.
After two lousy games when Peja was hurt, do we
now see evidence of who the real team MVP is?
.

TOUGH LOSS BUT...

JB

What's good?
15 of 20 games at home. Make good use of them trying to build this new team back up again.

What's bad?
Why the heck is Adelman taking poison pill approach? I'm no coach, but it would make sense to me that integrating Webber back into the mix should have been a slow process. Coming off the bench and gradually increasing the minutes to finally get him playing full time. This was not a deperate team in need of it's star. Instead Adelman rushed Webber into the lineup and forced training camp to start all over again. The other players also felt the urgent need to get Chris into the flow, why?
3/4 of the season remains and there was a good stretch of home games coming up. I feel like the team has lost some of it's focus and confidence. They should get it back, but I think they sacrificed a game or two this week in the process.

I still believe this team with Webber is a better team than without him. The next few weeks are critical to establishing how this team will play, I hope they use them well.

RPO

Man, these last two losses have really been a pain. After the brilliant start to the season and the thrill of getting CWebb back they're playing like a JV team again. It's like they didn't learn anything from last year's debacles. I agree wholeheartedly that the Kings' problem is a mental one, a wrong approach to certain teams. As hated as the Leakers are, their arrogance is actually a healthy quality for them. The Kings don't have that attitude yet, and it seems like we've been waiting years for them to get it. As for Webber, we unquestionably have a far, FAR more talented team with him, but until the Kings start playing with more intelligence and passion, I don't know that we're a better now team than we were during his absence. Like I said once before, I think it might do the team good to strive to have Pager be the leading scorer this year. Don't let this team turn into CWebb and the 11 on-lookers. I think some sort of balance of contribution from all players is going to be a major key for the Kings' success.

tmh 1

I can't figure out why the team is stagnant with Webber back. I did, however, think that the teams rebounding numbers would drop because Webber is not a great team rebounder. Without him the team emphasized hitting the boards as a team. The proxy-power forward was also a lot closer to the hoop playing on the weak side giving us greater opportunities for boards. Webber plays on the strong side and tends to be away from the hole when the shot goes up. When he shoots he is usually moving away from the basket, ala his jumphook, rather than toward the basket. Thus, one less big dude fighting for the boards. He also rarely uses good fundamentals to box out his man. The lack of scoring, by the rest of the team is a little wierd as well. This may be attributed to other teams "letting" Webber get his points and letting the rest of the team beat them. Most of our guys handle that from the perimeter which of course can come and go. Webber may put up all-star numbers but in translation that may mean less "team" play and could lead to less wins against the prime-time teams. Sure we will beat up on the Grizz and others like them but will we be able to sustain victories against the other elite teams with this kind of play? I'm not sure. I saw this one coming. I never felt that the Kings had a good chance in Minnesota or in Phoenix. The difference at this point between the Lakers and the Kings may be the fact that the Lakers, and their fans, would expect them to win in Phoenix and in Minnesota whereas our team would be happy with a split. The Kings have some soul searching to do in order to climb that final hurdle. It isn't as small as you might think. The Lakers have a swagger in every arena in the NBA. The Kings swagger in all but about 4 or 5 of them.

TO WEBB OR NOT TO WEBB

king of the jungle

C Webb: the most overrated player ever...

Is there any doubt about this? My God, since his return team rebounds are way down, interior d is non-existent, the offense is stagnant ...

Lets put it this way, only one thing happened since the Kings started losing -- C Webb came back. And don't call me crazy either, plenty of people questioned how

C-Webb would fit in when he came back and I've seen about enough of his crap. The guy hasn't changed from last season.

I mean, the guy shoots like 15% from 20 feet out, but about 90% from point-blank-range ... question: why continually shoot those jumpers? Answer: he's as soft as a baby's butt ...

And don't get me wrong, the man has an awesome set of skills, it's just he doesn't want to use them. And he's not tough, just cause he makes faces after a successful jump shot ... I liked the Kings without Webber and feel it's obvious that he's OVERRATED, perhaps no less than any other player in the NBA.

All that said, I'm about the biggest Kings fan around, just like you all are. But that's just it, I'm a KINGS FAN and am interested in the status of the team. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Webb has putrid judgement, is lazy / unmotivated, more interested in style than making a difference, and has all those muscles for nothing -- cause he'll never mix it up. Pollard has a tenth of Webb's talent, but 20 times more heart. It's that type of attitude that made the Kings so good early on.

Out of all the upper echelon stars in the league, it's already been proven that C Webb makes the least difference in his team's record. I'll let those numbers do the rest of the talking for me.

kingme

It was my birthday yesterday, and I didn't even get to listen to the game at all. Whew! It's a good thing I didn't! Doesn't sound good at all! It's very disappointing that we had two road losses in a row. I agree with the posters that suggested that Cwebb should have been worked more gradually into the offense. But see, then you're getting into a weird territory, full of accusations and conjectures about personalities, etc. CWebb, being the All-star, big-time player, etc would have been insulted to not have started immediately. And Adleman being, well, Rick Adleman, wouldn't dare assert his preferences over what the multi-million dollar star player wants. That's part of who he is as a coach. And in his defense, many other coaches in his position would do the same thing. I mean, Peja is hurt and the others, especially Vlade, have really backed off now. It's so obvious. Vlade just thinks that now Chris is back he can just coast, or at least take a big break. you must admit, that's certainly what it looks like. More than CWebb not fitting into the offense, or being rusty, it's the other players who are backing off to give him more shots, or control, or whatever. They can't do that. they can't defer to him because he's "the star" or the franchise or whatever you want to call it. We saw this last season on and off, and it really hurt the team when everything was on the line - like when we were trying to win the Division or beat the Lakers in the playoffs even once! Expectations are high - and Adleman can't afford to let that happen again. Even if it means pissing off CWebb a little. I think if he stood up for what was right for the team as a whole, the fans and everyone else would be behind him.They would respect him for it. I know I would. Well, they better beat the Grizz at home, or there will be hell to pay!

