The Kings are in Seattle for a Sunday game. If it were the old days, I'd be hoping Vlade had been taking advantage of all the caffeine outlets as Sunday games on the road were never his high suit.
Tonight, however, the Kings walk into an arena with little to no future, a team that is most likely leaving Seattle within the very near future, and a lack of fans that's totally understandable because of the first two. In fact, with Spencer Hawes calling Seattle his hometown, his family and friends could easily make up a major chunk of those attending tonight's game.
Hawe may or may not play. Udrih is most likely out. So we'll see AJ (unless he's also out with an ankle injury), Martin, Artest, Moore and Miller - and wonder when, if ever, Reggie is just gonna give it over to the kids to see what they can do.
Douby, Martin, Garcia, Williams and Hawes (or Miller for a bit of veteran guidance if Hawes cannot play) would be much more enjoyable than what we've seen recently. Ron Artest still wants to win at all costs - and it's costing us in being able to see if there's any future on the Kings for Williams. In addition, it sure seems as though Quincy Douby's confidence is at an all-time low.
Reggie needs to put the kids in and leave them in. And he needs to do it soon. THAT would be a real coaching accomplishment. It's not meeting the magical .500 mark, or even beating Musselman's "record" that should be any kind of priority.
At this point, letting the kids play hard is much better than watching the disjointed efforts we see when Reggie plays substitution roulette.
It's still about heart and hustle but it's hard to give the kids a chance when guys like Artest are so determined to win. You cannot fault his heart but there needs to be a point in time when we let the kids get some real NBA experience without the pressure of having to do so when it really truly matters.
Let them get their feet wet and then next year we'll know whether they can be thrown into the deep end of the pool.
Let 'em run, Reggie!!! And quit sitting Kevin Martin for extended periods of time. Are you worried he'll pass you on more Kings records lists?
The PBP thread is
here.
The game discussion thread is
here.
Let's get ready for some Kings basketball!
