Don Casey
NBA.com Analyst
Don Casey has nearly 20 years of NBA experience, breaking into the league as a Chicago Bulls assistant coach in 1982. In the late '80s, Casey was the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers for a season and a half. Later, he was the head coach of the New Jersey Nets for a year and a half, including the 1999-2000 season.
Kings Re-enter the Playoff Picture
Artest brings a swagger
The Kings not only re-entered the playoff picture but I will be surprised if they don't grab at least the seventh seed come April now that they have Ron Artest. His arrival combined with their existing talent -- Mike Bibby, Brad Miller, Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim -- is a nice nucleus. Suddenly, hope springs eternal for the Kings. Ron is a finesse guy, but he is a tough guy. He is like Charles Barkley. He gets in there and mixes it up. As long as he can blend in to a certain degree and just play and make the people feel that he wants to be there, they'll embrace him.
I think Ron will bring a swagger into Sacramento, with all the hoopla and the fact that he is a franchise player. Rick Adelman, who is a very, very good offensive-minded coach, will exploit his talents by putting him in the post, taking him out to the elbow. But Artest, voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, will bring that defensive intensity, which the Kings have sorely missed. Plus, Artest will get you second shots. The number of foul attempts he gets is huge, which means he is down there mixing it up on both ends and getting fouled. There is a good chance with Bibby and those outside shooters, that if they miss, he is going to be involved inside, which is a huge factor in the West.
The fans will welcome Artest immediately, re-energizing Arco. Wait until he starts diving for loose balls in the stands, he'll thrive off of the crowd's energy in that building. On paper Sacramento has enough scoring, as Bibby has come on of late, with three 40-plus point games in his last seven. If you look at Artest's stats, though, he is a big-time scorer too, having averaged 19.4 points per game before he was deactivated by Indiana. Over the course of his time in Sacramento, Artest's statistics will take care of themselves, but it's his persona that will come forth more. He is the man of the house now because there is no one there that can compete with him in terms of intensity, post-up skills and rebounding.
The Maloofs will go out of their way to make the transition easier for him. They just have to be careful that they aren't so accommodating that the rest of the team isn't noticed. Sacramento is a small town and Artest is a big city guy being from New York. He'll react very well to the attention of being recognized all over and the energy level in a small town so to speak. He'll like that.
For Peja Stojakovic, it will be uplifting for him to go to Indiana because I don't think he wanted to be in Sacramento. I don't know why. He hinted about wanting to go to Chicago some time ago, where the Serbian market is, so I don't think he was content there and he is wise enough to look at the East, and see that it is very gettable. The Pacers need him since they've been missing Reggie since he retired. With Peja, do we have a quasi-Reggie Miller here? I don't like always comparing players to players, but Indiana needs that consistent force that they can go to on the outside. From what I can see, they have been very inconsistent in their shooting. Recently, they've had a very difficult time scoring, evidenced the other night against Cleveland when they posted only 66 points. For the season they're ranked 23rd in scoring. Peja will maybe even draw some double teams. He could be a go-to perimeter guy but we won't realize his full potential now that Jermaine O'Neal is out for at least eight weeks with a left groin tear.
In analyzing this trade, what it comes down to for the Pacers and the Kings and their fans is that both guys bring hope for the rest of the season. Each team has been treading water so far this year.
Posted by Don Casey - Jan 26 2006 3:57PM
http://www.nba.com/blog/blog44.html
Wow this is a nice little article on are beloved kings
NBA.com Analyst
Don Casey has nearly 20 years of NBA experience, breaking into the league as a Chicago Bulls assistant coach in 1982. In the late '80s, Casey was the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers for a season and a half. Later, he was the head coach of the New Jersey Nets for a year and a half, including the 1999-2000 season.
Kings Re-enter the Playoff Picture
Artest brings a swagger
The Kings not only re-entered the playoff picture but I will be surprised if they don't grab at least the seventh seed come April now that they have Ron Artest. His arrival combined with their existing talent -- Mike Bibby, Brad Miller, Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim -- is a nice nucleus. Suddenly, hope springs eternal for the Kings. Ron is a finesse guy, but he is a tough guy. He is like Charles Barkley. He gets in there and mixes it up. As long as he can blend in to a certain degree and just play and make the people feel that he wants to be there, they'll embrace him.
I think Ron will bring a swagger into Sacramento, with all the hoopla and the fact that he is a franchise player. Rick Adelman, who is a very, very good offensive-minded coach, will exploit his talents by putting him in the post, taking him out to the elbow. But Artest, voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, will bring that defensive intensity, which the Kings have sorely missed. Plus, Artest will get you second shots. The number of foul attempts he gets is huge, which means he is down there mixing it up on both ends and getting fouled. There is a good chance with Bibby and those outside shooters, that if they miss, he is going to be involved inside, which is a huge factor in the West.
The fans will welcome Artest immediately, re-energizing Arco. Wait until he starts diving for loose balls in the stands, he'll thrive off of the crowd's energy in that building. On paper Sacramento has enough scoring, as Bibby has come on of late, with three 40-plus point games in his last seven. If you look at Artest's stats, though, he is a big-time scorer too, having averaged 19.4 points per game before he was deactivated by Indiana. Over the course of his time in Sacramento, Artest's statistics will take care of themselves, but it's his persona that will come forth more. He is the man of the house now because there is no one there that can compete with him in terms of intensity, post-up skills and rebounding.
The Maloofs will go out of their way to make the transition easier for him. They just have to be careful that they aren't so accommodating that the rest of the team isn't noticed. Sacramento is a small town and Artest is a big city guy being from New York. He'll react very well to the attention of being recognized all over and the energy level in a small town so to speak. He'll like that.
For Peja Stojakovic, it will be uplifting for him to go to Indiana because I don't think he wanted to be in Sacramento. I don't know why. He hinted about wanting to go to Chicago some time ago, where the Serbian market is, so I don't think he was content there and he is wise enough to look at the East, and see that it is very gettable. The Pacers need him since they've been missing Reggie since he retired. With Peja, do we have a quasi-Reggie Miller here? I don't like always comparing players to players, but Indiana needs that consistent force that they can go to on the outside. From what I can see, they have been very inconsistent in their shooting. Recently, they've had a very difficult time scoring, evidenced the other night against Cleveland when they posted only 66 points. For the season they're ranked 23rd in scoring. Peja will maybe even draw some double teams. He could be a go-to perimeter guy but we won't realize his full potential now that Jermaine O'Neal is out for at least eight weeks with a left groin tear.
In analyzing this trade, what it comes down to for the Pacers and the Kings and their fans is that both guys bring hope for the rest of the season. Each team has been treading water so far this year.
Posted by Don Casey - Jan 26 2006 3:57PM
http://www.nba.com/blog/blog44.html
Wow this is a nice little article on are beloved kings
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