http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14248509p-15065818c.html
Series notes: Thomas feeling good about Kings' rebound
A competitive effort in Game 2 puts Sacramento back in the series, he says.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, April 27, 2006
Kings forward Kenny Thomas likes the Kings' chances in Games 3 and 4 in Sacramento, and his ability to use his speed to make an impact.
Kenny Thomas sprained his left wrist during Tuesday's Game 2.
He doesn't know exactly when or how it happened, perhaps during another admirable effort preventing Tim Duncan from looking like All-World Duncan. But the Kings forward knows some things.
For starters, the Kings' gutty effort against the defending champs after a clunker in Game 1 reinforced his belief that this is still very much a series, never mind the 0-2 hole.
"We changed the whole series, because maybe we made (the Spurs) think we can play with them," Thomas said. "We should have won."
And the next item: There's a dire need to win Friday to avoid a monstrous 0-3 hole.
"We have to win that game," Thomas said. "We don't have any choice. We have to win our next two."
And the next item: Thomas is a bit swifter than some of the bigs guys the Spurs wheel out.
"They have two big guys who can't run with me," Thomas said as a matter of fact.
And finally, his health. Never mind the splint he wore after practice. He insists he's fine.
"Oh, I'm playin' Friday," he said with a grin, with which he exited stage left.
An eye on Ron-Ron - Ron Artest will be welcomed back into the fold Friday after his Game 2 suspension, but the Kings want the forward to play smart and not try to do too much trying to make up for lost time.
"He felt bad about what happened, and he has to stay within the flow of things," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "That's a very legit point. He is going to want to be a factor."
Big on Bonzi - Adelman was still heaping praise on Bonzi Wells, who scored 18 of his team's first 35 points, hitting 8 of his first 9 shots, before finishing with 28 points. He did it by attacking the rim.
"He was just terrific," Adelman said.
Boo on Barry - Adelman has experienced a lot of playoff games, seen many a wild shot. But he can't recall ever seeing a corner three-pointer take the sort of cruel bounce and drop through like the one Brent Barry had against the Kings to force overtime. The coach replayed it in his mind in a relative sleepless night.
"I don't know if Brent practices that or not," Adelman cracked. "I used to be a fan of his."
On second thought - That late screen by Duncan that caught and buckled Mike Bibby while Barry dropped in the crushing three? Still bugs Adelman.
"I wasn't going to say anything (initially), but it was illegal," Adelman said. "That's supposed to be illegal. But we can say it's our fault. We should not have been in the position to get picked. That was our big mistake."
Beware of TD - Duncan hasn't exactly been the Duncan of old, the polished MVP model of previous seasons.
But still, he's pretty darned good.
"Tim Duncan is Tim Duncan," Adelman said. "He puts pressure on you no matter what. They're still averaging a lot of points."
Adelman, in a good mood, all things considered, then threw in a kicker.
"Maybe if we let him score, their team average will go down."
About the writer: The Bee's Joe Davidson can be reached at jdavidson@sacbee.com.
Series notes: Thomas feeling good about Kings' rebound
A competitive effort in Game 2 puts Sacramento back in the series, he says.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, April 27, 2006
Kings forward Kenny Thomas likes the Kings' chances in Games 3 and 4 in Sacramento, and his ability to use his speed to make an impact.
Kenny Thomas sprained his left wrist during Tuesday's Game 2.
He doesn't know exactly when or how it happened, perhaps during another admirable effort preventing Tim Duncan from looking like All-World Duncan. But the Kings forward knows some things.
For starters, the Kings' gutty effort against the defending champs after a clunker in Game 1 reinforced his belief that this is still very much a series, never mind the 0-2 hole.
"We changed the whole series, because maybe we made (the Spurs) think we can play with them," Thomas said. "We should have won."
And the next item: There's a dire need to win Friday to avoid a monstrous 0-3 hole.
"We have to win that game," Thomas said. "We don't have any choice. We have to win our next two."
And the next item: Thomas is a bit swifter than some of the bigs guys the Spurs wheel out.
"They have two big guys who can't run with me," Thomas said as a matter of fact.
And finally, his health. Never mind the splint he wore after practice. He insists he's fine.
"Oh, I'm playin' Friday," he said with a grin, with which he exited stage left.
An eye on Ron-Ron - Ron Artest will be welcomed back into the fold Friday after his Game 2 suspension, but the Kings want the forward to play smart and not try to do too much trying to make up for lost time.
"He felt bad about what happened, and he has to stay within the flow of things," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "That's a very legit point. He is going to want to be a factor."
Big on Bonzi - Adelman was still heaping praise on Bonzi Wells, who scored 18 of his team's first 35 points, hitting 8 of his first 9 shots, before finishing with 28 points. He did it by attacking the rim.
"He was just terrific," Adelman said.
Boo on Barry - Adelman has experienced a lot of playoff games, seen many a wild shot. But he can't recall ever seeing a corner three-pointer take the sort of cruel bounce and drop through like the one Brent Barry had against the Kings to force overtime. The coach replayed it in his mind in a relative sleepless night.
"I don't know if Brent practices that or not," Adelman cracked. "I used to be a fan of his."
On second thought - That late screen by Duncan that caught and buckled Mike Bibby while Barry dropped in the crushing three? Still bugs Adelman.
"I wasn't going to say anything (initially), but it was illegal," Adelman said. "That's supposed to be illegal. But we can say it's our fault. We should not have been in the position to get picked. That was our big mistake."
Beware of TD - Duncan hasn't exactly been the Duncan of old, the polished MVP model of previous seasons.
But still, he's pretty darned good.
"Tim Duncan is Tim Duncan," Adelman said. "He puts pressure on you no matter what. They're still averaging a lot of points."
Adelman, in a good mood, all things considered, then threw in a kicker.
"Maybe if we let him score, their team average will go down."
About the writer: The Bee's Joe Davidson can be reached at jdavidson@sacbee.com.
