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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/13943990p-14780470c.html
Time to dust off the crystal ball
Numbers do not reflect the Kings' poor play
Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, December 6, 2005http://www.sacbee.com/content/print_edition/#SPORTS
http://www.sacbee.com/static/rich_content_images/134212-1206kings.jpg
Geoff Petrie is just like any other Kings fan, except for the part where his paycheck is tied to his purple passion.
He wants the best for his team, his players and his organization. In the pursuit of reason during the Kings' recent slide that has them sitting on a three-game losing streak and in last place in the Pacific Division, Petrie poured through the statistical database searching for answers.
The short version: There's not just one.
The team's president of basketball operations said that, through Saturday, the Kings were shooting the same percentage as last season - overall, from three-point land and the free-throw line. They were allowing the same shooting percentage to their opponents, giving up two points fewer per game while scoring four fewer points per game, and getting outrebounded by only a slightly larger margin than before, he said.
What the collective numbers don't show is the Kings' largest looming problem, that of the constant inconsistency. They've won big or lost big so often, the overall numbers may be skewed. The main cogs - Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, and Brad Miller - are chief among the hot-or-cold crew, rarely catching fire at the same time. Never one to point fingers, Petrie said consistency of both the core and beyond is a must.
"Our offense has hurt us just as much as our defense," Petrie said. "You still see some uncertainty out there at times, in terms of the timing and execution and things like that. We've got to get everybody up to a fairly consistent level of production on a more frequent basis."
The reserves remain among the guilty parties, with Kings coach Rick Adelman still unable to find a productive rotation on most nights.
Asked whether he was content with the bench players, or if he was seeking help through a trade, Petrie said: "We committed to playing (rookie swingman) Francisco (García) and (second-year shooting guard) Kevin (Martin), and how long it would take for them to get to any consistent level of production was anybody's guess. ... I think (backup point guard) Jason (Hart) is still finding his way, too. I know he's going to play better as the season hauls along. ...
"The veteran guys on that bench - Rick talked about that. Take it at face value what he said."
What Adelman said came after Sunday night's loss to Minnesota, after he benched his starters for the entire fourth quarter in what he later said was a message sent. If nothing else, he was pleased with the energy of the second unit compared to that of the starters, and Adelman indicated that the job of difference-maker off the bench was again open for the taking. It was only minor solace, though, in a game where one-time league MVP Kevin Garnett had one of the worst games of his career and the Kings still fell short.
"It's frustrating because we're so up and down," Adelman said after Monday's practice. "It's not like one thing, like I can say, 'Oh, well our bench hasn't been productive,' because there's been times our bench has been productive.
"We've been playing really good offensively, and now suddenly last night, we can't make a pass, we can't make a shot. That's what's frustrating. There's no consistency to the way we've been playing."
Adelman was candid about his own insecure standing, that of a coach without a contract in a league where job security is a foreign concept for most. In his eighth season, he's the third-longest-tenured coach in the NBA. Beyond Utah's Jerry Sloan (18th season), San Antonio's Gregg Popovich (10th season) and Adelman, no coach has been in his current position for longer than three straight seasons, with 10 in their first season and nine in their second.
From the outset, Adelman knew that every game this season could be his last. Starting with tonight's game against Cleveland, the Kings play three of four games at home before heading on a four-game road trip that includes stops to see the defending NBA champion Spurs and Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons. It could get ugly quick, or slowly turn around.
"I'll look on my desk, but there's no five-year contract there or anything, so I'm in the same situation as when the season started," Adelman said. "It behooves me to try to go out and get this team to win.
"It hasn't been easy these last three games, trust me. I don't know what the future holds, because we have a tough schedule. ... All I've got to do is keep finding answers, and I think this group has the talent to turn things around."
The more pressing question is whether they understand the state of the situation. Power forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, for one, didn't have the answer.
"I hope so," he said. "I hope so. It's hard to speak for 13 people, but I hope so. There should be a very, very, very, very serious sense of urgency right now. I hope everybody understands it that way."
Adelman wasn't sure, either.
"I don't know if they do (understand) or not, but I would hope so," Adelman said. "You see them respond, but they've got to respond over a longer period of time. I hope it's there (tonight)."
