Mind of Kings Fans III

The following is another email exchange between two die-hard Sacramento Kings fans -- myself (SonDog -- living in Vail) and Aaron (OZ -- living in Sacramento) --

OZ - Has Kobe lost his mind completely? As if the "Mamba" debacle wasn't stupid enough, his quote last night after hurling up 30 shots and losing to San Antonio was basically that his misses create rebounding opportunities for his teammates. Nice. How would you like to be on a team with this moron.

Last night was difficult to gauge. The Kings were absurd from 3 (10/14) with their big men (Shareef hitting two and Brad hitting one) raining down the 3's on Charlotte. This was an abnormally easy game. I was expecting more from a team that trounced Indiana not two weeks ago by 30 points.

Does a .500 record secure Adelman's job for the season?

SonDog - You're right, last night was tough to gauge. But, tonight's game against Golden State will be a good indicator of where the team is at. Golden State's athleticism is something that gives Sac fits at times. Tonight will give everybody a better idea of where both teams are at this point.

As for last night, when Emeka Okafor got into foul trouble and Gerald Wallace started missing his shots, Charlotte went in the tank. They seemed to give up in the third quarter.

I don't think Kobe realizes that while he is scoring 33 a game, he's taking 29 shots to do it. That's a horrible ratio, and it is the primary reason why Lamar Odom looks stoned all of the time. Seriously, he looks like a guy who's just permanently vexed. It vexes him. He's terribly vexed. There will come a time this year when Lamar Odom pulls Kobe's tights down and punches him in the face. I want to be at that game. I've always said that Lamar would be the PERFECT PF in the Kings' system. If they could trade Peja for Odom, straight up, they would have to do that.

OZ - I think at this point Odom would happily join JJ in Atlanta just to get away from Mamba.

Sac was supposed to have a problem with Charlotte's athleticism last night, but that wasn't a huge concern when all of the Kings started clicking on offense. Textbook Adelman basketball. Bonzi schooled Gerald Wallace though. I thought Wallace was going to cry when he came out in the third after another foul sent him to the floor. Bonzi's quickly becoming what everybody had hoped Bibby would be, a "Tyler Durden" like leader that commands the respect of his followers and his opponents. The Kings will be a team of Space Monkeys in no time.

What's the Warriors problem? All of a sudden there's an exorbitant amount of Kings haters coming out in Oak-town. I have nothing against GS and I sincerely enjoy watching the success they've been having, so I'm not yet upset or planning retaliation, just bewildered at the angst.

SonDog - Well, again, Okafor got into early foul trouble, May was out, and Wallace was non-effective. That's the game right there. Also, Thomas and Garcia teamed up to provide some much needed punch and athleticism off the bench. I wouldn't say Bonzi schooled Wallace though. I'll be writing about Wallace soon. He's a consistent jump shot away from being an all-star (or, so says Jerry Reynolds, who I will also be writing about soon).

It's readily apparent that Bonzi's outstanding play is due in part to the fact that he is in a contract year. It's funny how that happens. I mean, he's averaging nearly nine boards a game! As long as he keeps playing like a rabid dog, I'm happy with him, because his hustle and effort are indeed inspiring his teammates. My biggest concern is the following quote attributed to Mike Fratello during the 2005 playoffs: "If you come anywhere near the arena during game 4, you'll be arrested." Wells is certified, no-doubt about it, crazy. You can only tolerate a crazy guy for so long before you just stop listening to him. Don't get me wrong, he's the Kings' most inspiring and driven player at the moment. But, he should be, because it is a contract year and all.

For tonight's game, the Warriors, as it stands, are a better team. Once Pietrus gets back, they have a really deep and really young bench with the potential to be one of the league's best. I'll be interested in watching Diogu and Biendris play tonight.

OZ - Do you say things just to piss me off? That's the only logical explanation as to why you would make the statement, "The Warriors, as it stands, are a better team."

Who you call'n Physco?!

I'm not justifying that statement with an argument. On the rivalry front though, I guess I'm a bit of a putz when it comes to bay area rivalries as I'm a Giants fan first, but I watch just as much of the A's and I'm never in Fresno to watch Giants AAA, but I go to at least one Rivercats game a year, usually more. When it comes to GS, I have no rivalry emotion there but rather I would like to see them succeed, just not against the Kings. LA (as a whole) on the other hand, I would like to see trapped into a rut of sports failure for all eternity. That's a rivalry.

SonDog - Golden State, as it stands, is a deeper and more talented team. That's just a fact. They're younger and more athletic, and that's WITH two white, non-Euro players in their starting five (Murphy and Dunleavey). That being said, they have three contracts in Foyle, Fisher, and Dunleavey that will forever be impossible to move. Chris Mullin was just drunk when he inked those guys to such huge deals, and since he's a recovered alcoholic, I'll cut him some slack. The backcourt of Davis and Richardson is simply better than the backcourt of Bibby and Wells. Shareef and Murph are a wash as far as I'm concerned. Miller is better than Foyle and Peja is better than Dunleavey. Then it gets to the bench... I'll take Golden State's bench 10 times out of 10.

OZ - As a starting 5, the Kings DESTROY GS. The little bit that Baron and Richardson are better than Bibby and Wells does not make up for the canyon between the talent of Miller and Peja compared to Mike "I've never come close to my hype" Dunleavey and Adonal "Mullen gave him what?!" Foyle.

The benches are a wash in my book. The fact is the Kings bench has been severely underachieving. When they get going, this will be the best bench they've had since the "Bench Mob", and I'm sticking to that. For Christ's sakes the sixth man of the year from the world champion Detroit team doesn't even see time on this bench!

SD - You make me laugh. No, really, you make me laugh. I forgot that you mentioned at the beginning of the year that this was the best bench since the Bench Mob. Call me during the game tonight and we can discuss. As for now, I'm out like the success of your prediction that this team's bench is the best since the Bench Mob.