# FIRST ROUND: (3) Seattle Sonics vs (6) Sacramento Kings (Series Thread)



## DaUnbreakableKinG

*@ *​* Sacramento Kings (6th) vs Seattle SuperSonics (3rd)*​ * 
*​ *







*​ *KINGS ROSTER*​ Mike Bibby
Erik Daniels
Maurice Evans
Eddie House
Bobby Jackson
 Kevin Martin
 Brad Miller
 Cuttino Mobley
 Greg Ostertag
 Brian Skinner
 Darius Songaila
 Peja Stojakovic
 Kenny Thomas
 Corliss Williamson​ 
* Predicted Starting Lineup*​ 




































*Skinner -Thomas - Stojakovic - Mobley - Bibby* 
*vs*




































* James - Evans - Lewis - Allen - Ridnour

Key Reserves




































Songaila - Jackson - Evans - Williamson - Ostertag
vs




































Daniels - Fortson - Radmanovic - Wilkins - Swift
*​ *







*​ * 
* *SONICS ROSTER*
​ <table class="gSGTable" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="216" width="139"> <tbody><tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowEven">  Ray Allen  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowOdd">  Mateen Cleaves  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowEven">  Nick Collison  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowOdd">  Antonio Daniels  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowEven">  Reggie Evans </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowOdd">  Danny Fortson  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowEven">  Jerome James  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowOdd">  Rashard Lewis  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowEven">  Ronald Murray  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowOdd">  Vitaly Potapenko  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowEven">  Vladimir Radmanovic  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowOdd">  Luke Ridnour </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowEven">  Robert Swift  </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="gSGRowOdd">  Damien Wilkins  </td> </tr> 
</td></tr></tbody> </table> ​ *Season Series

Sacramento Kings 1-3 Seattle SuperSonics
​​​​​​​**Sacramento Kings 78-108 Seattle SuperSonics*
*Notes: *The Sonics returned home for their first back-to-back of the season, hosting the Sacramento Kings (who had also played the night before) on ESPN. The travel situation seemed to bother the Kings much more than the Sonics, who started fast and led 33-20 after one quarter as Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis combined for 19 points. Thereafter, Sacramento was able to keep the two high-scorers in check (they scored just 19 over the next three quarters), but couldn't find enough of its own offense to come back.










*Sacramento Kings 101-106 Seattle SuperSonics*
*Notes: *After being blown out by San Antonio, the Sonics traveled to Sacramento a night later to take on the Kings - who played without starters Peja Stojakovic and Chris Webber. Early on, it looked like another blowout, with the Kings taking a 20-9 lead, but the Sonics rallied to get within two at the half and took the lead to the locker room. The third quarter was wild, with Sacramento stars Mike Bibby and Miller both picking up their fourth foul early in the period and five technical fouls whistled by the referees. 










*Sacramento Kings 107-115 Seattle SuperSonics*
*Notes: *The Sacramento Kings arrived at KeyArena with plenty of motivation after dropping two games to the Sonics, dropping their previous game to Phoenix on a questionable no-call and seeing none of their players selected for the All-Star Game. But they also came without Miller, suspended for his reaction to said no-call.










*Sacramento Kings 122-101 Seattle SuperSonics*
*Notes: *The Sonics fell victim to an offensive onslaught in Sacramento on April 5. The Kings shot 58.8% from the field and 57.9% from 3-point range, running up 122 points and 38 in the second quarter. The Sonics found some offense of their own, all five starters scoring in double-figures, and were down only three after one quarter and eight at the break. But Sacramento kept pouring it on and the Sonics eventually fell way behind in a 122-101 loss. 














​
GO KINGS!!!
Sonics Forum Series Thread
*
**Sacramento Kings: 50-32 
*Home Record: *30-11*
Away Record: *20-21*
*
Seattle SuperSonics: 52-30 
*Home Record: *26-15*
Away Record: *26-15*

​ SuperSonics have *H*ome*C*ourt*A*dvantage:
*Game 1: Saturday, Apr. 23 7:30p.m. TV: ESPN*@ *Seattle*
*Game 2: Tuesday, Apr. 26 7:30p.m. TV: TNT*@ *Seattle*
*Game 3: Friday, Apr. 29 7:30p.m. TV: ESPN*@ *Sacramento*
*Game 4: Sunday, May 1 7:30p.m. TV: TNT*@ *Sacramento*
*Game 5: Tuesday, May 3 TBA *@ *Seattle**
*Game 6: Friday, May 6 TBA *@ *Sacramento**
*Game 7: Sunday, May 8 TBA *@ *Seattle**

* if necessary
 

Sacramento Kings-Seattle SuperSonics Playoff History 

*Back in the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2002, the Northwest Division Champion Seattle SuperSonics will face off with a Sacramento Kings squad that has been a regular in the playoffs, making their seventh straight appearance. This is the first time since 2000 that the Kings will not have home-court advantage in the first round. The teams have met once before in the playoffs, in the first round in 1996, when the Sonics won 3-1 en route to the NBA Finals.*












> When the Seattle SuperSonics last squared off with the Sacramento Kings in the NBA playoffs, their opponent was not so much the Kings as it was recent franchise history.
> 
> On paper, the series was a mismatch of the highest order. The Sonics had won a franchise-record 64 games in the regular season to earn the first seed in the Western Conference, while the Kings had snuck into the playoffs despite a sub-.500 record. But there was a catch - each of the previous two seasons, the Sonics had lost to a lower-seeded team in the first round playoffs, producing questions about whether Coach George Karl's style could work in the post-season.
> 
> The Sonics would open the series without All-Star Shawn Kemp after the forward was involved in an altercation with Denver's Tom Hammonds on the last day of the regular season. But the Kings had bigger issues; playing the first playoff game since the franchise moved to Sacramento, they were nervous in the early going as the Sonics scored the game's first nine points. The Kings kept it close, but the Sonics pulled out a 97-85 victory behind 29 points and nine rebounds from Gary Payton.
> 
> Needless to say, a 90-81 loss in Game 2 that shifted home-court advantage to the Kings did nothing to ease concerns in Seattle, particularly about Kemp. Though he scored 21 points in his return, Kemp committed nine turnovers, including several costly ones in a fourth quarter that saw Sacramento outscore the Sonics 25-14.
> 
> The Sonics traveled to hostile ARCO Arena in Sacramento knowing a loss would further flame the talk of them being "chokers" in the playoffs. It was a scenario that nearly came to fruition, with the Sonics trailing 83-75 with 5:49 left in the game and Kemp on the bench in foul trouble. But the Sonics held the Kings without a field goal for nearly five minutes and went on a 17-3 run to seize command of the game.
> 
> In Game 4, as the city of Seattle was rocked by a minor earthquake, the Sonics finished off Sacramento. They got a break when Kings All-Star Mitch Richmond sprained his ankle and was sidelined for the game with 5:29 left in the first half. Without Richmond, the Kings shot just 40.5%, though little-used Lionel Simmons came off the bench to score 24 points. Meanwhile, Payton scored 17 of his 29 points in the second half as the Sonics pulled out a 101-87 victory.


----------



## Peja Vu

Kings in 6.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Peja Vu said:


> Kings in 6.


I think so too. Maybe even 7. :whoknows:


If we could get Brad back then I would say 5 or 6. :yes:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Also I'll change the linup if say Brad is back. Or the reserves. 


Ok so if we play like we are now I'm going to predict like this:

@Seattle *W*
@Seattle *L*
@Sactown *W*
@Sactown *W*
@Seattle *L*
@Sactown *W*


More predictions later.


----------



## Tersk

I have the Kings in 7 pulling the upset

Nice thread Ilir :groucho:


----------



## HKF

How can I root against Vladi Radmanovic? :sigh: Kings in 7.


----------



## Peja Vu

:rock:


----------



## Tooeasy

sonics in 6. Rashard is gonna come through in a big way for the sonics this postseason, beware.


----------



## LuckyAC

Sonics in 7.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Theo! said:


> I have the Kings in 7 pulling the upset
> 
> Nice thread Ilir :groucho:


Thanks man. 

I have a great mind don't I? :banana:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Miller update 



> Kings center Brad Miller, who broke his left leg in mid-March and has missed the last 25 games, remains a question mark for Game 1. Coach Rick Adelman said he doesn't expect Miller to return until late in the first round, but Evans said he expects to see the center on the court Saturday.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Mark Kreidler: One Bibby, then lots of maybes 



> Sure, they'll go to Mike Bibby. They'll go to Bibby because it's the logical thing to do, and, incidentally, Plan B does not precisely thrill the senses.
> 
> They will go to Bibby because he's a playoff guy, or so the local legend has it. He's the guy who almost took down the Lakers himself a couple of years ago.
> 
> He is absolutely the guy whose shooting touch can make or break a playoff series, and the numbers show it.
> 
> And they'll go to Bibby this time, the Kings will, because he's the man still standing. That's not necessarily an honor. It is what it is.
> 
> "Somebody always has something to say," Bibby noted Wednesday. "I like to be the one to prove them wrong."
> 
> *They'll go to Mike Bibby, beginning Saturday in Seattle, for the proving.*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

HKF said:


> How can I root against Vladi Radmanovic? :sigh: Kings in 7.


Comon HKF. :laugh:

You've rooted for us all year long, it won't hurt another couple of games. :groucho:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Peja Vu said:


> :rock:


Hell yeah man. 

WE BELIEVE!!!!!!! LIKE ALWAYSSS!!!!!


GO KINGS!!!!


----------



## Dodigago

Kings in 5 w/ brad

Kings in 7 w/o brad


----------



## Peja Vu

Napear said on his show today that Daniels and Martin are not on the playoff roster.

He also doesn't think Brad will play until later in the series (game 3 or 4) because he didn't look ready yesterday. Grant said he definetly wouldn't play if he didn't practice tomorrow.


----------



## Pejavlade

Kings in 6


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Peja Vu said:


> Napear said on his show today that Daniels and Martin are not on the playoff roster.
> 
> He also doesn't think Brad will play until later in the series (game 3 or 4) because he didn't look ready yesterday. Grant said he definetly wouldn't play if he didn't practice tomorrow.


That's good news for Brad. :yes:

Even if it's 3rd of 4th game thats OK.


----------



## Peja Vu

DaUnbreakableKinG said:


> That's good news for Brad. :yes:
> 
> Even if it's 3rd of 4th game thats OK.


 I just saw Adelman's quotes from practice on the news. He said Miller will probably be available for limited minutes during game 3.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Peja Vu said:


> I just saw Adelman's quotes from practice on the news. He said Miller will probably be available for limited minutes during game 3.


That's very nice. :greatjob:

We were worried that he wouldn't be back until second round. This way he'll come, get used to playing, help us and then move to second round. :yes:

GO BRAD!!!


----------



## Ghiman

The Kings got this series on lock, i predict a sweep, but i'll be generous and give Seattle one game.


----------



## Twix

I think both team is good enough to win at each other's court.

It should be a fun series! 

I say Kings in 6. :king: GO KINGS!!!


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Traffic dispute ends in tragedy 



> A beating near Arco Arena leaves a banker near death.
> 
> A traffic dispute between drivers of two luxury vehicles at Arco Arena left a prominent 39-year-old banker clinging to life Thursday and two men being questioned over whether they beat him into a coma, Sacramento police said.
> 
> The victim, Mark Leidheisl, a Wells Fargo senior vice president of San Ramon, was in a coma at UC Davis Medical Center with what police said was a "nonsurvivable brain injury."
> 
> Two Lodi men, ages 43 and 44, came forward voluntarily Thursday after learning of Leidheisl's condition, said Sgt. Justin Risley, a police spokesman.
> 
> The incident began about 10 p.m. Wednesday as Kings fans were streaming out of Arco Arena after the team's final regular season game against the Phoenix Suns.
> 
> Police said witnesses told them that there was some sort of traffic dispute between Leidheisl, who was driving with a friend in a Mercedes-Benz, and two men in a black, late-model Infiniti sport-utility vehicle in the parking lot.
> 
> After a short drive, Leidheisl pulled onto Prosper Drive, a quiet side street within sight of the arena, and the Infiniti followed.
> 
> *All four men got out of their vehicles, but Leidheisl's friend ran into a nearby field, leaving the banker squaring off in a fight against the pair. No weapons were involved in the scuffle, which left Leidheisl with a head injury that is expected to be fatal, police said.*











Mark Leidheisl


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings notes: Sonics hope Radmanovic steps forward 



> Peja Stojakovic isn't the only 6-foot-10 Serb in this NBA playoff series walking a little gingerly these days.
> 
> Seattle SuperSonics forward Vladimir Radmanovic went down March 16 with a stress fracture in his right fibula, leaving his teammates and coaches to let out a collective gasp and groan. He is hopeful for Game 1.
> 
> And like his fellow countryman, Radmanovic is critical to his team's success, a shooter from all distances. Seattle is 16-3 in games in which he has made three or more three-pointers. It is also 43-20 with him and 9-10 without him.
> 
> Sonics guard Ray Allen said "it would be lovely" to get the man they call "Vlade" back on the floor because Seattle could spread the floor, shoot like mad and cause all sorts of matchup concerns.
> 
> *"They're just like Phoenix if he's playing," Kings coach Rick Adelman said of the Sonics. "You've got him spotting up, standing there hurting you. They have one big guy and four shooters, and they're hard to defend.*





> *K-Mart closed*
> 
> Kevin Martin expected the news, and he has handled it with class.
> 
> The Kings' first-round draft pick isn't on the playoff roster, his season over before he arrived at the practice facility Thursday.
> 
> "I can't be upset because you've got to have class," Martin said. "I'm not bitter at all. I've learned a lot this year as a rookie.
> 
> *"This is best for the team. We need Bobby Jackson out there, and we need Brad (Miller). I'm just a baby in this league. I know I can get better and that my time will come.*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Playoff status of Peja, Miller is unclear 



> But their coach sounds as if he's not expecting them to play Saturday night.
> 
> Kings coach Rick Adelman would love to tell everyone how he will use Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller in Saturday night's Western Conference playoff opener against the Seattle SuperSonics.
> 
> However, that means Adelman would have to know. Thursday afternoon, he said that wasn't the case.
> 
> The coach spoke of both players as if they were unlikely to play Saturday. Stojakovic's strained left groin will be put to a test in practice today before the team flies to Seattle.
> 
> Miller, who is coming back from a fractured left fibula, has gradually upgraded his activity. Adelman said the 7-footer certainly wants to play Saturday, but it's more likely Miller would be available for Game 3 on April 29.
> 
> *Miller, Stojakovic, Mike Bibby (sprained left ankle) and Brian Skinner (sprained right foot) sat out Thursday's scrimmage, Adelman said. The coach expects Bibby and Skinner to be ready.*
> 
> "Everything is brand new to us. I'm kind of leaving (things) open. You could see Eddie (House) out there with Bobby (Jackson) if Bobby is playing Allen and Eddie is playing the point guard."


