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.
Adelman's choice had grown increasingly more complicated: Teach a lesson, or win the game?
In hindsight, it wasn't much of a choice at all, he said. Not once in the fourth quarter did he glance in the direction of his starters, who sat nonchalantly as the game grew tight.
All the while, Mike Bibby chewed at his fingernails. Peja Stojakovic stared blankly into the stands. And Brad Miller simply appeared disinterested.
The Sonics hung on for a 105-93 victory and a 2-0 series lead while the Kings left the game apparently disgruntled at their coach and searching for answers.
When asked about the near fourth-quarter comeback, Bibby directed all questions to Adelman who said: "They (the starters) weren't going back in. I mean, why should I [put them back in]?"
Adelman's decisions will either light a fire beneath Sacramento for Game 3 tomorrow night at Arco Arena or signal the beginning of the end to this series.
"The starters are not getting the job done," Magic Johnson said on TNT's postgame studio show. "Before, they were the leading scoring team in the whole NBA; now they're searching. Bibby is way off his game, and when Bibby is off, everybody else is off.
"Unless Bibby catches fire, this could be a 4-0, 4-1 series really quick. To me, they don't have the firepower they used to have."
At yesterday's practice, the Sonics weren't second-guessing Adelman's decision, but they weren't clear what type of message he was trying to send.
"I thought that he may come back with (the starters), but those guys (the reserves) worked hard," McMillan said. "Coach could have been doing a number of things in that situation. I don't want to guess what Rick was trying to do."
Said Danny Fortson: "They looked like they gave up, you know, but I don't want to say anything that will have them take my comments and post it up in their locker room. But body language is big, you know.
"They didn't look like they wanted to be there, like they were a little frustrated. But again, that was last night. Friday night could be different. I'm not going to underestimate Sacramento. They're going to put together a nice game down there; I'm sure of it."
Playoff series are decided not only by injuries and All-Star players, but coaches' moves that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Sacramento's starters were not only embarrassed after being benched, but their tight-knit cohesiveness is in danger of fraying.
Ray Allen doesn't believe the Sonics hold a huge psychological advantage, but he agreed with an analogy that compared the Kings' frustration to a pink elephant standing on the court.
"You don't want to acknowledge it," he said. "We all know it's there. We know what's happening, but you got to let things ride out its course.
"I've got a lot of friends on that team, but I won't speak to them until this series is over. Whatever is going on with them, that's their concern. My concern is with this team, so whether they're out of sync or not, I don't know."
Whatever, Adelman's attempt at teaching a lesson may have spun out of control. The starters' confidence could be shaken and some reserves might now feel they should play a larger role in the series.
"I'm sure they probably earned some minutes in the next game," McMillan said. "I think we'll probably see House more."
After scoring 17 points, Jackson warrants more playing time as does Songaila, who finished with nine points — seven in the fourth quarter — in 23 minutes.
Sonics reserve Antonio Daniels expects a better Kings effort than what they've shown in Games 1 and 2. As for Sacramento's problems, Daniels is unsympathetic.
"I don't care," he said. "We can't worry about that. Not at all. ... All we need to do is keep on doing what we've been doing. Don't say or do anything that could sway the whole series.
"Right now our only focus is Game 3. Games 1 and 2 need to be behind us. We need not worry about them anymore."
well....I guess this explains why adelman didn't put the starters back in. I hope they really weren't as disinterested as this article made them out to be.
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.
Adelman's choice had grown increasingly more complicated: Teach a lesson, or win the game?
In hindsight, it wasn't much of a choice at all, he said. Not once in the fourth quarter did he glance in the direction of his starters, who sat nonchalantly as the game grew tight.
All the while, Mike Bibby chewed at his fingernails. Peja Stojakovic stared blankly into the stands. And Brad Miller simply appeared disinterested.
The Sonics hung on for a 105-93 victory and a 2-0 series lead while the Kings left the game apparently disgruntled at their coach and searching for answers.
When asked about the near fourth-quarter comeback, Bibby directed all questions to Adelman who said: "They (the starters) weren't going back in. I mean, why should I [put them back in]?"
Adelman's decisions will either light a fire beneath Sacramento for Game 3 tomorrow night at Arco Arena or signal the beginning of the end to this series.
"The starters are not getting the job done," Magic Johnson said on TNT's postgame studio show. "Before, they were the leading scoring team in the whole NBA; now they're searching. Bibby is way off his game, and when Bibby is off, everybody else is off.
"Unless Bibby catches fire, this could be a 4-0, 4-1 series really quick. To me, they don't have the firepower they used to have."
At yesterday's practice, the Sonics weren't second-guessing Adelman's decision, but they weren't clear what type of message he was trying to send.
"I thought that he may come back with (the starters), but those guys (the reserves) worked hard," McMillan said. "Coach could have been doing a number of things in that situation. I don't want to guess what Rick was trying to do."
Said Danny Fortson: "They looked like they gave up, you know, but I don't want to say anything that will have them take my comments and post it up in their locker room. But body language is big, you know.
"They didn't look like they wanted to be there, like they were a little frustrated. But again, that was last night. Friday night could be different. I'm not going to underestimate Sacramento. They're going to put together a nice game down there; I'm sure of it."
Playoff series are decided not only by injuries and All-Star players, but coaches' moves that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Sacramento's starters were not only embarrassed after being benched, but their tight-knit cohesiveness is in danger of fraying.
Ray Allen doesn't believe the Sonics hold a huge psychological advantage, but he agreed with an analogy that compared the Kings' frustration to a pink elephant standing on the court.
"You don't want to acknowledge it," he said. "We all know it's there. We know what's happening, but you got to let things ride out its course.
"I've got a lot of friends on that team, but I won't speak to them until this series is over. Whatever is going on with them, that's their concern. My concern is with this team, so whether they're out of sync or not, I don't know."
Whatever, Adelman's attempt at teaching a lesson may have spun out of control. The starters' confidence could be shaken and some reserves might now feel they should play a larger role in the series.
"I'm sure they probably earned some minutes in the next game," McMillan said. "I think we'll probably see House more."
After scoring 17 points, Jackson warrants more playing time as does Songaila, who finished with nine points — seven in the fourth quarter — in 23 minutes.
Sonics reserve Antonio Daniels expects a better Kings effort than what they've shown in Games 1 and 2. As for Sacramento's problems, Daniels is unsympathetic.
"I don't care," he said. "We can't worry about that. Not at all. ... All we need to do is keep on doing what we've been doing. Don't say or do anything that could sway the whole series.
"Right now our only focus is Game 3. Games 1 and 2 need to be behind us. We need not worry about them anymore."
well....I guess this explains why adelman didn't put the starters back in. I hope they really weren't as disinterested as this article made them out to be.
