May 09, 2006

I think it was time for a change. Everett was right to say that he's never been able to get over the hump, even in the years when his window for success (v Shaq/Kobe, pre-duncan/parker/ginobli and pistons domination) was the widest. It may be a personnel problem too, but they've just never shown the commitment to D under Adelman that you need to succeed in the NBA. I wonder if this is a harbinger of big change to come in sacto, such as a move to vegas?

posted by ninjavshippo at 07:15 PM on May 09, 2006

Mr. Lumbergh, I was in no way meaning to criticize Rick Adelman. If you notice, I said an "amazing coach." However as far as always having a second tier team... in 90-91 Adelman had Danny Ainge, Terry Porter, Cliff Robinson, Buck Williams, Drazen Petrovich, and of course Clyde Drexler. I'm sure that I am missing some notables, but it would be a hard sell to say that that team was second tier.

posted by everett at 07:39 PM on May 09, 2006

that's completely uncalled for yerfatma....and in VERY poor taste.

posted by tommybiden at 08:12 PM on May 09, 2006

in 90-91 Adelman had Danny Ainge, Terry Porter, Cliff Robinson, Buck Williams, Drazen Petrovich, and of course Clyde Drexler. I'm sure that I am missing some notables, but it would be a hard sell to say that that team was second tier. Not having Michael Jordan placed them squarely in the 2nd tier.

posted by Bill Lumbergh at 09:13 PM on May 09, 2006

whats up all my nizzles, this is mr. shizzle hear to throw in his highly regarded two cents. adelman is a good coach but he is def. a second tier coach. but when u have divac(overrated but sevicable), webber, bibby, bobby jackson(great sixth man), peja(lights out shooting), turkoglu and u still cant win you're second tier. i mean he let horry ruin his title hopes with a single shot. so all in all adelman is a nice coach, just not the coach for a contender.

posted by Mr. Shizzle at 10:06 PM on May 09, 2006

I was not offended Yerfatma. Just sayin'

posted by everett at 06:53 AM on May 10, 2006

Fatty's right - Adelman looks like a fey Hitler. I think it's the lighter coloured hair that does it. Hey, these things happen. I don't think we'd be talking about the Kings as a second tier team if it weren't for the worst game 6 I ever saw four years ago. The one where the Lakers shot 27 free throws in the 4th quarter and were giftwrapped the game that saved their season. I had to take some time off the NBA after that one.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:01 AM on May 10, 2006

Saying a brother looks like Hitler and making fun of burn victim are two totally different things. Are you just trying to pick a fight? Stupidity is a terrible thing. P.S. people who look like Hitler are fair game for ridicule, take for instnce my best friends father who bears a striking resemblence to Hitler. We called him Adolf Dadler until he shaved his little mustache and got a hair cut.

posted by HATER 187 at 08:40 AM on May 10, 2006

would YERFATMA poke fun at a burn victim, or someone in a wheelchair? ignorance is a terrible thing. Yes. The real ignorance here is the idea personal attacks are "below" me.

posted by yerfatma at 09:00 AM on May 10, 2006

I'll be the first to admit I'm about as deep as a slip n slide, my point is you can decide to change your look if you bear a striking resemblence to one of the most hated figures in history whereas a burn victim has no choice in their apperance. I blame you for the ruination of this thread with your poor choice of anaology.

posted by HATER 187 at 09:21 AM on May 10, 2006

I once saw Pol Pot in a tortilla. He looked radiant.

posted by yerfatma at 10:35 AM on May 10, 2006

Yeah, to get this back on track, can someone explain to me what Adleman did wrong? He had a decent group, did ok with them and now he didn't do so well with a team that's not so good. Is this just the Mal-oafs trying to maintain fan interest or is there someone out there who could do more with the Kings?

posted by yerfatma at 11:14 AM on May 10, 2006

Yeah - I think it's clear that they have go back a few squares and rethink the personnel. Unfortunately, it is difficult to do a regime change without actually changing the regime. Adelman will land on his feet with likely a bigger, nicer contract somewhere else.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:58 AM on May 10, 2006

