Same old story: How will they overcome injuries and off-season losses?
Seated in the Kings' practice facility, Bobby Jackson talked confidently about coming back from the injury that kept him out for nearly a third of the season. He rubbed the patchy growth on his head -- which one reporter described as a "half-fro" -- and addressed the team's off-season losses. Sure, Sacramento gave up a center, but Jackson saw blue skies ahead. "We haven't lost a beat," said the 6'1" guard. "We're more physical, and that's a good thing."
This may sound like an assessment of the Kings' current situation, but it's actually what Jackson said last year at the start of training camp. Welcome to the déjà vu world of the Kings.Entering 2003-04 Jackson was coming off a season in which he had missed 21 games with a broken hand, and the team, after a heartbreaking playoff elimination, had traded center Scot Pollard. Now Jackson is back after missing 32 games with an abdominal strain, and the team is recovering from another playoff exit and the departure of another center -- Vlade Divac, to the Lakers.
Only this time things look more dire. Shooting guard Peja Stojakovic, upset over Divac's leaving and frustrated with his role in the offense, demanded a trade and remains disgruntled. Forward Chris Webber implied that unnamed teammates didn't play hard enough in the postseason. And coach Rick Adelman may be a lame duck. This, his seventh season in Sacramento, is a contract year, but ownership is not jumping to re-sign him.
Because Doug Christie has a sore left foot, Jackson will have to play more minutes -- which is what, Adelman thinks, led to his injuries before. For now, though, he's healthy, and this remains a talented, proven team, ready to make one last run at a championship. -- Chris Ballard