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Ailene Voisin: Luck might have smiled on the Kings with this matchup 



> *The Kings finally caught a break. They caught up with the SuperSonics, another team limping its way into the postseason.*
> 
> Put down that ice bag for a moment.
> 
> The Kings are underdogs only by disguise.
> 
> *The Kings should win this series.*
> 
> They can score, they can play with pain and, as they have demonstrated since acquiring Kenny Thomas, Brian Skinner and Corliss Williamson in the Feb. 23 Chris Webber swap, they also can defend on occasion. This series should feature several such occasions, nights when shots are contested, rebounds and loose balls are energetically pursued, blocked shots are an integral part of the game plan, and rotations are crisp and timely.
> 
> *Remember that win at Philly? The victories over Washington and Dallas? If the Kings run with the talent they have - especially in transition defense - the result should be a ticket into the next round.*
> 
> Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Cuttino Mobley are excellent scorers and shooters and should be featured as such. Thomas is a skilled inside/outside performer who provides much-needed athleticism around the basket. Skinner has struggled of late, but when on his game, he is a physical presence who combines with Thomas and Williamson to clog the middle. (The three former 76ers came from a defensive system; this is no time for slippage.) Darius Songaila is an increasingly valuable sub, Eddie House and Maurice Evans have contributed off the bench, and Greg Ostertag is still losing weight, and - he swears - he is still capable of banging around Danny Fortson and Jerome James underneath.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Anatomy: The perfect playoff player 



> In our fantasy laboratory, with the beakers bubbling over and lightning crackling in the night sky outside, there lies under straps and chains the makings of "Project T.U.P.S." - The Ultimate Playoff Specimen.
> 
> He is Franken-baller, a being so complete from head to toe, heart and soul, that if he were unleashed, the NBA suits would trip over themselves trying to market the creature. But no tattoos here. The only markings are those of stitches to keep the beast together. Pass the bone saw, please.
> 
> Franken-baller would be a frightening mix of poise and power, close to 7 feet with the ability to shoot, run, defend, post up and attack the rim. He would have the body of Amare Stoudemire of the hard-charging Phoenix Suns - the biceps, wide shoulders and one-handed throw-downs. He would elicit that sort of fear that's good to have in the postseason.
> 
> Golden State's Adonal Foyle, for example, had to duck from several posterized dunks during a late-season meeting with Stoudemire, the pre-Franken-baller mold, and Foyle 'fessed up later: "I gave up my body to science, at least to the Amare Stoudemire foundation."
> 
> "I've never been a weight room guy, lifting and grunting and yelling 'Aggghhhh,' " Stoudemire said. "I might start, though, just to be stronger."
> 
> Franken-baller would never get rattled, either. He would have the composure of Mike Bibby, the Kings' unflappable guard who never lets you see him sweat when his club is down one, the clock shows :01, and he needs a two to win it.
> 
> "Mike, man, he's done that his whole career," said Memphis' Earl Watson, a UCLA man who watched Bibby for years. "You can defend the heck out of him, but it doesn't matter. *It's like he's not human sometimes."*


----------



## Twix

DaUnbreakableKinG said:


> SuperSonics have *H*ome*C*ourt*A*dvantage:
> *Game 1: Saturday, Apr. 23 7:30p.m. TV: ESPN*@ *Seattle*
> *Game 2: Tuesday, Apr. 26 7:30p.m. TV: TNT*@ *Seattle*
> *Game 3: Friday, Apr. 29 7:30p.m. TV: ESPN*@ *Sacramento*
> *Game 4: Sunday, May 1 7:30p.m. TV: TNT*@ *Sacramento*
> *Game 5: Tuesday, May 3 TBA *@ *Seattle**
> *Game 6: Friday, May 6 TBA *@ *Sacramento**
> *Game 7: Sunday, May 8 TBA *@ *Seattle**
> 
> * if necessary


For those in Sac area, all games should be also on News10. I know for sure the first 4 games is on News10.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Twix said:


> For those in Sac area, all games should be also on News10. I know for sure the first 4 games is on News10.


:clap:


For the rest of us,  that don't get News10, we have to watch ESPN and ABC.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Ghiman said:


> The Kings got this series on lock, i predict a sweep, but i'll be generous and give Seattle one game.


Wow a sweep. You mean like this?










:laugh:

You're the first one I believe to predict a sweep. :greatjob: 

Hope you're good at predicting. :gopray:


----------



## Peja Vu




----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Full NBA playoffs schedule 



> FIRST ROUND (Best-of-seven)


Kings playoffs: Series schedule 



> Seattle vs. Sacramento


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: defensive definitions 



> (de• fens) n. 1. the art or power of defending, or guarding against attack; 2. Basketball. the strategies, plays, state of mind a team uses when it is attempting to prevent an opposing team from scoring. Transition defense: The movement from offense to defense when the ball changes hands. Good transition defense is a gauge of a team's hustle and court awareness.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Team effort 



> Here are the top 10 defensive squads of all time


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Count on it 



> The players and coaches who make defense a top priority


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Q&A with Kenny Smith - The analyst's view 



> We grilled the TNT commentator about his take on the Kings. His answers might surprise you.
> 
> 
> Q: Who are the dark horse teams to watch in the NBA playoffs?
> 
> *A: Well, I think the Kings. I think they could have rolled, but they've played hard. They've played together. They have kind of maintained. I think people are underestimating them and don't think they are good enough anymore. I think that backcourt with Mike Bibby and Cuttino Mobley is explosive. I know "Cat." He is tough to guard one on one, and Bibby is to me the best shooting point guard in basketball. The Kings have a legitimate shot. And when they get Peja rolling as well - that's the key. Is Peja going to be an All-Star, or is he going to try to be a superstar?*


:clap: to Kenny. I always thought he was good. :yes:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Vice or nice? 



> Joe Davidson ranks the playoff teams by their defensive capabilities


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: They do the little things in a big way 



> The team that will rule the West: San Antonio Spurs
> 
> 
> The San Antonio Spurs are so complete that they have only three players who average more than nine points per game, and they could still go to the NBA Finals and win. The Spurs have raised unremarkable individual play to a team art form. It's possible they could bore you to death, but more often than not they'd beat you into submission long before that, anyway.
> 
> Speaking recently about Peja Stojakovic's improvement from a mediocre defensive player to a decent one, Kings coach Rick Adelman noted that most NBA veterans go one way or the other. Their primary contribution is generally offensive or defensive but rarely both.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Defending champs have the right stuff 



> The team that will rule the East: Detroit Pistons
> 
> Certainly, there are legitimate reasons to favor the Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference crown. In a word, Shaq. In two words, Dwyane Wade.
> 
> But repeat after me.
> 
> The Detroit Pistons prevail again.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Kings vs. Sonics 



> Coaching - Edge: KINGS
> 
> Bench - Edge: KINGS
> 
> Intangibles - Edge: KINGS


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Sultans of swat 



> There's more than meets the eye when it comes to blocking a shot, a feat that requires precise timing
> 
> Dikembe Mutombo held the ball like it was his own baby.
> 
> Lying on the floor of the Seattle Center Coliseum, his 7-foot-2 frame sprawled out, wearing a smile that was never forgotten, Mutumbo lifted the ball above his chest. His eyes were closed, his mouth wide open. A portrait of pure elation.
> 
> But there was more to Mutumbo's happiness than the history on May 7, 1994, when his Denver Nuggets became the first No. 8 seed to upset a No. 1 in a playoff series by winning Game 5 98-94 in overtime. Mutumbo, a proud man who prides nothing more than the beloved blocked shot, had a playoff-record eight swats that evening, including two in the closing moments that sealed the victory. He finished with 31 in the five-game series, another record in a win that had everything he holds dear.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: The man who made playing defense cool 



> 'Today's game is all about style over substance,' says former New York Knicks star Walt Frazier.
> 
> Walt Frazier was cool, he was Clyde, he was the stylish New York Knicks guard with the game of substance. He scored from the inside and from the outside. He threw baseball passes and precise, one-bounce gems on backdoor cuts. He led the New York Knicks to two NBA Championships - to the club's only two titles - and perhaps most impressively, defended the wooden floor at Madison Square Garden as if it were his own private playground.
> 
> Give him the ball, and he made the play. Give an opponent the ball, and he made him pay. Jerry West. Oscar Robertson. Earl Monroe. Hal Greer. John Havlicek. Frazier, now 60, memorized all their moves. He was part basketball scholar, part gym rat, a strapping, 6-foot-4 guard who elevated defense to an art form. His stoic on-court demeanor contrasted sharply with his flamboyant lifestyle, the wild wardrobe and magazine spreads and high-profile social life enhancing the intrigue.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Can the Kings be stoppers? 



> Sounding off about the team's defensive abilities
> 
> Player and Coaches quotes:
> 
> Corliss Williamson
> Kings forward
> 
> Mike Bibby
> Kings guard
> 
> Rick Adelman
> Kings coach
> 
> Jimmy Jackson
> Suns forward
> 
> Jerry Reynolds
> Kings player personnel director
> 
> T.R. Dunn
> Kings assistant coach


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Adding toughness to a tender squad 



> Will Thomas, Skinner and Williamson make a difference?
> 
> The green light to attack the rim has turned to yellow now for Kings opponents.
> 
> Foes still tend to race toward the basket like kids on wayward skateboards barreling downhill, because that's what the dry-erase board instructions in the other dressing room demand. And reputations die hard - the Kings can be had inside, so attack at will.
> 
> But now there's a price to pay. As in a body to greet you just before the rim.
> 
> At least that's the theory being polished up for the Seattle SuperSonics, never mind the Kings' struggles to protect their interior turf down the stretch of the regular season.











"We're much better when we play tough," says the Kings' Kenny Thomas, above. "We just have to do it." He and Brian Skinner have helped the Kings' frontcourt play tougher.









Brian Skinner had added a lot of toughness to the Kings' defense.









Corliss Williamson's defensive prowess helped Detroit to a title last year.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Talking points 



> Tips for illustrating the right attitude
> 
> KENNY THOMAS
> 
> BRAD MILLER
> 
> PEJA STOJAKOVIC
> 
> MAURICE EVANS
> 
> DARIUS SONGAILA
> 
> BOBBY JACKSON
> 
> BRIAN SKINNER
> 
> MIKE BIBBY
> 
> CUTTINO MOBLEY
> 
> GREG OSTERTAG
> 
> KEVIN MARTIN



Click on the link to read moer. :biggrin:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: Let's not even pretend: Time to run and gun 



> More defense? Heavens, no. More offense. Immediately.
> 
> More running. More gunning. More open-throttle. More mad bombing.
> 
> More Peja. More Bibby. More Cuttino Mobley chucking it up from the wing.
> 
> More of the kind of stuff, that is, that has marked just about every memorable Kings entry of the New Age. Jack it up and follow it up, and let every other chip fall where it may.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs: DEFENSE 



> Playoff success is usually about one thing: Stopping people. Unfortunately, the Kings don't do that one thing very well.
> 
> The hunt ends here.
> 
> The playoff hunt, for one. But of the more pressing importance, so does the Kings' season-long search for a constant, something to fall back on when everything else seems in flux, something to write in big, bold letters on the locker room dry-erase board as these times of uncertainty and all-caps consequence continue.
> 
> DEFENSE.
> 
> Everything else has changed, so why not this? The injuries can't stop the healthy from playing it in this postseason that begins today, from manning up and clamping down no matter what superstar watches from the bench. The trades, one would think, only made it more likely, the collective athleticism meter rising as four players went and four new ones came.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Driver dies after fight 



> Lawyer says other driver in postgame clash is horrified.
> 
> 
> Bank executive Mark Leidheisl, who had been kept alive pending organ donation after being injured in a fight Wednesday following a Sacramento Kings game, was declared dead at 10 p.m. Friday, the Sacramento County Coroner's Office reported.
> 
> The fight between Leidheisl and two men from Lodi started as a parking lot skirmish and ended along a roadside as the Arco Arena crowd streamed out after the game.
> 
> Also on Friday, an attorney representing one of the combatants from Lodi said his client had no idea anyone was critically injured and is "extremely depressed and saddened."


This is sad man. :nonono:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Game at a glance 



> THE KINGS WIN IF ...
> 
> • Kenny Thomas keeps up with Rashard Lewis. Thomas must control Lewis, an All-Star hampered by knee tendinitis.
> 
> • Mike Bibby dominates an inexperienced Luke Ridnour at the point. Bibby is playoff-tested and proven, and Ridnour is new to all of this, two years removed from college.
> 
> • Peja Stojakovic has an impact, period. Deemed game ready after being slowed with a groin injury, Stojakovic must regain his form of two weeks ago.
> 
> *WORTH NOTING
> Greg Ostertag has 87 games of playoff experience with Utah, 10 fewer than Seattle's roster.*



GO TAG!!!


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings-Sonics playoff notes: McMillan not buying Kings' injury reports 



> SEATTLE - No Peja Stojakovic. No Brad Miller.
> 
> That was the latest word from Kings camp inside the Seattle SuperSonics' training facility Friday morning, with Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoff series one day away and favor fast falling toward the home team.
> 
> *Everyone believed it. Except Nate McMillan.*
> 
> The Sonics coach ran practice as if the injured Kings were shoo-ins to play in tonight's opener, despite reports to the contrary that would change again just hours later. McMillan called out their names time and again, while his players learned how to defend all the Kings' favorite plays.


:laugh:

I knew that it wasn't true. I expect all of our players to be ready.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Media Savvy: Kings lack sizzle, and a national following 



> Remember when the Kings were among the darlings of the NBA - a fast-breaking, behind-the-back-passing, sweet-shooting squad whose fanciful, free-wheeling game captivated fans around the league?
> 
> (You know, before they committed a major roster turnover?)
> 
> ESPN's Tim Legler recalls that era as if it were yesterday. Which it kind of was.
> 
> "For the last five or six years, the Kings were one of the top two to three teams that fans got excited about and loved watching," Legler says, sounding almost wistful. "I was probably their biggest fan. I loved their style."
> 
> But now that the former cogs Vlade Divac, Chris Webber and Doug Christie have been reduced to entries on the all-time franchise roster and the new-look Kings are limping into the postseason - well, let's just say the shotgun seat in Sacramento's suddenly rickety bandwagon is available for lease.
> 
> "They're a team in transition, trying to find an identity," says Legler, an NBA studio analyst for ESPN. "They've lost some parts, had some health problems. They've taken a definite step back."


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Seattle's roller-coaster ride takes team to the playoffs 



> SEATTLE - Nate McMillan went from Coach of the Year candidate to the least favorite suit in his own locker room. Ray Allen went from carrying a team on his back to hauling a monkey that had been there before. The collective turn for the worse wasn't much better, the Seattle SuperSonics going from NBA surprise to seemingly shattered.
> 
> And now, they are the Kings' puzzle to piece together.
> 
> There might never have been a more perplexing No. 3 seed, this Northwest Division title team that has been mostly amazing but sometimes awful.
> 
> Tonight, the Sonics will host Game 1 of this first-round NBA playoff series, but they have already won the title of Toughest Team to Figure Out. They are champions of all things confounding, from Day 1 of the regular season to Day 1 of the first Seattle postseason in three years.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Up and down; hurt all around 



> Injury-riddled Kings could return Peja, Miller tonight
> 
> SEATTLE - Kings coach Rick Adelman is probably still waiting for the punch line.
> 
> Surely it was some type of cruel joke that had Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller looking and feeling so good during Friday's workout. And each might play tonight when the Kings visit the Seattle SuperSonics to open their best-of-seven, first-round NBA playoff series.
> 
> Adelman said he expects Stojakovic, an All-Star small forward, to play.
> 
> "Peja ran good, and he's feeling good right now, so unless there is something happening (today) because of his workout ... I think he should be playing," the coach said. "He did everything we did in practice."
> 
> *"It felt good," said Stojakovic, who missed the final three regular-season games with the hope that rest and treatment would most aid his recovery. "It's the first time I practiced in a week and probably I'll be able to go (today). I'm excited.*











Peja Stojakovic missed the Kings' final three regular-season games, but his groin strain appears healed.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Crunch time: Nagging doubts crimp NBA playoff expectations for the Kings 



> Fan fervor seems to be at less than fever pitch as the postseason begins.
> 
> Is the thrill gone?
> 
> Asked early this week if Sacramento officials planned to drape City Hall with a banner cheering the Kings toward a playoff victory, city spokeswoman Liz Brenner paused.
> 
> "Are the playoffs this weekend?" she asked. "Then our banner will be up. Thanks for reminding me."
> 
> Such a sentiment would have been unthinkable last April or, indeed, any April since 1999, when the Sacramento Kings made the first of seven consecutive trips to the NBA playoffs.
> 
> But as the team launches its postseason campaign tonight in Seattle against the SuperSonics, fan fervor - normally at a high boil - is only now going beyond tepid.
> 
> Fans and other observers blame a variety of factors: injuries to key performers, inconsistent results, the departure of iconic players identified with the team's rise to glory, and a sense that just making the playoffs is no longer enough.










