http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/130943.html
Marcos Bretón: Despite victory, Kings are a mess
By Marcos Bretón - Bee Columnist
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, March 1, 2007
It was just before game time Wednesday night when the formality of producing a starting lineup created a delicate situation for the Kings.
Ron Artest would not be playing. Why? "His knee, I guess," coach Eric Musselman said.
And where was Artest at the moment, roughly 45 minutes before tipoff against the Charlotte Bobcats? "I don't know," Musselman said.
OK, it's getting beyond weird on this team. It's coming to define dysfunctional. It's a daily situation where you have to wonder: What on earth is happening on a Kings squad that should be better -- not championship quality, maybe not even capable of winning a playoff series, but better than last in the Pacific Division and sputtering in a million different ways?
All week, Musselman has emerged as the fall guy in this passive-aggressive implosion of unmet potential. He's becoming a speed bump beneath the wheels of a Kings bus that's jerking along in no particular direction.
His owners hung him out to dry this past week, cracking on his "inexperience" in the New York Times. Meanwhile, his players -- in private moments -- don't exactly seem to have his back.
That's a big difference from that day in October when Musselman faced the cameras to apologize for his driving-under-the-influence arrest while his players stood behind him in solidarity.
It's interesting, but a moment that caused Musselman so much private pain is, in some ways, the highlight of his tenure so far. That's the moment when he and his team seemed most united.
Then Musselman's Kings had to start playing, you know, actual games.
Then you had individual talent fail as a collective, and you had unspoken tension and curious player developments, such as more than one late scratch by Artest while Musselman's face clenched like a fist.
Then the troubles began with a theory preached by the Kings' owners when they hired Musselman -- that he would "outwork" everyone while empowering this particular Kings team with the ability to play better defense. It hasn't happened.
Musselman also was supposed to be gregarious and community-minded, unlike former coach Rick Adelman, whom the Kings' owners saw as remote and cold.
Has that happened? Has Musselman been the energetic, fan-friendly front man that Adelman wasn't? No offense, but not really. No one is suggesting anything sinister about the man -- he has been cordial and decent in one-on-one interviews.
It's just that Musselman is enigmatic, is remote in his own way. Lately, his words come across as sarcastic when he says he isn't being sarcastic.
He made a remark earlier this week about how he takes "full responsibility" for the Kings' failures and how he must "teach" his players to rebound better because they get crushed on the boards almost nightly.
To me and to others in and around Arco Arena, the remark dripped with sarcasm. It seemed like a subversive crack back against his owners and against the idea that this flawed team could somehow be better.
Musselman denies any hidden messages. He says he isn't surprised he's getting bad publicity this week.
"I understand the lay of the land, and the lay of the land is it falls on the head coach," he said before Wednesday night's 135-120 Kings win over Charlotte.
Fair enough. But the bottom line is, in performance on the court and in personality -- the two major selling points the Maloofs pushed when hiring Musselman -- the coach has fallen short.
In the midst of the worst Kings season in nine years, some are calling for Musselman's head -- but not here, not yet.
No, there are people who deserve a lot more heat than he does: Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof and Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie.
They made this mess and should feel lucky fans don't have firing power over them.
About the writer: Reach Marcos Breton at (916) 321-1096 or mbreton@sacbee.com
Marcos Bretón: Despite victory, Kings are a mess
By Marcos Bretón - Bee Columnist
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, March 1, 2007
It was just before game time Wednesday night when the formality of producing a starting lineup created a delicate situation for the Kings.
Ron Artest would not be playing. Why? "His knee, I guess," coach Eric Musselman said.
And where was Artest at the moment, roughly 45 minutes before tipoff against the Charlotte Bobcats? "I don't know," Musselman said.
OK, it's getting beyond weird on this team. It's coming to define dysfunctional. It's a daily situation where you have to wonder: What on earth is happening on a Kings squad that should be better -- not championship quality, maybe not even capable of winning a playoff series, but better than last in the Pacific Division and sputtering in a million different ways?
All week, Musselman has emerged as the fall guy in this passive-aggressive implosion of unmet potential. He's becoming a speed bump beneath the wheels of a Kings bus that's jerking along in no particular direction.
His owners hung him out to dry this past week, cracking on his "inexperience" in the New York Times. Meanwhile, his players -- in private moments -- don't exactly seem to have his back.
That's a big difference from that day in October when Musselman faced the cameras to apologize for his driving-under-the-influence arrest while his players stood behind him in solidarity.
It's interesting, but a moment that caused Musselman so much private pain is, in some ways, the highlight of his tenure so far. That's the moment when he and his team seemed most united.
Then Musselman's Kings had to start playing, you know, actual games.
Then you had individual talent fail as a collective, and you had unspoken tension and curious player developments, such as more than one late scratch by Artest while Musselman's face clenched like a fist.
Then the troubles began with a theory preached by the Kings' owners when they hired Musselman -- that he would "outwork" everyone while empowering this particular Kings team with the ability to play better defense. It hasn't happened.
Musselman also was supposed to be gregarious and community-minded, unlike former coach Rick Adelman, whom the Kings' owners saw as remote and cold.
Has that happened? Has Musselman been the energetic, fan-friendly front man that Adelman wasn't? No offense, but not really. No one is suggesting anything sinister about the man -- he has been cordial and decent in one-on-one interviews.
It's just that Musselman is enigmatic, is remote in his own way. Lately, his words come across as sarcastic when he says he isn't being sarcastic.
He made a remark earlier this week about how he takes "full responsibility" for the Kings' failures and how he must "teach" his players to rebound better because they get crushed on the boards almost nightly.
To me and to others in and around Arco Arena, the remark dripped with sarcasm. It seemed like a subversive crack back against his owners and against the idea that this flawed team could somehow be better.
Musselman denies any hidden messages. He says he isn't surprised he's getting bad publicity this week.
"I understand the lay of the land, and the lay of the land is it falls on the head coach," he said before Wednesday night's 135-120 Kings win over Charlotte.
Fair enough. But the bottom line is, in performance on the court and in personality -- the two major selling points the Maloofs pushed when hiring Musselman -- the coach has fallen short.
In the midst of the worst Kings season in nine years, some are calling for Musselman's head -- but not here, not yet.
No, there are people who deserve a lot more heat than he does: Kings co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof and Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie.
They made this mess and should feel lucky fans don't have firing power over them.
About the writer: Reach Marcos Breton at (916) 321-1096 or mbreton@sacbee.com
