still in the kings' court

eight years ago, i returned to watching nba basketball when i caught a sacramento kings game. what caught my eye was the peculiar form of this young european (the "old" european was vlade divac) when he shoots the ball. his shooting hand is strangely curled under the ball as he, uhm, catapults the ball into the air. the follow-through is equally strange: his shooting hand appears to have been twisted. but there ain't nothing strange about the result. the guy can shoot.

later, i realized that the gm and the coach of the kings--petrie and adelman--were the same gm and coach of the last nba team i followed (portland trailblazers, drexler-era). i also realized that the team was solid up front (passing bigs webber and divac, sweetshooting stojakovic) and at the backcourt (williams, jackson, christie). and i also realized they play basketball, the team-oriented type. they like to move without the ball, they like to move the ball, they like to set up multiple picks and screens, they like to pass, and they like to pass even more--relying on each other to score the damn ball. most teams design plays for their superstars. the kings offense relies on basketball players who know how to play team basketball. isn't that what basketball (or any team sport for that matter) is all about?

so i followed the kings. i was ecstatic when they compiled the best regular season record in the nba. i was crushed when they lost that infamous game 7 to the lakers. i was excited when they tried again the following year, only to be crushed again, by the webber injury in the dallas series. i was at my fanatical best when peja had a breakout year, only to be frustrated as they tried to force-feed web back into the flow and lost to the wolves.

then, the kings' best team in years was slowly dismantled. turkoglu was traded. divac left, and eventually retired. webber was shipped to philly. christie to orlando. bobby jackson to memphis. even one-time kings--and vital cogs--jim jackson, mobley, and young upstarts songaila and evans left or were allowed to leave.

now the kings is a totally retooled team. the only king left from the lineup i first saw eight years ago is peja. the only kings left from the divac-era are peja, mike, and brad. with wells and abdur-rahim completing the first five, the kings cerainly look good on paper. but learning kings basketball is not as easy as 1-2-3.

which is why the kings are currently 3-5.

unlike previous seasons, i don't expect the kings to make it deep into the playoffs this year. it takes a while to learn the princeton offense, and it also takes a while for players to learn how to play with each other.

but you've got to give petrie and adelman credit (and the maloofs too, if they don't fire these two anytime soon). they are retooling the lineup at the right time (see divac, webber, christie), and are pretty much setting up the foundation for the future. there are some trade-able players/contracts, and some contracts are expiring at the end of the year. i think they will have moderate success this year, and next year, with enough cap room, they'll lock up peja for the long-term, and probably sign more significant pieces to bolster their lineup.

much like what they did in 1998, when they traded for webber, and signed vlade, doug, jason, peja, hedo, and bobby. their first season together was moderately successful. the next seasons were more successful, with one season just a game away from the finals.

so will i still follow the kings this year, and beyond?

of course i will. because i am a fan of team basketball, the one magnificently displayed by kings on both ends of the court this morning en route to their 3rd regular season win.

hindi kasi ako mahilig sa buwaya basketbol eh.