CubanMustGo
05-05-2006, 11:31 AM
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14251454p-15067837c.html
By Marcos Bretón -- Bee Sports Columnist
At some point today, possibly as you read this, the Kings will be talking Tim Duncan.
"He's become very aggressive," Kings coach Rick Adelman said Wednesday, a day after Duncan's wide body secured a 3-2 advantage for the San Antonio Spurs in their stellar playoff series with the Kings. "I'm afraid we woke him up."
That last comment was in jest, though no one in Sacramento was laughing after Duncan abused the Kings on Tuesday night - standing like a giant in Lilliput in the middle of the floor, powering past the Kings' Brad Miller for critical layups. And when Duncan wasn't scoring, he literally controlled five men in purple like a 7-foot puppetmaster.
It was beautiful - unless you were a Kings fan.
Because there was poor Miller, straining under the weight of Duncan's big ol' backside, while other Kings sporadically buzzed around Duncan like gnats.
Meanwhile, the Big Man barely noticed, locked instead on Spurs teammates poised for open three-pointers that were never taken.
Why bother when you can safely escort the ball to the hoop as accommodating opponents practically hand you a beverage?
Indeed, after the Kings improbably tied a game they played erratically with three minutes left, doom came like this:
Duncan layup. Bruce Bowen layup. Manu Ginobili layup. Duncan layup. Two Michael Finley free throws and six Ginobili free throws.
"It wasn't pretty," Adelman said Wednesday.
It also raised a question: Why was Miller guarding Duncan instead of, say, Shareef Abdur-Rahim?
It was Reef, after all, who has defended Duncan so well during this series. And it was Abdur-Rahim, not Miller, who was on the floor in the fourth quarter as the Kings clawed back from a 14-point deficit.
Then, with a little more than four minutes left, and in the span of nine seconds, Abdur-Rahim picked up his fourth and fifth fouls - sending him to the bench for Miller. Kenny Thomas, another possible Duncan defender, had four fouls and was a spectator as well.
So Miller went in, the Kings went down, and all of Sacramento was buzzing about it Wednesday.
It was a questionable call to be sure, an easy one for a region of second-guessers to chew on and one that Adelman may live to regret. But not now.
"Now is not the time to worry about who plays," Adelman said. "Now is the time to worry about what you do on the floor."
Translation: Miller was in because of his offense, because his jumpers present a threat to the Spurs that Abdur-Rahim and Thomas can't match.
And when Ginobili easily drove past Abdur-Rahim for a layup after Reef had picked up his fifth foul - making the score 93-91 Spurs - Adelman made his switch with three minutes left.
Why not insert Thomas instead of Miller?
"San Antonio was playing four small guys, and that's a tough thing on Kenny. Plus, we're better offensively with Brad."
These are judgment calls, and it's clear that Adelman will always go with a Mike Bibby or a Miller over a Kenny Thomas.
As the coach, should Adelman be subject to criticism? Sure. What do I think about Miller guarding Duncan? Who cares?
Because Brad Miller and Rick Adelman didn't lose this game. A lack of trust and commitment among Kings players lost it.
Like Austin Powers, they lost their mojo. They didn't pack it in their luggage bound for San Antone; it went limp when they had the Spurs on the run.
Did you notice the crowd shots on TV as the Kings were closing the gap late? Those Tejanos were scared, and the Kings squandered that.
"As bad as we thought we wanted it, we didn't want that game," said Ron Artest, my favorite King because he always tells the truth.
They didn't want it bad enough.
That, not player substitutions, is the problem here.
Other Kings didn't help out Miller as Duncan's buttocks backed the straining Hoosier halfway to Mexico. :lol
They let Ginobili and Tony Parker drive open lanes like speeders on I-80. They allowed 20 - count em! 20 - uncontested layups.
What's most frustrating of all at Arco Arena?
The Kings can beat these guys, should beat these guys. :drunk
So you can rail all you want at Miller and Adelman, but you have a bigger problem:
Your team is schizophrenic.
