IV

We all know how underappreciated C-web has been in Sac over the past year. Bibby's been getting the glory when the team does well, while Webber takes the blame when the team doesnt win. (that's a matter of opinion)
However, Chris Webber is facing felony charges for lying to a grand jury, which could possibly land him in jail for the next ten years.

If Webber gets locked up, how will the Kings fair without their scapegoat?

jsa

I can not agree with that. Webber had a good year but was not clutch in the playoffs, and he must accept that burden. Bibby had a good year and played like a clutch superstar in the playoffs.How can you critisize that?

Sacramento has a lot of fine players, more than anyone in the NBA. Webber is the key player, but others can do the job. He must have a great playoffs next year to deflect the criticism.

I doubt he will see jail time. He will have a great lawyer and get off lightly.

Most NCAA rules are for the benefit of the NCAA or institutions, very few are fair to the athletes.There will be infractions because of this and human nature.

Dragnsmke1

I agree Bibby is a good player who really stepped up in crunch time but if you expect him to play like that during the reg. season this year you are sadly mistaken. This is still Webbers team and if he goes the kings will be no better than 7th in the WC.

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All Or Nothing

IV

that's why I say its a matter of opinion.

I dont know what Kings fans mean when they say Webber didnt step up in the playoffs. It's true he wasn't knocking down the big shots at the end of the games, but that isn't his job. It's Bibby's.
But if you take a look at the numbers in the Western Conference Finals, Chris Webber averaged more points, rebounds, and assist than Mike Bibby. In fact he lead the team in each category.
So I'd say Webber did his part, and this is why I label him the Kings scapegoat. But again, It's all a matter of opinion.

Getting back to the question, which you never answered.
How far can the kings get without Cweb?

jazzy1

I agree totally with the person who said it's still Webber's team and that Bibby won't play like that all season long. Look Webber doesn't ever come through in the clutch I think more to do with nervousness generated by messing up that play in college he seems to just tighten up, Bibby was thrust in that role almost by default no one else on the team wanted the role so he said what the hell, but for the Kings to go as far as their fans want Webber will bring them to that point and Bibby will bring it home they hope. Bibby is a good player whose value was inflated because no else would step up except him, but to think that he'd carry that team getting 20 a night would be a mistake,he'll do what he did last regular season and come playoff time in the big moments come through again Kings fans Hope.

RangerC

Last year the Kings were 15-5 w/out Webber to begin the season (including wins over the Spurs (twice), Lakers, Mavs, NJ, and Portland) and 18-8 overall w/out Webber. This year, Keon Clark can step in for Webber if needed. The Kings are clearly a better team with Web, but without him they could still win 60+ games and challenge for the title.

If the Kings could get within one shot of the Finals with their 2nd best player essentially contributing nothing, its no great stretch to think that an older, wiser, and upgraded Kings team could do the same without their best player. Depth and balance are wonderful things.

IV

No way would the Kings win 60+ without Webber.

They only won 61 games last year!

This is what i'm talking about, No one appreciates what Cweb brings to the table. He should have left Sacramento as a free agent.

robyg1974

RangerC, thanks for reminding everybody how well Sacramento played without Webber last year. They are certainly used to playing without the guy, one of the more injury-prone and therefore undependable players in the league.

Rich people don't go to prison in this country, let's just get that straight. Have some of you people never heard of OJ Simpson? But I do think the legal stuff will provide a distraction for this team.

I think you could pretty convincingly argue that the key to this team is Vlade Divac; this team simply could not move the ball around as well as it does without the best passing big man in the NBA. And do not forget that Divac is 35 years old, that the Kings played late into the postseason, and that this guy THEN played half of the summer for his country's World Championships team. Divac will be EXHAUSTED by January, and THAT will be the likely downfall of this team.

Also consider that expectations are very high, which means that these players are under a lot of pressure; that Mike Bibby may or may not duplicate his postseason success in the regular season, and his desire to score may hurt the team's offense in the long run (Peja Stojakovic could really see a dip in production if Bibby decides to be a 20 ppg guy); Keon Clark is a notoriously enigmatic player who simply cannot be counted on night in and night out, this guy will probably find himself in the doghouse pretty quickly.

The more I think about it, the more I think that the Kings are going to be one of the most disappointing teams in the league this season. I expect the team to fall all the way to fourth in the Western Conference. This team blew its best chance at a championship, fellas. I don't expect very many people to agree with me, but I think you guys will find out soon enough (the regular season is just over a month away)!

