.
The team has been accused of being soft lately. I guess that is
subjective, but here is a picture of some of the guys getting
dressed for recent advertising endorsement jobs.
.

LET'S FACE IT, THESE GUYS ARE SOFT

DavisMike

I really enjoy this board - and I'm sorry I've taken this long to get involved. Like the rest of you, I'm very concerned about the recent turn of events. My take (for what its worth,)

Vlade - Great team guy, but he really needs to get alot tougher. He rarely fouls anyone hard, and never makes smaller players pay for venturing into the paint. I know its hard to teach an old dog new tricks
but we need the Vlade of 1999 if we expect to reach the next level in the playoffs.

Chris - I'm convinced that his ankle is bothering him again. I've never seen a player fall on a more consistent
basis than he has over the past 3-4 games. He goes to the floor rather that cushion the blow by
landing on his feet. His lateral movement is almost non-existant, and as mentioned before his jumping
ability is just not there. I have no solution to this problem - we can't get it done without his 20
everynight. A true measure of Webber's greatness as a player is his ability to get big numbers
despite his ailments. On the other hand - could it be more clear that CWEBB is not going to provide
the leadership that this team desperatly needs. We will have to look elsewhere.

Peja - Pure scorer, nothing wrong with that, just don't expect much more.

Doug- Love his intensity!!! Gambles way to much on defense. We see the steals - but do we see the easy
buckets when he misses? Really not much of a shooter. Should be coming off the bench with Pollard
and Bobby.

Mike - Do not spend big money to keep this guy!!! A defensive liability, who disappears on offense. Still
a big improvement over that ticking time bomb J-Will.

BJ - 12 guys who play as hard as BoJax and we win it all. Not a true point guard, turns the ball over to
much. Playing the exact role he was born to play.

Scot - Where are the 10 and 10 games we used to get from this guy? Dependable back-up, nothing more.

Hedo - Most interesting player on the team. I want him to get more time, but I'm not sure its been earned.
Underrated rebounder.

Fundy- Why can't this guy get 8-10 minutes per game? God knows, CWEBB could use the rest.

Staff - My sense is that this team needs more discipline, and I'm not sure this is the staff to provide it. They
deserve credit for creating an atmosphere that is attractive to players, however, this may not be the
unit that gets the most out of its players.

Overall - I love this team, I just don't think we can win the title without becoming significantly tougher. Lets
face it, this team is soft, and soft won't cut it come crunch time.

TheBigO

When Michael Smith heard about OP's comments post-benching (when Yogi manned the middle) he said, "Anytime someone on my team starts saying 'I and me' instead of 'us and we' me and him are gonna have problems."

That's why I loved The Animal. TEAM first. And perhaps Webber has laid blame to himself following losses. But I was being truthful in saying that I haven't heard it. And what he says to his teammates doesn't make it to me. Only what he says in the press does. And I definitely heard him taking his guys to task without calling himself out. Dogging Vlade, saying he wanted to play with "warriors" without being one himself, and saying at the end of last year that there might be some coaching problems. Not to mention all of the negativity surrounded his "I'd love to play with every team, and I don't really like Sacramento" world tour.

Webber shares his opinion readily. Perhaps a bit too readily. You don't air family business with outside people. You settle it in house. I suppose my opinion of Webber is forever changed, but when a guy who plays lazy defense and is soft offensively challenges his teammates without calling himself out, it bothers me. Until he proves me wrong I will view the guy as a prima donna who happens to also be a talented and neccessary part of my favorite team.

I don't have to like the guy to root for him to do well. Hell, I was rooting loudly for JWill in the Phoenix series despite totally disliking him. And I haven't reached that point with Chris yet. Of course Webber hasn't come off like a raging racist either. Right now he merely annoys me with many of his comments/ actions.

Secondly, it bears repeating. This team is being outscrapped and outhustled on the regular. ONLY because of their scoring ability was the game even close. But I think it was SactoGreg who said above that the Kings never looked like they were in the game even when the scores were close. I totally agree.

The Blazers were the aggressors on both ends. They drove the lanes, crashed the boards and hustled for loose balls. They wanted to win. The Kings on the other hand were passive and shot nothing but jumpers.

