King's playoff hopes take serious nosedive

[JoMal]

Brad Miller, Sacramento's starting center, broke his left leg in practice this weekend and is expected to miss from 4 to 6 weeks. Since this means the undersized Brian Skinner takes over for him, match-ups are going to probably favor opponents here on out.

Skinner has filled in admirably for Miller the last six games after Brad had to sit due to a deep contusion in his calf muscle. This new injury puts the Kings at the mercy of either starting the relatively new Skinner in his place for the rest of the season, or the underused Greg Ostertag, which just ain't gonna happen.

Now, the goal is for the Kings just to make the playoffs, as opposed to where they might be seeded. The Kings probably will have a winning record, as they only need three more wins to get to a guaranteed .500 for the season, but realistically, the team has been getting by with close wins just about every time they HAVE won all season. Now, many of those close wins are going to turn into double digit loses.

This is especially unfortunate as the true abilities of Peja Stojakovic are being exposed. Once thought to be a legitimate MVP candidate, it now looks like this is a totally one-dimensional player, unable to utilize his 6'10" size at all around the basket, for easy layins or for rebounding, he instead plays like he is 6'3" and can be totally taken out of games by anyone that size or up. Take away his one dimension and you essentially have a useless tree trunk that teammates have to carry around the court on top of playing their own man. He cannot finish, and only plays inside to lure the referees into calling fouls on his defender, instead of just attempting to make the shot first.  His lack of aggression allows any hack on the court to beat him to lose balls and if not for the heroics of Mike Bibby in two games where he hit game winning shots late this past week, Peja would have been the reason we lost both of those games because he constantly gets out-hustled by his man late in games, resulting in opponents scoring.  

Without being trade, Peja looks like he is already playing for another team. Now you really have to question why any other team would want to trade for him. But as with Chris Webber, the national media hackheads will highly praise any team that does, without once consulting a true expert on the team who has actually been watching this 27 year old has-been get humiliated nightly in a Kings uniform.
 

[westkoast]

This cant be JoMaL, such harsh words for Peja....will bbl with my full reply im on hold with SBC (those bastards!)

[Guest_Randy]

I have really felt for Peja all year long -- he has just struggled from everyone on the floor.  I really don't think he has fully recovered from the games that were played last year in the off-season.

1)  He (Peja, Vlade, Kings and the rest of the world) was told that they couldn't afford to keep Vlade (who would have signed for $2 mill).

2)  Vlade is cut -- Peja is hurt but can understand it's a payroll issues.

3)  Kings then sign Greg "The Blob" Ostertag for $5 mill a year (umm, a LOT more than the $2 mill they couldn't "afford" to sign Vlade for).

Peja then has to deal with the nagging questions that haunt your mind (questions like, "if they reason they didn't keep Vlade is money, then how could they afford to sign Ostertag for over twice as much as Vlade would have settled for").  Those questions then begin to help you realize that you aren't playing for the "family" you once thought you were playing for -- you're playing for a business that doesn't mind lying to you (and assuming you're stupid by telling you one thing and then doing something that proves they weren't telling you the truth).  SacTown's greatest strength has been their team chemistry -- losing that, IMO, has sent Peja reeling and he still hasn't overcome it.

[JoMal]

What you are saying, Randy, is that the NBA is run like a business and the players all have to understand it. Vlade, at his age, was slowing down and was not going to play more then twenty minutes a game, then, as we found out, his age caught up with him with a vengence, making Petrie's move not to resign him appear to be the correct call. Even Peja could see that. Ostertag's signing has not worked out, but Adelman could actually play him some minutes once in a while; he may be a blob, but occasionally the blob affects shots and rebounds. But not sitting on the bench.

Peja, for the first time in years, played no basketball last summer, but instead played the family man with a new son. He did NOT do his normal shooting, which looks like a huge mistake on his part now. His shot has been iffy all year. The rest of his game can not compensate for him not shooting the ball, and that is where he stands at this point.

[Guest_Randy]

JoMal . . .

The NBA IS a business but in the past (at least for the Kings -- some teams like the Lakers have NEVER experienced this) it has been like family.  Going from family to a business in one season has been a shock to a LOT of Kings players.

Also, there is "good" business and "bad" business.  IMO, it's bad business to lie to your employees.  I STILL don't understand why the Kings just didn't say "we are beginning to look toward the future, Vlade, and unfortunately you don't fit into that future."  However, what they told Vlade and Peja is that it was a money decision not an age decision.  THAT is bad business, IMO, esp. when you want your current employees to believe you the next time you tell them something.

