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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14090769p-14920848c.html
Mark Kreidler: Citizens of Planet Erratica, blast off!
By Mark Kreidler -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, January 19,
Kobe Bryant is the gate attraction tonight, but you knew that already. It's the other team, the one from Planet Erratica, that really bears watching.
Fresh off their finest performance of the season, the Kings got up Wednesday, took a good look around and chucked the whole project. They're going with Option Z.
Peja Stojakovic and his bulging disc are back in the starting lineup. Shareef Abdur-Rahim and his wired-shut jaw are headed for small-portion game minutes.
And the Kings, once again, are merrily sailing off into the land of no continuity. But give them this much: It is a place they know.
There's a certain blood-on-the-tracks allure about it all. It only figures that in the wake of Francisco García's best game of the year, he'd be headed to the bench. It's a matter of time before Kevin Martin joins him there in favor of Bonzi Wells.
Kenny Thomas and his 22-point, 15-rebound performance in that rout of Phoenix? As of tonight, slowly giving way to Abdur-Rahim, a few minutes at a time.
Oh, it may not feel so radical. It isn't as if Stojakovic wasn't going to return to the lineup sooner or later, and it's safe to say Abdur-Rahim wasn't acquired during the offseason to sit and watch.
Beyond that, both players took one for the team. Stojakovic had to be rendered unconscious to take a shot in his back designed to restore feeling and the sensation of strength in his leg, which was suffering from the disc problem. Abdur-Rahim has been absolutely valiant in trying to get back on the floor despite not being able to breathe through his mouth or take solid food because of his broken mandible.
But you know the result all the same. The result is that the Kings, again, have no idea what's going to happen when they run out on the floor against the Lakers.
When a team is 16-21, it's hard to make a case that it is taking any chances doing anything in particular to its lineup. But I'm not so sure right now.
The Phoenix game was one game, and the Suns were undeniably awful, but it still was one game in which Rick Adelman's starting unit wasn't emitting fumes and his bench (what there was of it) wasn't making things worse. Congratulations, Kroger: You're at the top of the Delta pledge class.
And don't look now, but we might just have a mini-trend. As erratically as the team has played, the Phoenix win put Sacramento at 6-4 over its last 10 games, a number momentarily stunning enough that I double-checked to make sure it was correct. I can't remember a single distinguishing thing about the other five victories in that span (well, Mike Bibby lit up the Clippers at the very far end of the 10 games), but let's not get picky here.
Relatively speaking, the return of the Kings' veterans is a good thing only if they agree not to gum up the works. Stojakovic needs to go out there and find a flow with Bibby and Martin. Abdur-Rahim can't allow his deliberate style to choke off the creativity.
And, sure, you can't count on that flow and that creativity. If you could, you wouldn't be looking at 16-21. Adelman made that much clear after practice Wednesday, reminding anyone who asked that his young-kid lineup was undoubtedly the least predictable of all from night to night.
The coach also made clear that Stojakovic ought to be able to jump right back in - at 34 to 36 minutes, Adelman guessed. Stojakovic himself was in high spirits after competing well on the practice floor, and you could tell how much he despised sitting around in dress clothes on game nights.
Abdur-Rahim clearly is a more tentative prospect. It's remarkable that he is trying to play again barely three weeks after having his jaw broken, but Adelman is figuring the forward for five-or six-minute bursts. How and when he gets those minutes are the immediate issues.
The longer-term questions, of course, revolve around García and Martin, and whether they can be productive NBA players while returning to reserve minutes. But these wouldn't be the current Kings without some mystery or other.
Bryant is amazing, but there's no mystery about him at all. You already know what he's going to do: drop two-or three-dozen shots on your noggin and finish with more points than you have pairs of socks. He isn't a player, he's an inevitability.
"Kobe brings it every night," Adelman said. "That's the sure thing."
On the other hand, we give you Planet Erratica's latest export, the Kings, shuffling the deck once again.
