KINGS BEAT PISTONS (BUT WHAT'S WITH THE HAIR?)

Reno Lady

Peja's new haircut....I don't like it! He really looks like Vlade's son now! When I saw him at the Grizz game he looked great, had on a suit, the diamond in his ear, the whole nine yards and I thought at the time, "Bet every young woman at ARCO (& maybe some not so young) are just itching to get closer to Peja".... now? Well, as I said, he really looks like Vlade's son. Was glad to see him in uniform

rather than a suit however.

I didn't notice any bad side effects in Webber's play last night because of his ankles. He took a couple of tumbles to the floor and grimaced getting up from one but that was the collision with Robinson which could make anyone grimace. Robinson had to be helped off the floor on that one. Chris did more leaping and jumping than in any game I've seen since he's been back and didn't seem to favor his ankle. I'm wondering if those new shoes he's sporting might have some built-in support devices; if you look at them closely they seem kind of different & I'm not talking just about the style. One of the articles posted last night made mention of Webb's facial expression during the game; I don't think it had anything to do with his ankles or being in pain but more that he was really focused on winning.

I think "Flubber" was the original name of the movie, with the sequel being titled "Son of Flubber". Dick van Dyke was in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", not Fred McMurray. Ah...OhSC you're right, "Absent Minded Professor" it was, I was thinking of "The Nutty Professor" but knew that was wrong because that was Jerry Lewis.

Other notes on the game: Rebracca is looking good; that was a smart move from the Pistons. He needs more time, but with his bulk, ability to get off the floor for blocks, and that nice inside shot he has he'll be heading for the All-Star team before long too. Adelman immediately put Vlade in against Rebracca & the two of them were talking on the court with some smiles & chuckles being exchanged. Stackhouse came alive in the 2nd half last night but once again tried to "take over" instead of sharing. Twice Barry was open for an uncontested 3 and instead of passing to him Stackhouse drove to the basket, making one and getting the foul but missing the other which resulted in points for the Kings. One of those 3 pointers, which I have no doubt JB would have made, would have tied the game for the Pistons, the other would have put them ahead of the Kings. From the picture posted last night I can now see why Atkins was effective against Bibby....he was hanging onto Bibby's jersey; maybe he just likes the Kings colors better? lol!

Bonsy

Chris did more leaping and jumping than in any game I've seen since he's been back and didn't seem to favor his ankle.

I noticed that as well. But it was against Detroit and on TV at "home". He always goes all out against Detroit.

Also, after listening to some of the analysis about Webber from coaches and broadcasters, they keep saying that Webber's ankle is "weak", not "hurt". They say that it will get to 100% by playing on it. Watching him play, especially after last night, I don't think there's a worry about him injuring it (any more than anybody on the floor can get injured) by playing on it. Everyone seems to think that it just needs to get back to full strength, which is what makes him look like he's not jumping quite right yet. As Napear has said several times, he jumps off his left foot for that hook shot and he's not getting all the normal lift yet.

I have noticed a huge effort on his part to set up his teammates and pass the ball. He's taking a lot less shots than he did late last year. There are still a few moments where he has the ball and the other guys are standing there waiting for him to "do something" and he's waving the ball like "come on, guys! Move!" But usually somebody does and it works out OK. He had 5 assists again last night. If he could average 5 assists, that would be great!

Early in the game, neither Peja nor Webber were making their shots. Mike Bibby was on target and like someone said already, he kept them in the game in the 1st half.

Stackhouse came alive in the 2nd half last night but once again tried to "take over" instead of sharing.

I had the same thought as you did on that. DC was guarding him well in the 1st half. But he stepped up in the 4th quarter and started making unbelievable shots where nobody was going to stop him. There were a few ooos and aaaahhs from the crowd as he just tossed up something and it went in. He also got points on some fast breaks, usually passes from JB. But I was wondering why he wanted to do it all himself. It's funny, but I believe their last shot made was a bad miss by Stackhouse that rebounded right to JB who made the basket, taking them to within 2 points.

Sometimes, as with Kobe, "you just can't stop him". I suppose it's kind of like how the Mavs felt about Peja when he went off on them in Dallas...;-)

It was real special to be able to stand and cheer and chant "BARRY! BARRY! BARRY!" once again. However, later in the game, we all had no problem booing as he was trying to shoot that free throw late in the game and then cheering madly when he missed...;-)

Someone asked about Corliss. Yes, he got a warm reception, but he'd come back before and already got his huge ovation back then. This was just a nice applause when he was announced in as a sub.

I always watch my game tape after games when I get home because I'm too jazzed to sleep. The Detroit announcers, Blaha and Lambier (jeez, Lambier is a bad announcer!) were flabbergasted at the reception JB got. Blaha was reading some blurb about tickets in Detroit or something when Barry walked to the scorers table. He had to finish his blurb and by that time the crowd was in full throttle. He said something like "My Gosh! Barry is getting a standing ovation from this crowd!" And the camera panned all around the arena showing all the standing cheering fans.

