http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14241356p-15060864c.html
Ailene Voisin: Battered Bibby still giving his all
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, April 10, 2006
Mike Bibby is so banged up, he could be a body double in a bandage commercial. His right leg is protected by a black legging. His feet are chronically sore. His midsection is one massive bruise. His right calf is tender to his touch, and even worse, to a defender's touch, especially on those inescapable, inevitable collisions in the lane.
Other than that, he feels great.
The Kings once again are staring at a future with a postseason, his teammates are advancing beyond the getting-to-know-you phase, and when not sequestered in the training room with his calves/shin/feet on ice, Bibby is enjoying his most productive few weeks of the season. In this latest reincarnation of the Kings, he is effectively probing and experimenting against opposing defenses, adapting and adjusting to the nuances of the newcomers, and when all else fails, just being like Mike.
Big plays, big shots, big moments.
Spurs, Clippers, Rockets.
"I've always been a fighter," Bibby said with a modest but knowing shrug, before sinking two late threes in Sunday's victory at Arco Arena. "I think I've got a lot of heart."
For a player his size, a mere 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, and given his physical style and combination of playmaking and scoring responsibilities, Bibby is a remarkably durable athlete. And his ticker thumps like a boombox. In six of his seven previous season, he has played at least 80 (of 82) games, missing a huge chunk of 2002-03 only because of a fractured foot. Plus, he often plays hurt, at times can be seen shuffling along as if the numbers on his birth certificate were transposed. (That's 27, not 72).
But his value is listed right there in the credits. He leads the Kings in scoring, in assists, in minutes. He also leads the Kings in tenure, and though he is not a fan of dramatic change, and in fact, is a creature of some of the weirdest habits imaginable (biting his nails on the bench?), Bibby consistently finds the means to cope.
His closest friend (Chris Webber) leaves, and Bibby bonds with the newcomers. His role is altered with Webber's emergence, with Webber's protracted injury-absence, with Doug Christie's trade, with Webber's trade, with Artest's arrival, and he nonetheless finds ways to contribute.
"We play with four power forwards now," said Bibby, only half-jokingly. "We get a lot of mismatches, but it's hard to score every time in a halfcourt offense, so I'm trying to get easy baskets for everybody, running a little bit, trying to get into the middle of the defense, then drawing and kicking to my teammates."
Against the woeful Rockets, a slow, sluggish bunch decimated by injury, Bibby performed much as he has of late, as Houston assistant Patrick Ewing observed, "(by) doing anything they needed him to do." In other words, he played like the old Bibby, albeit in new surroundings. That was Brad Miller on the pick-and-roll. That was Artest assisting on one of those final threes. That was Kevin Martin and Francisco García escorting him on the break. That was Artest, Bonzi Wells, Kenny Thomas and Shareef Abdur-Rahim in the low post, frequenting a place Kings once never dared go.
"We're going to be hard to beat," Bibby insisted, "and I think I'm playing better - better defense, too. I haven't really seen anybody score (big) on me, and teams aren't isolating me as much as they had been. We're getting there, even though it's been tough."
No, there have been no shortcuts to Arco this season, not even for the team's longest-tenured resident. Bibby arrived at training camp with a more muscular upper body, only to discover the additional bulk disrupted the near-flawless form on his jumper and left him with the foot speed of a guy running for safety with an anchor attached to his ankles. By the time he had slimmed down, the offense was stagnant, the defense was nonexistent, the energy and intensity level erratic at best. At worst, this was I-5 thievery. Geoff Petrie and the Maloofs finally rushed off for something - for someone - to liven up the place.
Artest certainly has done that, done that and more. He fills a room the way his steals, assists, blocks and instinctive, game-dictating plays crowd the box score. He is also an absolute magnet for the microphones, as was Webber, an obvious contrast to the more understated Bibby. Yet now, as then, Bibby accepts the role without so much as a peep of resentment.
"That's not me," he said, shaking his head. "I only care about winning. And we're winning."
