12 Sacramento Kings

It isn't going to work between Mike Bibby and Ron Artest. When they're on the court neither one seems to want to help the other. It's not as if they're at war, it's not Kobe versus Shaq, but it's not good chemistry either. . . . Bibby is not quite good enough to be the star of the Kings, but with another team he might be the guy who puts them over the top. That is, as long as he's not being asked to create, but can just bring it up, get the team into its offense and then spot up for jumpers. . . . You can say that Artest just needs to play for the right coach, but I wonder if that coach has been born yet. . . . I'm not sure Shareef Abdur-Rahim can get it done physically anymore. There were so many times last year when he had no lift. . . . Brad Miller is too young and skilled to be deteriorating, and if he's healthy I wouldn't be surprised to see him bounce back. . . . You know what bothers me about Kevin Martin? He is a terrible defender. I just don't get it, because he has the athleticism to be a good one.

FAST FACT

In 11 years with four teams Shareef Abdur-Rahim has been on the losing side 551 times in 824 games played, an average of 50.1 losses per season--the worst average among active players with at least four years of service.