[westkoast]

You also have to look at the fact that Chris Webber and Vlade are gone....these were the two guys who made Peja's moving without the ball and cutting to the rim abilities look awesome.  I wish I could count how many times I watched Peja make a backdoor cut and get a perfect pass from one of those two for an easy layup.  That in turn got him going with his outside shot.  Not to mention other shovel passes, behind the backs, and such in the interior of the other teams defense.

Who is Peja going to get crisp interior passes from now?  On top of that the Kings have no one in the post to spread the floor.  C-Webb did it because of the player he is and Vlade did it with his passing and his jumper.  If im the opposing team I let Ostertag take shots up close while Im cheating towards Peja.  Having no Brad Miller makes it all that much easier.

Ive got a question JoMaL....how many times have the Kings switched Doug Christie onto Peja's man after he gets lit up in the past?  Was it never, alot, or a little?

[JoMal]

Peja's defense is not that bad, and when he really works at it, like he did against Dallas in the playoffs last year, he can be extremely effective. As for Christie, it was his job to tackle the best non-center/PF offensive player on the opposing team. That sometimes was the small forward, so instead of a switch mid-game, you would have Christie on the small forward from the outset, though it was not uncommon for Peja and Doug to switch because most nights, our two best defenders were Peja and Doug.

The Kings have not slowed down on the assists per game after all the trades, you know. While Peja did get plenty of feeds from both Vlade (especially) and Webber, Brad Miller has done pretty well with those backdoor feeds in their place, or he was before .....before.........(sob) :cry:  :cry:

Bibby's assists have doubled with Webber gone as well, but it is apparent that guys like Skinner and Williamson are getting most of those nice passes in the lane.

Why not Peja??? Good question. He has been blowing layups, for one. Four in one game last week. FOUR!!!!! They weren't blocks, they weren't even defended. They were, "let me groan real loud and lose the ball on the way up or act like my shot was affected by the defender to get the foul call" type of misses. When you don't bother to finish the shot instead of playing for a foul call that isn't coming, frankly you look kind of foolish.

Another reason has been other teams have realyzed they can put a smaller, faster, more athletic player on Peja, then essentially forget about him. A few shoves, a few denials of the ball where he likes to get it, and Peja shuts himself down offensively. You won't even notice him out on the court for most of the game when that happens.

There is no aggression in the man at all. Opponents fly over his head to pick off rebounds routinely to the point where posterizing on the rebound should be given as much fanfare as dunks. Lose balls near him never end up in his hands. It is not that I would like to see him diving into the first row of seats once in a while, as that could get you killed. But little men push and grab him away from the ball and he backs down every time.

I just thought the European game was much wilder then the NBA game and he would be used to it. Instead, we get the Pillsbury Doughboy.

[Reality]

But little men push and grab him away from the ball and he backs down every time.

I just thought the European game was much wilder then the NBA game and he would be used to it. Instead, we get the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Does his woman have anything to do with this?  Is she new, their marriage new, or have they been together for years?

Tiger Woods Syndrome :huh: .......

[JoMal]

But little men push and grab him away from the ball and he backs down every time.

I just thought the European game was much wilder then the NBA game and he would be used to it. Instead, we get the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Does his woman have anything to do with this?  Is she new, their marriage new, or have they been together for years?

Tiger Woods Syndrome :huh: .......

Relatively new. They got together sometime last year, she got preggers, they married last summer and Peja shut down his basketball activities to be with her and his new son.

He came into the season in the worse shooting slump I have ever seen him have, and he admitted that he had not shot a basketball in well over a month at that time. This, while he was demanding to be traded yet.

So a combination of his new marriage, not shooting much in the off-season, and his apparent dissatisfaction with the organization, mainly about him getting his shots where he likes them. Not the national media-perceived feud with Webber, as is the common notion being constantly splayed about nationally. I can't see that they were feuding as much as they said if they were always talking and joking between themselves on the bench. They always looked extremely chummy, IMO.

[Guest_Randy]

Peja's defense is not that bad, and when he really works at it, like he did against Dallas in the playoffs last year, he can be extremely effective. As for Christie, it was his job to tackle the best non-center/PF offensive player on the opposing team. That sometimes was the small forward, so instead of a switch mid-game, you would have Christie on the small forward from the outset, though it was not uncommon for Peja and Doug to switch because most nights, our two best defenders were Peja and Doug.

