MINNEAPOLIS - When you're 4-9 and coming off a 39-point loss, you can forget the idea that shootaround is just a walkthrough.
Kings coach Keith Smart had the Kings get their ankles taped so they could have a more active shootaround this morning in preparation for tonight's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Having a young team coupled with a coaching change, Smart is using any chance he can to do some work on the court.
In a regular 82-game season, shootarounds are usually pretty casual. It's different this season.
"I talk with a lot of coaches and they're using them for two things depending on where you are with the schedule because you have to look at rest and recovery," Smart said. "But then you have to use them for practices. A lot of the coaches that have young teams are saying they're taking advantage of these shootarounds to use them as a mini day of practice for 30 minutes or so and then go through the preparation for the opponent that night."
Shooting problems
Smart said the Kings are getting good looks at the basket and just need to make them. He noted that the Kings need their bigs to finish better at the rim by making putbacks or drawing fouls.
The Kings are shooting a league-worst 39.3 percent this season. They're 29th in three-point shooting at 25.9 percent, ahead of only the Lakers (the Lakers are seventh overall at 46.2 percent).
Smart said if the Kings weren't getting better shots he'd try some new plays to improve the looks they were getting.
Smart added there was no hangover this morning after the team shot a Sacramento-era low 25.6 percent in their last game at Dallas.
Most of the team stayed on the court after practice to get up more shots, as you might expect after their showing in Dallas.
*Former Kings All-Star center Brad Miller stopped by after shootaround. Miller is recovering from microfracture surgery on his knee. He was traded to Minnesota from Houston in the offseason.
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