Tanner Turner, 2, sports Kings attire, as he and mom Jenni Smith head into Arco Arena for the Kings' regular season finale Wednesday. 









Fans look through racks of team jerseys in the arena store before the game.









Fans picnic in the parking lot at Arco Arena on Wednesday before the Kings beat the Phoenix Suns. Tonight marks the Kings' seventh consecutive trip to the NBA playoffs, yet player changes and injuries seem to have lessened the faith of some fans that the team can succeed in the postseason.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sacramento (50-32) at Seattle (52-30) 10:30 pm EDT 



> SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Seattle SuperSonics return to the NBA playoffs for the first time in three years when they host the Sacramento Kings in Game One of their Western Conference first-round series Saturday.
> 
> Seattle, which won the the Northwest Division title, has not met Sacramento in the postseason since winning a five-game first-round series in 1996 on its way to the Western Conference crown.
> 
> After opening the season with 17 wins in 20 games, the SuperSonics were hit hard by injuries down the stretch and finished with eight losses in their final 10 games.
> 
> *Sacramento, the league's second-highest scoring team (103.7), has its own set of medical concerns.*
> 
> Peja Stojakovic, who averages more than 20 points, missed the last three contests with a groin injury and is questionable for the opener. Brad Miller, who practiced Friday for the first time since missing 19 contests with a fractured left leg, may not be ready to play.
> 
> *The Kings are making their seventh consecutive postseason appearance and have won four straight opening-round series but never have captured the conference title.*
> 
> Seattle won the first three meetings against Sacramento this season before losing, 122-101, in their most recent encounter on April 5. Ray Allen led the SuperSonics in scoring in three of the matchups against the Kings.


----------



## Pejavlade

Sonics-Kings Breakdown 

*The Kings will win if ...*



> They don't get too caught up trying to work Bobby Jackson and/or Brad Miller back into the mix too soon. As good as those injured stars might be, the Kings have the horses right now to run with the slumping Sonics. Mike Bibby, Cuttino Mobley and Peja Stojakovic give Sacramento a perimeter trio to match Seattle's Luke Ridnour, Allen and Lewis. And Kenny Thomas, Brian Skinner, Darius Songaila and Corliss Williamson give them four capable big men to offset the Sonics' frontcourt rotation. The Kings remained a potent offensive force after the Chris Webber trade -- they rank second in the NBA with 103.6 points per game while leading the league in assists and turnovers --and also saw their defense and rebounding improve. But as long as Rick Adelman incorporates Jackson (wrist) and Miller (fractured fibula) without disrupting the chemistry too much, the Kings are equipped to advance.


*The Sonics will win if ...*



> Vladimir Radmanovic returns in a hurry. Otherwise the Sonics could be in trouble. Radmanovic has been out since March 16 with a stress fracture in his right fibula and is doubtful until Game 3 at the earliest. Without the 6-foot-10 bomber playing in peak form, Seattle loses a key weapon and matchup nightmare. The Sonics still have scorers in Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis and sixth man Antonio Daniels, but they will likely need Radmanovic against the higher-scoring Kings. Seattle has pounded foes all year with its bench, its offensive rebounding and its active big men (Jerome James, Reggie Evans, Danny Fortson and Nick Collison). But those factors figure to be mitigated by the rise in playoff intensity from their opponents. Seattle slumped badly down the stretch -- mostly due to injuries -- and it will be hard-pressed to beat the Kings without a healthy and productive Radmanovic.



*Key Matchup*



> Key Matchup
> Mike Bibby vs. Luke Ridnour. This is the one matchup where the Kings potentially hold a huge advantage. Bibby is a big-time shot-maker who has played in many playoff games. Ridnour is making his first postseason appearance. Bibby (16.3 points, 6.0 assists) didn't exactly light up Ridnour in their four regular-season meetings, but he's a savvy vet who will use his strength advantage to take the wispy second-year pro into the paint. The Sonics also have Antonio Daniels, a solid veteran defender, to check Bibby. But Ridnour's ability to stay with Bibby on the pick-and-roll and keep him out of the lane will go a long way toward determining Seattle's fate.


*Interesting fact*



> The Sonics were 26-15 on the road this season, second only to the Suns (31-10). They won once at Sacramento, where the Kings used to be all but unbeatable but slipped to 30-11 this year.


*The pick*



> The Sonics are missing Radmanovic and sliding into the postseason. The Kings have Jackson back, and they have more playoff experience. Kings in six.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Pejavlade said:


> Sonics-Kings Breakdown
> 
> *The Kings will win if ...*
> 
> 
> 
> *The Sonics will win if ...*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Key Matchup*
> 
> 
> 
> *Interesting fact*
> 
> 
> 
> *The pick*


Great to see that they're picking us. :greatjob:


----------



## kfranco

Man yall are getting spanked. Havent been keeping track of game, but why is it soo bad???


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

kfranco said:


> Man yall are getting spanked. Havent been keeping track of game, but why is it soo bad???


Bibby didn't play well and they they shot better than us, blocked better and rebounded better.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

*Game 1 photos...*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

SEATTLE 87, SACRAMENTO 82 



> SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Jerome James was there to clean up after his teammates.
> 
> James had the game of his life with 17 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks as the Seattle SuperSonics held on for an 87-82 victory over the Sacramento Kings in Game One of their Western Conference first-round series.
> 
> The third-seeded SuperSonics, who rely heavily on the jump shot, survived 36.5 percent (31-of-85) shooting and held off the sixth-seeded Kings, who erased nearly all of a 21-point third-quarter deficit but could not overcome their own shooting woes.
> 
> Mobley missed a 3-pointer and Mike Bibby fired an airball on a 3-pointer before Allen sealed it with two free throws with 8.7 seconds remaining.
> 
> The miss capped an awful game for *Bibby, one of the NBA's best clutch shooters. *He made just 1-of-16 shots, dragging Sacramento down under 39 percent (34-of-88).
> 
> Sacramento's *Peja Stojakovic played through a groin strain to score 24 points but none in the final nine minutes.* Mobley added 22 points for the Kings.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

DaUnbreakableKinG said:


> *Game 1 photos...*



And the rest...


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Oh so close - SuperSonics beat Kings 87-82 



> Bibby, appearing in his 41st playoff game, looked as though he had a case of the rookie jitters. He shot 0-for-9 with two assists in the first half, missed his first two shots of the third quarter and finished with three points on 1-for-16 shooting.
> 
> James, on the other hand, played inspired. The center, who started his NBA career in Sacramento, has been inconsistent during his five seasons with the Sonics, but he and seemed to relish taking it to his former team.
> 
> James had three blocked shots by halftime, and added two more early in the second half. He finished with five blocks, and his work around the basket -- eight offensive rebounds -- helped Seattle to a 51-44 rebounding advantage.


----------



## Peja Vu

DaUnbreakableKinG said:


> *Game 1 photos...*


Jerry Reynolds said he looks like Venus Williams, lol.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Peja Vu said:


> Jerry Reynolds said he looks like Venus Williams, lol.


:laugh:

White Venus Willams. (and male too)


----------



## Twix

DaUnbreakableKinG said:


> :laugh:
> 
> White Venus Willams. (and male too)


:laugh: :laugh:

I have no idea why Radman's hair look like that. It shocked me. It looks horrible. I hope he change his hair style soon.


----------



## Pejavlade

Twix said:


> :laugh: :laugh:
> 
> I have no idea why Radman's hair look like that. It shocked me. It looks horrible. I hope he change his hair style soon.


I agree he looks like Predator or something.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Pejavlade said:


> I agree he looks like Predator or something.


:laugh:

He really does. :yes: :laugh:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Twix said:


> :laugh: :laugh:
> 
> I have no idea why Radman's hair look like that. It shocked me. It looks horrible. I hope he change his hair style soon.


I kinda like it. He looks gangsta with it. :laugh:


----------



## Twix

Pejavlade said:


> I agree he looks like Predator or something.


:rofl: :laugh:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

NBA beat: Creaky or not,older players could affect playoffs 



> Kids these days.
> 
> They've taken over the playground.
> 
> It's become such a young league, Allen Iverson - at nearly 30 - considers himself "a relic around all these guys."
> 
> But there are some seniors who expect to leave a mark on these NBA playoffs. And not just how to act as if they have been down this block before. Some still have a lot of game, be it a shot, the ability to block a shot or an ability to set up a shot with dribble penetration.
> 
> An all "Seasoned Vets" playoff lineup could look like this:
> 
> * G-David Wesley, 34, Houston Rockets
> 
> * G-Gary Payton, 36, Boston Celtics
> 
> * F-Clifford Robinson, 38, New Jersey Nets
> 
> * F-Reggie Miller, 39, Indiana Pacers
> 
> * C-Dikembe Mutombo, 38, Houston Rockets
> 
> * Sixth man-Jim Jackson, 34, Phoenix Suns


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Playoff report 



> Fortson: Sonics' physical play to decide series
> 
> SEATTLE - There was no need for WWE and boxing announcer Michael Buffer in the Seattle SuperSonics' locker room, who might have rolled out the "Let's get ready to rumble" call to kick off Game 1 of the first-round playoff series against the Kings.
> 
> The Sonics are always ready.
> 
> Both teams have sizzling shooters, respected coaches, the edge of supposed disrespect and injured stars who are back at the right time. But the Sonics are convinced their physicality may be the difference-maker.
> 
> At least resident bruiser Danny Fortson is.
> 
> "Yeah, with Nick (Collison), Reggie (Evans), (Jerome James) and myself, we might be a little more physical than their very talented, skilled big guys who put ball in the basket," Fortson said, choosing his words wisely. "We're annoying people to play against."
> 
> The Sonics trailed only the Detroit Pistons this season in rebounding differential, pulling down an average of three more rebounds per game than their opponents. The Kings were outrebounded by an average of 1.9. When the Sonics outrebounded their opponent in the regular season, they went 41-15.





> King for the day
> 
> GREG OSTERTAG
> 
> The center known more for his late-game stints was the sparkplug in the Kings' comeback. He was 3 for 3 from from the field and had seven rebounds, playing 17 minutes.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Former King James finds home in Seattle 



> SEATTLE - Less than two hours before the Sonics and Kings began their postseason affair Saturday, the local sports talk radio show posed a question.
> 
> The topic was Seattle center Jerome James. His NBA life began with the team he was set to face in the first-round playoff series. Would James do all the little things he does so well, clogging the paint and using his 7-foot-1 presence in all the right places? Or would he try and do too much, seeking revenge for the team that gave up on him six years before? He did both. And it still worked.
> 
> James posed a problem the Kings couldn't handle in the Sonics' 87-82 Game 1 win at KeyArena, scoring 17 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and blocking five shots. Only sweet-shooting Ray Allen shot more times for the Sonics than James, hoisting 23 shots to James' 20.
> 
> No one could blame the Kings if they sat lock-jawed in amazement. In 1999, the only damage James did was to his left knee.
> 
> Fresh off his rookie season in Sacramento, the doctors told him to give up on basketball altogether.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Ailene Voisin: Bibby's night is nothing but no net 



> SEATTLE - In the left corner of the somber locker room, his left ankle encased in ice, Mike Bibby tried to explain what he himself believes is inexplicable. This is the playoffs. This never happens to him.
> 
> Bibby makes the big shots, makes the big plays, makes the difference. The one constant these last several postseasons - amid the crippling injuries to Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber and Bobby Jackson - along with the devastating defeats and even the dissension in the ranks, is that Bibby plays big in the playoffs.
> 
> Until this Saturday night.
> 
> Until this.
> 
> Against a Seattle SuperSonics team that squeezed him between a speedy rookie (Luke Ridnour) and a heady veteran (Antonio Daniels), forced him to labor overtime and often for 94 feet, Bibby missed 15 of his 16 field-goal attempts, contributed a shaky floor game, and not only short-armed a critical three that could have tied the score in the frantic closing seconds but found himself on the bench when the Kings were at their best.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Clanks for nothing 



> Kings fall short after trailing by 21 points
> 
> SEATTLE - Perspective allowed the Kings to see only a positive Saturday night after their 87-82 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series at KeyArena.
> 
> That meant focusing on the return of Brad Miller, who hadn't played since Feb. 27 because of a left leg fracture.
> 
> It meant remembering they shrank a 21-point third-quarter deficit to one point, 83-82, on Cuttino Mobley's three-pointer with 42.4 seconds left.
> 
> And it meant watching Peja Stojakovic deliver 24 points and Mobley 22 while Mike Bibby endured the worst shooting night of his career.
> 
> Bibby, who did not practice all week after injuring his left foot Monday against Utah, made just 1 of 16 shots, went 0 for 6 on three-point attempts and scored three points.
> 
> *After establishing himself as the team's best clutch player, Bibby clearly had his pride wounded by the dismal performance.*











Mike Bibby (10) and Kenny Thomas leave the KeyArena court as the final horn sounds. Bibby made only 1 of 16 shots and scored three points.


----------



## G-Force

Both teams struggled with their outside shooting in game one, and both teams have to the potential to shoot considerably better in game two. It is going to be interesting to watch the adjustments that both coaches make in game two regarding match-ups and playing time.

G-Force


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

G-Force said:


> Both teams struggled with their outside shooting in game one, and both teams have to the potential to shoot considerably better in game two. It is going to be interesting to watch the adjustments that both coaches make in game two regarding match-ups and playing time.
> 
> G-Force


Yeah, I believe so too that they'll shoot better. Wasn't a good shooting night Saturday.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings notes: Ostertag still must earn his court time 



> Greg Ostertag's role never changes.
> 
> He leans, he muscles, he clogs.
> 
> "That's what I do: Go out there, push people around, get offensive rebounds, try to change shots," the Kings' reserve center said.
> 
> *Ostertag has more playoff experience to his credit - 88 games - than all of the Seattle SuperSonics combined, so Kings coach Rick Adelman will continue to use Ostertag, provided the 7-footer produces.*
> 
> * Peja Stojakovic said his friend and fellow Serb Vladimir Radmanovic of Seattle treated for dinner Friday night. "He took me to some Italian restaurant," Stojakovic said. "It wasn't healthy. He wasn't eating good. I don't know. Was it a setup for me?"


Lots of experience if you ask me. :yes:


:laugh: @ Peja and Vladi. :greatjob:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sonics notes: Let's play 'Guess the quote subject' 



> SEATTLE - Take out the "P," and you have this:
> 
> The layoffs - those annual eons of time between games in the NBA playoffs.
> 
> So with the Seattle SuperSonics and Kings not playing again until Tuesday night, embrace a game of another kind. Call it "Name the Subject of that Quote." It's catchy, we know.
> 
> "It's hard to stop a guy like that, or keep guys like that down," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said Sunday at his team's training facility.
> 
> After Seattle's 87-82 game one win, McMillan could've been talking about Mike Bibby, the Kings' playoff-proven point guard who turned in a horrid 1-for-16 shooting effort in the opener. He may have been speaking of center Brad Miller, who looked respectable but played just eight minutes in his first game back from injury, or Bobby Jackson (0-for-7 shooting), Cuttino Mobley (22 points), or maybe Kenny Thomas (10 points). In truth, he was referring to forward Peja Stojakovic, who led the Kings with 24 points.
> 
> Radmanovic looking for more
> 
> The Sonics were 27-5 when Vladimir Radmanovic scored in double figures, and he is looking to regain that form. Game 1 was his first outing since fracturing his right leg, and he missed his only shot.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Ailene Voisin: Ridnour - his job is to pester 



> SEATTLE - The numbers certainly favored the other guy, as did the reputation. So what was the kid doing out there? What was he thinking? What on earth possessed him to pressure Mike Bibby - one of the clutch performers in recent NBA playoff history - and believe he could get away with it?
> 
> His quickness and energy.
> 
> His coach's game plan.
> 
> His own naïveté.
> 
> Luke Ridnour simply performed as directed, never questioned the aggressive tactics or even his own ability to accomplish the unfathomable: Frustrate Bibby into a miserable 1-for-16 playoff performance. Make him think, make him work, make him tired. And though the former Oregon standout missed all six of his field-goal attempts and had only four assists in Saturday's series opener, his quietly effective defensive effort was characteristic of Seattle's surprisingly successful season; these Sonics sneak up on people. Weakside, strongside, blindside.


