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Pejavlade · 10-21-2005, 01:23 PM

Quote:

They fought for position on the block.

They fought to get open shots.

They fought for rebounds.

And they fought, in general, for the upper hand during practice.

In their 17th day as teammates, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Kenny Thomas continued their fight to be a Kings starter.

It has been a good fight, to be sure, and different in every way from the melee that went down Jan. 21, 2002.

Before they were Kings, Abdur-Rahim and Thomas engaged in a tussle in Atlanta that resulted in a three-game suspension and $15,000 fine for both players. Abdur-Rahim was with the Hawks, Thomas with the Houston Rockets. Both were mired in awful seasons, their teams posting losing records that were far more forgettable than the incident itself.

Late in the third quarter, they jockeyed for position down low when Thomas' elbow connected with Abdur-Rahim's head. Abdur-Rahim responded with punches. Thomas retaliated with punches of his own, and Atlanta guard Jason Terry joined the fray and later was suspended for one game.

After Thursday's practice, Abdur-Rahim addressed the situation for the first time since coming to Sacramento.

"The way I look at it, it was nothing after it happened," Abdur-Rahim said. "It's not like we had a problem before that situation. We were just playing, the game got kind of physical, and in that situation it got out of hand. I'd never had a problem with him, and we haven't had a problem since then."

Thomas chose not to talk about the matter, saying, "I ain't even talking about that. I don't have nothing to say about that."

Abdur-Rahim said he and Thomas never have spoken about the fight, nor is there a need to. He said they have crossed paths several times since and had cordial encounters indicating the incident was in the past.

And given the current objective of meshing in the name of all things Kings, it's all the more reason to let it lie.

"He hasn't given me the cold shoulder or anything," Abdur-Rahim said. "I don't feel like I need to watch my back or anything. To me, it's good. ... He's my teammate now, so I'm with him and he's with me."

For Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie, his players' shared piece of history hardly keeps him up at night.

"It's a non-issue," Petrie said. "I don't know what else there is to say."

While Thomas has said he prefers to start and Abdur-Rahim said last week, "Don't get me wrong, I care about starting," Petrie said he wouldn't characterize their roles as competitive.

Kings coach Rick Adelman has said he considers Abdur-Rahim and Thomas two of the team's top six players, meaning minutes will be abundant for both, no matter who starts.

Throughout the preseason, Adelman has toyed with the starting lineups enough to mask long-term intentions. He started Abdur-Rahim three times and Thomas twice, including one appearance in which they both started.

Adelman joked recently that, should he decide to start Thomas Saturday at Portland, "It'll be even." "Trying to help the team is what it's all about," Petrie said. "It's about beating the other team, not beating ourselves."

www.sacbee.com

Playmaker0017 · 10-21-2005, 01:47 PM

This is just stupid.

They need to end the drama already.

Reef is by FAR the superior player in every aspect of the game. He's also a smarter player.

I just don't see the competition.

maKINGSofgreatness · 10-21-2005, 08:25 PM

I also think Reef is better, but there's one thing that's more important. When he is on the court he facilitates the offense much better than I thought he was capable of, while Thomas forces things like he's trying to impress everyone into starting him.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. K9, Bobby Jackson. A double double type player off the bench is a rare commodity, accept your role and play well and Sacramento will appreciate the hell out of you.

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