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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/11431728p-12345939c.html
Kings notes: Miller fires up road-weary Kings
By Sam Amick and Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writers
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, November 15, 2004
It was all in the expression.
A smile, a grin, anything but the scowl that seemed stuck on the face of Brad Miller and epitomized the Kings' woes during this season's early going.
He was on, and so was his toothpaste, er tobacco, commercial mug. And he was liking it.
Miller, as Peja Stojakovic put it, was "just Miller" Sunday night at Arco Arena, flirting with perfection as he scored a season-high 26 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the Kings' 101-89 win over Denver. OAS_AD('Button20');
On a night when back-to-back games meant weary legs for the masses, Miller energized the Kings to their first two-game winning streak. He was 10 of 11 from the free-throw line, had four assists and made both of his three-point tries.
"The better you play, the more fun it is," Miller said. "We're starting to turn around now. It's early, but it's better than a week and a half, two weeks ago."
A rookie waits - The house is meant for downtime, a place to unwind and relax after a hard day of hoops.
For that part, rookie Kevin Martin is content, set with 3,000 square feet of comfort space after buying a new pad in the Natomas area recently.
But since his productive preseason ended, the Kings guard has had far more idle time during games, his minutes dwindling to minuscule levels.
In the preseason, Martin started in six of eight games, averaging seven points and 21.1 minutes per contest. Since the regular season began, he's combined for 19 minutes and three points in seven regular-season games.
"I'm the young guy on this team, like four years younger than everybody, so I'm satisfied right now," said Martin, the 21-year-old first-round draft pick who averaged 23.3 points per game in three seasons at Western Carolina.
"(The lesser role) hasn't surprised me," he said. "They're not throwing me in the fire. They want me to watch how the game goes, the ups and downs of everything. They always tell me, 'Play like you did before we drafted you.' "
A Dunn deal - First-year Kings assistant coach T.R. Dunn never knew why he wasn't brought back for a third season as a Nuggets assistant.
Michael Cooper may be the reason.
Cooper, the former Los Angeles Laker who coached the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks for five seasons and won championships in 2001 and 2002, was courted by Nuggets management long before Dunn was let go.
Meanwhile, neither general manager Kiki Vandeweghe nor coach Jeff Bzdelik talked to Dunn about his status before Dunn came to Sacramento.
"Kiki had approached me two years ago about coming to Denver, and Bzdelik and I spoke early in our (Sparks) season in Phoenix," Cooper said. "I've got a lot to offer."
The key to success - Many facets go into having a successful night or a successful season, but if you can't score, basketball is an incredibly difficult sport.
Sunday, Denver made just 33 of 86 (38.4 percent) field-goal attempts.
Point guards Andre Miller (2 of 11) and Earl Boykins (1 of 11) were the primary culprits. Bzdelik saw three starters fail to reach six points, as Francisco Elson, Greg Buckner and Miller combined to score 11 points.
Buckner, usually a defensive wizard, was in the shooting-guard position normally occupied by Voshon Lenard, who is out for the season with a torn left Achilles' tendon.
The Kings had made just 14 of 67 three-pointers (20.9 percent) in their first five games. In wins over Phoenix and Denver, the Kings made 16 of 37 (43 percent) three-pointers.
Et cetera - The hot item at K-Mart Sunday night? Clotheslines. Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin gave the Kings a scare in the second quarter, leveling Bobby Jackson as the two players went for a ball in the air. Jackson fell hard on his left side, grimacing before refusing to come out of the game. He was uninjured. • Sacramento is 2-0 this season when allowing fewer than 100 points.
Kings notes: Miller fires up road-weary Kings
By Sam Amick and Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writers
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, November 15, 2004
It was all in the expression.
A smile, a grin, anything but the scowl that seemed stuck on the face of Brad Miller and epitomized the Kings' woes during this season's early going.
He was on, and so was his toothpaste, er tobacco, commercial mug. And he was liking it.
Miller, as Peja Stojakovic put it, was "just Miller" Sunday night at Arco Arena, flirting with perfection as he scored a season-high 26 points on 8-of-9 shooting in the Kings' 101-89 win over Denver. OAS_AD('Button20');
On a night when back-to-back games meant weary legs for the masses, Miller energized the Kings to their first two-game winning streak. He was 10 of 11 from the free-throw line, had four assists and made both of his three-point tries.
"The better you play, the more fun it is," Miller said. "We're starting to turn around now. It's early, but it's better than a week and a half, two weeks ago."
A rookie waits - The house is meant for downtime, a place to unwind and relax after a hard day of hoops.
For that part, rookie Kevin Martin is content, set with 3,000 square feet of comfort space after buying a new pad in the Natomas area recently.
But since his productive preseason ended, the Kings guard has had far more idle time during games, his minutes dwindling to minuscule levels.
In the preseason, Martin started in six of eight games, averaging seven points and 21.1 minutes per contest. Since the regular season began, he's combined for 19 minutes and three points in seven regular-season games.
"I'm the young guy on this team, like four years younger than everybody, so I'm satisfied right now," said Martin, the 21-year-old first-round draft pick who averaged 23.3 points per game in three seasons at Western Carolina.
"(The lesser role) hasn't surprised me," he said. "They're not throwing me in the fire. They want me to watch how the game goes, the ups and downs of everything. They always tell me, 'Play like you did before we drafted you.' "
A Dunn deal - First-year Kings assistant coach T.R. Dunn never knew why he wasn't brought back for a third season as a Nuggets assistant.
Michael Cooper may be the reason.
Cooper, the former Los Angeles Laker who coached the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks for five seasons and won championships in 2001 and 2002, was courted by Nuggets management long before Dunn was let go.
Meanwhile, neither general manager Kiki Vandeweghe nor coach Jeff Bzdelik talked to Dunn about his status before Dunn came to Sacramento.
"Kiki had approached me two years ago about coming to Denver, and Bzdelik and I spoke early in our (Sparks) season in Phoenix," Cooper said. "I've got a lot to offer."
The key to success - Many facets go into having a successful night or a successful season, but if you can't score, basketball is an incredibly difficult sport.
Sunday, Denver made just 33 of 86 (38.4 percent) field-goal attempts.
Point guards Andre Miller (2 of 11) and Earl Boykins (1 of 11) were the primary culprits. Bzdelik saw three starters fail to reach six points, as Francisco Elson, Greg Buckner and Miller combined to score 11 points.
Buckner, usually a defensive wizard, was in the shooting-guard position normally occupied by Voshon Lenard, who is out for the season with a torn left Achilles' tendon.
The Kings had made just 14 of 67 three-pointers (20.9 percent) in their first five games. In wins over Phoenix and Denver, the Kings made 16 of 37 (43 percent) three-pointers.
Et cetera - The hot item at K-Mart Sunday night? Clotheslines. Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin gave the Kings a scare in the second quarter, leveling Bobby Jackson as the two players went for a ball in the air. Jackson fell hard on his left side, grimacing before refusing to come out of the game. He was uninjured. • Sacramento is 2-0 this season when allowing fewer than 100 points.