That was cool...

john114AAA

Last night's game was what NBA entertainment is all about. The game was close the whole night with Piston's coach Rick C. calling a time out everytime the Kings went on a run, effectively taking the crowd out of the game and stopping the Kings' runs. At least twice, the Pistons immediately scored three point plays after those time outs. Does anyone else think that Coach Rick was told by Barry and Williamson how critical it was to keep the crowd out of it, or is that learning just becoming well known around the league?

If that is the case, we fans at the arena need to be more agressive and really get into it after the other team calls a time out to "take us out".

The box score showed the Kings with a 4 point edge in the 1st quarter and then every other quarter was a tie!!

Detroit's point guards were hot from 3 point land but Bibby's scoring offset their outburst. Stackhouse was defended well by Christie and Peja until late in the 3rd when he started hitting everything he through up. Stack had only 6 points in the first half.

Peja was rusty from 6 days off but slowly got it going. Hedo looked very good off the bench and deserves more playing time somehow. In my opinion, he deserves to get some of Webber's minutes when other teams go with smaller lineups.

Webber's ankle(s) are really bothering him. You could see the winces and grimaces clearly on his face almost every time he did anything that put pressure on them. Give him credit for playing in pain.

Webber was clearly frustrated by his game when he got into the altercation with Stackhouse. Webber had beenunable to finish, for the most part, on offensive moves close in and was yelling at the Detroit bench and players about how this was his house. He was using many 'expletives' and it was pretty bush league in my opinion. Stackhouse was walking by him and Webber gave him and earfull and Stack responded. That's when the double technical was called. It seemed to energize Webber because his most effective minutes came from then to the end.

The Piston's new center from Yugoslavia, Rebracca, was a force when he came in and totally dominated Divac and Webber on the block. He went through Webber like he was not even there. Then Adleman put in Pollard and that, over time, pretty much neutralized Rebracca. Pollard played a very key, silent role in the win.

The greeting for Barry when he came in late in the 1st quarter was awesome, I could not help but stand and clap and then start cherring, Barry...BARRY.....BARRRRY. Eventually most of the crowd was standing and chanting. King's fans are truely unique in sports and I was proud last night to be among them.

BAD LOSS ON THE SECOND OF THE BACK-TO-BACK

JB

This one was bad on so many levels. The transition defense was awful again. The rebounding was equally dreadful. Doug Christie was hot from the outside but missed about 5 layups. His defense is not up to Christie standards. Peja still seems like he is off

on his shooting. Hedo got going when it was too late and Vlade wasn't near as aggressive as he needed to be. To top it all off, it looks like Vlade and Scot got banged up in this one. They look every bit like a team that had played 8 games in 12 days. For perspective, since the Laker game, the Kings have played 6 - the Lakers 3.
This team needs some rest. They don't play until Saturday at LAC, but then they have another on Sunday home. That begins a 5 game homestand.

Only 3 teams have played 27 games so far, The Magic, Sonics and Kings. The Kings as we know are 19-8. The other 2 teams are playing under .500 ball. That has got to be a factor considering the injuries and lack of practice time. It all evens it in the end, but it has to factor into your thinking that the Kings can improve their play over the next month with 10 home games and only 3 road games. Oddly enough, the schedule makers managed to squeeze in another 2 back to backs in that timeframe.

I didn't think Hedo was all that bad. His shooting was off early, but he got going in the 4th. He had some drives to the basket that were simply astonishing.
I'm going to draw some heat for saying this, but as good as Peja is - Hedo will be a better player in the near future. I'm not hyping potential here, he has skills that a rare few in the NBA have. His biggest improvement needs are in the defensive area, free throws and knowing when to pass the ball and when to take his man.
He is already a far better ball handler and dribble penetration guy than Peja is today. His rebounding is better. His shooting is closer to Peja recently, just needs more consistency. His 4th quarter aggressive level of play is equal to Peja. He can go left or right to get a shot off. He is even more athletic than Peja. Not bad for a sophmore player. Can you imagine how good he will be by the end of the year?

Q

Pathetic.

The Sacramento Kings are not playing well. They sucked tonight. Even Hedo.

Gary Payton, Brent Barry and Rashard Lewis ate them alive.

It looks like Chris is going to be nursing that ankle for the rest of the season, off again, on again. I hope he doesn't end up like Grant Hill in Orlando, getting paid a fortune and not playing. It is placing an element of uncertainty on the team now.

As it is, the Kings were rolling without him; he comes back and the team starts playing poorly; and now he is on again, off again, and the Kings chemistry isn't there anymore.

What now? Who is going to step up now?