Webber - 20 footer with nobody underneath. Peja - 3 pointer in transition with nobody to rebound. Bibby and Christie bricking everything. Never mind the fact that Pollard is the only guy going after offensive boards (why do Chris and Vlade stand around when a shot is in the air? Either crash or get back on D !!), why do the Kings do nothing but shoot jumpers?

Bobby drove the lane coast to coast on his first score. Does he play out of control at times? You bet. But he also gets to the cup for the bucket or the foul. When shots aren't dropping you have to go inside. Either a post up or a drive. The Kings did a bit early but then drifted to the perimeter. Webber did go to the jump hook late, but why not earlier? And you have to crash the glass. How many second chance points did Portland get?

The team that played to win, and deserved to win did indeed win last night.

Finally, is anybody but me tired of Jerry Reynolds saying that "Team ______ is playing about as well as they can play" anytime the Kings are getting worked early in games? There's a reason that teams often look good against the Kings. Its called lack of effort and lack of defensive intensity. I'll tell you a secret. I look like a superstar when nobody guards me from 20 ft. I can rain jumpers all day. Teams look good because the Kings LET them look good. There was a reason why Knick/Heat games were so ugly and low scoring. I don't want to see the Kings play that way, but a little defensive intensity isn't too much to ask.

Cause when you let teams outhustle and outscrap you, shoot almost entirely jumpers with nobody rebounding and don't play tough (or even existent) D, every team will look great.

Well 'cept the Warriors. Theys always ugly.

blackluv

It’s official. The team is experiencing a slump which they will work through and come out much stronger. Some of us here however, need to look in the mirror and realize what we’re saying. This Webber roller-coaster some people are on needs to stop. Everybody has bad games or a bad stretch but as we can see in Peja and Hido, the slump is temporary. Not to mention, in a win they go unnoticed. Do you think Blazer fans are talking about how the coach should bench Rasheed Wallace for a couple of games because of his bad game yesterday? I doubt it. Back to Webber...Some of you want him to sacrifice his 120 somthin’ million dollar body on every single play so that he can play according to how you think he should. ..Something you all don't ask of anyone else, by the way. As mentioned, versatility is important(Like Karl)..but not just to win games and fake out an opponent but to prolong one’s career. In the forth quarter as mentioned before) he does what he has to do. really...we have a stretch when the Kings are winning and everything is rosy. we love everybody even Kingme says some rare kind words about Webber. Then there are times like this when people have fundamental questions on what type of a MAN Webber is... Not taking responsibility for his actions etc. WHATEVER!!! Can you take this type of up and down at your job? How about supporting the team that has brought you the best basketball ever through the bad times. You must admit, the bad times are few and far between They said yesterday that Sac was the only team this season not t lose 3 in a row ....I didn't realize that!

Kingsgurl

It's easy to stand behind your team when they are winning, it's not as much fun when they lose. I think the bandwagon has hit a little bump in the road, but I'm not giving up my seat, I'm just going to put on my seat belt, because it's time for the Kings to turn on the after burners.

MORE

Critic

Anyone who thinks you can give anything close to a vigorous effort for 45+ minutes in a game probably has never tried to play half that many. IMO, what you get when you play someone that many minutes is long stretches of game where they just don't take an active role. Even playing 36-38 minutes a game (starters' minutes but not killer minutes), a guy has to know how to find a possession where he can do a little less to get his wind/legs back or else he won't have the

energy on demand to do what is needed when extra effort is called for. The rookie wall is made up of guys finding out in midseason that it applies not only within a game but within a season. Coasting when you can is important when playing 82 games. It's important when playing 36 minutes. IMO, most of the minutes above 36 will in almost all cases end up increasing the coasting minutes approximately minute for minute. If, while playing 36, you coast for 6, then IMO playing 42 you probably end up coasting for 10 or 11. When MJ was playing too many minutes earlier this year (before it did in his knee), he was clever at finding times to coast and was out there to distribute the ball when needed, even if just standing there thumping the ball waiting for a guy to break open. If the player is a clever vet, his coasting may come early in a game instead of late, but I don't see the value of having a coasting player on the floor instead of resting if his subs can win 70% of games he doesn't play at all. IMO, resting a star about 5-6 minutes per half is an investment that comes back to a coach in a greater percentage of PT being taken by guys who aren't coasting. In one game now and then, especially if there's OT or match-up problems, a star may have to step up and play iron man minutes. IMO, it's a losing proposition when you do it in all but blow-outs, but others obviously disagree and that's fine with me.

