http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14168209p-14995812c.html
Marty Mac's World: Artest's impact evident in Kings' energy, defense
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, February 9, 2006
It's undeniable that the Kings have begun to play with verve and intensity the past couple of weeks, and the acquisition of Ron Artest from Indiana for Peja Stojakovic is a major reason.
Watching Artest grimace his way up and down the court because of a right hip pointer the past two games is another positive in the trade. The Kings dealt Stojakovic, who often needed what he believed to be perfect circumstances to excel. In Artest, they received a guy who doesn't care what is going on around him.
Artest just wants to play, and even if he's limping, he'll maintain his physical style. In fact, Artest had to play more physically Tuesday night against Memphis because his movement and agility were noticeably hindered. His ability to jump was almost nil, so he took his game back to the park.
His offensive game was taking the ball to the basket. It didn't matter who was defending Artest. He was going to figure out a way to get there through his ballhandling, use of his body and know-how. A bump here or a nudge there created a crease, and Artest would press the advantage and go the hoop.
And that's against the league's stingiest defense in terms of points allowed per game.
Though temporarily robbed of much of his athleticism, he still made three steals in the 104-96 victory over the Grizzlies.
"We're playing better defense, I think, because Ron is making people play better defense," Mike Bibby said Wednesday. "You almost have to play harder because you see him play so hard. We're having fewer breakdowns. We still have breakdowns, but I think there are less of them."
Improvement begins with small strides. Sacramento enters tonight's game against Chicago with a season-high four-game stretch of holding its opponent to fewer than 100 points.
Since Artest began hooping with the Kings on Jan. 27 in Boston, only Toronto scored more than 100 points. The Kings are 3-3 with Artest and showing a greater ability to stay in games when they don't shoot well.
Whether the Kings finally can get healthy perhaps is the biggest question remaining this season. If they can get healthy and stay healthy after the All-Star break, they'll probably make the playoffs. They'll have to pass three teams just to get the eighth seed in the West. But because there is so much erratic play by teams such as Memphis, Golden State, the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota and Utah, it can happen.
I wouldn't wager a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich on their chances to win the NBA title, but it was just about eight weeks ago when many observers proclaimed the Pittsburgh Steelers would miss the NFL playoffs. And we know how that turned out.
K-Mart bandwagon getting full
It might be time to close the door on the Kevin Martin bandwagon before it begins to slow him down. Martin's increased confidence is resulting in a coming-out party right before our eyes - 17.8 points per game on 63.4 percent shooting in the last five games.
It would have been nice to see Martin participate in the NBA's Rookie-Sophomore Challenge during All-Star Weekend. Instead, he can aspire to say he was bypassed on this one but made the Real McCoy.
He must spend many hours in the gym to make an All-Star berth a reality. However, Martin has come a long way in just the past two months. Extremists believed he shouldn't be in the league at all.
About the writer: The Bee's Martin McNeal can be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com.
Marty Mac's World: Artest's impact evident in Kings' energy, defense
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, February 9, 2006
It's undeniable that the Kings have begun to play with verve and intensity the past couple of weeks, and the acquisition of Ron Artest from Indiana for Peja Stojakovic is a major reason.
Watching Artest grimace his way up and down the court because of a right hip pointer the past two games is another positive in the trade. The Kings dealt Stojakovic, who often needed what he believed to be perfect circumstances to excel. In Artest, they received a guy who doesn't care what is going on around him.
Artest just wants to play, and even if he's limping, he'll maintain his physical style. In fact, Artest had to play more physically Tuesday night against Memphis because his movement and agility were noticeably hindered. His ability to jump was almost nil, so he took his game back to the park.
His offensive game was taking the ball to the basket. It didn't matter who was defending Artest. He was going to figure out a way to get there through his ballhandling, use of his body and know-how. A bump here or a nudge there created a crease, and Artest would press the advantage and go the hoop.
And that's against the league's stingiest defense in terms of points allowed per game.
Though temporarily robbed of much of his athleticism, he still made three steals in the 104-96 victory over the Grizzlies.
"We're playing better defense, I think, because Ron is making people play better defense," Mike Bibby said Wednesday. "You almost have to play harder because you see him play so hard. We're having fewer breakdowns. We still have breakdowns, but I think there are less of them."
Improvement begins with small strides. Sacramento enters tonight's game against Chicago with a season-high four-game stretch of holding its opponent to fewer than 100 points.
Since Artest began hooping with the Kings on Jan. 27 in Boston, only Toronto scored more than 100 points. The Kings are 3-3 with Artest and showing a greater ability to stay in games when they don't shoot well.
Whether the Kings finally can get healthy perhaps is the biggest question remaining this season. If they can get healthy and stay healthy after the All-Star break, they'll probably make the playoffs. They'll have to pass three teams just to get the eighth seed in the West. But because there is so much erratic play by teams such as Memphis, Golden State, the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota and Utah, it can happen.
I wouldn't wager a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich on their chances to win the NBA title, but it was just about eight weeks ago when many observers proclaimed the Pittsburgh Steelers would miss the NFL playoffs. And we know how that turned out.
K-Mart bandwagon getting full
It might be time to close the door on the Kevin Martin bandwagon before it begins to slow him down. Martin's increased confidence is resulting in a coming-out party right before our eyes - 17.8 points per game on 63.4 percent shooting in the last five games.
It would have been nice to see Martin participate in the NBA's Rookie-Sophomore Challenge during All-Star Weekend. Instead, he can aspire to say he was bypassed on this one but made the Real McCoy.
He must spend many hours in the gym to make an All-Star berth a reality. However, Martin has come a long way in just the past two months. Extremists believed he shouldn't be in the league at all.
About the writer: The Bee's Martin McNeal can be reached at mmcneal@sacbee.com.
