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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/13822697p-14663512c.html
No specific Pacific favorite
The Suns aren't likely to dominate, as the rest of the division has been retooled.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, November 6, 2005
No specific Pacific favorite
The Suns aren't likely to dominate, as the rest of the division has been retooled.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, November 6, 2005
Well, this isn't how the Pacific Division picture was supposed to develop.
Not that there's anything negative about it.
With the turn of events that began last season (Baron's Boon in the Bay Area, Return of the Zen Master and one big microfracture), the division named after its nearest body of water just might be as wide open as the ocean itself.
Never mind that the Phoenix Suns lost one of the true forces in the game to the knee surgery with the funny name in early October, they've been running and gunning well without center Amare Stoudemire. The Kings - who face the Suns in Phoenix tonight in their first Pacific matchup of the regular season - have stumbled to an 0-2 start, but surely they can't stay down forever. The Los Angeles Lakers, who brought back renowned Zen coach Phil Jackson, have looked dangerous, if not deep, with Kobe Bryant primed for an MVP push.
By the Bay, Golden State can keep up with the rest when point guard Baron Davis is healthy. And lastly, the first-place Los Angeles Clippers have more than enough talent to cause a few waves of their own.
In the bigger picture, parity in the Pacific would be atypical. Since the Kings joined the division in 1988 when there were seven teams instead of five, a tight four-team race has happened only once. In the 2000-01 campaign, the Lakers finished one game ahead of the Kings, five ahead of Phoenix and six ahead of Portland. Otherwise, 14 of 17 seasons have ended with the third-place team trailing the champion by at least eight games. A close five-team race never has occurred in that span, with the closest thing coming when fifth-place Seattle finished 10 games behind Portland in 1998-99.
The Suns of last year kept the top-heavy trend intact, finishing 12 games ahead of the second-place Kings and 25 ahead of the third-place Clippers.
Yet, suddenly, Phoenix's solo shot may turn into one big not-so-happy family portrait.
"I thought all along that the Lakers would be better, with everybody being healthy from last year and Phil Jackson coming in as a stable force for them," said Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, who won't have his star center for at least three more months. "Sac might have some problems early, but that's not going to last. ... And everybody's thinking Golden State will come on. So there's a lot of teams that have a shot at it, and I think we're one of them. I think it'll be a nice race all (season)."
For every squad outside of Arizona, a Sun-set would have been nice. Yet point guard and reigning MVP Steve Nash again leads the league in assists, finding the emerging Raja Bell and James Jones instead of the departed Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson. In the absence of Stoudemire, whose 26.0 points per game last season were fifth in the league, high-flying forward Shawn Marion has never played at a higher level.
"Steve Nash, to me, is the key for them," Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. "And they've got so many guys who can make shots, and you've got to try and control (Nash's) penetration, and he's tough on the pick and roll. When those guys get to making shots, they're a tough team."
The Suns, who beat the Kings twice in the preseason, lost their home opener Tuesday in double overtime to Dallas, then downed the Lakers 122-112 Thursday despite a 39-point night from shooting guard Kobe Bryant. Saturday night, Marion scored 20 points and Nash had 14 points and 11 assists as the Suns won at Utah, 97-88.
D'Antoni said limiting mistakes has kept the Suns hot.
"We have to be more precise, execute better, because we don't have the abundance of talent that (Stoudemire) gives us," D'Antoni said. "I think the biggest thing I had to do, still have to do and will have to do, is convince this team that, OK, Amare's down, but we need to win the Pacific Division anyway. And we should, in our minds."
In other words, stay afloat. And join the club.
The Kings could be months away from molding. Their schedule hasn't helped matters, with four of the first five games on the road. Unlike last season, when they recovered from an 0-3 road start with a win over a hapless Toronto team in the home opener, it's the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons coming to Arco Arena on Tuesday.
But Sacramento's starting five undoubtedly is potent with plenty of time to turn it around.
"I still think we're going to be fine," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "You go through this 82-game schedule, and you're always going to have your down periods. So how are you going to respond? You have to be resilient, to stay together. We're finding that out early."
