http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/75656.html
It's more a lack of room than a lack of faith.
There's room aplenty on the bench, where second-year Kings swingman Francisco García has been spending most of his time. The floor, though, is another matter, with a glutton of guards and players whose résumés boast some of the same skills as the player who was drafted 23rd overall in 2005.
Through five games, García has logged 27 minutes and hit one of seven shots, which says nothing of the penchant for impact play he still shows in flashes.
"He's played really good for us," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "It's just a matter right now of (Ron) Artest playing so well, Kevin Martin and John (Salmons)."
If the signing of Salmons slowed anyone down, it was García. Before the Kings inked Salmons for a five-year, $25 million deal, García had the corner on the versatility market. He was the only King who could play three positions, who could create in the open floor and had enough defensive awareness to help that cause. And now?
"(Musselman) has a lot of ways he can go there," Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said. "But for the big picture, (García) is a player. He's in the beginning of his second year, and his time is going to arrive."
For the time being, part of his job is to impress with his attitude. García has remained upbeat in the current climate, save for the occasional grimace on his face when Musselman pulls him from the floor. Typically, it's quickly followed by an enthusiastic clap or workman-like expression.
He has used his few opportunities, too, including a defensive highlight late in the Kings' comeback victory against Chicago on Nov. 3 and a buzzer-beating three-pointer before halftime against Minnesota on Monday.
"Those were two examples where, mentally, he stayed focused and contributed," Musselman said. "I think he understands that the whole coaching staff likes him."
Running Raptors -- A good night of offense, in the mind of Toronto coach Sam Mitchell, would finish with 100 attempts on the Raptors' side of the box score.
And if there's a sign for the Kings that today's opponent will be on the move from the tip, that does the trick. With plenty of young legs on board and a team now run in the front office by former Phoenix general manager Bryan Colangelo, the Raptors' new run-and-gun style has done little for shot selection, as they ranked 25th in field-goal percentage (43.9) entering Saturday's games. Still, the Raptors -- whose season high in attempts is 94 -- were eighth in scoring (100.6 points per game) entering Saturday's action.
"We've still got a ways to go," said Mitchell, whose team is 2-3. "We're trying to change the identity of our team."
The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
It's more a lack of room than a lack of faith.
There's room aplenty on the bench, where second-year Kings swingman Francisco García has been spending most of his time. The floor, though, is another matter, with a glutton of guards and players whose résumés boast some of the same skills as the player who was drafted 23rd overall in 2005.
Through five games, García has logged 27 minutes and hit one of seven shots, which says nothing of the penchant for impact play he still shows in flashes.
"He's played really good for us," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "It's just a matter right now of (Ron) Artest playing so well, Kevin Martin and John (Salmons)."
If the signing of Salmons slowed anyone down, it was García. Before the Kings inked Salmons for a five-year, $25 million deal, García had the corner on the versatility market. He was the only King who could play three positions, who could create in the open floor and had enough defensive awareness to help that cause. And now?
"(Musselman) has a lot of ways he can go there," Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said. "But for the big picture, (García) is a player. He's in the beginning of his second year, and his time is going to arrive."
For the time being, part of his job is to impress with his attitude. García has remained upbeat in the current climate, save for the occasional grimace on his face when Musselman pulls him from the floor. Typically, it's quickly followed by an enthusiastic clap or workman-like expression.
He has used his few opportunities, too, including a defensive highlight late in the Kings' comeback victory against Chicago on Nov. 3 and a buzzer-beating three-pointer before halftime against Minnesota on Monday.
"Those were two examples where, mentally, he stayed focused and contributed," Musselman said. "I think he understands that the whole coaching staff likes him."
Running Raptors -- A good night of offense, in the mind of Toronto coach Sam Mitchell, would finish with 100 attempts on the Raptors' side of the box score.
And if there's a sign for the Kings that today's opponent will be on the move from the tip, that does the trick. With plenty of young legs on board and a team now run in the front office by former Phoenix general manager Bryan Colangelo, the Raptors' new run-and-gun style has done little for shot selection, as they ranked 25th in field-goal percentage (43.9) entering Saturday's games. Still, the Raptors -- whose season high in attempts is 94 -- were eighth in scoring (100.6 points per game) entering Saturday's action.
"We've still got a ways to go," said Mitchell, whose team is 2-3. "We're trying to change the identity of our team."
The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
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) so they can show what they capable of doing, of course, but it's tough, 'cause it's a numbers game. Given that Bibby, Martin, and Artest all deserve 35-40 mintues at their respective positions, all we have really is about 30 minutes of total PT for Price, Salmons, Garcia, Douby, and Hart. Douby and Hart have already been squeezed out of the rotation and have not made ineligible or just not been playing. Typical in-rotation bench players play about 15-25 minutes a game (as it's really hard to come into the game, play 5-10 minutes, and be productive), which means there's really only 1.5 rotation spots for Price, Salmons, and Garcia. Salmons has been decently productive off the bench, albeit a bit streaky. All these are reasons that Garcia hasn't been getting the minutes. It's not that he doesn't deserve it, it's just that there're not enough minutes to go around.
Yea, thats about right, It just seems like there are more.
