coolhandluke
Starter
For Kings, any win will be glorious
Ron Artest's thumb injury and a difficult loss to Phoenix have put the team on alert.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, April 14, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C1
With three games to go, Kings coach Rick Adelman is trying to figure out how his team will get into the playoffs and just how healthy Ron Artest will be. The Kings forward jammed his right thumb against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and experienced enough discomfort Thursday to warrant an X-ray and MRI. He did not practice.
Adelman was not sure what Artest's status will be Saturday in Denver, where, if healthy, he will guard everyone from forward Carmelo Anthony to guard Andre Miller. But teammates such as Shareef Abdur-Rahim fully expect Artest to be out there, even if it requires a full roll of tape to keep the hand in order.
"Ron is a warrior," Abdur-Rahim said. "He'll be ready."
Besides Artest's injury, the stinging 123-110 loss to the Suns at Arco Arena remains on Adelman's mind.
"Maybe we got what we deserved," Adelman said after practice. "I really feel that way."
And this kicker: "If we can't win two out of our last three, with two games at home, then maybe we shouldn't be in the playoffs," he said.
The Kings yielded 72 second-half points to the Suns, which sucked any feel-good vibes from road victories over the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio right out of Arco. The setback also kept the Kings' magic number to clinch an eighth consecutive playoff berth at two.
Then again, Adelman won't turn down a postseason berth, even if that means the two clubs chasing the Kings for that last spot - New Orleans and Utah - help out by losing down the stretch. In this league, the coach points out, you take any gift you can get.
So any notion of trying to play well just to carry that over into the playoffs doesn't wash.
"I'll back in," Adelman said. "Want to let us back in? I'll back in. I've been at this long enough. It doesn't matter because once the regular season is over and the dust settles, it's a totally different ballgame."
After playing Denver, the Kings will meet New Orleans on Sunday at Arco. The regular season ends Tuesday at home against Seattle, meaning if the Kings don't build up a little steam, it could come down to Ray Allen again. As Kings fans recall all too well, Allen ended Sacramento's run last season with some sensational plays and games in a first-round playoff series.
Artest suggested after the Suns contest that a gut-check wakeup call might be a slap of good medicine for the Kings. But he didn't have a lot of support on that argument.
"I don't agree with that at all," Adelman said. "I don't ever want anyone to impose their will on us like they did. We just have to respond."
And it all comes back to that simple math: Win Saturday, and that magic number dwindles.
"We just went on the road and won two out of three," Abdur-Rahim said.
"You can overdo losses (like Phoenix). It is what it is. It was one game. We've got to let that go. I've got a lot of confidence in us."
[Link]
Ron Artest's thumb injury and a difficult loss to Phoenix have put the team on alert.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, April 14, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C1
With three games to go, Kings coach Rick Adelman is trying to figure out how his team will get into the playoffs and just how healthy Ron Artest will be. The Kings forward jammed his right thumb against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and experienced enough discomfort Thursday to warrant an X-ray and MRI. He did not practice.
Adelman was not sure what Artest's status will be Saturday in Denver, where, if healthy, he will guard everyone from forward Carmelo Anthony to guard Andre Miller. But teammates such as Shareef Abdur-Rahim fully expect Artest to be out there, even if it requires a full roll of tape to keep the hand in order.
"Ron is a warrior," Abdur-Rahim said. "He'll be ready."
Besides Artest's injury, the stinging 123-110 loss to the Suns at Arco Arena remains on Adelman's mind.
"Maybe we got what we deserved," Adelman said after practice. "I really feel that way."
And this kicker: "If we can't win two out of our last three, with two games at home, then maybe we shouldn't be in the playoffs," he said.
The Kings yielded 72 second-half points to the Suns, which sucked any feel-good vibes from road victories over the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio right out of Arco. The setback also kept the Kings' magic number to clinch an eighth consecutive playoff berth at two.
Then again, Adelman won't turn down a postseason berth, even if that means the two clubs chasing the Kings for that last spot - New Orleans and Utah - help out by losing down the stretch. In this league, the coach points out, you take any gift you can get.
So any notion of trying to play well just to carry that over into the playoffs doesn't wash.
"I'll back in," Adelman said. "Want to let us back in? I'll back in. I've been at this long enough. It doesn't matter because once the regular season is over and the dust settles, it's a totally different ballgame."
After playing Denver, the Kings will meet New Orleans on Sunday at Arco. The regular season ends Tuesday at home against Seattle, meaning if the Kings don't build up a little steam, it could come down to Ray Allen again. As Kings fans recall all too well, Allen ended Sacramento's run last season with some sensational plays and games in a first-round playoff series.
Artest suggested after the Suns contest that a gut-check wakeup call might be a slap of good medicine for the Kings. But he didn't have a lot of support on that argument.
"I don't agree with that at all," Adelman said. "I don't ever want anyone to impose their will on us like they did. We just have to respond."
And it all comes back to that simple math: Win Saturday, and that magic number dwindles.
"We just went on the road and won two out of three," Abdur-Rahim said.
"You can overdo losses (like Phoenix). It is what it is. It was one game. We've got to let that go. I've got a lot of confidence in us."
[Link]
