys I've been practicing with and playing with every day were not playing the same way in those three games, so I know we'll be all right," he said.
Coach Reggie Theus started Orien Greene at the point for the first two games. But Theus played Francisco García there in Saturday's loss at Dallas and is expected to go with García again tonight in the home opener against Seattle.
Theus said he knows his team struggled in the first three games, but he still was undaunted Monday, after what he and many others described as an "intense" practice.
"We did what we had to do, and that was stay together," the coach said. "I'm trying to put our highest energy level out on the floor."
García certainly brings energy, as well as size and the ability to score.
"But 'Cisco' isn't a point guard, so there are some things he cannot do," Theus said, "and I know that."
http://www.sacbee.com/749/story/474089.html
For the past week and the foreseeable future, Mike Bibby has been almost just another Kings fan, albeit with a cast on his left wrist and a lot more money in the bank.
When he hasn't been sleeping as a result of the medication he has been taking following thumb surgery, Bibby has watched the Kings on TV. Unlike most Kings fans, he had the opportunity to get with his guys and relate to them what he has seen from afar. Of course, that's not something he was willing to share without a little prodding.
"How many people did you talk to, Mike?" he was asked.
"Enough," he said. "Write that."
Then he came with real talk.
"I just told a few guys what I'd seen on TV because it's different than what you see when you're on the court or on the bench," he said. "I tried to tell them what I think the coach wants to get out of them, and that's about it."
Bibby is wearing his third protective covering, this one made of plaster, after he found a fiberglass cast to be too uncomfortable. He'll begin cardio work today, he said, but where he really wants to be is on the court with his teammates.
"Man, I wish I could play," he said.
He can't, though, because he tore a ligament near his left thumb trying to break a fall during an Oct. 25 practice in Las Vegas.
"When I fell, it came out of the socket," he said. "We put it back in and kept playing. I tried to catch a pass, and it felt like the ball was going to tear (the thumb) right off. I knew something was wrong. I finished the practice, (athletic trainer) Pete (Youngman) put some ice on it and I went to get an X-ray and an MRI, and then we knew."
Bibby had surgery Oct. 27 and is projected to be out 10 weeks. The 10th-year guard said he spoke with former Kings guard Bobby Jackson, who suffered a similar injury and had his surgery performed by the same doctor.
It was mentioned to Bibby that it appeared former critics seemed to have quite a bit more appreciation for him now that he's injured and cannot play. Bibby bypassed the chance to take a swing at those critics.
"Well, you never know until something happens," he said.
Bibby said he feels for the guys who are on the court battling and playing.
"I know that the guys I've been practicing with and playing with every day were not playing the same way in those three games, so I know we'll be all right," he said.
Coach Reggie Theus started Orien Greene at the point for the first two games. But Theus played Francisco García there in Saturday's loss at Dallas and is expected to go with García again tonight in the home opener against Seattle.
Theus said he knows his team struggled in the first three games, but he still was undaunted Monday, after what he and many others described as an "intense" practice.
"We did what we had to do, and that was stay together," the coach said. "I'm trying to put our highest energy level out on the floor."
García certainly brings energy, as well as size and the ability to score.
"But 'Cisco' isn't a point guard, so there are some things he cannot do," Theus said, "and I know that."