Mark Kreidler: Citizens of Planet Erratica, blast off!
By Mark Kreidler -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, January 19,
Kobe Bryant is the gate attraction tonight, but you knew that already. It's the other team, the one from Planet Erratica, that really bears watching.
Fresh off their finest performance of the season, the Kings got up Wednesday, took a good look around and chucked the whole project. They're going with Option Z.
Peja Stojakovic and his bulging disc are back in the starting lineup. Shareef Abdur-Rahim and his wired-shut jaw are headed for small-portion game minutes.
And the Kings, once again, are merrily sailing off into the land of no continuity. But give them this much: It is a place they know.
There's a certain blood-on-the-tracks allure about it all. It only figures that in the wake of Francisco García's best game of the year, he'd be headed to the bench. It's a matter of time before Kevin Martin joins him there in favor of Bonzi Wells.
Kenny Thomas and his 22-point, 15-rebound performance in that rout of Phoenix? As of tonight, slowly giving way to Abdur-Rahim, a few minutes at a time.
Oh, it may not feel so radical. It isn't as if Stojakovic wasn't going to return to the lineup sooner or later, and it's safe to say Abdur-Rahim wasn't acquired during the offseason to sit and watch.
Beyond that, both players took one for the team. Stojakovic had to be rendered unconscious to take a shot in his back designed to restore feeling and the sensation of strength in his leg, which was suffering from the disc problem. Abdur-Rahim has been absolutely valiant in trying to get back on the floor despite not being able to breathe through his mouth or take solid food because of his broken mandible.
But you know the result all the same. The result is that the Kings, again, have no idea what's going to happen when they run out on the floor against the Lakers.
When a team is 16-21, it's hard to make a case that it is taking any chances doing anything in particular to its lineup. But I'm not so sure right now.
The Phoenix game was one game, and the Suns were undeniably awful, but it still was one game in which Rick Adelman's starting unit wasn't emitting fumes and his bench (what there was of it) wasn't making things worse. Congratulations, Kroger: You're at the top of the Delta pledge class.
And don't look now, but we might just have a mini-trend. As erratically as the team has played, the Phoenix win put Sacramento at 6-4 over its last 10 games, a number momentarily stunning enough that I double-checked to make sure it was correct. I can't remember a single distinguishing thing about the other five victories in that span (well, Mike Bibby lit up the Clippers at the very far end of the 10 games), but let's not get picky here.
Relatively speaking, the return of the Kings' veterans is a good thing only if they agree not to gum up the works. Stojakovic needs to go out there and find a flow with Bibby and Martin. Abdur-Rahim can't allow his deliberate style to choke off the creativity.
And, sure, you can't count on that flow and that creativity. If you could, you wouldn't be looking at 16-21. Adelman made that much clear after practice Wednesday, reminding anyone who asked that his young-kid lineup was undoubtedly the least predictable of all from night to night.
The coach also made clear that Stojakovic ought to be able to jump right back in - at 34 to 36 minutes, Adelman guessed. Stojakovic himself was in high spirits after competing well on the practice floor, and you could tell how much he despised sitting around in dress clothes on game nights.
Abdur-Rahim clearly is a more tentative prospect. It's remarkable that he is trying to play again barely three weeks after having his jaw broken, but Adelman is figuring the forward for five-or six-minute bursts. How and when he gets those minutes are the immediate issues.
The longer-term questions, of course, revolve around García and Martin, and whether they can be productive NBA players while returning to reserve minutes. But these wouldn't be the current Kings without some mystery or other.
Bryant is amazing, but there's no mystery about him at all. You already know what he's going to do: drop two-or three-dozen shots on your noggin and finish with more points than you have pairs of socks. He isn't a player, he's an inevitability.
"Kobe brings it every night," Adelman said. "That's the sure thing."
On the other hand, we give you Planet Erratica's latest export, the Kings, shuffling the deck once again.