By Marcos Bretón -- Bee Sports Columnist
At some point today, possibly as you read this, the Kings will be talking Tim Duncan.
"He's become very aggressive," Kings coach Rick Adelman said Wednesday, a day after Duncan's wide body secured a 3-2 advantage for the San Antonio Spurs in their stellar playoff series with the Kings. "I'm afraid we woke him up."
That last comment was in jest, though no one in Sacramento was laughing after Duncan abused the Kings on Tuesday night - standing like a giant in Lilliput in the middle of the floor, powering past the Kings' Brad Miller for critical layups. And when Duncan wasn't scoring, he literally controlled five men in purple like a 7-foot puppetmaster.
It was beautiful - unless you were a Kings fan.
Because there was poor Miller, straining under the weight of Duncan's big ol' backside, while other Kings sporadically buzzed around Duncan like gnats.
Meanwhile, the Big Man barely noticed, locked instead on Spurs teammates poised for open three-pointers that were never taken.
Why bother when you can safely escort the ball to the hoop as accommodating opponents practically hand you a beverage?
Indeed, after the Kings improbably tied a game they played erratically with three minutes left, doom came like this:
Duncan layup. Bruce Bowen layup. Manu Ginobili layup. Duncan layup. Two Michael Finley free throws and six Ginobili free throws.
"It wasn't pretty," Adelman said Wednesday.
It also raised a question: Why was Miller guarding Duncan instead of, say, Shareef Abdur-Rahim?
It was Reef, after all, who has defended Duncan so well during this series. And it was Abdur-Rahim, not Miller, who was on the floor in the fourth quarter as the Kings clawed back from a 14-point deficit.
Then, with a little more than four minutes left, and in the span of nine seconds, Abdur-Rahim picked up his fourth and fifth fouls - sending him to the bench for Miller. Kenny Thomas, another possible Duncan defender, had four fouls and was a spectator as well.
So Miller went in, the Kings went down, and all of Sacramento was buzzing about it Wednesday.
It was a questionable call to be sure, an easy one for a region of second-guessers to chew on and one that Adelman may live to regret. But not now.
"Now is not the time to worry about who plays," Adelman said. "Now is the time to worry about what you do on the floor."
Translation: Miller was in because of his offense, because his jumpers present a threat to the Spurs that Abdur-Rahim and Thomas can't match.
And when Ginobili easily drove past Abdur-Rahim for a layup after Reef had picked up his fifth foul - making the score 93-91 Spurs - Adelman made his switch with three minutes left.
Why not insert Thomas instead of Miller?
"San Antonio was playing four small guys, and that's a tough thing on Kenny. Plus, we're better offensively with Brad."
These are judgment calls, and it's clear that Adelman will always go with a Mike Bibby or a Miller over a Kenny Thomas.
As the coach, should Adelman be subject to criticism? Sure. What do I think about Miller guarding Duncan? Who cares?
Because Brad Miller and Rick Adelman didn't lose this game. A lack of trust and commitment among Kings players lost it.
Like Austin Powers, they lost their mojo. They didn't pack it in their luggage bound for San Antone; it went limp when they had the Spurs on the run.
Did you notice the crowd shots on TV as the Kings were closing the gap late? Those Tejanos were scared, and the Kings squandered that.
"As bad as we thought we wanted it, we didn't want that game," said Ron Artest, my favorite King because he always tells the truth.
They didn't want it bad enough.
That, not player substitutions, is the problem here.
Other Kings didn't help out Miller as Duncan's buttocks backed the straining Hoosier halfway to Mexico. :lol
They let Ginobili and Tony Parker drive open lanes like speeders on I-80. They allowed 20 - count em! 20 - uncontested layups.
What's most frustrating of all at Arco Arena?
The Kings can beat these guys, should beat these guys. :drunk
So you can rail all you want at Miller and Adelman, but you have a bigger problem:
Your team is schizophrenic.