The Kings have not slowed down on the assists per game after all the trades, you know. While Peja did get plenty of feeds from both Vlade (especially) and Webber, Brad Miller has done pretty well with those backdoor feeds in their place, or he was before .....before.........(sob) :cry:  :cry:

Bibby's assists have doubled with Webber gone as well, but it is apparent that guys like Skinner and Williamson are getting most of those nice passes in the lane.

Why not Peja??? Good question. He has been blowing layups, for one. Four in one game last week. FOUR!!!!! They weren't blocks, they weren't even defended. They were, "let me groan real loud and lose the ball on the way up or act like my shot was affected by the defender to get the foul call" type of misses. When you don't bother to finish the shot instead of playing for a foul call that isn't coming, frankly you look kind of foolish.

Another reason has been other teams have realyzed they can put a smaller, faster, more athletic player on Peja, then essentially forget about him. A few shoves, a few denials of the ball where he likes to get it, and Peja shuts himself down offensively. You won't even notice him out on the court for most of the game when that happens.

There is no aggression in the man at all. Opponents fly over his head to pick off rebounds routinely to the point where posterizing on the rebound should be given as much fanfare as dunks. Lose balls near him never end up in his hands. It is not that I would like to see him diving into the first row of seats once in a while, as that could get you killed. But little men push and grab him away from the ball and he backs down every time.

I just thought the European game was much wilder then the NBA game and he would be used to it. Instead, we get the Pillsbury Doughboy.

JoMal,

I'm not saying that ALL of Peja's problems are the Kings fault -- I think there are many factors involved and certainly a lessened interest and drive towards basketball is part of that.  However, I think the chemistry problems have even led to that lessened drive -- sure pro athletes SHOULDN'T need motivation to be professional and show up every night -- but ALL of us know that a job that you enjoy is easier to excel at than a job you DON'T enjoy!  Peja (and most of the Kings) went to loving their job and being family to almost a "divorce" of their family -- those kind of events cause MAJOR adjustments that some never recover from.  I think Peja WILL recover -- I just think you have to give him time (and the question comes, will he ever recover with the Kings or will it be with another organization).  

[JoMal]

Randy, that chemistry issue with the Kings became apparent when the organization did not resign Vlade Divac. His unselfishness opened up Peja's game to its fullest; something Webber was unable, or unwilling, to do.

But then you have to ask - If Peja can only produce MVP numbers with one, and only one, certain player on the court with him, how legitamate an NBA game does he have?

[Guest_Randy]

Randy, that chemistry issue with the Kings became apparent when the organization did not resign Vlade Divac. His unselfishness opened up Peja's game to its fullest; something Webber was unable, or unwilling, to do.

But then you have to ask - If Peja can only produce MVP numbers with one, and only one, certain player on the court with him, how legitamate an NBA game does he have?

JoMal,

We have seen Peja have success when both Vlade and Webber were out -- I just think it's more than just their "passing" that is affecting Peja's game.  I think it's way too early to shut the coffin lid on this guy (of course, he is one of my favorite players) -- of course, if the Kings would like to trade him for Lamar Odom, that's something I'd LOVE to hear!!!  We'll even throw in Slava, George and Mitch Kupchak for a bonus (of course, the bonus in giving up those guys is not for the Kings but for the Lakers!   :bounce: ).

[JoMal]

As if to contradict me, Peja scores 27 yesterday against the Magic.

In a post-game interview, he said he still has leg soreness from his hamstring injury, which still inhibits his mobility. He admitted, however that during the first half, when he did most of his scoring damage, he felt 100%, but in the second half he faltered when he got winded and his leg began to bother him. It explains much about his play of late, if that is the reason for his tentativeness.

That, and the fact that the Kings have suddenly stopped being a forward/center offensive team and instead the traditional point guard run team. He admitted that the loss of Webber AND Miller this year has changed the way he gets his looks and with all the new people still learning the system, it requires him to be more of a passer then before.

I just wonder if this team has enough time till the end of the season to gel enough to make some noise in the post season, assuming they are going to win enough games to make it. They are not passing all that well, with 19, mostly unforced turnovers yesterday. Good thing the Magic had 25.

[Guest_Randy]

Here's hoping the post-Webber era makes both parties (SacTown and Peja) frustrated with each other -- here's looking at Peja in purple and gold!!!  :drunk:  

[JoMal]

Here's hoping the post-Webber era makes both parties (SacTown and Peja) frustrated with each other -- here's looking at Peja in purple and gold!!!  :drunk:

What, you want Peja to dress up as a Mardi Gras clown? :rofl: