The Aileen Voisin Prediction Game
- Thread starter SDKing
- Start date
Allow me to expand:
"Although Peja did his best to carry the team on his rippling muscles as he drove with drive towards the paint, it was the lack of team unity, so obvious since the departure of Chris Webber (who poisoned the locker room with his hostility towards the handsome young Serbian) that led to Coach Rick Adelman making ill-advised substitutions which smothered the pure shooter's youthful exuberance and caused him to lose his touch while he suffered the memories of the moments of unfettered joy he had experienced before the self-absorbed power forward forced the weak-willed Adelman to start him, ending the team's quest for a deep run into the playoffs. Thus it was one year ago, and thus it was again tonight, when the feeble minded Adelman again trounced on the hopes and dreams of the chiseled Peja."
How's that?
"Although Peja did his best to carry the team on his rippling muscles as he drove with drive towards the paint, it was the lack of team unity, so obvious since the departure of Chris Webber (who poisoned the locker room with his hostility towards the handsome young Serbian) that led to Coach Rick Adelman making ill-advised substitutions which smothered the pure shooter's youthful exuberance and caused him to lose his touch while he suffered the memories of the moments of unfettered joy he had experienced before the self-absorbed power forward forced the weak-willed Adelman to start him, ending the team's quest for a deep run into the playoffs. Thus it was one year ago, and thus it was again tonight, when the feeble minded Adelman again trounced on the hopes and dreams of the chiseled Peja."
How's that?
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/13802751p-14644150c.html
Ailene Voisin: Opening-night act is a flop - and a repeat isn't wanted
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, November 2, 2005
OKLAHOMA CITY - This better be jet lag, a one-time aberration caused by a bizarre confluence of events that left the Kings slumbering through the season opener. Because if it's not?
If their pathetic performance against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets on Tuesday night was a preview of 2005-2006?
Can't be.
Can't be this bad.
Because of their travel troubles, the temptation is to issue a one-night pass, allowing the Kings an opportunity to apologize to the good folks of this fledgling NBA city (along with their own fans back in Sacramento) and get plenty of bed rest before stepping anywhere near the Toyota Center tonight. There is a reason the league eliminated those early-morning, 1,600-mile flights back in the 1980s.
Sleep deprivation leads to dead legs and lousy basketball. Lopsided outings send even the most impassioned season ticket holders sprinting for the exits.
But this was ... this was bad, inexcusable, really. The three Kings who should have known better - Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller - played as if they hardly knew each other, performed like a trio that couldn't hit a note. Collectively, the Kings were flat the entire evening, embarrassing themselves offensively and defensively.
That old Kings rhythm apparently is a thing of the past.
So, too, is the passing.
So, too, is the movement.
The only thing familiar about these Kings on Tuesday night was an apparent lack of interest in stopping penetration or rotating to the open man. Time and again - but particularly in the critical opening period - Speedy Claxton penetrated for easy layups, found teammates for uncontested jumpers, forced the pace and pushed the Kings backward, left them scrambling to recover from an early double-digit deficit.
"This is a new beginning," insisted Stojakovic, "and we can play better than this. This game wasn't us."
So who are they? And weren't the Hornets supposed to be the ones disjointed and discombobulated after being displaced six weeks ago by Hurricane Katrina?
You could almost excuse Hornets owner George Carpetbagger, er, Shinn, for his pregame (and latest) verbal turnover. The man who willingly moved this once immensely popular franchise from Charlotte to New Orleans, only to be forced to relocate again because of Hurricane Katrina, temporarily lost his place.
He has moved around so much he needs a road map to find his courtside seat. While addressing the crowd, he thanked the local politicians, thanked area business leaders, thanked the supportive fans inside the sold-out Ford Center "from the state of ... this great state."
The gaffe elicited mostly laughter, the players' inspired and successful effort probably soothing any wounded feelings. P.J. Brown doubled his career scoring average in the first three periods.
Diminutive rookie Chris Paul stretched for eight rebounds. Second-year phenom J.R. Smith soared for 19 points, including a spectacular over-the-head reverse jam.
Embattled coach Byron Scott began clearing his bench midway through the fourth quarter, high-fiving each player as he walked off the court to rousing applause.
The sales job - the campaign to house the Hornets or another pro franchise permanently - thus received a nice little boost. And as they have in the days immediately preceding the first regular-season NBA game in the state's history, the civic leaders worked the room with the determination of a political candidate confronting daunting odds.
"People here really want a team," observed Kings assistant Pete Carril. "There is the sense that this is their first big venture. It's nice to see."
Into this arena came the Kings, the surprisingly clueless, ill-defined Kings. The wrong players hoisted 20-footers.