What is *naïveté.* 











Luke Ridnour chases the ball between Kings Bobby Jackson, left, and Corliss Williamson. His hustle stymied Mike Bibby's offense in Game 1.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sizing up their weapons 



> Adelman tries different combinations to counter Sonics
> 
> Rick Adelman, who often has been criticized for not using his bench, couldn't be faulted in that regard Saturday night.
> 
> The Kings' coach used 11 players in his team's 87-82 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
> 
> Adelman is trying to weave Brad Miller and Bobby Jackson, both coming off injuries, into the rotation and find the most effective ways to deal with the size and physical style of the Sonics' frontcourt.
> 
> Saturday, Adelman tried the unusual pairing of the 7-foot Miller and 7-2 Greg Ostertag on the front line. The coach also had 6-foot-7 Corliss Williamson guarding 7-1 Jerome James, and 6-4 Cuttino Mobley against 6-10 Rashard Lewis.
> 
> *Miller and Ostertag rarely had played together on the floor even in practice, Adelman said.*


Hope they get used to each other fast. :yes:









Greg Ostertag (00) muscles his way between Rashard Lewis (7) and Jerome James for a rebound Saturday. Ostertag and Brad Miller helped neutralize the Sonics' frontcourt. 









Bobby Jackson, left, and Cuttino Mobley discuss strategy in the fourth quarter Saturday. Jackson had a cold shooting hand, going 0 for 7.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Tacoma News-Tribune: Radmanovic’s Braids are gone, but soreness remains  



> Vladimir Radmanovic’s leg fared better than his hairdo.
> 
> The braids the Seattle SuperSonics forward wore in Saturday’s playoff victory over the Sacramento Kings were long gone Sunday, but the soreness in his right fibula, which suffered a stress fracture more than a month ago, lingered.
> 
> Radmanovic continues to undergo daily treatments of ice, massage and electric stimulation for the injury, which kept him out of the final 19 regular-season games. He was scoreless in 13 minutes against the Kings.
> 
> “I’m not 100 percent yet, but I will be 100 percent soon,” Radmanovic said.
> 
> Radmanovic missed the only shot he attempted Saturday. Still, his reputation for making 3-pointers helped the Sonics spread the floor, coach Nate McMillan said.
> 
> “You’ve got to respect that he can shoot the ball,” McMillan said. “We were able to run a number of plays with him in the game, and basically he opened up the floor because the defense didn’t want to leave him.”


----------



## Peja Vu

DaUnbreakableKinG said:


> What is *naïveté.*


NAÏVETÉ: A FEATURE characterized by a relative inability to see the unpleasant aspects of life and the potential harmful or negative consequences of one's actions.


----------



## Twix

I found this latest Kings article:

link: Frustrated Bibby blows off media



> SEATTLE - Mike Bibby is tired of talking about his performance in Game 1 of Sacramento’s playoff series against Seattle.
> 
> Or maybe he’s just tired of talking, period.
> 
> The Kings point guard snubbed interviews Monday in Sacramento, perhaps showing his frustration from days of scrutiny after one of the worst games of his career.
> 
> Bibby shot just 1-for-16 from the field with four assists as Seattle won Game 1 on Saturday night. The SuperSonics lead 1-0, and it’s all but certain Bibby won’t disappear again in Game 2 on Tuesday.
> 
> “He’s human,” Seattle guard Antonio Daniels said Monday. “Guys are going to have nights where they don’t make shots or things don’t go their way. He’s still a very good player, obviously one of the best point guards in the league.”
> 
> ....
> 
> “If you look at these playoffs series, a lot guys are having tough games,” Kings coach Rick Adelman said. “It’s just how you respond to them. Mike has always responded, and I fully expect him to tomorrow.”
> 
> It’s not just Bibby who struggled in Game 1 for the Kings. Bobby Jackson, playing for only the second time since December after a wrist injury, went 0-for-7 with two assists.
> 
> “I’m over it,” Jackson said. “It happens and all I can guarantee is that I won’t play like that again. I didn’t play bad. I think I was trying to do too much when I got out there. I just have to take my time and let the game come to me.”


*GOO KINGS!!!*


----------



## Pejavlade

Thanks for posting that Twix, Im sure that Bibby will have a great game tommorow.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Pejavlade said:


> Thanks for posting that Twix, Im sure that Bibby will have a great game tommorow.


He better. Or he'll be booed in Sactown.


----------



## Twix

DaUnbreakableKinG said:


> He better. Or he'll be booed in Sactown.


I hope he don't get booed.  I don't think he will too regardless of what happens in gm 2.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

*Re: Other Playoff Series (talk about them in here)*

Puzzle still isn't put together: Healed Kings players trying to leap into mix 



> Adelman isn't concerned about Bibby bouncing back.
> 
> "I think Mike might have learned a lesson from last week," Adelman said. "He didn't do anything last week. He didn't shoot because his (left) foot was sore, and he may have learned he just can't do that. He may find out that even if he is sore, he'll have to do some things to stay sharp.
> 
> "And things aren't the same for him as they were before we made these trades. He is the guy now, and teams are going to do everything they can to take him out of the game. Teams are going to try and take him and Peja (Stojakovic) out of the mix, and he's going to have to make adjustments to that."
> 
> Adelman wouldn't discuss his plans for who will play tonight and for how long, but he did say Miller has practiced well enough the past two days to establish a comfort level for him.
> 
> "He's going to be used," Adelman said of Miller, who played just eight minutes Saturday, his first game action since Feb. 27 because of a bruised right calf and a fractured left fibula. "I will have no reservations about using him for eight-minute stretches."
> 
> Miller could start or come off the bench. Adelman said he used Miller, Greg Ostertag and Brian Skinner with the first team during practice.
> 
> "He's going to start eventually," Adelman said of Miller.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

*Re: Other Playoff Series (talk about them in here)*

Mark Kreidler: Playoff experience now lives elsewhere 



> "We were a very smart team," Adelman said, "and we were very hard to guard. And I think we had a lot of confidence that all that would carry us through to win the close games.
> 
> "This team, I don't know. I think they can do it, but that's where I'm going to have to make a hard decision (on playing time) in saying, 'This is the group. Here's how we're going to try to win.' "
> 
> This Kings team, even with playoff holdovers such as Mike Bibby and injury returnees Bobby Jackson and Brad Miller, is going through the Learning Hall of Discomfort that the last roster incarnation traversed a while back. Thus, there was no winning in Seattle on Saturday. You'd love to believe it strictly was because Bibby couldn't hit the tractor parked next to the broad side of the barn with his jump shot, but it isn't that simple.
> 
> This team is working on it, whatever "it" may be. The Kings in the post-Webber era are 6-10 on the road - and, sure, that includes a 2-4 body blow right after the deal, when the players still were wearing name tags.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

*Re: Other Playoff Series (talk about them in here)*

Kings shooter hopes focus fixed



> "That wasn't like Mike to play like that," Adelman said. "It was real obvious as the game went on that he got very impatient and that he was really pressing. He can't do that. He's the key guy. If he gets it going, it's going to be harder to play Mike.
> 
> "And I'm sure the doomsayers are saying, 'He's not the same Mike Bibby.' "
> 
> Which, if history is any sort of gauge, would be foolish. You won't catch anyone in the Seattle camp thumping their chests in claiming credit for Bibby's effort, with Sonics coach Nate McMillan saying, "I don't think you shut down Mike. If he's missing shots like that, you're lucky."
> 
> Bibby, typical of his competitive nature, refused to place blame anywhere, certainly not on a tender ankle that kept him out of practices leading to the game. He arrived four hours early for practice Sunday after a restless night, eyes focused on the rim, a ball rack by his side.
> 
> Who was more surprised by his outing, the Kings, the media, or Bibby? "Me," he said.
> 
> "I know the guys are confident in me," Bibby said. "I've practiced enough and worked enough that they know me. One game's not going to kill me."
> 
> Adelman recalled another NBA playoff performer of note who uncharacteristically was off in a Game 1, built up some steam and then erupted like so much lava.
> 
> "I remember a young Karl Malone when I was an assistant coach in Portland," Adelman said. "He had the worst game I've ever seen a player have. For two days, he didn't talk to a soul. He wouldn't even look at anybody. And all he did was go out and destroy us from that point on."


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

*Re: Other Playoff Series (talk about them in here)*

Thanks for cutting me - I'll show you: Seattle's center says it hurt when the Kings waived him, but he's happier now 



> "When the Kings let me go, it was devastating," James said after Monday's practice, the conflicted emotions flashing across his round, boyish features. "I went into a slump for a little while. I stayed in the house for two or three weeks. I didn't want to go anywhere. But then I told myself, 'OK, I'll show them someday,' and I forgave them.
> 
> "Now, I'm back in the playoffs and enjoying every minute of it. My goal is to show (the Kings) that they made a huge mistake. The people back there don't even know me."
> 
> In the briefest of summations, the man is a character, another in a seemingly endless trickle of 7-footers who enter the league, and one way or another, either by word or by deed - and sometimes by both - leave an impression. James lists Shaquille O'Neal as his favorite player. What else is there to know?


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

*Re: Other Playoff Series (talk about them in here)*

Kings notes: Jackson replays game 0-fer and 0-fer again 

Sonics notes: Who's No. 3? It could be anyone, McMillan says


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

*Re: Other Playoff Series (talk about them in here)*

Kings Audio:

Cuttino Mobley: "(Jerome James) is not Shaq" 22) 
Cuttino Mobley: "Our confidence is not down at all" 37) 
Rick Adelman: "We can raise our level, but so can Seattle" (1:03) 
Rick Adelman: "(Mike Bibby) has always responded" 47) 
Bobby Jackson: "We beat ourselves" 33) 
Peja Stojakovic: "We have to start from the first minute" 15)


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

*Re: Other Playoff Series (talk about them in here)*

Peja Vu reported on the other thread that Brad Miller is expected to play 20 to 25 minutes. :clap:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

*Re: Other Playoff Series (talk about them in here)*

Sacramento at Seattle 10:30 pm EDT 



> SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Mike Bibby and the Sacramento Kings get an opportunity for redemption when they face the Seattle SuperSonics in Game Two of the Western Conference first-round series Tuesday.
> 
> Bibby scored just three points on 1-of-16 shooting as the Kings dropped Game One, 87-82, on Saturday.
> 
> *There have been just nine games in Bibby's career in which he made just one basket, and two were this past season. His woes contributed to the Kings shooting less than 39 percent (34-of-88) from the floor in the opener.*
> 
> Despite a strained left groin, Peja Stojakovic led Sacramento with 24 points. Mobley scored 22 for the Kings, who will host Game Three on Friday.


----------



## Peja Vu

*Click for News10's playoff site....it has a blog, schedules, etc.*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Peja Vu said:


> *Click for News10's playoff site....it has a blog, schedules, etc.*


Nice site. :greatjob:


----------



## maKINGSofgreatness

I'll catch the uninformed up, terrible officiating, but the kings don't deserve to win this game by any stretch of the imagination, so it just serves as an example of the incompetance of NBA refs, not as a gmae changer.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

GAME 2 FINAL!!!

Sacramento Kings 93-*105 Seattle SuperSonics*


----------



## Peja Vu

2 at home....lets take them both!


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Lets hope we win both at Arco. :yes: :gopray:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Peja Vu said:


> 2 at home....lets take them both!


:yes: :yes: :yes: :gopray: :yes: :yes: :yes:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Lawyer: Single punch felled banker 



> Some at Kings game say road rage victim was confrontational.
> 
> A fatal fight after a Sacramento Kings game last week was started by the victim and ended after a brief scuffle, according to the attorneys for two men in the fight who described what their clients told police.
> 
> "It was a one-punch deal," said attorney Randy Thomas, whose client Donnie Garibaldi is the president of RPM Co., a property management firm in Lodi. Garibaldi's passenger that night, Jeff Berndt, a Lodi tree trimmer, is a business associate and friend, according to friends of both men.
> 
> Sacramento police detectives have been investigating the death of Mark Leidheisl, a Wells Fargo senior vice president, since the 10 p.m. fight a week ago. Detectives did not arrest the two Lodi men, saying that it was unclear if they acted in self-defense.
> 
> The confrontation began when Leidheisl steered his Mercedes-Benz in front of Garibaldi's Infiniti sport-utility vehicle as crowds exited Arco Arena after the game. The drivers exchanged angry words as they left the parking lot and quickly pulled over on a nearby side street, according to police, who have not named the two Lodi men involved.











Mark Leidheisl


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Notes: Ostertag: Now you see him, now you don't 



> SEATTLE - Rick Adelman has seen the Greg Ostertag metamorphosis before. The big man plays huge one playoff game, only to shrink like no 7-foot-2 man should a game later.
> 
> Two years ago, Adelman was watching the center from the opposing bench, as the Utah Jazz needed all of Ostertag's career playoff-high 22 points and 12 rebounds in a 107-104 Game 3 victory over the Kings.
> 
> His breakout performance gave Utah its only win in the first-round, five-game series. Then, Ostertag vanished. In his next two games and 74 minutes against the Kings, he scored a combined two points.
> 
> Fast forward to Game 1 Saturday night against Seattle. Ostertag's seven points and six rebounds in 17 minutes were key in the Kings' near-comeback from a 21-point deficit.
> 
> "We were basically playing five defenders against Utah, having Vlade (Divac) help against (Utah forward Karl) Malone and (point guard John) Stockton, and that gave Greg chances to get boards and shots where it opened up," Adelman said of the 2003 game. "But over the course of the series, it wasn't consistent, so you take a chance (with Ostertag)."
> 
> *QUESTION POSED*
> 
> *WHY DIDN'T RICK ADELMAN PUT HIS STARTERS BACK IN WHEN THE SUBS STARTED TO TIRE IN THE FOURTH QUARTER?*
> 
> Even Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson of the TNT crew were scratching their heads over this one. Sure, sending a message is one thing, but not when there's still a chance at winning. You could see that the gutty reserves were running out of steam in the final minutes, but Adelman stubbornly refused to make a move to any of his starters. It would have been interesting to see if Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby or Cuttino Mobley could have made a difference with the game on the line. On the other hand, they barely made a difference for the first three quarters.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sonic is more than the Rubberband Man 



> SEATTLE - The hammer came after the chisel.
> 
> The Kings were being broken piece by frustrated piece, the Seattle SuperSonics chipping away until they built a 23-point lead late in the third quarter of one wrecking ball of a performance.
> 
> Then guard Vladimir Radmanovic ran the floor as if he'd never broken his left leg, the braided hair of the Sonics forward flopping as he went soaring. He dunked with one hand, putting Seattle up 80-57. With that, he had 10 points, taking a mythical mallet to the Kings and their hopes of advancing to the second round.
> 
> For Radmanovic, being called an X-factor has never been so literal.
> 
> The Sonics' favorite factoid of late has revolved around Radmanovic's scoring tendencies. When he's scored X points (that's 10 for the non-Romans) this season, his team has gone 28-5. It's a nerdy way of saying that they're darn-near unbeatable when Radmanovic does anything offensively. Add center Jerome James to the equation, and they're the Rome that never fell. James, whose playoff career-high 17-point, 15-rebound outing in the opener marked his finest day as pro, followed up by scoring 19 points and grabbing nine rebounds Tuesday.
> 
> "I'm glad I'm healthy and able to help the team," Radmanovic said. "It was really frustrating being out for five weeks, watch the guys playing and not being able to help at all. I'm doing my job. That's what I did all season long." Sonics coach Nate McMillan was the prophet in this one. He made it clear going into play that two scorers is never enough, pointing to the reliable production of guards Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. The third guy was a must. Four? Forget about it.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Ailene Voisin: Key Kings play as individuals and falter 



> SEATTLE - Please, someone, let's try this again.
> 
> When do the NBA playoffs start?
> 
> In this seven-year itch of a postseason run, of inspired, often spectacular offensive basketball interspersed with defensive failings and those crushing seventh-game blows, there has never been anything quite this embarrassing, not against the Phoenix Suns, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers, and not even that Game 5 blowout against the Dallas Mavericks in 2003.
> 
> Yet against the Seattle Sonics - a team that can be characterized more by its togetherness than overt talent - Peja Stojakovic and Mike Bibby and Cuttino Mobley, or in other words, Rick Adelman's significant others, performed like a one-man band Tuesday night, as if unaware Bono had cleared out of KeyArena hours earlier.
> 
> These were the Kings in chaos, with separate agendas on both ends of the floor. These were the Kings confused and in complete disarray, at least until the second unit attempted a valiant, if ill-fated, rescue during the final quarter.
> 
> One can only hope both teams boarded the flight home.
> 
> *"They (reserves) should be a good example for us," Stojakovic suggested afterward. "They just played good basketball, and it all started on the defensive end. The way we play, when we play good defense, it carries over to the offensive end, and we move the ball and get good shots. We didn't do that tonight. Somehow we have to go home and find out how to get back to doing that."*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

A sub-Sonic performance 



> SEATTLE - Kings coach Rick Adelman said Monday that he wouldn't use 11 players Tuesday against the Seattle SuperSonics.
> 
> He was right. The Sonics dominated so thoroughly in winning 105-93 that he used all 12 of his players - including sitting all five starters for the fourth quarter.
> 
> And don't let the 12-point margin fool you. The Kings suffered a beatdown of royal proportions and return to Sacramento in an 0-2 hole in this Western Conference playoffs series.
> 
> "(The Sonics) began to change the game in the second quarter," Adelman said. "They became more physical and aggressive, and we just started messing with the referees. That's not the way you're to win this series."
> 
> The only silver lining in the Emerald City was the Kings' bench, which outscored Seattle 31-17 in the fourth quarter and whittled a 26-point lead to eight late in the game.
> 
> "The group that was on the floor in the fourth certainly showed the way we're going to have play against this team," Adelman said. "You're going to have be the aggressors."











