http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/72668.html
Wrist bothers Bibby's shots
He keeps playing through the pain.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 6:29 am PST Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C6
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]
Rocky. Mike Tyson. Roy Jones.
Take your pick, but Mike Bibby feels like all of them.
"I'm great," the Kings' point guard said. "I feel like a champion, like a champ. I don't make excuses."
Worrying, Bibby explained, simply does him no good. Nonetheless, his right shooting wrist is affecting his play more than he's letting on.
Entering Monday, Bibby had hit just 14 of 46 shots (30.4 percent). He started slowly last season, too, shooting 36.9 percent in the first seven games before finishing at 43.2 percent with a career-high 20.1 points per game.
"He's playing through pain," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "He told me when he releases the shot, it bothers him."
Since his surprise return from a thumb injury opening night at Minnesota, Bibby has continued to play with the right thumb taped.
Against the Timberwolves on Monday, he added a wrist brace midway through the second quarter after he hit just one of his first four shots. He finished with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting.
Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim saw Bibby play through nagging injuries when they were teammates from 1998 to 2001 in Vancouver.
"I always respected the way he plays when he can," Abdur-Rahim said. "I thought he was going to be out longer, but I've seen him play sick, seen him play hurt. As far as guys playing, and being professional and being tough, he's, in my book, right at the top of it."
And though Bibby committed a career-high 11 turnovers against Chicago on Friday, he has reached or neared two more-flattering milestones lately. He passed Mitch Richmond as the Sacramento-era assist leader (2,129), and he needs eight points to reach 10,000.
With the Kings coming in with the league's lowest shooting percentage (37.2), Bibby said speeding up the offense was a necessity.
"We need to run a little bit more," Bibby said. "We need to get some easier baskets, more fast-break points."
Post play -- The loss of Brad Miller (torn foot tissue) in the starting lineup meant Abdur-Rahim was inserted at center, creating a potentially tricky scenario when it comes to the Kings' post play in the coming weeks.
After spending much of the first three games missing jump shots, small forward Ron Artest said he wants to operate down low more often. It's a shared agenda with Abdur-Rahim, who said communication will be the key to making it work.
"He's got the freedom to (post up), but what he's been doing is another thing," Abdur-Rahim said. "I think teams have been trying to get him out of the post, fronting him and doing those sort of things to get him out of the post. We just have to talk."
[/FONT]
Wrist bothers Bibby's shots
He keeps playing through the pain.
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 6:29 am PST Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C6
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]
Rocky. Mike Tyson. Roy Jones.
Take your pick, but Mike Bibby feels like all of them.
"I'm great," the Kings' point guard said. "I feel like a champion, like a champ. I don't make excuses."
Worrying, Bibby explained, simply does him no good. Nonetheless, his right shooting wrist is affecting his play more than he's letting on.
Entering Monday, Bibby had hit just 14 of 46 shots (30.4 percent). He started slowly last season, too, shooting 36.9 percent in the first seven games before finishing at 43.2 percent with a career-high 20.1 points per game.
"He's playing through pain," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "He told me when he releases the shot, it bothers him."
Since his surprise return from a thumb injury opening night at Minnesota, Bibby has continued to play with the right thumb taped.
Against the Timberwolves on Monday, he added a wrist brace midway through the second quarter after he hit just one of his first four shots. He finished with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting.
Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim saw Bibby play through nagging injuries when they were teammates from 1998 to 2001 in Vancouver.
"I always respected the way he plays when he can," Abdur-Rahim said. "I thought he was going to be out longer, but I've seen him play sick, seen him play hurt. As far as guys playing, and being professional and being tough, he's, in my book, right at the top of it."
And though Bibby committed a career-high 11 turnovers against Chicago on Friday, he has reached or neared two more-flattering milestones lately. He passed Mitch Richmond as the Sacramento-era assist leader (2,129), and he needs eight points to reach 10,000.
With the Kings coming in with the league's lowest shooting percentage (37.2), Bibby said speeding up the offense was a necessity.
"We need to run a little bit more," Bibby said. "We need to get some easier baskets, more fast-break points."
Post play -- The loss of Brad Miller (torn foot tissue) in the starting lineup meant Abdur-Rahim was inserted at center, creating a potentially tricky scenario when it comes to the Kings' post play in the coming weeks.
After spending much of the first three games missing jump shots, small forward Ron Artest said he wants to operate down low more often. It's a shared agenda with Abdur-Rahim, who said communication will be the key to making it work.
"He's got the freedom to (post up), but what he's been doing is another thing," Abdur-Rahim said. "I think teams have been trying to get him out of the post, fronting him and doing those sort of things to get him out of the post. We just have to talk."
[/FONT]