Bonsy

Here's my 2 cents:

It is Webber's fault.

I mean, obviously the fact that Vlade and Pollard only grabbed 10 rebounds between them when they should have 10 each is Webber's fault, right?

The fact that Garnett is just taller than everyone and was on fire and grabbed every loose ball is Webber's fault, too. That's because Garnett get's jazzed up to play against Webber. So that's Webber's fault.

The fact that Webber set several beautiful screens for Bibby who went 3-13 is Webber's fault. Bibby's shots were rebounded every single time by someone in a white shirt because we didn't have a center or any of the other 3 guys going to the hoop. Yep, Webber's fault.

Hedo played great and got Peja's numbers for us. The problem was, nobody off the bench came in and got Hedo's numbers for us. Certainly Webber is to blame.

The fact that Webber only shot 55%, scored 26 points, 9 boards, 3 steals, and yessiree, those 5 assists certainly show that he wasn't passing the ball enough. If Bibby had made more of his shots that assist number would have been phenomenal. Yep, Webber's fault alright.

I watched this game. I saw how many times the paint was littered with white shirts. It was also interesting how rarely the refs called 3 seconds on all those white shirts standing around in there. But, whatever. Webber is to blame for that, too. I'm curious how many of you whining about Webber actually SAW this game?

Yes, the offense went through Webber most of the time, but not always. Vlade ran his share. It was a nice balance. The problem was, NOBODY went to the boards for rebounds. We missed a lot of shots which gave the opportunity for a lot of rebounds but only the T-Wolves wanted to get them. And note that in the 1st half, the Kings were ahead in points but were WAY behind in rebounds even then. It was obvious that coming out in the second half, the issue would be rebounds.

As to saying "Webber was rushed back in". That's absurd. Webber missed 20 games! Rushing him back in would have been putting him in back in late November. They held him off for 3 more weeks!

The problem is that Webber is too good. The rest of the players feel they can slack off. They played very hard the first 20 games, and saw "vacation" when Webber came back in. Not all of them. But it starts with Vlade, this "great team leader" you folks always talk about. Yes, Vlade takes a vacation and everyone else "follows the leader". Terrific.

Yep, it's all Webber's fault.

Also, Bobby Jackson went 3 for 12, 0 for 3 from 3 point land. Not a good game for BJ. Must be Webber's fault.

Pollard made 2 of 5 free throws. Vlade 3 of 6. Stupid Webber's fault again.

Yes, there is a period of adjustment. But the adjustment was to replace Pollard with an all-star. I mean, why would anyone want to do that?? Stupid Adelman.

There is an impact from Webber's return. The rest of the team was tired and subconsciously took a vacation and relaxed.

Here's the solution, sit Webber. Let the team fire up to play hard again. They'll probably last another month or so playing well. They'll get to a 7th or 8th seed and then wear out and lose in the first round.

Or, they smarten up, realize that THEY are important to this team and start to play again.

But, you want to know my real opinion?

It's just two road games against two teams who were aiming for us, after a great home stand, and we lost. It happens. The Lakers lost two in a row and were out-played by the Clippers in three quarters last night. If the Clippers hadn't been short handed and tired out, they'd have won and the Lakers would have lost three in a row.

Time to get ready for Memphis on Sunday.

Wyo

Webber is the most talented King. Webber contributes big time. However -- Webber does not make his teammates better, he makes them worse. I don't think there's a stat for that so I'm not prepared to provide one.

My main beef -- He spends too much time too far away from the basket. If he wanted them, CWebb could have close to 20 RBs a night. Frankly, the Kings are paying him 20-rebound money.

I watched both losses this week. I was struck by how much they looked like last year's efforts when Chris had a bum ankle.

The Kings were playing in-your-face ball without Chris -- they are now playing I-hope-this-goes-in ball.

Q

Without Chris, Kings 15-5; with Chris, Kings 2-2. As I said long ago, getting Chris back would prove to be a shaky transition at first, but it will eventually iron itself out. Let's hope the ironing out starts tomorrow night; because the Jason led Grizzlies could do it again - beat the Kings. I hope not. If the Kings come out firing on all cylinders, they win going away; if they play like they the last four games (bad timing, deferring to Chris and confused team chemistry), the Grizzlies could be inspired to play over their heads. I would be surprised if either Jason or Pau have bad games regardless. Selfishly I would like to actually witness a Kings win firsthand at ARCO; and of course as much as I like Jason and Pau, I like the KINGS team more, much more.

Go Kings!