That the Kings couldn't match up against Kobe & Shaq, or Tim Duncan, is hardly Adelman's fault. One might argue they actually outperformed their own abilities during the regular season for several years there. Didn't they lead the league in victories a couple of times? I don't see the decision to replace Adelman as a move in the right direction - but I do understand that sometimes you have to do something for appearances sake. And yes, he will bounce back quickly and probably get more money to coach a team with less potential, while the Kings will again make the playoffs next year regardless who they bring in, because they have the talent to get that far - but still they won't get further without some major shifts in personnel. And the reason he looks like Hitler has everything to do with the silly little mustache, and nothing else. And while any reference to someone who commits heinous genocidal acts is clearly insensitive, I'm pretty sure people say worse on this board every day.

posted by MW12 at 12:11 PM on May 10, 2006

Reaction from the local press and Sactown Royalty. I think the Maloofs have made a huge mistake here. You don't fire a head coach, especially one who got you into the playoffs in what could best be described as a rebuilding year, without already having one lined up. It appears (without having to read between the lines) that the Maloofs are looking for a "defensive-oriented" coach, because they thought their squad was a bit softbatch. Now, even if Larry Brown or Dick Harter or Rick Carlisle were available, I don't think it would work. This squad, with the exception of Artest, Garcia, and perhaps Miller; is not constructed to be a defensive team. They should have either gone into the off season looking to bring in more defensive players (if that is the angle they want to take), or they should have reversed their stance and had Adelman run an offence similar to the Suns.

posted by lilnemo at 12:59 PM on May 10, 2006

if you're putting miller in your list of best defensive players, you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel. Yes, but his is a qualified inclusion. He's a good position/help defender with above average footwork. He knows how to use his heighth and strength. However, he is not as quick as one would like (obviously).

posted by lilnemo at 02:43 PM on May 10, 2006

The intelligence of the Webber trade has always been arguable... Kenny Thomas is a decent player, and when you couple him with Abdur-Rahim, they more than compensate for webber, who still struggles to consistently put up the same numbers in Philly as he did in Sacramento. The Kings only had one or two years where they had a legitimate shot at the title, and those were ruined by a couple of bad luck notes, i.e. the Samari Parker buzzer beater at the end of the first half of game 7 in 2002 which wasn't supposed to count and would've nulled the significance of Horry's last second shot. Or how about the trend for a key Sacramento player to be injured just before the playoffs every year? Peja last year, Bobby Jackson a couple of times, Webber during key series, eventually leading to his departure.... They weren't a second tier team, they jus didn't have their first tier impact players come playoff time. Right now, they're again rebuilding, trying to bring themselves back to the elite level of competition. Give them about 2-4 years, and they'll make it to the 'ship. Y'all can quote me on that, too. All in all, though, the Maloofs shouldnt've punished Adelman for his great tenure, and they'll be very hard pressed to come up with a viable replacement. Plus, who else is going to be able to handle Artest the way Adelman did? I don't think he's willing to play for free anymore... P.S. it's my first post, y'all. HOLLA

posted by kbdatkidd at 06:17 PM on May 10, 2006

Did one single play determine Adelman's fate? Kings vs. Lakers, Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference finals, Kings up 2-1 in the series. Sacramento had blown almost all of a 24-point lead, but still led by 2 in the closing seconds. Kobe Bryant missed a contested layup, Shaq got the rebound and missed on a putback attempt, and Vlade Divac got to the loose ball but couldn't stay in bounds. He tapped the ball back into play, it went straight to Robert Horry, and we all know what happened next. Why didn't Divac just grab the ball while going out of bounds? At least the Lakers would have had to inbound the ball. Better yet, Divac should have tried to punch the ball high in the air, since time might have expired by the time it came back down. Who knows, maybe the Kings still would have lost this series even had they won Game 4. It's more likely, though, that Sacramento would have prevailed, and they would have been favored to beat the Nets for the NBA title.

posted by TerpFan at 10:36 PM on May 10, 2006

And I have known the eyes already, known them all— The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase, And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin, When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall, Then how should I begin To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways? And how should I presume? Sportsfilter: The Opiate of the Misses

posted by yerfatma at 07:59 AM on May 11, 2006

Yerfatma you seem to be making more new friends every day. Regarding Adelman, its one of those cases of a team used to winning but not ever getting to the championship finally saying that its time to get a new coach. The Red Wings did it with Dave Lewis and other teams have done it as well. It is simply an instance that the Kings feel Adelman will not get them over the hump.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 12:26 PM on May 11, 2006