My Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist

by louismg on Dec 20, 2006 7:22 PM PST in News Comment 8 comments

Ho! Ho! Ho!

They say that the NBA season truly doesn't kick off in earnest until Christmas, and given an 82-game schedule, plus month after month of TV-extended playoffs, who can question it? But, here, where we bleed purple and black, we just don't see the wisdom in holding a last-place berth, a full seven games behind the Pacific Division-leading Phoenix Suns, by the time Christmas rolls around. It's one thing to say we're just getting started, and quite another to be that far behind already.

With such Grinch-like cheer to go around, I present my Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist - a small smattering of items I'd like to see this holiday season. Please do add your own, for our team could use your charity.

The latest edition of "NBA Defense for Dummies" - enough copies for each player on the roster, except Ron Artest, and teachers' editions for the coaching staff. For as much as we knock the Kings' shooting choices, the purple on our jerseys is not intended to be the flapping of a matador's cape as we let scorers streak by.
A promise by Kenny Thomas to be our very own Dennis Rodman - a rebounding machine who should not be targeting the basket unless the ball is leaving its general vicinity.
A healthy ankle for Kevin Martin. 'Nuff said.
A healthy back for Brad Miller.
A healthy Mike Bibby - or at least, a realistic Mike Bibby who lets us know when he's actually hurt, or if he opts not to tell us he's hurt, knows enough to give up the ball instead of shooting it, so badly and so frequently.
A maturation by Eric Musselman, one that shows the ability to change the starting five on a game by game basis to both play the hot hand, and allow for players like Jason Hart and Ronnie Price to get some serious playing time.
A dream that the next time the Kings and "Douby" are in the same sentence, we're not thinking of Maurice Taylor.
That anybody shooting under 30% from behind the 3-point line (this means you, Bibby, Artest and Shareef!) just give it up already and leave that to Martin and Salmons.
That we all recognize Salmons should be starting.
That David Stern is more like Santa than the Grinch.
That Sactown Royalty can thrive, with or without the Kings dominating the win column, including new diaries and insightful discussion daily!

While some are already talking about Friday's game against Denver, in Denver, potentially including some dude known as Allen Iverson, let's not overlook Thursday's contest against the ~~Bullets~~ Wizards. Gilbert Arenas (yes, him) just dropped sixty on Kobe and Lakers the other night. Against the Kings, how many will he score? Check in tomorrow... but for now, let us know your Kings-related wishes for the holidays.

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Re: My Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist

---For another big moment like Kevin martin hitting the game winner against San Antonio in the playoffs last year.

by Chris The Greek on Dec 20, 2006 7:59 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Re: My Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist

I think you could have the bulk of your wishes come true and it wouldn't change a great deal in this division. Face it. This is the toughest division in the toughest conference in the NBA. This team as it is now comprised is not a playoff contender. Now things may change. Martin may become Kobe Bryant, Bibby may become Iverson, Kenny Thomas may become another Garnett but the odds are that will not happen. Nor will The Musselman become a coaching phenom anytime soon. Now facing that situation what to do. You begin to start building for the future. You see if you can hustle Bibby for a promising player and a draft choice. You start trying some of your younger players in game situations. But the fans have to know and appreciate what is going on. It is a long process and I am not sure The Musselman is the coach for the job. I am not sure the Maloofs are the owners for the job.

by Observer on Dec 20, 2006 8:38 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Re: My Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist

My wishes will be related in February press conferences:

Bibby: "We had a rough start like last year with injuries and a new coaches and all. December was really tough. Everyone is healthy and playing good ball now. I needed to find my shot. I knew I would starting with that Wizards game before Christmas."

Muss: "No one expected to see things shaping up in the West like they have. At Christmas time, it looked like there were seven teams locked in. They have all been struggling since then. Who would have thought the Lakers would drop to 10th place?"

KMart: "The whole Spurs and Isiah inncident was messed up. The suspensions are harsh. All starters out? Wow. Dude shouldn't have called Eva that name."

Grant: "I spoke to Carmelo and he is excited to come here. He was miserable this past month. Miserable! I can't believe we got him straight up for Vitaly, a snow plow and a bottle of Jamison!"

Gavin: "Yah. Um. The family spoke, ya know? We talked, ya know? And, um, mom said we should quit being such huge dinks and settle down. So, my fiance and I are giving Sacramento the arena as a wedding gift. We should have done this sooner and not that commercial."

Elston Turner: "Eric will be a great assistant for me. I'm glad to be back with the team as the head coach."

by pyro on Dec 21, 2006 1:42 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Re: My Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist

Oh man Pyro! That was fantastic...as I was reading your entry the co-workers in my office here couldnt figure out why I was laughing so hard. Excellent!

Russman

by ridnour8 on Dec 21, 2006 7:33 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Re: My Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist

Thank you and glad I disturbed your office. : ) And thanks to louis for making a fun post! We need some relief between games this season.

Whether you prefer to focus on reality or are the wishing type - this STR community is a great "cyber sports bar" community. I hope you all have a great holiday, keep up the wonderful posting and save a serving of faith for the Kings.

by pyro on Dec 21, 2006 1:35 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Re: My Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist

Rather than wishing for things to change with the opponents, why not a wish right here at howm. How about The Mussleman making up his mind just what he wants his players to do. Does he want a run and gun offense like the Suns or a half court offense? Does he want Artest to take over as the leader or is it to be Bibby? What kind of defense does he want? These are the things that give a team identity and the players can work towards. You can say what you want about coaches like Adelman or Phil Jackson. You know the play plan and the players act accordingly. Anybody got a clue as to the plan Musselman wants to install? Maybe that should be on the top of the wish list. Some coherent game plan that will give the team an identity. Right now it is every man for himself.

by Observer on Dec 21, 2006 7:36 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Re: My Sacramento Kings Holiday Wishlist

Does he want a run and gun offense like the Suns or a half court offense?

I've seen a lot of criticism of Musselman on this site (hello Kusian) and other Kings fans' sites regarding his inability to decide on a style of play for this team.

Much of the criticism of Muss is fair IMO - he doesn't use his timeouts judiciously, he's superglued some talented youngsters to the bench while he hopes that the veterans get their act together, etc.

But let's be somewhat realistic on the roster talent he has to work with - this is a team that obviously isn't built to run-and-gun with the likes of Phoenix and Dallas. We clearly don't have the athletes necessary to play that game. And grinding a game into a half-court affair exposes us on the defensive end, where it's clear that our early season defensive kudos were premature.

That's why I think a Bibby trade is hugely important for this team to establish some kind of identity. If you can get a solid scorer (regardless of position) back in his place, you can give more minutes to Jason Hart and Ronnie Price - who may not give you much on the offensive side, but will better prevent the dribble penetration that Bibby gives up about 95% of the time on defense.

The real problem for Muss is that you can't not start Bibby and play him big minutes. The guy isn't going to have decent trade value riding the pine - and when he's going well he can single handedly keep the team in the game on the offensive side of the court.

No, this ball belongs squarely in Petrie's court - this team needs a transaction or two that allows Musselman to define his squad's style.

River City Squawkbox

by otis29 on Dec 21, 2006 11:59 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs