Marcos Bretón: No great player, no title, no coincidence
By Marcos Bretón -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, May 12, 2006
They can hire a new Kings coach who is more "personable" than the old one. Or they can hire a coach who is more "defensive" minded, whatever that means. But teams win NBA championships with great players, and the Kings have not had one in 21 years of Sacramento hoops, not a single Hall of Fame talent.
Oh, they've had rosters of good players, some terrific players, a player who was elite until his knee exploded - and a potential great one in Ron Artest. Underline the word: potential.
But if you want to point to one reason an NBA championship banner does not hang in Arco Arena, it's been a lack of greatness on the Arco floor. It's been a lack of a Shaquille O'Neal, who could impose his will on a playoff series; a lack of a Kobe Bryant, who can do things with a basketball that no other human can do.
Or it's been a lack of a Tim Duncan, who can grasp the rock in his big paws, back his huge behind toward the basket and do whatever he pleases.
But isn't it curious how this undeniable truth - an honest assessment of Kingly shortcomings - is completely overlooked in the wake of a horribly handled Kings coaching change this week?
Indeed, the current conversation is all about what Rick Adelman could or couldn't do in eight playoff seasons - the only winning campaigns posted by any coach in Sacramento Kings history.
Or we get speculation on a host of stiffs who supposedly could do what Adelman couldn't.
It's all hogwash (not the word I wanted to use), and it's endemic to the delusional nature of Kings basketball culture.
There are obviously no mirrors at Arco Arena, or else no one in authority ever peers into one.
Why bother, when you can blame the refs, fate or Adelman for not being a "defensive" coach?
Fine. The team belongs to Joe and Gavin Maloof, and they can do whatever they please with it, no arguments here.
But consider two important points for why Adelman's dismissal is a bad move made on a whim by the Kings owners - and not because of any real shortcomings on Adelman's part.
First, the Kings didn't win a title in their two-year window (2001-02 and 2002-03) because they missed 14 free throws in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals at Arco Arena in 2002 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Vlade Divac - a terrific player lacking Hall of Fame skills - missed five free throws. Another near-great in Peja Stojakovic had a wide-open look that might have sealed the win but threw up an airball. Another good one - Doug Christie - melted down under the pressure. And a player who was elite for a moment in Chris Webber played just OK.
Then in 2003, Webber's knee exploded in the second round of the playoffs - his chance at greatness heisted by destiny along with that championship ring bearing a Kings logo.
Ask yourself this: Would the San Antonio Spurs have won if Duncan blew out his knee in the playoffs? Would the Detroit Pistons have won if Ben Wallace needed surgery in early May of 2004? Would the Lakers have won with Kobe or Shaq in street clothes?
And then consider the elite list of NBA coaches with at least 700 career wins, a list Adelman is on.
Now reduce that list to coaches with championship rings, and what do you have?
Men blessed with great players: Phil Jackson with Shaq, Kobe and Michael Jordan, perhaps the greatest ever; Pat Riley with Kareem and Magic; Larry Brown with Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups; Jack Ramsay had Bill Walton, etc.
Even Jerry Sloan in Utah - with no championship rings, either - had Karl Malone and John Stockton.
And what of Adelman? He had a Hall of Famer in Clyde Drexler when he coached in Portland, but then he came to Sacramento, where he was dealt a hand that was very good but not great.
It might have been great if Adelman himself were allowed to shoot free throws against the Lakers in 2002, but coaches can't play for their players.
They can only hope a great player comes their way - along with a ton of luck - so they can get treated with respect and be called a genius.
All I can say is it must be nice to be an owner or team brass, where money and titles say you're never wrong and you know everything.
Because then you can fill a team with offensive players, bemoan a lack of defense, dump your fall guy - and go watch Barry Bonds in San Francisco as Gavin Maloof did this week.
Must be nice.
Link
By Marcos Bretón -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, May 12, 2006
They can hire a new Kings coach who is more "personable" than the old one. Or they can hire a coach who is more "defensive" minded, whatever that means. But teams win NBA championships with great players, and the Kings have not had one in 21 years of Sacramento hoops, not a single Hall of Fame talent.
Oh, they've had rosters of good players, some terrific players, a player who was elite until his knee exploded - and a potential great one in Ron Artest. Underline the word: potential.
But if you want to point to one reason an NBA championship banner does not hang in Arco Arena, it's been a lack of greatness on the Arco floor. It's been a lack of a Shaquille O'Neal, who could impose his will on a playoff series; a lack of a Kobe Bryant, who can do things with a basketball that no other human can do.
Or it's been a lack of a Tim Duncan, who can grasp the rock in his big paws, back his huge behind toward the basket and do whatever he pleases.
But isn't it curious how this undeniable truth - an honest assessment of Kingly shortcomings - is completely overlooked in the wake of a horribly handled Kings coaching change this week?
Indeed, the current conversation is all about what Rick Adelman could or couldn't do in eight playoff seasons - the only winning campaigns posted by any coach in Sacramento Kings history.
Or we get speculation on a host of stiffs who supposedly could do what Adelman couldn't.
It's all hogwash (not the word I wanted to use), and it's endemic to the delusional nature of Kings basketball culture.
There are obviously no mirrors at Arco Arena, or else no one in authority ever peers into one.
Why bother, when you can blame the refs, fate or Adelman for not being a "defensive" coach?
Fine. The team belongs to Joe and Gavin Maloof, and they can do whatever they please with it, no arguments here.
But consider two important points for why Adelman's dismissal is a bad move made on a whim by the Kings owners - and not because of any real shortcomings on Adelman's part.
First, the Kings didn't win a title in their two-year window (2001-02 and 2002-03) because they missed 14 free throws in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals at Arco Arena in 2002 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Vlade Divac - a terrific player lacking Hall of Fame skills - missed five free throws. Another near-great in Peja Stojakovic had a wide-open look that might have sealed the win but threw up an airball. Another good one - Doug Christie - melted down under the pressure. And a player who was elite for a moment in Chris Webber played just OK.
Then in 2003, Webber's knee exploded in the second round of the playoffs - his chance at greatness heisted by destiny along with that championship ring bearing a Kings logo.
Ask yourself this: Would the San Antonio Spurs have won if Duncan blew out his knee in the playoffs? Would the Detroit Pistons have won if Ben Wallace needed surgery in early May of 2004? Would the Lakers have won with Kobe or Shaq in street clothes?
And then consider the elite list of NBA coaches with at least 700 career wins, a list Adelman is on.
Now reduce that list to coaches with championship rings, and what do you have?
Men blessed with great players: Phil Jackson with Shaq, Kobe and Michael Jordan, perhaps the greatest ever; Pat Riley with Kareem and Magic; Larry Brown with Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups; Jack Ramsay had Bill Walton, etc.
Even Jerry Sloan in Utah - with no championship rings, either - had Karl Malone and John Stockton.
And what of Adelman? He had a Hall of Famer in Clyde Drexler when he coached in Portland, but then he came to Sacramento, where he was dealt a hand that was very good but not great.
It might have been great if Adelman himself were allowed to shoot free throws against the Lakers in 2002, but coaches can't play for their players.
They can only hope a great player comes their way - along with a ton of luck - so they can get treated with respect and be called a genius.
All I can say is it must be nice to be an owner or team brass, where money and titles say you're never wrong and you know everything.
Because then you can fill a team with offensive players, bemoan a lack of defense, dump your fall guy - and go watch Barry Bonds in San Francisco as Gavin Maloof did this week.
Must be nice.
Link
