Twix
Starter
http://www.nba.com/kings/news/The_Inside_Dishat_Philadelphi-133640-58.html
by Devin Blankenship | February 26, 2005 | Kings @ Philadelphia
Saturday was such a crazy game on so many levels for both the Sixers and the Kings, with so much going on. Here are just a few of my random thoughts on the game:
Random Thoughts…
The win was great in many ways for the Kings, as most victories are, but mainly because Sacramento was able to pull it out in the final minute, something they have struggled to do this season—especially in the last month. Perhaps this can turn the tide for the rest of the season.
Things didn’t look too good early on for the Kings, with all the turnovers and the sluggishness of their backcourt, but the bench really came through for Sacramento.
Great call by Rick Adelman in the final seconds, intentionally fouling Allen Iverson before he could get off the potentially game-tying three-pointer. Even though Iverson intentionally missed the second free throw and it almost worked out for the Sixers, just ask Tracy McGrady which option is better—remember Chris Webber’s three in Houston last month?
One of the first observations from the trade that jumps out at you is how the Kings depth has immediately improved. Sacramento won this game without one of its best players, Peja Stojakovic, on the floor. Imagining a bench of Corliss Williamson, Darius Songaila or Kenny Thomas, Mo Evans, and Brian Skinner is nice—lot’s of big bodies for Rick Adelman to throw out there.
It’s been one game, but Williamson is already the best low post scorer on the team.
I wonder if there is now going to be a locker room problem with the Kings between Cuttino Mobley and Kenny Thomas? Think about it. Kenny Thomas’ nickname is K-9, as in canine, while Cuttino’s nickname is Cat. And as we all know, cats and dogs don’t get along…(insert a rim shot and symbol crash now, or Ed McMahon yelling “Hi-O!”).
Keeping with the comedy theme, this one’s for The Simpson’s lovers out there. As many of you know, Bart and Lisa Simpson’s elementary school principal goes by the name of Seymour Skinner. And Skinner is always getting into trouble whenever his boss, Superintendent Chalmers, happens to be around, causing Chalmers to yell, “SKIN-NER!” Anyways, to make a long story short, wouldn’t it be cool if the Kings Game Ops staff played that clip every time newly acquired Brian Skinner made a nice play. I can see it now…Tony Parker drives to the lane for a wide-open layup, when out of nowhere comes Brian Skinner to swat the shot into the third row…“SKIN-NER!”
It’s amazing how much of a second half player Cuttino Mobley is. To be quiet honest, he stunk it up in the first two quarters but really was huge down the stretch. I loved him yelling, “Did I do that?” to his teammates after hitting that late jumper.
It hurt to see that look on CWebb’s face after he missed that hook shot at the end. You know he really wanted it, and even though it gave the Kings a win, it felt bad that it came at the expense of Chris.
If you are in a fantasy basketball league and Kenny Thomas is still floating around out there, snatch him up. He is smallish for a power forward at 6’7, but quick, athletic and has a nice outside jumper. I would be surprised if he didn’t average double-digit rebounds the rest of the season and greatly benefit from the Kings system.
<li>One final personal thought on Chris Webber. His ad in Saturday’s Sacramento Bee thanking Kings fans reminded me of something he did this past October, showing the kind of reverence he had for the fans as a whole. A group of us, including Webber, Darius, Brad Miller, and Peja Stojakovic (yes, those two did hang out away from the court) sat in a lounge at the team hotel in Beijing, enjoying one of our last nights in China. At one point during the night, Webber looked over at some of us and asked, “Can I get your opinion on something?” He then began to describe how he wanted to show the fans that the Kings locker room was not divided and that the guys all still loved to play with each other, by taking out a full page ad in the Bee thanking the fans—complete with all of the player’s signatures.
Webber wanted to make sure that it wouldn’t make the Kings front office mad, and he also wanted to make sure people didn’t think that it was a PR move by the team. He did all of the work himself in the end—got the signatures, got the pictures, and bought the ad. And he did it because he loved this team, and he loved playing for the Sacramento Kings and his fans. The guy has a smile worth a million dollars, but a heart worth even more, and we wish him nothing but the best.
You can e-mail Devin Blankenship at fanmail@kingsbball.com
Corliss Williamson
Corliss really kept the Kings in the game in the first half when the Kings' backcourt struggled to score. It was a nice return for the former King.
“I know it’s difficult for my teammates with us coming in, but we’re just going to have to get ready for the next game. I know it’s going to be hard, but everybody is talking about Chris Webber, Chris Webber. When you looked in the paper or on ESPN, we were nowhere to be found but on the bottom in the little print. So I kind of took that to another level.”
-Kenny Thomas
Obviously, AI’s missed free throw and Chris Webber’s subsequent rebound and missed putback was the play that determined the outcome. Had Webber been able to make the shot, it might have been a storybook outcome for the Sixers.
