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"Webber: 'New' Kings are tougher
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, February 7, 2005
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Cuttino Mobley is in the visiting locker room at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore., and explaining how people don't remember much about when they were very young.
That means Eddie House doesn't recall the then-Los Angeles Raiders winning the Super Bowl in 1981.
"You were five years old," Mobley said to House. "Get outta here."
Meanwhile, Chris Webber is corroborating virtually everything Mobley says during a typically vocal and comedic moment in the locker room of the "new" Kings.
Gone are veterans Vlade Divac and Doug Christie, mainstays, perception-makers and leaders of the Kings during the past four seasons.
On the current active roster, seven players - Mobley, House, Greg Ostertag, Maurice Evans, Matt Barnes, Kevin Martin and Michael Bradley - were not with the Kings when the 2003-04 season ended in a seventh-game loss to the Timberwolves in Minneapolis on May 19, 2004. An eighth player, free-agent rookie Erik Daniels, is on the injured list.
This remodeled squad is younger, but one Webber says he likes. The power forward long has spoken about the Kings being viewed as a soft team and even questioned their toughness himself.
"I don't know what the word is," he said, "(but) it's like there is a 'bite' of intensity with this group. These are more the types of players I'm used to playing with.
"From Bobby Jackson, who has always been here and who is always hotheaded and ready to go on the court. To Mike (Bibby), who everybody thinks is just smiling and nice, but who is killing people on the court.
"I don't think people realize what Matt (Barnes) has done for us as far as rebounding at the (small forward), giving us somebody who is physical in there and (taking) fouls. I just see us as a more scrappier, hustling, more meaner team.
"With Brad (Miller) here, I like our squad."
Miller says clearly the makeup of the squad is different, but the players enjoy each other's company.
"We've got a lot of that 'want to go out and just get'er done,' " said Miller, who has made at least 50 percent of his field-goal attempts in 16 of his past 21 games (57.6 percent).
Kings coach Rick Adelman told his team before the season began that it would have to develop chemistry. Adelman says that remains the case as the Kings approach the most difficult portion of the regular season with games this week against Pacific Division-leading Phoenix (38-11), Northwest Division-leading Seattle (32-13) and Dallas (30-15) followed by nine road games in their next 10.
"It's younger," Adelman said of the team. "It's different. We've got guys that are not sure how this all works. You've got Cuttino coming in, who is different.
"When you lose a couple of people like Vlade and Doug who have been crucial to what we've done for years, suddenly you've changed it around.
"That's why this period right now is going to be a really important time for us. We need to come together with everybody back and the schedule as it is. And the locker room is going to be even more important because you may have some tough times. They certainly weathered it this past week, and I don't think they could have done that if they didn't have a good feel about each other."
Webber agrees the personality makeup is different, but he says the chemistry remains strong.
"The mentality is sort of the same as far as everybody is cool and we have the same chemistry and we joke and we have fun," he said. "But we're not a bunch of silly little high schoolers like I thought we used to be. There is more intensity and maturity. (And) we're not the flopping soft cats we were perceived to be."
Notes - Bibby's totals of 40 points Friday against New York and 35 Saturday night at Portland were the first time a Kings player had scored at least 35 in consecutive games since Webber had 41 on March 7 and 9, 2001. No Kings player during the Sacramento era has scored 35 in three consecutive games. Mitch Richmond was the last Kings guard to score 35 in consecutive games when he had 38 in Miami and 40 in Orlando, also on back-to-back nights (Dec. 26-27, 1993). * The Kings had more offensive rebounds (21) than defensive (18) in the loss to Portland.
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, February 7, 2005
Get the latest news in sacbee.com's Kings Alert newsletter. Sign up here.
Cuttino Mobley is in the visiting locker room at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore., and explaining how people don't remember much about when they were very young.
That means Eddie House doesn't recall the then-Los Angeles Raiders winning the Super Bowl in 1981.
"You were five years old," Mobley said to House. "Get outta here."
Meanwhile, Chris Webber is corroborating virtually everything Mobley says during a typically vocal and comedic moment in the locker room of the "new" Kings.
Gone are veterans Vlade Divac and Doug Christie, mainstays, perception-makers and leaders of the Kings during the past four seasons.
On the current active roster, seven players - Mobley, House, Greg Ostertag, Maurice Evans, Matt Barnes, Kevin Martin and Michael Bradley - were not with the Kings when the 2003-04 season ended in a seventh-game loss to the Timberwolves in Minneapolis on May 19, 2004. An eighth player, free-agent rookie Erik Daniels, is on the injured list.
This remodeled squad is younger, but one Webber says he likes. The power forward long has spoken about the Kings being viewed as a soft team and even questioned their toughness himself.
"I don't know what the word is," he said, "(but) it's like there is a 'bite' of intensity with this group. These are more the types of players I'm used to playing with.
"From Bobby Jackson, who has always been here and who is always hotheaded and ready to go on the court. To Mike (Bibby), who everybody thinks is just smiling and nice, but who is killing people on the court.
"I don't think people realize what Matt (Barnes) has done for us as far as rebounding at the (small forward), giving us somebody who is physical in there and (taking) fouls. I just see us as a more scrappier, hustling, more meaner team.
"With Brad (Miller) here, I like our squad."
Miller says clearly the makeup of the squad is different, but the players enjoy each other's company.
"We've got a lot of that 'want to go out and just get'er done,' " said Miller, who has made at least 50 percent of his field-goal attempts in 16 of his past 21 games (57.6 percent).
Kings coach Rick Adelman told his team before the season began that it would have to develop chemistry. Adelman says that remains the case as the Kings approach the most difficult portion of the regular season with games this week against Pacific Division-leading Phoenix (38-11), Northwest Division-leading Seattle (32-13) and Dallas (30-15) followed by nine road games in their next 10.
"It's younger," Adelman said of the team. "It's different. We've got guys that are not sure how this all works. You've got Cuttino coming in, who is different.
"When you lose a couple of people like Vlade and Doug who have been crucial to what we've done for years, suddenly you've changed it around.
"That's why this period right now is going to be a really important time for us. We need to come together with everybody back and the schedule as it is. And the locker room is going to be even more important because you may have some tough times. They certainly weathered it this past week, and I don't think they could have done that if they didn't have a good feel about each other."
Webber agrees the personality makeup is different, but he says the chemistry remains strong.
"The mentality is sort of the same as far as everybody is cool and we have the same chemistry and we joke and we have fun," he said. "But we're not a bunch of silly little high schoolers like I thought we used to be. There is more intensity and maturity. (And) we're not the flopping soft cats we were perceived to be."
Notes - Bibby's totals of 40 points Friday against New York and 35 Saturday night at Portland were the first time a Kings player had scored at least 35 in consecutive games since Webber had 41 on March 7 and 9, 2001. No Kings player during the Sacramento era has scored 35 in three consecutive games. Mitch Richmond was the last Kings guard to score 35 in consecutive games when he had 38 in Miami and 40 in Orlando, also on back-to-back nights (Dec. 26-27, 1993). * The Kings had more offensive rebounds (21) than defensive (18) in the loss to Portland.
