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Ailene Voisin: Try making sense out of this slight
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, February 9, 2005
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Well, at least no one will get injured (Brad Miller) or suspended (Chris Webber) or forced to subject his ailing body (Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic) to a two-hour flight to Denver for the weekend-long festivities.
But what a slam.
No Kings player on the NBA All-Star team? And then an ending like this?
Someone should demand a recount, or at the very least a re-enactment of that final possession.
"It's certainly disappointing that we didn't have at least one player on there," said Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie, noting the franchise will be without a representative on the Western Conference roster for the first time since 1992, "especially since we have the fifth-best record in the league."
No rewarding Webber for his three triple doubles and impressive return following major knee surgery. No appreciation of Miller's steady presence and recent statistical surge. No empathy for Peja, a three-time All-Star with decreased shot opportunities and a sore lower back. No props for Bibby, a star on the 2003 U.S. national team and one of the first selections for the 2004 Olympic team, denied yet again his first All-Star berth.
Though the quietest of Kings, Bibby should lodge the loudest complaint. This was his time, his turn. This was his prize for winning, winning often, winning when it matters most.
"Bad, this hurts bad," the seven-year veteran admitted quietly Tuesday night, frowning, his emotions still raw following his latest duel with Phoenix's Steve Nash. "I am very, very disappointed. I didn't really expect it to happen, but that doesn't make me feel any better. I better not say anything else because I just feel that bad."
So why the snub? Without an opportunity to scrutinize the voting mechanisms - in this instance, ballots cast by head coaches from each conference - one is left with the image of the full-body slam, a suggestion that the current Kings compete in a league of skeptics who (a) have become bored by their sustained regular-season success and assorted playoff disappointments, or (b) convinced they are neither as imposing nor as deserving as a year ago. And, in fact, a powerful argument can be made that these Kings, collectively and individually, are neither as formidable nor as entertaining as the bunch that stormed into the All-Star break a year ago.
Stojakovic, the league's second-leading scorer last season, is producing fewer points, fewer rebounds, fewer late-game moments. Miller, who severely sprained an ankle during last year's All-Star Game, has been at his most effective in the most recent games, Tuesday's goaltending/blocked-shot sequence notwithstanding. Webber, who was sidelined for 50 games last season because of surgery and then tagged with an eight-game league suspension for lying to a grand jury and violating the league's substance-abuse policy, remains a triple-double threat even on the nights his movements are labored. The coaches apparently are looking beyond the numbers and fixating on his occasional injury absences, or perhaps his controversial past.
But there is no excuse for excluding Bibby, unquestionably one of the game's elite point guards, whose value is measured in the sum of his seasons, not the sum total of points and assists.
"Mike drives us," Kings assistant Pete Carril said, "and since he's been here, we win. That's more important than anything else you can say. I'm sure he would like to play (in Denver), but what is he, 27? (He's 26.) He isn't dead yet."
No, but he felt like hell Tuesday night.
Before the Suns even arrived at Arco Arena for an evening of 1980s-style basketball, featuring everything from a blistering pace and a charged, emotional crowd to the multicolored headbands tossed into the stands, the Kings were bruised and bothered, and more than a little miffed. That the Suns monopolized the West's roster (Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion) was additionally bothersome. That they skipped out of the building with the slimmest of victories a few hours later? The ultimate indignity.
"People haven't said much about us this year," a subdued Kings co-owner Joe Maloof said, "and maybe that's a good thing. They're taking us for granted. That's different for us. So maybe that's what we need. Maybe we just need to get mad."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12283090p-13146999c.html
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Get the latest news in sacbee.com's Kings Alert newsletter. Sign up here.
Well, at least no one will get injured (Brad Miller) or suspended (Chris Webber) or forced to subject his ailing body (Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic) to a two-hour flight to Denver for the weekend-long festivities.
But what a slam.
No Kings player on the NBA All-Star team? And then an ending like this?
Someone should demand a recount, or at the very least a re-enactment of that final possession.
"It's certainly disappointing that we didn't have at least one player on there," said Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie, noting the franchise will be without a representative on the Western Conference roster for the first time since 1992, "especially since we have the fifth-best record in the league."
No rewarding Webber for his three triple doubles and impressive return following major knee surgery. No appreciation of Miller's steady presence and recent statistical surge. No empathy for Peja, a three-time All-Star with decreased shot opportunities and a sore lower back. No props for Bibby, a star on the 2003 U.S. national team and one of the first selections for the 2004 Olympic team, denied yet again his first All-Star berth.
Though the quietest of Kings, Bibby should lodge the loudest complaint. This was his time, his turn. This was his prize for winning, winning often, winning when it matters most.
"Bad, this hurts bad," the seven-year veteran admitted quietly Tuesday night, frowning, his emotions still raw following his latest duel with Phoenix's Steve Nash. "I am very, very disappointed. I didn't really expect it to happen, but that doesn't make me feel any better. I better not say anything else because I just feel that bad."
So why the snub? Without an opportunity to scrutinize the voting mechanisms - in this instance, ballots cast by head coaches from each conference - one is left with the image of the full-body slam, a suggestion that the current Kings compete in a league of skeptics who (a) have become bored by their sustained regular-season success and assorted playoff disappointments, or (b) convinced they are neither as imposing nor as deserving as a year ago. And, in fact, a powerful argument can be made that these Kings, collectively and individually, are neither as formidable nor as entertaining as the bunch that stormed into the All-Star break a year ago.
Stojakovic, the league's second-leading scorer last season, is producing fewer points, fewer rebounds, fewer late-game moments. Miller, who severely sprained an ankle during last year's All-Star Game, has been at his most effective in the most recent games, Tuesday's goaltending/blocked-shot sequence notwithstanding. Webber, who was sidelined for 50 games last season because of surgery and then tagged with an eight-game league suspension for lying to a grand jury and violating the league's substance-abuse policy, remains a triple-double threat even on the nights his movements are labored. The coaches apparently are looking beyond the numbers and fixating on his occasional injury absences, or perhaps his controversial past.
But there is no excuse for excluding Bibby, unquestionably one of the game's elite point guards, whose value is measured in the sum of his seasons, not the sum total of points and assists.
"Mike drives us," Kings assistant Pete Carril said, "and since he's been here, we win. That's more important than anything else you can say. I'm sure he would like to play (in Denver), but what is he, 27? (He's 26.) He isn't dead yet."
No, but he felt like hell Tuesday night.
Before the Suns even arrived at Arco Arena for an evening of 1980s-style basketball, featuring everything from a blistering pace and a charged, emotional crowd to the multicolored headbands tossed into the stands, the Kings were bruised and bothered, and more than a little miffed. That the Suns monopolized the West's roster (Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion) was additionally bothersome. That they skipped out of the building with the slimmest of victories a few hours later? The ultimate indignity.
"People haven't said much about us this year," a subdued Kings co-owner Joe Maloof said, "and maybe that's a good thing. They're taking us for granted. That's different for us. So maybe that's what we need. Maybe we just need to get mad."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12283090p-13146999c.html
