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What can the league do to convince Shaq to quit cheating by falling into the lane as he shoots his free throws, since appealing to his sense of fair play ain't working..

SHAQ UPSET THEY ARE CALLING LANE VIOLATIONS ON HIM

Bonnie49erKings

Asked why officials might suddenly choose to enforce a rule they basically ignored for months, he said, "Because they don't want me to score 50 a game in this ... league."

Should referees overindulge themselves on O'Neal's habit of prematurely entering the lane, Phil Jackson said the Lakers would forward to the league office "miles of footage" of similar violations by opposing players, "if they want to call something as petty as that."

Is it a foul or isn't it?

It appears Jackson admits it is a foul. Good.

But it's somehow "petty" because they don't call it as often as they should. How about calling it more often then until players don't do it any longer. That's how Shaq sometimes manages to get to his missed free-throw before anybody else.

It's illegal.

I think I remember seeing a player fall-forward like Shaq does, once. It's very rare. Sure, lots of them step into the lane from the side early, and that's called more frequently.

I don't remember who it was now, but I laughed at the time thinking someone else actually has that unique move.

The toe on the line at the set-up is rarely called because it's usually a fraction of an inch. I've never seen someone with their whole foot or even half the foot over the line. A fraction of an inch that doesn't fall forward, yeah, that would be petty.

JB

Miles of footage showing violations? I think Phil is talking about the players lined up on the side entering the lane early, not the actual foul shooter. I cannot remember ever seeing another player fall into the lane before the shot hit the rim. Funny thing is, Shaq has been nailing those free throws pretty well lately. Well last night he had a horrible free throw shooting night. It's just got to bug the heck out of Phil that Shaq can be mentally taken out of a portion of his game so easily.

Gaijin

I saw Anthony Mason do the same 'fall-forward' motion as Shaq quite a few times in the Bucks-Mavericks game.

It looks awful - it's hard to tell whether he is trying to get an extra few inches closer to the bucket to get the FT to fall, or to help him get the rebound from a miss, or whether he just forgot to let go off the ball in time. :)

REASONS TO BE POSITIVE

SandB Bill

Kings rank second against West Teams

Kings rank first against east Teams

Kings rank first in Point differential (West Teams)

Kings rank fourth road record (1 more loss than Lakers)

Kings rank first in home record

Kings are 20-7 against teams left

Kings are 11-1 against teams on current road trip

Kings are 16-4 against all teams left to play on road

Kings are 5-4 against teams left to play at home

Kings have missed Webber or Peja in every loss against
remaining teams

Road games left (Our Record Against)

Six Game Trip

Houston 3-0
Charlotte 1-0
Atlanta 1-0
Memphis 2-1 (No Webber)
Detroit 1-0
Utah 3-0

Remaining Road games after this trip

Golden State 2-0
Clippers 2-1 (No Webber in Loss)
Lakers 1-2 (No Webber two games No Peja one game)

Remaining Home Games

New York 0-1 (No Webber)
Minn 2-1 (No Peja in loss)
Dallas 1-2 (No Webber in one loss)
Golden State 2-0

--------------------------------------------------------

Lakers are 13-10 against teams left 2 games back in loss column

Five Road Games

Washington 1-0
New Jersey 1-0
Boston 0-1
Miami 0-1
Portland 1-1

Six Home Games

Portland 1-1
San Antonio 2-1
Utah 2-1
Minn 1-2
Seattle 2-1
Sacramento 2-1

--------------------------------------------------------

San Antonio is 22-7 against teams left 3 games back in loss column

Six Road Games left

Seattle 1-1
Lakers 1-2
Houston 3-0
Detroit 1-0
Memphis 3-0
Utah 3-0

Five Home Games left

Seattle 1-1
Dallas 2-1
Portland 2-1
Denver 3-0
Phoenix 2-1

-------------------------------------------------------

Dallas is 17-12 against teams left 2 games back in loss column

Eight Road Games Left

Minn 2-1
Boston 1-0
Washington 0-1
San Antonio 1-2
Utah 1-1
Seattle 2-1
Sacramento 2-1
Phoenix 3-0

Four Home Games Left

Clippers 1-2
Portland 1-2
Houston 2-1
Utah 1-1

GAME REPORT

Reno Lady

Certainly not the best game the Kings have played this season but they gutted out a win. Have to tell you I was nervous during the entire game. The Kings once again had way too many turnovers and the Hornets were hotter than the Mojave Desert for a while.

While I really appreciate Bobby's contributions tonight I also got really upset with him for hanging onto the ball too long too often, dribbling and hoping to penetrate and make himself the hero. I love Bobby's energy but when the Kings are in a game like tonight's they need a better ball distributor to guide them. I was so glad Adelman took him out for a while.

But a win is a win and the Kings haven't won in Charlotte in a long time. So on to Atlanta, where they also haven't won in a long time! Hopefully they'll keep the momentum from this game when they go against the Hawks.

52-19 for the Kings. GO BLAZERS!!!!

I couldn't believe it when they put Davis' FT stats on the screen, 59% for the year! Almost unheard of for an NBA guard.

Another interesting Kings' stat: The Kings have limited their opponents to under 20 points in the 4th quarter in 8 of the last 11 games.

That's an indication of some pretty good defense in the 4th and a long way from where the Kings were defensively 3 years ago.

Tonight's game: Webber shot 52.6% tonight, Vlade 66.7%. The Kings got to the line 19 times compared to 26 for the Hornets - BUT the Kings made 18 of their FTs, the Hornets only 17 of theirs.

Q

Had to get the baby boy to sleep so laid down with him to watch the game but fell asleep at the beginning of the second quarter and woke up during the second half of the fourth quarter. I can think of lots of hours in the day and night that I would have rather gotten zzzzzzzs.

Anyway, I was glad to see the ending turn out so well for the Kings and am impressed with the defense they were laying on a very good Hornets team at the end. Hedo and Vlade came up big when it was most needed.

52-19 is a very good record. And if this win is any indication, this could be a very good and pivotal road trip. Already the Kings have achieved the third most wins in franchise history this season, only 3 less than the record of 55 tied last season, and there are 11 games left before the playoffs.

Should the Kings manage to get HCA and go on the win the NBA title, this will have been the greatest season and the greatest team in franchise history. I hope this is the result. (I have no idea how much longer I can remain in this area; and so it would be nice to get that championship while I still live here.)

I enjoyed seeing Chris carry Mike off the court, but those Hedo rebounds and that three and that Vlade jam were the game thrills for me. It was clear that Vlade wanted that one!

The Hawks are up next, and I hope the Kings go into Atlanta on a mission and come out with another victory (#53).