Starters Peja Stojakovic, left, and Mike Bibby are left to watch and lament the Kings' Game 2 loss to the Sonics. 









Backup guard Eddie House shows some of the effort that made the game close in the fourth quarter. His unit closed a 26-point lead to eight.









Forward Kenny Thomas, right, fouls Seattle's Rashard Lewis in the first half. The Kings held the SuperSonics forward to 12 points.









Kenny Thomas, who was held to six points, heads to the bench during a timeout as Reggie Evans raises his arms to the crowd.









Kings center Brad Miller is defended by Seattle center Jerome James, who scored 19 points.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sonics bend, but Kings buckle 



> The Seattle SuperSonics are walking gingerly along an unstable precipice, where a misstep here or a wrong turn there could send them tumbling.
> 
> So far, they have managed to stay upright – barely.
> 
> For the second consecutive game, the Sonics blew a sizable lead to the Sacramento Kings before walking away with a 105-93 victory at KeyArena on Tuesday, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
> 
> The Sonics should be talking today about how they nearly dismantled a Kings team that was bickering, sniping and generally frustrated to the point of perhaps giving in. Instead, Seattle must answer questions about how it allowed the Kings to trim a 26-point deficit to eight.
> 
> “For three quarters, we did a nice job of playing early and playing late,” Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. “Then we got a little careless and we started to relax a little bit and allowed them to run free.”
> 
> They say all teams make runs, that comebacks are the essence of basketball. But one must wonder how Seattle could allow a group of reserves to cut so deeply into a commanding lead.
> 
> *In the fourth quarter, Seattle had seemingly taken control with a dominating performance. That’s when Kings coach Rick Adelman benched his starters and put on the court a collection of undersized reserves that featured Bobby Jackson, Eddie House, Maurice Evans, Darius Songaila and Brian Skinner.*











Seattle’s Ray Allen drives against Sacramento’s Kenny Thomas during Game 2 of the first-round playoff series. Allen finished with 26 points.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

James, Sonics have ways to go against Kings 



> Forget the fact the Sacramento Kings now must beat the SuperSonics four times in five games.
> 
> Pay no heed to talk of driver’s seats, broom handles or upper hands.
> 
> This first-round series between two of the best West Coast teams remaining in the NBA playoffs – come to think of it, the only two West Coast teams remaining in the playoffs – has only just begun.
> 
> The Sonics on Tuesday dominated a visibly confused, occasionally demoralized Kings team that can’t seem to settle on a lineup capable of achieving offensive cohesion or defensive pressure. Over the 96 minutes of basketball played in KeyArena since the series tipped off Saturday, Seattle has trailed for 50 seconds.
> 
> But the Sonics have miles to go before they sweep.
> 
> Yes, owning a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven playoff is preferable to either alternative. But Sonics coach Nate McMillan has first-hand knowledge of the kind of atmosphere that awaits his team when the series resumes Friday night in Arco Arena.
> 
> *“It can be hostile,” McMillan said late Tuesday afternoon. “It’s a building with a lot of energy. The gym is hot, and the crowd is loud.”*
> 
> McMillan recalls the best-of-five series between the Sonics and Kings in 1996 (before the NBA, taking every precaution to prevent an early exit by Shaquille O’Neal’s Lakers, changed the format for first-round series to a best-of-seven), when his team escaped an Arco Arena ambush in Game 3.
> 
> “The fans can be loud, and they can be rough,” McMillan said. “They say things that grab your attention. In the playoffs, they’ll be even louder.”
> 
> Of course, if Sacramento coach Rick Adelman (pronounced “Addled Man”) doesn’t figure out a way to solve 7-foot-1 center Jerome James, it won’t matter how high the decibel-meter registers at Arco Arena.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sonics Team Up for 2-0 Edge 



> SEATTLE, April 26 (Ticker) -- The Seattle SuperSonics are getting contributions from a number of key players. For the second straight game, the Sacramento Kings saw one of their pivotal contributors all but disappear.
> 
> Ray Allen scored 26 points and had a pair of critical plays in the final 67 seconds as the SuperSonics throttled Peja Stojakovic and held off the Kings, 105-93, to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.
> 
> After enduring Mike Bibby's woeful three-point, 1-of-16 effort in the series opener Saturday, Sacramento saw Stojakovic - who did not play in the final quarter - score just nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.
> 
> 
> *"I don't know what happened to us," Stojakovic said. "No defense, no offense. ... We need to go home and play with a lot more energy and passion." *











Luke Ridnour tallied nine points and six assists Tuesday.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sonics notes: Evans prepared for Arco to be rocking 



> SEATTLE - Arco Arena, Reggie Evans says, will be "crunk" come Friday night.
> 
> Just one of the Seattle SuperSonics forward's additions to the English language and prediction for Game 3 between the Kings and the Sonics.
> 
> That's crunk - as in loud, exciting, much like Games 1 and 2 at KeyArena, where the Kings were falling behind 2-0 in this first-round, one-sided affair.
> 
> "Our gym, it was crunk," Evans said with a straight face at Seattle's practice Wednesday. "That gym (Arco) will be off the ground. It'll be real fun for (Kings fans), seeing those purple uniforms. Their fans will be going crazy. They're so hungry right now, thirsty for a win."
> 
> The problem for the Kings is that these Sonics are among the best in the business at winning on the road. Their 26-15 road record trailed only Phoenix and equaled Seattle's home mark. Seattle was one of just five teams to post a winning record on the road, including a 106-101 win at Arco Arena on Feb. 1.
> 
> Sonics center Jerome James is fearing nothing but the cowbells at Arco. Even those, James said, won't make a difference.
> 
> "We've played great on the road all season long, even better than we played at home, so I don't think Arco Arena's going to be that big of a factor on the outcome of the game," James said.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings notes: 'Ain't nothing to talk about;' still, Jackson speaks 



> Even to the four newest Kings - Cuttino Mobley, Brian Skinner, Kenny Thomas and Corliss Williamson - it's apparent that sixth man Bobby Jackson is going to speak his mind.
> 
> Whether it's saying the starters need to bring more intensity when they meet the Seattle SuperSonics on Friday night or criticizing his poor Game 1 play, Jackson has shown he's one of this reconstructed team's leaders.
> 
> The guard used a profane word to describe the team's flight back to Sacramento on Tuesday night but added there wasn't much said among the players regarding the way they played in a 105-93 Game 2 loss to the Sonics.
> 
> "Ain't nothing to talk about," Jackson said Wednesday. "We didn't come to play. You've got to leave it out on the court. Everybody should know that. We're all grown men, and everybody knows we have to come to play.
> 
> *"(The Sonics) wanted it more than us. They had better energy. What's there to talk about?"*
> 
> Jackson said the Kings had two good practices Sunday and Monday before Game 2, but it was hard to tell by the way they played Tuesday.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings haven't played all 48 minutes 



> But Rick Adelman says the SuperSonics 'are playing like they're really hungry.'
> 
> Now is when we find out what we have in these here Kings.
> 
> What we've seen so far are disappointing, lackluster performances in the first two games of the best-of-seven NBA Western Conference playoff series against the Seattle SuperSonics and an 0-2 deficit.
> 
> "We've got to figure out what we really want to do before it's too late," Kings reserve guard Eddie House said.
> 
> The Sonics won three of four regular-season meetings with the Kings in the same manner they've won these first two playoff games, with aggression and by attacking with their quickness. Whether those tactics are intended to break down Sacramento's defense, pursuit of rebounds and loose balls or make it difficult for the Kings to run their offense, the Sonics have imposed their will.
> 
> "They've pretty much had their way with us in Seattle," said Kings coach Rick Adelman, who indicated his team watched lots of film Wednesday afternoon.
> 
> "They've come out and played with more energy than we have played with," Adelman said. "They've imposed their will on us, and we've been reacting. They are playing like they're really hungry. And we've got to play harder and smarter."
> 
> Adelman said following Seattle's 105-93 Game 2 victory that his team has been living and dying with its shooting recently. Sacramento made just 40.4 percent (72 of 178) of its field-goal attempts during the first two games. That includes just 9 of 41 (22 percent) from three-point range.











Sonics center Jerome James used his long reach to try for a Game 2 rebound between the Kings' Bobby Jackson, left, and Brad Miller on Tuesday night. James has 24 rebounds in two games; Kenny Thomas leads the Kings with 17.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Mark Kreidler: Attention, starters: Play like it matters 



> There was a great moment of clarity for the Kings late Tuesday night in Seattle, the kind of clarity that often occurs after one has had his eyeballs taken out of their sockets, slapped into a golf-ball washer for a few minutes and returned to him for safekeeping.
> 
> Asked why he left his increasingly exhausted reserves in the game down the stretch rather than going back to his starting crew for a final push, coach Rick Adelman got that look on his face that signals something in between dyspepsia and full-blown organ failure.
> 
> "They weren't going back in," Adelman immediately replied of the starters. "I mean, why should I (play them)? The other group was doing all the work."
> 
> You know what? It's the only good to come out of Game 2.
> 
> Hustle or get off the court. Play like it matters or let somebody else do the heavy lifting. That's all Adelman was saying. It's all he needed to say.
> 
> *If you're Peja Stojakovic, maybe that means get your guts up, start demanding the ball and cut hard off whatever screens are offered you. If you're Cuttino Mobley, maybe it means defend Ray Allen viciously and to the point of pure fatigue rather than simply hoping to more or less match him basket for basket, which sure isn't working.
> 
> Mike Bibby? Don't tell me the man who held his own against Steve Nash all those years can't figure out Luke Ridnour. Brad Miller? Terrible time to be trying to come all the way back from a broken bone, but he's either in or he's out.*
> 
> Halfway, in the playoffs, is nowhere.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Contract talks are old news for Sonics star 



> Ray Allen will be a free agent soon, but at 29, he may not get the deal he desires.
> 
> SEATTLE - Ray Allen walked off the practice floor Wednesday, assumed his spot away from the court and waited as a mini-mob of media gathered.
> 
> He talked about respecting the Kings despite the Seattle SuperSonics' 2-0 lead in their NBA playoff series, giving none of the sound bites that so often turn into motivational fodder for the opponent. He touched on humility, how his team needed to carry it as much as Allen needs to carry his team into the second round.
> 
> He talked with the wisdom befitting a nine-year NBA veteran, which he is, and with the experience of a man much older than his 29 years. Unfortunately for Allen, that's the last impression he wants to leave right now.
> 
> He's already too old.
> 
> Only in pro sports could being 29 mean Father Time is ticking. Allen, a five-time All-Star, has no contract beyond this season. He will be among the league's most coveted free agents whenever the Sonics' surprise run stops, with owners from Cleveland, Los Angeles, Denver and others opening their checkbooks to make a run for the sweet-shooting guard.
> 
> *He's seeking the contract of a lifetime, but there is as much as a $22 million gap between Seattle's offer (reportedly five years for $68 million) and the deal he desires. And for once, the player known for his clockwork production is a bit off on his timing.*
> 
> At the end of a five-year deal, Allen would be four months shy of 35, a relative geezer when it comes to NBA guards. Of this season's top 10 scorers, seven play Allen's position, with an average age of 25 years. Allen is No. 10 on the list, tied for the oldest with league leader Allen Iverson of Philadelphia.
> 
> The guards who have contracts at $70 million-plus landed the deals in their youth. Houston's Tracy McGrady was the youngest at 20, Iverson the oldest at 27.











Seattle's Ray Allen is averaging 27 points during the first-round series against the Kings. 








