ReinadelosReys
Starter
The article is your typical nat'l media article but I like seeing what the team says
http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/7877982/1
Right now, it's not good to be the Kings
Nov. 11, 2004
By Mike Kahn
SportsLine.com Executive Editor
The names and the faces are pretty much the same. They look like the Sacramento Kings, wear the same uniforms, and Rick Adelman is still their coach.
Through the first five games of the 2004-05 NBA season, they have been far too subservient for a team that has averaged 57.5 victories the past four seasons and was a free throw away from reaching the 2002 NBA Finals. There are many reasons.
You can start with the loss of Vlade Divac to free agency, but it really began two years ago when the magnificently coiffed roster put together by president Geoff Petrie began to disintegrate through free agency.
"I think it's run its course over the last two years," Adelman said. "Our depth, our experience on the bench ... it's gone. The multi-positional players we used to have, gone. We used to have a lot of flexible guys, now attrition has set in, and our margin of error as a team shrunk."
And the way they were manhandled by 30 points by the upstart Sonics on Wednesday night in Seattle, that margin of error appears barely above zero.
Even in the locker room, where Divac was really the grandfather prankster who stuck the needle wherever needed to keep it loose, the spark is gone.
Sure, still around are Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson, Brad Miller and Peja Stojakovic. But they are no longer on the same page on the floor, in that beautiful passing game. Actually, they appear to be reading different books.
Stojakovic took the summer off from basketball, was upset about Webber's remarks about how the team was soft and took it personally, then asked Petrie for a trade. It didn't happen because, simply put, he's one of the top two or three shooters in the league, coming off a career-high 24.2 points a game last season.
"I'm a professional, I'll honor my contract," Stojakovic said. "It was my request to be traded, a suggestion. I never demanded it. I'm here, and I'll do my best on the floor. The time for talking is over. We just have to play and see what happens."
What's happening is "not much." They are 1-4, and Stojakovic's scoring average has dipped alarmingly more than eight points to 16.0 and his shooting accuracy is down more than 13 percent.
Webber, 31, is also a shell of his former self. He is averaging 18.2 points and 10.0 rebounds, but those stats belie his effectiveness compared to that of the first-team All-NBA forward of three years ago. Webber was 2-of-13 from the field Wednesday night and rarely got off his feet, and the effects of micro-fracture knee surgery in the spring of 2003 still linger like a bad dream.
"Basically, a micro-fracture is terrible because you can't put weight on your joints," Webber said. "You can't do anything that's weight-bearing and 99 percent of the things you do are weight-bearing. It's all part of what we have going on here. We're only five games into the season. I'll get better. We'll get better. We just have to keep going and play our way out of all this."
That's presuming they can. Past their top six players (including perennial sixth man of the year candidate Jackson), they now have Jerry Sloan's former favorite whipping boy at Utah, Greg Ostertag; second-year Darius Songaila; and a group of no-name youngsters filling out the bench.
Adelman hands aren't exactly tied, but suffice to say his fingers have lost dexterity when it comes to pointing out answers to the problems. Christie, now 34, is struggling badly with a foot problem, and that leaves Bibby and Miller as options in the starting lineup. And while Miller was at least effective with 17 points and nine rebounds against the Sonics, Bibby was awful: 2-for-7 from the field and 5-of-10 from the free-throw line with nine points.
"Brad and Mike are the only ones who have been shooting the ball for us," Adelman said. "Two and three years ago, we always played great defense, and we scored easily. Even last year, we were a great offensive team, so our defense didn't have to be as good. This year, we've had neither so far.
"I keep telling them things aren't the same as they used to be. We've been averaging 55-plus wins and that's not going to happen. Heck, 46 wins might not get you into the playoffs in the West. I'm confident because of our experience, we can compete in the playoffs because of the focus, but there's no guarantee we make the playoffs. Our schedule has been ludicrous, so we haven't even been able to get our feet on the ground yet. We need home games to figure out who we are."
The Kings' first three games were home openers in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, leading to an 0-3 start by an average 9.3 points. They bounced back pretty well at home to crush the surprising Raptors by 16 on Tuesday before Wednesday's collapse. Now they head to Phoenix on Friday before Saturday's home game against the Denver Nuggets. So out of their first seven games, six are back-to-back and five are on the road.
Of course, following the Nuggets game, there are four more home games, and the season is 82 games long. Nonetheless, it's difficult to comprehend the impact of such a start on a team that has lost its edge and already is splintering psychologically. The goal is to get back to the conference finals, as they did in 2002 when poor foul shooting in Game 7 against the Los Angeles Lakers cost them the Western Conference title.
There's plenty of time, but it's hard to find the wherewithal in this group.
"Our expectations are still to win a championship," Webber said. "We lost a key player in Vlade, but our experience of playing together and winning is still there. We've been there before. I don't see why we would slip out of the title hunt. But if that's what people want to think, that's cool. All that matters is what we think, and none of it matters until we get to the playoffs anyway."
