http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/147687.html
Kings Notes: Run for cover -- Lakers motivated
Kobe Bryant's latest scoring frenzy and a temperamental Phil Jackson greet the Kings.
By Sam Amick -
Last Updated 12:26 am PDT Sunday, April 1, 2007
Kobe Bryant wasn't so prevalent in the MVP talk until the NBA ticked him off.
A one-game suspension for so-called dirty play and one vengeful superstar later, Bryant is the guy whose game is "off" if he isn't hitting the half-century mark in scoring and the Lakers are off and running again with five wins in seven games.
And now, as the Kings come into town to take on the league's leading scorer, the "Zen Master" -- Lakers coach Phil Jackson -- isn't feeling so peaceful. According to Lakers forward Luke Walton, Jackson recently was as mad as he'd seen him in the past three years. The cause of Jackson's ire was a home loss to lowly Memphis on Tuesday night.
"The thing is, he doesn't get angry that much," Walton told the Los Angeles Daily News. "I mean, I'm sure he does inside, but he's always trying to stay on that middle ground. You could see in his face he was really upset."
The Lakers responded to the rare wrath with an overtime loss to Houston on Friday night that left Jackson far more pleased with the effort.
The Kings, who are five games behind the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver in the Western Conference playoff race, are far from pleased with their own position after losing nine of their past 11 games. Kings coach Eric Musselman said there is no complex way of approaching this challenge.
"Go to L.A., try to win the game and play as hard as we can possibly play," Musselman said. "Obviously, there's great concern anytime a guy can put up 50-plus points in five out of seven games. We've done a fairly decent job at times against Kobe, and he's had some real good moments, too, against us and the rest of the league."
Beyond serving up plenty of Ron Artest to combat Bryant, Musselman said he would frequently change his defensive schemes. "If you give Kobe Bryant a steady diet of the same thing, he's going to figure it out because he's a basketball genius as far as scoring the ball," he said.
Doubting Thomas? -- Before Kenny Thomas went down with a chip fracture in his left toe March 14, he had come to expect a healthy portion of playing time.
The previous 25 games had warranted an average of 21.8 minutes from Musselman, with Thomas holding his position as a starter. But when Thomas announced he was healthy for last Sunday's game against Phoenix, his status was -- in the end -- a nonfactor as he was never called off the bench. His virtual disappearance continued Friday night, when Thomas -- who missed Thursday's practice because of personal reasons, according to Musselman -- played four minutes against the Clippers.
"I think Corliss (Williamson) has done a really, really good job for us," Musselman said when asked about Thomas' drop from the rotation. "It's hard to play multiple people. We struggle when we get up in the 10-man rotation sometimes. It's hard to get 10 guys in the flow of things."
Free-throw champ? -- It wouldn't be quite the same as being named the NBA's Most Improved Player, but shooting guard Kevin Martin is on pace to set the Sacramento-era Kings record for free throws made in a season.
It would be fitting considering how the season began, with Martin drawing rave reviews during the summer league in July for his improved ability to get to the line. Martin has gone 422 for 500 (84.4 percent), and he must make 39 more in the last 11 games to surpass leader Otis Thorpe (460 for 609 in the 1987-88 season).
Martin is nowhere near the franchise highs, as Oscar Robertson holds four of the top five marks. He set the franchise record in 1963-64, when Robertson hit 800 of 938 free throws.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
Kings Notes: Run for cover -- Lakers motivated
Kobe Bryant's latest scoring frenzy and a temperamental Phil Jackson greet the Kings.
By Sam Amick -
Last Updated 12:26 am PDT Sunday, April 1, 2007
Kobe Bryant wasn't so prevalent in the MVP talk until the NBA ticked him off.
A one-game suspension for so-called dirty play and one vengeful superstar later, Bryant is the guy whose game is "off" if he isn't hitting the half-century mark in scoring and the Lakers are off and running again with five wins in seven games.
And now, as the Kings come into town to take on the league's leading scorer, the "Zen Master" -- Lakers coach Phil Jackson -- isn't feeling so peaceful. According to Lakers forward Luke Walton, Jackson recently was as mad as he'd seen him in the past three years. The cause of Jackson's ire was a home loss to lowly Memphis on Tuesday night.
"The thing is, he doesn't get angry that much," Walton told the Los Angeles Daily News. "I mean, I'm sure he does inside, but he's always trying to stay on that middle ground. You could see in his face he was really upset."
The Lakers responded to the rare wrath with an overtime loss to Houston on Friday night that left Jackson far more pleased with the effort.
The Kings, who are five games behind the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver in the Western Conference playoff race, are far from pleased with their own position after losing nine of their past 11 games. Kings coach Eric Musselman said there is no complex way of approaching this challenge.
"Go to L.A., try to win the game and play as hard as we can possibly play," Musselman said. "Obviously, there's great concern anytime a guy can put up 50-plus points in five out of seven games. We've done a fairly decent job at times against Kobe, and he's had some real good moments, too, against us and the rest of the league."
Beyond serving up plenty of Ron Artest to combat Bryant, Musselman said he would frequently change his defensive schemes. "If you give Kobe Bryant a steady diet of the same thing, he's going to figure it out because he's a basketball genius as far as scoring the ball," he said.
Doubting Thomas? -- Before Kenny Thomas went down with a chip fracture in his left toe March 14, he had come to expect a healthy portion of playing time.
The previous 25 games had warranted an average of 21.8 minutes from Musselman, with Thomas holding his position as a starter. But when Thomas announced he was healthy for last Sunday's game against Phoenix, his status was -- in the end -- a nonfactor as he was never called off the bench. His virtual disappearance continued Friday night, when Thomas -- who missed Thursday's practice because of personal reasons, according to Musselman -- played four minutes against the Clippers.
"I think Corliss (Williamson) has done a really, really good job for us," Musselman said when asked about Thomas' drop from the rotation. "It's hard to play multiple people. We struggle when we get up in the 10-man rotation sometimes. It's hard to get 10 guys in the flow of things."
Free-throw champ? -- It wouldn't be quite the same as being named the NBA's Most Improved Player, but shooting guard Kevin Martin is on pace to set the Sacramento-era Kings record for free throws made in a season.
It would be fitting considering how the season began, with Martin drawing rave reviews during the summer league in July for his improved ability to get to the line. Martin has gone 422 for 500 (84.4 percent), and he must make 39 more in the last 11 games to surpass leader Otis Thorpe (460 for 609 in the 1987-88 season).
Martin is nowhere near the franchise highs, as Oscar Robertson holds four of the top five marks. He set the franchise record in 1963-64, when Robertson hit 800 of 938 free throws.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
