http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/70544.html
Ailene Voisin: Bibby puts his passion on display
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Sports Columnist
Last Updated 2:31 am PST Thursday, November 2, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS-With his aching right thumb and sore right wrist heavily taped, Mike Bibby hopped onto the team bus for the morning shootaround, then stopped at the first row of seats, the ones traditionally reserved for the head coach.
"Have you activated me yet?" Bibby asked Eric Musselman.
"No," Musselman replied. "How does it feel?"
"Fine," Bibby insisted. "Activate me."
That would occur later in the day, after the veteran point guard's movements had been monitored during warmups, his passes and jump shots scrutinized, his grip on the basketball dissected, his energy level weighed and balanced. And then there were the circumstances to be taken into account: This was the 2006-07 season opener for a Kings team playing under a new head coach, in an unfriendly environment, and with two additional road games scheduled before Monday's homecourt debut against these same Minnesota Timberwolves.
So of course Bibby was going to play. So of course his thumb and wrist miraculously healed before tipoff. The alternatives were altogether too frightening, in a post-Halloween sort of way. First, Bibby's absence would have forced Musselman to start young, inexperienced Ronnie Price, and second, it would have required the restless point guard to sit on the bench for 48 minutes, pondering methods for occupying his hands. Based on past history -- the way Bibby chews his fingernails down to the nubs -- that could have been dangerous, could have caused additional injury.
"I had to play," Bibby said before the Kings imploded in the fourth quarter in Wednesday night's 92-83 loss at Target Center. "I knew I was going to play two days ago. They didn't want me to say anything, but I would have gone crazy sitting there, watching the season opener. I would have fallen asleep or something. I had to be out there."
He was, and he wasn't.
He was there in the beginning, gone in the end.
As it turns out, Bibby's thumb wasn't the issue at all. His temper was. His teammates' turnovers were. And the league's new rules -- especially those urging referees to crack down on excessive griping and assorted, unnecessary verbiage -- certainly were.
Heck, in the old days, referee Derrick Stafford would have swallowed his whistle and absorbed the mild verbal abuse not once, but twice. But perhaps Bibby failed to read the memo? The one advising players to zip the lips and stand at attention? Because after being tagged with one technical for objecting to a foul with 2:52 remaining, he threw his arms into the air in disgust, earning the second infraction and the automatic ejection.
"I didn't say anything that warranted getting tossed," Bibby said afterward, still seething. "With all the talking that was going on out there ... I didn't deserve that second technical. I didn't even say anything."
Nonetheless, his departure was horribly ill-timed, occurring as his Kings crumbled amid a morass of ill-advised passes and poor decisions, negating a performance that, for openers, was mostly impressive. As promised, the defense was intense, disruptive and consistent. The rebounding was a surprising strength, particularly on the offensive boards. During one critical sequence, in fact, after Bibby missed a wide-open three, Shareef Abdur-Rahim swiped the rebound, passed back outside to Bibby, who penetrated and connected with the backup power forward for a three-point play and the lead.
Indeed, in what has become increasingly apparent through the exhibition season and against the Timberwolves, the Kings will have to compensate for a lack of frontcourt size and low-post presence with similar efforts, with the emphasis on defensive pressure, collective rebounding, crisp ball movement and decent shot selection, along with the leadership of veterans Ron Artest, Brad Miller and Bibby -- all of whom already should have identified Kevin Martin as a potentially explosive scoring threat, and an especially nice complement to his backcourt mate, Bibby.
"I just know I'm glad Mike was out there," said Martin, echoing his teammates' sentiments, "and to be honest, I was kind of shocked that he played. To be hurting like that, and to still get out there, that says a lot. It tells you what kind of competitor he is."
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com
Ailene Voisin: Bibby puts his passion on display
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Sports Columnist
Last Updated 2:31 am PST Thursday, November 2, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS-With his aching right thumb and sore right wrist heavily taped, Mike Bibby hopped onto the team bus for the morning shootaround, then stopped at the first row of seats, the ones traditionally reserved for the head coach.
"Have you activated me yet?" Bibby asked Eric Musselman.
"No," Musselman replied. "How does it feel?"
"Fine," Bibby insisted. "Activate me."
That would occur later in the day, after the veteran point guard's movements had been monitored during warmups, his passes and jump shots scrutinized, his grip on the basketball dissected, his energy level weighed and balanced. And then there were the circumstances to be taken into account: This was the 2006-07 season opener for a Kings team playing under a new head coach, in an unfriendly environment, and with two additional road games scheduled before Monday's homecourt debut against these same Minnesota Timberwolves.
So of course Bibby was going to play. So of course his thumb and wrist miraculously healed before tipoff. The alternatives were altogether too frightening, in a post-Halloween sort of way. First, Bibby's absence would have forced Musselman to start young, inexperienced Ronnie Price, and second, it would have required the restless point guard to sit on the bench for 48 minutes, pondering methods for occupying his hands. Based on past history -- the way Bibby chews his fingernails down to the nubs -- that could have been dangerous, could have caused additional injury.
"I had to play," Bibby said before the Kings imploded in the fourth quarter in Wednesday night's 92-83 loss at Target Center. "I knew I was going to play two days ago. They didn't want me to say anything, but I would have gone crazy sitting there, watching the season opener. I would have fallen asleep or something. I had to be out there."
He was, and he wasn't.
He was there in the beginning, gone in the end.
As it turns out, Bibby's thumb wasn't the issue at all. His temper was. His teammates' turnovers were. And the league's new rules -- especially those urging referees to crack down on excessive griping and assorted, unnecessary verbiage -- certainly were.
Heck, in the old days, referee Derrick Stafford would have swallowed his whistle and absorbed the mild verbal abuse not once, but twice. But perhaps Bibby failed to read the memo? The one advising players to zip the lips and stand at attention? Because after being tagged with one technical for objecting to a foul with 2:52 remaining, he threw his arms into the air in disgust, earning the second infraction and the automatic ejection.
"I didn't say anything that warranted getting tossed," Bibby said afterward, still seething. "With all the talking that was going on out there ... I didn't deserve that second technical. I didn't even say anything."
Nonetheless, his departure was horribly ill-timed, occurring as his Kings crumbled amid a morass of ill-advised passes and poor decisions, negating a performance that, for openers, was mostly impressive. As promised, the defense was intense, disruptive and consistent. The rebounding was a surprising strength, particularly on the offensive boards. During one critical sequence, in fact, after Bibby missed a wide-open three, Shareef Abdur-Rahim swiped the rebound, passed back outside to Bibby, who penetrated and connected with the backup power forward for a three-point play and the lead.
Indeed, in what has become increasingly apparent through the exhibition season and against the Timberwolves, the Kings will have to compensate for a lack of frontcourt size and low-post presence with similar efforts, with the emphasis on defensive pressure, collective rebounding, crisp ball movement and decent shot selection, along with the leadership of veterans Ron Artest, Brad Miller and Bibby -- all of whom already should have identified Kevin Martin as a potentially explosive scoring threat, and an especially nice complement to his backcourt mate, Bibby.
"I just know I'm glad Mike was out there," said Martin, echoing his teammates' sentiments, "and to be honest, I was kind of shocked that he played. To be hurting like that, and to still get out there, that says a lot. It tells you what kind of competitor he is."
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com