YEAH, KINGS!!!!! :cheers: :cheers:
Can't wait to catch the Spurs on the tail end of all those back-to-back games they play in the first round of the post season.
Odd that San Antonio fares so poorly on these back-to-back games, and this one was in San Antonio to boot, where they have now only lost five times all season.
But the Kings were coming off their own game the night before in Dallas, though admittedly, they looked like they rested quite well during that game, while the Spurs actually worked a bit harder to win their game the night before.
It is clear that Duncan must be insisting he is okay to play in these second nighters and Popovich defers to him, instead of just parking his butt on the bench for most, if not all, of these games. His foot is just not up to the pounding two nights in a row.
That said.....YEAH, KINGS!!!! :cheers: :cheers:
As one final little tidbit, Ron Artest has joined the ranks of players who publically diss Bowen's defense to the media:
Kings notes: Artest steams over Bowen's style of defenseBy Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Thursday, April 6, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C10
SAN ANTONIO - Bruce Bowen isn't making many friends these days.
First, the San Antonio small forward and renowned defensive player kicked Seattle's Ray Allen in the back recently, furthering what already was a heated rivalry.
Then during the Kings' 97-87 upset of the Spurs at the AT&T Center on Wednesday night, Bowen upset the one player who would seem most capable of understanding him.
If Ron Artest is crying foul about defense, something must be awry. And while the Kings' small forward clarified that he and Bowen remain on good terms, he said Bowen's tactics were nothing short of bad play.
"Bruce Bowen was smacking me the whole game," said Artest, who had 15 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks. "I couldn't believe it. He was just smacking me. I was like, that's not even legal. That's why I'm the Defensive Player of the Year. That's why. Because I play good defense. No gimmicks."
The two were cordial before tipoff, standing side by side while chatting about perceived injustices of the past.
"I love Bruce," Artest said. "I told him me and him should have been Defensive Player of the Year. (Detroit's) Ben Wallace already stole it from me three times."
While Wallace has won in three of the past four seasons, Bowen never has received the award. When Artest won in the 2003-04 season, some claimed that Bowen was the more deserving pick, leading Artest to tell the media that perhaps the two should square off in a game of one-on-one to decide the prize. Artest won the latest matchup, holding Manu Ginobili to eight points on 3-for-8 shooting.
