http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/11985176p-12859830c.html
Kings Notes: Peja couldn't get ball with game on the line
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, January 9, 2005
NEW ORLEANS - Peja Stojakovic pretty much was the Kings' lone accurate shooter for most of Saturday night against the New Orleans Hornets.
But when the game was on the line, Sacramento couldn't get him the ball.
Stojakovic scored a season-high 37 points on 13 of 22 field-goal attempts (2 of 7 from three-point range) and 9 of 9 free-throw tries.
However, Stojakovic attempted just one field goal during the final eight minutes of regulation, although he did get two free-throw attempts with 1:09 left in regulation.
Sacramento put the ball into his hands in overtime, but Stojakovic was stripped by Baron Davis, who quickly fed Dan Dickau for a go-ahead layin that gave the Hornets a 109-107 lead with 3:20 left.
"They switched the way they were playing him," Kings coach Rick Adelman said of the Hornets, who used the 6-foot-3 Davis against the 6-10 Stojakovic. "They switched people and used Davis on him, and he was very aggressive against him.
"We definitely tried to run things to get him the ball, but (the Hornets) weren't covering him the way they were earlier."
That does sound like a logical concept for the Hornets, considering Stojakovic was torching Lee Nailon and Bostjan Nachbar.
The question is, where was the adjustment to the adjustment by the Kings' coaching staff or Stojakovic's adjustment to being defended by a player giving up seven inches?
That's not to mention his teammates, realizing that their hottest player on the floor wasn't getting a chance to win a game he seemed very capable of winning with just a little help.
A tale of two nights - The Hornets scored 30 points in the fourth quarter against the Kings after scoring just 11 in the fourth during a loss Friday night at Memphis.
Moreover, the Hornets had made fewer than 45 percent of their shots in 24 of their previous 28 games but shot 45.2 percent against the Kings.
The 121 points the Hornets scored were a season high, as was their 102 in regulation. They came in averaging a league-low 85.5 points per game.
Et cetera - Sacramento was outscored 18-8 in fast-break points.
* The Hornets are 2-12 at home.
The Bee's Martin McNeal can be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com.
NOTE: This article was posted in another thread but pretty much buried. For that reason, I'm reposting it here... VF21
Kings Notes: Peja couldn't get ball with game on the line
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, January 9, 2005
NEW ORLEANS - Peja Stojakovic pretty much was the Kings' lone accurate shooter for most of Saturday night against the New Orleans Hornets.
But when the game was on the line, Sacramento couldn't get him the ball.
Stojakovic scored a season-high 37 points on 13 of 22 field-goal attempts (2 of 7 from three-point range) and 9 of 9 free-throw tries.
However, Stojakovic attempted just one field goal during the final eight minutes of regulation, although he did get two free-throw attempts with 1:09 left in regulation.
Sacramento put the ball into his hands in overtime, but Stojakovic was stripped by Baron Davis, who quickly fed Dan Dickau for a go-ahead layin that gave the Hornets a 109-107 lead with 3:20 left.
"They switched the way they were playing him," Kings coach Rick Adelman said of the Hornets, who used the 6-foot-3 Davis against the 6-10 Stojakovic. "They switched people and used Davis on him, and he was very aggressive against him.
"We definitely tried to run things to get him the ball, but (the Hornets) weren't covering him the way they were earlier."
That does sound like a logical concept for the Hornets, considering Stojakovic was torching Lee Nailon and Bostjan Nachbar.
The question is, where was the adjustment to the adjustment by the Kings' coaching staff or Stojakovic's adjustment to being defended by a player giving up seven inches?
That's not to mention his teammates, realizing that their hottest player on the floor wasn't getting a chance to win a game he seemed very capable of winning with just a little help.
A tale of two nights - The Hornets scored 30 points in the fourth quarter against the Kings after scoring just 11 in the fourth during a loss Friday night at Memphis.
Moreover, the Hornets had made fewer than 45 percent of their shots in 24 of their previous 28 games but shot 45.2 percent against the Kings.
The 121 points the Hornets scored were a season high, as was their 102 in regulation. They came in averaging a league-low 85.5 points per game.
Et cetera - Sacramento was outscored 18-8 in fast-break points.
* The Hornets are 2-12 at home.
The Bee's Martin McNeal can be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com.
NOTE: This article was posted in another thread but pretty much buried. For that reason, I'm reposting it here... VF21
hehe