Somebody had better wake up this team soon. They cannot relay on Chris. They have to go after it every game regardless who is on the active roster that day. But who?

Geoff, is it time for another surprising but beneficial trade? I am sure Gary Payton would love to play here right about now.

The Kings need a relentless team leader. And they need another road win in the worst way.

It will happen eventually; but the sooner the better!

On the bright side, they have a rest between now and Saturday, and then a long homestand after that. Hopefully, this will provide them with what they need to get their chemistry and momentum back.

SandB Bill

The refs tonight could not make up their mind how they were going to let the teams play either. Im not saying the refs made a difference, they just did not ever call the same call twice the same way.. but what else would you expect with a Crawford in there.

And after tonight.. I'm going to have to put the Seattle announcers up top with some others as big homers. These guys are something else, if you listened to them tonight, you would swear that Seattle never made one foul and Sacramento caused a foul every time Seattle had possession.

gocmen

I've just come from Key Arena. It was a bit frustrating game for the Kings fans, especially thinking there were about 500 of them in the Arena. We (Turks), Yugoslavians and probably some other people from Balkans were in the upper sections. We sang songs, cheered, even some Sonics fans joined us, but the outcome did not change.

Overall Kings played real bad. Seattle was OK, not terrific.

First, I'll talk very little about Seattle. Payton and Barry were great. Also Earl Watson is a very talented back-up point guard. He is really very mature for a rookie. Even Barry has lost some stupid balls but he didn't. I mean he did lose some, but they were not totally his mistake. Lewis did a good job on the offensive end, but defensively he was not that good. Kings shooting percentage helped him. He got lost between front and back court. Desmond Mason was defended very well by Hedo. Normally he does some beautiful athletic moves, but tonight he even got blocked once. Overall Seattle ruled on the boards, but you know that already from the stats.

Now, about the Kings starting from PG.

Bibby was very bad. The offense did not run. The ball waited too much in his and other players' hands. Kings seem kind of lost in the sets. Also on the defensive end, he played against Barry (and for sometime Watson). You can see how much they scored from the stats. He let wide open shots. I know he does not play like this all the time. He just had a bad day. Also all the other players were in disarray (Kind of Bibby's fault, but not totally). It is not easy to keep yourself up in such a condition.

Christie, Christie... He was not the defensive Christie that we are used to. Payton outplayed him most of the game. Fortunately his offense was good (not very good). The shots he made were easy ones, and he still could miss some very easy layups. His 50% shooting does not show everything here.

Bobby Jackson, forgive me, he was terrible. To me he was the worst Kings tonight. He forced shots, he didn't pass, he couldn't defend. Normally he is also a very nice player, but today... oh well, who isn't?

Did I say who isn't? Peja... Though he came from injury, he was the best Kings. He tried to create open shots, he used screens wisely. He was defended very very tightly by Mason (and Lewis sometimes, but you know what I said about Lewis) and still he shot 50%. He didn't hold the ball very long on the offensive end. He had problems defensively. Lewis is a nice jump shooter and he can also drive to the basket. At least he cancelled Lewis with his points. I know that more is expected from him, but when compared to other players, I still say he was the best.

Hedo, our man... His shooting was terrible. He just made one in the first half and missed 2 of 2 free throws. On the defensive end, he was OK in the first half. In the second half, he understood that he cannot get going offensively, especially after he was blocked inside the paint, then he tried his best on the defense. He was very very aggressive on Mason. Mason simply couldn't do anything. Late in the fourth his confidence raised and he began making some very good shots. I heard people saying 'Ooh! Aaah!'s all around. But it was too late. He was also not the man that we were used to.

Pollard was OK on the boards. I wish he could play more instead of Vlade. Probably Kings could have more rebounds. But he is not a part of the flow of the game. He does the dirty job. But today, the offense was not good even with Vlade. So at least Kings could have some force inside.

Vlade also disappointed us. He cannot jump, so he should have used his body more. He also could not distribute the ball well tonight. Part of the reason was he got the ball away from the rim most of the time. So he was not doubled that many times which caused him to have difficulty in finding the open man. He couldn't get inside himself. Bibby could not get the ball back from him, and many more causes probably... My wife loves Vlade no matter what, but even she was disappointed with Vlade.

Fundy played very little, and during that time, he was also ineffective. It may be because of his injury.

Well, here are my thoughts about the game. I like the current Kings team. They play very good ball. Today, it was just not their day. There is noone to blame. This is a team game, therefore team gets the props, team gets the blame.

I also like Sonics, mostly the reason is I live in Seattle and I watch all their broadcasted games and if possible, go to Key Arena. This year they have an exciting team. Not better, exciting. It is fun to watch their games though mostly they lose. (But still they can beat Lakers, right )

This has been a very long post. My props to you if you could make to this line.