Also, when you see a sub come in with GREAT energy and do really well and then see him as a starter have much less production, what you're seeing is required-coasting theory in action. The sub CAN'T go 100% for 30-36 minutes the way he used to do in his 12-16 minutes of relief. When a starter rests 12 minutes, some sub CAN go 100% for those 12 minutes. If the star is Duncan in SA, well, the Spurs can't win very many games w/o him. He has to play iron man minutes because the team has trouble scoring w/o him in there -- just like Iverson and Philly. If they didn't, he should rest too. He has some bad stretches where he looks beat too. It happens. He's human.

JB

I gave Bibby quite a bit of the season before I formed my opinion of him. When he is on, the offense is humming and until recently his game has been a good match for what the Kings want to do on offense. However, as point guards go, I don't think he is capable of being average on defense. The type of defense the Kings play requires a guy to cover ground and react quickly. The defender can't stop to react for even a split second before making his move. Often Bibby looks tentative and late on his rotations. To say nothing of the fact that every scouting report in the league now states that Bibby cannot stay in front of his man and you can penetrate whenever you please. (Actually they just crossed off Jason's name and penciled in Mike's)
It seems like the coaching staff is prepared to live with the tradeoff and that's what bothers me the most. They are kind of boxed into the help defense in order to hide some weak defenders. The problem is that there just aren't enough good defenders on the floor at any given time to get it down right. Throwing aside several different schools of thought on defense, you still need some sort skill at stopping penetration. And it just so happens that our man's ready to be paid franchise type money this summer, so the question has to be answered soon. Is this the man to run the team for the next 7 years?
Honestly, I cannot answer yes unless Petrie is ready to overhaul the frontcourt to be able to handle the pourous backcourt defense.

Q

Remember when Wayman Tisdale was the Kings' go-to guy? Talk about unmotivated. He was a talented player with almost zero leadership drive. He was obviously much happier spending that NBA money on putting together All-Star Jazz bands to play bass with; which is understandable but not condusive to winning games.

Remember Mitch Richmond? He was a great player on a bad team. The coach, Gary St. Jean, kissed his tail continually. And, even though Mitch hated being here and was always unhappy about something, Gary tried to make Mitch the team leader and the majority of the fans practically worshipped the guy and voted him into All-Star status. But he did not want to lead and did not know how, and he choked in game-deciding situations. He thrived in a Run-TMC scenario because Tim Hardaway was the leader and made life easy for Mitch. When he got stuck with being the leader, he could not deliver.

Well, now, we have Chris Webber. He is a great player on a great team (which is great even without him now). His coach, Rick Adelman, dotes on him every game he is not too injured to play, and everybody on the team extends the leadership reigns to Chris; but Chris is not a leader. He is very talented and occasionally takes over a game, but he too chokes in game-deciding situations and postures more than leads. Real leaders, like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, are not only exceptional players but are driven and refuse to allow themselves or their team to be unfocused or to lose. They lead by example, they teach, they get in faces and pat backs, and they elevate their teammates level of play and come through with the game on the line. Chris, for all his wonderful strengths and charm, is not a leader. He could be, but does not have the strength of soul, the unrelenting drive that a true leader has. And unfairly, the owners, the coaches, the players, the media and the fans EXPECT him to lead. The reason he wants to play with driven jerks like Shaquille O'Neal and Latrell Sprewell and good guys like Tim Duncan is that these guys ARE leaders and are dominant enough at their positions to make the game easier for Chris. He loves to be lavished with attention and to be the focus of a team, but he has not a clue how to lead one. If he had a Jason Kidd or Gary Payton running the show, he would shine very, very brightly and the Kings would be perennial champions; but such is not the case.

I wish Vlade would realize this and start leading, until the Kings can pull in a driven leader to help push all the Kings talent to true greatness. Could that person already be on the roster? Maybe. Hedo has the talent, potential and the ambition. Bobby has the energy and inclination. Even Peja, if rested and encourage more, might be a candidate - he certainly is smart, tought and gifted enough. However, with Rick Adelman's current mindset, I doubt seriously whether such a person would be allowed to emerge, at least in time to make a difference this season.

I mean, this is the point in the movie when the guy comes off the bench and leads the team to glory; but this is not a movie.