Ray Allen is one of nine players on the Sonics who could be a free agent at the conclusion of the season. The guard and the team reportedly are far apart on contract talks.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sonics expect Kings to be angry 



> Teach a lesson, or try to win a playoff game?
> 
> Sacramento coach Rick Adelman faced a difficult choice in the waning minutes of Tuesday night's Game 2 against the Sonics, and the first-round series may have been decided by his decision.
> 
> Disgusted by the performance of his starters, who combined for just 46 points and put just one player in double figures, Adelman banished them to the bench at the start of the fourth quarter.
> 
> *But then a curious thing happened. In less than 10 minutes, a Sacramento reserve corps of Bobby Jackson, Maurice Evans, Darius Songaila, Eddie House and Brian Skinner reduced a 26-point Sonics lead (88-62) to eight (100-92) with 2:32 remaining.*
> 
> Suddenly the Sonics were reeling and Sacramento was surging. Seattle coach Nate McMillan called two timeouts and rotated eight players to stem the tide, but nothing worked. With 1:49 remaining, a television timeout sent both teams to their bench.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sonics notes: Mobley continues to spar with James 



> This NBA playoff series might not be going back and forth, but the trash talk is.
> 
> First it was Kings guard Cuttino Mobley, responding to a rare outburst by Seattle center Jerome James (17 points, 15 rebounds) in the SuperSonics' Game 1 victory by saying, "Uh, if he plays like that again, so be it. I seriously doubt it. Nothing against him. You're not Shaq."
> 
> When James did, in fact, do it again, setting his career playoff high for the second successive game (19 points) as the Sonics went up 2-0 Tuesday, James - who, like Mobley, was a second-round draft pick in 1998 - responded to reporters in Seattle.
> 
> "I was like, 'Didn't he get drafted in the second round with me?' " James said. "He just got his opportunity before I did.
> 
> "Tell him to look for it Friday," James continued. "We got it in back-to-back games. Now tell him it's coming at him again Friday. ... Cuttino shouldn't have said that. That's all I've got to say."
> 
> At Kings practice Thursday leading up to tonight's Game 3 at Arco Arena, Mobley had the last say - for now.
> 
> "I don't want to say nothing about Jerome," Mobley started. "He jinxed me, had another good game."
> 
> And then he said plenty more.
> 
> *"It takes seven years to get (him) fired up?" Mobley said, questioning James' career scoring average. "Four points (per game), three points? (It's actually 4.9.) I've averaged 18 for my career. Come on, Jerome."*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Three keys to the game 



> *The Kings win if...*
> 
> * Peja Stojakovic finds his shooting touch.
> 
> * Brian Skinner rediscovers his lost game.
> 
> * They don't allow the Sonics to become dunk-happy.
> 
> *The Sonics win if...*
> 
> * Jerome James doesn't remember he's Jerome James.
> 
> * They continue to outhustle the Kings.
> 
> * They don't lose any of the steam they built up in Seattle.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings notes: Lift from the fans is part of the plan 



> There was a lot of roof talk at Kings practice Thursday, and it had nothing to do with any ambitious plans for a new arena (another dream, another day).
> 
> Kings players and their coach, Rick Adelman, were explaining that some good home cookin' - the raise-the-roof kind - would go a long way tonight in Game 3 of their NBA playoff series against the Seattle SuperSonics.
> 
> "Jerome James hit a turnaround (in Seattle), and their roof came off," Kings guard Cuttino Mobley said. "That was unbelievable. Hopefully our fans do that."
> 
> So does Adelman, who knows that any ounce of advantage is needed now.
> 
> "(Playing at home), it's huge," he said. "We've got the best fans in the league. It's like I told (my team), you've got to do something to get them excited.
> 
> "We know if we play well, the roof is coming off. We've got to make sure it comes off. But if (Seattle) jumps on us, they're not that great of fans that they can come out of their seats and onto the floor and change the momentum."
> 
> *Add noise - Arco will be booming, to be sure, but note that the Kings are only 19-13 at home in the postseason since the franchise relocated to Sacramento 20 years ago.*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Adelman denies trash talk 



> The coach says Jerome James and the Kings parted on good terms.
> 
> It's a great story if you believe everything you read in the papers and hear on cable TV.
> 
> Big man gets cut, is handed a garbage bag to clear out his stall and told to find another line of work.
> 
> Only it's not very credible.
> 
> One of the best stories of this Kings-Seattle SuperSonics NBA playoff series is how Jerome James - the big man in question - has played his most inspired and effective ball of his career against his old team.
> 
> It's true that James was once a member of the Kings, but he was a project back then. He played in 16 games in the 1998-99 season, sat out a year because of a bad knee and then didn't make it through training camp in the fall of 2000 because he wasn't healthy.
> 
> But a trash liner and occupational advice?
> 
> "It would be nice if someone would ask me if it were true before putting it out on national TV," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "No. 1, I have never cut one guy in seven years here by myself. (Other team executives) are always there. This team never gives garbage bags out. I know for a fact Jerome got two equipment bags with a bunch of stuff in it.
> 
> *"It's so erroneous. Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story. I mean, really, I don't know where Jerome came up with that. I have never told anybody to go find another (line of work), especially a 7-foot-1 guy."*
> 
> James lasted 2 1/2 weeks into his third season with the Kings.











Kings coach Rick Adelman disputes reports that he suggested Jerome James, above, seek employment outside of basketball.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Ailene Voisin: Peja needs to become shooting, not falling, star 



> Better defense. Better energy. Better shot selection. Better chemistry. Better matchups. Better ball movement. Better body movement.
> 
> Anything else missing?
> 
> A peeved Peja.
> 
> An engaged, assertive Peja.
> 
> The animated Peja of March and early April.
> 
> Not to suggest that Stojakovic should suddenly start ignoring Rashard Lewis, hoisting off-balance jumpers, or pounding the ball so long and so hard that he fractures the wooden Arco Arena floor; the Kings do enough of that already. But with this best-of-seven NBA playoff series shifting to Sacramento, that 0-2 deficit is almost large enough to accommodate a dozen purple-and-black coffins.
> 
> Decisive measures are needed, among them the emergence of a desperate Peja, the more mature player who, before suffering that late-season injury setback, managed incremental steps toward on-court leadership.
> 
> No longer dominated by Chris Webber or protected by Vlade Divac, Stojakovic, 27, was a changed man, a more dynamic presence who contributed his usual assortment of three-pointers, transition layups and backdoor cuts but, for the first time in his seven NBA seasons, deferred to no one.
> 
> His personality could no longer be summarized simply as sweet or sullen or silent. He had a lot to say on the court and, in fact, was frequently observed gesturing wildly, directing teammates, chatting with the refs, furiously strategizing with point guard Mike Bibby. And when jumped by Cuttino Mobley for one reason or another, Peja responded aggressively, accepted the challenge and went toe-to-toe, his features expressive and emotional and engaged.
> 
> *After one such encounter, Mobley patted him on the head, and the two walked off, smiling.*











Forward Peja Stojakovic, above, needs to step up to a leadership role, alongside guard Mike Bibby. 









From left, Kings players Greg Ostertag, Brad Miller, Peja Stojakovic and Mike Bibby have a hard time watching the Game 2 loss Tuesday night in Seattle.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Don't just stand there! 



> Kings need someone - anyone - to step forward
> 
> It's the Seattle SuperSonics against the unknown quantity also called the Kings tonight at Arco Arena.
> 
> *The Kings trail 2-0 in the best-of-seven first-round NBA playoff series and have talked a good game since losing Game 2 in Seattle, but in their current composition, they have no frame of reference for the situation. The Kings have never been here before as a unit. This starting lineup will be together for just the second time.*
> 
> So neither coach Rick Adelman nor his players knows what the response will be to having the season essentially hanging on tonight's outcome. The concept of winning four straight games after trailing in a playoff series is a bit much, even if the Boston Red Sox did so last fall against the New York Yankees.
> 
> "We've got to get this one; of course, we've got to have both," Kings small forward Peja Stojakovic said, referencing Sunday night's Game 4 at Arco.
> 
> Tonight's outcome, some Kings say, might hinge on the team's sheer collective will.
> 
> "We have to want it more than they do," Adelman says. "(The Sonics) have wanted (to win) more than we have, and we have to change that around."
> 
> Kings center Brad Miller will start and play long minutes, Adelman said.
> 
> "As long as he doesn't get into foul trouble or have a heart attack, he's going to be out there," the coach said of Miller, who will play just his third game since originally injuring his left leg Feb. 27.
> 
> Miller's ability to remain on the floor will be one of the keys to improved efficiency at the offensive end as well as attempting to slow down Sonics center Jerome James (averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds in the series).
> 
> "The last thing we thought coming into this series was that we'd have to double Jerome James," Adelman said, "but give him credit.











* It seemed as if the Kings were looking everywhere in Seattle for a leader, and all they found was a two-game playoff deficit. The team knows two wins at Arco are musts.* 


Also at the end of the article you can listen to AUDIO from Rick Adelman, Cuttino "Cat" Mobley and Brad "B52" Miller.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Seattle at Sacramento 10:30 pm EST 



> SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) -- After a rough finish to the regular season, the Seattle SuperSonics have found their second wind in the playoffs.
> 
> Seattle looks to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their Western Conference first round series against the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
> 
> Despite winning the Northwest Division title, the SuperSonics dropped 10 of 14 games prior to the playoffs. But Seattle has its first 2-0 series edge since the 1996 Western Conference finals against the Utah Jazz.
> 
> Sacramento is hoping a return to Arco Arena will invigorate the team after it averaged less than 88 points, committed 26 turnovers and converted just 9-of-41 from the arc in the first two contests.
> 
> Game Four is Sunday in Sacramento.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sonics greedy for big series lead 



> They had won 15 of their first 18 games, but still there was a fair amount of skepticism regarding their legitimacy as one of the NBA's elite teams.
> 
> And so the Sonics were labeled a fluke, a farce and an aberration.
> 
> The skeptics circled Dec. 8 and 9 on the Sonics' calendar. That was when the team traveled to Texas for two-thirds of the league's Bermuda Triangle, where so-called good teams are exposed, in a grueling back-to-back set at San Antonio and Dallas.
> 
> Coach Nate McMillan convinced the Sonics they could become the first team of the season to win on the Spurs' home floor, then recover to outrun the Mavericks the next day.
> 
> And when they did that, the Sonics believed that this season was truly special.
> 
> "That trip was one of those trips that you look back on and say, 'Yeah, that's where it all started,' " guard Antonio Daniels said. "Nate told us to be greedy. We didn't want to leave Texas with a split. And that's what we did — just be greedy.











Ray Allen helped the Sonics compile a 26-15 record on the road in the regular season, third-best in the NBA.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Game 3 adjustments, preview 



> The Kings made adjustments after the series opener, but the Sonics always appeared two steps ahead of them. Here's a quick scouting report on some of the moves and countermoves that are likely to be made in Game 3 tonight.


Click on the link to read more. :biggrin:


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Ridnour holds these games in his hands 



> In a classic case of role reversal, Sonics point guard Luke Ridnour was alone in the corner asking for the ball as Ray Allen dribbled, looking for an open teammate.
> 
> With the shot clock quickly ticking, Allen found Ridnour, who flicked his wrists perfectly, swishing the first three-pointer of his playoff career. And as Key Arena roared, Ridnour, in very unlike-Luke fashion, screamed like a fan, leaped into the air and threw a clenched fist into the bedlam.
> 
> "I've had so many good looks and they just haven't gone in," Ridnour said after yesterday's practice. "To finally hit one, I felt like maybe I could get going a little bit. I mean, it's the playoffs. The crowd was into it. It's fun."
> 
> In the third quarter of the second game of the first round of the playoffs, Ridnour had found his stroke, and his unvarnished reaction was refreshing to watch.
> 
> "I know how he felt," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "It was like, 'I finally got one to go down, man. I'm ready now.' It was like he willed it in. Like he was telling it, 'You gotta go. You gotta go.' And I think, at that moment, he felt like that's what he needed."
> 
> *If the Sacramento Kings, who trail the Sonics 2-0, had one advantage entering this series, it appeared to be at point guard, where their experienced All-Star, Mike Bibby, was matched against playoff rookie Ridnour. *


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sonics notes: All-Star Allen can shoot in the dark 



> Ray Allen had shot the lights out before, but never like this.
> 
> Alone on the Arco Arena floor Friday afternoon, Allen drained one jumpshot after another before Game 3 of his Seattle SuperSonics' playoff against the Kings.
> 
> It was 4 p.m., Allen's routine time to start his one-man shooting clinic and long before his colleagues arrived. As the Kings dancers practiced nearby, the place went dark, a technical difficulty everywhere except in Allen's form.
> 
> "I kept making them," said Allen, a five-time All-Star guard. "You would think that it'd be tougher, but at this time in my career, this point in the season, it's not really the basket that I worry about."
> 
> *"I'd like to see the ball go in, but it's really my body that I'm training. I could hear it go through the net. Shooting the basketball is second nature now."*
> 
> Later Friday, Allen was on once again, scoring 33 points in the Kings' 116-104 win in Game 3. He made 10 of 21 shots and had five assists.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings notes: Arco Arena is Bibby's house 



> Eddie House said there was no room or reason to complain.
> 
> His team won.
> 
> He didn't play a minute - coach's decision - but House was all smiles and wisecracks and high-fives in a jubilant Kings dressing room Friday night. The Kings' reserve guard was a key cog to the unit that came off the bench in Game 2 to save a little face in Seattle, using a 15-0 run to make a complete wipeout a little less embarrassing.
> 
> He didn't play in Game 3 because Mike Bibby and company were too good to sit, Bibby especially, with the Kings' leader producing 31 points, and there you have it.
> 
> *"It's not about me or who plays, it's about winning and getting back in this series, and that's what we did," House said. "I can't control who plays. But coach knows he can use me. I'll always be ready. If not, I'll be on the sideline rooting on the guys."*
> 
> And on his brother-in-law Bibby: "I was telling someone yesterday that he's back to his old shenanigans."


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

This time, Thomas finds his way around 



> He scores 22 points and uses fast feet to get past the Sonics' Jerome James.
> 
> Kenny Thomas is no fool.
> 
> He found out in two dreary team outings in Seattle that you can't necessarily score by going over a 7-footer who has arms long enough to touch the banners in the rafters, so go to Option B.
> 
> In this case, that would be using fast feet to go around Jerome James, who had been using the Kings as a personal launching pad to sudden fame and, perhaps, a much fatter contract.
> 
> Thomas played bigger than his listed 6-foot-7 in a game in which he and all the starters had to show something after getting belted in Game 2, and he proved to be too quick for James, slithering around Seattle's center for bursts to the basket en route to a 22-point night. He was second among the Kings in scoring, behind Mike Bibby's 31-point outburst, and he recorded a playoff career high on a night of near perfection in Sacramento's 116-104 victory.
> 
> He missed only 2 of 10 shots, made all six of his free throws, had seven rebounds and no turnovers in 33 minutes.











Kings forward Kenny Thomas, left, was second on the team in scoring Friday night, behind Mike Bibby.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Lewis hardly playing like an NBA All-Star 



> The Sonics forward scores just nine points, adding to his postseason struggles.
> 
> Success has a funny way of hiding all the ugly stuff.
> 
> So when the Seattle SuperSonics went up 2-0 on the Kings in the first round of the playoffs, the two mini-eggs laid by forward Rashard Lewis went largely unnoticed.
> 
> Lewis scored 18 points in Game 1, just 12 in Game 2. All this from a guy who had never mattered to his team more than this season, averaging a career-high 20 points.
> 
> Sonics coach Nate McMillan had even gone so far as to laud Lewis for playing the unassuming role, discussing how Lewis' unselfishness opened things up for center Jerome James and all his surprising efforts.
> 
> But this is no role player. This was Lewis at his lousiest.
> 
> It was the egg coming straight from a monster-sized Easter bunny, impossible to ignore if only because a win didn't conceal it this time. Lewis had just nine points in the Kings' 116-104 win, hitting just two shots on a night so frustrating he had no desire to talk about it.
> 
> *He couldn't get past Peja Stojakovic, who made up for his own off night (12 points, 3-of-11 shooting) by way of active defense on the hobbling scorer. Lewis, who missed nine of the final 13 regular-season games with a right foot contusion and left knee tendinitis, didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday.*











Seattle forward Rashard Lewis receives defensive attention from the Kings' Peja Stojakovic (16) and Mike Bibby on Friday night. Lewis, who averaged 20 points per game this season, has just 39 total points in the three games of this series.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Ailene Voisin: Bibby takes charge for the Kings ... again 



> In these NBA playoffs, when it comes to these Kings, one thing is as predictable as the moon and the stars, and an offense that never sets.
> 
> Mike Bibby's presence.
> 
> He sweats, he strains, he leaves exhausted.
> 
> He struggles once, maybe twice, but never in threes.
> 
> So, really, was anyone surprised at the way events unfolded Friday at Arco Arena? On the night that determined whether this becomes a series or an early Kings offseason, the veteran point guard produced another playoff classic, did what he almost always does.
> 
> He led the Kings with his shooting, his penetration, his hesitation, stutter-step drives that confound his opponents, catches them leaning one way just long enough to create an opening. The man is so crafty he almost looks fleet. The way he competes in these late-night events - so stoic and straight-faced - he could play poker with the Maloofs.
> 
> Lucky for them, he plays for their Kings.
> 
> *Plays for the Kings. Choreographs the Kings. Leads the Kings. Drives the Kings.*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Mark Kreidler: Kings try a return to old ways - and win 



> The Kings scored 38 points in the third quarter of a playoff game on Friday night, and thank goodness. They finally went old school.
> 
> You remember old school; the local group used to call that number all the time.
> 
> Old school was Jason Williams bouncing a pass off Gavin Maloof's ballcap, taking the carom and jacking up a three-pointer from, oh, the airport.
> 
> *Old school was up and down the court, basically daring the other team to swap bucket for bucket. It was Williams to Webber to Divac and back out to, you name it, Vernon Maxwell or some other designated blaster. It almost always got ugly somewhere along the way, in the really classic, car-wreck sense of the word, but that was an acceptable part of the deal, because the upside was this hilarious, nonstop, breakneck race to score. First team to 110 wins.*
> 
> And it was good. And it worked more often than not. And absent any really reasonable alternative, it'll do just fine.
> 
> Old school, around here, equals a puncher's chance. And that's what the Kings are onto right now.
> 
> The team that still ought to be sending itself greeting cards got back in the postseason picture on Friday. It was 116-104 over the Seattle SuperSonics, and it was old school in the best possible sense.