Time to dust off the crystal ball
Numbers do not reflect the Kings' poor play
Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, December 6, 2005http://www.sacbee.com/content/print_edition/#SPORTS
http://www.sacbee.com/static/rich_content_images/134212-1206kings.jpg
Geoff Petrie is just like any other Kings fan, except for the part where his paycheck is tied to his purple passion.
He wants the best for his team, his players and his organization. In the pursuit of reason during the Kings' recent slide that has them sitting on a three-game losing streak and in last place in the Pacific Division, Petrie poured through the statistical database searching for answers.
The short version: There's not just one.
The team's president of basketball operations said that, through Saturday, the Kings were shooting the same percentage as last season - overall, from three-point land and the free-throw line. They were allowing the same shooting percentage to their opponents, giving up two points fewer per game while scoring four fewer points per game, and getting outrebounded by only a slightly larger margin than before, he said.
What the collective numbers don't show is the Kings' largest looming problem, that of the constant inconsistency. They've won big or lost big so often, the overall numbers may be skewed. The main cogs - Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, and Brad Miller - are chief among the hot-or-cold crew, rarely catching fire at the same time. Never one to point fingers, Petrie said consistency of both the core and beyond is a must.
"Our offense has hurt us just as much as our defense," Petrie said. "You still see some uncertainty out there at times, in terms of the timing and execution and things like that. We've got to get everybody up to a fairly consistent level of production on a more frequent basis."
The reserves remain among the guilty parties, with Kings coach Rick Adelman still unable to find a productive rotation on most nights.
Asked whether he was content with the bench players, or if he was seeking help through a trade, Petrie said: "We committed to playing (rookie swingman) Francisco (García) and (second-year shooting guard) Kevin (Martin), and how long it would take for them to get to any consistent level of production was anybody's guess. ... I think (backup point guard) Jason (Hart) is still finding his way, too. I know he's going to play better as the season hauls along. ...
"The veteran guys on that bench - Rick talked about that. Take it at face value what he said."
What Adelman said came after Sunday night's loss to Minnesota, after he benched his starters for the entire fourth quarter in what he later said was a message sent. If nothing else, he was pleased with the energy of the second unit compared to that of the starters, and Adelman indicated that the job of difference-maker off the bench was again open for the taking. It was only minor solace, though, in a game where one-time league MVP Kevin Garnett had one of the worst games of his career and the Kings still fell short.
"It's frustrating because we're so up and down," Adelman said after Monday's practice. "It's not like one thing, like I can say, 'Oh, well our bench hasn't been productive,' because there's been times our bench has been productive.
"We've been playing really good offensively, and now suddenly last night, we can't make a pass, we can't make a shot. That's what's frustrating. There's no consistency to the way we've been playing."
Adelman was candid about his own insecure standing, that of a coach without a contract in a league where job security is a foreign concept for most. In his eighth season, he's the third-longest-tenured coach in the NBA. Beyond Utah's Jerry Sloan (18th season), San Antonio's Gregg Popovich (10th season) and Adelman, no coach has been in his current position for longer than three straight seasons, with 10 in their first season and nine in their second.
From the outset, Adelman knew that every game this season could be his last. Starting with tonight's game against Cleveland, the Kings play three of four games at home before heading on a four-game road trip that includes stops to see the defending NBA champion Spurs and Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons. It could get ugly quick, or slowly turn around.
"I'll look on my desk, but there's no five-year contract there or anything, so I'm in the same situation as when the season started," Adelman said. "It behooves me to try to go out and get this team to win.
"It hasn't been easy these last three games, trust me. I don't know what the future holds, because we have a tough schedule. ... All I've got to do is keep finding answers, and I think this group has the talent to turn things around."
The more pressing question is whether they understand the state of the situation. Power forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, for one, didn't have the answer.
"I hope so," he said. "I hope so. It's hard to speak for 13 people, but I hope so. There should be a very, very, very, very serious sense of urgency right now. I hope everybody understands it that way."
Adelman wasn't sure, either.
"I don't know if they do (understand) or not, but I would hope so," Adelman said. "You see them respond, but they've got to respond over a longer period of time. I hope it's there (tonight)."
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