Not that I wasn't intrigued before, but after watching the Kings lose to the Miami Heat in OT earlier tonight, I can't wait to hear Pete Carril's thoughts on the lack of ball movement, hard screens and backdoor cuts - once a staple of the offense. "Coachie," as everyone has probably heard by now, is returning to the Kings (for a third time) as a consultant.He makes his first appearance at Saturday's practice.
With Beno Udrih in a miserable slump, rookie backup Bobby Brown in a miserable slump, and Bobby Jackson limited by old age (35), I wouldn't be surprised to see Kenny Natt using Brad Miller and Spencer Hawes to facilitate the offense, usually from the high post. Miller is the easily the Kings' best passer, and these past few weeks, has been playing more like he did last season.
The point guards production against the Heat was pretty scary: Udrih, Brown and Jackson combined for five five goals in 20 attempts, and only seven assists.
Eager to play ... somewhere
During halftime of the Kings-Heat game earlier this evening, I chatted with rookie Donte Greene, who will be joining the NBA Developmental League's franchise in Reno. Greene for an undetermined period of time. To his credit, the rookie out of Syracuse seems genuinely excited about the opportunity to get some serious playing. The Bighorns play tonight, Sunday at 3 p.m., and again on Tuesday, and from what I'm hearing, coach Jay Humphries plans to play the 6-foot-10 small forward huge minutes. This will be an interesting experiment for the Kings. Geoff Petrie has always seemed a little skeptical about the NBDL, but given the inexperience of so many of today's rookies and second-year players, it just seems to make too much sense. Greene was just wasting away on the Kings bench, playing sparingly because of the crowd at small forward. Plus, while he has an absolutely beautiful high-arching jumper, he has looked completely lost on defense. A few weeks with Humphries and Coach T - yes, Tom Abatemarco is an assistant - can work to his benefit.
Final thought
This Beno issue? I'm thinking, maybe it's time to contact a sports psychologist. I will never understand why so many NBA executives, whose owners spent millions on the strength and conditioning of their players, ignore the mental aspects. Seriously. Couches are pretty cheap these days.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.