Kings forward Corliss Williamson and Seattle's Danny Fortson battle under the basket in the Kings' victory.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

He's a real gym-dandy 



> Bibby goes back to work, lifts Kings
> 
> Kings guard Mike Bibby showed up early, literally and figuratively, for Friday night's Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference playoff series against the Seattle SuperSonics.
> 
> Bibby was at the practice facility Thursday night sticking shot after shot, preparing and planning to do exactly what he did Friday night - lead the Kings to a critical 116-104 victory before a loud, late-arriving sellout crowd of 17,317 at Arco Arena.
> 
> The victory moved the Kings within 2-1 of the Sonics in the best-of-seven, first-round series and set up what figures to be a battle in Game 4 Sunday night at Arco.
> 
> Bibby led the Kings with 31 points and 11-of-21 field-goal shooting, including his first made three-pointer of the playoffs, and 8-of-9 free-throw shooting. Each of the Kings' starters reached double-figure scoring.
> 
> Kings forward Kenny Thomas scored a career-playoff-high 22 and added seven rebounds.
> 
> Thomas played 33 minutes, a total reduced by five fouls that sent him to Kings coach Rick Adelman's bench. Cuttino Mobley had his hands full with Seattle's Ray Allen (game-high 33 points) but scored 21 points and shot 7 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 7 from three-point range, and 4 of 4 on free throws.
> 
> Bibby was asked if his mind-set entering the game was to be aggressive.
> 
> *"I made 275 shots (Thursday night)," he replied with a smirk. "What do you think?"*











Mike Bibby was the driving force behind the Kings' victory over Rashard Lewis and the Seattle SuperSonics in Game 3 on Friday night.









Kings center Brad Miller is helped off the floor during the second quarter of Game 3.









The Kings' Bobby Jackson drives against Seattle's Nick Collison in the first quarter. Jackson scored nine points in 18 minutes.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

NBA beat: Love 'em or hate 'em, these are 5 feisty guys 



> These are the guys one takes great pleasure in clobbering and muting.
> 
> Foes so spastic and so into it, they gnaw at you. But they're also the type you would certainly appreciate having on your side.
> 
> An All-Fiery-Five collection of fired-up, wound-up and driven postseason players would look something like this: Guards Jon Barry, Houston Rockets, and Damon Jones, Miami Heat; forwards Reggie Evans, Seattle SuperSonics, and Kenyon Martin, Denver Nuggets; center Alonzo Mourning, Miami Heat.
> 
> These guys couldn't play a video game without knocking the couch over. The oldest of the bunch at 35 is Mourning, who has rediscovered his competitive furnace. He's back in Miami after his career was nearly derailed because of kidney problems. He's flexing his muscled guns, high-fiving all comers as in his early Heat days. And he said the other day after an especially inspired Game 2 victory over the New Jersey Nets that he plays every game "like it's my last."
> 
> The biceps thing? It bothers opponents when he scowls and shows the brawn like someone at a WWE reunion, but no one's complaining in Miami.
> 
> *"If I had Zo's biceps, I'd be flexing all the time," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said in his post-Game 2 news conference. "I'd be coaching in sleeveless shirts. I could only dream of that."*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Supersonics notes: Lewis hemmed in by double team 



> It sounded like an admission of defeat.
> 
> Seattle SuperSonics forward Rashard Lewis, discouraged after two woeful offensive outings against the Kings in their first round playoff series, feels as if the fix is on.
> 
> The Kings know his every move, maybe even his thoughts. They trail him the way the IRS does tax evaders, and they never come alone.
> 
> *"Sacramento pretty much knows every play I'm running - what I'm going to do, where I'm going to be at," Lewis said. "They're taking me out before I can post up. There's a guy leaving our bigs and shadowing me in the middle of the paint before they even pass the ball to me in the post. Maybe, I think, we need to change a couple plays up."*
> 
> Or maybe the Kings do. The double-team method has worked as far as Lewis is concerned, although it has allowed center Jerome James to roam free down low and quadruple his scoring average from the regular season. The Kings' Peja Stojakovic has had the main assignment, forcing Lewis into a 12.2-points-per-game average that's way off his pace of 20.5 that earned him a debut in this season's All-Star Game.
> 
> But at practice Saturday, Lewis spoke as if he had reached the nowhere-to-go-but-up state of mind, the kind that typically results in good players bouncing back to have great nights.
> 
> Sonics coach Nate McMillan is a respected tactician, meaning he will have some sort of answer when his squad looks to take a 3-1 series lead in Game 4 tonight at Arco Arena. Together, they're looking to make Lewis matter again.
> 
> "I'm a good player, and I've been in this position before," Lewis said. "I pick and choose my ways to score, and I'll find a different way. Tomorrow, I'm sure I'll have a different game."


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings notes: Games too physical, Adelman insists 



> When Kings coach Rick Adelman sends his yearly gripes about playoff officiating to the NBA, he doesn't expect much in return.
> 
> An e-mail reply is nice, even better if the head official responds to every detailed complaint, as former head of officiating Ed Rush has done for the Kings before.
> 
> This season's first official grievance was filed Saturday, because Adelman and his staff are fed up with what they perceive as a first-round playoff series that has become too physical, even by playoff standards.
> 
> *The Seattle SuperSonics lead the best-of-seven first-round series 2-1, largely because their physical big men had their way in Seattle.*
> 
> The hope, Adelman said, is that each new officiating crew comes with the proper context, knowing each player and how he has been playing.
> 
> "They've allowed too much to happen," Adelman said of the officials. "On the boards, it's ridiculous what they're allowing to happen. I think after three games, someone should look at that, and when the officials come in here (tonight), they should be aware of that. ... I know the playoffs are physical, but I've been told they're no different than the regular season."
> 
> The Sonics were furious with some of the calls in the Kings' 116-104 Game 3 victory Friday night, most notably the perceived quick whistles on forward Danny Fortson. He had five fouls in eight minutes - plus a technical.











Kings coach Rick Adelman frowns in disgust over a foul called by Sean Corbin in Game 2 of the playoff series against Seattle on Tuesday night.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Don't expect surprises 



> There may be tweaks, but it's too late to make major changes
> 
> Seven months ago, NBA teams - the Seattle SuperSonics and Kings included - assembled for training camp. Including their three meetings in this current Western Conference first-round playoff series, the teams have met seven times since the regular season began.
> 
> Kings coach Rick Adelman said he does not see either team making wholesale changes for tonight's pivotal Game 4 at Arco Arena.
> 
> "At this stage of the year, you're not going to see a lot of major changes," said Adelman, whose 130 playoff games as a coach (68-62) rank ninth all time. "If you didn't have it in your offense by the start of the playoffs, it's a little late to make big changes. What you'll see is teams tweaking things here and there."
> 
> Adelman and Seattle coach Nate McMillan have said they need to find better methods of controlling their opposition's pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop plays.
> 
> Adelman said the team best able to recognize, adjust and execute will be in the driver's seat.
> 
> Right now, Seattle is steering with its 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Sonics know a victory would put them in position to put away the Kings in Tuesday night's Game 5 in Seattle. In effect, Seattle still is playing with house money, because it already has protected its home-court advantage, with Games 5 and 7 still to be played at KeyArena.
> 
> The Kings know they have to win in Seattle to win the series but now are playing the second of two games (Game 3 was the first) they have to win.
> 
> *The Kings watched film for 45 minutes Saturday afternoon and then worked on shooting. Adelman initially planned about a one-hour gathering but hinted he kept his group around a bit longer, hoping to sharpen its focus.*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Mobley answers to his mother 



> Cuttino is tough, but Jackie can still get his full attention.
> 
> Cuttino Mobley backs down to no player.
> 
> Not Kobe Bryant in postseasons past when the Laker was at his very best; not the ever-efficient and hard-to-keep-up-with Ray Allen of Seattle now.
> 
> But Mobley's mom? Look out.
> 
> The Kings guard can hear Jackie Mobley's voice even in the most frantic Arco Arena moments. It can pierce through the delirium and reach his eardrums like a cannon blast, stopping him cold.
> 
> Take Friday night. Mobley did most of the barking in a Game 3 the Kings desperately needed in this first-round playoff series with the SuperSonics. He jumped on teammates to stick with it, then his mother got on him.
> 
> When Mobley was hit with a technical foul late in a game the Kings went on to win, there was Mama Mobley standing on the far baseline, in clear view of the culprit, arms crossed, shouting, "Cut that out, Cuttino!"
> 
> It's a strong bond between mother and son, nurtured in North Philadelphia when all they had was each other, with back alleys so dark and dangerous Mobley, as a 12-year-old, had to stand cool when a thug stuffed a gun barrel into his mouth just to see how he'd respond.
> 
> He responded well enough to get away, to avoid such a mess again.
> 
> Then and now, Jackie is the woman in his life, the one constant in a basketball career of change - one high school, one prep school, one college, three NBA teams. And if that makes him a mama's boy, so be it. Join the Kings crowd. Mike Bibby is a mama's boy. Same with Bobby Jackson, whose mother died two years ago but remains in his heart.











Kings guard Cuttino Mobley may be tough, but he’s barely a match for his mom, Jackie.









Kings guard Cuttino Mobley may be tough, but he’s barely a match for his mom, Jackie, above. When he was fined by the NBA last week, his mom gave him an earful.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Marcos Breton: Would the curtains close? 



> An early exit from the playoffs by the Kings would damage the chances of a new arena
> 
> If the Kings had won the NBA title in 2002, would we have a new arena in Sacramento today? You bet.
> 
> Sacramento was a cauldron of pent-up emotion during that year's Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
> 
> Can you imagine if the Kings had actually prevailed while tapping fully into a caustic vein of regional rivalry and searing hatred for former Lakers Shaquille O'Neal and Phil Jackson?
> 
> Can you imagine the celebration spawned by the NBA trophy paraded down J Street and hoisted in triumph at City Hall? Sacramento would have broken ground for a new arena the next day. Our city would have been so happy, grateful and emotional that approving a taxpayer-funded arena would have seemed the natural thing to do, like a family buying a car it really couldn't afford after a good year in the stock market.
> 
> OK, wake up now!
> 
> *Reality reminds that Peja Stojakovic missed that wide-open jumper at the end of regulation in Game 7 against the Lakers just as he's missing wide-open jumpers against the Seattle SuperSonics now. Reality is that Sacramento's arena plans have whiffed like Peja's playoff shots and the Kings' championship hopes.*
> 
> Fast forward to today and another must-win game in which a Kings loss would spell near-certain elimination from the first round of the playoffs for the first time in five years.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Ailene Voisin: Seattle's bruising play doesn't faze Miller 



> They play dirty, they play hard, but after missing the final 25 regular-season games because of a thigh contusion and fractured left leg, Brad Miller is donating his body to the cause.
> 
> Shove. Grab. Hold. Push.
> 
> Trash talk.
> 
> Regardless of what Sonics enforcers Reggie Evans and Danny Fortson have in mind for Game 4 - and Miller anticipates more of a WWE encounter than a skills test - the Kings center plans another prolonged leap into the ring. He is prepared for anything. And while he prefers a more gentlemanly scrum, given the frustration of watching and waiting during his recent seven-week absence, the 7-foot-1, 261-pound veteran isn't averse to throwing elbows and verbal jabs of his own.
> 
> The Sonics as dirty players?
> 
> "There are a couple of them that are," suggested Miller with a sly smile. "Who do you think? It isn't hard to figure out. You can see what Danny (Fortson) does, but you can't see Reggie. (Evans) learned that from Iowa. That's exactly how they played in college. I've told him to his face ... the way he flops, grabs, holds. There's a line with athletes, and sometimes he goes over it. But that's his game. He plays hard and gets away with it."
> 
> Welcome back, Brad.
> 
> The Kings need a dose of nasty.
> 
> While not exactly a mirror image of the wide-bodied Sonics duo, Miller is hardly a cupcake. He speaks softly and plays with a bang. The familiar frown is a facade, the pretty passes and feathery jumpers misleading. This is a Marlboro man who would rather chew than inhale, who couldn't wait to get back in the saddle.
> 
> *Those 25 games were painful for him, worse for the slumping Kings. Reserve Brian Skinner made an early impact defensively, but Rick Adelman's high-post offense relies heavily on a creative passing big man, and with Vlade Divac and Chris Webber having departed, Miller is the sole heir on the roster. His inside/outside balance has been integral to the Kings' successes these past two seasons, and when healthy, his physical presence significantly enhances current prospects for a prolonged series.*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Seattle at Sacramento 10:30 pm EDT 



> SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) -- Mike Bibby saved a vintage playoff performance for the home fans. He hopes to provide another one on Sunday when the Sacramento Kings attempt to even their Western Conference series against the Seattle SuperSonics.
> 
> The series shifts to Seattle for Game Five on Tuesday.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Seattle SuperSonics lead the series 3-1.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sonics notes: Adelman's comments anger Seattle's coach 



> Seattle SuperSonics coach Nate McMillan blew the whistle on Kings coach Rick Adelman on Sunday.
> 
> A day after Adelman voiced his frustrations about the level of physical play not being called by officials in the first three games of the first-round playoff series, McMillan said the Kings coach was attempting to "put a target on (the backs) of our bigs for working hard, doing honest work."
> 
> Adelman had pointed toward the Sonics forwards, calling Reggie Evans a flopper and stating that Danny Fortson just "makes free throws, pushes you and mugs people." Adelman and his staff contacted the league via e-mail Saturday about their complaints.
> 
> "We don't play playoff basketball in skirts," McMillan said. "It's physical basketball. The intensity level goes up.
> 
> "We're calling the league, too. We're not e-mailing the league, but we're calling the league too on some of the calls that Danny got. I understand what Rick is doing, trying to allow his players to gain an advantage by trying to go through the press to get to the officials."
> 
> While the fouls called on each team have been close (72 on the Kings, 67 on the Sonics), Seattle shot 92 free throws to Sacramento's 66 in the first three games.
> 
> *Fortson and Evans took exception to Adelman's comments, including Adelman's remark that Evans "goes down when the air conditioning goes on."*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings notes: Fortson, Williamson banging for the buck 



> Corliss Williamson was talking about the first time he bumped bellies and biceps with Danny Fortson back in the day - in this case, the mid-1990s - and came to this simple conclusion:
> 
> Time hasn't made the collisions of mass humanity any easier on the joints. The bruising forwards are heavier now, their elbows coiled with more spring-action muscle and purpose.
> 
> An underlying black-and-blue theme in this first-round series has been the inside wars, including Williamson of the Kings (and Arkansas) and Fortson of the Seattle SuperSonics (and Cincinnati).
> 
> "We've been banging against each other since the Maui Classic from back in college," Williamson said before Game 4 at Arco Arena, where he outscored Fortson 12-6.
> 
> *"We look like we really get into it - and it does get physical - but we've got a mutual respect for each other," Williamson said. "There's always respect for the tough guys. I know people complain about guys like Danny, but I guarantee you, everyone would love to have a guy like that."*
> 
> Fortson said he, too, can relate to what Williamson provides, and both wonder where the justice is in the officiating.
> 
> "I mean, I've got Corliss Williamson. It's not like I'm out there against some pansy," Fortson said, defending his physicality. "I've got someone who is going to knock my teeth out if I don't play (hard)."


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Jackson, rest of bench fall flat 



> Bobby Jackson was about as effective as he was for much of the season, when he had a cast on his left wrist and was stashed behind the bench to heal and observe.
> 
> The Kings' most dynamic and reliable reserve was uncharacteristically off Sunday night when he absolutely had to be on, as if he had never set foot on the Arco Arena floor. He produced nothing: no points, no rebounds, no assists, no steals, not even a personal foul.
> 
> Jackson wasn't alone in his bench misery, with the Kings receiving minimal impact from their three reserves as coach Rick Adelman made it clear he was going to win or lose Game 4 against the Seattle SuperSonics with the horses that helped win Game 3.
> 
> Corliss Williamson provided 12 points, but he had all of one rebound. He had two offensive fouls about the time the snowball was rampaging toward full Seattle rout mode.
> 
> Darius Songaila managed four points and three rebounds in his 11 minutes, and that was that. Maurice Evans, Eddie House, Greg Ostertag and Brian Skinner did not play - coach's decision. Of the lot, Evans might have helped chase down Ray Allen, who had a playoff career-high of 45 points.
> 
> House understood after not playing in Game 3 that he might not play much the rest of the way, not with the Kings needing to milk every minute out of Mike Bibby and with Jackson also in the mix. Ostertag didn't play in Game 3 either, with Adelman preferring an offensive lineup, and Skinner hasn't been himself since jamming both thumbs six weeks ago.
> 
> *"It's disappointing that we didn't protect our home court when we were up 19 in the first half," Evans said. "I know I wanted to help. I know I have contributed this season. The competitor in me wanted to be out there, and I was thinking that I could chase Ray around and make him work. It was hard, because it was frustrating. We saw fatigue, but those (starters) were the ones who (gave the Kings the big leads).*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Neither Sonics, nor trash talk stopped 



> There was a similarity between these Seattle SuperSonics and all the trash talk that came with their first-round playoff matchup against the Kings.
> 
> Neither one stopped.
> 
> Not before Sunday night's tipoff, when everyone from Sonics coach Nate McMillan to forwards Reggie Evans and Danny Fortson sent angry barbs toward their counterparts.
> 
> Not early in the second quarter, when the Sonics faced a 19-point deficit and the Kings looked ready to even the series.
> 
> And certainly not after the Sonics came back for a momentum-snatching 115-102 victory in Game 4, quieting the Arco Arena crowd while going far from quietly themselves.
> 
> Evans did a little hippity-hop at halfcourt with 1:02 left in the game, never mind he wasn't even playing. Ray Allen had just hit his sixth three-pointer of the night, putting the Kings down 107-98 and inches from a 3-1 hole. Evans taunted Kings fans.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Mark Kreidler: Kings go poof, right before your very eyes 



> The Seattle SuperSonics had a star. The Kings had a wing and two prayers.
> 
> The Sonics had a fourth-quarter presence. The Kings hid in plain sight.
> 
> The Sonics can win this playoff series Tuesday night in Seattle because they have an insanely good player, Ray Allen, who understands exactly what it means to step up and grab the moment.
> 
> But the Sacramento Kings, here in 2005, have magic. And here it is: They can vanish into thin air, even while you're looking right at them.
> 
> Peja Stojakovic, quarters one through three: 10 of 15 field goals, 27 points.
> 
> Stojakovic in the fourth period: Three misses.
> 
> Mike Bibby, quarters one through three: 4 of 11 field goals, 12 points, six assists.
> 
> Bibby in the fourth: Six misses.
> 
> "They got physical," Kings coach Rick Adelman said of the Sonics on defense in the second half, when Sacramento scored, let's see here, 34 points in 24 minutes. "And we got tunnel vision."











Peja Stojakovic, who had 27 points after three quarters, wipes his face in the fourth period, when he was scoreless.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Ailene Voisin: Kings have no answer for guard 



> The ball was in the air with two ticks remaining on the shot clock, as Ray Allen's 6-foot-5 frame faded into the sideline, almost into the front row of spectators. It was a ridiculous shot, really, an off-balance heave over the outstretched reaches of 7-foot Brad Miller.
> 
> "I wouldn't call it lucky," the Sonics veteran said afterward, "because I practice those shots all the time."
> 
> But it was what it was, the final indignity, maybe even the pivotal scene of this Kings postseason. On a night when Arco Arena was as boisterous as it has been in years, with his club already holding the series edge, Allen shot early, shot often, shot down the Kings. He was virtually unstoppable, a second-half virtuoso, the most prolific scorer in these playoffs thus far.
> 
> And when the locals had their chance to respond? To demonstrate that they possessed whatever it is that quality teams own in the deciding segments of a game that could have squared this best-of-seven series?
> 
> The Kings came up short ... came up long ... came up tossing airballs ... came up without any answers or any composure whatsoever.
> 
> After trailing by 19 early, the Sonics scored the first six points of the second half and continued right along.
> 
> "I wouldn't say they played bad defense," Allen said after scorching his opponents for a playoff career-high 45 points, including 26 in the deciding second half. "I got into a rhythm, and I just felt good. A playoff game like this on the road is as good as it gets."
> 
> *The Kings should be used to this by now, as should the home crowd. Kobe Bryant feasted on the local scene. Now Ray Allen's name can be added to the mix of stars who enjoy the surroundings so much, they attack the record book, silencing the crowd with one stroke after another, exposing the defense for what it is: almost always inadequate. And while good defense doesn't necessarily mean low-bridging or cheap-shotting, there was no way the Kings were going to win this series without matching muscle with bigger muscles, at least figuratively.*











Seattle's Ray Allen bumps chests with teammate Reggie Evans in the fourth quarter of Sunday's Game 4 victory at Arco Arena. Allen had a lot to celebrate after scoring a playoff career-high 45 points.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Big Ray, little hope 



> Kings guard Cuttino Mobley had a better perspective than most regarding Sacramento's 115-102 loss Sunday night to the Seattle SuperSonics in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series.
> 
> The Sonics, who overcame a 19-point second-quarter deficit, took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series largely behind the shooting of guard Ray Allen, who scored a career playoff-high 45 points, 26 in the second half.
> 
> Allen made 17 of 28 field-goal attempts, including six three-pointers, while primarily being defended by Mobley.
> 
> "Very devastating," said Mobley, who suffered through his own poor shooting night (7 of 18 from the field). "Ray had 45. I don't know. I mean, we basically got (beaten) by one man."
> 
> That's where Mobley's perspective was a little cloudy or maybe shaken by the vast number of screens set for Allen by Seattle's big men. Certainly, small forward Rashard Lewis and center Jerome James played an important role in the Sonics' win.
> 
> However, no team completes a large comeback without some help from the opponent. And the Kings helped plenty by allowing the Sonics' defense to take them out of their offense.
> 
> *The Kings scored 68 points in the first half and 34 in the second, with the final few just giveaways by Seattle's defense.*
> 
> Kings coach Rick Adelman was a little dazed following the game.
> 
> "I don't know what happened," Adelman said of the second half. "We weren't patient."











Seattle's Ray Allen shoots over Sacramento's Corliss Williamson during a 45-point performance that gave the Sonics a 3-1 series edge.









Seattle's Rashard Lewis finishes off a slam on top of Sacramento's Corliss Williamson. Lewis finished with 19 points for the Sonics, who can close out the series Tuesday night in Seattle.









Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof can't bear to watch as the team falls apart in the fourth quarter.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Allen is Unstoppable in Win 



> SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 1 (Ticker) -- Ray Allen brought the Seattle SuperSonics all the way back.
> 
> Allen scored 15 of his playoff career-high 45 points in the fourth quarter as the SuperSonics stormed back from a 19-point deficit to stun the Sacramento Kings, 115-102, and take a commanding 3-1 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.
> 
> The third-seeded SuperSonics broke the mold of the first three games, which had seen the losing team fall behind by at least 19 points and stage a rally that came up short. Seattle can wrap up its first postseason series victory since 1998 with a win at home Tuesday.
> 
> Peja Stojakovic scored 27 points to lead six players in double figures for the Kings. Guard Mike Bibby had another poor shooting game, making just 4-of-17 from the field. But he certainly wasn't alone; after shooting 52 percent (27-of-52) in the first half, Sacramento wilted to 28 percent (10-of-36) in the pivotal second half.
> 
> *"It was a tough loss, especially at home," Stojakovic said. "We've got to give Seattle credit. They made a lot of tough shots, especially Ray Allen."*











Allen scored 26 after halftime.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings playoffs notes: *The Kings will win if...* 



> • They make Ray Allen really work for his shots. He scored 45 points and hardly broke a sweat in Game 4.
> • Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson come to play.
> • Peja Stojakovic plays like this means something. Haven't we heard this before? Peja's time is now, including the fourth quarter.
> 
> Key stat: 5.8 assists per game by Bibby. No other King is averaging more than 2.3.


*The Sonics will win if...* 



> • Rashard Lewis remains active. He had his best showing in Game 4, hitting shots and snapping the rim.
> • Jerome James doesn't forget he's Jerome James. It isn't a fluke now.
> • The home crowd gets into it early and often. Key- Arena is ready to burst, sensing blood in the water.
> 
> Key stat: 18.8 points per game for Jerome James in this series. Who would have ever imagined?


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Kings notes: Hitting 40 is beautiful - for Kings opponents 



> Every so often, a Kings opponent feels it, then he really feeds the bucket.
> 
> Seattle's Ray Allen was the latest to blister the Kings in a playoff game, becoming the fifth player to go for 40 or more points when he tallied 45 at Arco Arena on Sunday.
> 
> Shaquille O'Neal pulled the 40-plus feat four times.
> 
> The 48 that Kobe Bryant scored for the Lakers in a semifinal game in 2001 is the most yielded by the Kings, with the 46 O'Neal had in a 2000 first-round affair second and Allen's effort ranking third.
> 
> Sam Cassell scored 40 for Minnesota in the 2004 playoffs, and Nick Van Exel scored 40 for Dallas in the 2003 playoffs.
> 
> All told, the Kings are 1-7 in contests in which someone score 40 or more points against them. And the Kings lost every one of those series.
> 
> *Was Allen as good as Rick Adelman has seen in all of his playoff battles?
> 
> "There's no doubt," the Kings' coach said. "The only one I can think that was as good was (Michael) Jordan in the Finals."*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Allen, Peja: Bright stars worlds apart 



> SEATTLE - Their names are a part of the same discussion.
> 
> Ray Allen and Peja Stojakovic - sharpest shooters in the world.
> 
> So close in one category, yet so far in every other.
> 
> When it comes to lasting legacies, the Seattle gunner went shooting by the Kings' marksman Sunday night, Allen's 45-point outing winning Game 4 for the SuperSonics while tying a franchise playoff high.
> 
> Meanwhile, Stojakovic, whose 21-point first half showed why so many believe he can be great, disappeared in the second half, scoring just six points as his list of playoff failures grew longer.
> 
> Reputations can be bred and broken in the postseason, something both players are learning in opposite ways.
> 
> "We judge our players whether or not they've won rings, how they compare to other greats that have played the game," Allen said Monday. "The playoffs is where you make your legacy, cement your impact on the game. ... Peja's won three-point contests, played in playoffs, in big playoff games ... "


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Adelman says Kings must run their system 



> SEATTLE - There are 48 minutes remaining in the season for the Kings unless they unwaveringly and collectively believe there should be more.
> 
> They will take the KeyArena court tonight trailing the Seattle SuperSonics 3-1 in their best-of-seven, first-round NBA playoff series. A Kings loss, and their season is over.
> 
> The Kings have to balance their desperate situation with the understanding of how they must play as a unit to defeat the Sonics. That means staying strong mentally and realizing that one-on-one play isn't the method to take.
> 
> Initially, the Kings have overcome the frustration of frittering away Sunday night's Game 4 and concentrate all their energies on tonight's Game 5.
> 
> "We've got to play a solid game," said Kings coach Rick Adelman, knowing his team didn't do so in a 115-102 Game 4 loss. "If you win one game, then you're back at home again. But you've got to realize it's going to be hard. Whatever it takes, you've got to do it, but you can't do it by yourself."
> 
> Adelman said his team has to know what makes it successful and not veer away from that course. He also knows that's easier said than done.
> 
> *"It's one thing to know what you're supposed to do," he said, "but it's tough when you're out there on the court and the other team is making runs on you. That's when you've really got to execute and stay within your system. You have to make the right cut and know that doing that will open something up for somebody else. The natural thought is, 'I've got to do something to turn this thing around.' "*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Mark Kreidler: Time for a new role: Adelman the heavy 



> This is where it gets a little unnatural, for a couple of reasons.
> 
> First, there's the whole first-round exit thing, which the Kings haven't done in years. Second is the notion the Sacramento team taking the floor in Seattle tonight is so genuinely buzz-free as a product. No Webber theatrics, no Divac perspective - just some decent worker bees, a shooter or two and a 3-1 playoff deficit to the RayAllens.
> 
> And third is this: Rick Adelman has to be his own jerk. That's a new one.
> 
> If the Kings want to squeeze another victory out of the current edition before the roster is disassembled and sent out for maintenance and repacking, it may well be that Adelman has to play the heavy for once.
> 
> It's not his natural role. He isn't great at it, or possibly even very good.
> 
> But he has no choice, now, does he?
> 
> This became painfully evident during that second-half collapse in Game 4 Sunday night at Arco Arena, where some of Adelman's key players strayed off the instruction sheet and never did come back to where they needed to be.
> 
> The fourth quarter in particular was a blur of forced shots, bad shots, one-or no-pass shots. Mike Bibby was trying to force the action but in ways that cried for a timeout and a quick tongue-lashing to get things back on track.
> 
> Cuttino Mobley made a few shots but cranked up others before his teammates were anywhere near being set to rebound or defend going the other way. Peja Stojakovic wouldn't demand the ball or work to get it at a time when his shooter's touch, had he found it, could have mattered so much.
> 
> It was basic fall-apart stuff, and the whole of Kingdom already has tapped every available explanation for it: The team barely knows itself; Brad Miller and Bobby Jackson just came back; there's no size along the front line; yadda, yadda, yadda.
> 
> But - and may the gods spare me for saying this - there was a time when the Kings players could have pulled themselves out of such a spin, even if only long enough to get back in the game. Maybe it had to do with Chris Webber's presence or Vlade Divac's locker-room leadership, or the quiet ferociousness of Doug Christie. Maybe it had to do with other factors, that group-chemistry thing that no one is able to define but everyone agrees can make a difference.


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Not done at 3-1 



> Three and one can be overcome.
> 
> Corliss Williamson knows. He has been there and done the rally thing, two years ago.
> 
> Williamson played for the Detroit Pistons then, and his muscle-bound bunch fell behind 3-1 to the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2003 NBA playoffs.
> 
> Then Tracy McGrady became overly chatty, spouting off about how good it felt to finally reach the second round. The top-seeded Pistons pounced on that comment and ran the table from there, pounding their way into history as the only NBA team to overcome a 3-1 first-round deficit.
> 
> Mostly, 3-1 means one thing: The players on the short end of the equation are an inch away from over and out. Or, as they like to say on the TNT telecast, they're about to be fitted with a straw hat, a can of worms and a sign that reads "Gone Fishin'."
> 
> "I plan on doing that, Gone Fishin' back home when the season is over," said Williamson, now of the Kings, who face their own 3-1 dilemma. "But not now. Not yet."
> 
> *The Kings receive their shot at bucking history - or at least keeping a pulse in a slowly fading series against the Seattle SuperSonics - tonight at KeyArena. The Kings are attempting to become just the eighth team in NBA history to overcome such a deficit.*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

Sacramento at Seattle 10:30 pm EDT 



> SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Unless the Sacramento Kings find a way to slow down Ray Allen, their season will come to an end on Tuesday.
> 
> Allen and the Seattle SuperSonics return home to play the Kings on Tuesday with a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference series.
> 
> Led by Allen's playoff career-high 45 points - including six 3-pointers - the SuperSonics rallied from a 19-point second-quarter deficit and defeated the Kings, 115-104 on Sunday.
> 
> *If the Kings win on Tuesday, they will host Game Six on Friday.*


----------



## DaUnbreakableKinG

The season could be over for us tonight. Sad how fast it went. :sad:

Can't wait till next season to see what Petrie does with our team. :banana:


----------