Presuming they get there.
http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/7877982/1
Right now, it's not good to be the Kings
Nov. 11, 2004
By Mike Kahn
SportsLine.com Executive Editor
The names and the faces are pretty much the same. They look like the Sacramento Kings, wear the same uniforms, and Rick Adelman is still their coach.
Through the first five games of the 2004-05 NBA season, they have been far too subservient for a team that has averaged 57.5 victories the past four seasons and was a free throw away from reaching the 2002 NBA Finals. There are many reasons.
You can start with the loss of Vlade Divac to free agency, but it really began two years ago when the magnificently coiffed roster put together by president Geoff Petrie began to disintegrate through free agency.
"I think it's run its course over the last two years," Adelman said. "Our depth, our experience on the bench ... it's gone. The multi-positional players we used to have, gone. We used to have a lot of flexible guys, now attrition has set in, and our margin of error as a team shrunk."
And the way they were manhandled by 30 points by the upstart Sonics on Wednesday night in Seattle, that margin of error appears barely above zero.
Even in the locker room, where Divac was really the grandfather prankster who stuck the needle wherever needed to keep it loose, the spark is gone.
Sure, still around are Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson, Brad Miller and Peja Stojakovic. But they are no longer on the same page on the floor, in that beautiful passing game. Actually, they appear to be reading different books.
Stojakovic took the summer off from basketball, was upset about Webber's remarks about how the team was soft and took it personally, then asked Petrie for a trade. It didn't happen because, simply put, he's one of the top two or three shooters in the league, coming off a career-high 24.2 points a game last season.
"I'm a professional, I'll honor my contract," Stojakovic said. "It was my request to be traded, a suggestion. I never demanded it. I'm here, and I'll do my best on the floor. The time for talking is over. We just have to play and see what happens."
What's happening is "not much." They are 1-4, and Stojakovic's scoring average has dipped alarmingly more than eight points to 16.0 and his shooting accuracy is down more than 13 percent.
Webber, 31, is also a shell of his former self. He is averaging 18.2 points and 10.0 rebounds, but those stats belie his effectiveness compared to that of the first-team All-NBA forward of three years ago. Webber was 2-of-13 from the field Wednesday night and rarely got off his feet, and the effects of micro-fracture knee surgery in the spring of 2003 still linger like a bad dream.
"Basically, a micro-fracture is terrible because you can't put weight on your joints," Webber said. "You can't do anything that's weight-bearing and 99 percent of the things you do are weight-bearing. It's all part of what we have going on here. We're only five games into the season. I'll get better. We'll get better. We just have to keep going and play our way out of all this."
That's presuming they can. Past their top six players (including perennial sixth man of the year candidate Jackson), they now have Jerry Sloan's former favorite whipping boy at Utah, Greg Ostertag; second-year Darius Songaila; and a group of no-name youngsters filling out the bench.
Adelman hands aren't exactly tied, but suffice to say his fingers have lost dexterity when it comes to pointing out answers to the problems. Christie, now 34, is struggling badly with a foot problem, and that leaves Bibby and Miller as options in the starting lineup. And while Miller was at least effective with 17 points and nine rebounds against the Sonics, Bibby was awful: 2-for-7 from the field and 5-of-10 from the free-throw line with nine points.
"Brad and Mike are the only ones who have been shooting the ball for us," Adelman said. "Two and three years ago, we always played great defense, and we scored easily. Even last year, we were a great offensive team, so our defense didn't have to be as good. This year, we've had neither so far.
"I keep telling them things aren't the same as they used to be. We've been averaging 55-plus wins and that's not going to happen. Heck, 46 wins might not get you into the playoffs in the West. I'm confident because of our experience, we can compete in the playoffs because of the focus, but there's no guarantee we make the playoffs. Our schedule has been ludicrous, so we haven't even been able to get our feet on the ground yet. We need home games to figure out who we are."
The Kings' first three games were home openers in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston, leading to an 0-3 start by an average 9.3 points. They bounced back pretty well at home to crush the surprising Raptors by 16 on Tuesday before Wednesday's collapse. Now they head to Phoenix on Friday before Saturday's home game against the Denver Nuggets. So out of their first seven games, six are back-to-back and five are on the road.
Of course, following the Nuggets game, there are four more home games, and the season is 82 games long. Nonetheless, it's difficult to comprehend the impact of such a start on a team that has lost its edge and already is splintering psychologically. The goal is to get back to the conference finals, as they did in 2002 when poor foul shooting in Game 7 against the Los Angeles Lakers cost them the Western Conference title.
There's plenty of time, but it's hard to find the wherewithal in this group.
"Our expectations are still to win a championship," Webber said. "We lost a key player in Vlade, but our experience of playing together and winning is still there. We've been there before. I don't see why we would slip out of the title hunt. But if that's what people want to think, that's cool. All that matters is what we think, and none of it matters until we get to the playoffs anyway."
Presuming they get there.
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- when I talk in reference to a group, I am usually included-but hey, that's just me
