SACRAMENTO KINGS 24-29

What has modified:Years and years of the rumor that Peja Stojakovic may sooner or later be traded for Ron Artest lastly got here true. The Kings at the moment are simply 2½ again of the #8 Lakers and are way more possible for the postseason than they have been a month in the past Sacramento Top 10.

Ron Artest offers the Kings a defensive stopper that they have not had shortly. Doug Christie wasn’t pretty much as good guarding scorers and wasn’t almost as efficient offensively. The 98.7 PPG they permit needs to be labored on.

In December Shareef Abdur-Rahim needed to get his jaw wired shut and has not been wholesome sufficient to play an extended string of minutes. Bonzi Wells missed half the season and even now’s struggling to get on the court docket.

Mike Bibby is as soon as once more main the staff with 20.5 factors and has extra importantly performed each recreation this 12 months. Kevin Martin has developed right into a productive rookie within the place of Wells. A wholesome Brad Miller is having one other good 12 months.

For probably the most half it is the identical outdated Kings even with out Webber or Stojakovic. They’re sixth in assists and 2nd in free throw capturing. However their offensive firepower simply is not as sturdy. Within the outdated Peja/Webber days a big a part of Sacramento’s success was from their bench. These days it is simply Abdur-Rahim and Francisco Garcia. Miller, Artest and Bibby play over 37 minutes an evening. Even when Rick Adelman needed to play greater than 8 guys he’d be coping with Brian Skinner, Jason Hart and Corliss Williamson.

At the beginning of the 12 months the Kings started 2-7 at residence. Whereas they’ve improved to 17-11 they aren’t the juggernaut at residence like they as soon as have been. Actually that is the entire story with the Kings. They’re enough at most of their statistics however do not dominate in PPG, FG% and even assists like they used to.

So can a shell of what have been nice Sacramento Kings groups go in direction of the playoffs? Getting Ron Artest helps. Wells, Martin and Artest are hustling gamers who add one other high quality to the staff. However the staff is so younger and so ineffective at ending video games that they battle immensely to shut out wins. In a recreation at Utah the Kings did not make a single field-goal. In the event that they’re wholesome they’ve a good likelihood to topple the Lakers. However figuring out how fragile a few of these gamers are it is not too doubtless.