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
Ailene Voisin: Battered Bibby still giving his all
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Monday, April 10, 2006
Mike Bibby is so banged up, he could be a body double in a bandage commercial. His right leg is protected by a black legging. His feet are chronically sore. His midsection is one massive bruise. His right calf is tender to his touch, and even worse, to a defender's touch, especially on those inescapable, inevitable collisions in the lane.
Other than that, he feels great.
The Kings once again are staring at a future with a postseason, his teammates are advancing beyond the getting-to-know-you phase, and when not sequestered in the training room with his calves/shin/feet on ice, Bibby is enjoying his most productive few weeks of the season. In this latest reincarnation of the Kings, he is effectively probing and experimenting against opposing defenses, adapting and adjusting to the nuances of the newcomers, and when all else fails, just being like Mike.
Big plays, big shots, big moments.
Spurs, Clippers, Rockets.
"I've always been a fighter," Bibby said with a modest but knowing shrug, before sinking two late threes in Sunday's victory at Arco Arena. "I think I've got a lot of heart."
For a player his size, a mere 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, and given his physical style and combination of playmaking and scoring responsibilities, Bibby is a remarkably durable athlete. And his ticker thumps like a boombox. In six of his seven previous season, he has played at least 80 (of 82) games, missing a huge chunk of 2002-03 only because of a fractured foot. Plus, he often plays hurt, at times can be seen shuffling along as if the numbers on his birth certificate were transposed. (That's 27, not 72).
But his value is listed right there in the credits. He leads the Kings in scoring, in assists, in minutes. He also leads the Kings in tenure, and though he is not a fan of dramatic change, and in fact, is a creature of some of the weirdest habits imaginable (biting his nails on the bench?), Bibby consistently finds the means to cope.
His closest friend (Chris Webber) leaves, and Bibby bonds with the newcomers. His role is altered with Webber's emergence, with Webber's protracted injury-absence, with Doug Christie's trade, with Webber's trade, with Artest's arrival, and he nonetheless finds ways to contribute.
"We play with four power forwards now," said Bibby, only half-jokingly. "We get a lot of mismatches, but it's hard to score every time in a halfcourt offense, so I'm trying to get easy baskets for everybody, running a little bit, trying to get into the middle of the defense, then drawing and kicking to my teammates."
Against the woeful Rockets, a slow, sluggish bunch decimated by injury, Bibby performed much as he has of late, as Houston assistant Patrick Ewing observed, "(by) doing anything they needed him to do." In other words, he played like the old Bibby, albeit in new surroundings. That was Brad Miller on the pick-and-roll. That was Artest assisting on one of those final threes. That was Kevin Martin and Francisco García escorting him on the break. That was Artest, Bonzi Wells, Kenny Thomas and Shareef Abdur-Rahim in the low post, frequenting a place Kings once never dared go.
"We're going to be hard to beat," Bibby insisted, "and I think I'm playing better - better defense, too. I haven't really seen anybody score (big) on me, and teams aren't isolating me as much as they had been. We're getting there, even though it's been tough."
No, there have been no shortcuts to Arco this season, not even for the team's longest-tenured resident. Bibby arrived at training camp with a more muscular upper body, only to discover the additional bulk disrupted the near-flawless form on his jumper and left him with the foot speed of a guy running for safety with an anchor attached to his ankles. By the time he had slimmed down, the offense was stagnant, the defense was nonexistent, the energy and intensity level erratic at best. At worst, this was I-5 thievery. Geoff Petrie and the Maloofs finally rushed off for something - for someone - to liven up the place.
Artest certainly has done that, done that and more. He fills a room the way his steals, assists, blocks and instinctive, game-dictating plays crowd the box score. He is also an absolute magnet for the microphones, as was Webber, an obvious contrast to the more understated Bibby. Yet now, as then, Bibby accepts the role without so much as a peep of resentment.
"That's not me," he said, shaking his head. "I only care about winning. And we're winning."
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
