http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/119061.html
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 6:36 am PST Tuesday, February 6, 2007
The similarities don't end with the shared personnel.
The New Orleans Hornets are Kings West with former Sacramento fan favorites Bobby Jackson and Peja Stojakovic. But they also entered this season with playoff hopes and find themselves looking up at the eighth spot.
The difference is health, as Hornets players have missed a combined 102 games because of injury. And these weren't insignificant pieces, either: point guard Chris Paul, small forward Stojakovic and forward David West. By comparison, Kings players have missed 26 games because of injury. The Hornets are 11th in the Western Conference with a 21-27 record, including 7-16 on the road.
"It's been very disappointing," Jackson said before New Orleans' 105-99 loss to the Kings on Monday night. "But the thing about it is, after 47 games, we're still in the thick of things. We still have a great chance of making the playoffs. We've got to win on the road. If you can't win on the road, you're not going to be in the playoffs."
Jackson's Kings connections go beyond his former teammates. Last season, he played in Memphis under Kings coach Eric Musselman when he was an assistant.
Jackson remains close to Kings point guard Mike Bibby, whom he backed up for four seasons.
"(Bibby) has mixed up feelings about it," Jackson said of the Kings' season. "The players aren't happy. It's hard. You look at what they did last year, and Eric's thinking in his mind, I have to win. If you're a new coach, you've got to win if they won before."
Booing Bobby -- For at least a moment, Jackson lost the love from Kings fans.
With 7:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, Kings swingman John Salmons lost his left shoe and played one possession in his socks. When Salmons tried to recover the shoe on his way down the floor, Jackson kicked it out of reach, drawing boos.
Brooks' finale -- With the final fill-in duty coming on Monday at Arco Arena, Scott Brooks has been a head coach for as many games as he was a starter during his 11-year playing career.
"My rookie year (in Philadelphia), Maurice Cheeks got hurt for six games," Brooks said. "I wanted to be a starter every year, but it never happened."
He was 4-2 in those games, whereas he is 2-4 as a head coach. Brooks was the acting head coach in light of Musselman's two-game suspension from the league for driving under the influence.
Thought I'd throw this question out to b-ball knowledgables: What does it take for new coach to grab the attention of players?
Kings have been playing subpar ball which, on the NBA curve, is admittedly poorer than poor. Then the new coach (Musselman) serves a two game suspension and voila! Kings are hustling and moving the ball around.
Just trying to figure out what only flies on the lockerroom wall could know: WTF?
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