Beucher on Webber

http://espn.go.com/magazine/bucher_20010516.html

Who'll push CWebb now?
by Ric Bucher

Whatever chance the Kings had of convincing Chris Webber to stay in Sacramento evaporated with their second-round sweep by the Lakers. Not because they got swept, but because they passed up their last chance to challenge him to play his best, to prove that they wouldn't settle for less.

As everyone knows, Webber publicly talked about getting tough and figuratively picking a fight. He promised to leave it all on the floor. He didn't, of course. He gave us glimpses of the fury with which he can play; several times he attacked the basket and refused to quit until the ball had fallen. But he couldn't sustain it. Even worse, no one called him on it.

More than once over the last six weeks he walked into the locker room after a tough loss and railed at his teammates for not playing harder, most notably when they blew their chance to clinch the Pacific Division title. Not one King ever stood up and reminded him that they needed the same from him. Not one suggested they weren't getting it, though privately some admitted to feeling that way.

It's hard to blame them, seeing as it simply wasn't in any of their personalities. Or maybe they felt out of place doing so, seeing as CWebb was so much better than any of them. He could flirt with a triple-double by simply being on the floor for 30-plus minutes, as he did in falling one assist short in an otherwise unremarkable performance in Game 4. Or maybe they were afraid such a confrontation would be the factor that made him decide to leave.

What they apparently didn't realize is that posing such a challenge was their only chance of getting him to stay. Anyone who saw any of his clutch performances with the Warriors or Bullets/Wizards remembers either Billy Owens or Spree or Juwan Howard or someone else getting in CWebb's face and demanding that he step up.

He found other ways to generate that spark in Sacramento -- resentment over being exiled by the Wizards, the many critics of his off-court lifestyle, his dislike for Don Nelson or his former assistant, Gregg Popovich -- but he never could sustain it. He's always needed and wanted someone else to be the vocal leader, the firebrand, the emotional focal point. He played that role at times with the Kings but he didn't like doing so and told more than a few people exactly that.

Some would argue that a truly great player shouldn't need a sidekick kick-starter. But the truth is, there aren't too many who haven't received that boost from someone. That's why KG mourned the loss of Steph and insists he won't play for anyone other than Flip. That's why Shawn Kemp went to seed upon separation from GP. Phil got Shaq over the hump. Didn't AI need Larry Brown and his teammates demanding more of him before they got his best? Where was Ray Allen before George Karl's harangues? Where would Rasheed be if he had someone who could get his attention?

So give CWebb credit for at least knowing who he is, what he isn't and what he needs to reach his zenith. If he got emotional after the Kings' dismissal from the postseason, it was from the heartache of finding someone who is just that one ingredient short of being the perfect match. He clicked with JWill and Peja and loved seeing Hedo Turkoglu step up and make some big shots. Rick Adelman gave him all the leeway a player could want. And even though he's always doubted Vlade's heart, it had to mean something to see Divac clapping and shouting exhortations in the second quarter of Game 4 and later driving on Shaq, even if it wasn't until the Big Aristotle had his fourth foul.

The Kings and CWebb were indeed a nice fit. But, ultimately, did they bring the absolute best out in each other, or simply more than we've seen before?

When the elation over the Kings' extraordinary march into the second round has subsided, perhaps the good people of Sacramento will see that it was the latter, not the former -- and that the end of such a relationship is sad, but not necessarily bad.

Ric Bucher is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ric.bucher@espnmag.com.