By the way, fellas, a reminder--get to work on yr preseason predictions, we're going to have a post here in a week or so, everybody will be expected to give their predictions on the 2002-03 season. We can save the post for March or April, when we can all laugh at how stupid each other is, sound good?

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Roby G.

RangerC

They 'could' win 60; considering that their 15-5 start last year projects to 61/62 wins and 18-8 w/out Web projects to 57 wins. With the improvement in the West, I don't think the Kings would win 60 games w/out Web, but it's no great leap to say they 'could'. It's not a slam on Webber (I don't think anyone thinks the team is actually better off w/out him); rather, it's a praise of the team's overall depth.

IV

I agree with alot of what you've said, especially about rich people not going to jail. I know Cweb will not be locked up. I just thought it made for a good topic of discussion.

You're right about the expectation of the Sacramento Kings. They wont live up to the hype. They've already proven they can't handle the pressure. If they ever had a shot at becoming champs it was last year, unless of course Shaq gets injured or Kobe mysteriously get food poisoned again

One thing I have to disagree with is Vlade being the best passing big man in the league. I think his teammate Chris Webber gives him a good run for his money!
OUT

IV

you know the funny thing about statistics is they only tell you what happened last time.

robyg1974

Actually, I'm not afraid to admit that I think the Kings ARE better off without Webber, one of the all-time biggest losers in the history of the sport. The team should have seen what they could get for him this summer. I'm pretty sure that the Trailblazers would have GLADLY agreed to a straight-up Rasheed-for-Webber deal, and I'd take Rasheed over Webber any day of the week. There were probably any number of ways that the Kings could have upgraded their team by trading Webber this summer, and they didn't do it. I think that they will end up regretting that in a couple of years, when the dude is missing more and more games and getting paid more and more money for a small market team with a payroll that keeps getting bigger and bigger.

I doubt anyone around here agrees with me on this one, though.

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Roby G.

IV

I've always been a Chris Webber is a loser type of guy too, but i can't watch people bad mouth Web and say he didnt do his part in the playoffs last year because he did. He lead the team in the WCF in pts, reb, and ast.

The Kings could have gained alot by trading Chris but its probably best that they didnt. Webber plays a finesse game. He likes to shoot instead of drive, he'd rather pass instead of go for it, so this is probably the best team he'll ever play with. he's got some very good shooters around him and another Big man with excellent court vision. that makes it easier for everyone to get the ball, which is perfect for Cweb because he doesnt seem to want the ball when it wants him.

Rasheed for Chris would not be a good move. I am a true Rasheed "just shut up" guy. If this guy would learn to play and not fight he'd be a great player. Since he can't maintain his composer, I'm sure he would have only hurt the Sac the way he does in Portland. Plus Portland with Cweb would be dangerous!

RangerC

You made some good arguments, but remember that the Kings are actually (with the exception of Divac and Christie) one of the younger teams in the league. 8 of the 10 players in the likely rotation are 29 or younger. 4 of the 10 are 25 or younger. Stojakovic, Bibby, Turkoglu and Wallace all have their best years ahead of them and Webber, Jackson, Pollard, and Clark are in their 'prime' years. The majority of the Kings' rotation is more likely to have a superior year next season as opposed to an inferior one.

Also, their depth can solve just about any problem. If Vlade proves to be too worn out, Pollard can step in or the Kings can shift to a small lineup (Kings were 2-0 w/out Vlade and played just fine when Vlade had his shoulder injury and was largely ineffective). If Christie pulls a Nick Anderson and his shot never recovers from the WCF, Hedo, Jackson, and Wallace can fill in. The Kings were 30-11 without at least one of their starters last year (41 games without an opening day starter is above average for the league, as well). It's going to take a multitude of problems to get the Kings to finish as low as 4th considering they had the league's best record last year with a relatively large amount of injuries (missing one of your top 2 players for 36 games is probably top 3 in the L).

IV

You can't replace Vlade or Doug with any of the Kings players and expect to be as good of a team.
Vlade is the father of this team and his knowledge of the game exceeds anything skill wise any of the Kings bigman can provide.

Doug has some killer defense. You can throw Hedo in there if you like, but you'll be missing doug when Hedo's getting roasted!