PROBLEMS IN THE ROYAL FAMILY

“… all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty
together again.”

As the final buzzer sounded in Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference
Finals, the Sacramento Kings walked off the court disappointed yet hardly
devastated. They had just blown a golden opportunity to dethrone the
two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, but the prevailing opinion
around the league was that the pain would only be temporary.

Wasn’t this just part of the growing process? After losing to the Lakers
three straight postseasons, each one in a round further than the year
before, weren’t they bound to get over the hump? And once on top, given
the relative youth of their core group, weren’t they destined to become
the next great dynasty?

Now just two and a half years later, they are almost an afterthought. As
they travel to the Lone Star State to open up their 2004-05 campaign, the
question of whether or not they will win the NBA title has been replaced
by whether they are even legitimate contenders to the throne.

By taking a quick glance at their roster, you would figure they still are.
The starting five of Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Peja Stojakovic, Chris
Webber and Brad Miller can hang with anyone, while Bobby Jackson remains
an annual candidate for the 6th Man Award.

The weakened Pacific Division should help their chances, as should the
built-in home court advantage at Arco Arena.

But just as you should never judge a book by its cover, you shouldn’t
judge a team by its media guide.

The Kings’ problems start, as usual, with their health. After injuries
eliminated any hopes for a title run the last two postseasons (Webber’s
knee in ’03, Jackson’s abdomen last year) you’d figure they would be due
for some good fortune. That, however, is not likely. Christie (plantar
fasciitis) and newly acquired Greg Ostertag (broken hand) missed most of
the preseason, and Webber’s surgically repaired knee may bother him the
rest of his career.

It seems inevitable that throughout the course of a season health will
always be an issue with this team. In the past, they were able to stay
afloat due to their superior depth. This year they’ll have to rely on
names like Maurice Evans, Kevin Martin and Matt Barnes. That’s not exactly
Jim Jackson, Keon Clark and Hedo Turkoglu.

Kings fans can thank owners Joe and Gavin Maloof for that. After
overpaying to keep their starting lineup intact, they decided to scale
back on the payroll in order to minimize luxury tax penalties. Needless to
say, their depth was sacrificed and now what was a major strength has
become a liability.

The one starter they did let go may prove to be the one they should have
kept. Vlade Divac is far from the player he used to be, but he was the
unquestioned leader of the team and he helped create a certain camaraderie
that seemed to be the source of their excellence.

Divac now plays for the rival Lakers and Sacramento is already feeling his
absence. For the first time since the Mitch Richmond days, the locker room
is in turmoil. Webber and Stojakovic aren’t exactly seeing eye-to-eye
after Webber questioned the small forward’s mettle during last season’s
playoffs. Stojakovic asked to be traded over the summer, even hinting that
a straight up deal for Vince Carter could benefit both parties. When a
player volunteers himself to be traded from the Kings to the Raptors, it’s
obvious that something drastic must be going wrong in California’s state
capitol.

Add it up and it’s now clear why the Kings will pretend and not contend in
this year’s loaded Western Conference. They have the talent and the
familiarity to do it in the regular season, but lack the depth and most
importantly the cohesiveness to get it done when it really counts. To put
it simply, they just don’t seem like they’re having fun anymore.

That’s a far cry from where they were just two and a half years ago.
Everything about that memorable Western Conference Finals made us believe
they were the princes of the NBA just waiting their turn to take what
would soon be all theirs. It was supposed to be the beginning of something
special, not the beginning of the end.

My, how the mighty have fallen. And sometimes, when the fall is long
enough and hard enough, there is just no getting up – no matter who you
are or how hard you try.

Just ask Humpty Dumpty.