D'Antoni agreed. "They're going to be a very good team, very tough to beat," D'Antoni said. "It's just a team that's taking a little bit longer to come together. I don't have any illusions that they're done. Their organization, their coaches, their players, are too good."
Not that there's anything negative about it.
With the turn of events that began last season (Baron's Boon in the Bay Area, Return of the Zen Master and one big microfracture), the division named after its nearest body of water just might be as wide open as the ocean itself.
Never mind that the Phoenix Suns lost one of the true forces in the game to the knee surgery with the funny name in early October, they've been running and gunning well without center Amare Stoudemire. The Kings - who face the Suns in Phoenix tonight in their first Pacific matchup of the regular season - have stumbled to an 0-2 start, but surely they can't stay down forever. The Los Angeles Lakers, who brought back renowned Zen coach Phil Jackson, have looked dangerous, if not deep, with Kobe Bryant primed for an MVP push.
By the Bay, Golden State can keep up with the rest when point guard Baron Davis is healthy. And lastly, the first-place Los Angeles Clippers have more than enough talent to cause a few waves of their own.
In the bigger picture, parity in the Pacific would be atypical. Since the Kings joined the division in 1988 when there were seven teams instead of five, a tight four-team race has happened only once. In the 2000-01 campaign, the Lakers finished one game ahead of the Kings, five ahead of Phoenix and six ahead of Portland. Otherwise, 14 of 17 seasons have ended with the third-place team trailing the champion by at least eight games. A close five-team race never has occurred in that span, with the closest thing coming when fifth-place Seattle finished 10 games behind Portland in 1998-99.
The Suns of last year kept the top-heavy trend intact, finishing 12 games ahead of the second-place Kings and 25 ahead of the third-place Clippers.
Yet, suddenly, Phoenix's solo shot may turn into one big not-so-happy family portrait.
"I thought all along that the Lakers would be better, with everybody being healthy from last year and Phil Jackson coming in as a stable force for them," said Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, who won't have his star center for at least three more months. "Sac might have some problems early, but that's not going to last. ... And everybody's thinking Golden State will come on. So there's a lot of teams that have a shot at it, and I think we're one of them. I think it'll be a nice race all (season)."
For every squad outside of Arizona, a Sun-set would have been nice. Yet point guard and reigning MVP Steve Nash again leads the league in assists, finding the emerging Raja Bell and James Jones instead of the departed Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson. In the absence of Stoudemire, whose 26.0 points per game last season were fifth in the league, high-flying forward Shawn Marion has never played at a higher level.
"Steve Nash, to me, is the key for them," Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. "And they've got so many guys who can make shots, and you've got to try and control (Nash's) penetration, and he's tough on the pick and roll. When those guys get to making shots, they're a tough team."
The Suns, who beat the Kings twice in the preseason, lost their home opener Tuesday in double overtime to Dallas, then downed the Lakers 122-112 Thursday despite a 39-point night from shooting guard Kobe Bryant. Saturday night, Marion scored 20 points and Nash had 14 points and 11 assists as the Suns won at Utah, 97-88.
D'Antoni said limiting mistakes has kept the Suns hot.
"We have to be more precise, execute better, because we don't have the abundance of talent that (Stoudemire) gives us," D'Antoni said. "I think the biggest thing I had to do, still have to do and will have to do, is convince this team that, OK, Amare's down, but we need to win the Pacific Division anyway. And we should, in our minds."
In other words, stay afloat. And join the club.
The Kings could be months away from molding. Their schedule hasn't helped matters, with four of the first five games on the road. Unlike last season, when they recovered from an 0-3 road start with a win over a hapless Toronto team in the home opener, it's the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons coming to Arco Arena on Tuesday.
But Sacramento's starting five undoubtedly is potent with plenty of time to turn it around.
"I still think we're going to be fine," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "You go through this 82-game schedule, and you're always going to have your down periods. So how are you going to respond? You have to be resilient, to stay together. We're finding that out early."
D'Antoni agreed. "They're going to be a very good team, very tough to beat," D'Antoni said. "It's just a team that's taking a little bit longer to come together. I don't have any illusions that they're done. Their organization, their coaches, their players, are too good."
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