Bench Points: Sacramento 32, Philadelphia 20
by Devin Blankenship | February 26, 2005 | Kings @ Philadelphia
Saturday was such a crazy game on so many levels for both the Sixers and the Kings, with so much going on. Here are just a few of my random thoughts on the game:
Random Thoughts…
The win was great in many ways for the Kings, as most victories are, but mainly because Sacramento was able to pull it out in the final minute, something they have struggled to do this season—especially in the last month. Perhaps this can turn the tide for the rest of the season.
Things didn’t look too good early on for the Kings, with all the turnovers and the sluggishness of their backcourt, but the bench really came through for Sacramento.
Great call by Rick Adelman in the final seconds, intentionally fouling Allen Iverson before he could get off the potentially game-tying three-pointer. Even though Iverson intentionally missed the second free throw and it almost worked out for the Sixers, just ask Tracy McGrady which option is better—remember Chris Webber’s three in Houston last month?
One of the first observations from the trade that jumps out at you is how the Kings depth has immediately improved. Sacramento won this game without one of its best players, Peja Stojakovic, on the floor. Imagining a bench of Corliss Williamson, Darius Songaila or Kenny Thomas, Mo Evans, and Brian Skinner is nice—lot’s of big bodies for Rick Adelman to throw out there.
It’s been one game, but Williamson is already the best low post scorer on the team.
I wonder if there is now going to be a locker room problem with the Kings between Cuttino Mobley and Kenny Thomas? Think about it. Kenny Thomas’ nickname is K-9, as in canine, while Cuttino’s nickname is Cat. And as we all know, cats and dogs don’t get along…(insert a rim shot and symbol crash now, or Ed McMahon yelling “Hi-O!”).
Keeping with the comedy theme, this one’s for The Simpson’s lovers out there. As many of you know, Bart and Lisa Simpson’s elementary school principal goes by the name of Seymour Skinner. And Skinner is always getting into trouble whenever his boss, Superintendent Chalmers, happens to be around, causing Chalmers to yell, “SKIN-NER!” Anyways, to make a long story short, wouldn’t it be cool if the Kings Game Ops staff played that clip every time newly acquired Brian Skinner made a nice play. I can see it now…Tony Parker drives to the lane for a wide-open layup, when out of nowhere comes Brian Skinner to swat the shot into the third row…“SKIN-NER!”
It’s amazing how much of a second half player Cuttino Mobley is. To be quiet honest, he stunk it up in the first two quarters but really was huge down the stretch. I loved him yelling, “Did I do that?” to his teammates after hitting that late jumper.
It hurt to see that look on CWebb’s face after he missed that hook shot at the end. You know he really wanted it, and even though it gave the Kings a win, it felt bad that it came at the expense of Chris.
If you are in a fantasy basketball league and Kenny Thomas is still floating around out there, snatch him up. He is smallish for a power forward at 6’7, but quick, athletic and has a nice outside jumper. I would be surprised if he didn’t average double-digit rebounds the rest of the season and greatly benefit from the Kings system.
<li>One final personal thought on Chris Webber. His ad in Saturday’s Sacramento Bee thanking Kings fans reminded me of something he did this past October, showing the kind of reverence he had for the fans as a whole. A group of us, including Webber, Darius, Brad Miller, and Peja Stojakovic (yes, those two did hang out away from the court) sat in a lounge at the team hotel in Beijing, enjoying one of our last nights in China. At one point during the night, Webber looked over at some of us and asked, “Can I get your opinion on something?” He then began to describe how he wanted to show the fans that the Kings locker room was not divided and that the guys all still loved to play with each other, by taking out a full page ad in the Bee thanking the fans—complete with all of the player’s signatures.
Webber wanted to make sure that it wouldn’t make the Kings front office mad, and he also wanted to make sure people didn’t think that it was a PR move by the team. He did all of the work himself in the end—got the signatures, got the pictures, and bought the ad. And he did it because he loved this team, and he loved playing for the Sacramento Kings and his fans. The guy has a smile worth a million dollars, but a heart worth even more, and we wish him nothing but the best.
You can e-mail Devin Blankenship at fanmail@kingsbball.com
Corliss Williamson
Corliss really kept the Kings in the game in the first half when the Kings' backcourt struggled to score. It was a nice return for the former King.
“I know it’s difficult for my teammates with us coming in, but we’re just going to have to get ready for the next game. I know it’s going to be hard, but everybody is talking about Chris Webber, Chris Webber. When you looked in the paper or on ESPN, we were nowhere to be found but on the bottom in the little print. So I kind of took that to another level.”
-Kenny Thomas
Obviously, AI’s missed free throw and Chris Webber’s subsequent rebound and missed putback was the play that determined the outcome. Had Webber been able to make the shot, it might have been a storybook outcome for the Sixers.
Bench Points: Sacramento 32, Philadelphia 20
We got a Cat and Dog now.
Thanks for everything Webb...I miss ya. 
He still have charities going on right now in Sac.