The wrong players took the bulk of the shots. Too many players went solo, the one-on-one moves the extent of the execution.
"We've got to move the ball better," said a steamed Bibby, "I can tell you that. We need to define some roles."
The days of the equal opportunity offense should be long gone.
This is a different team, a different season.
The one-night pass expires tonight in Houston.
About the writer: Contact Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
Ailene Voisin: Opening-night act is a flop - and a repeat isn't wanted
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, November 2, 2005
OKLAHOMA CITY - This better be jet lag, a one-time aberration caused by a bizarre confluence of events that left the Kings slumbering through the season opener. Because if it's not?
If their pathetic performance against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets on Tuesday night was a preview of 2005-2006?
Can't be.
Can't be this bad.
Because of their travel troubles, the temptation is to issue a one-night pass, allowing the Kings an opportunity to apologize to the good folks of this fledgling NBA city (along with their own fans back in Sacramento) and get plenty of bed rest before stepping anywhere near the Toyota Center tonight. There is a reason the league eliminated those early-morning, 1,600-mile flights back in the 1980s.
Sleep deprivation leads to dead legs and lousy basketball. Lopsided outings send even the most impassioned season ticket holders sprinting for the exits.
But this was ... this was bad, inexcusable, really. The three Kings who should have known better - Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller - played as if they hardly knew each other, performed like a trio that couldn't hit a note. Collectively, the Kings were flat the entire evening, embarrassing themselves offensively and defensively.
That old Kings rhythm apparently is a thing of the past.
So, too, is the passing.
So, too, is the movement.
The only thing familiar about these Kings on Tuesday night was an apparent lack of interest in stopping penetration or rotating to the open man. Time and again - but particularly in the critical opening period - Speedy Claxton penetrated for easy layups, found teammates for uncontested jumpers, forced the pace and pushed the Kings backward, left them scrambling to recover from an early double-digit deficit.
"This is a new beginning," insisted Stojakovic, "and we can play better than this. This game wasn't us."
So who are they? And weren't the Hornets supposed to be the ones disjointed and discombobulated after being displaced six weeks ago by Hurricane Katrina?
You could almost excuse Hornets owner George Carpetbagger, er, Shinn, for his pregame (and latest) verbal turnover. The man who willingly moved this once immensely popular franchise from Charlotte to New Orleans, only to be forced to relocate again because of Hurricane Katrina, temporarily lost his place.
He has moved around so much he needs a road map to find his courtside seat. While addressing the crowd, he thanked the local politicians, thanked area business leaders, thanked the supportive fans inside the sold-out Ford Center "from the state of ... this great state."
The gaffe elicited mostly laughter, the players' inspired and successful effort probably soothing any wounded feelings. P.J. Brown doubled his career scoring average in the first three periods.
Diminutive rookie Chris Paul stretched for eight rebounds. Second-year phenom J.R. Smith soared for 19 points, including a spectacular over-the-head reverse jam.
Embattled coach Byron Scott began clearing his bench midway through the fourth quarter, high-fiving each player as he walked off the court to rousing applause.
The sales job - the campaign to house the Hornets or another pro franchise permanently - thus received a nice little boost. And as they have in the days immediately preceding the first regular-season NBA game in the state's history, the civic leaders worked the room with the determination of a political candidate confronting daunting odds.
"People here really want a team," observed Kings assistant Pete Carril. "There is the sense that this is their first big venture. It's nice to see."
Into this arena came the Kings, the surprisingly clueless, ill-defined Kings. The wrong players hoisted 20-footers.
The wrong players took the bulk of the shots. Too many players went solo, the one-on-one moves the extent of the execution.
"We've got to move the ball better," said a steamed Bibby, "I can tell you that. We need to define some roles."
The days of the equal opportunity offense should be long gone.
This is a different team, a different season.
The one-night pass expires tonight in Houston.
About the writer: Contact Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
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"We've got to move the ball better," said a steamed Bibby, "I can tell you that. We need to define some roles." The days of the equal opportunity offense should be long gone.
From that article. And again an interesting quote because it is very similar to one MIke made at the end of last season when he talked about everybody wanting to shoot and nobody playing a role. Certainly looked it last night.
From that article. And again an interesting quote because it is very similar to one MIke made at the end of last season when he talked about everybody wanting to shoot and nobody playing a role. Certainly looked it last night.
I don't know given that NOBODY moved the ball last night. When he made a similar quote last spring I was pretty sure it was aimed at either KT or Cat, or both. Now -- not sure.
What is clear is that since we lost the majority of our great passers there have been too many cooks in the offensive kitchen for Mike to feel comfortable.
What is clear is that since we lost the majority of our great passers there have been too many cooks in the offensive kitchen for Mike to feel comfortable.
