http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/13913875p-14752238c.html
Ailene Voisin: Bigger is not always better, Bibby discovers
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, November 28, 2005
Mike Bibby wasn't so sure about this. Wasn't so sure he wanted to hear about any of this. While Kings officials suggested otherwise, their pleas echoed by his own mother, he remained convinced that upper-body muscle makes the man, that at his advanced age of 27, a few extra pounds would enable him to better withstand the bruises that accumulate during the normal NBA season.
If he looked different - his pecs and biceps having hardened into expanded mounds of thickened flesh - it was sculpture by design. If he appeared sluggish and a full step slower during the opening weeks - and he did - it was an unfortunate, unintended consequence.
Yet there it was.
The old Bibby, gone.
The new Bibby bigger, not better.
The crafty stutter-step drives disappeared. The flawless jump shot that belongs in a display case when he retires became a poor shooter's imitation: Flat and short and often released while off-balance. And as the Kings limped along, their once-potent offense suddenly as famously uninspired as their defense, there was Bibby, struggling with the very face of his game.
No matter. The first quality that comes to mind during any discussion of Bibby's game is his impeccable timing. He always comes through in the clutch. He always comes up with an answer.
It just took him awhile. It also took him a few sharp comments from his bosses and coaches, a few admonishments from his mother, Virginia, and more than a few sessions with the Kings' new strength and conditioning coach, Daniel Shapiro. It also took Bibby's grudging acceptance of the obvious: For smallish guards without tremendous speed or laser-like court vision, lighter is probably better.
In a candid postgame conversation following the demoralizing season-opening defeat in Oklahoma City, Bibby openly - almost eagerly - acknowledged the self-inflicted damage. With a rare flash of visible anger, he revealed that he already had embarked on a program to shed weight and improve his conditioning. Sunday, he offered a sequel to the confession.
"Preseason and training camp, I didn't run," said Bibby, long known for his passion in the weight room. "All summer I didn't run, either. I played here and there, but it wasn't like my regular summer. ... But I've probably already lost 10 pounds."
At 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, with his broad shoulders and torso offset by a slighter lower body, Bibby in his lightest moments will never be confused with a whippet. Nor is he a clone of Steve Nash, though there isn't a point guard in the league who couldn't learn something from the 2004-05 MVP when it comes to conditioning and penetrating/creating for teammates. Yet as Henry Bibby noted during a recent visit to Arco Arena "because I think Mike needs the support right now," his son has few equals when it comes to shooting the ball.
From the wings. From the corners. From the top of the circle. And now that he is sleeker and noticeably swifter, he is beating defenders to his preferred spots, initiating and finishing on the break, occasionally impeding his opponent's progress and even poking balls loose.
"Mike's making shots," said assistant Elston Turner, a member of the chorus criticizing Bibby earlier in the month. "He still has a tough position, keeping his body in front of guys he's playing against. Whatever he has to do to be quicker. If you single out his defense, he's a work in progress. But if you look at his numbers, he's playing better."
Not that figures make the man any more than muscle does, but Bibby converted only 36.9 percent of his field-goal attempts in the first seven games, compared to 50 percent in the last six outings. Of perhaps greater significance is the return of his momentum-shifting moments; he has contributed late-game threes against Seattle, San Antonio and Toronto.
Additionally, and largely because of the Kings' offensive lulls and the recent absence of leading scorer Peja Stojakovic, coach Rick Adelman is running Bibby off screens, usually with Kevin Martin, Jason Hart or Francisco García handling the ball.
Kings officials, of course, want more. More assists. More clutch shots. More of the old Mike Bibby, with a little more defense mixed in. But now at least he looks the same - the strokes, the deadpan demeanor, the rare roll of the eyes, the subtle swagger - right down to his abundant tattoos.
He predicted as much.
He was on target, yet again.
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com
Ailene Voisin: Bigger is not always better, Bibby discovers
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, November 28, 2005
Mike Bibby wasn't so sure about this. Wasn't so sure he wanted to hear about any of this. While Kings officials suggested otherwise, their pleas echoed by his own mother, he remained convinced that upper-body muscle makes the man, that at his advanced age of 27, a few extra pounds would enable him to better withstand the bruises that accumulate during the normal NBA season.
If he looked different - his pecs and biceps having hardened into expanded mounds of thickened flesh - it was sculpture by design. If he appeared sluggish and a full step slower during the opening weeks - and he did - it was an unfortunate, unintended consequence.
Yet there it was.
The old Bibby, gone.
The new Bibby bigger, not better.
The crafty stutter-step drives disappeared. The flawless jump shot that belongs in a display case when he retires became a poor shooter's imitation: Flat and short and often released while off-balance. And as the Kings limped along, their once-potent offense suddenly as famously uninspired as their defense, there was Bibby, struggling with the very face of his game.
No matter. The first quality that comes to mind during any discussion of Bibby's game is his impeccable timing. He always comes through in the clutch. He always comes up with an answer.
It just took him awhile. It also took him a few sharp comments from his bosses and coaches, a few admonishments from his mother, Virginia, and more than a few sessions with the Kings' new strength and conditioning coach, Daniel Shapiro. It also took Bibby's grudging acceptance of the obvious: For smallish guards without tremendous speed or laser-like court vision, lighter is probably better.
In a candid postgame conversation following the demoralizing season-opening defeat in Oklahoma City, Bibby openly - almost eagerly - acknowledged the self-inflicted damage. With a rare flash of visible anger, he revealed that he already had embarked on a program to shed weight and improve his conditioning. Sunday, he offered a sequel to the confession.
"Preseason and training camp, I didn't run," said Bibby, long known for his passion in the weight room. "All summer I didn't run, either. I played here and there, but it wasn't like my regular summer. ... But I've probably already lost 10 pounds."
At 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, with his broad shoulders and torso offset by a slighter lower body, Bibby in his lightest moments will never be confused with a whippet. Nor is he a clone of Steve Nash, though there isn't a point guard in the league who couldn't learn something from the 2004-05 MVP when it comes to conditioning and penetrating/creating for teammates. Yet as Henry Bibby noted during a recent visit to Arco Arena "because I think Mike needs the support right now," his son has few equals when it comes to shooting the ball.
From the wings. From the corners. From the top of the circle. And now that he is sleeker and noticeably swifter, he is beating defenders to his preferred spots, initiating and finishing on the break, occasionally impeding his opponent's progress and even poking balls loose.
"Mike's making shots," said assistant Elston Turner, a member of the chorus criticizing Bibby earlier in the month. "He still has a tough position, keeping his body in front of guys he's playing against. Whatever he has to do to be quicker. If you single out his defense, he's a work in progress. But if you look at his numbers, he's playing better."
Not that figures make the man any more than muscle does, but Bibby converted only 36.9 percent of his field-goal attempts in the first seven games, compared to 50 percent in the last six outings. Of perhaps greater significance is the return of his momentum-shifting moments; he has contributed late-game threes against Seattle, San Antonio and Toronto.
Additionally, and largely because of the Kings' offensive lulls and the recent absence of leading scorer Peja Stojakovic, coach Rick Adelman is running Bibby off screens, usually with Kevin Martin, Jason Hart or Francisco García handling the ball.
Kings officials, of course, want more. More assists. More clutch shots. More of the old Mike Bibby, with a little more defense mixed in. But now at least he looks the same - the strokes, the deadpan demeanor, the rare roll of the eyes, the subtle swagger - right down to his abundant tattoos.
He predicted as much.
He was on target, yet again.
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com
