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In the skilled -- and well-scrubbed -- hands of Mike Bibby, the league's most explosive offense will be even better

By Phil Taylor

After re-signing for $123 million, Webber has to wait for his ankle to heal to get revenge on the teams he thinks snubbed him.  John W. McDonough Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Kings "Going from Jason Williams to Mike Bibby was a real plus. With Bibby at the point, they'll have a lot more consistency. He does the same things as Williams but makes better decisions and is more accurate shooting the three. ... Transition defense is the key to stopping the Kings. You have to pick up Bibby as early as possible and prevent him from seeing the whole floor. But it's not just getting back; it's locating their shooters, particularly Peja Stojakovic , because they love to hit that first trailer. They also like to get Chris Webber on that early post-up. You can't let Webber get the quick seal, in transition or in half-court, so you have to bump him off the box and try to move him out, although he can get hot outside. ... They don't have a complex system in the half-court, and they frequently fail to execute, but they can all pass and shoot. You have to double Vlade Divac but not too early. Wait until he backs in, and don't double with whoever's guarding Stojakovic. They run Peja off screens, and you have to play those honest. If you cheat and come over the top, he'll fade to the corner and kill you from there. ... They'll be better defensively, too. Your problems start when your point guard gets broken down; Bibby's not a great defender, but he's better than Williams. ... I think they overpaid to keep Doug Christie , but Scot Pollard 's a good role player for them. One guy people don't think about much is Bobby Jackson , an underrated player who has been on the floor a lot at the end of games."

Mike Bibby, the Kings' new point guard, hates germs almost as much as turnovers. In restaurants he has been known to head immediately for the men's room to scrub up after shaking hands with well-wishers or after using a stranger's pen to sign an autograph. While that seems like slightly compulsive behavior, such a stickler for cleanliness might be what Sacramento needs, now that the team has washed its hands of the exciting but unpredictable Jason Williams. After three seasons with Williams at the helm the Kings are counting on Bibby to tidy up their attack and help them make their most serious run at a championship ever.

"Everybody's looking forward to playing with him," says center Vlade Divac. "Jason could do some spectacular things, but obviously he also made mistakes by taking a lot of chances. This team has so much talent that all we need is someone to take care of the ball and be consistent. Bibby has shown he can do that."

The draft-day trade that brought Bibby and guard Brent Price from the Grizzlies for Williams and swingman Nick Anderson is a steal for Sacramento. Bibby is a more consistent shooter than Williams (45.4% to 40.7% last season), and his average of 8.4 assists ranked fourth in the league. In fact the only question about Bibby, 23, is whether his unadorned style will mesh with Sacramento's flash-and-dash offense. He has no doubts on that score. "I like to push the ball as much as anybody else," Bibby says. "Running with these guys will not be a problem."

Although Bibby's primary running mate, forward Chris Webber, will likely miss the first two weeks with a sprained left ankle, at least he's in the fold after signing a seven-year, $123-million contract. (The Kings also re-upped shooting guard and defensive stopper Doug Christie with a seven-year, $48-million deal.) "The only team that's better than us is the Lakers," Webber says, and it's hard to argue with him. Divac, who's never exactly been a conditioning fanatic, showed up at training camp in surprisingly good shape after a summer of running and weightlifting. Small forward Peja Stojakovic, 24, has blossomed into a dangerous scorer and could earn the All-Star spot he barely missed a year ago. The only King improving at a faster rate than Stojakovic may be Hedo Turkoglu, a 6'8" swingman who will get significant minutes at all three perimeter positions. Defensive-minded point guard Bobby Jackson and frontcourt banger Scot Pollard fill out an eight-man rotation that's as solid as any in the league.

Webber's flirtations with other teams during his free agency were traumatic for the Kings, but the team may ultimately benefit: He now has an added incentive to prove wrong those he feels snubbed him. "[Rockets guard] Steve Francis told me they thought I was cocky," Webber told The Sacramento Bee, referring to members of Houston's front office, "and I'm going to try to kill them every year for that." He was also offended by how he believes the Magic courted Raptors center Antonio Davis more seriously than Orlando did him.

While it doesn't exactly sound as if staying put was Webber's first choice, Sacramento fans will forgive him that if he can take the Kings farther than the conference semifinals, where they were swept by the Lakers last season. The Kings did beat the Suns in the opening round for their first playoff series win since 1981, which makes them a dynasty compared to what Bibby endured in his three years with the Grizzlies, who went 53-161 in that stretch. "I don't even know what the playoffs feel like," he says.

This year, he's likely to find out what the conference finals feel like, and if Webber maintains a healthy anger throughout the playoffs, the Kings may be in for an even better feeling.

Issue date: October 29, 2001

Click here to look back at CNNSI.com's preseason Kings preview.