I dunno But their squad is nearly unrecognizable from their past few glory seasons I don't see them doing too too much Hell . . .. they may not make the playoffs Bibby and Peja after that they got KT, Divac[?] and Williamson Rocket River
Sell a lot of tickets, try for a new arena, make the Maloofs lots of money (especially if they make it to the second round) -- but the run is over. I'd love to see Miller in Washington. Could you imagine Brad and Eddie Jordan running that Princeton offense, with him hitting cutters like Arenas, Daniels, Hayes, Butler and Jeffries?
They'll have a somewhat competitive team I think, but they're run is over. Bibby and Miller, their main cogs, can't play a lick of defense.
The Kings window has definitely closed, but I Adelman will still get his squad into the playoffs. They have a nice mix of talent, but it's the system that will still win them games. Bibby-Hart Wells-Martin Peja-Garcia KT-Williamson Miller-Skinner Their starting lineup isn't all that bad, no true superstar, but 2nd level player that could blend well together to win some games.
If Bibby, Bonzi, Miller, KT & Peja are all relatively healthy, they will make the playoffs. That is a very good starting lineup. On thing TBD is how Bonzi's very selfish offensive game adjusts to their unselfish style on offense. If this works out, they should do just fine. Adelman hasn't coached any defense since he's been in Sactown and that won't change. I could easily see them winning 50 games if they click on all cylinders but if Miller goes down again and Bibby tries to do too much like last year, they could crash. From a Rockets standpoint, the Kings are not an NBA Finals contender unless Peja steps up and plays like a superstar, which is unlikely. I think he is the biggest gutless choke jobber in the NBA. It's a contract year for him so maybe we'll see his best. What a tease.
No all-stars? IIRC, Peja is an all-star and came in 3rd or 4th in MVP voting the season before last. He had a bad season because of injuries this last season, but now without mobley jacking up shots like there is no tomorrow he should again be averaging 20+ points/game.
yeah, mobley's the reason peja fell off last year. even managed to hurt peja in the games before he got there.
peja can't really create his own shot--he's essentially been exposed as a jump-shooter (one of the best in the league of course). back in the olden days, with webber and divac dishing out of the low post, and christie, bibby, peja, jackson, and turkoglu all legitimate outside threats, peja was guaranteed open three pointers all game long, no matter how hard the defense tried to cover everyone. the ball movement has slowed now, with bibby forced to dribble penetrate in order to generate open shooters, and with people like kenny thomas and williamson not exactly being top-notch passers. you can now just put a athletic small forward to shadow peja now all game long, and he can't drive by. i remember the 2002 WCF series with the lakers as being one of the most dramatic, exciting playoff series ever, because of the quality of play, the contrast of team makeup and styles, the genuine dislike the two teams had for each other, and the incredible tension of game 4 and game 7. the 2002 kings were similar to last year's suns in that they were genuinely feared by the rest of the league, because of their unstoppable starting five (in sacramento's case, also an incredible bench).
Teams the Kings are not better than: Spurs Mavs Us (Rox) Pheonix Denver Teams the Kings Are Better than: the LA Kobes Jail Blazzers Super Suckics (yeah, don't see a good run coming out of Seatle again) NO Ho-unless Chris Paul is the 2nd coming....... Teams the Kings are on the Fence Against (meaning, this is a cop out for me) Memphis--though I'd think the Kings would beat them, close though Minny-- KG is going to go bonkers this year....I say, enough to beat Kings, not much else Warriors--sleeper team in the West this year, I think they will surpirse manny Clippers-- I think they will be better, may sneak an 8 seed out, doubt better than the Kings, but very close I think the Kings will be a lower seeded team (somewhere between 6-8), but may just barley lose out. It will be interesting to watch.
I can't believe someone is actually blaming Mobley for hurting Peja's game. Peja had the same problems before Mobley was there that he had when Mobley was there. If Peja wants to be a superstar he should demand the ball anyway, no one took shots away from him.
Oh no I said something bad about mobley I still cant beleive people get mad when somebody states the obvious about SF and Cat. They both are bad decision makers. I watched enough Kings game to notice that Cat did not fit into that passing offense. I loved cat as much as the next person, but i am not going to stand here and deny his weaknesses.
It's not that you said something bad about Cat, it's that what you said was pretty ridiculous. Peja's problems stem from his own game, and not from Cuttino's - who, by the way, shot the ball just as good from the field as Peja did.
i haven't read the rest of this threat yet, but i've noticed over the past couple weeks on the board that no one has much faith in the Jazz. wasn't it just this past year that they were dominating and were one of the big surprises, along with the Sonics? kirilenko was owning everyone, and, obviously, as soon as he went down w/ his injury, the whole team went down w/ him. he never really regained his old form, i think b/c he tried to come back too soon or something, i dunno. anyway, i know they lost raja bell, and unfortunately picked up [as in weight] Oster-fat. but w/ harpring, kirilenko, boozer, and now deron williams, they could be on the fence along w/ sacto, IMO. holla front.
No kidding. If they can sign any shooting guard better than my grandma (Sloan hates Giricek and won't play him, so they have no SG), then Utah will have an awfully nice and very young lineup.
Oh please, I couldn't care less if you said something bad about Mobley, it isn't even about Mobley. It's about you saying that someone hurt Peja's game when that isn't even true. Peja hurt his own game because he isn't aggressive and can't create his own shot. Why would I care about Francis and Mobley? They're both obviously bad decision makers because the offense is better now that proves the point. But this has nothing to do with deending Mobley or Francis, I don't know how Francis name got into this, and everything to do with Peja's game.
The Kings traded away 3 of the pieces that put them at the top of the NBA food chain C-Webb, Doug Christie and Bobby Jackson. They were a declining team because CW, DC and BJ were on the decline but they didn't get anyone to replace them. Lost DC for nothing, C-Webb traded for journeymen and Bonzi Wells, please. The Warriors will pass the Kings this year.
